And the Winner is . . .

Well, it looks like a done deal! And, needless to say, I am quite excited! This is the Villa Rosa, built in the 1920s. The apartment is a one bedroom, but it is HUGE! It's on the first floor, has big rooms, eat in kitchen, lots of storage, on site laundry and central air. And how could I resist those Majestic Palms out front? It's located in the Old Northeast section of St Pete, 5 blocks from the park along Tampa Bay. And, it's available on September 1. YIKES!!! I submitted my application this afternoon. UPDATE: I just got the call! I've been approved!


Funny thing, a man named Ralph showed me the apartment. For those of you who know me, I sometimes joke about changing my name to Raoul. In fact, a couple of years ago Mia and Gina gave me a Disney guest "official" name tag with "Raoul" on it. So, now when I relate the finding of an apartment in St Pete, the phrase, "Where do I sign, Raoul?" can be worked into the fabric of the story.


Here is a shot from the park on the Bay.



And here is a shot from the park looking west. My rental car is the PTCruiser parked there on the street where I'll be living if all goes well.

St Pete Apartment Hunting - Day 1

I started checking out the Old North East area of St. Petersburg, looking for apartments. It's a gorgeous area and very historical. Benoit area I think it's called also. Here are some photos of apartments and some of the streets and houses located in this area.

Some of the homes in the Old NE area...

Some of the streets were paved with these bricks

St Pete - My Ride

This is my ride. When I checked in at the counter at the airport, they wanted to give me a Durango. I said, "Er, no!" I reservered an economy car. This is what I got. It's kinda cool. I would have preferred the red Mustang convertable parked next to it in the garage.

Greetings from St. Petersburg!

I arrived safely last night. What an easy drive from Tampa airport to downtown St. Pete! All highway right to downtown, 3 blocks from my hotel! Did a little exploring, walking around a few blocks near my hotel. Not quite what I expected, but so far very nice! Quiet and laid back. No traffic. Ended up going to see Hairspray at the Muvico 20 screener 2 blocks from my hotel.

My hotel is more like a bed and breakfast. Only about 25 rooms and run by a young couple with a little boy named Jacob who actually runs the place!

Here's Jacob preparing the continental breakfast.

I'm Bad!

I have been terrible about posting to this blog. I'm going to get fired if I'm not careful! I thought I'd pretend it's "Show and Tell" time in school. So, here are two gifts I got for my recent birthday. Am I cool, or what?


Heading to Florida this coming week. Going to be checking out St. Pete area. I'm hoping to do less of this:















And more of THIS!:

Cheesecake Factory Birthday Bash

Tonight a group of us went to the Cheesecake Factory in Colonie Center to celebrate my ** Birthday which was earlier this week. Needless to say, I think we all left the place stuffed! Mary Ellen, our waitress was a great sport! Just before we left she told us that she had been off for three days and was not especially looking forward to getting back to work, but she said we made her night a lot of fun! It seemed like we were in the birthday room because even before our meal was served there were three different Happy Birthdays sung around us. When we got to the end of our meal, we were all too full to order cheesecake, but then thought of our adventure to NYC in April, when we had dinner at Carmine's in midtown and how everyone was too full for dessert there too. You'd never know it though by the way we all attacked the Titanic before the platter even hit the tablecloth! But tonight we resisted! At David's request, Mary Ellen assembled a group of "hot waiters" to sing Happy Birthday to me as she placed a mini hot fudge sundae in front of me. (NO COMMENT RUSSELL!!!) But alas, I left without even one phone number! Maybe next year........

Crazy Eights

OK, Gavin. You convinced me! And Sean just adds to my guilt! So...here goes:

The Rules:

1. Post these rules.

2. Players who are tagged write eight random facts/habits about themselves on their own blog.

3. At the end of the post, choose eight people to get tagged and list their names with links.

4. Don’t forget to leave a comment on their blog telling them that they’ve been tagged and to read your blog for the detail

8 Random facts about me / nasty, annoying habits I have:

1. I once engraved the entire Bible on the head of a pin, but then checked myself into Nurse Ratched's ward when I realized I left out John 3:16.

2. I shook Bobby Kennedy's hand when he drove thru Westgate Shopping Center.

3. I love ice cream. (Who doesn't?) My freezer doesn't keep ice cream. I eat it.

4. There's a good chance that I'm moving to Florida. Someone's got to play Mickey!

5. I once auditioned for the Chippendales. I got to play Dale. He's the one with the red nose.

6. I used to be 6'2", but then got sick. Now I'd settle for 5'2".

7. I saw Janis Joplin 4 times in concert. Once was in Schenectady at a club that used to be a bowling alley. I got to re-live Janis in concert in an off Broadway play, "Love, Janis" with my son. My son was blown away... as was I...all over again.

8. I saw Hair twice on Broadway. I wish they'd do a revival. I'm talking about the hair on my head.

I tagged 8 people, but not a one called me back. It's going to put me back in rehab. I tagged:

Earl Sinclair, Pinky Lee (is he still alive?), Pee Wee Herman, Ringo Starr, Uma Thurman, Jan Brady, Steve Jobs, and Lilo.

Puppy Love!

I was sitting on my front porch on Wednesday night, reading book 6 of Harry Potter. Several of my neighbors were out walking their dogs. The big dog is 10 years old. I forget his name. He acts like a puppy. He came up to me and started licking my face. Then he sat down next to me on the top step. After a short while and short chat with his owner, a woman who recognized me from the credit union where I work, his 'girlfriend' from next door came out.

Taffy (a.k.a. Taffeta Rene) had just gotten back from the groomer. Notice her pink bows on her ears. She is so cute! Every time I see her I think of Luke down there in Florida with the family. Maybe we'll have to get the two of them together?

Hand and Foot at the Saratoga Rose Inn

On Tuesday night my friend Russ (who I work with) was invited to some friends' place for a 'game night'. He asked me to go along, and since my dance card is always full, I immediately said yes. Turns out his friends run the Saratoga Rose Inn & Restaurant in Hadley, NY. The plans were that we were to bring our own drinks and we'd all chip in for pizza. So, on our lunch hour we ran to our friendly local Price Chopper and picked up some soda. When we got back to the office, we put it in the fridge so that it would be cold by the time we left work.

We zipped out of work as quick as we could, only to wait in rush hour traffic. I parked my car at the Latham Mall and rode up with Russ. He lives in Troy, so we figured that was a good plan. By about the time we got to Saratoga, we rememberd the soda sitting back in the fridge. Luckily, the printed directions we had gotten, had us turning at a T-intersection where there was a Stewart's on the corner. Good ole Stewart's in a pinch!

We arrived at the Inn just before 6:30 pm. What a pleasant surprise! The Saratoga Rose is an 1885 Queen Anne Victorian mansion set on a wooded hilltop at the convergence of the Hudson River and Sacandaga River, between Saratoga Springs and Lake George. Six others had already gathered in the library and were playing a board game. Russ and I were given a tour of the grounds and the Inn and then joined the group. After introductions, we sat about a plan for dinner. Instead of pizza, we decided to order Chinese.


After feasting on about six different dishes we divided into four teams of two each to play a game of Hand and Foot. They said it was similiar to Canasta. I replied, "Is that the game with the board and the little pegs?" "No, that's Cribbage." I guess my card playing experience was beginning to show. I guess Pinocle, Old Maid, Slap Happy and Birds was the extent of my card playing. We used 8 decks of cards because there were 8 of us playing. It's a fun game and I've brought home a set of instructions. Anyone for some Hand and Foot?

Here's the library where we played. It struck me that the Inn would be a good place to play 'Clue'. There were lots of candlesticks around that could be used as weapons. And one of the guys did remind me of Professor Plum.

OUCH!!!

A bunch of us local bloggers went to the Albany Tulip Festival this past Saturday. I think we all left our thinking caps at home. With such beautiful weather finally here who was thinking about sun block? Heck! Bring on that sun! Now should I wear white to highlight my stupidity or red to try and hide it? Decisions. Decisions.

Albany Tulip Festival

It was a gorgeous day for the Tulip Festival this year . . . I've never seen Washington Park so crowded! At one point, I heard Mayor Jennings say from the main stage that this was a record breaking crowd. I was impressed by the number of food vendors and the choices available. I was also impressed by the number of arts and crafts vendors and the quality of the merchandise offered.

I walked from my apartment and met Sean and Jeffrey and Gavin in the ampitheater at the Lake House. We were soon joined by a bunch of other friends and new friends. It was relaxing, just sitting there, but the sun was getting hotter and I knew the top of my head would not be happy later! So off we went to check out the food vendors and work the crowd.



One of the things that amazed me was the difference in the trees from my last post from last Sunday. This time of year, it always happens....buds on the trees and then *POOF* covered in leaves!








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Here's Sean. I think he's confused me with Helmut, the photographer from GQ.

Here's Gavin. He looks right at home in that sun!

Sean and Jeffrey, shades in the shade. And yours truly . . . adding some more redness to my head.

The main headliner on the main stage was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. We made sure we hung around for "I Love Rock n Roll". Buddahead and They Might be Giants were the other bands that I was familiar with.

The crowd kept growing . . .

I figured I'd give some of the tulips out of Washington Park some exposure too! I snapped these on my walk home.

Sunshine, Harry Potter and Tulips

It was such a beautiful day that I thought maybe I ought to get out in it! With blanket, water bottle, camera, iPod and Harry Potter 5, I ventured out to Washington Park in Albany. I figured that with a warm week coming up and rain predicted by Friday, maybe the tulips wouldn't look so good for the annual Albany Tulip Festival on Mother's Day weekend.

So I spent about 3 hours soaking up the sun and reading. It took me about three or four tries to get into that 5th book, The Order of the Phoenix, but I did it. I am a little over the half way mark. I want to finish it before the movie comes out this summer, so I bring it with me to the laundramat every time I go. With the nice weather finally here, I'm hoping to read and get some sun at the same time. This is my favorite time of year, not humid yet, and not a lot of bugs.












So.......here is my tulip gallery for 2007! I got carried away!

Look at that rebel!

And, I actually cooked tonight! And I've got leftovers for lunches! My old standby, chicken and peppers in the oven...this time with a raspberry pineapple sauce. YUMMY!

Karaoke Dreaming

Sometimes when I'm out with some friends at a karaoke night, some of my friends ask me, "Why don't you sing a song?" I've just never found one that though I could do justice to. Well, I used to joke that I'd like to do "Baby Got Back" but I think if I did that Sir Mix A Lot may hunt me down and kill me. Recently a friend sent me this rendition and I think it may be the perfect vehicle! Some of my friends have offered to be backup singers and dancers. After some rehearsals, I think I just may be ready!!!