Up, Down, Sad, Happy, Good, Bad

When I first moved to Florida twenty-five years ago, one of the local newspapers gave away free papers on any day the sun didn’t shine. I don’t know if that is still their policy, but I learned very soon that this truly is the Sunshine State.

Ichneumon

Random Thought

Family Gratitude

Who wouldn’t want to spend Thanksgiving week doing this?

A Sea of Gulls

Weather Words Impromptu

Cold? Really? You’ve got to be kidding me.

My Puzzle Piece

Have you ever felt out of place, like a puzzle piece in the wrong picture? That’s how I have felt since the year 1988. That was the year my husband and I moved from the Chicago suburbs to Florida.

A park in the center of the town where I grew up.

Cocoon of Cool

by Lori (L. Virelli)

Infestation

by Lori (L. Virelli)

Horrendous Beauty

by Lori (L. Virelli)

Rockin’ in Paradise

Those of you who have read me before, know that I’m a rocker chick. A rocker chick without any tattoos, and who doesn’t go after the rock boys (at least not in a few decades).

Rock music has got me in a strangle hold, baby, and I’m going to keep on lovin’ it because this weekend I was rockin’ in paradise. In case you didn’t recognize that sentence, there are three different song titles in it from three different bands.

Views from a Morning Walk

I took a camera with me on my morning walk with the dog. (The date of this post was when I lived in Florida, so the scenes are from my neighborhood where I lived there.)

The sun is coming up on a quaint little front yard setting.

Below is something we commonly see on trees here.

The Difference a Year Makes

Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Hot  was the name of my blog post one year ago. The first weekend in March, 2012 I went to the yearly Florida Art Festival in town and …whooo-wheee, was it ever hot.

Max (the dog), my husband and I went again this year, and brrrrrrr, was it ever cold. I’m from Chicago, so yes, I know cold weather.

For the day’s festivities I wore jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater over the shirt, and a heavy cardigan sweater over that sweater. I thought it would be enough for a cooler Florida day. It wasn’t. A whipping, icy wind came over the river, and I questioned if I’d traveled all the way back to Chicago.

You can click here to read about how hot it was last year. Photos of the river are posted there too.

To compare, below are photos of the patrons from each year. You may need to click on it to see the clothes better.

Don’t Blame it on Fifty Shades

Since I do not have any photos to match this particular tale I have tell, I’ve thrown in a few sunny Florida pics to warm up you northerners as you read along.

So, reading and writing erotica is all the rage. I’d like to blame it on Fifty Shades of Gray, but sex has always been a big seller. The porn industry seems to do pretty well. Of course, I wouldn’t know. I’m an old-fashioned, all-American, girl with a tinge of loudmouth-Italian-attitude around the edges. In one of my earliest blog posts, I wrote about being labeled the goody-goody in my circle. While I enjoy a good dirty joke, writing a serious, detailed sex scene is something I struggle with as an author.

2nd Annual Scenes from a Valentine’s Day non-Date

A State Fair, Valentine Pretzel Delight, by the Amish Baking Company.

Here’s the link to the blog post of the 1^st annual scenes from a Valentine’s Day non-date. 

Look, Up in the Sky

(for use of photo, please attribute to Lori and this website)

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no … it’s Super Dragonfly!

No wait, it’s a hover craft and it’s scanning out my yard. Check out the craft’s copper body and golden wings (below).

Okay, so I’m a Freak

Isn’t it supposed to be cold outside right now? That’s why I’m a freak, because I expect it to be cold in January. Not only that, I want it to be cold.

For those of you who haven’t read my memoirs yet, I’m from Chicago but live in Florida.