Sorry, my apologies...

So, so VERY sorry that I have not posted in a long time. I seem to either (1) not have enough time; or (2) be totally uninspired and NOT willing to bore readers with a "nothing" post. However, my several weeks of recent silence is really due to (3) a crummy, awful, energy-robbing "bug" that I have been fighting off and on and on and on, for several weeks. You know -- one of those things that makes you think that tomorrow you will SURELY feel better. I tried holing up at the house, trying to avoid contact with others (to avoid spreading this thing around and to concentrate on taking care of myself). And sometimes, out of desperation, just going on and socializing anyway.

Truthfully, many, many others in this park have been experiencing similar problems and we have been exchanging tips and ideas for fighting it off. I guess the best route is the old tried-and-true: lots of rest, drinking lots of liquids and "dosing" myself with OTC drugs as needed. My best "drug of choice" is a generic version of Benadryl (currently it's a Walmart version) - I chop the caplet in half and then swallow one of these babies every 3 to 4 hours. That makes it possible for me to go for several hours without a facial tissue attached to my nose constantly. (Isn't THAT an attractive mental picture?) Add to that, a cuppa hot tea with honey and the juice from a lemon wedge, which is very soothing to my scratchy throat AND is a source of that "lots of liquids" that I mentioned earlier.

Hmmm... let's see what other fun items I can share with y'all.

My s.o., Mr. L, admits to a weakness for snacks, and altho' he loves to snack, he's asked me to hide them (the snacks) from his ready reach. And in this little place where we live outside of Tampa, that is DEFINITELY a challenge. I thought I had found the perfect solution. And that lead to THIS --

Yes, my "perfect" hiding place was the oven. I thought for sure that I would easily remember to remove the snacks before I pre-heated the oven. Preparing to bake some tilapia for dinner Thursday evening, I set the oven temp and turned on the oven. After several minutes, my (slighty stuffed-up) nose detected an unfamiliar odor, leading my brain to think, "I wonder what that smell is?"

And THEN the light bulb came on, as I realized what it probably was. I madly reached for the oven mitt and opened the oven door. The good news? I retrieved the two containers of mixed nuts (two different blends) before they were melted/welded to the oven rack and also before the containers were destroyed. The bad news? See the photo, with oven mitt and its permanently-attached ring of blue plastic from the lid of the nuts. Geesh... BTW, the tilapia was delicious. Sometimes it just isn't easy, being me...