A Non Traditional Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was not traditional in any way unless you count the fact that we never do a traditional Thanksgiving. For the past several years, we have not cooked a meal or even spent time with family. Last year, we spent the day in King's Bay in our kayaks followed by a picnic at the park. This year, we decided to spend our time at the beach. We began our week (yes, we took an entire week) at Tamara's Restaurant in Apalachicola. We love this place, having discovered it when we came to Apalachicola three years ago for Thanksgiving.
We spent our week in a wonderful little house on Cape San Blas, a beach on the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle. It is only about four hours from home so hardly takes any time to get there. We selected this beach because it is very dog friendly and the owners of the house allow dogs. Cocoa was very happy.
The little green house was our house for the week and we loved the fact that this wooden path lead us straight to the powdery sand beach. We spent the week indulging our inner artists while setting a path for the next five years as we inch towards our seventieth year.
It was very hard to leave this place not only because is was so beautiful but because it provided a focused, uninterrupted time to clear our minds and just rest. We stopped at Tamara's on the way home for another great meal, bought some special scented soaps at a shop in town, and headed back to reality until next time.

Early Is A Good Thing

Well we usually don't even decorate, especially if we are feeling particularly humbug-ish or old lady-ish. However, this year we decided not to be a couple of old fogies. So, a couple of weeks ago when Janet was in the attic for some other reason, we took down the decorations. Now, first of all, we have gotten rid of a lot of our stuff. We found that we just didn't use everything and it felt very, very excessive. And second of all, there is a woman where I work who goes all out with her decorating and we thought she just might enjoy having our stuff. We were right because it was a thrill for her to receive it and a thrill for us to give it to her.
And so yesterday, we decided that we would put up ONLY the tree. Our tree is an artificial, pre-lighted tree--the easier the better for us because the lights were ALWAYS a great source of frustration for one of the people living in this house (not me). So we took the tree out of the plastic garbage can we store it in and set it up in a new place....the little cherry chest between the kitchen and living room. We figured that way it could be seen in both the living room and the kitchen and the dining room, which is attached to the kitchen.
Well, we were having so much fun that after we set up the tree, we decided to decorate it. It was so simple this year, it amazed us. We don't know if it's because we are simplifying in each and every way and that maybe it was our new attitude. Or maybe it was because we didn't have to crawl in the attic, get everything down, and then decorate after we were exhausted. At any rate, we had Christmas music on the iPod dock, a sleeping dog on the couch, and decorated not one tree, but two. We had a little flocked, unlighted tree out for another reason and just decorated it too with the smallest ornaments. We are so happy to have this done prior to our Thanksgiving trip. Now we are ready for the season.

Our New Fantasy

Well, this is the latest fantasy that we are nurturing at this time. This little number will pull behind the F150 and will be a perfect hotel room when we get on the road. It's just right for a dog and for two fairly old women with a sense of adventure. We're not certain that this purchase will actually happen but it is on our list of considerations as we decide what we want to do and where we want to go.
This actual unit belongs to some very nice people here in Ocala who agreed to show it to us one Sunday a few weeks back. Janet took all kinds of measurements and we're doing some serious figuring as we look forward to our decision week at Cape San Blas during Thanksgiving week.

The Girls

These are my daughter's chickens. They each lay one egg per day which is the way of chickens. I want some of these; I just don't want to take care of them. Do you think I could find some virtual chickens that would lay "real" eggs?

Going To The Dogs--Yeah, Right!!

Does any other dog in the universe get home-made liver cookies made by Janet? I don't know of any dog that is as lucky as Miss Cocoa!! These cookies are made from fresh chicken livers slow-roasted in the oven, mixed with flour and other spices, then hand-cut and baked. My goodness, what a doggie treat.

An Afternoon Walk Around the Yard

The very first stepping stone I ever made.
The shrimp plant saying goodbye to summer.
Just to let you know what we really do around here.

An Afternoon Walk, Continued

Cowboys, standing guard at the door to the shed.
Broken brown tiles rescued from the dump.
Garden bench with inlaid tiles that served as the lookout point for the dogs that used to be.

The current garden sentry.

Fall in Florida

Today was the first "real" day of fall here in Florida. We awakened to 45 degree temperatures with the need to be outdoors all day. The fire bush and porter weed plants are over six feet tall and in the prime of their bloom.
Once we have our first frost, they will die back to the ground until spring. But for now, these plants provide great hiding places for the cardinals who love to hop in and out of their thick branches.
On the screen porch is the large potted fern with its newly sprouted white frond and lush, soft leaves. Cocoa darts in and under this plant while sniffing the perimeter of the porch for a glance of the gopher tortoise who lives under the edge of the house.
I took advantage of the beautiful weather to clean out the garden shed that had become way too crowded with the vestiges of summer. Now it is all orderly again until the bustle of spring planting begins anew.

The Value of Brush Piles

This is my Zen Garden, an area in the back corner of my yard that I have dedicated to meditation. I have surrounded the red metal enclosure with bamboo and when it has grown to surround the area, will provide a quiet place of respite for solitary times. Right now, though, the brush piles have taken over the yard. We trimmed the trees last weekend and all of the trimmings are littering the property. That's an ok thing for us because we take our time cutting them up and hauling them out a little at a time.
One of the great things about brush piles is that the birds love them. For some reason, they consider them hiding places, little playgrounds, and little birdie rest areas. This morning withing a ten minute period, I saw a pair of cardinals, a pair of bluebirds, three woodpeckers, and various chickadees. Now mind you, this only lasted a few minutes as everyone jockeyed for positions at the recently-filled feeders but it was a thrill for this nature lover on a slow Saturday morning in the out-of-doors.

A Garden View

Today has been a low-key day as I appreciate what is still blooming. While I wish for cooler weather, I am happy that our extended summer and mild autumn allow me to have my plants blooming longer than in other areas. I planted Swiss Chard and Red Beets today, two crops that are totally new for me. I'm hoping that the square foot beds will continue to be the answer for vegetable success.
I placed this little church birdhouse next to the shed right beside the old plow. I did this when Cassidy was coming over hoping that she would have fun looking at everything. She really didn't pay much attention to any of this stuff but I have decided that I like it so it will remain there.
I love the way the river birch looks as though it is shedding its skin. Had to show you that because it reminds me of myself. I realized today that for about the past two weeks, I have not been giving a second thought to what I would be preparing for dinner. This is totally new behavior for me. After many years of being totally responsible for the preparation of all the food in the house, it has been hard for me to let that go. I thought about food all the time to be certain that I would have what I needed for the evening meal. About two weeks ago, I quit caring. I figure that if we don't have enough to eat here, we will go out to get it. Janet it totally ok with that and it takes tons of stress off of me. So after about 46 years of worrying about food, my discipline will be to continue to let go of that issue.

Waiting for a Cool Paddle

This is the Rainbow River, one of our favorite places to kayak. We don't kayak much in the hot weather because of the extreme heat but love to get out on the water once the weather cools off. In October, we will begin taking the boats out each weekend for some serious R and R. The white boat is mine and the blue one is Janet's. The Rainbow River run is a relaxing paddle to the headsprings and back. Can't wait to get started.

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Grandkids On The Water

My daughter and grandchildren visited a couple of weeks ago and we took the teenagers on a kayaking adventure. We went to Ozello which has a lot of open water and spent our time alternating between paddling and swimming.
We found a school of dolphin and three manatees which splashed right in front of our boats. It was a hard paddle, but exciting, and we followed it with lunch at Peck's...always tasty!!

A Day of Ordinary Greatness

Today was the beginning of my birthday celebration. I am one who loves to prolong and extend my actual birthday so it has been my tradition to start the celebration a few days in advance. Since today was the first day of my weekend, we took a trip to Gainesville to do some shopping. At lunchtime, we made it over to Satchel's Pizza, a very popular pizza joint in this college town. At Satchel's, you can eat in one of three places. You can eat inside, you can eat in the very old VW van, or you can eat in the garden. Regardless of where you choose to eat,
your meal will be fantastic. Satchel's salad is a specialty, the pizza is terrific, and the Samuel Adams Summer Ale was no slouch.
On the way from lunch, we saw an Estate Sale and of course, had to investigate. We had never been to an Estate Sale that was held inside of the house. It was very odd to go inside and see everything spread out to be sold. I found an antique bridal veil that looked interesting and thought I would like to buy it. However, upon checkout, I found it was too expensive for my taste and so it remains in the box marked "Rochelle's Bridal Veil" and did not come home with me.
We also found this great seafood market, a very unusual find these days. Back when I was a child, the only place you could find good, fresh seafood was in a seafood market. You couldn't buy it at the supermarket because we didn't have supermarkets, just corner grocery stores. But seafood markets are not so common now, so to find a seafood market was a real treat.
We bought a beautiful piece of fresh red snapper and a pound of gorgeous shrimp. Is everyone's life centered around food as ours is?

An Exciting Day

Hi, Cocoa here. It's my turn to write the blog because I had such an exciting day. Today was a very exciting day because I went to the vet. Now, I don't usually consider a trip to the vet exciting but today when I got inside, I met a wonderful kitty. I have not had "great" experiences with kitties, if you know what I mean. But, there is a new cat at Dr. Shearer's place. Somebody abandoned him on the doorstep of Live Oak Animal Clinic, which I think is just terrible. But this kitty has made himself at home and now he lives at the clinic. He is gray and furry and even though he smacked me lovingly on the face, it didn't even hurt because he didn't have any claws. This kitty rolled over and let me kiss him and even ran around and let me chase him a little. I wish my moms would let me have a kitty.

Just Invented

Here is the newest gizmo invented at the Day/Bartlett house. Not sure as yet whether to call it the OFMA (Old Fart's Memory Aid) or the SHADD (Shopping Help for All Dotty Dimwits). Since we tend to add things to the grocery list without much specificity, Shirley has provided me with the lids or containers so I can pick up the correct items when I shop. With no purse carried, I needed a method to corral the requisite pieces, hence the handy dandy biner. It is a bit large at 6" long, but one never knows how many special requests may materialize for a given shopping trip. Who knows, I may one day be festooned with multiple biners for my erranding, and people may actually mistake me for a mountain climber. What fun!

Unrestrained Joy

This is my little peanut, my four year old granddaughter Cassidy. Her mother took this photograph and she calls it "Unrestrained Joy". It personifies this little wondrous girl's personality and love of life. She teaches us each day to be joyful.

Animals R Us

Most of these photos were taken last weekend as we toured the New England Shire Horse farm here in Ocala. The horse in the photo above was running toward the wagon because he knows the wagon is full of people with carrots to distribute. He's a very smart horse.
These are the horses once they have arrived at the wagon full of people bearing carrots. This is a very fun activity, by the way.
This is Viagra, the donkey. I know, that's a very odd name but if you think that's odd, think of this: the other donkey is named Levitra.
This is not a horse or a donkey. This is Cocoa, the performing house dog. This is her famous stance when she is begging for cheese or anything else edible.

Another New Family in Residence

The eggs hatched and babies have appeared, wide mouthed, awaiting mother wren to bring the grub.  Last night as I headed to my shop, I glanced into the watering can and there they were, mouths agape, baby Carolina wrens in their entry porch nest.  I ran back to the house to tell Shirley, and we decided to close off the entry gate for a few days to keep traffic to a minimum. Much to and fro by the parents all day as we peeked out the front door watching. It was a bit of a pain to go all the way around the house to the big door and enter the shop that way, but well worth it to give the wrens some peace and quiet. Not that they seem to notice us much. They do build their nest it the most interesting places. Lots of food nearby, as the bugs crowd around the porch lights which are on all night. Easy pickings for birds and the many, many green tree frogs that attach themselves to the walls every night. Occasionally a huge toad also takes up a nighttime post for feeding.  Just the front porch menagerie living in happy harmony.

Another View From the Window

I spent a lot of time in the garden today taking in all that had bloomed overnight. One of my favorites is the indigo salvia whose purple flowers are in contrast to all of the red, orange, and yellow in the garden right now. The day was spent doing a lot of "tending". There were weeds to be pulled, leaves to be spread in the beds, and feeders to be filled.
Our late afternoon chores were interrupted by thunder and light sprinkles. Fortunately we were able to wash another expanse of soffitt as we slowly make our way around the house. Tomorrow, we are touring an English Shire Horse Farm that is a few minutes down the road. Stay tuned.