Lobster girl

Lobster Girl is all about doubles. When she goes out, for instance, she gets two lobster tails. When she rolls the dice, nothing but doubles. Now she's taken up backgammon, and the local backgammon club members are a little worried, not only about her consistent doubles, but now she's whispering into the little dice cup, come on doubles, come on doubles. .... She says she's gonna take those dice on the road. Maybe she'll even play a game of backgammon while eating the twin lobster tails. She's determined now to get a gammon. That's where you win before the loser even gets to take one piece off the board.

She's somewhere whispering to the dice right now, saying "gammon, gammon" ... But herein lies the danger. You will never know of her deep knowledge of the game, at first. You'll think she's an amateur, doesn't even know how to set the darned board up ... at first. But then, within moments, the doubles are rolling and she's like, "Hey, have you ever played Greek Backgammon?" and "Let me tell ya what to do with this little dice" --- you know that one that comes with every backgammon board, and we never really know what to do with it and we think it's optional because it just has a bunch of weird numbers on it? Well, she knows what to do with that. Be on the lookout ... if you see her walking into your place with a backgammon board and ordering doubles of anything and muttering "gammon, gammon," approach carefully. It's kinda like when someone walks into a bar with their own pool stick and says they got it for Christmas but never got to try it out.

Lobster Girl was appropriately dropped at the first meeting of the South Florida Backgammon Club, but certainly not the last ..... Lobster Girl's co-conspirators were pretty good too. One, in fact, is suspected to be a founding member of the backgammon shark club. The other, not so much. Actually, she won no games at all. She kinda just offers the commentary, and cheers everyone on, for now. But we're not certain about her either, because she is the one who walked in with her own board. But she reeked of anchovies and garlic and black pepper .... perhaps her strategy for throwing the other plays off. But, that didn't work. So now she's thinking she might have to have the twin lobster tails, because maybe there's some magic in that.

Kitty Cat Cosmo Party

Once again, Blackie got cut off at the Kitty-Cat cosmo party. He doesn't mean to get carried away at parties, but after a few cosmos with the girls from the office, he thought it would be a good idea to partake in a bit of catnip. When he started getting a little too frisky, the office women took away his catnip and told him he couldn't have any more cosmos, because boy cats aren't suppose to drink those anyway.

Blackie argued that he should be able to drink more cosmos because he likes to watch Sex in the City too, and he also had a long hard week at the office. But O.C. (Orange Cat) and Brownie Cat weren't buying that. O.C. said, "Blackie dear, I think you have had quite enough of the cosmos."

But Little Gray Cat just started getting a lot more refills on her cosmos and sharing them with Blackie, because she thinks Blackie's kinda fun when he gets nipped and starts telling all of his deepest darkest secrets, and all O.C. and Brownie ever wanna talk about is office politics.

Dropped all the kitties in the southeast corner of the parking lot of Southport Shopping Center at Cordova Road and 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale. Alongside the Texaco in that corner of the parking lot there's this big recycling dumpster and around the back of that is this great cubby hole which is just perfect for hiding - and finding -- a tile. But you know, I think at some point, some big old truck will come along and lift that thing up and the kitties .... well, I don't know if they would survive that. So if you like kitties and cosmos, please go and rescue them.

I dropped this while out on my walk tonight, looking for the real Blackie, who inspired this tile. Last time I looked for him I couldn't find him, but apparently I was on the wrong street, because when I got to the end of one of those lifestyles of the rich and famous streets off Cordova, there he was outside of his big mansion where no one else seems to live. Actually, he was in the neighbor's driveway ... but he's usually at the big house. He didn't run up to me this time, but he came when I called him. We're buddies now and he was very happy to have the little packet of Whiskas I brought in my little backpack for him.

Blackie had a good night.

Hannah and Blackie

Every time Hannah walks down a certain street, a little black seemingly abandoned cat runs up to her like a little dog. When she squats down to pet the kitty she calls Blackie, he puts his paws up on her leg and puts his head down and closes his eyes, like he has been waiting for this one little warm spot in which to sleep.

Hannah, whose been known to scope out sunny spots on the floor for catnaps, understands completely. Sometimes she takes a whole bunch of blankets and puts them in the dryer just so she can lay in the middle of them all and nap. She and Blackie have a special understanding. She now carries a can of savory salmon in her backpack for the occasions when she encounters him.

Dropped Hannah and Blackie in the rest room at Kilwin's on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale .. Blackie likes vanilla ice cream and Hannah got some of those free fudge samples they were giving away tonight.

Piper Dreams

Piper was losing her passion for her job. She remembered the early days when the ad agency she worked for was young and struggling and it seemed that anything was possible. The opportunity for creativity was tremendous. But now it's all corporate and bottom-line and it takes committees of people in other states to get things done (but they often don't get anything done). Plus, her bosses are asking her to make every campaign about sex, 'cause you know, sex sells.

But Piper has just grown tired of it all. She didn't get into the business to create the sort of sexy ad campaigns that are an insult to most people's intelligence. Anybody can do that. She got into the business to delve more deeply and be more creative .... And now, she's going to start doing more work on the side, the sort of projects she can take pride in. She's partnering with a frustrated peer from another agency to start creating good campaigns, so they can go up against the very companies that employ them .... Piper's going to keep at this until something breaks for her ... because Piper, like everyone these days, needs hope and something to believe in. And if she can take down the company that has made her life so incredibly hellish in the process, well, that's just an added bonus.

Left the revengeful Piper in the ladies' room of Jalisco Mexican and Spanish Restaurant, 700 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. It's a smallish and colorfully decorated place with two rooms, a bar and a colorfully-dressed, bow-tied accordion player named Stanley. His music really adds something to the dining experience. It's not too loud, and it gives the place that special something that helps set it apart from many other such places. The food is good, the prices extremely reasonable and the service excellent. It's just a cool local spot that seems to draw a loyal crowd of regulars.

Fish tales

When Fiona Fish swam away from Fred Fish, her mom told her, "Don't you worry, my little guppy, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. But Fiona never again wanted to shack up in a fishbowl with another fish. She just wasn't cut out for those kind of relationships. So she was very relieved to discover that "otherfish" was her mom's pet name for all the happily single fish swimming around in complete freedom. Fiona was pretty happy to become one of those. She wasn't anti-relationship. She just thought the fishbowl-sharing concept was a definite relationship-killer.

As for my own interesting discovery ... I learned while Googling guppies late last evening that, despite theories that guppies only have three-second memories, a team of scientists have observed that guppies live in complex social networks and select and remember their social partners. Researcher Darren Croft relates the guppy network to the "six degrees of separation" theory that everyone is connected through a chain of a few middle people. I like to think that's true. .... I think.

I'm pretty proud of the fact that I got through painting this tile and then writing about it without once using the phrase "And they call it ... guppy lo-o-o-ove." Well, until now, 'cause for some reason I found myself trying to think of a word that rhymed with guppy, and really where else can you go with that.

The guppies have now been quite appropriately placed on the counter in the ladies' room at 15th Street Fisheries, which is of course on SE 15th Street in Fort Lauderdale. Everyone has comfort zone places, where they just feel completely relaxed and at home, and that place is definitely in my Top 5. In fact, I have probably about 5 that if it were up to me (which it is), I might just visit over and over again. But that's just kinda how I am. If I have a closet full of clothes, I'll always have those 5 items that get worn again and again, or 5 CDs that I always have in rotation, or 5 books that I keep on the shelf.

I guess everybody has that. I guess on some levels, our Top 5 books, CDs, places etc., are what really define us.

Marjorie's Delicate Balancing Act

On the craziest of days, Marjorie wonders what it is that keeps her going... But then, during a caffeine-inspired moment of clarity, she realized it was a blend of coffee, sheer determination, a and a deep-rooted fear of shattering into a million tiny pieces.

OK, the last part is a wild exaggeration because everyone knows that Marjorie was born with only 500 interlocking pieces, and over the years she's lost a few and misplaced others. She's pretty sure the missing pieces will not make a difference in the long run. After all, Marjorie has been overcompensating her whole life. It's what she does.

Left Marjorie at Hong Kong Chinese Food at 1303 SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale. She's in the unisex rest room, so let's hope she's rescued before she sees anything she shouldn't. She's also leaning against a wall near the door, so let's also hope she doesn't fall over and shatter into a million pieces, or at least 495.

Fickle Fay

All things considered, Fickle Fay is actually a pretty powerful woman. Not only is she the top salesperson for several bottled water companies and gas stations (despite working only part of the year) but she's smooth enough to convince big greedy corporations to give their employees a "rain day." That she does all this while under the watchful eye of the media, which tirelessly reports her every move, is impressive. But the thing about Fay is that she sends mixed messages, which tend to confuse people ... so much so that anyone residing anywhere near an area she passes through is said to be living in "the cone of uncertainty" ... deep, deep uncertainty.

Dropped Fay in the ladies room at the Shell Station at Davie Boulevard and Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. She's leaning against the wall just behind the garbage container. Even from there, she can hear the cashier and customers talking about her, calling her names like "no-show" and "a joke" .... She just needs a moment of privacy, a little time to pull herself back together.

Another Tile Adventure Begins

It's been a while since I posted here about Feisty Fred, the tile featuring a mischievous cat who went out for Friday happy hour ... and perhaps some fish, and was kidnapped and taken on a little adventure that landed him in Tennessee several weeks later. That's where he was discovered by a young artist named Sami who quickly became his friend. His little feline face was featured in the newspaper there and he continues to live happily ever after.

Now, another tile has been kidnapped from it's yearlong location behind the bar at Ernie's, the infamous local BBQ spot established on Fort Lauderdale's Federal Highway in 1957. The character's name is Roni, and she's terrified of asterisks. I dropped Roni in the restroom there about a year ago, and never knew what became of her. Then I received this message from Rucci, the same mosaic tile artist who found Fred:

"As my girlfriend and I were upstairs at Ernie's Rooftop, we noticed yet another MTM tile! The bartender said she found it a year ago. We told her the tale of Feisty Fred and she said to take [Roni] on another adventure! And so we are ... of course since Roni hates asterisks, we can't say where we are are bringing her but she will have a d*** good time and probably make some new friends! We couldn't find her on your blogspot ... where is she? .... Rucci and Sherry"

I told him I was sure she was on the site and would send a link ... but I couldn't find her. Nor was there a photo of her in my photo file. So I think the girl's got some hacking skills and has apparently found a way to be living off the grid for about a year now. So yeah, she was ready for adventure.

Today, I received a message from her finders, with a little update on her adventures thus far ... and I guess there's more to come. Here is their message, and the pics to accompany it:

"OK, so Fred's adventure has come to an end but Roni's it seems is just beginning! She's already had a busy week. As you can see, she's been out and about Fort Lauderdale after her year of hanging out at Ernie's roof-top under the watchful eye of Jamie (who incidentally is one great bartender) she ran off to the beach with Sherry and Rucci to go scuba diving.

"After spending the night with The Haz-Mat crew at Station 55 on The Ft. Lauderdale Executive airport. She went riding all over town with the Division Chief! After weathering tropical storm Fay she hit the road to North Carolina ....

"As of this writing she may be on a Harley-Davidson tooling up I-95 ... more info and pics of Roni's exploits are to follow .... and of course the location and coordinates of her final spot."

Stay tuned for further details about Roni.

Big Strong Bertha

Every time Bertha heard a woman using one of those poor-little-helpless me-and-only-if-had-a-big-strong-man-to-do-these-things spiels, she cringed ... and then she grew stronger inside. She and her friends jokingly called those women the eyelash batters and the men who fell for their silly lines "the battered."

Of course, Bertha and her buds realize that we all sometimes fantasize about being rescued from our stressful little lives ... but really, isn't it better to learn how to rely on yourself so that you don't have to sit around waiting for some guy to come along and complete you? Shouldn't people already be complete?

Bertha's friends kidded her that the real reason the eyelash batters bothered her was because she didn't know how to bat her own eyelashes OR to ask for help. So just for fun, she tried batting her lashes while saying things like "Could you come change my tire, you big strong guy?" and "I think I'm too fragile to open my own car door ... could you come around and open it for me?" but everyone just ended up laughing really, really hard at how ridiculous she looked and sounded.

Dropped Bertha at a Starbucks at 1615 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. She's in the ladies' room batting her lashes, saying in a ridiculously high-pitched tone, "I think I'm just too, too weak to carry my own grande out to the car," and then laughing hysterically. The people sitting at the tables have probably heard her in there by now .... But don't go in there and try to rescue her, because she can handle things herself. Despite occasional hysteria, she's actually quite stable. If you don't believe it, just ask her.

Patty likes Pies and Purple

By the end of Saturday, Patty had convinced herself that there was nothing wrong with eating pie for dinner. In fact, she was pretty sure that was a good thing. Yeah, she knows that she says her trip down to Pink Ghost at Riverfront in Fort Lauderdale was all about the art ... and it was, but you know, she couldn't stop thinking about the pies, so she tried a sliver of the blueberry, which was quite tasty, kinda like one might expect to get while spending the summer on your aunt's blueberry farm .... which makes sense since the Purple Pie Company states that "everything comes from hands, not from cans." The pies are made from the freshest available ingredients, the company says, and contain no chemicals, preservatives or trans-fat.

Having spotted nowhere to discreetly leave a purplish tile at PG, I left Patty at the neighboring Haagen-Dazs in the ladies room ... 'cause that's as close as I could get to leaving it at the place I intended anonymously. And pie and ice cream do go together, kinda like milk and cookies. So it was the next best thing.

The art was great as well. Some ever-familiar locals like Pachy Sarmiento, Helena Garcia and Pooka Machine, as well as out-of-towners like the Van Winkle Brothers, who I believe are from L.A. About 20-some artists were represented in this exhibit. Each piece was eight-by-eight inches, which is perfect for that small space back in the corner. The art was also priced, which in my opinion is always a nice plus.

Pink Ghost also has a really nice selection of T-shirts, many of which feature designs by local artists. My favorite was a yellow T-shirt with a robot sadly looking down at his little heart on the ground. They also have lots of artsy books and weird little toys. I'll be going back when I'm in more of a shopping mode ... Rent can't be cheap at Riverfront, but I like this little place. Those who like art and can afford to shop, should consider supporting it before it becomes the distant memory so many other places have become.

Parade Pranks

When Joy told her friends she was going to the parade, they told her it was a long-standing town tradition to attend the parade in your jammies and big fuzzy slippers. Joy is so naive, downright gullible. She just goes and believes everything her friends tell her, and more often than not she winds up the fool. But it could be worse, I suppose. She could just go around just not trusting anyone. So at least there's that. And besides, she was pretty comfy.

Left Joy in front of some boarded up business that seemed to have construction going on in the 3500 block of Galt Ocean Mile, next door to someplace that used to be an Irish pub. It's a sheltered spot, out of the rain .... And yes, I do know about the faces on this tile. And yes, it is intentional. But no, I'm not exactly sure why ...

Bea

Even on the darkest of days, Bea was eternally grateful for the feeling that from somewhere, a little light shines down on her, keeping her from harm's way ... so that even when she is completely alone, she never really feels alone.

I left Bea on a bridge at Cordova Road and .... I think, SE 7th or 8th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. It's a nice peaceful spot.

The tile was inspired by the Beatles song Let It Be. Friends have asked me before if I dream in color or black and white, and even though I recall the words of my dreams pretty vividly some times, I never do remember colors or lack thereof. What I do know is that Let It Be is the only song to have ever appeared in one of my dreams. It actually dominated the entire dream, which was set in an old rundown white farmhouse on a back road ... I was looking out the window ... at my crops, and family (though I didn't know any of them in real life). This song was playing, pretty loudly as I recall, and I was really happy about that. It was an oddly moving dream.

Anyway, in other news, there is a mystery. Apparently, the person who found Feisty Fred and took him on a series of adventures that landed him in Tennessee, spotted another tile featuring a character named Roni, that I hid a year ago at Ernie's, the BBQ spot on Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Roni has apparently been behind the bar at Ernie's and when the Feisty Fred's finder saw her, he told the bartender the story of Feisty Fred, who decided that he should take Roni on tour too.

I remember Roni ... She was afraid of asterisks. But somehow, she never made it onto my blog. She's also not in my picture file. Roni apparently is just as adventurous as Feisty Fred. After all, the girl has been living off the grid for a year now. Maybe Roni's new tour guides will send us a photo, so we can post her here .. and then follow her travels.

The couple who found her say they can't say where they're bringing her just yet, but they say she will have a d*** good time and that she will probably make new friends. Oh no, asterisks. They used asterisks!

Crazy Gracie

Ann looked all prim and proper which made her secret night gig as Crazy Gracie the Roller Derby Queen a lot more fun. Her co-workers would have no idea, at least until the day she finally got outed for her nighttime ventures. But since most of them weren't all that in tune, she figured she still had a pretty good haul ahead before that would happen ... if she was careful between now and then, and her friends kept her secrets. But since she chooses friends very carefully, she wasn't too worried.

Dropped Ann down at Brew, a coffeehouse in Himmarshee Village, on a shiny round table in the ladies room. Ann is, believe or not, the 200th tile I have posted. There are also a few floating around that I didn't post.

This being a minor milestone of sorts, I'd like to say more about Ann, and about this project, but you know, it's late, and I don't want to rush through that kinda thing. I already have to rush through so much in the course of a day ... that's not what I want other things in my life to be about. When it comes to my life outside of work, I like to take things slow and easy, to appreciate the tiny moments that ultimately make up my life, the tiny moments that define all of our lives.

I guess that's kind of how I consider my tiles ... like small yet significant moments worth remembering, tiny epiphanies that eventually lead to larger revelations. And I know I just said that I wanted to say more about this project, but I realized that I've just said it all, at least for now ... I think tiny epiphanies pretty much sums it all up.

Tom's Monday

Sometimes Tom started wearing his Monday face as early as Sunday morning. That's when he started thinking to himself, "Tomorrow at this time I'll be back in the cubicle." If only his cube had a window ... just a little window ...

This tile was inspired by a song by Miami indie-pop band Baby Calendar. It's called Cubicle No Window ... I heard it for the first time today and even though I've never met these musicians, I'm sure they must have written this song just for me. I actually liked all of the songs they've posted, but especially this one. Other cubers wishing for windows can hear this song here. Cubicle No Window is apparently from the band's album Gingerbread Dog which was released on Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records.

Dropped Tommy at Maggie Moo's at 2422 N. Federal Hiighway in Fort Lauderdale ... where they have some very delicious ice cream.

Ivy's utter devastation

Ivy was safely and bravely deposited under the seat of a Ford Focus where she will eventually be discovered, probably months from now, maybe longer. But hopefully, she will bring a smile to whoever finds her because she just feels that despite the heaviness of life, people should still strive to find some happiness. And really, she's just kinda kidding about the wine and cheese, because as we well know, life is really about the art and the conversation, because if we don't keep talking, how can we possibly be expected to solve anything?

Cube Workers Unite!

Fed up with their minimum wage jobs and unpaid overtime, three of the cube workers took a stand and others soon followed ... except for Robert, who was busy Twittering about the cube ladies.

Dropped the Cubers at a Dunkin Donuts late this evening at NE16th and Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale ... in the ladies' room by the sink, on my way home. While driving on Federal pretty late at night, I saw a woman in a business suit dragging a little briefcase on wheels behind her. She must've just gotten off the bus ... way late. Or perhaps she was walking home from the office. Maybe she was a cube worker ... maybe she was a lawyer ... maybe she was a lawyer in a cube. Maybe she has a car, or maybe she is just trying to be more environmentally conscious by taking public transport.

I don't know. I simply know that everybody's working hard these days .... all trying to at least maintain their footing on that very slippery slope.

Distant Davy

Davy never puts his feelings out there until he is certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there's no risk of rejection. In other words, Davy just never puts his feelings out there ... at least not anymore, and he never gets rejected, which is kinda the plan. It's like having a perfect record, really -- zero risk, zero rejection -- and on most days that feels like enough. But on some days that perfect record doesn't feel so perfect. Sometimes he secretly wishes he was one of those people who could just throw their feelings out there, come what may, and deal with the consequences later ... but usually, not so much. I believe there's a wee bit of Davy in every last one of us.

Davy's now in a nearly empty newsbox at the old CVS on 17th Street Causeway and Andrews Avenue ... just dropped him there after an un-great marathon day. I don't wanna say it sucked, but it did .... Not only was it ridiculously long and seriously lacking in redeeming qualities, but it is SO not over. So I'm gonna go try to re-work the minor attitude that set in late this afternoon and get with the program, because that's the only way I will ever get through a week that is shaping up to be overwhelming.

I think people once got through days like this by telling themselves that it's only temporary, and it was. But now, so many of the uglier things don't seem temporary ... Instead they feel like part of a slippery slope into a steeper downward slide. But gotta keep holding onto that little piece of rail on the side and trying to inch ourselves back up ... 'Cause, really, what the hell else are we all gonna do? Tomorrow's a brand new day. Keep on saying it. Keep on believing it.

Top Secret Tile Mission

Alex knows how to get what she wants ... from Polly Pockets and piercings to acting roles ranging from rave dancer to Eleanor Roosevelt. Now she will conquer the world of marine biology, and then the big time --- That's right. One day she will own that smooth machine known as the DC15 Dyson Ball ... That's Dyson as in Dyson. James Dyson ... Mr. Vacuum. She could convince you that your life really isn't complete without a Dyson ....

Alex was hiding under the sink at Dough Boys for a few days last week before being found by another of Dyson's converts .... I didn't take a photo of this tile, either because I forgot ... or because it was part of some kind of Top Secret mission that had something to do with Dyson ... James Dyson. But a photo was later taken and sent to me.
....

Anyway, this tile has now been transported to another state, where it is awaiting proper placement, and that's all I can say about that at this time.

Gang of 3

Sick of hearing about crime, Lori, Meg and Rita started a gang of their own. They wanted to take back the streets and feel safe again walking after dark. Together, they felt brave and one night after much walking and a few drinks they got downright giddy and decided to write their gang name under the Andrews Avenue Bridge in nail polish. They were all laughing hysterically as Meg wrote "New River Ladies" on the concrete, but then a cop approached and the trio knew they were in trouble from the way he said "Good evening ladies." Meg was scared and thought she might actually get arrested but the cop let her off with a stern warning. As he walked off, Meg saw him shaking his head and heard him laughing to himself. She was pretty sure the New River Ladies' antics would be discussed at some local diner that night.

Dropped the New River Ladies along the New River on a bench east of the Andrews Avenue Bridge out there by the water near some weird little building ... across from the Downtowner. I think I forgot to put the sticker that has this Web site on it ... so they'd have to Google to even find this post.

Em Believes

Em believes in the seemingly magical powers of flowers. She thinks that if she believes in her plants, they'll flourish and bloom, and I kinda agree.

I remember when I was younger people discussed the concept of talking to plants to get them to grow and thrive. I also remember that other people thought those people were just crazy. What I didn't know until more recently is that all of that was happening around the time a book called The Secret Life of Plants was released about polygraph expert Cleve Backster's experiments with plants. Basically, he attached polygraph equipment to plants and through a series of experiments, surmised that plants "perceive" human emotions and respond accordingly. While his findings have been discounted by some, it makes for fascinating reading and I'm not convinced there isn't something to this.

I mean, when you read how plants know which ants will steal their nectar and close up when those ants are around ... or how some plants will grasp at a fly ... or change in some way to attract insects they need to survive ... The more I read, the more logical it all seems to me that plants are in tune with each other and anything or anyone that becomes a threat -- and that they'll do whatever it takes to try to survive.

Case in point: I've been thinking a lot about my yard lately, in a nice way, and everything that can bloom is blooming. I had these two huge plants, actually they're more like bushes, I guess, that get these incredible yellow blooms (I'll insert the name later). One blew down in a storm last month and I had to uproot it and carry it to the curb. The other was looking ragged even before the storm, as usually happens with these after awhile. They drop all their seeds and then at some point, begin the downhill slide and more new ones come up.

I was thinking that I should uproot that remaining one too, and drag it to the curb. I actually never even planted it in that spot ... It just popped up there, right in the middle of the yard. But about the time I was thinking of pulling it out by the roots one part of it started blooming like crazy and growing toward the window of my little dining nook at a faster pace than normal. It's as if the part with the flowers is trying to reach my favorite window and show me its gorgeous blooms .... So I'm gonna keep it around. The idea that this plants are trying to show me what they're capable of may seem like craziness to some ... but it's been awhile since anyone's accused me of being normal.

I'm including pics here (upper left) of the side of the plant that's blooming towards my window, as well as a shot below that was taken from the backside that I don't see quite as much (not so many blooms).

Meanwhile, after a very long walk by the river tonight, I dropped Em on a bridge at Southeast 9th Avenue and Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale .... I put her there a few hours ago, but then I got caught up in reading about plants, gearing up for morning, and looking at DragonFly Garden, a local gardening blog that inspires me.


And this last pic is a very cool insect I plan to investigate. They're in my yard around these flowers a lot. It's like a big green fly/beetle-type thing that seems to have hummingbird-like capabilities. It's a metalic greenish blue and goes from one flower to the next ... it goes inside those little holes in the flowers and disappears for awhile and then comes back out, but while it's scoping out the flower, it just hovers mid-air. That's what it was doing when I took this pic. It took much hanging around to get this shot.

It's only in posting these pics that I have begun to see what a little jungle my yard really is ... but I do love my little jungle. It makes me happy.

Trouble With Sixes

Sixes Jones a.k.a. Pop-O-Matic plays a mean game of Trouble. There isn't a man, woman or child in the whole state of Florida who can beat Pop-O-Matic. That man is made of sixes, and he's been known to take his guys all the way home, before anyone else can even pop that first six to get out of the gate. Of course, since he always wins he gets to choose what color he wants to be. Yellow. Always yellow. Yellow and sixes. That's what Pop-O-Matic is all about. Some say he looks a little mean, but he's not really. He's just very serious about the game of Trouble and has to focus really hard to keep those sixes coming.

Dropped Sixes over at Tropical Smoothies Cafe in the Harbor Shops at 1800 Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale, which is the perfect places for him because Sixes is smooth. Sixes is now hiding behind a trash receptacle in the ladies room. While I was over that way, I noticed that Camille's Sidewalk Cafe was closed, which they apparently usually are on Saturdays ... but a closer look revealed big bright pink stickers on each door that said Federal Bankruptcy Court. Another places that sold wraps is now vacant as well. And I'm still mourning the loss of Moondoggies which had, in my opinion, some of the best coffee in town for the best prices and was just a great place all around.

Glenda's Guilt

Glenda recalled feeling angry when she read about some Palm Beacher who spent $180,000 on some ridiculously unnecessary thing when so many people couldn't even buy food or gas to get to work. But a few days later, as she sipped from her $7 restaurant glass of pinot noir about an hour after driving past yet another worn-down looking person with a Will Work for Food sign, Glenda was forced to reconsider her own values.

Dropped Glenda on a park bench in a tiny little park at Rio Vista and SE 9th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale after hearing the most amazing impromptu jam session at a house party ever ... It was my first time hearing a harmonium ... ever. I could go on, but I'm sleepy ... so I won't, except to say that a good time was had by all .. and fried pumpkin leaves from a garden are among the tastiest treats I have ever experienced.