I Need An Intervention

Since I've moved to St Pete just over three and a half years ago, I've taken a massive amount of digital photos.  In fact, I wore out my first camera, a Canon Powershot, and moved on to a Nikon with more more zoom power.  Every time I go out for a walk, I am always seeing some good shots.  Lately, if I don't have my camera with me, I use my cell phone, which I got within the past year.  But, alas, the quality is just not that good.

My six year old HP laptop was getting annoying since it was running extremely slow, then stopped allowing me to do routine things, like update iTunes and burn a CD and access the iTunes store, not that i purchase that much there.  Then my printer died too, so after some window shopping online, I headed over to the Apple Store and made my purchase.  I opted for a desktop, figuring that my eyes were not going to get any better, and who needs to squint at that small laptop screen.  I loaded my digital library onto the iMac and topped out at just over 15,500 photos.  YIKES!!!  So, like a maniac, I have been going through, labeling, deleting, merging events and putting together some slideshows, I guess, to take the place of hard copy albums which many consider 'Old School'.  So far, I've put together eleven shows, and burned Volume 1 of "Living in Paradise".  I've been having fun with this, in fact, so much, that the other night I didn't go to bed until 5:00 AM.  I couldn't help myself, I was on a roll.  What are you talking about?  I don't have a problem.  What time is it?  I'm about ready for breakfast.

I figure after the slideshows, I may aim at organizing photos to get some books printed.  But that won't be until I'm 90.

Easter Weekend 2011

One of our family traditions is to have ricotta pie on Easter.  There are so many different recipes for it.  Some of my favorite were the ones with coconut, spearmint, chocolate chunks, or rice.  Even a 'plain' one e buono!

I went to Mazzaro's on Friday morning before work to see if I could get one to bring to Easter dinner at Pete's and Joe's. I timed it right!  Got the pie, an egg bread and rice balls and was out of there in 15 minutes!

On Saturday morning Otto came by after he got out of work and we walked down to the Saturday Morning Market downtown.  I think because of the holiday weekend, it wasn't as crowded as usual, but I liked it that way!  On the way down, I spotted this big 'cricket' (I think that's what it is) on this white bird of paradise. And another one in the upper right corner area.

One of the first things we did was hit the Empanada booth.  Otto had a breakfast empanada and I had a guava and cream cheese one.

YUM!!!

 It was a beautiful day out there!  You could feel the summer sun upon us.

              

Enjoying the nice weather!

Parrot on a bike!

Wayne made jello shooters to bring to dinner.  Made with bubble gum flavored vodka.  Smoooooooth!!!

We were told that admission was by wearing a chapeau.  Embarrassingly, we were the only ones with caps.  We should have sent everyone else home.

Group picture before the showers came through.

My turn in the chair!

Dinner was scrumptious!  Missed a shot of the dessert course, but all was yummy!

I got the nose!  Missed my family, but had a fund time with friends!  Got to talk on the phone with the family though . . . but sure do miss them!

Happy Birthday Adele!!!

Today is Adele's Birthday!!!  I have enjoyed having her back in Florida!  She was too far away when she was at school!  I'm glad she's much closer now because that means we get to spend more time together making new special memories!

Adele graduated from BYU last August!  YAY!  Her major was theatre arts.  Getting a job has not been quick or easy, but she has managed to do well!  She was interning with a theater organization in Orlando.  And recently she has begun working at her most favorite spot on earth!  Disney!  All that magic just for you!

 Adele got to visit with me in September in St. Pete.  Here she is at the Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum in North Shore Park.

Having lunch at Frenchy's on Clearwater Beach.

This is Adele as Dorothy when she was 4 (am I right?).  Always a huge Wizard of Oz fan . . . she got to be the real Dorothy at the All Hallows Ball in Tampa at the Tampa Convention Center last October.

And I got to be the Lollipop Guild Munchkin!

There were over 2,000 attendees at the All Hallows Ball and Adele, er, I mean Dorothy, commented that it was the first party she ever attended where everyone was her friend!

And earlier in October, Adele and I had a Daddy Daughter Dinner Date at Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian in Disney World.  What a special night that was!  It was four years ago to the month, that I had a DDDD with Mia and Gina there!

We had a wonderful dinner and fun evening!

It was a beautiful evening and after dinner we walked around the grounds and took a boat ride over to the Magic Kingdom.

The next morning we had breakfast in Winter Park.  YUM!

Christmas time . . . all four Gabriel siblings were together for the first Christmas in five years! (Plus Joy and tiny Ruby!)

And a quick trip to Orlando before Mia had to head back to Utah.  Ummmm sushi!

In Orlando again to celebrate Gina's Birthday.  Seems like we're always eating, doesn't it!

Looking forward to many new special times and memories with you Adele!  LOVE YOU!!!

Born This Way - Monster Ball Tour

What an amazing concert last Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa!  Lada G performed for about two hours and spent a lot of time talking with the audience.  It seemed more like she was having fun at a party than performing a concert.

A New Addiction

My 6 year old HP laptop was showing signs of aging.  It was my first foray into the world of 'PC' for the home.  I always had a Mac, from the first model back in 1984. No hard drive, had to keep flipping the floppies.  I had recently returned to NY State service and was involved with a task force.  Our group had two IBM desktops.  I remember one my co-workers use to tease me about having a Mac.

Next up was a Mac Centris 610.  Had that for a while until Apple introduced the iMac.

We pre-ordered one and picked it up on the first day it was available.  How radical and futuristic it seemed!  We ended up with a couple of these for our family.

When Joe went off to college in the 90s, he took an iMac G4 with him.  I thought that design was pretty cool, although it didn't hang around long!

And one of my daughters has a MacBook Pro with her at college.

So, here I am, back to a Mac and LOVING IT!!!  I love the cordless keyboard and mouse.  Only wire on my desk is the power cord going into the back of the Mac.  The loaded software is great.  System is FAST compared to that old laptop.  And I am addicted to iPhoto.  I loaded over 12,000 photos that I have taken.  Most from after I moved to St Pete.  I'm sorry . . . I just can't control myself!  I've been busy with cleaning the files out and organizing them.  And, I discovered the slide show function.  I select photos and set them to music from my iTunes library.  Time sure flies when you are having fun!

Next on tap:  an iPad.  Stay tuned . . .

Lady Gaga Monster Ball Tour Tampa

Saturday night Lady Gaga brought her Monster Ball Tour to Tampa.  Pete and Joe asked if I would be interested in going a few weeks ago, and I replied, "Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah, Roma, Roma-ma, GaGa, ooh la la, of course I would."

After parking across the street, we headed over to the St. Pete Times Forum.  On the way, Joe ran into some friends.

 Lots of wannabees there!  Almost as many costumes as the All Hallows Ball!

 Caught a glimpse of Lady G on the plaza.

Joe and Pete before their ears starting hurting.  It wasn't from Lady G either, it was the opening acts!

This guy in the center there, was dressed in the fashion of the lead in the opening act.

These girls purchased their sodas, drank them down, then rolled up their hair.  They asked me to help them with their hairspray, and I said, "I'm sorry, I cannot hear you . . . I'm kinda busy."

 We had a good view from our seats.  As we were waiting for the concert to begin, we noted there were several groups of older people sitting around us and in the row in front of us.  We joked that we were in the senior section.  We had a group of young (early 20s) girls sitting in our row.  We were the first three seats on the end.  All through the concert, they were up and down; beer, bathroom, cigarette break.  They kept apologizing, but we said, no problem.  By the end of the concert, the one next to me was fumbling under her seat for her shoes, leaning on me . . . then said that she hoped I didn't mind, but she was wasted.  OK.

One good thing, actually, the girls were on their feet through most of the Lady Gaga show.  We were extremely happy that we had old people in front of us!!!

 There were projections on this drop down curtain between stage and costume changes.

The concert was AMAZING!  Throughout the performance, she talked with the audience.  It didn't feel like she was performing a concert, but more like she was having fun at a party.  This photo is not mine, but from a performance in another city.

 This is from another city too.

She had this light wand that she used during her number and afterwards used it as a spotlight as she talked to members of the audience.  At one point concert goers threw things onto the stage and she picked some of them up and maybe read them or held them up to show.

She calls a member of the audience and talks with them and invites them to meet her afterwards.  At our concert, it was a mother who was there with her young son (maybe 11 or 12).  Virgin Mobile donates $$$ at each concert if the phone call gets answered.   Sorry to say, I didn't hear my phone and missed out.  This woman was the second call.  Drats!