Spider identification for a professional

This is a wicked spider I saw in Florida with a beetle in his grasp. At first I thought black widow. It has a sort of hour glass on belly.  I just know, I gave him healthy distance and respect.  He was a bit fascinating.  My husband wanted to kill him.  He always wants to kill spiders.  Me, never. They are good insects. they keep the bug population in check. 

Life took a Turn

I apologize for not updating since my return from a trip to Florida to visit children and grandchildren.  Just after I returned home I developed a rash that then turned into blisters. The next two weeks were about the worst of my entire life, including cancer treatment.  I am recovering from shingles.  They have all dried up now. And I am not drugged out of my mind anymore.  But for the  entire first week of blisters I took ever drug the doctor prescribed. Hoping on one ever has to experience this nightmare. The chicken pox were mild compared to shingles.  When I see my doctor
again we are going to work on why my immune system is weak and how we can improve that. 

I returned home to rain, rain, and more rain.  I feel like I live in Ireland. I have never seen the mountains or valley's so green.  Of course with rain, and at present 27 inches above normal for the year here. Comes flooding.  Not at my house. But many roads were closed going higher up in the mountains and lots of landslides.  Not sure what Mother Nature is thinking. 

My garden was almost water logged. Gardens need rainfall but they also need sunlight to grow. Many
of my tomatoes would not ripen so I picked them and brought them in the house.  I did get some amazing photographs of my hummingbirds.  Some of the best of my life time. 

We are looking in to trading in our 31 foot Rv for something smaller and compact which we could get through Glacier Park in Montana in.  I cooked fried green tomatoes today and they were not so good. I had never made them.  I did not have the cajun seasoning and  salted them too much.  Next time I will get the right ingredients for the recipe.  This year I have had gold finches all year round.  This is so amazing to me.  As in Florida the goldfinch was only briefly a late winter visitor.  These appear to have nested in the yard and raised babies.  Also we had off and on throughout the summer Waxwings which also were just migrating and passing through when we lived in Florida. We will be going back again and fixing up the flooring in my Mother's little house in Florida.  I miss my chickens.  My neighbor Mike's father lost his wife.  Ambulances racing up their dirt road just panicked me. She was only in her 50's. It was so sudden. And aneurysm.  Very frightening as that is what took my Mother at 83.  I guess it's quick.  So, a few summer photographs of my phlox and female hummingbird.  I'll try to update more often.  For my three fans.  lol. Maybe I have four if Dee drops in. 

The Ocean calls my name. Along with London, Oregon, Maine and Sanibel Island.

We were traveling for a few weeks. We went to the East coast of Florida. We set up a lawn service to keep my Mother's house in Interlachen neat and mowed.  We talked to Palatka flooring and got an estimate on new flooring.  We had a nice dinner with my son and his wife.  We visited with my daughter.  And then we drove over to the west coast of Florida and visited my other son in Pensacola. It was wonderful to see my granddaughter Felicity after a year away. My son Robert said he wants to bring her up here to the mountains in November and see some snow.  So, I guess our trip back to Florida this winter will have to wait until his November visit. 

That is Felicity and son Robert at their home.   After visiting Pensacola we then stopped in Panama City Beach Florida and looked at a few houses for sale.  Then we camped on the beach.   I do love the ocean but I miss the mountains when not here.   I came home to a very weedy garden.  My tomatoes have still not ripened to red.  We have apparently had too much rain here in North Carolina.  We are having our kitchen painted this week.  I invision eating take out for a few days. Not going to cook around a painter.  This is about all the latest news. Sorry I have been absent but it was wonderful to get away on vacation.   Here are a few pictures at the beach. 

Tomatoes, Peppers, Yellow Squash, Asparagus, Oh my.

We are now into Summer.  And it's still raining more than not.  My vegetable garden never dries out. Now rain is essential to growing things. But sunshine is also needed. I have to pick the yellow squash quickly because the ground is so wet that the squash will rot where it lies.   My asparagus will not produce this year.  And I need to purchase a cultivator to keep the weeds down between the plants.

Yesterday our construction crew had almost finished painting all our outdoor decks and then the rain
started.  They had to stop.  And one deck may need to be repainted as it did not have a chance to dry.
It's really hard to get anything done in a very rainy summer. I am beginning to feel like we live in Washington or Oregon on the west coast.  The unusual rain we had all winter (we are now 17 inches above normal for rainfall so far this year)  That is a lot.

I had my hair cut on Saturday and colored.  They never cut my hair like I ask them to.  I asked for layered on top of my head and bangs.  I have a scar on my forehead from an old surgery I would like
covered.  She cut my hair exactly like the lady did last year.  Except she did add a bit of layering on the
sides.  The best thing she did was low lighted my white hair.  So now my hair looks more like it used to
look.  Except not as much varied streaks. But the sun will take care of that.  My hair always gets more
blonde streaks in the summer.

I am thinking I might like to purchase a miniature horse when we stop traveling and for a companion a miniature donkey.  http://www.circlevilleacres.com/salebarn.html

They seem really popular.  Ralph has one more week of recovery from his gall bladder surgery and then we can head to Florida to see the granddaughter.  It has been more than a year.  She does not even look the same.  We must get a winter place closer to our son.  She is my last grandchild and she will be five years old this October.  I am missing it all.  They grow up so fast.

My best friend Helen since I was age 11 stopped in for a visit on their way to Boone North Carolina to visit her partners sister. And then they are going up to New York to an English Country Dance meet up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  She and Ed love English Country Dancing. I tried it once with Helen but I just felt self conscious.  Helen said that as I learned the steps I would not feel that way. And there is also the fact that my husband would never participate.  Which would make me partnerless.


I just purchased new yarn for a knitting project and new craft supplies to do some crafting with my granddaughter.  At only age four she loves crafting things.  I am trying so hard to spend less time on the internet and more time doing constructive things.  With visitors stopping in, I am more appreciative of my gorgeous views.  I have taken them for granted.  It is a beautiful place to live.  Every morning the mountains look different.  It's like living by the sea.   Both dogs are doing very well. And we are getting all of our outdoors renovated.  They pressure washed the garage, the house and peak of the roof. It all looks so clean and beautiful.  And just two more decks to paint and we are done.  Now we just need a gardener because I just can't trim all these hedges.  Hope everyone is having a bit of summer and not all rain.  Will try to update my blog more often.  This was my hair before the haircut.  A bit long.

Shine your light Every chance you get.

Songwriters: SCOTT, STEPHEN H. / DP,

[Chorus] 
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. 
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. 
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. 
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 

I'm gonna take this light around the world and I'm gonna 
Let it shine. 
I'm gonna take this light around the world and I'm gonna 
Let it shine. 
I'm gonna take this light around the world and I'm gonna 

Let it shine. 
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 

[Chorus] 

I won't let anyone blow it out, I'm gonna let it shine. 
I won't let anyone blow it out, I'm gonna let it shine. 
I won't let anyone blow it out, I'm gonna let it shine. 
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. 

[Chorus] 

Every day, every day, I'm going to let my little light 
Shine.

Spring is a tail end of a Bunny Rabbit.

Well.....  It is now June.  I don't know where the time goes. The older we get the faster it flies. Maggie
Smith said it well on Sixty Minutes just now. She said, "The thing about aging is, "You are having breakfast every half hour."  She said, "I don't know why things have to go so fast." And it does.  I don't know if that is an optical allusion. But when you are little, time drags.  When you past 50, time flies by.
And you wish it would slow down.  Maggie Smith will be in a new movie directed by Dustin Hoffman, called, Quartet. I must see that.  It's a comedy.

We should have been down in Florida by now fixing up our Mother's home to live in this winter. We have decided after this past winter, that winter up here in Franklin, N.C. is too cold.  But then my husband had an acute gall bladder attack weekend before last. And on last Thursday they removed his
gall bladder.  So until he is recovered and can drive our motor home we are stuck here. I really want to
get back to Florida to see my granddaughter who is just four years old and probably has by now forgotten who I am.

Latest news.  We found a wonderful home for our four chickens.  I will have chickens again later
but it was just too difficult to find caretakers for them.  And I want to travel more. We have plans to
take another trip (this Fall) to Glacier Park in Montana.  We went about two years ago but it was the
end of May and all the passes were blocked with snow.  Other news is I finally have a vegetable garden
and asparagus are coming up.  Also beets, squash, tomatoes and peppers.  Our weather was very cold this spring.  We had such late freezes in May that I had to keep covering up my vegetables in the garden.  I am also hoping for a trip with my daughter to Paris and London.  Her dream is to see Paris
and I want to go back to London again and see what I missed on the last trip in 2008.  I also have
a friend there in Kent (Broadstairs) that I would love to visit.  This is the latest.  I am thinking about
staying off the internet for the summer. But I think I am so addicted that I will only be able to accomplish that if I go somewhere that has no technology and no internet access.  

We are one.: Welcome to my birthday project...

We are one.: Welcome to my birthday project...: This is "26 ( or limitless ) Acts of Kindness!" Dear beautiful souls: this year, on June 25, I turn 26 years old. And ...