Angel, not a neighbor but quite a drive to go visit her in her village.  I don't do that often

Jackie, we incorporated the balcony into the living room to make it more spacious: we separated the original space to make an extra bedroom when the children were growing, so that my daughter could have her own place.
I do have hanging pots on the outside banister, but it is too windy near the sea for vegetable and no room for deep roots.

Enjoyed seeing your photos, Bubble.

Had a short note from Sato.  He is improving but the rehabilitation program is keeping him very busy.  He said Sachiko is home but has to rest.  I have posted on her Facebook page but haven't seen any postings by her in a long time.

They are both missed...I sent Sachiko a get well email after Sato posted her email for members to get in touch......she hasn't replied so must be still recuperating......be nice to welcome her back....

Those Lemon Trees look like they get lots of fruit off them.  Would be good to have a tree here. Checked lemons in the Store on Friday. Selling for  $1 each. Even the small ones in a 6 lemon bag for $5. Not worth buying those.  Been high prices for almost a year now.  Now Limes pretty cheep . Wonder why the difference.

Jeanne, I have noticed recently since the cost of lemons have gone sky high, when you go to a restaurant and order ice tea with lemon, you get lime instead.

Mary

I find lime so much tastier in tea, in the salad too.

Going to be a long, hot and noisy two months.   We are on the fringe of the 17 year cicada.  Not many at the park but posting a photo of a tree two yards down from me.  I had removed a large tree several years ago so any cicada have to find the nearest post or tree.  Remember in the past raking up bags of their shells.  They crawl out of the ground, break out of the shells and fly up into the trees.  Attaching the link to a short, but great, video of their short life span.   There are serious recipes on the web for them but I will put them on my list, including crawfish that I will never eat.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/cicada-time-lapse-video-by-samuel-orr_n_3361789.html

WOW Jack, I am glad we don't have them- so numerous that it is scary.
We only have the odd cockroaches at times.

I just got a creepy feeling seeing that photo.  Don't think we have anything that bad here. If there was I would be gone.  Can't stand a ant. I saw the Tree Roaches in Texas. No place for me.

Jack, that photo reminds me of 2002-2003 when we had pine beetles everywhere and trees were dying, becoming dry and brittle. Then in 2004, the forest fires from lightning and from humans began and burn just over 6,590,140 acres. Most of that fuel came from pine beetle damaged and dead trees. To finish those dead and dying trees, Alaska fires had consumed 5,098,829.9 acres in 2015.

This will be my 4th time, and not bad if you stay indoors night when they screech.  They lay eggs in the bark of trees and may kill the younger trees.   Other than that, very little damage, do not bite/sting.   My son and friends would carry them around and shake them to have them make noise, and scare the girls.  Recall when Shirley was emptying his pockets to do the wash and he had one in the pocket, after a lecture he did not repeat.    Thought Jessie would ignore, but just had her playing with one, so swept a few away and had her come inside.

One would think that in 2016 Science would have found something that could have put a stop to all these bugs and things that seem to kill trees and plants.  They find stuff to spray on our fields which not healthy . They kill deer and animals by the millions.  Our lakes are so that they tell us not to eat the fish from them. Some states the drinking water bad. More lung problems now because of Pollution in the air. (They blame cigarettes for this.). Every one working in our 2 hospitals at this time are wearing masks.
It doesn't seem like the have found out very much over the last 100 years to make things  Healthier.   Now I am wrong.  Last week they found that the thing that was causing Polio in the 50s. May be able to be used to help in Brain Cancer. But was that found in China.?
Now saying that found 600 pregnant women in US that are showing signs from the Mosquito bite .

I think I am being kinda complaining today because out for 10 minutes on land next to me and got Poison Ivy on my foot already.

Jeanne and now they are warning to be sure you are getting enough salt.  I will be 86 in Sept, with very minor problems.   I grew up in Pittsburgh the then Dirty City.   Smoke and fog from the mills and lived only blocks away.   Worked for 2 years in a coke plant where they would put coal into a furnace and then put the fire out by dumping water that made steam and would take the finish off an automobile. Worked for several years in an office, but still had soot on my collar from air I breathed. For years I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes, overweight and do not know the word exercise. Drink tons of coffee that they said was bad, now good.   Cut out candy and now chocolate is good for you.  You can find "experts" on any subject and others with opposing opinions.  Feel moderation is the thing.   Now leaving to go to our favorite pub, meet my son and watch hockey and have 3 or 4 strong beers.   (Know I will be up a number of times tonight)

It's not that they haven't found a cure, it's because they wouldn't make money from that cure. Or not as much as from the damage.
Jack, it wasn't that they were wrong so much as you were either one of the lucky ones or it was an effect over time.

I'll give you a good example, for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years,  women died from childbirth or childbed fever. It wasn't until the mid nineteenth century that it was discovered that the filth on the doctor's or midwife's hands and the instruments that were reused thousands of times and never washed that was killing the women. It also killed thousands in battlefields and in battlefield hospitals. Yet, we still had people surviving those early medical practices.

Yes. Jack.  I think we are both lucky people when it comes to health. My Area in UK. Was Industrial also. Nothing but Cotton Mills. Coal fires, Fog. Lots of rain and Then 7 years of war. Eat what could find. But will say I think what we ate was more healthy for us than what people eat now.  I try to stay to my war time recipes.  If any Med needed I remember my GMothers  cures and stay away from Prescriptions . I think Genetics has a lot to do with things. I was given Black beer to drink from being a young person. Was very small and they  thought it would help..  We may as well keep doing what we have for the rest of our time now.

Wow, Jack, that is an amazing photo & thoroughly enjoyed the link.  I would have preferred hearing the "call of the wild" rather than music, although the the music was nice.  Never knew all about those critters except we used to gather the shells and called the flying ones "jar-flies".... maybe because like your son, my brothers caught them... kept in jars?  I'm not hearing or seeing any here so far.  Wonder if they come out the same year all over the US, we did have more than normal last year.  Thanks for the photo & link!

My husband had a "salt free" diet but the family doctor told him to "modify"... but he had to take iodine pills to make up for not getting it in his salt.  I do listen to my body    and when it tells me I need salt I have no problem indulging in a bag of potato chips or cheese puffs!  Seriously, at 81 & going strong today, I just live & do what's best for the moment.  This past week I've impressed myself with doing MORE than 10,000 steps per day 3 or 4 days (thought I was doing good when I got to 2,000 early on with the FitBit.) 

I am ready to sit back & chill out for a few days after all the work getting the house painted & pool filled.  Got most of the grass carpet around the pool vacuumed yesterday & was looking good... until this morning when I see the water is about to run over on the low side (away from the house) from lots & lots of rain.  The lightning is not helping as it kills the chlorine in the water, at least after a storm the tester shows low to none so I have to put more tablets in the pool floater & bring it back up.  Not a major problem, just extra work & testing to get the level balanced.  Pouring again, must have a look, poor Tom didn't get home before it started so he is tucked away in a hidey hole where he stays when caught out.  He hears the thunder long before I do but stays put where ever he is rather than chance running home in the rain.

Patricia, we also had the pine beetles here & hardly a pine tree in sight... and most in Colorado are also gone. Some of the best campgrounds are totally bare of trees now.

Thanks for the news about Sato & Sachiko, Jean.... hope they recover & come back soon. 

Better get up & start moving, or go back to sleep~  still raining, love the sound.

Know you all have heard it, keep in mind.    Life is short, eat desert first 

Just in from mowing the lawn, a few Cicada flying around and empty shells where several dozen climbed my Cleveland Pear Tree.   Had two land on me but know they do not sting/bite.   Used the blower and cleaned off the back of the house, and patio since Jessie decided she likes them.

Haha, Jack, think of it as "good protein" for Jessie!   My daughter's favorite expression to eat desert first.  I did that for lunch & actually wasn't very hungry for the pizza I baked.  Had the oven warm for pizza so baked a couple loaves of banana bread... actually half loaves with extra bananas & lots of pecans & walnuts.  Should taste  good when my sons & I go to Colorado. 

I need to run to the store but waiting for street flooding to go down.  Weather guessers saying we will have rain "clear through the week end", will make for a soggy holiday. 

I haven't seen any cicadas around.  We used to often hear locusts in Ocala but haven't heard any here yet.  We've been having some beautiful weather.

Jean.  All I remember about Florida is . What do they call them?.  Look like little crocodiles climbing up the trees.  My kids loved those. Then in Louisiana. When my youngest married they got stationed there. In a month she called to come home. Had snakes in the apartment, Garbage can. All over. Scared her. We just found them a much nicer place to live and so she settled in fine. I would have been back to Illinois also. Never seen one here. Texas yes.

I wondered when we first moved here why so many places were called Blue Water this or that.  But then I noticed how blue the Choctawhatchee Bay is.  Different shades of blue depending on the sun and weather.  Today it was really blue.  Even bluer than this photo shows.  Took the photo when crossing the Mid Bay Bridge.

A contrast of colors.  There are many lily ponds.  This one is beside the Whole Foods grocery store.

Jean I will take the blue water.   As for bugs, our first trip to Orlando years ago we were put into a first floor room.  I heard Shirley yell and she was pointing at a Palmetto Bug on the bed.   I called the office and they agreed to move us to the second floor, but the clerk said to not tell my wife, but they can fly. 

I remember the first time I took my UK family to Florida. Few years back now. Use to be some awful Motels. We drove from NewOrleans to the East coast of Florida. Hollywood I think it was
Late at night, no reservations. Saw a Motel looked really nice. Older , one story. checked in. My older aunt was first to bathroom. Such a scream from there. Looks and the tub was just full of Water Bugs. This Motel had a false front on it. Was awful behind. So we checked out right away. Think we slept in car on the beach until daylight. I never put my suit case on the floor again in a Motel.  I know that the health dept. now check all of them.  However friend got bed bugs and it was from a Expensive Chain Hotel In NY. so things are still not perfect.  Now I am itching just reading.

Where is everyone hiding  We sure miss our 2 members in Japan. Hope they will be back here soon.

I know I am not good with a camera but it does surprise me that there arn't many more people coming into this forum.  Is it because more now use their IPhone and take fast pictures.  I know until my family all got theirs I got lot more photo's put into my E-Mails. Now it is all Texting and Facebook. Never get any. have to ask them to put to my EM.

They all must have hundreds on the Phones.

Jeanne my iPhone does a good job, you should try, then hook up to the computer and you are in business.    I seldom carry my good camera now, the iPhone is quite often enough.

Jack.  Surprised. I thought you just loved playing with what you camera will do. Still do more than I phones. They can't get the full views like a good camera.

Now I can photo what I want on my Ipad.  Not the same though.  I sort of still miss the old phones. putting on slides. having my big Screen.  Remember how people would hook you to coming over to watch the vacation photos on the sheet on the Wall.  Have not seen anyones vacation pictures in a long time.  I must have hundreds of them from most of Europe and all of the USA.  A full album of when family came from UK first time. Full of all the states and Disney World ones great.  My kids go but sure don't have any records unless you want to sit and see a few on the Phone.

Quote from: JeanneP on May 26, 2016, 04:44:30 PM
Where is everyone hiding  We sure miss our 2 members in Japan. Hope they will be back here soon.
...................

I see Sato has posted, but don't see that Sachiko (sp) has even Registered since the crash. Has anyone notified her of the problem?

I believe that Sato told her about the new start up.  She was in the hospital for a long time. Doubt she is ready to start doing all the things she was involved in.  We just hope one day she will be back with her great photography . Back able to do her traveling.

Sachiko is out of the hospital, but recovering and receiving some help. As Jeanne says, it will probably be awhile yet.