Laid back days

...and then a visit to the dentist, again. Poor Mom lost another tooth - and, once again, no tooth fairy knocked at the door. Drats. Since we're in comfort care mode, I made her lamb chops and gave her the bone. Bad move. Very bad move. So, off to the dentist we tottled to get the root pulled. She was quite the trooper but did request that I remain in the room with her - ugh. For those of you who don't know me well, I'm really not a fan of blood - ever. The extraction wasn't too bad as Dr. Chan is the best dentist in the Washington area. And, he worked us into his busy schedule the day I called. Gotta love that some people still give the elderly the right of way. Speaking of which, here's an article I wrote about how Americans treat the elderly:

American attitudes toward the elderly

We're working our way through some type of dog flu over here which is fairly disastrous to my area rugs. For some reason that totally escapes me, the dogs insist on vomiting on carpet. Now, my entire house is hardwood - you'd almost have to aim to hit a rug but little Matee hit 3 today. Rita ended up at the vet with IV fluids on Monday - there goes my bank account! Eh, they're all worth it. I've got my eye on Gizmo now though as by my estimation, she's next on the flu train. Rita was the sickest of the bunch and spent a lot of time in Mom's arms sleeping. It's so wonderful to me when Mom really kicks back into mothering mode. And, when anyone is sick or hurting (my back is killing me today), she's the first one with suggestions about what to do. The wonderful woman wanted to rub my back with ben gay today (no thanks!) and, instead, John and I spend 40 minutes in the hot tub with the jets on high. That, coupled with 1/2 a percocet set me straight. Actually, I'm leaning - to the left - which is normal...

I took some great photos of Carina with the dogs recently. Here's a few (say it with me - say it proud - we hate her...)

Best Cuban Coffee on the island!

Blossom's! Pictures are from our walk to and fro which exhausted poor John. I'm now perched by the pool, beer in hand, computer logged in, with a Stephen King book by my side. Quite a nice morning, all in all. John's back down for a nap at the moment. This is a "different" type of Key West than we're used to but, it's still very good. More later after parasailing (I hope). Weather is still iffy.

Loving the new MacBook Air computer. It's so very easy to tote everywhere and much quicker speed than the reviewers show. Of course, I'm working on Island Time so I don't mind a bit of a wait to upload pictures. The battery life is amazing too - 10 hours. We watched youtube videos last night and even have HBO to go on the thing. I'm ready for a rainy day!

Key West Thunderstorm

The picture has absolutely nothing to do about a Key West thunderstorm but it is one of my favorites that I just found again. This pic was taken in the beach house I rented a few years ago - Mom was 93 then! She and Rita were having the best conversation - they were really getting it. Of course, no one else was privy to the gist o the matter but, what mattered the most was that they were so connected. It remains today one of my all time favorite pics.

John and I are in Key West again! Home, sweet home! Unfortunately, the boy is sick with a cold so is under the weather, which, as I type, is a great thunderstorm complete with lightning and driving rain. I'm sitting on the balcony overlooking the pool and sheltered from the brunt of the weather - just where I like to be. We're going parasailing today, provided John's cold and the weather both clear up. Regardless, a great time is being had by all even though the air line left our bag in Atlanta! Yep, we're clothe-less, mostly. The airline accepted full responsibility and gave me carte blanche to go buy whatever we needed for the day, on them. So, 2 very nice bathing suits later (one for each of us), a beautiful sarong and matching headband (for me!), and a boatload of toiletries and we were all set. Mostly. Sure would like to have a new pair of shorts but I think my time limit has worn out as the luggage is due here by noon.

Parasailing should be a great time today - I'll make sure to take the waterproof camera with us and get a bunch of shots. The Sony takes a nice panorama also so that should be fun. Wish us luck!