65 Big Ones

Well, hi there. It's the birthday girl here celebrating my 65th birthday with presents and garlic crabs. I am a serious garlic crab afficionado, especially when the crabs are paired with a cold beer served in a Mason jar. Absolute classiness for me at every opportunity. The garlic crabs at Peck's in Ozello are the best I've ever had.
I select Peck's for my birthday celebration as often as possible, even when it's not my real birthday. I am now officially a card carrying Medicare recipient and I have a few new wrinkles but I'm still raising hell and don't plan to stop anytime soon. Cheers to a lovely lady!!! Thanks girls for the wonderful gifts. I'll have my first art project completed very soon.

Authentic Cuban Bread

I went ethnic food shopping in Tampa today and was thrilled, as always, when I unwrapped the loaf of Cuban bread and found the palm fronds. That is the one and only way one can tell that the bread is authentic Cuban bread. Cuban bakers lay the palm fronds on the raw dough so that the bread has creases in the proper places. The creases make the bread just flat enough and just crispy enough to suit authentic Cubans. I also found a jar of guava shells in sweet syrup (yummy with cream cheese as a dessert) and palomilla steak for breading. Yum Oh!!

My Version of the Bookcase Update

Isn't this just the most beautiful bookcase and table combination you have ever seen? I was so surprised when I walked in the door this afternoon and saw this wonderful view. I know the bookcases have a long way to go but I love this look and, as we remarked about how terrific it looked, we remembered all of the reasons why we bought this beautiful table. We always intended it to be a library table and it will work fabulously once the project is complete.

Bookcase Progress Report

Big Day today!! All five boxes of the bookcase wall are up, connected, and secured to the base. There is much tweaking to do before face frames can go on, planing edges square is the greatest part of it. Wood being wood, constantly moving, the edges where the cabinets connect do not meet perfectly squarely from top to bottom. In some places, I'll need to take one side down a sixteenth or so, or the face frame will not fit tightly. I don't want ugly gaps. I can get the face frame verticals cut, primed, and painted, and do the planing while the various coats dry. A bit of  juggling process, but it also provides a break for sore hands. At least today, the progress is very visible and we are pleased. I cleaned up all the tool piles and uncovered the table so I could take pictures for the blog. Please bear with the blue tape markers. They'll be gone eventually. 

Alpha Dog at Home

Hello again, Cocoa here, relaxing in my chair while Mom works on her artistic endeavors. What a life! It sure is nice having her home for an extra day each week. It means I have a person to be with who stays in one place long enough for me to nap. I'm not real sure what she is doing, but it really doesn't matter to me. She is in a real good mood and she holds me on her lap a lot. Seems that is the bonus for the artist's assistant. The redecorated studio is a great place to be, especially since I have my very own chair and the glass doors let me see all the birds and stuff in the garden. I think Mom is getting a little taste of what retirement might be like, and she seems to like it. Her creative juices are flowing. So long for now. Time to snooze.

La Cruz de Los Milagros

While in San Miguel, I saw some crosses that I really liked. Many were wooden crosses encrusted with silver milagros and were really beautiful. However, knowing that a gifted woodworker lives in this house, I thought perhaps she could fashion a cross for me. I purchased a bagful of milagros in San Miguel, Janet built a wonderful cross, and this is the result......La Cruz de Los Milagros or The Cross of the Miracles. I had a fabulous time working on it in my new studio as I looked out on the garden. If you examine my vision board, you will see that it says, This Is Your Year for Miracles. I believe that is true.

I Can See Clearly Now!!

I know you won't even be able to wrap your minds around this, but today I decided to wash some windows. I know, I know, I can't remember the last time I did this. However, as I tried to see outside to admire my beautiful garden and numerous birds, I realized that I couldn't see squat. I have never washed windows since we've lived in this house and it will be six years this September. And so, it was time.

I only washed two sets......the kitchen windows over the Baking Center and the window in my studio that is behind my computer. I realized that we had built a house with many windows to allow the wonderful light to enter and I really needed to wash off the dirt so the light would have a chance. I am thrilled with the results and it really wasn't such a big project after all. I will tackle the glass doors next, but not today. Today, I will spend the remainder of the day working in my studio completing La Cruz de Los Milagros .

Cocoa At School

This is Cocoa writing about school. Every Tuesday night, I get to go to Dog School. I am training to become a Canine Good Citizen but first I have to learn how to sit, stay, come, down, go through tunnels, and jump over fences. My favorite part is going through the tunnel and jumping over the fences. I can sit pretty well and stay if I want to but I have a really hard time with down. At home, I don't have any trouble with this command but there's just something about Dog School that gets me confused. Anyway, the very best part of training is the Chicken Frisbee. If I come really well, my mothers let me get into the pocket of the Frisbee that has the chicken in it. They say, "Get it, get it, get it!!" and if I come, I can get it!!

My teacher says it will probably take me several sessions to become a Good Citizen. It keeps me out way past my bedtime but it will be worth it in the long run because one of my mothers wants me to become a Service Dog. I think that's probably like Doggie College. Stay tuned so you can see my diploma.

More Red For The Studio

This is Shirley, writing from Janet's blog site. I have a new red cabinet in my new studio. I have decided that I want to be an artist in the next part of my life and so I am re-doing my office and creating a studio. I still have not decided what artistic medium I will use but I plan to explore a little to see what pleases me or what the universe sends my way. I had been searching for a new colorful cabinet for quite a while and refused to buy something that was not exactly "right". After driving all over Ocala last Saturday, we found a furniture store that was going out of business and, low and behold, my cabinet was right there waiting for me. It has added a beautiful dimension to the room and I love it, love it, love it. 

Vision Boards To Guide Our Way

One night, while watching Oprah, we learned about the Law of Attraction and the creation of vision boards. A vision board can be composed of many images. For this first attempt, we decided to just pull out pictures that called to us and that we were drawn to rather than to try to find pictures of a specific vision for our lives. We will be adding to them as we find additional images that speak of the direction we want our lives to take. See if you can figure out which board is Shirley's and which is Jan's. 

The Dens of Our Lives

As I sit on the "dog porch" throughout the day (Cocoa's performances require accompaniment.), I find it fruitful thinking time. Of late I have been musing on the holiness of things. Our life here in these sacred surroundings seems twice blessed by peace and joy. The trees are so lovely now in fresh green leaf and burgeoning crown. It is among them, in the wooded spaces, that I prefer to wander. On one such recent meander I chose to photograph all of the dens our resident wildlife have made. The smallest and farthest removed from the woods belongs to Heidi, the baby gopher tortoise, who seems to guard our front door. She chose to make her home beside the gate to the entry garden. 

The largest, established well before we took up residence on this land, is deep in the front woods near the base of the largest oak tree on our property. Something big lives there, but it keeps its identity secret. Perhaps a fox. Who knows? There are signs of coming and going but no track that is identifiable. We are not to know, that's sure. Other holes of varying sizes are scattered about the property, sometimes hidden and sometimes in surprising spots, like under a broken pot in a garden bed or beneath the burn barrel. Some are obviously home to larger tortoises and others may now shelter armadillo or other critters. For me, who declared at five my intention to become a hermit, holes, dens and hiding places hold great fascination. I have created many of them for myself over the years, so it feels just right to find so many here. I no longer need them for myself, but I understand and honor the needs of others to have them. 

And so I judiciously mow around them, get another barrel for burning, and step carefully in the undergrowth, preserving the holiness. There is plenty of room for all here in our country space. It is a privilege to live among such creatures as make their home on this land.