one of my favorite botanicals

you'll have to register that shillelagh, ma'am

My dad lives in a gated community.
This is what i saw driving in today:

i love oldsters

random brain bits

I love visiting Florida.
Living there? Not so much.
But a nice week in the sunshine is just what is needed to relax, clear one's mind and start to shake off those winter doldrums.
There are record high temperatures this week.
The AC broke, so that's a bit unfortunate.
Still, i don't have to shovel heat.

Two weeks ago i couldn't close zip-top bags.
I use them every day in the studio.
I have never had any issue before, but suddenly, no matter how many times i slid my fingers down the top ridge, it wouldn't seal.
I tried different sizes and brands, but i was stymied.
What the what, people?
Then just as suddenly, last Tuesday i could close all of the bags again.
Sometimes i think my house must have been built over toxic waste and the fumes are making me hallucinate large parts of my life. It would explain a lot.

Going by someone's house yesterday on my constitutional, i saw small decorative piles of rocks placed as yard art and said, Oh look -  Inukshuks! to the no one riding along with me.
Then i paused to think, Why in the world do i even know that word? Inuit sculpture isn't something i encounter in my every day life.
It was from an episode of due South.
Betcha haven't thought about that show in a hot minute.
Who says tv isn't educational?
Upon closer investigation they were less traditional Arctic tribal art and more tiny little adorable  rock people.

i want them in my yard

Mental Morsel: the plural of inukshuk is not inukshuks as i thought, but rather inuksuit, which i have no idea have to pronounce.

Recently i heard some less than good news of a medical nature (not about me).
For the next 36 hours or so i had the Time For Your Checkup song from Doc McStuffins stuck in my head. A 43-year old woman with no children should not have to endure It's okay if you giggle; this will only tickle a little for that long.
Great. Now it is stuck in my head again.

Bonus Mental Morsel: despite sounding like most of the noble gasses (neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon) the coolant Freon is not really a single chemical, but the trade name of a bunch of different chloroflourocarbons used as refrigerants.
Generally, Freon is four times heavier than air.

I can't believe it took me the last 25 minutes searching the internet to find that this guy's name is Sir Scoopsalot.

You know i can't resist a costume character and this guy was in Hampden, hon, handing out coupons to The Charmery.

If you haven't been to The Charmery in Baltimore, you need to go now.
They make all the ice cream in-house from local milk, invent interesting flavors and try to capture the spirit of our charming, quirky city.
I highly recommend the salty caramel.
Every day is the right day for ice cream, even if it is only 30 degrees.
Or you can get hot chocolate with house-made marshmallow.

The fountain in the lake in front of my dad's house goes off at 11:47 pm or, as my dad informed me when i pointed it out, 10:47 pm before daylight saving's time.
Nice round number, yeah?
It gives me pause.

Recently -maybe the last two months-  i have been using "totes" instead of totally when speaking.
Hello 2010, what are you doing here?
I didn't use that term when it was popular.
Why in the world would i suddenly start now?
I didn't even realize i was doing it until i heard one of my charges -a kindergartner no less- use it in a sentence and realized she had to have picked it up from me.
Now i am hyper-aware of when it slips into conversation and am really annoyed with myself.
So to all of the people with whom i might have had a conversation of late, i am sorry about resurrecting this lame slang.
I think i need to go with the snapping-rubberband-around-the-wrist aversion therapy to stop myself.

And finally, to end this stream of consciousness, kittens:

Spring 2014 with Erin, Caleb, Cameron and Collin

yesterday afternoon

genetic mutation or pesky squirrels?

The palm tree's secret.









Pine cone concealed in the fronds!

Now how'd that get there?

it was really good

Tried a new 'que place with my dad tonight - Rib City.

I'm a carnivore;

Hear me roar. Baby back ribs,

Now a pile of bones.

tv time

Every year there is a golfcart parade on the Saturday of Resident’s Appreciation Weekend at my dad’s park. This year the theme was Classic Sitcoms; the Mid-Atlantic Club went with The Beverly Hillbillies. As per normal they went all in, this time turning a golfcart into the iconic long car from the opening credits.

Yes, there is a golfcart under all of that. Amazing, right? 

Here is our Ellie Mae, 
Jed,
and Grannie all costumed up 
and ready to go. 

I love the hat Miss Lorraine is wearing as Grannie; she made it from a plastic bowl. 

It is those sorts of details that really make the difference. 

It is always fun to walk around the golfcarts and notice the tiny things that elevate a good idea to a great presentation. 

BTW, that stuffed pig has apparently been in the Mid-Atlantic Club longer than my dad; no one could even exactly pinpoint which year he had been made for the parade, but now he is a staple. 

Speaking of my dad, he wasn’t in the parade this year; as the president of the club he was in charge of getting lunch started since Mid-Atlantic had drawn hot dog duty this year: however, you already saw that Shirley rode as Ellie Mae. 

Dad was able to come down for a little while during set up to say hi to everyone and hang out; here he is with Klinger from MASH. 

Parade time! 

gotta have color guard, fire trucks and a drumline

love the Mickey gloves for waving

This is the first time I’ve seen Shriners at the parade.

I am sorry to say for Rea’s sake that they were indeed clowns, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a real calliope being played in a parade, so I’ll look past the whole clown thing. 

The Canadian Club also did the Beverly Hillbillies, 

I love that they had a real dog marching, he joyously barked at all the spectators.

Midwest did Happy Days and the spin-off Laverne and Shirley. 
They had women dressed as carhops handing out root beer floats. 
Yum! 




The winner this year was New England with a truly impressive M*A*S*H:

The lights flashed, the helicopter blades spun, the bloody patient was hooked up to a liter of whiskey: it was amazing. As my dad said, you don’t mind losing when there is really stiff competition. I’m glad I wasn’t a judge. 
Finally, let’s see our very own Mid-Atlantic in motion: 

yes, he rode the entire parade in the outhouse

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with next year.

Austrian Sphinx

I was talking to my charming BFF a few days ago when she commented that now that I no longer travel for a living there has been a dearth of insanity in the Nikiverse. 
Amen, sister. How I miss discovering crazy things in hidden places.
Rea challenged me to go on an adventure by my dad’s house and find something. 
Challenge accepted! 
But I’m in Ft. Myers, FL – how much zaniness can there be? 
I remembered a few years ago that when my plane took a different approach than normal to the airport I could have sworn that I saw a group of white pyramids for a moment before we landed. 
Pyramids?  
In Florida?  
That would certainly qualify as insanity. 
Especially a whole village of them:

photo from website

Built in 2001 as a vacation destination for Europeans, New University Pyramid Village features concrete laminated wood pyramids that are hurricane-proof. 

 There are large sections of laminated, mirrored, tinted, burglar-proof glass to allow maximum sunlight into the pyramids.
They sleep four and you can rent one for a week for $600-$900, depending on how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want. Some units even have a second floor.
It is tucked back in a residential neighborhood; if you weren't specifically looking for it, you'd never find it. Even with the address and directions i circled the blocks 4 times before i finally found the entrance.

 And if that isn’t zany enough for ya,
 there is a giant head just past the entrance. 

The legend goes that once there were Austrian pyramids (cause they were first specifically marketed in Austria) there needed to be an Austrian Sphinx and who better to be the pharoh’s head than Beethoven? 
Fun fact, Beethoven is a storage shed; yes, the genius’ head is now full of lawn equipment. 




So Rea, how’s that for insanity?

a postcard from Niki

Wish you were here!

hello desert roses

The view while i ate breakfast:

It is the end of February so i must be on the Gulf Coast of southern Florida visiting my dad.
Over the next week look for more blog posts as i clean up my picture folders, as well as golfcart constitutionals and golfcart parade reports.
Anyone who doesn't know or remember what i am talking about can catch up on the background of where i am, or read golfcart constitutionals or see circus parade 2011 and classic comics parade 2012 here.

did i mention the Vikings?

March was a doozy of a month around here and April frankly hasn't been much easier.
TGVIM! (Thank God Vacation's Inna Month)
Anyhoo, going through pictures in a vain, nearly ludicous attempt to be completely caught up on the blog by my birthday (19 more shopping days, people) i realized that i never posted about the Vikings in Florida.
For shame, Niki, for shame.
You might recall that last year i visited my dad when there was a parade in the park by happenstance; this year i did it on purpose.
The weekend's theme was the Funny Papers.
There were games and hot dogs and a dance and, of course, a parade:

color guard

drum line

clowns

I really do love a good parade and enjoy how different clubs interpret the theme.

But, of course, nobody does it better than the Mid-Atlantic Club.
Yes, i acknowledge my prejudice cause i live in the Mid-Atlantic and my dad is the current president of that club, but people, just look at their cool take on Hagar the Horrible.

 Why yes,
that is a Viking dragon longboat built on top of a golfcart, complete with a fully rigged sail.
Thanks for noticing.















Kvack and Snert are ready to ride in the parade.

Now that's a bang of rowdies if i've ever seen one

dad's dragon boat

Shirley as Honi and Dad as a warrior

This incredible take on Lucky Eddie (complete with nose prosthetic) won Individual First Place.

 The amazing detail and effort the club put into their entry earned them First Place.
I think i might have to try to visit Dad on Resident's Appreciation Weekend every year.

Gatorz

Do you enjoy wings?

Tasty, delicious wings?
Tasty, delicious wings slathered in yummy sauce?
Then you gotta go to Gatorz.

There is a location in Port Charlotte, FL and the new one in Ft Myers, FL where i went for dinner.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays wings are 25 cents and you can get them in a bunch of sauces, naked or breaded, and drumettes only, whatever that other part is called only or mixed.
They are dang tasty. I tried both breaded and naked -enjoyed both- in Frank's sauce which is a mix of teriyaki and hot which was a sweet and spicy joy.
This place also has live music every night - score!
I suggest sitting outside by the Tiki Bar.

there's a frog in the kitchen

I was getting myself some breakfast when i noticed a frog hanging between the Venetian blinds and the glass over the sink.

It was posed so perfectly in mid-climb, with each foot on a different slat so that you could see its whole body stretched out that i thought it was one of those resin ones you can buy to put on your flower pots.







It wasn't.
Dad and I worked to get him into a container

and then i took him over to the woods by the lake since i wasn't sure if he'd prefer land or water.
As soon as i put him down in the grass he just froze, hyperventilating a bit to collect himself after the ordeal.
Pretty quickly, though, he recovered and went about his froggy way.