Quite A Day! (part one)

Hi All!

Sorry this is being posted so late in the day - I normally get my blogging out of my system early but today was . . . well, today was quite a day!

First, I woke up to make Hubby's lunch (with the help of my feline alarm clock!) and found out that my face was rebelling against me. I had put some acne cream on a few select spots on my face which were in danger of a bad breakout. Apparently my face wanted nothing to do with that cream! It is red, dry, flaky and just ugly looking. If I am not mistaken, it looks like a multitude of little zits sprang up in those areas just to spite me! Of course they might be dry skin blisters - which I do get from products that are too strong. I have very sensitive skin.

After dealing carefully with my face and trying to figure out just what to put on it in terms of moisturizer, sunscreen, etc. I set out for my walk. I tied up my walking shoes and played with the cats - who seem really affectionate just before I walk. Could it be they want me out of the house? Maybe they DON'T want me out of the house. Who can figure with cats??

I popped my ipod into my pocket and locked the door behind me. I paused at the front steps to do a few calf stretches and to choose my music/podcast selection for the day's walk. I decided to listen to some music today and chose the soundtrack from the musical Bombay Dreams. Finishing my stretches, I hopped down the stair and began to walk off down the sidewalk but, something wasn't right.

The music I was listening to sounded like it had helicopters in it. What? I don't have the soundtrack from Miss Saigon and I don't think helicopters played a role in Bombay Dreams. Playing with the volume did nothing to change the helicopter sounds which began to increase dramatically in volume. Huh. After a few more seconds (remember it was morning!) I began to think that maybe a helicopter was flying overhead. I started looking up and then - it came roaring over the houses across the street practically low enough for me to touch it! AND - it was HUGE! This was no little news helicopter. Could it be a life flight? I caught a glimpse of the writing on the tail - it said something about 5 states. Hmmmmm.

Because the copter was making a turn towards the elementary school down the block, I followed it. Where else would one of these things have room to land. As I walked closer it sounded like that is just what the thing did - land. I walked up a nearby alley and to the fence surrounding the playground. There the helicopter sat in all its glory with the rotors still whirring. Men were scurrying back and forth unloading equipment from the bird and the workers who have been working at the school for the past week were standing around watching. Hmmmmmmm.

Nothing exciting seemed imminent so off I trotted for my walk. It was going to be a short one anyway because I had things to do. Towards the end of my walk I heard the roar of the helicopter again and saw people leaving their houses and flocking towards the sound. The sound echoed off of roof tops and at times seemed to be coming at me from all directions. Have I mentioned that this thing was loud? Have I mentioned that it was now about 8 in the morning?

Glimpses of the helicopter could be seen over trees and roofs and the nearer I got to the school - and the end of my walk - the more apparent it became that the helicopter was working as an air crane trollying the heavy air conditioning and heating units to the top of the school. Knowing that it would be working for a while, I headed home to get my camera.

Walking back to the school I took a couple shots of the thing.

This is the best one - and that isn't saying too much. The sky was heavily overcast and the sun was right behind the helicopter. You can't really see too much definition in this picture. This is a double decker machine. The pilot is in the top front of the "bubble" and the bottom section is all cargo space. The line trailing down is connected to a massive AC unit.

Hoping to get better shots at the school, I continued and, I had the PERFECT shot all framed up. Just as my camera decided to shut down because my rechargeable batteries were out of juice.!

No matter how I tried I couldn't squeeze even one more shot out of the camera. Oh well. I watched the air crane work for a few minutes and then moved on. Remember, I had things to do this morning!

I will have to tell you about the rest later because it is now supper time and Hubby would like to eat before midnight!

Trisha

Voice Update: Good! A little breaky when talking in a crowded restaurant but still pretty good. My throat hurt a bit last night - almost like a sore throat- but it seems fine today. I haven't done any massage yet today - I guess I had better get to it! I am talking quieter when I am able and that really helps the quality of my voice. I am also reading out loud a bit more. It is fun and sounding good!