"Mooving story"

It's pretty bad when your exotic surroundings start to get ho hum.

We live in the most beautiful setting.  You've seen the pictures.  Rolling hills, terra-cotta roofs, pounding surf.  It's absolutely heaven.  And yet I run the same route practically everyday. 

 Heaven is becoming routine.  Same round-a-bouts, with the occasional yield.  No traffic to speak of.

 Bumpidy, bump cobble stone streets making me worry about the tires.

Same blank stares of locals from the cafe at the top of the street.  (All Portuguese seem to stare.  But as soon as you smile, they smile back and look away.  If you don't smile they just go on staring.  It's a little creepy.  I Haven't been to that cafe yet.)

 That's why the once in a while cow jam is welcomed. 

 Cows really are interesting creatures.

Cows are becoming exciting.  My life is so sad.

I'm sure I've said the person/cow ratio is very close.  There is new construction going on all over the island.  We thought they were building new roads with overpasses, but no.

Millions of dollars are being spent on cow bridges.  

Our neighbor talked about at their daughters 15th birthday when they rented calves for the kids to play with.  At the time I had a hard time not laughing openly.  Now it doesn't sound like a bad idea.  If you take away the smell, they are very cute animals.  And these cows are smart.  Imagine moving twenty cows together, anywhere!  One farmer can guide his whole herd down the middle of the street without any problems. 

There is the occasional accident though.  (Hence the cow bridges)  About a month ago the kids came home with a horror story:  Police with the road blocked.  Kids looking out the bus window, witnesses to a crime.  The street covered with blood and milk.  The victim still alive, but missing one horn.  The bus driver spoke in hushed tones, to sooth the younger ones watching.  Tears being choked back, the windows fogging.

  (I'm sure it was dramatized a little.)

And the story goes if you kill a cow, you have to pay the owner not only for his face value but for all the milk  he would have created had he lived a full life.  Not only poor cow, but poor motorist.

 I am really sad.  My real life drama centers around cows.  

This island is much too small.

Christmas Vacation

Yea!  Disney World was disneyrific! 

Years ago at a Riverbats game, Buddy Bat came near to where we were seated.  Mary took off in one direction, to go home with Buddy Bat, and Bonnie bolted.  It was funny and scary at the same time.  From that time we have avoided all characters and clowns.

Things have changed, but only a little.

Bonnie hid away from Minnie.  

Sweet, shy demure, give you kisses, Minnie

But Stitch, that was different.  

She still wasn't 

getting too close.

We stayed in the park for three days and had a magical time.

For all the magic that is Disney, the fun continued after we left.

On Christmas Eve we were picked up by a world class limo service on route to Ft. Meyers Beach.  Both sets of grandparents had to meet us because of all the luggage. ( We can't go many places in one car.)  

Christmas was "diffrn't but goood!"

The sun was warm,  

The sand was soft,

and the water was delightful. 

Maw maw, Paw paw, Mee maw, and Grampy,

swimming, shopping, and sunbathing.

It just doesn't get much better than this.

But wait there's more!

Included in this deluxe vacation package you also get snow!

A blizzard had hit right before our plane landed in Boston.

Then on the way back they got 8 more inches!

It was so beautiful and our sleeping quarters couldn't have been 

any nicer.  We stayed with Randy's cuz Christopher and his wife

Anne Marie.  They not only put us up, they fed us and taxied us around.

The only sad part of this saga is poor little Ethel.  Instead of being stuck in a crate for 5 hours in the cold, and adjusting to a strange world, she had to stay back in Florida with Pat and Irvin.

 At Lake Okeechobee, in the sun, with Pat cooking her whole turkeys, and Irvin feeding her twinkees.

  As long as she isn't attacked by a fast alligator, she's going to be a happy pup.

Maybe in my next blog I'll figure out how not to underline.