Monday -- Last Monday of 2013

We had cloud cover early in the day but by the time I left to go to the post office and bank, it was beautiful. 69 degrees for a high.  I love Florida winters.  The skies are so blue and the water is a dark blue as well.

It's hard to believe another year is coming to a close.  It's even harder to believe that our "kids" are the ages they are because I don't feel as old as I know they are!  I definitely don't feel my age.  Except in the morning when I first get up and have to stretch all the aches and pains away. ;-)

Tomorrow I'll write the checks from the Friends of the Library account for the annual donations to the Tarpon Springs Public Library.  I'll do the final calculations tonight.  Our total donation this year will be at least $50,000.  

Makes all the time and effort of volunteers worth it!

Sad and Gloomy Day

We had a neighbor who committed suicide today.  We think he did so because he had been in very poor health for the past several years and had just been told he had another serious, debilitating condition that was, at best, life threatening and, most likely, terminal because of all his other issues.  He was 75.  His partner of over 30 years is 82.  She is in dementia.

One never knows what someone else is thinking when he does something like this.  Perhaps he was concerned about how he could care for her?  Maybe he thought she would get the care she needs if he took himself out of the picture?  Maybe he was just sick and tired of being sick and tired.

We may never know.  And the person closest to him is not capable of communicating with anyone re what was going on inside their home the past few months.  We knew he had been depressed for awhile now because of the forced inactivity of a very serious spine condition.  But knowing someone is depressed over a health issue doesn't mean there is anything anyone outside of the situation can do to help.  He was an independent cuss.  Neighbors like my husband tried to help him and were told he didn't need their help -- he could manage on his own.  Men of his generation, I believe, have a hard time accepting assistance from anyone.  He didn't trust doctors or hospitals, either.

I guess the only thing we can do at this juncture is to offer our condolences to the family and let her daughters know that we will help them in any way we can to help them move her to a safe environment.

Makes us think.  Makes us wonder how we would handle similar circumstances.

I hope we never have to know.

Thinking about 2013

Another Christmas has passed and I find myself thinking about the coming year and what I want to accomplish by this time next year.  Unfortunately most things that come to mind are the same things I wanted to accomplish, but didn't, in 2013.  So, I guess I'm looking at a redo for 2014.

I did lose a few pounds but need to lose many more to get anywhere close to goal.

I did become more active physically but need to do far more to feel healthier.

I did back off some of my volunteer activity but added others so the end result was still no more time for my painting.

I did do a few blog entries but ended up with less than last year.

So, although 2013 wasn't a total "bust" when it comes to New Year's commitment to change, it wasn't total success, either.

But, I have friendships that have deepened and new friends I have met along the way. No major health issues.  A good marriage of over 38 years to my best friend of almost 45 years who is also realtively healthy. And, I live in my idea of Paradise, enjoying every day.  I'm happy.  We're happy.

And if 2014 is no better than a repeat of 2013, I'm very OK with that.

An Oldie, but Goodie

Received from my friend, Trish, in an email a little bit ago.  I really do love this one.

Once again this year, I've had requests for my Tequila Christmas Cake recipe so here goes:

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup white flour

1 cup water

1 tsp. salt

1 cup brown sugar

Lemon juice

4 large eggs (room temperature)

Nuts (your choice)

1 bottle tequila

2 cups dried fruit

Directions:

Sample tequila to check quality; take a large bowl.

Check tequila again to be sure it is of the highest quality.

Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer.

Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point, it's best to make sure the tequila is still OK.

Try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the fruit up off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to test for tonsisticity.

Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something.

Check the tequila.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window.

Finish the tequila and wipe the counter with the cat.

Cherry Christmas!

My preference would be Vodka or Wine -- the effects would be the same, I guess! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Another Anniversary

From lanai looking up through screen

Looking through the Live Oaks

The evening skies recently have looked like they are on fire.  I took these shots between Trick 'r Treaters on Halloween.  The Spanish Moss on the Live Oaks looked as though they could burst into flame at any moment.  I love this time of the year when the temperatures are more temperate and we should have relief from the heat and humidity for the next 7 months.  We had rain most of the day today but it cleared in time for another gorgeous sunset.  Winter sunsets are so different from the summer sunsets here.  They seem so much more colorful.

We still have a few plumeria blooms hanging in there.  My roses are getting ready to bloom again.  And the rain trees on my street are gorgeous right now.  I have started driving around with my sunroof open and all the windows down.  

Today is the 21st anniversary of our move from Midlothian  to Tarpon Springs.  November 3, 1992 was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives.  It was hard leaving children and grandchildren in Virginia, but we have no regrets. We haven't had to scrape a windshield in 21 years. Or shovel snow. Or throw salt on ice. Or swat a fly.  We have gnats and mosquitoes occasionally but no black flies, deer flies or June bugs. Or ticks.  Being close to the Gulf has those advantages.  Farther inland, it's a different story. 

I think I love it more here every day.  

Feeling blessed to be celebrating the start of another lovely winter here.

Best Laid Plans....

Every time I think I will be able to spend more time on my blog, I encounter other things that take precedence so it has been a pretty long while between posts.

I still want to get back to painting.  But that's on a back burner until November 20.

What's so special about November 20?

It's the Woman's Club Art Mart held on the third Wednesday of each November to benefit our art scholarship fund.  Each April we award a scholarship to a deserving Senior in the art program at Tarpon Springs High School. So I spend a good part of the Fall making things to sell in the Art Mart.

This year I am focusing inexpensive little earrings, cards and bookmarks with  "Think Pink," birthday, and holiday themes.

I've done a couple dozen pairs of earrings in four different designs: Think Pink, Cupcake, Christmas Stocking, and Santa Claus

And Thursday I started with the cards and bookmarks and earring cards.  Hopefully, I'll pick up speed on these things.  November 20 is only a month away.

Actually, all I need to do is stay off the damn computer and get it done. ;-)

Anxiety Prevention

Not  for me.  I'm rarely anxious.  But we do have an anxiety prone "person" who lives with us.  Beau is normally a calm and laid back canine, but two things will cause anxiety.

One is the doorbell.  And I can't do anything about that one except answer the door to let him see who it is.  And, of course, anyone who comes to visit, has come expressly to see him.  And, he tells them so...over and over again.

The second is a storm.  He's okay with the rain.  Though he really doesn't like to get his feet wet.  It is the other things that accompany a summer storm in Florida.  The loud thunder, high wind, and the lightning strikes that raise the hair on your arms.  Imagine being a little dog with all that fur that feels static electricity when lightning abounds.

And, it's been very stormy around here this summer.  Our aquifer is loving it, but not our pup. Rarely does a day go by that we do not see a storm at some point.  The Thundershirt has seen a lot of action.

It has been a couple of years now since a friend recommended it for Beau and I found it at Dog Lovers here in Tarpon Springs.  Came with a 100% guaranteed refund if it didn't work.  And it doesn't work for some 20% of the dog population -- but it has been a miracle for our little scaredy pup.  He calms right down and, most of the time, he comes running when he sees it in my hands.  July 4th wasn't even that bad this year.

It is September now, and he will need it less and less as the month progresses UNLESS we see a tropical storm of some description.  Peak of hurricane season is still 10 days away.  Those of us on the Gulf Coast will still have to get through October since that is when the Caribbean produces storms we need to beware of.

In the mean time, Beau will stay calm and focused....

I guess you know by now that when he sits pretty for a picture like this, I am holding my camera in one hand and a treat of some sort in my other.  Hence, the "focus" ......

Happy September!  

Monday Macro - Plumeria

Our Red Plumeria has bloomed.

A Little of This and A little of That

Every afternoon lately we have looked out at this:

 Or, this:

And because of that and the sun that shines before and after those tropical rains, everything is  lush and green right now.  We have had true tropical weather all summer causing the flowers and foliage to take off.  I grabbed my camera when I went out to the lanai yesterday to get a shot of the pineapple plant.  It is HUGE.

A light sprinkle was falling when I took that picture.  You can barely see the original pineapple top.  I really don't think it is doing much of anything.  Butch and I are enjoying watching this gardening experiment. That's a good thing since it is going to be at least 18 months long.

Something else that grows really fast in the summertime?  Hair.  I schedule my own appointments every 4 weeks instead of 5.  And the Beau Monster?  Well, I think he will have a haircut on Tuesday.  His mobile groomer calls us on the Monday before he comes so I'll know for sure tomorrow morning.  He is not fond of the experience so we don't tell him beforehand.

Scruffy Beau

He is definitely in need of Lee's clippers.  I took five pictures and this was the only one that caught a glimpse of his face.  He is just like Butch. HATES a camera when it is pointed at him.  I can relate. I prefer to be behind the lens myself. But anyone as cute as this little guy should love having his picture taken!  Not going to happen.

Might as well make it a crafts update, too.  I stayed off the computer Friday nght and all day yesterday so I could complete my latest afghan.

 

And made a card:

  And bookmark.

Today I plan to work on a card order that needs to go out tomorrow.  I have also started a new painting. And I have a little Silhouette Cameo project to experiment with this week.  I really haven't used my new toy much and tomorrow and Tuesday will be perfect days for that.  This week will be a fun week.

Hope yours will be, too.

Monday Macro -- Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise

Despite visiting Florida many times over the years as a child and as an adult, I never noticed the blooms of the Bird of Paradise plant until the first trip we made to Hawaii in 1986.  I came back with an appreciation for them, the hibiscus and the plumeria.

We moved to Florida in 1992 and bought our home of the last 20 years on July 1, 1993.  The only flowering plants in our yard when we bought it were azaleas -- my favorite bloom (along with dogwood) when we lived in Virginia.  We have planted plumeria trees and hibiscus in the ensuing years and our daughter, Angie and her husband, Barry gave us a Bird of Paradise plant on their first trip to visit us after we moved down.  Barry even dug the hole and planted it for us.  

Our Bird of Paradise is blooming profusely right now.  Probably because of the tropical weather we have been experiencing.  Occasionally, I will cut a stalk with a bloom like that in the picture and bring it inside to place in a tall vase. It is such an unusual flower.  The plant itself is not much to look at -- in fact it is downright UGLY -- when there are no blooms.  But the colors of these blooms are all the more spectacular against that drab backdrop.  The bush is right outside our bedroom windows so it is the first thing I see when I open the blinds in the morning.

Makes me smile.  

Thursday Thoughts

For most of you, summer is coming to an end.  Living so much farther south, I never look at summer ending until at least September.  We usually see the effects of a northern cold front until the week before Halloween when it sweeps humidity away and lowers daytime temps to low 80s.  This year has flown by so it won't be long before we're able to open the house in the evenings, anyway.  I absolutely love our weather from late October through early May.  It's why we live here. And the Gulf...of course.

Southern end of the island at Howard Park. Tarpon Springs

We still haven't seen any temps above 95 here this summer, but the "feels like" temps have been more.  Nothing really bad here on the coast.  We've had breeze all day most days and a brief storm almost every day.  Everything is lush and green. Love it.  My husband has had cut back our Bougainvillea several times since the advent of this summer's tropical weather.

No new pictures, but just want to mention that our avocado trees are doing wonderfully well since he transplanted them from pot to front yard a couple weekends ago.  There has been no trauma to leaves or anything of that nature.  They are shiny and healthy looking.  I'll get new pictures this weekend and we'll measure their heights again.  It makes me happy to see them thriving in their new location.  They are in full sun and seem to enjoy it.  One day they will be 30-40 feet tall and the wide spread of their canopies will provide a lot of shade for the front of the house.  

Hope we are still healthy enough to be living here then.

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Monday Macro -- Plumeria Blooms

Plumeria

We are experiencing a truly tropical summer this year.  The summer rains are back after several years of drier summers.  As a result, the plumeria trees have grown at least another foot.  The blooms are gorgeous and the leaves are a deep, shiny green.  So I chose one of my favorite macro photos of plumeria blooms for today's shot.  The plumeria is also known as the Hawaiian Lei Flower and the Frangipani.  The scent is simply wonderful.  Nothing like sitting on our lanai and smelling the plumeria scent carried on the evening Gulf breezes.

Heavenly. 

Have a great Monday!

A Little Bling

A 21st Birthday Girl deserves a little bling in her card.

Our granddaughter, Amanda, has spent the last week celebrating #21. Our son, Bill, surprised her with her first plane ride.  They flew over his house in New Kent yesterday where family and friends were assembled for the surprise party.

Amanda said she was "scared to death" but had a lot of fun.  It was definitely a birthday to remember. Grandpa and I had sent a pretty floral arrangement complete with balloon. And I had made her this card and bookmark to commemorate the occasion.

The sentiment expressed on the card?

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." -- Danny Kaye

She probably doesn't even know who Danny Kaye was.  He died 5 years before she was even born.  I felt this was a fitting quote for a card created by this grandmother just for her.

Another reason a Danny Kaye quote is apropos? Danny Kay was an accomplished pilot, licensed to fly everything from a single engine Piper Aztec to multi-engine commercial jets.  A Vice-President  of Learjet, Danny owned and operated a Learjet 24.

Though coincidental, a quote from Danny Kaye seems to fit right into the scheme of things for Amanda's big surprise.

Happy #21 to our sweet, smart and beautiful granddaughter.

Beauty in Opposites

Mountain Laurel on the Blue Ridge Parkway

I took this picture on our last trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  I have always loved those mountains in the Springtime.  I'm not sure whether we were in Virginia or North Carolina at this point.  We ended up spending a couple of days in Asheville on that trip.  Dinner at the Biltmore Winery was delicious and when we left our hotel the next day, we drove non-stop back to Florida.

Palms and Dunes at Fred Howard Beach Park, Tarpon Springs, FL

We were both glad to see our beach that next morning.  The best thing about a trip is that we get to come home to Tarpon Springs.

Our country is a place of such diverse beauty.  I am deeply grateful to be an American.

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone.

Friday Potpourri

I could have titled this "Friday Odds and Ends," but I don't get to use the word "potpourri" very often.  Anyway, this blog entry is a compilation of yesterday's activities.

Yesterday morning, I checked on our pineapple twins.

The new plant is thriving and has gotten BIG.  The original pineapple top isn't doing much of anything.  This tropical weather we are having has got to be good for it, though, so I'm still hopeful that twin will make it.

After writing my blog entry yesterday, I was able to spend some time in my art nook.  The nook is actually a room with two full and two partial walls just off the entrance to the house.  It is jam packed with art supplies and I am constantly having to reorganize.  What I need to do is to go through with a ruthless eye to getting rid of stuff I haven't used....but it is kind of like my yarn stash.  I feel as though I will need something as soon as I discard it.  So I worked on that a little and then when it was neat enough (by my standards -- not my daughter's) I decided to play with my new Copic markers and some stamps and pretty paper.  I came up with this note card.  And bookmark.

I was interrupted twice in this process by my gardener who wanted me to come approve the places he had selected for finally planting my avocado trees.  I left one as is and made him pver the other about 10 feet from where it had it.  He is a retired AA Pipefitter.  He wants things "square."  I am not into "plumb and square" unless I am cutting cardstock.

Anyway, he got them into the ground and Beau and I went out to check on them.  This is the taller of the two at 40".  It sprouted to stems from one avocado pit and both trunks are growing strong so I have left it because I think it has the makings of a really pretty tree.

The other one only has one trunk and is 36" tall.  I love its shape, also.  Too bad I inadvertently top the top off in my picture.

Beau was inspecting them both and gave the 40" one his "seal of approval" by marking the spot.  I gave him his privacy..... ;-)

I decided it was hot and we needed to go in.  Beau was not ready and got stubborn about it.

He planted his little paws and refused to budge.

But then I said the magic words.

"Beau, are you ready for dinner?"

Time to head for the library.  Bookstore duty today.  See you tomorrow.  Maybe.

Walking at Howard Park Beach

I am a Night Owl.  I love the late evening hours.  Always have.

Therefore, I am not an early riser like so many friends.

But, to walk around the island at Howard Park Beach in July, I need to be out there no later than nine.

I do that occasionally.

I usually would rather be out there in the late afternoon when it is cloudy or after a storm.

But not when the storms are still around:

I posted a similar picture taken a few hundred feet east of this one on FaceBook last night.

I liked the reflections in this one, but loved the rain in the first shot.  Loved the clouds in both.

I have been blessed in so many ways.

I know it. And, I deeply appreciate all of it.

July 17th already?

July 17.  Half the summer just plain "gone"!  Poof!  Just like that!

I am retired.  I am on "summer vacation" from a lot of my activities.  I am not supposed to be too busy to do things like blogging or painting,reading, keeping house and planning meals.  But here I sit for the very first day this summer with time for my blog.  And, because I really don't have much to write about, I'm just fumbling around for a topic.

Everything I really could write about with passion this summer is controversial and this blog isn't about controversy.  Nor do I invite controversy.  This is supposed to be fun and somewhat relaxing.

Maybe I need a REAL vacation -- not a stay-cation.  A change of scenery. New experiences.

Or maybe I just need to take a walk.  With this guy.

Doesn't he look like he wants to go out?  That's his, "Can we go somewhere?" look.  Or maybe it's his, "If we can't go for a walk, can I have a piece of cheese?" look.

He's not allowed at Sunset Beach:

And the sidewalks and causeway are "egg frying" hot right now.  So we have to wait until the sun is down behind the trees so he won't burn his little feet up.  

Hubby just offered a solution.  Let's go get an early dinner at Cody's Roadhouse and then take a ride out to the beach afterwards.   This little guy can pout 'til we get back.

The sidewalks will be cooler and he can sniff every tree and blade of grass to his heart's content without our worrying about him and his little paws.

So, dinner out and a little walk at the beach afterwards.

Perfect!  We used to drive 14 hours to do that down here.  Now it's 3 minutes. ;-)

Monday Macro

Double Bloom Hibiscus

Happy Dancing on My Lanai Today

Bet you can't guess why.

It's not the avocado plants flourishing that is causing me to dance.  And, no, we haven't gotten them into the ground yet.  And now we're a little afraid to because the ground is so hot.

Nor are the beautiful blooms on our plumeria the cause of my extreme happiness...  Please note that I was barefoot when I grabbed my camera so all these were taken from the inside of the screened lanai looking out.  These wonderful digital cameras take a beautiful (?) image of the screen itself.  ;-)

No...those are good reasons that would normally be the source of my joy.

No, it is THIS>>>>

This is my new pineapple plant!!!!  The smaller, old green plant in front of the larger, healthy new green is the pineapple top we planted just before Christmas.  The new green is the plant that will produce a pineapple in about 18 more months!  I had stopped looking it because it was taking FOREVER to do anything. And I was afraid it was like waiting for water to boil.  The more I looked at it, the longer it seemed to take for anything to happen. But, low and behold, last week I noticed it for the first time.  It is growing like crazy now.  Must be the tropical weather we have had recently.  Hot and humid.  Pineapples love it hot and humid.  Mama Nature is providing that in spades right now.

So my plant is named Tim.

Because...

I bought it to use it as part of a table centerpiece last winter when author, Tim Dorsey, was a speaker for one of our library programs.  He was promoting his book, Pineapple Grenade.  Tim loved it.  I brought the pineapple home and when we cut it up a couple of weeks later, I got my husband to plant it for me because he is the one with a green thumb in this family.  Anything I plant, dies.  Even silk plants choke to death on dust.

Tim's new book is in hardcover, "The Riptide Ultra-Glide," the 16th book in his best selling series featuring a lovable serial killer named Serge Storms.  His books are fun to read and his talent as a speaker makes him the ultimate in what we look for in a library program.  Humorous and well-spoken, friendly and extremely approachable -- he is super.  Don't miss a chance to hear him if he is in your area.

I can't wait to tell my friend, Neila, all about Tim, the Pineapple.

Painting with Shaving Cream

While leafing through a back issue of Card Maker Magazine online awhile back, I ran across a painting technique to use for a background on a card.  I printed the article out and put it in my notebook of "ideas."  As promised in yesterday's blog entry, I dug it out and reread it.

The number one material required for the technique:  shaving cream.  Hmmmm.  We use electric shavers around here.  Thinking I might have to make a quick trip to the store, I asked my hubby if, by chance, he still had shaving cream anywhere in the house. Shows how observant I am.  He opened the medicine cabinet and showed it to me.  "I keep it around because every once in awhile, I like a close shave. I told you the other day I had bought refills for my Schick, remember?"  Well, uh, sure.  I remember that.....  I grabbed the shaving cream and headed for my studio, aka "art nook" because it only has two walls.

I read the label. "Menthol" -- guess it can't hurt the process, right?  It smells good, anyway.  I went to my liquid watercolor storage drawer and pulled them out.  The article called for "alcohol inks" but I decided to use drops of liquid watercolor because that is what I have in great supply and the bottles have eye droppers in each, making them easy to use.

I followed the directions and squirted a pile of the shaving cream on a Styrofoam plate.  My goodness, that menthol and soap smells so fresh and clean!

I picked out two shades of blue, a yellow, and an alizarin red and dropped two drops of each onto the fluffy white shaving cream.

I stirred it around with a knife.  This is about to get very messy so be sure to allow yourself enough room to work with this stuff.

I took a watercolor card and placed it face down in the colorful mess of  shaving cream.  I squished it around trying to be sure the whole card was covered.  The more colorful strip on the left still has the foam on it.  The right has been scraped clean using an old credit card or used gift card.  I also had a straight edge that I could use that really gave me a better grip.  I got this stuff all over me.  I even dropped the whole thing in my lap.

You may not be as clutzy as I am.  Because the paper plate was so unstable, I put the next batch on foam board.

The finished product is really pretty in a tie-dye sort of way.  I made another from this batch and also did a second batch using the larger flat surface of the foam core and it worked better.  I used green, yellow, and orange for that one.

The flatter surface was less of a challenge and I learned that I could take a spatula to lift the stuff and put it on my card.  Less messy and easier to manage.

After the card was dry, I picked out some mulberry paper , ribbon and embellishments to complete the card and bookmark.

I plan to work with the green one tomorrow while it rains cats and dogs around here and I'll post it in the next blog entry if we haven't floated away by then.