Water, woods, wildflowers, and cool mountain air. Cannot think of a better place to be.
When ordering sewing supplies recently, I ran across the charitable project named above. People all around the country are making pillowcase dresses and sending them either to Nancy's Notions or to the founding organization to be forwarded to orphanages where they are distributed to African girls in their care. Having way too much fabric stashed in way too many places, I thought it would be fun and productive to make some dresses and send them along. The complete directions are available at nancysnotions.com, and the dresses are simple to make using actual pillowcases or other fabric. Wide bias tape is used for the armhole binding/ties, and, not wanting to spend crazy amounts of money for that, I am making my own bias tape in coordinating colors, another way to use up leftover pieces from my own sewing. So, there is my latest project, multi-benefit, supporting my local thrift store, cleaning out my excess materials, making cute dresses for little girls, and having a great deal of fun in the process.
Welcome to Svinga Brothers Metal Salvage Yard here in Ocala. It is one of our favorite local places to go when we are looking for something and don't know what it is. These colored pipes bear no resemblance to what one can find at Svinga Brothers. They are but a representation of our fantasy and of a really good "edit" with PhotoStudio.
This is the actual inside and outside of the salvage yard. No matter what you might need in the scrap metal department, you can probably find it here. We have found old signs, metal curlicues, old metal measuring cups (more about these later), and various and sundry other items. 
You will find interesting signs throughout, as well as many different young and old men milling about. Janet and I are usually the only women in there if you don't count the cashier behind the glass panel on your way out. 
Once we decided on our purchases, the old metal measuring cups I mentioned earlier, they were weighed and priced so we could check out. This is a very exciting place to visit if you like junk metal. We now use these measuring cups out in the garden but may decide on another use if the mood strikes us.
I am experimenting with my new camera as I meander through the garden on the second sunny day in a very long time. I found this old feeder while cleaning a flower bed that had been neglected way too long. 
This bench lives in the Zen Garden in the back corner of the yard. I love the way the light plays and creates new angles.
Just a peek at the new plantation shutters we just had installed on the kitchen window that looks out to the backyard. When we moved into the house eight years ago, we purchased cellular shades for this window but later found that the shades just didn't give us the look we wanted. 
We think these shutters give a much cleaner, simpler look--exactly what we're going for these days. Don't you think they look wonderful juxtaposed to the baking center?
Meet our new vacation companion---our new rPod Travel Trailer. This little gem is 18' long and will be pulled behind our Ford truck. We are so excited to resume the RV Lifestyle once again, especially since we won't have to worry about always finding a hotel that is pet friendly for our little Cocoa. The inside is outfitted beautifully and should be perfect for two sassy old women and a dog.
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.
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. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
