I wrote a few weeks ago about getting faux wood blinds for the back room. I’ve been in pricing mode and looking for the right products. Something made me think about the blinds again today, though.

There are some cases where you need ready good blinds that fit your window like a glove. I looked at some model town homes this afternoon and the model I liked the best had a half bath just as you came in the front door, right off the foyer. It also had a nice, bright window. The main problem with that design is that if someone were to stand and knock on your front door, they could look right into that window. You would need to have some solid Blinds if you wanted to allow any privacy at all. The person showing me through the model said the designers put the window there to allow more sun to enter the foyer area.

I’m browsing SelectBlinds.com, since they are the company that provides all of window coverings for the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I like wood blinds, but I might even go a step further and say that wood shutters would be best for that bathroom window. They would be easy to throw open and shut, plus provide a level of privacy that the room needs. Great site. No wonder the TV show uses them.

As John Graziano lies in his hospital bed, unable to communicate with even his family, Nick Bollea (Nick Hogan) has seemingly moved on with his life. It’s all about cars and money for this little brat.

In the middle of a situation where one of his friends is fighting for his life, Bollea is busy bragging about his claim that he has picked up Polaroid as his car racing sponsor.

He also states that BF Goodrich, Mac Tools and Sparco are sponsors. If this is all true, then all of those businesses have pretty mindless people in their PR departments.

By now everyone has heard about how Bollea, son of wrestler Hulk Hogan, was speeding when he wrecked his 1998 Toyota Supra on August 26 here in Clearwater. His passenger John Graziano suffered brain damage in the accident.

Selfish little freak-boy. Every bit of any incomes he is generating should be going to Graziano and his family. But then, that’s fame for you.

It’s October and all of the smart tourists are starting to come on down to join the locals in what ends up the start of a couple of the most luxurious, lovely months in the state. If you look around, you can find something to do almost any given weekend here. There are outdoor concerts, festivals, food and wine tastings, tours, street parties and the like. There is absolutely no reason to stay inside this time of year if you are in Florida.

Over in St. Augustine they have what they like to call Uptown Saturday Night. During the last Saturdays in October and November, the Nation’s Oldest City shines the spotlight on their unparalleled antique district. The area around San Marco Avenue is brimming with street music and numerous antique and book stores that remain open late. You can find antiques workshops, author readings, book signings, gallery exhibits featuring Florida artists, and an overall party-like atmosphere. You can even find free parking. St. Augustine shopping is a treat anyway, but mix in a street party and it’s even better.

Uptown Saturday Night happens from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm the last Saturdays in October and November — October 27th and November 24th.

Uptown Saturday night is a tradition in St. Augustine and it is just one of the hundreds of events you will find across the state this time of year. We like to be outside all year here, but the autumn and winter months are particularly festive.

I rarely agree with the commentators who contribute articles to the CNN website. Somehow, though, I am compelled to keep reading. I like to hear other people’s points of view. It keeps my mind healthy, even if I do not agree with them.

Today there is a piece by Roland S. Martin that I agree with heartily.

He entitles it “Saving marriages must be a national priority”. Amen. I’ve been screaming this for a while now. Our divorce rate is sky high and I experienced first-hand a situation where my ex-husband shared the views with so many people in the U.S. He decided he was finished being married and refused to see how counseling or trying would change the issue. He moved on as easily as if we had only been in a dating relationship. He treated it like a casual breakup. In Florida, you can file a no-fault divorce and be out in a matter of months. Even though I tried to stretch out our filing, our divorce was done from start to finish in about 5 months. It was easier to get divorced in Florida than it was to get a marriage license.

Martin says “Americans are either getting married for the wrong reasons or are not making the effort to spend more time working on their marriages to save them, and instead, run to divorce court at the first sign of trouble.” He comes at this view from experience. He went through a situation much like mine. He had a spouse who refused to see any options besides a divorce. He never agreed with the split, but in the end the papers were filed and made legal.

Martin says he feels that too many people go into marriage with the starry-eyed disillusion that marriage will be perfect. When the relationship begins to show bumps and rough spots, people leave. He cites an example that most of us will buckle down and work harder when things begin to get tough at work, but in marriage people just leave home, often times subjecting children to the divorce.

I think this analogy hit home the hardest for me. If more people would work, buckle down, and just give it everything they have inside of them to make their marriages last and become more successful, then our divorce rate would go down. Yes, it can be that simple. We are a nation of quitters when it comes to family relationships. Our statistics show that to be true. A divorce rate hovering around 50% is embarrassing. If you are not being physically abused, if your life is not threatened, there is no reason not to try, to seek outside counseling, to make changes in the way you look at your spouse and the way you communicate.

I still do not “believe” in divorce, even though I have been through one. I do not think what happened to my marriage had to happen. It was not the last resort. I had no legal path to fight the filing in Florida, though. You have to speak up and reply to the filings or you lose everything in this state. There are very few situations where if someone came to me for input that I would not advocate doing anything humanly possible to save a marriage.

I can only pray that by the time y daughter is an adult, America can boast lower divorce rate statistics.