As I said in an earlier post, we were planning a trip to Key West to see if our pic made it a year. As the photo tells, it did. I got covered up,though. We left it just as we found it. It was a neat butterfly-ee feeling walking up to see. I don’t know why. But there we are, still on the wall of a bar. In case anyone out there was wondering!

Can you believe… my sweet hubby left ALL our refrigerated items… so we had to go to the local store. AND!!!! I found a shiny new SWING A WAY for.. get this $3.99! I have the best souvenir already! YAY!

Hello friends.. weird I have more followers on my domestic site than this one… hmmm I need to start posting more useful information here! Well, I am leaving with my hubby daughter and boat for a little va-ca in Islamorada! I am bringing the laptop so expect some pics! And.. next week I am going to start putting more useful info for y’all on this site… unless there’s protests? Much love, mamakeith

For years I had a “Swing A Way” can opener… YEARS I tell ya. Well, maybe that little can opener was just used to my southpaw way of using it, because it never worked right for my hubby. He got so frustrated with it one night that my can opener met its demise that way, and ended up in the trash. (sniffle…) since then, I have bought several other replacement that all broke. Or, maybe they can’t handle a southpaw? My dear mother in law even got me a top of the line one as a “gag” christmas gift (she got me other things too!) and guess what? Broke. So, next week I am going to find myself a nice shiny new Swing A Way can opener. Yeah, I know I should have just gotten another one in the first place, but… then what woul I blog about?

A few years back, I purchased a ripe red tomato at a supermarket. I put it on my counter top. And I forgot about it, I went out of town for a week and came home to it. It was unchanged. So I said hmmmm. I left it there. Another week passed. Same. Now, at this time in my life, I was managing a health food store and I knew what was going on in the standard food industry. Maybe I just thought it was in an experimental phase. But no… this tomato had an EXTENDED life. Ugh. A month went by before it showed the tiniest speck of deterioration. (who needs green bags with tomatoes like these?!) I began to think, when I make cookies and bread… they don’t last as long as the stores. Ugh. Now produce?
That’s why I love produce stands. There’s always rotten stuff around,(along with fresh, of course) and most of it hasn’t traveled far to get there.Where I live we have lots of Latinos and Asians, so I can find the most unusual items, some of them would even inspire Dr.Seuss. I can always find something new and fresh… the drawback? I have to use it within a few days, because it goes bad. And, that’s a good thing. (ooo I sounded live Martha Stewart there, eh?)

I love this pic. It’s my sweet husband getting a hug from our daughter. A picture is worth a thousand words. If I ever get down about life… I realize I have moments like these and it melts away any worry or stress that I have. I count my blessings each and every day.

A treasure found

About 14 years ago I answered a classified ad from a little old lady selling her cookbook collection. It was a huge dusty box that had about 75 assorted old books collected through the years by the woman. I thumbed through the more interesting ones and the others traveled with me through the years. This afternoon.. one caught my eye. A battered and worn paperback booklet simply titled “good cakes” . I found in the back of this with a strange circular paperclip a dozen or so handwritten recipies from the twenties. VERY COOL. I’m a huge fan of sugar cookies.. and there is a recipe for one from 1924. It’s written in that typical grandmother handwriting that nobody has unless the’re over 70. I have a good feeling about this treasure. I couldn’t go through the others… too windy (I was outside) and then as always, life got me busy. But, that’s okay…I have more treasures to find tomorrow.

This is Joey, he’s a African spur-thighed tortise, I got him in 2000,when he was the size of a half dollar. He’s about 75lbs right now.He roams our backyard, consuming about anything… including dog poo. (we try to discourage this behavior, though) He used to live in an aquarium, and at one point he had free roam of the house. (before his poops became horse-sized).Full grown size for him can range from 75-150lbs. That happens by about age 15, so we just have to wait and see..(hopefully dog poo doesn’t stunt growth!) He will live up to 150 years, so it’s a good thing we have kids. He will be quite an inheratince one day.

Last year, my husband and I took a weekend getaway to Key West, we did the ever famous Duval street and visited capt Tony’s saloon. Apparently this establishment was also “the original sloppy joes, also). If you’ve never been there it is a sight. First of all, there is a huge tree growing in the center of it. And I mean TREE… roots in the ground and branches out the roof. Very cool. Don’t know how the insurance company lets it stay, but I’m glad they do. In addition to the massive tree, there are BRAS. Lots of them. Somehow, ladies feel compelled to leave them there. (no, I wasn’t wearing one that day- tank top with built in) Along with the bras, there are various mementos from all the people that have visited. Dollar bills, notes, business cards, and tons of photos. So, after my husband and I cooled off with a nice cold bud we were sucked into the vortex of leaving our mark. Here is our wedding picture being placed. We are going to Islamorada soon for a fishing trip and are planning a drive to Key West one afternoon to see if our mark is still there (and to get some Baby’s coffee- YUM.) If you’ve never had Baby’s coffee… well that’s a whole new blog. Maybe later.

This is Salvador. I got him at the end of a dirt road after following cardboard signs that read, “FREE PUPPIES”. That was fourteen years ago. He is what I think is an Akita/Sheppard mix, although I will never know for sure.. I just say he’s a shikita. Salvador has been with me through more than anyone I know… he’s lived with me in tiny apartments, and on ten acres. As a pup, he ate a couch and the seat out of my Accord that I used to drive. He used to be able to hop in the back of my old truck and jump out if he saw a cat. Now he’s a frail old man in a dog’s body. He still eats heartily,and gets around slowly, his days of eating seats and truck jumping are long gone.. he is happy in his golden canine years. You can tell by the smile in this photo.