Avocados? I think not

Every year, my neighbour's avocado tree is laden with the best tasting fruit around.
A nice creamy  mellow textured flesh, that eats like butter....the perfect accompaniment to a fresh salad.
I am the beneficiary extraordinaire......I always accept graciously when they are handed to me over the garden wall....."These are for you neighbour."......words I wait to hear all year.
It's avocado season, and I have refused to buy any from the wayside vendors or the supermarket, because I know from whence mine will come.
To my great dismay, I heard Brownie barking incredibly loud, and throwing a hissy fit yesterday afternoon.  Couldn't figure out what on earth was the matter, maybe the meter man had ventured too far from reading the meter, maybe a child had come in to retrieve a ball, maybe my other neighbour had friends over and they were making a racket on their patio.....maybe.......Brazen!!!

Yes, there was the criminal sitting in my neighbour's avocado tree, biting and throwing all of "my avocados" on the ground.
I gasped in disbelief.
My neighbour was not at home, and Brazen knew this, so no matter how much I tried to scare him away, he just sat and ate "my avocados" with the meanest look of contempt on his face.
How many avocados do you see left?
Avocados for me this year.....I think not.

Helen, I hope you read this, and take pity on me, your poor avocado-less friend.

My in-house decorator

Guess what?
I now have an in-house decorator.  I never thought in a million years that I would be able to afford such a luxury.  It's a free service from what I can tell. No formal contract was signed, so I have no idea when my good fortune will run out.
It's been a pleasure having him around........??????

This space is much too cramped........it defeats the purpose.

This isn't quite right either.

Aaaahhhhhh....this is just right.

He has re-arranged all of the terra cotta pots on the patio in various places......to positions where they are more "visibly enhanced".......obviously my eye for detail was lacking in this respect.
There seems to be some Feng Shui  involved as well.  My yin and yang were way off course according to him.  My space alignment is now perfect.
Thank goodness for my in-house decorator....what on earth would I do without him?

A Worky Worky day

Yesterday when I woke up, I thought I was going to spend part of the day refurbishing/reupholstering my office chair, but little did I know that things would not go according to plan...do they ever???

On entering my office, and reaching to open the window, I realised that the screen was dirty, so I decided that I would wash the screen off.   Outside I traipsed, and gave it a good wash-off with the hose.

After removing the screen, I saw that the window grille had a few minor rust spots, so I decided to sand it and repaint it.
 

Between the coats of paint, I used an old painter's trick..

Stored the paintbrush in a secured plastic bag safely on the fridge........so the bristles would not dry out between painting

Freshly painted window grille

Of course, it was only natural that the window would need to be cleaned as well....obviously.

When I looked at the sill, it just didn't look fresh enough, so I decided to paint the window sill and frame.

All finished.....a nice clean outlook on the world.
(You can't even see the screen, it's so clean)

Wow, how did I get myself involved in these maintenance chores today?  I was supposed to be covering my office chair with new fabric.....maybe tomorrow.
Talk about a worky worky day.

Sweet!!!

After falling and damaging my scar-prone skin yesterday, it was only fair to me, myself, and I, that I should venture out to cheer myself up.
There was a Sunset Jazz Concert and CD Launch at the Frank Collymore Hall, which I had wanted to attend, and I decided to stick to my plans. After all, I had been looking forward to the performance for many weeks.
Now, I don't know how many times I have mentioned that I LOOOVE jazz, so I was not about to let any HUGE bruise and painful shin keep me away from my jazz appointment...no sireee!!
Not only that,"The Hall" as it is affectionately known, is closed during the month of September for maintenance and repairs, so this was the last concert for a while.

"The Original Unit" jazz trio was launching their first cd, "Present Day", along with a musical presentation, and I needed to be there.

  Stefan, David & Neil

 From the programme: "The Original Unit is a Barbadian jazz trio consisting of pianist Stefan Walcott, bassist Neil Newton, and drummer David Carnegie. Their music combines elements of Caribbean music, straightahead jazz, soul, electronica and free improvisation.
David, Stefan and Neil started playing together at Harrison College and went on to pursue music at The Barbados Community College and in the UK.
This project came about because it was the fist time in more than a decade that the three of them were going to be in the same place long enough to record an album. This album draws on their myriad musical experiences, shared and otherwise, and is hopefully the first of many together."

These guys played exceptionally well together.  All of the songs were composed by them, and the programme only included one cover, "Well you Needn't" by Thelonious Monk.
Stefan played the piano with a comfortable style, while Neil played his bass guitar with grace, and David played the drums with such ease, that they all three had me captivated all evening.

Even though it was all new music, it seemed as if they had been playing together forever, each feeding off of the other in a true symbiotic relationship.


I know I have mentioned before that learning to play a musical instrument is on my Bucket List. I was leaning towards the steel pan, but after last night's performance, I think I'm going to buy a drum set.
The drummer David Carnegie made playing the drums look so effortless, and EASY.

All I can say is, the evening was magical, the music was captivating, and if I had to sum up the performance in one word.........it was........SWEET!!!!

My big old bruise

"Watch out Brownie!!  It's wet and slippery....please be careful." He continued to run playfully down the incline of the pavement, stopping at the bottom wagging his tail.
In the next second, I had slipped and fell.
It had rained during the night, and I had gone outside a little earlier than usual to bait over my neighbour's wall, from whence the Giant African snails were coming.  Walking and throwing snail pellets with total abandon, I was a bit too hasty, and in a split second I was sitting on the pavement in total disbelief. I had actually fallen and landed on my butt, grazing my left shin on the low retaining wall. The bruise was HUGE....and hurt like #$@%&*.
When was the last time that you took a tumble?  Falling so simply was just not the thing to do today.  I had so much stuff planned to do.
Limping inside and wincing in pain, I applied the medical stuff of choice....hydrogen peroxide and an antibiotic ointment, ever so gently.   It really hurt to touch.
I was not looking for sympathy, but Brownie stepped up to the plate and came and gave me a lick, as if to say, "It's going to be okay...just rest today."   And that is exactly what I did. Took myself to the couch with a good book, propped my injured foot up, and read all day...what luxury.

I have spared you the photo of my bruised shin...it is not pretty, and it hurts like @#$%^&*.
In the evening I finally got up, and went out to cheer myself up.....more on that next time.