One thing cool & two things unexpected

Thursday I was in a head shop. Hadn't been in one of them for 27 or 28 years. They have not really changed a lot, actually. It was a trip (no pun intended) in the way back machine to High School Ed. We had stopped at a Thai resturant I had wanted to try and it shared a building with the head shop. So, no longer being in the navy and subject to guilt by association, me and the wife wandered in.

Today was a pretty good day. It all started last night when we sat around outside with a few neighbors drinking and talking around the fire. It is just so comfortable.

Then I got up and watched all the basketball games I recorded while we were sitting around the fire. I was pretty happy with the result, so I recorded the games today to watch tomorrow morning.

Next I took the wife out to Pinellas Park (for all intents and purposes, think St. Petersburg) to the Wagon Wheel Flea Market. We had some tax return money in our pockets and it was a nice day, so we hopped in her little sports car, popped open the sun roof, and took the long route via Bayshore Blvd and the Gandy Bridge. After buying a couple of knock-off Louis Vitton & Chanel handbags my wife told me she no longer needed to go to New York with me if I went. I thought she wanted to see the lights, the bustle, the heartbeat of America's great city. Seems that's the only place she knew for sure had a Chinatown, and Chinatown is where she knew she could get good knockoff bags. But hell, since they've got 'em at a flea market next to a Florida swamp, who needs NY?

After the flea market, I went looking for someplace to eat. Turned out to be right next to the flea market. It was called The Cajun Cafe on the Bayou and it was awesome. Felt like I was back on the Louisiana Gulf Coast. I had jambaya and Noriko had boiled crawfish. We were stoked.

Yesterday we also went to the animal shelter and got us a new puppy, or as Noriko tells Bella dog, "We went to got you a baby brother." A sheperd mix. Cute as all get out. We will pick him up Tues or Wed, after the vet gets done "fixing" him. Pictures will, of course, follow.

Some recent photography (Better if you expand 'em, but go ahead and look at them how you want to):

Chicago, viewed from the 6th floor of the parking garage at Midway Airport. It was pretty cold with the wind blowing, but during the wind ebbs (my term) it was fairly pleasant.

Regular people like me NEVER, ever get the non-handicapped spot right next to the elevator in long term parking. I had to stop everything and dig out my camera. There had to be proof of the occurance. See, my Pontiac. My luggage. And what else? The elevator, that's what!

I snapped this because most of us believed this to be a myth and did not believe it existed. Ponder it a while. You'll find the reason, if you have not already snapped it off, below. (I can be seen in the chrome if you expand it out.)

Not much going on. Bunch of curtian hanging, floor cleaning, and yard work going on. Yep, yawn city.

Anyway, further explaination on the last photograph. Sarasota is just south of here, so it's in Florida. That's an Illinois plate on that car. Folks around here would not believe some wild and implausable story about a Yankee moving back home without some kind of proof. So it is proof that I provide.

Coexist y'all, out

Ramblin' Ed