Tuning out the noise

Since we returned from vacation I have not immersed myself in politics and it feels so good. I keep up with the generalities but I don’t get bogged down in the back and forth. Maybe it’s the summer heat or the need for a little more down time for my brain, but for now I will leave most of the squabbling to those who get paid to do it.

I had rather be laying on the floor playing with Martini or sitting on the patio trying to figure out what makes Fred the Cat tick than listen to talking heads on television telling me what I should feel or think. Life is truly too short to waste some of it feeling frustrated by the words of people who play no direct part in our lives.

Sometimes we just have to tune out the noise and appreciate the silence.

Martini Watch

Martini went to the groomer this week to have the sand and salt spray washed out of his hair. Mr. Pop said that he went to the groomer to have the barnacles scraped off after his beachy days. So now Martini is all squeaky clean and totally beautiful again.

Remember that little song that kids sing about “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”? Well, I changed the words to that a little for Martini. I changed it to: If you’re hungry and you know it bark your bark. Then: If you’re hungry and you know it then your bark will surely show it, if you’re hungry and you know it bark your bark. Martini has learned each time I sing “bark” at the end of those sentences to actually bark. He learned this in just two days. The little dude is so very smart to have a brain that has to be so very small.

McCrystal, Ignorant or Vengeful?

I don’t know what will happen today with General McCrystal but in my opinion, based on the quotes by the General himself and his close aids, he appears to be either ignorant or vengeful. We have to wonder what his words say to the people our soldiers are fighting against in Afghanistan. If they are aware of his words, it can’t be good for our soldiers. When the General heading up the fight says negative things about his own Commander in Chief, it would seem to give the enemy a sense of superiority. That is not what our soldiers or our country needs to be broadcast right now.


As for the media, we all know damned well they already have a negative story written no matter what the President does today. When did it become necessary to always counter the President’s decisions with a negative construct?

Martini, the Beach Bum

I have never seen a dog who loves the beach the way Martini does. I think he would spend the rest of his life just sitting on the beach if he could. He doesn’t want to chase the birds or bother anything, he just wants to sit on a towel under the big beach umbrella and watch everything and everyone.

When he wasn’t on the beach last week he was begging to go there. He met another little Yorkie named “Sassy”. She was full grown and weighed only three pounds. Sassy was very shy and fearful of the hunky seven and a half pound Martini. Martini said she was too little and I agree.

So we are back from a week of sun and fun. Today it’s back to the old grind and time to face the ton of dirty clothes we brought back with us. While I spend the morning doing laundry I imagine Martini will be sleeping in his bed and dreaming of once again being on the beach.

All packed and ready to roll

Almost everything is packed and in the car. We’ll take Fred the Cat to be boarded in the morning and we’re out of here until next Saturday. I have no idea what Sanibel and Captiva beaches will look like this time next year so we are going to enjoy the hell out of them next week.

I’m telling you we are such trend setters. The President will be going to the Gulf coast too this week. Sadly, he will not be going for fun, food and adult beverages as we will.

I’m sure Martini remembers going to the beach last year because every time I ask him if he’s ready to go to the beach he gets excited and dances all around. Come to think of it, that’s the way I act too when someone asks me that same question.

See ya next weekend.

Frustration Frustration

It must be time for me to go on vacation and cut myself off as much as possible from what is going on in the news. I feel nothing now but frustration. Frustration about the oil and the damages it is doing. Frustration about the criticism of the President and what people say he should or should not be doing. I feel these frustrations from the time I awake until I fall asleep at night.

It’s time to cut myself loose from the minute by minute reports on the television. I want to immerse myself in the smell of saltwater and the call of the gulls. I want to be safe inside our little rented cottage on the beach with Mr. Pop and Martini when the afternoon thunderstorms move ashore. I want to concentrate on my treasures and for just a little while and forget how many awful things there may be to come.

All I have to do is hang on tight until Monday. That day when I disconnect my computer I will also disconnect me for a little while.

Vacation Packing

I think I love this part of vacation almost as much as the actual vacation itself. I have made my list of things we want and need to take and now as I gather these things together I can check them off my list.

Everything I pack brings to mind a happy thought of how and when that particular item will be used. Yes, we do take a travel bar with all the adult beverages for the nights we don’t feel like going out. Mr. Pop and I have a bag of new books to read on the beach. Mr. Pop also has his surf fishing equipment all pulled together and ready to go.

Then there’s the packing for Martini’s needs. He has a little bag where I keep his leashes, brush, comb and his bags for poop clean up. I have recently purchased three new toys that he knows nothing about so they will be a surprise for him at the cottage. One of his beds has been washed and is clean and ready to go. He has a new crate that he has had time to become comfortable in so when he have to crate him over there it will feel just like home.

Look out Sanibel Island and Captiva, a week from today we will be heading your way.

The Deadly Monster in the Gulf

Each time I hear news about the oil in the Gulf of Mexico I feel sick to my stomach and sadder. In just over a week we will be heading to what we call our home away from home as we drive over to the southwest coast of Florida. I have lost count of how many summers we have spent at the same place over there. This year the beaches will be as they’ve always been but I am frightened of what they may be like this time next year.

It’s like a giant monster is slowly creeping through the Gulf and killing everything in its path. The only question is when will it arrive and who is next to fall victim to it and its horrible consequences.

Taking me along can be costly

Sunday Mr. Pop wanted to go to the mall to get a couple of pairs of casual shoes. I hate going to the mall and didn’t want to go with him but he blinked those blue eyes at me and I went along to give him shoe buying support.

We came home with two pairs of shoes for him. We also came home with a really nice new summer purse, a new big navy blue sunhat and a pair of hoop earrings that I can wear at the beach instead of my beloved real gold ones.

I betcha he thinks twice before inviting me to go to the mall with him in the future.