Gulf Breeze Zoo 2012

Yesterday we went to the Gulf Breeze Zoo. We had not been there since last year. So a few things have changed since our last visit.

They now have a budgie aviary filled with those colorful little birds. My son and I entered the aviary with cameras ready and we were not disappointed as the photos will show at the end of this post.

Also it must be the “love” season for birds, because a lot of them, especially the males, were strutting their stuff in front of the all the females. We got photos of some of them parading in front of the females. Must be a male thing.

Anyway here are a few photos for your enjoyment.

Bellingrath Gardens February 2012

We managed to get to Bellingrath Gardens yesterday afternoon. I took a few pictures and wanted to share them with you. This time of year there is not a whole lot of flowers blooming, but the gardens are still a great end place to be. The weather was a little chilly and it was overcast.

Enjoy the pics. Hopefully, you will get to go there sometime.

Entering the gardens

The fountain in the rose garden

Flowers in the greenhouse

Map

my favorite

How Does One Exceed “UNLIMITED” Internet Access?

I am P/O’d at my cable company, Cox Cable. We Received the following email from Cox Cable yesterday afternoon. Of course, I had my son check for any security problems and fix them pronto, just in case someone was “borrowing” our internet.

“Usage for Current Billing Period: 202 Gigabytes

Dear Cox High Speed Internet Customer,

Each of our High Speed Internet Packages has a specific data usage amount. The
amount depends on your Cox High Speed Internet package and corresponds to the
speeds provided with the package. This email has been sent to inform you that
you have recently exceeded your Internet package’s monthly data usage amount.

If you are not a heavy Internet user, there are possible causes you should
consider:

* Someone else in your household may be engaging in online activity that uses
large amounts of data;

* You may have an unsecured wireless home network that is being used by
persons outside your home to access the Internet; or

* Your account may have been compromised by a virus and is being utilized by
others.

Keep in mind the monthly data usage amount combines download and upload usage.
For additional information, please click here.

http://ww2.cox.com/DataUsageAllowances

If after checking for these problems, you find that you are still exceeding the
usage amount, you may want to consider upgrading to another package that more
closely matches your use of the service.

The monthly data usage amount for each Cox High Speed Internet package is listed
in the Features and Limits of Service located at

http://ww2.cox.com/aboutus/policies/limitations.cox

If you have questions regarding this policy or feel that you received this
notice in error, please send an email to support@cox.net after you exit this
notice, or call Cox Tier 2 Support at 1-888-978-3250.

We hope you continue to enjoy your Cox High Speed Internet service, keeping in
mind the monthly data usage amount for your Internet package.

Thank you for using Cox High Speed Internet.

Cox Online Privacy Policy and related terms and agreements

http://www.cox.com/policy ”

Needless to say this really made me angry. And I fired off not one, but 2 emails to Cox Cable letting them know how I felt. If all Cox Cable users let them know how they feel, this may put a stop to this nonse nse. (similar to what happened to Verizon)

Here is an article that I found interesting:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/245231/internet_service_providers_may_start_usagebased_charging.html

You may have to copy and paste the above link, but it does provide interesting reading material.

I have a subscription to Netflix and I love being able to watch old TV shows, something that Cox Cable does not provide.

Evidently Cox Cable feels Netflix and Hulu are getting a free ride, so they (Cox) are going to charge their customers instead of sending a bill to Netflix and Hulu. Does this make sense to you? Not to me.

Plans for My Birthday!

My birthday was yesterday. Another year older and another year wiser…maybe. LOL! Anyway, I made plans for the weekend. Told my family I wanted us all to go to Bellingrath Gardens for the day. Enjoy some roaming around the gardens and just relaxing. Taking a few pics. A short mini vacation so to speak.

I even requested a couple of vacation days from work and I got them. So I have a 4 day weekend. NICE!

The problem…it looks like the weather does NOT want to cooperate. Thunder storms and tornadoes are predicted. That does not make me happy. If I cancel and go the day after, no one else will be able to go due to work schedules. Bummer!

Well maybe I should count my blessings. I got some great birthday wishes from family and friends. Nice to have family and friends. Youngest got me a gift card for JoAnn’s Fabric store. So a little shopping is in order and their sale starts today. Oldest gave me a Sweet 16 birthday card … reverse the numbers and you’ll know my age. He has a warped sense of humor, gets that from me.

Well if we don’t get to go to the gardens, maybe we can all do it next month or the month after. Maybe I can even come up with some alternative “indoor” type plans. Just have to give it some thought….hmmm… wonder if this old brain is up to the task.

Major Car Repair…YIKES!

I own a 1998 Toyota Corolla. I bought it used from a friend of my son for $1500.00 about 2 years ago.

I had some minor work done on it when I bought it. I expected it, so no big deal. I even bought new tires. I have to say I like the car for several reasons. It gets great gas mileage. It is easy to park. We’ve even taken several trips in it. It handles well and it is suited to me as I am short and this is a small car.

Lately, I’ve noticed a knocking noise and the handling is off. So after I got my IRS check, I took it to my mechanic for a check up.

This is what is wrong with it …. bad rack n pinion and tie rods, bad struts, bad axles, bad/broken motor mounts. This is going to set me back about $2200, but I did learn that all of these things were original to the car. So they lasted about 15 years. I’m hoping the car will last me another 15 years before anything major needs to be replaced. I really like the idea of “No Car Payment”.

Did I mention, I love my car!

My mechanic owns a 1996 Toyota Corolla and they continually spout the virtues of the Toyota. They’ve told me with regular maintenance the car will last forever. I certainly hope so…at least until I can no longer drive due to my age and condition.

Another Pincushion Tutorial

I found this site on YouTube with a fabulous pincushion tutorial. You can use up some of those pieces of fabric you have and not feel guilty about saving them. That empty tuna can or cat food can makes a great base. Just make sure you clean it well to get the fishy smell out.

You will need a glue gun, some scrap lace, a bit of felt, a decorative button and some feathers or other decoration. You will also need something to add weight to the can, some fiberfill, and some rubber bands.

Here’s the site for your viewing pleasure:

And this is the one I made this morning. My lace is a little wide, so I had to add a base to the can. I used an old rubber stamp base and glued it to the bottom.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Ahh….February…the month of love and romance. Remember when we were kids and we all took those little punch out type Valentine cards to school and exchanged them with everyone in our class. Then as we got older and were in our teen years, we got more elaborate Valentine cards and, of course, the expected box of chocolates. Then we got married and our spouses gave us those cards and chocolates.

But curiosity raises its head. Where did it all begin? Well here is a site to consider when that question crosses your mind.

http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day

But whatever you may believe, I hope you get lots of chocolate on Valentine’s Day.