Friday, August 19, 2011

21, 184 days...


 508,416 hours ago...
30,504,960  minutes ago...
1,830,297,600  seconds ago...
i was born.

i'm 58. today.
so i googled  'i am 58 years old'...and ALL that popped up were things like:

hello, i am 58 years old, i have a cataract in my left eye.
Hi-it was horrible when my sister who is 55 was diagnosed  w/ Alzheimers.
WELCOME. I'm 58 years old also and have approx. 140 lbs. still to lose.
I am 58 and so disappointed on how I am looking these days.
I am 58 years old male. Since the last 15 days I am suffering from burning sensation in the eyes.
 I am 58 years old.  I get very painful leg and foot cramps at night.
I'm a 58 year old muslim man in love with my cousin of 11. What should i do?
 I'm 58 and I have to get up to go several times a night.

and so on and so on...yikes!  
i don't FEEL my age.   well, what am i supposed to feel like at 58?
if all i had to go by...was what i read by googling my age...
uh-oh!

anyway...
usually, every august at this time, sam & i are on vacation...camping...
a road trip somewhere...for about two weeks.
not this year though, because sam started a new job about 3 months ago.

i know...it's the HOTTEST time of the year! 
the mosquitoes are out in full force.

BUT...the campgrounds are usually empty!  
we don't have to worry about not being able to find a spot to stay in.
and if we want to use the campground's facilities to take a shower...
we don't have to wait in line.
the hiking trails are  usually empty too...
with spiderwebs running across the trails...from tree to tree.
who wants to go for a hike when it's a hundred degrees out?
uh...we do.

we started this tradition of camping this time of year
because our anniversary is the 16th, my b-day the 19th and sam's b-day the 21st!

anyway...knowing we wouldn't be able to do our usual august get-away...
i signed up for a continuing education class for my massage license.
Reiki 2.  
not too far a drive from home. over by the beach, near jacksonville, on aug 20th.
so we decided to make a weekend of it.
and instead of camping...we reserved a motel room!
now THAT will be weird.
it's been YEARS since we slept in anyone else's bed!

we're heading over there today, and we'll be home sunday.
it'll be a nice few days away.
OH, what about milo?
she's a cat. she'll enjoy the time alone. she'll sit by the back door
and watch the crows...the squirrels...the lizards...
and MAYBE wish she was out there to give chase...
but on second thought, she doesn't mind just relaxing...
and not getting too overheated!
after all, she does have a litter box...she has food & water...
she has her toys. and it's only for two nights!
(but my mother-in-law insisted on stopping by a couple
of times to check on milo.)

 hopefully i'll get some good pic's this weekend.
i leave you now with a few  in the meantime. 
just some assorted pic's taken over the past couple of weeks.

enjoy.
dragonfly

Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment 
of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.  
~Jim Fiebig
little baby lizard...'anole'.
(we had these little 'chameleons' as kids...they always escaped their tanks...
only to be found weeks later...all dried up...behind the couch...)  :(


 grasshopper youngster on a hibiscus bud!

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.  
~Chili Davis

little Fence Lizard



a hummer...


 a communal gathering of little clouded skippers feeding on a hibiscus flower.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?  
~Satchel Paige

  
a Gulf Fritillary. the underside of their wings looks white. 
but it's an iridescent silver!



these little mushrooms obviously aren't paying any mind to the
weather reports.  they're waiting for a cold spell. they have their sweaters on.


maybe this is why the mushrooms aren't listening to the weather reporters.
if they can't spell PRESSURE...maybe they can't predict the weather correctly!
only the mushrooms know for sure...

have a nice relaxing weekend...
and a safe journey.  enjoy the ride.

laura


want to know how many days, minutes, seconds...you've been around?
want to know where i got the little yin-yang  'flavicon' from?
cool clock widgets like the steam-punk clock on my side bar?
other cool widgets...like weather or music...just about anything u can think of.

36 comments:

  1. ~~~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~~~~LAURA~~~~ : }
    Hope your plans for your little get away are enjoyable.. ; }}

    Your post is full of some funny stuff and some very pretty photos!!
    I have a few years on you and I still feel like a kid at heart!!

    The first shot looks like the dragonfly is doing a hand stand ...
    hope that's how you feeling today!!

    All my best
    Grace
    Ps...now I have the David Bowie song "Under Pressure" in my head!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Birthday, Babe!!!! I hope & know that you and your man, Sam, will have a GREAT time!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  3. THANKS Grammie/Grace & Quiet Corner JP!! :) yes!! this weekend, i'm planning on doing headstands, back bends...somersaults...cartwheels...and maybe even attempt at putting my legs behind my neck like i used to be able to do!
    wait a minute!! i better not PUSH it!!
    BOWIE!! yeah!! always one of my old time favorites!
    thanks for the good wishes! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. loved the 'finds' on googling your age. ha! enjoy your time away, dearie! and happy, happy 59th year ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Birthday Laura, and a Happy Birthday to Sam also... and... Happy Anniversary to you both... what an amazingly full month August is for you...

    Such an interesting variety filled Posting you have done...
    Thanks for the info to calculate one's time span... I estimated mine by multiplying and then using a calculator when my own efforts looked dubious... nice to have a direction to go to receive accuracy.
    Fascinating looking at the quantity of numbers one has lived when not just as years... all those heartbeats and breaths one takes, in essence one's time on Earth really is intricate, involved and meaningful.

    I think I feel sorry for all those Folks you found via google also being 58...
    Didn't any express gladness???

    Well you have a grand time... and thanks for all the different reasons to return and read and look some more while your gone.

    Hugs of love from your friend Magda in Australia... you really are one of the bestest of the best Laura.
    PS... the backbends, somersaults etc... is gymnastics one of your many skills?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pretend you can hear me singing, (in the greatest of voices since you really can't hear me!) lol but Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...happy...birthday....dear Laura, Happy Birthday to you! Have the best birthday ever...enjoy your journey and we should probably never view our age in seconds...wow...they tend to really make us waaaayyyy too hard to believe! Be Happy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. THANKS karen, Texwis and magda...for swinging by...and leaving your good wishes!
    karen, you came through loud and clear...
    and magda...as always...thanks so much for all your kind words!! and YES, i've always been pretty good at all the gymnastics stuff...very limber...double jointed, as they used to say...but now some of those joints seem to crackle & creak a little...especially in my thumbs (massage!) and neck!

    THANKS!! and i'll catch up with everyone at YOUR place early next week...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Have fun and Happy Everything!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy Birthday darling Lady! Have a sun Shiny day! God Bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy, Happy Birthday Laura and to Sam too!! Also, congrats on your Reiki II-I hope you have a excellent time/experience with it!
    meggs.xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy birthday, Laura! I think I've never told you how much I really enjoy looking at the photos you take and reading the stories you write (I guess I wander very silently!) Have a grand weekend! =)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Birthday Laura! :) May you have the bestest, most awesomest 58th b'day. Put Google to shame already! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. what a lovely post - thank you and happy birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  14. have a lovely weekend ..........x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Have a really HAPPY BIRTHDAY Laura [[big bloggie hug]]

    Enjoy your getaway with Sam.

    Loved all the photos too - beautiful as always. You never fail to delight :D)
    Thanks, too, for sharing those links. I've been admiring your yin/yang... now I know what a favicon is!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. may the year ahead hold bountiful blessings for you and yours
    may the weekend away hold memory making moments

    ReplyDelete
  17. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
    I'm a little older than you, and I feel great - and I'm looking forward to some more fantastic pics when you get home...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Birthday to YOU! Don't party too hard ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. happy birthday to u and sam...n a happy anniversary too...hope u guys hv fun...

    ReplyDelete
  20. I will admit I giggled through the first part of the post. Geez...that makes 58 sound so very depressing, but you it sound so very funny. Glad you don't feel your age like those other people seem to! I know I am a tad bit late, but happy birthday!

    My favorite photo of this bunch is the little grasshopper on the hibiscus bud.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hope you're having a great Birthday Laura! I remember last year on your birthday, you wrote a post, and I thought about it last week, just couldn't remember exactly when it was. Deja Vu? It's a good sign you don't know how you're supposed to feel at 58 (such a youngster!). Since you don't feel old, I'd say you're on the right track.

    Love the mushrooms with the fur coats, getting ready, huh? And I saw your favicon-it looks good. I have one, but I don't like it. And if the picture is not exactly square, they won't accept it.

    Have a great weekend and Happy 58th!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Happy 58th Birthday to you, Laura!

    I know what you mean about not feeling your age. I turned 60 in July. Our oldest child is 40. The thing I have the most trouble with is not being 60 but realizing that my child is 40. A few weeks before my birthday, I saw a friend I hadn't seen since the year before. She asked how I was doing and how Paul (our oldest) was. I was about to tell her he'd turned 40 in May, then it hit me. Wow! I told her I think I've been in a 20-year time warp. I must be only 40 myself.

    Great photos, as always. Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  23. thank you thank you thank you!! everybody for all your happy wishes and kind words!! we're over here in jacksonville right now...well, neptune beach actually. had my Reiki II class today...awesome! missed the sunrise...actually slept in! maybe tomorrow morn! headin' home tomorrow...will see you all during the week...at YOUR place!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Happy Birthday Laura! I hope you had a great day and weekend! I loved your photos, especially all the critters.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Happy birthday!
    Loved all the photos...
    I think age is so tied up with our own mindset!

    ReplyDelete
  26. 'Todaaaay's your Biiiirthday.. tananananaaa... I'm glad it's your Biiiirthday.... tananananna.... Happy Birthday to you!!!!'

    A Beatle song, b'day wish for you Laura!!!!!!! :D Many Many Happy returns!! Hope it's a blast! Loads of Wishes for your year ahead!! :):):) oooo the 58-ers of the world don't really seem to be going well :p I'm glad it's not the same for you :) You're more lively than a lot of 20 yr old class mates I know :P HaPpPPppPPPpppY B!rThD@y again Laura! Rock on!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Never feel your age! That's the best thing you can do. EVER! It saves you a lot of agony if you choose a age and allow your mind to think that it is just that old and never a day older.

    Once again, you have the most awesome pictures.

    Hope you enjoy(ed) the trip. And Milo too, of course. Wish I was a cat.

    Thanks for the widgets too: It's amazing what is out there once you start looking. These days you can literally find anything that you might want to put wherever.

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Happy Birthdays, Happy Anniversary! Happy Hurricane?...we are getting ready to batten down the hatches up here! Hope you have a great time!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Happy birthday! I have a big one coming up in a couple of weeks, but I'm still almost a score behind you (not intended to rub it in!).

    Love the grasshopper shot. Easy to forget they have powerful jaws.

    ReplyDelete
  30. hello Laura, I'm giving your lovely blog an award! from Karen
    pick it up here! Enjoy!

    http://twincitiesblather.blogspot.com/2011/08/thanks-bethe-for-my-irresistibly-sweet.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. Happy Birthday! Your dragonfly was so great. At your age you can use: Carpe diem. I think it is det greates words. I am waiting for more photos!
    Have a great day!!!!!
    From Hilda

    ReplyDelete
  32. The photos are awesome. Happy Birthday a bit too late.

    ReplyDelete
  33. thanks again everybody who stopped by...sent good Bday wishes my way...and took the time to leave a note!! i appreciate it A LOT! :)
    have a great day yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Belatedly reading your Birthday post, Laura. I see it was not only your birthday this month, but Sam's too, and your anniversary! What a special month! I already know what your weekend was like, having read your latest post before catching up on this earlier one. Here's to a WONDERFUL year for you both!!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wonderful Laura, I don't think it is your Birthday Post I spotted your White/wish fluffy... I don't see it here, but I am vaguely remembering... just not sure which Post yet...
    though I do think those Mushys with their jackets on are a truly cute fluffy sort of moment.

    hugs xxx

    ReplyDelete

thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!