Gripes, Gotchas--And Then Some...

PC gremlins are haunting my HP.
The whatzit kind that materializes seemingly,
for no material reason! I’m thinking it could be
one of several reasons: PSU failure, the fan, or
dust bunnies running around inside the case.

The pc freezes while online, goes to a black screen.
No apparent viruses present. The monitor screen will
occasionally display gray and white diagonal lines.
Coming to grips with this annoying problem is turning
my hair grayer and whiter!

Last night on the news, I was very disturbed--
not that I’m not in that present frame of mine
with my pc problems!

Some dingbat official decided that Naples’ Muscovy
ducks should be eliminated. They are being 'humanely'
euthanized. My mouth fell open at the ludicrous suggestion
that these cute “citizens” which roam our lakes and parks,
are nuisances and highly dangerous creatures!
Let me say that there are far more two-footed “dangers”
we should be concerned with, particularly those who
cell-talk and drive.

I’ve never been so aggravated.
Now, I can understand why Cruzer, our neighborhood
Muscovy, has been lying low for a few days.
I sure hope she’s got the “spring fling thing” and hasn't
been captured.

Love is in the air in the bug and bird world.
Luv-bugs are enjoying marathon sessions, mid-air--amazing!
Female birds are playing hard to get--their antics are
quite amusing, and keeps my mind off Cruzer’s absence.

Tom is in a chopping mood. Our poor palm trees out
front have been topped-- glad he didn’t become a barber…
The wasps are building condos in our hot garage.
They’re zeroing in on the holes in the garage doors.

Tom is forever swatting them--he’s been stung
once already. Yes, it’s another hot day in paradise,
and my day is planned around a trip to the Byte Shop
for advice, and a dip in the pool.
I’m not going to think about pests, gremlins, or house cleaning.
Just floating around the pool…

Deep Fried

The humor quadrant of my brain is slightly
exhausted from my last blog:
http://gulfgal-nancysworld.blogspot.com/2010/02/hey-mister-your.html
My brother Michael thought my friend’s wake up
remedy was ‘out in left field’--[something’ sure was]!
Mike feels someone should have jostled the man awake.

Jostle? Wiggle? Hmmm..no way, given the bulk,
height and grumpy ratio of the man.
He ought to be glad I didn’t alert Eye-Witness News…

Speaking of things that sort of pop into one’s
line of sight, I have to say I haven’t received
any error messages, exceptions, or HD failures
for at least a year. I’m talking pc problems here…
What a segue…

Don’t you love getting strange, cryptic messages
across a black or blue screen? An exception at
Oe71312 in doppelgangerWz67x.3oe62has occurred.
No kidding? Is there a fast-ball remedy for it?
[you have to have read the previous blog to get my drift].

Like I know what the heck that message refers to,
or what to do with it. I bet a caveman would
know its meaning…
The origin is not of this planet--I think space aliens
in human form are working in the pc labs…

Too bad there isn’t some device that can warn
you of the kind of day one is going to have:
Cryptic, in-your-face, whatever.
I can always count on one thing, at least: Cruiser,
our stomach-with-a-neck resident duck…

Fitness Flapper

I threw out the last of the holiday eggnog.
Sad. I really enjoy the few weeks from
Thanksgiving to New Year's when eggnog
is almost flying off the shelves--luckily,
a few flew to my house.

Now, I have to admit, I can see a little
bit of “eggnog” thighs…
I wasn’t able to exercise to the extent
I’ve wanted to--one excuse being, my eye
surgeon wanted me to take it easy for awhile.

Well, the ‘awhile’ has passed, and I’m
forcing myself to our clubhouse fitness room.
I can't stick my head in the sand any longer...

It’s tough to get rolling--it’s easier to stay
home and roll out pie dough!
But, after assessing the slight under arm
droop too, I’m hauling butt over to the
fitness room, despite the frigid cold walk.

The machines I like to use are open, waiting
for me to decide which weight level to choose.
Let’s see…how about a 20# ? Naw...
I slide the selector into the 40# slot to start.
But wait--I have to warm up!

So, I’m rotating my arms like airplane props,
just as a hulking Hulk walks in--and just
about gets popped by my twirling arms.
It’s him or me, so I eyeball him, slowly
blocking his way, moving backward, then
do a quick launch to my favorite machine.

After a few minutes of several reps, I leave
it to go use the butterfly machine, which
he has set to almost 200#’s. Good grief!
And I had the nerve, the sheer audacity, to
look into his steel gray eyes, short of intimidation?

I adjust the weight level to 40#’s, and finish
after 5 sets . My arms are burning.
I figure in a couple of weeks, I’ll have my
arms and legs back in shape.

Cruiser, our resident duck, has been getting
more exercise than me, doing her laps around
the house, hoping that someone will take notice,
grab the bread, and toss her a few crumpled pieces.

The other day Cruiser flew up to the computer
room window, flapping for Paul’s attention.
I wonder if flapping my arms will work,
and someone will toss me a powdered donut…

Snort, Snort--Guess Who?!

New Years Eve brought us a wonderful,
butt-wagging, foot-flapping surprise:
Cruiser, our resident duck, came waddling
back to our yard. Surprise of surprises!

With Paul running to the kitchen to grab
some multi grain bread, Mama Cruiser, who
is leaner, began snorting, wiggling her way
past the screen door.

She was as excited to see us as we were
to see her-- at least 3 months have passed
since her last visit. What better New Year’s
than to have Ol’ Snorty back in our lives.

Funny how much we missed feather-butt
and her almost daily visits.
I was sure that my scolding had sent her
off into a huff when she had voraciously
grabbed the bread from my hand, as well
as my finger.

My New Year’s resolution--at least one?
Cruiser, I promise not to quack at you!

Gobble This!

The holidays are fast upon us, and with
that, all the planning--like what should
I fix this Thanksgiving and Christmas?

I have the holiday cooking magazines
filled with pages of gorgeous tables laden
with delicious food.

I always have the best intentions of
baking some of the mouth-watering
confections, or serving something
other than turkey, like a Leg of Lamb,
which is often hard to find in my market.

I could probably get away with
Leg of Bunny or Roasted Armadillo--easy
to find around our neck of the woods.

Speaking of neck, Cruiser hasn’t waddled
into our yard for almost 3 weeks.
Maybe I ruffled its feathers by lessening
its tortilla chip or bread handouts…

Sure miss the fat and feathered old guy--or gal.
Hmm, I wonder…

Ducking Out....

Paul and I are attempting to train Cruiser,
resident duck, to ‘do its thing’ on the grass.
Cruiser’s favorite spot is right behind Paul’s
truck--specifically under it.

We chase her from the garage with a push broom.
She snorts at us as she's flapping off...
It would be nice if said pooper would help
with fertilizing the lawn.
It’s the least the mooching duck could do.
She leaves her molting feathers everywhere.

Paul would love to train Cruiser to mow the lawn.
It’s a tough job on these hot, 97 degree days.
Rain makes the lawn grows twice as long, and fast--
mowing it almost twice every nine days is a nightmare.
Weeds poke through and defy any treatment we use.

I’m thinking about getting a goat…

Ducking The Storm...

Recently, we had the mother of all storms.
Lightning hit all around the area with deafening
cracks of thunder.

Our resident duck, Cruiser, wet and bedraggled,
had just made its third pass around the house,
hoping to beg Paul or me for a tortilla chip
or bread handout.

The noisiest crack sounded overhead, sending
Cruiser running like its tail feathers were on fire.
Cruiser! Fly duck, fly!

The storm dumped 2” of rain in 30 minutes--
Cruiser's contribution, 3 clumps…
Water on the lanai came almost up to the
sliding doors, before finally seeping through
the drain channels on the decking.
The rain lessened, but the boomers were still
making me jump.

Cruiser came back a few days later, its
butt-waddling, bobbing-headed self cruising
by the computer room window.
She caught sight of me and picked up her
webbed feet, swaggering to the front door.

This weekend is promising a tropical wave, due
to sweep Florida’s east coast over to Naples.
I better clue Cruiser in…

Just Ducky...

We now own a duck.
Not by choice--he picked us.
I first saw"Cruiser", AKA "Baby Huey", cross
the street. Feet slapping the pavement, the
duck waddled purposefully in our direction, and
made himself at home in the garage, behind
Paul's truck-- flopping himself down like
he owned the place.

I tried chasing Cruiser to the lawn, hoping he'd go
back where he'd come from.
We chased each other in circles--all the while,
Cruiser emanating snorts of displeasure, and
trail markers. I gave up and went back into the house.
Sitting at my desk, I caught sight of something bobbing
along the window--Cruiser was heading to the back yard.

By now, Cruiser had elicited attention from Paul, who had
already developed an attachment to the hapless duck.
Paul set out a bowl of cold water since the heat index
was already 105.
Cruiser lapped the bowl until the water was gone.

So now, the duck has adopted us.
Cruiser is programmed to appear in the morning, afternoon,
and often, in the evening.
Paul's discovered Cruiser likes unsalted tortilla chips.
Cruiser won't win any beauty contests, but he's won this game.