#9 Cocoa Beach, Hookers and Pink Flamingos.....

Last week after work at the Kitchen I met a friend from back home and we went to the Pier for lunch, Our parking fee allowed us to go to the end of the pier to see the fishing folk. You could rent a rod etc. for $20 for 4 hours. Fishers but no fish!!!

Quite the contrast to our Playalinda Beach here in Titusville. A great place if you like the hustle and bustle and tourist scene. I couldn't believe the brave souls who were in the ocean!!!!! It was not a hot day but they were having a wonderful time.

I could do a blog just on the signs I see in our travels. Some make me smile more than others. This one made me go, "Yeah!!!!"

What a wonderful picture!!!! What a gorgeous bird. It was so kind to pose so well for me!!!

The surfers had it right wearing wet suits.

On Thursday after the kitchen, I went to this amazing quilt store to take a lesson on hooking. Rugs that is!!! The instructor started the class by saying, "Today is not going to be fun." I thought to myself, "What the heck am I doing here!?!?!?!?" It was very interesting and now I intend on making lots of rugs instead of my constant flow of scarves. Scarves, any colour, $10 each!!!!

Todd arrived on Friday for 10 days and in preparation we got him this box of beer. Thinking it would be fun for him to try the different kinds. Upon arrival he announced, "I've tried all of these." Oh, well......

Last week we saw The Boy Next Door, one scary movie!!!!,  and this week we say 50 Shades of Grey. It was probably an improvement on the first book. Someone had taken the red pen to it and took out all of the tedious repetition. I thought the Christian Grey was going to be way hotter. He had cold dark eyes!!!! He is a man haunted by his past. Psychologically he is very sick and I don't mean because of his sexual preferences. We haven't started making any plans for remodeling our bedroom. I will let you know if we do...... I predict that next Valentine's Day their will be a sequel.

Aren't these armadillos just the cutest things!!!!!

Or, "Welcome to our friendly, caring hospital!!!!!"

One of our kids is making their living room into a beach scene. I'm going to buy these two birds to send home for either end of the couch!!!!

#8 Blimps, Fires, Mardi Gras and a Quilt Show!!!

You just never know what is going to be floating past your penthouse!!!!

Friday past was Fat Friday and Mardi Gras in downtown Titusville. We are close enough to walk to the downtown area which is actually one city block long. Titusville is a long narrow city. We are in the north end. It was a bitterly cold evening and therefore not well attended. This band was set up in one of the parking lots and they were really good.

This was one way to keep warm!!! This man moved like a ballarina.

Past our balcony!!!

Oh no!!! The rocket making building is on fire!!!

I went to Mardi Gras to get beads and got a hat too!!!!

Here I am ready to head of to the hospital this morning for my first shift as the Courier Dispatch person. It was great. I learnt the computer stuff and the phone stuff and didn't loose anyone!!!

This is one of those days when Blogspot is out to get all of its writers!!! Obviously this picture showing the building was originally put in before the last fire picture.

This past weekend was the Space Coast Quilters quilt show. It was fantastic. There were so many gorgeous quilts and I am showing you just a few.

Again this is a Blogger trick. Please look at these pictures from here down. This is a rocket decending!!!!! This was scrubbed twice and then finally took off. It was at 6:03 p.m. so it was great not to get up during the night and we could actually see the rocket behind the big ball of fire!!!

I will interpret this for you. What they really mean is, "Ya'll are welcome any time!!!!" Sometimes this place can be just real scary!!!!!!!!!!!!! God Bless Snowbirds

#7 Estate Sale and Kitchen News...

I got to the Kitchen really early last Thursday only to be stopped for 10 minutes just before the building due to this gravel carrying train stopping my progress.

My job that day was to slice up chicken breasts. A large white bin of chicken breasts. This is my THIRD pair of gloves that I wore during the process!!!! Then I had to pain stakingly go through all of the cubes of chicken looking for little tiny peaces of blue plastic!!! All those cuts and no blood!!! It was a good day.

I actually got called back in on Friday as one of the coolers had a problem over night and they had a big catering event on Saturday and needed another 300 pounds of potatoes prepared for potato salad as the first batch had gone bad. I did  a case of celery, 50 lbs. of onions, about 100 pounds of potatoes and chopped up onions for hamburger topping. All in two and a half hours!!!! Great fun!!!

We have discovered the Satellite Movie Theatre in Titusville. Our first movie was American Sniper. I found it a little strange to be sitting in the theatre surrounded by primarily men wearing their forces hat's and jackets watching this movie. It is a movie that does not glorify war. It shows the horror, savagery and PTSD associated with those who engage in war in graphic detail. When the movie finished, there was very little applause and I was busy mopping up like many others.

Next was The Imitation Game. Ray liked the intricate machinery involved and I was quite fascinated and amazed at the restrictive laws in Britain during the 50s and 60s. I want to find out more about our Canadian laws regarding homosexuality and when they were changed. This is a good movie.

We finally made it back to the beach on Sunday. What a lovely day!!! I picked up quite a few shells for a future project and managed to get soaking wet doing it!!! It was only our second time to the beach. It has just been too cool. This weekend the overnight low is going to be just over zero. Oh, no sympathy!?!?!?

These two lovely vultures were enjoying their day at the beach too.

Early on late Sunday afternoon the lookers started arriving next door for the launch. There were many more than this at 6:00 p.m. just before the scheduled time of take off. We got down to the last seconds and again it was launchus interuptus. They were rescheduled for last night but it was foggy, rainy and even some thunder and lightening. We are set for tonight at 6:05 p.m. Can hardly wait!!! This is beginning to be a bit like going through Europe and looking at suits of armour. If you've seen one, you've seen them all!!! But I maybe able to get a good pic which is more than a bright light.

This weekend we had an estate sale just around the corner. It was an antique store that had accumulated a building full of stock waiting to be put on display in the actual store. Oh my, what fun!!! I bought a few things on Friday and then went back on Sunday figuring the really good deals would happen and sure enough everything I wanted was half price. I will be selling my jams, scarves, and antiquey things on Fridays at the Information Centre at Fern Glen Road and hwy.11 from 10-2:00. I have this fabulous 12 piece setting of Rogers silver plate along with all the extra pieces from 1965. Ray found it on line for over a thousand dollars but you and I can make a really good deal!!!!!

#6 Finally a Warm Day!!!

I'm sure some of you have wanted to know exactly what I've been doing in the Kitchen so here are a few of the jobs I've had. Above is the conveyor belt that I put the full trays of food onto that are then covered with plastic on the right of the machine. It moves at such a clip and if food is slopped onto the side of the trays I have to wipe it off with my gloved fingers so the film will stick.

When the chef asked me to do onions, I was a little surprised to then be given a 50 pound bag of onions!!!! Everything is on such a huge scale. These peeled onions when into a huge white tote.

Each tray here has 40 cups on it. I like filling the trays. No brainer!!!

Next, the cups can be filled with grapes, fresh fruit cocktail, coleslaw or here with the toppings for hamburgers. There is a group of DC young people who come in every morning to help and on this day they put the lettuce in the cups. I added tomato slices and another volunteer added onion bits.

These cups are then sealed in this little conveyor belt. As fast as we filled the trays, they were whisked away and put through the machine. There is lots of team work here which is nice to see and to be a part of.

Last week another woman and myself had to open all of these cardboard boxes. Take out the packs of pineapple and coconut fruit cups and dump them into these big white totes. The actual line of the 2000 meals we do takes just over an hour but I do other jobs before and after.

I pass this structure every day I go to the kitchen and honestly have no idea what it is but if you use your imagination isn't it the biggest _____ you have ever seen???

It takes me about 40 minutes to get to the Kitchen but this new job I have is only about 10 minutes away. This is the local hospital built in 2002. Very fancy schmantzy!!!!! It has been an interesting journey to finally get accepted as an Auxiliary Member. I had to fill out 6 pages of an application, a TB test, police check, phone interview, personal interview, written test and finally next week a day of orientation!!!! Plus $5 to join and $20 for the lovely smock!!!! It is a bit heavy on the rules which as you know don't always go over well with me but I'm willing to give it a shot. I will do a 4 hour shift each week. One week I will be the Courier Dispatch dispatcher using my phone and computer skills. The next week I will on the front desk greeting people as they come into the hospital and generally telling them where to go!!!! I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Last week we went to the eastern ourskirts of Orlando to get the man a new golfing glove as the old one was in very bad repair. It was falling apart!!!! He wore it once and the stitching came undone so today we were back to Dick"s. Dicked around by Dick's.

In January, I bought a fridge magnet that says "I Walked the Bridge" and said I would walk the bridge in February. Yesterday being the first of February was the day to do the deed. All the times I have driven over the bridge, I've never noticed that it has a curve on it. Hope it started that way!!!

Here's the man heading out ahead. Foreshadowing of events to follow!!!

I stopped along the way and took lots of pictures as it was an excuse to rest!!! This is our complex from the back. The solid white balconies are folks who aren't here right now. Our unit is in the farthest building to the left at the top.

Finally over the summit and on the downside!!!!

At the bottom of the bridge she crawled over to this picnic table and announced, "I'm not going to walk back!!!" To which he replied, "What are you going to do?" "Sit here until someone comes back with the car to take me home." It only took him about 30 minutes to come back!!!

Another bird depressed by the cool weather!!!

Christmas is on the way to Orlando from Titusville.

These lawn signs are popping up all over the area. You can write your own caption and let me know what it is!!!///