No sunshine today either

Another dismal rainy day....it just wasn't wise to go out on my jaunt, not with the rain falling seriously from the sky all day long.....more flooding.
Stayed indoors all day wearing a warm cardigan and watching movies under the covers, while Mr.B slept on a towel on the floor to keep warm.
A tearjerker for me was "One Chance,"  the story of Paul Potts the opera singer who was the first winner of Britain’s Got Talent back in 2007.  Yes, I know I get quite emotional during some of these heart-wrenching movies, but (Spoiler Alert) it all turned out well in the end.
After lunch I ventured outside to film the water rushing down the watercourse beside my home.
You can hear the force of the water and see the large raindrops falling from the sky.

Dare I hope for sunshine tomorrow?

Phew! What a day!

Today it rained all day....tons and tons of raindrops fell all over the island....schools were closed and many places were flooded.

An entire day without sunshine......the water course beside my home was filled with torrents of water gushing downhill removing everything in its path....
Even Mr. BrownBerts was pretty pissed about being indoors all day.

.........and then this evening the rain abated just in time to see this........

 

 In a blaze of glory, the sun won over the skies for a brief moment......

 

....and was gone as quickly as it appeared.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be filled with lots more sunshine.

The best companion in the world!!

Brownie "Heavy B"

Hi, it's me Brownie.  I thought it was time for me to show my face on this blog again.
Mum has been pretty sad since my dear master passed, and it has been up to me to keep her on track.
I am there for her every minute of the day....and I mean every minute of the day......she even had to shoo me out of the toilet the other day when she was doing her business....but I just wanted to make sure she was okay.
I know she doesn't feel much like eating, and has been enjoying more snacks than usual, but you know what that means....I am enjoying more snacks too.
Yes, I'm sad too and she makes sure that I get extra hugs and cuddles, and together we make a great team of comforting each other.
A couple of days ago while she sat on the patio just staring out to sea , I tried to get her attention by jumping up and pawing her lap so she would lift me up for a cuddle, but guess what she called me......."Heavy B"..... and lifted me on to this other chair instead.
Isn't she rude to be calling me "Heavy B?"  Just because she weighed me the other day and I am now 21lbs, and according to my dear old vet "I could do without eating for a few days," she is calling me "Heavy B"....the nerve.
Don't worry about Mum feeling lonely, she has me...."Heavy B".....the best companion in the world!!!

The word according to Carl

Do you like your friends?  The really close friends.....the ones who are there for you in thick and thin....the ones who tell you like it is.....the ones who've got your back no matter what.
I've got a good friend, his name is Carl and he lives in NYC, actually that's where I stay when I'm visiting the city.
I didn't travel this year, so I took the opportunity to order a few needed items online and have them sent to my dear friend Carl, who would then transship them to me via friends or relatives visiting the island....it's a nice arrangement since I am part of the transshipment process too when I'm there.
Okay back to Carl.
He is a genuine person, and not one to "hide his mouth", he will tell you in a heartbeat if you're making a silly decision or taking a wrong turn in life.  I've known him for a long time, and I trust his judgment and his fair manner in situations requiring a level head.
My personal Confucius says.
I've got a few girlfriends who exhibit these same qualities too, but remember I'm telling a story about Carl.
Not being able to visit NYC this year, and still wanting to purchase a few items that I would have normally purchased if I had been there, I sat down and placed a few orders online.
I'm not the typical girl with a ton of shoes and bags, I'm more practical and when I find a well made item I tend to stick with that brand.
Case in point....I love Liz Claiborne bags, well designed and well made, and if well taken care of, they last forever and ever.
Now granted, when one sits down to order stuff online, the photos don't always do justice to the item, but we order anyway.
There are a few stipulations regarding my bag choices.....I love a bag with one long strap, I don't have time to be carting around a bag in the crook of my arm that may lead to arthritis later in life, nor do I have the time to be constantly adjusting a bag with two straps that keep falling off my shoulder....I don't believe in animal cruelty so my bags are not made from animal skin even the fake kind.....I also love a bag with lots of inside compartments, I am a tidy girl and to have a bag with one large opening to dump everything in just seems so chaotic to me.....and lastly I can't deal with the bariffle of metal embellishments on the outside of a bag either, I find it distracting from the simple design which I admire so much.
While placing my orders I found a great bag that fitted my equation.....Liz Claiborne....black faux leather....three inner compartments....long strap.....no unnecessary embellishments on the outside.....perfect (or so I thought).
The bag arrived at Mr. Carl's house along with the other items that were ordered.  I always have him open the packages and inspect every item before sending them on to me.
One morning my phone rings, and it's him on the other line, and before I could say "Howdy doo my friend?"  His words in my ears were, "Woman what is this ugly-ass bag that you ordered and send here to my house?"
My mouth dropped, but I already know not to give a flippant retort, because he really wants an answer to his question....his very serious question.
Then before I could answer, he continued, "It looks like something from one of those old time shows, Adams Family or something...you didn't order that for you surely?"
"Well yes, I did, I am presuming you don't like it?"
"No I most certainly do NOT!!" he responded.
"Well I'll see it when it gets here," I reply.
Our conversation went on for a few more minutes catching up on the happenings, and then we hung up.
I'm thinking to myself, "Heck what does he know?"  but then again I'm also thinking "Yes, he has great taste, so maybe I made a boo boo with my order or maybe the order was mixed up."
Suffice to say when the bag did arrive, and I opened the package, I was horrified....Carl was right....the bag was not "me" at all....it was an ugly-ass bag for sure.
Even if I had loved it, I didn't love it anymore.
One of my girlfriends came by and she loved it, so it was passed on to her immediately....it didn't even stay a minute.
Carl, my friend, I am thankful that you are my friend, and that you tell it to me straight without mincing matters.....if not I may be walking around with that bag strung over my shoulder and no one else may have told me it was ugly as sin.....thank you for being "you" and thank you for being there for me, and keeping me on track design wise.

Another "after all this time"

The trees in the garden are filled with blooming orchids....some I'd seen before.....

 ....... some nestle on the lower branches......

 ....while others are way overhead......

 ......yikes!!! this beauty caught me by surprise.

I've had this tiny thing for a few years.
Cuddled into the crook of a branch, it had never bloomed after all this time....
It was a "rescue" from the floor of the plant nursery which was being swept on one of my visits.  I brought the poor downtrodden piece of orchid home and gingerly placed it in a sheltered area in the tree, and basically forgot about it until today.
I'm so glad that I saved it.....isn't it a beauty?