hello lads and lasses! it is i, dame fortune's slave, back with another installment of "What the
#$%^ Next?!" :)
i am happy to report that i am writing from sunny Southern Florida. Homestead, to be precise. poor chris is home with the 'kids', and I hear they are in the low teens and even one-digit #'s back home, and though i feel bad for my peeps, i'm very glad to be here. a dear friends' sis (HI BRUFFY! HI GAIL!) has just had major spinal surgery, and i was told that she needed help but what she really needs is someone to slow her @$$ down and keep her from trying to do too much. this woman is mid-50's, had 6 vertebrae re-built LESS than a week-and-a-half ago, and is already chomping at the bit to get back to her busy life. luckily for all of us, she can walk fine, and has great use of her hands (i SERIOUSLY cannot imagine this woman bedridden!) - though her fingers are still a little numb. she has a HUGE scar and of course inner healing tissue to care for, thus a big plastic neck brace to wear 24/7. She can't bend at the waist, nod yes or no, or pick up anything heavier than a.) a manila envelope, her dr. says; b.) 5lbs., she says; c.) a video from blockbuster OR her martini glass, i say. :) basically i'm here to be her hands and help her recovery be nice and smooth as poss. she can't drive or walk her 2 mookie dogs, so that's part of my job, and just generally facilitating her life and recuperation. she's a fun, funny woman with a good life, so aside from missing my family (HI CHRIS! HI LUNA! HI GEORGE, YOU BASTARD!) and friends (HI FRIENDS!), i'm having a lovely time so far.
friday afternnon 'round 3, buffy picked me and my luggage up at the bakery and we headed south. we stopped in fort pierce, fla. around 1 am, got a room, then got up early for some beach time. we stopped at the manatee center for post cards and then had a couple of hours in the sub. as we were walking to the end of the pier before heading on to miami/homestead, i saw a dark spot in the water. i said "buffy, i think i see a manatee!" she said, "nah, i think it's just some sea-weed..." and then he stuck his face out of the water! :D
FIRST DAY HERE, manatee sighting! YAY! that was saturday. since then i've seen lots of birds, all kinds, and a few odd lizards, but gail promises a trip to the keys, where i can possibly SWIM WITH MANATEES in her friend mary's back yard....
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

i will keep you all posted. as for now, life is good. gail is doing well, her 'kids' are good sweet furries (Lola, a Bijon; Sinead, a Wheaten Terrier; and Elsie, a black babycat). we are already plotting many adventures and have had a couple of gentle ones. the traffic's not so bad (i drove for the first time today), her neighborhood is lovely, i got my pool/gym pass today, and we're on a quest to find the best Mojito in town. like i said, life is good. i just wish x was here to share it with me - and luna and george would be in water-fowl/lizard-chasing heaven... *sigh*

much love, more later,
-samma