FEELING ALMOST LIKE A HOOMAN AGAIN

My Harley Stud and I decided that instead of doing something productive like working around the house today, we would take a ride on the bike and get some fresh air. Sometimes you’ve got to just ignore all that needs to be done and get away for a few hours or else you just might drop your basket. So off we went on his little two wheeled fun-mobile.

We stopped and bought a couple of subs and some water (Did I mention that Dr. Black Cloud said no more Diet Coke for MHS? EEK. The poor man is having withdrawals.) and rode to this park where we sat in the shade and ate our lunch while we enjoyed the view. There were a bunch of pelicans begging for scraps, fish guts or anything else they could get. Little boys fishing, big boys fishing, lovers on benches and lots of boats in the water were all there for our amusement.

If you look carefully, you can see the lighthouse in the distance. I always feel more at ease when I can see the lighthouse. Like an old man at sea, it guides me home. It is my beacon of hope, a reminder of light and love and all things good. It nourishes my soul.

The weekend is almost over. I plan to relax for all that is left of it. Reruns for dinner combined with a fresh salad, a loaf of bread and some wine. MHS is mowing the yard, which is usually my chore. I’m in the middle of a book that I can’t seem to put down.

God’s in His heaven and all’s right with the world. Even if it’s just for tonight.

Hugs,

Smart Mouth Broad

WHO COULD IT BE NOW?

I can't believe some of you actually accused me of being a tease! OK, I guess I asked for it. But I really didn't mean to drag it out this long. You see, it's after 10pm as I write this and I just got home from work. Yeah…………it's great to be me today. MHS is out partying (at our nephew's 16^th birthday party) so I quickly changed into blogging attire (jammies) and settled into the sofa with a glass of red wine and a supper of two squares of dark chocolate that I've been hiding saving since Christmas.

It was about a week ago, while tweeting on Twitter, Chasaveen mentioned she would be leaving their home in Canada for Florida in a few days. My little ears perked right up and my wheels started turning. It took me all of about 3 seconds to direct message her and ask what her Florida destination was. She replied that she would be in a city that is about an hour south of where MHS and I live. I asked if she would be interested in meeting me for the beverage of her choice. She said that if we were close to where she was staying, she would love to. That's when I began to panic.

You see, Chasaveen, on Twitter, is Tessa of Nuts and Mutton. If you read Tessa's blog, you know that she is brilliant, charming, funny and uh…..brilliant. That's brilliant squared. If you're not reading Tessa's blog, well, why aren't you? Go there now. I'll wait. .......................................................

So I began to get nervous. I worried what she would think of me. It's so easy to hide behind these pages. But in real life, it's all out there for everyone to see. What would she think of the real SMB? Scary, I know. Tessa is accomplished and educated and I'm ………….well, I'm just SMB, a country girl from Indiana.

Once Tessa and The First Husband arrived in Florida, we were busy texting and calling and tweeting our little fingers off trying to make a plan to meet. The plan was set and reset and then reset again yesterday. Tessa and TFH were touring the area near my office so we decided to meet there. When she called me from the parking lot of my office building to let me know of their arrival, I quickly grabbed my bag and flew out the door. I was so excited, I ran to hug her and stepped on her toe. Way to make a great first impression. *sigh* TFH is suffering from a little bug (that he probably caught on the airplane) and was considerate enough to refuse my offer of hugs all around. We decided to go to my beloved inlet to have a few drinks. It was a little cool but what better way to enjoy Florida than to have a few drinks at a tiki hut bar. We jumped into our cars and they followed me to The Square Grouper. While most of you have probably never been there, you may have seen it. Alan Jackson filmed parts of his "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere" video there.

I called Midlife Slices on my way from the office to the inlet for moral support. She was most encouraging as usual. I said, "What if they think I'm a weirdo?" Janie reassured me by saying, "You are a weirdo." And then I began to relax. I am what I am. And if Tessa didn't like me? Well, shame on her. I mean, what's not to like, right? Riiiiiiiight.

MHS joined us at the tiki bar. We selected a table out in the open where you could see the inlet and the boats that were not going in and out due to the cooler weather. Nevertheless it was a nice setting for our get-together. Tessa and TFH are a lovely couple. Tessa is Irish turned Canadian and they had great stories about Ireland and Canada. MHS and I found ourselves completely charmed by their company.

I've never been on a blind date but I've watched enough movies to know that you never make plans for dinner. Just drinks. That way, if you don't hit it off, you finish your drink and you're on your merry way. But once our glasses were empty and our stomachs were growling, MHS and I didn't want to leave them just yet. We wanted more. We invited them to our favorite sports bar which is like our Cheers. The food is good and the atmosphere is relaxed. D1 (aka Fancy Nancy) will be mortified that we took them there. D2 was jealous. We ate dinner and laughed and shared more stories about family, friends and travel and when the time came to part, we were sorry to see them go. I enjoyed their company so much, I'm thinking of packing up and moving to Canada. Look out, Tessa, here we come!

We did take some pictures but Tessa made me promise not to post them. I don't like it but I can respect it. You'll just have to trust me when I say she and TFH are a beautiful couple. I guess we'll have to wait to see what if anything Tessa has to say about our meeting to get "the rest of the story". And if she doesn't say anything, we'll know she does think I'm a weirdo.

Have you ever met a bloggy buddy? Do you want to? If you come to Florida, do you want to meet me?

ESCAPE

There's too much to do at the MHS/SMB household these days. It seems like all we do is work, work, work. By Saturday afternoon, both My Harley Stud and I were feeling like "who did it and ran". We needed an escape. Fortunately for us, we have a motorcycle in the garage and a beach close by. It only took me a few minutes to get ready to ride when he suggested that we "get outtahere" for awhile. MHS knows where to go to calm my nerves, unruffle my feathers and soothe my soul: The Beach. More specifically to the inlet.

The inlet calls to me. The lighthouse beckons. I love to watch the boats come in and go out. It makes my day to walk along the fisherman on the jetty and peer into their buckets to see their daily catch. It gives me great joy to walk along the sea wall and look down into the crevices between the huge rocks to search for crabs that live there. The birds are flying overhead and diving into the water to show off their superior fishing skills. There are kids with boogie boards and old men chatting on park benches. It's a people watching feast. It's clear that I'm not the only one to which the inlet calls. Young and old, sportsman and photographers, tourists and locals, we all love the inlet.

It's easy to get caught up in the tasks of day to day life and forget to take time to smell the roses or the sea salt as the case may be. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we live in a sub-tropical paradise.

There were no crabs to be found that day. Darn!

I did find one Mountain Dew bottle but I didn't take a picture.

Littering makes me mad.

I like it when the fisherman are bold enough to climb out onto the rocks. Then I don't have to worry about getting tangled in their lines on my crab hunt along the sea wall.

I guess it wasn't a very good day for fishing because not one bucket had something fun to see.

Look at this handsome devil trying to pick up chicks.

Isn't it lovely?

Where do you go to get away from it all?