I knew there had been a few previous owners, as this is an older home. I liked it for its character; something that those before us had blended and infused into its very structure. But I did not expect to find that it had a famous owner. It is clear to me now that this was once the home of Alfred Hitchcock.
The undeniable evidence appeared in the bathroom. Underneath the vent was an area where mold insisted to grow. It became a struggle, man versus mold, and it had to be wiped away daily.
Then, coming back from a week long vacation, I found what the mold was trying to convey. There on the wall was the unmistakable silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock. Just like the image that began his television show, you could plainly make out his rounded head and torso. His spirit was telling us, Alfred had been here.
There had been other signs before this , but I had not put the pieces together. First, there are a lot of birds around here. More than what you would expect to find. They congregate in the trees and on the playground set in the backyard. There are several turkey vultures and ravens mixed in with the gulls, sparrows and egrets. I did not think too much about it as the property butts up to a bird sanctuary. And the two large feeders probably attract them. Yet, the sight and sound does conjure up the images he so deftly captured on film. This would be a great inspiration for the movie. I mean, how else could he have come up with the idea?
The next sign was not as obvious. I did not realize what I was seeing until after finding the other signs. In this small area are several beautiful blondes living here. Really, an inordinate amount. There are three families of blonde women who have lived here for generations. And not just blonde and beautiful, but smart, strong in character, and still demure. Alfred would have had no choice but to base his female leads on these ladies. You write what you know.
There is also the well known fact that Brit's love Florida, especially Central Florida. There are several realtors here that specialize in finding houses for Brit's. And there are several pubs and restaurants here that serve British fare. This definitely would have been an attractive area for Mr. Hitchcock.
While I cannot prove in a court of law that this was once his residence, I do know that one previous owner was Frederick Bates. A pseudonym if ever I heard one. And the old man a few houses down does remember an Englishman living here. He recalls he would be gone for long periods of time "on holiday". Probably when he went off to direct a movie.
If you wanted to come to a safe haven to get away from the Hollywood crowd, this is certainly the place. Even Walt Disney saw the value of Central Florida.
So now the mold has become a welcome sight. I do not so flippantly wipe it away as I did before. I sometimes wonder what other signs would show up if we did not clean so often. My wife, the skeptic, does not agree with this. She just thinks I am lazy and wanting to get out of taking care of the house. Silly, silly woman.
But now I must be off. I must go mow the lawn and trim the hedges. I keep all that equipment in my shed out back. It was once owned by Vincent Price. How do I know? Oh, I know.
October 31, 2007
October 16, 2007
In My Corner of the World
Really short post, as this has been a really busy month. I won't get 6 postings this time. Alas.
Chase had his 18-month checkup and shots recently. (ouch) He seems small to me, and the doc said he is below average size. But he assured me that this is a normal thing and a growth spurt would fix this. The fun part was finding out his vocabulary and talking skills were on par with a 24 month level. It is good to know that he can converse with 2 year-olds if he is in their social environment. Also, he is multi-lingual. He could speak with a cat, cow, horse, sheep, dog, duck and a few other animals. It has saved me from those awkward silent moments I used to have with the cows in the field next door.
Other than that, it has been work and sleep. And that will continue for another couple of weeks.
Edit: Yikes! I didn't publish this; just saved it! I guess I should read my blog every so often...
Chase had his 18-month checkup and shots recently. (ouch) He seems small to me, and the doc said he is below average size. But he assured me that this is a normal thing and a growth spurt would fix this. The fun part was finding out his vocabulary and talking skills were on par with a 24 month level. It is good to know that he can converse with 2 year-olds if he is in their social environment. Also, he is multi-lingual. He could speak with a cat, cow, horse, sheep, dog, duck and a few other animals. It has saved me from those awkward silent moments I used to have with the cows in the field next door.
Other than that, it has been work and sleep. And that will continue for another couple of weeks.
Edit: Yikes! I didn't publish this; just saved it! I guess I should read my blog every so often...
September 30, 2007
New Beginnings All Around
This has really been a month of change for all of us. First, Chase "graduates" to Big Toddlers. There was no ceremony. He didn't complain. They move these guys into classes based on development more than by age. So far he's tracking perfectly with the age range as well.
Still, there are those moments that freak me out. He will sit there and have a conversation with me. He will talk in perfect syntax and inflection, but it is all gibberish to me. Then all of a sudden, he looks around and says, "Momma, where are you?" Every word perfect. I think he is messing with me.
My work took a turn when the District Manager asked me to move to the new store opening in the area. I must say I was excited to do so. I have been at this location for three years and was feeling a little bored/burned out/apathetic. This will really shake up the old location and hopefully give it a shot of newness, too. Plus I will most likely bonus here (No, the real question is how big a bonus.), where I would not have done so there.
And we are moving; something that has been in the works for a while. More about that in a different post after the move. (No, haven't moved yet. Yes, this week!)
Not to be outdone by the boys, my wife decided she was fed up with property management and followed her heart into teaching. She has always wanted to teach. And the main reason for not has come down to money.
But God always has a plan. And he always provides.
Kat's background is Theatre. She has her degree in it. She went to graduate school in order to be able to teach at the college level. That took us to New Orleans. When that fell apart, (I won't go into details) she went into property management. My job got us to Orlando. That was something I had wanted to do and was part of our plan. So she did the p.m. stuff here, but was never happy about it.
The final straw came as she was written up by her boss for being rude to a customer. This was concerning a phone call that she took with a person who had already leased a unit, but spoke little English. She kept her answers short and simple so as to not have any issues later. Since only her part of the conversation was heard, she was PERCEIVED to be rude. And her "corrective action" even said that if she were to be rude or PERCEIVED to be rude, further action would be taken.
Needless to say, this motivated her to find something else. That is when she found the opening for a teacher in Theatre and English. They were looking for someone with a costuming background. Kat had that, plus her year of grad school included an internship in the costuming department. This is a high school in Seminole County that is rated as being in the top 1% of high schools nationwide. This would be an unbelievable opportunity.
She sent in her resume, and was contacted the next day. Two days later, she goes to the interview at 8:00 a.m. She calls me at 8:30 to tell me the interview was already over. Shocked, I went into console mode, telling her that this is the first job she interviewed for and there will be other ones soon.
As we are talking, they call her. Not only do they offer her the job, they ask if she could go to orientation that day! Needless to say, she accepted. And starting tomorrow, she is officially on her own, teaching both Theatre and English.
All because she was "rude." God always has a plan, even when we don't see or understand it.
Still, there are those moments that freak me out. He will sit there and have a conversation with me. He will talk in perfect syntax and inflection, but it is all gibberish to me. Then all of a sudden, he looks around and says, "Momma, where are you?" Every word perfect. I think he is messing with me.
My work took a turn when the District Manager asked me to move to the new store opening in the area. I must say I was excited to do so. I have been at this location for three years and was feeling a little bored/burned out/apathetic. This will really shake up the old location and hopefully give it a shot of newness, too. Plus I will most likely bonus here (No, the real question is how big a bonus.), where I would not have done so there.
And we are moving; something that has been in the works for a while. More about that in a different post after the move. (No, haven't moved yet. Yes, this week!)
Not to be outdone by the boys, my wife decided she was fed up with property management and followed her heart into teaching. She has always wanted to teach. And the main reason for not has come down to money.
But God always has a plan. And he always provides.
Kat's background is Theatre. She has her degree in it. She went to graduate school in order to be able to teach at the college level. That took us to New Orleans. When that fell apart, (I won't go into details) she went into property management. My job got us to Orlando. That was something I had wanted to do and was part of our plan. So she did the p.m. stuff here, but was never happy about it.
The final straw came as she was written up by her boss for being rude to a customer. This was concerning a phone call that she took with a person who had already leased a unit, but spoke little English. She kept her answers short and simple so as to not have any issues later. Since only her part of the conversation was heard, she was PERCEIVED to be rude. And her "corrective action" even said that if she were to be rude or PERCEIVED to be rude, further action would be taken.
Needless to say, this motivated her to find something else. That is when she found the opening for a teacher in Theatre and English. They were looking for someone with a costuming background. Kat had that, plus her year of grad school included an internship in the costuming department. This is a high school in Seminole County that is rated as being in the top 1% of high schools nationwide. This would be an unbelievable opportunity.
She sent in her resume, and was contacted the next day. Two days later, she goes to the interview at 8:00 a.m. She calls me at 8:30 to tell me the interview was already over. Shocked, I went into console mode, telling her that this is the first job she interviewed for and there will be other ones soon.
As we are talking, they call her. Not only do they offer her the job, they ask if she could go to orientation that day! Needless to say, she accepted. And starting tomorrow, she is officially on her own, teaching both Theatre and English.
All because she was "rude." God always has a plan, even when we don't see or understand it.
September 28, 2007
Less Packing and More Pondering
I am at that dreaded packing point. It is still a few days before we move, but I am down to those items deemed "essential for everyday existence." The bathroom and kitchen look like they were looted the day after Katrina hit. So I am taking a break to get a little internet fix before heading to bed.
Ponder:
Did Great Britain have some pandemic that wiped out the comedy part of their brains? (Stay with me for a second.) It seems that sometime, maybe early 80's or so, that some heinous event occurred and the entire country lost its sense of humor. That is the only thing I can think of that would cause PBS to continue to run the britcoms from the 60's and 70's. No more appear to exist past this era.
Okay, so that is sort of grumpy. I simply cannot fathom why people continue to support PBS in the age of cable. You want children's programming? Three to five other channels do that. Science and technology? History? At least 10 channels. British comedy? BBCAmerica. Hello! Some of them are from the 90's!
I guess the one thing PBS has over the other ones are cool t-shirts and mugs. Er, no. Not that either. (PBS is quickly becoming Pathetically Bad Station.)
I dream in color. I know that science poo-poos this, but really how do they know? Hook you up to some high-tech device that displays your dreams? Maybe they didn't adjust the picture correctly. Anyway, I know I dream in color because sometimes I dream I am a Smurf. And my light sabre usually is a wicked yellow. Lately it's been green.
My guilty pleasure is watching "Cheaters". That show cracks me up. Especially when the cheater gets all righteous and insulted that the cheated didn't trust them. And when there is a hidden camera at the house that captures some salacious act, but they use that huge pixelation so you can't tell what is going on. I think sometimes the cheater and co. are probably just eating fried chicken, but they needed to pad the show for ratings.
The thing that I still don't understand is how these people find time to have a double life. And what is gained by staying in a relationship that obviously isn't cutting it for them anymore. I guess they aren't thinking. And deserve to get caught like this.
And finally, after noticing a trend of bad TV watching in these last 2 posts, I need to get to bed. But first, Two and Half Men reruns are about to come on. Maybe more fodder for another inane post!
Ponder:
Did Great Britain have some pandemic that wiped out the comedy part of their brains? (Stay with me for a second.) It seems that sometime, maybe early 80's or so, that some heinous event occurred and the entire country lost its sense of humor. That is the only thing I can think of that would cause PBS to continue to run the britcoms from the 60's and 70's. No more appear to exist past this era.
Okay, so that is sort of grumpy. I simply cannot fathom why people continue to support PBS in the age of cable. You want children's programming? Three to five other channels do that. Science and technology? History? At least 10 channels. British comedy? BBCAmerica. Hello! Some of them are from the 90's!
I guess the one thing PBS has over the other ones are cool t-shirts and mugs. Er, no. Not that either. (PBS is quickly becoming Pathetically Bad Station.)
I dream in color. I know that science poo-poos this, but really how do they know? Hook you up to some high-tech device that displays your dreams? Maybe they didn't adjust the picture correctly. Anyway, I know I dream in color because sometimes I dream I am a Smurf. And my light sabre usually is a wicked yellow. Lately it's been green.
My guilty pleasure is watching "Cheaters". That show cracks me up. Especially when the cheater gets all righteous and insulted that the cheated didn't trust them. And when there is a hidden camera at the house that captures some salacious act, but they use that huge pixelation so you can't tell what is going on. I think sometimes the cheater and co. are probably just eating fried chicken, but they needed to pad the show for ratings.
The thing that I still don't understand is how these people find time to have a double life. And what is gained by staying in a relationship that obviously isn't cutting it for them anymore. I guess they aren't thinking. And deserve to get caught like this.
And finally, after noticing a trend of bad TV watching in these last 2 posts, I need to get to bed. But first, Two and Half Men reruns are about to come on. Maybe more fodder for another inane post!
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