“They” can take all the flowers up from the grounds around our buildings but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a load of them in my apartment! At my count today I have 29 mostly in the living/dining room area. There is a pepper plant in the kitchen along with “I don’t know what kinds of seeds I have thrown in there” pot! I have an orchid plant on the bathroom sill that needs ‘saving’ !
There is a miniature evergreen in the east window that is growing so slow I might get old before it is tall enough to decorate!
50
weeks of the year I have to depend on uber, lyft, cabs, TOPS (A county
service) or insurance car rides to and from doctors! The other two weeks
of the year Allen goes to visit his daughter, and twin grandchildren, so I
have his car. Oh yes! No way can I forget Jacque who lends me her car almost once a week so I can go to a movie and some med appointments.This
week Allen went up north and on top of that my neighbor’s wife had to go to
Argentina as her 97 year old mother isn’t well and that’s where her
family lives. He said I could use the car as long as she is away (and
when they go on vacation) and they just got her this new used car.So
now I have to decide whether I use one car or alternate the cars but at
least Jacque’s car gets a rest from me. And you think you have
problems!!PS After Wednesday it is back to no car!
The
only reasons to see Tarantino’s latest movie are the really alive
performance by Brad Pitt, the red Rottweiler Brandy and a scene where
Margot Robbie, playing Sharon Tate, watches herself on the screen in a
theatre and enjoying the audience’s reaction plus it is always good
seeing Al Pacino, even in a wasted role.As
to be expected in a Tarantino’s film there is a lot of very vivid
violence, much distortion of history and facts and a lot of extraneous
scenes that bring nothing to the film.I
have always been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio since “What’s Eating
Gilbert Grape” even in his lesser pictures but in this movie he is just
bad and I put the blame on Tarantino’s shoulders as director and
screenplay writer. There are many cameos but none memorable or even
remembered 5 minutes after you see them.The
only reasons to see “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood” are if you have 2
hours and 41 minutes of your life to waste and/or your electricity has
gone out and this is the only theatre that has air conditioning!
synopsis
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood visits 1969
Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo
DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) make their way
around an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The ninth film from the
writer/director features a large ensemble cast and multiple story lines in a
tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.
Comedy, Drama 2 hr. 41
min.
The ‘new’ Gateway is almost complete–just missing a few bushes!I
give the owners credit for making the inside of the apartments really
modern with new kitchen and bathroom cabinets, new hurricane windows,
new ceiling fan/light fixture in the ceiling of the bedroom and new
lights in the kitchen and bathroom, new blinds though the new air
conditioners/fans don’t do as good a job as the old system and they
certainly fixed up the hallways.The
big problems are on the outside where all individuality has been taken
away. No more Christmas/Hanukah lights and contests for the best
displays (or even the company putting up lights all around). The biggest
downer are the beautiful individual gardens that many residents put
their own time and money in to liven up the place with Hibiscus &
Rose bushes, many colored orchids, Banana plants, lemon, grapefruit
trees with blossoms, sunflowers, etc., etc. No plants on the window
sills, no decorations of any kind on the doors and/or windows. Our
avocado tree from which we got 75 avocados one season is gone.Now
you can’t tell one building from another and I don’t know if one has to
do with the other but all of a sudden we are ‘losing’ residents to
death, rehab and nursing homes more than usual!Don’t
get me wrong! I love my apartment and I can look out and see Karen Bay,
green trees but from the outside all you can see are bland buildings, one
after another and sometimes ‘uniform’ can be very dull!
Someone
asked me a question about my restaurant reviews and this is what I
answered–hopefully it will help and not add to the inquirer’s
confusion. Welcome to Fort Lauderdale in
Broward County where there are over 2,000 restaurants and it is too hard to
keep a record of how many open and close within ONE year. I have/had been in the
restaurant business 38 years, all positions, now retired and the biggest
problem I have found is that too many restaurants open before they are ready to
open and/or don’t have enough money to see them through a year. With all that
said I am pretty easy with restaurants as I really don’t expect much except a
clean place, good food—doesn’t have to be great!–good servers–not
necessarily super stars but at least show that they have been trained well.
With prices as high as they are today, with a choice of 4 types of restaurants
starting with full service, followed by buffets, then the new fast casual and
finally fast food, a restaurant really don’t get a second chance Added to that is
the fact there are too many choices of each types of food. In 1970 we had 2
Mexican restaurants now I can count 23. Italian restaurants? There are 9 within
2 miles from where I live. Just recently, within 1 mile we have 3 Cuban
restaurants and Peruvian restaurants are growing faster than I can count. I eat
out twice a week, one usually fast casual or lower priced full service and
another a new one. I have 5-6 favorite restaurants that I try to get to 2-3
times a year at least. Add to that I am a Leap Year baby which means I have
(and only celebrate) a birthday every 4 years with a dinner party at a
restaurant, usually a new one, that I have tried in the intervening years and
comes Saturday, February 29, 2020 I will be celebrating my turning 21 at the
Nabu restaurant if #1 They are still open and #2 I haven’t come across a newer,
better one. My last birthday was in 2016 and I held a dinner for 22 people at
Cafe Vico and I couldn’t have asked for better food, service, atmosphere or
evening. I usually will try to speak to a manager if I find something
wrong–some listen, some don’t. I see over 100 movies a year in
theatres–maybe, if I am lucky, I will see 5 or 6 that I would want to see
again. Why do I bring this up? Too many people today don’t have the money to go
to movies anymore and certainly not to eat out. I don’t like to see any
business close or employees lose employment but I know I read reviews for
restaurants, movies, plays, etc., so I won’t waste my time and money. I soon
learn who to trust when when reading their reviews and who not to. For instance
there is a critic in South Florida that I know if they dislike some place
chances are I will love it! Didn’t mean to go on so long–I appreciate your
note and just wanted to explain a little–which turned into a lot!–of where my
head is at regarding my posting reviews! I reviewed 2
restaurants recently–VALE FOOD CO and CAO Bakery & Cafe–each had
something good but I won’t be returning to either because there were too many
negative things that should have been taken care of before they opened if not
after customers brought it to their attention. Hope you find some great places
to eat! Martin
Water, water everywhere without a drop to drink! Thursday morningI received an alert message,not only on my phone but also on my Internet email, stating that Fort Lauderdaleand
a few surrounding cities had contaminated water due to a company
busting an old 42″ water pipe and due to old safety valves the water was
not transmitted to safe water pipes and so: Tap water
should not be used for drinking, making ice, preparing foods, washing dishes,
brushing teeth, taking showers, etc. Before using be sure to boil water for a
minute to eliminate bacteria or other organisms. “They”said
this should be fixed within 36-48 hours and here is it 88 hours later
and the warning is still in effect. At least the water is still running! It
being hurricane season most many people had bottled water in their
homes just in case but it seems the majority didn’t as stories below
talk about. On
Thursday Allen and I went on to do our regular Thursday chores only
this time we had his daughter who was here on vacation joined us and we
decided to eat lunch in a ‘nice’ placebut many restaurants
weren’t open because they didn’t have water to cook, clean or to serve
to customers. Just think about all the businesses that depend on
water–clean, germ free water–and imagine the loss businesses will take
not to forget employees! We finally found a restaurant that was open
but I still think they used the tap water to make that awful lemonade I
had and all the dirty tables! (See my post about Vale Food Co.) It took a
couple of days for restaurants, hotels, etc., were able to reopen. Needless to say that any place selling water was immediately cleaned out by panicked customers! I
lucked out that I had bottled water supplies in case of a hurricane but
I got a bonus in that my neighbor orders bottled water and last week
they sent him double the amount he usually gets so he gave me a case of
24 bottles, each bottle holding 18 ounces and he has 12 more cases if I
need some! “They
are testing the water again today and we are waiting to hear the
results meanwhile having a heat wave like the rest of the country (but
not as bad and at this time of the year we expect it and know how to
deal with it). Meanwhile
I have Allen’s car to get out and enjoy a beautiful sunny day in Fort
Lauderdale with water all around—only not to drink!!
The second time in a week that I was
to a restaurant in a location that has failed before, the dish I had was
excellent but everything else was either blah or downright not good.
We had other plans but with the water
situation the few places we wanted to go to were closed and I had a coupon for
this place that had been another
restaurant for a short time. Vale has kept the same set up which is fats
casual, line up for your food, get it, pay and go look for a table, hopefully
to find one that isn’t dirty, sticky and still have used plates on it.
I had the small Aci bowl which is
normally $7.99 but with the coupon I got it free as long as I bought a drink,
which I did and cost $3.52 with tax.
The Aci bowl was really good with
bananas, strawberries, granola, something like a blueberry cream sauce but the
drink, organic lemonade made with sugar cane and blue agave that tasted like
gasoline
If nothing else that ‘drink’ would
keep me from ever going to that place again but the dirty tables was/is even
more of a reason not to go back.
