I couldn't believe my eyes

There used to be a page called Our Own Oddities in our newspaper. Readers would send in stories about strange coincidences, or odd occurrences. I think this may qualify as an oddity.

We were driving down the highway when a truck with Texas plates whizzed by. I noticed something on the dash. I thought it was one of those bobble head chihauhaus, and it made me snicker.

We stopped at a gas station and there was the same truck at the pump next to us. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a REAL chihauhau sitting on the dash, so I had to snap a picture. She looks much larger here because it is a zoomed in, close up photograph.

Anything strange ever happened to you?

Our great escape

Things aren't always as they seem. I thought a spaceship had landed on this rooftop, but actually discovered it was someone's guest house. Can you imagine?

This summer was so brutally hot, all of our evergreen bushes burnt and the garden withered. Hubby and I wanted to run away, escape and leave all of our worries and cares behind.

Did you ever feel like acting on impulse? Not tell anyone where you are going or that you are even gone? Well we did just that.

I surprised him for his milestone birthday. We spent a week in the "Redneck Riviera" (Panama City Beach) and felt like two sneaky kids.

We both agree that this has been one of our best vacations ever. We laughed so much and enjoyed going to the movies, jumping ocean waves and swimming in the pool.

But it was the walks in the sugar white sand that made me happiest and drew us closer. Those strolls will satisfy my yearning until next year and our wonderful memories will linger. This photo was taken at daybreak in Navarre, Florida (pronounced nah-var), on a pristine, isolated narrow strip of beach where one can walk for miles and be one with the elements. It is my idea of paradise on earth.

Now it is back to reality, and school soon. I will catch up on visiting blogs this weekend. I missed reading your blogs, but it was nice to disconnect for a week.

Lesson from the birds

We just watched a sparrow fly right at our feet and call her baby. She showed the timid little thing how to take a bite of bread from large chunk, but the fledgling tried and tried pecking at the hard crust. The piece was too big. The mama refused to feed the little one but she demonstrated. Then she whisteled encouragement and the little one took dainty little bites and ate till it was full.

That's how I am sometimes, in a hurry. I want the whole thing, don't want to wait, and in my haste I sometimes bite off more than I can chew.

When I was a very little girl I used to call the birds. My dad told me I could catch one if I got close enough to sprinkle Morton salt from the salt box on its tail. My childhood was a great big fantasy ... Monkeys and birds.

This smart phone is making me feel dumb. Although not as dumb as my friend's mom who was I'll. He left his phone on her table and told her he had to run home but

would call her from his home phone as soon as he got there. He called repeatedly but got no response He darted back thinking the worse. There she sat at the table. He asked her why she didn't answer the phone when it rang. She looked confused. "It never rang once. It kept playing the same song over and over."

I just saw a pod, an entire pod... And I am so excited. Can I prove it ? No because my camera lens is fogged. Ahhhrg!

A letter from Nana

I was rummaging through a box of my old writings and came upon this. I wrote it twenty-two years ago when my first grandchild was almost a year old. I am overcome with emotion and nostalgia. I  think I need to go sink my toes in the sand and add a tear or two to the salty ocean.  

To Nana's girl,

Kissed by the ocean breeze, the sun bids goodnight to the moon as sea foam tickles my toes, and my bare feet sink in the sand. How I wish you were here. I yearn to nuzzle your peach fuzz hair. I ache to cradle you in my arms. I need to whisper sweet nothings in your ear. My first grandbaby, I am consumed with love for you.

I imagine you padding across the wet sand beside me, traipsing across the beach, leaving fat little baby footprints as your squeals blend with those of the gulls. You will leave your footprints behind you as you travel through life. Sometimes it will seem like you're creeping, getting nowhere; other times life will seem to be a race.

Whether you are walking or running, remember to hold on to your dreams, firmly to your beliefs, and gently to God's hand. Trod confidently, but tromp lightly, because feelings hurt easily and the impressions you leave behind will not be washed away like footprints in the sand.

Love,
Nana

Been there, done that!

Yay! It is lightning, thundering, raining...we're having a real "electrical storm" as my mom used to call them.

Friends, Pat and Phil are retired. They ride a motorcycle and sometimes have ridden it to visit their
son in Colorado and daughter in Michigan. He's a musician with his own band and she's an accomplished artist. They've added a dog to their empty nest, so now they're hankering for a small camper for when they travel. I know that yearning. Our two campers served us for many years. Now, although I enjoy being out in nature, I prefer a motel at night.

We tented when the kids were small. One night a terrible thunderstorm with tornadic winds kicked up at the campground bending and twisting trees, lifting the tent, scaring me something awful. The lightning was frightening, and I insisted we go into town for dinner. What I really wanted was four solid walls. We huddled in an overcrowded fast food restaurant. I waited at the counter for our order, rootbeers in frosty mugs, salty fries and cheeseburgers. Every thunder boomer sacred the gee whiz out of me. I tried to stay calm for the kids' sake. As I waited in line, I sipped from the frosty mug on the tray. I sampled a french fry. I looked at the black clouds. I nibbled another fry. I sipped again when the lightning sizzled and sliced the darkness. The man standing next to me asked if I was nervous. "Yes!" I admitted.

"I thought so," he said and smiled politely. "That's my order you're eating and drinking."

Oh, if only we'd had a solid-sided camper back then for me to crawl into. I'd probably never have left the campground. Maybe.