And another week whips by!

It’s blog day again.  I’m sure I just did one yesterday!

I had my 8th infusion on Friday.  All went well as per usual and I slept through it as I normally do.  I could do with some of that IV Benadryl for sleeping at night time, it puts you out like a light!  A couple of people have mentioned my breathing looks a lot better, and I have been thinking that myself.  Sometimes it’s not so good, but I think it is improving.  Hope so anyway!  Breathing is a good thing for “aliveness”!!

Foster Kitties

In my last blog I introduced Blossom the lovely foster cat.  She has now been adopted to a forever loving home and I now have “Sophia”.  Sophia is just gorgeous and a total love schmuck!  She enjoys sleeping in sinks and detests having her claws clipped.  So if you’re looking for a gorgeous black cat who will smooch you until you can be smooched no more, try Sophia on for size! 

And for anyone who is superstitious about black cats…A friend sent me this saying;

"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere" (Groucho Marx)

See, that’s all it means!  It’s just going somewhere, just like the chicken which crossed the road, it was only going to the other side, simple as that!  Cast your superstitions aside and get a black cat, they're awesome! :)

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Critter of the week

Iguana

I saw one of these sitting on the grass verge on the side of the road driving out to the Florida Keys.  We don’t get these in New Zealand, so to see one of these just sitting there on the side of the road was very cool!

...Ok I just did a google search on Iguanas, apparently they are not very cool!

Adult iguanas are large powerful animals that can bite, cause severe scratch wounds with their extremely sharp claws, and deliver a painful slap with their powerful tail. Iguanas normally avoid people but will defend themselves against pets and people that try to catch them or corner them.

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Due to a combination of events, the Green Iguana is considered an invasive species in South Florida and is found along the gulf coast of Florida from Key West to Pinellas County.  The original small populations in the Florida Keys were animals that were stowaways on ships carrying fruit from South America.  Over the years, other iguanas were introduced into the wild mostly originating through the pet trade. Some were escapees and some were intentionally released by their owners; these iguanas survived and then thrived in their new habitat.  They commonly hide in the attics of houses and on beaches. They often destroy gardens and landscaping.  They seem to be fond of eating a native endangered plant, Cordia globosa and feeding on Nickernut, a primary food plant of the endangered Miami Blue Butterfly; additionally on Marco Island, Green Iguanas have been observed using the burrows of the Florida Burrowing Owl, a species of special concern, all of which can make them more of a serious threat to Florida's ecosystem than originally believed.

In January 2008, large numbers of feral iguanas in Florida dropped from the trees in which they lived, due to uncommonly cold nights causing them to go into brumation in which they lost their grips on the tree branches. Though no specific numbers were provided by local wildlife officials, local media described the phenomenon as a "frozen iguana shower" in which dozens "littered" local bike paths. Upon the return of daytime warmth many (but not all) of the iguanas "woke up" and resumed their normal activities.  This occurred again in January 2010 after a prolonged cold front once again hit southern Florida.

That’s a word i've never heard before…”brumation”.  Although i've also never heard of a "frozen iguana shower"!! 

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The Painter

When I was in South Beach there was a man on the sidewalk painting tiny little paintings through a magnifying glass.  The paintings were of local buildings and people.  I bought one for only $20!  It was of a church in the same street, so I took a photo of the man doing the paintings, and a photo of the church itself.  It is a great memento of my trip to the USA.

Here is the website for the man who was painting.  If you’re interested in miniature art, this is well worth checking out.  The detail in the paintings needs to be seen to be believed, exquisite!

http://www.houseofcharm.com/

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This is the church i got the painting of.  It has a beautiful stained glass window in the front there, but it doesn't show up well in this photo.

I love the architecture in South Beach!

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And the countdown is on for Christmas. 

I LOVE Christmas!!

My husband is probably glad that I am not in town at the moment because the house would be filled with all of those wonderful Christmas songs being played from my countless Christmas CDs. 



I'm looking forward to seeing my family soon, James and Rochelle on the 20th and Steve, Ben, Josh and Pops on the 28th.  I still can't believe how lucky we are that wonderful people have helped bring us all together for the holidays :)  Thank you!!  I don't even know their names to be able to thank them personally.

Until next time... xo

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