Simple fun

Monday I had volunteered to take a friend to a doctor's appointment over in Orlando. So I took mom along for the ride and while our friend was at her appointment, we went over to the downtown library.

We used to love going to this library. Mom, Russ, and I loved to haunt the used bookstore as well. I snagged four Dean Koontz books on this particular trip!
The other thing we loved was their AWESOME kid's section.

On Tuesday, I had the brilliant idea to take a road trip to St. Augustine. I had heard an ad on the local public radio station about a Pablo Picasso exhibit at the visitor's center.  Shirley got to come along for the ride!
So here's some pics of that fun. . .

Castillo de San Marcos and lunch at the Spanish Bakery

Pics in front of the fountain. . .

Fun wandering around the old city. . .tacky tchotchkes, an old old old cemetery. . .

Pigeons EVERYWHERE. . .and a look down St. George street. . .

 Mom and I hamming it up in front of the Fuente de los Canos de San Francisco. . .

 Now, the real reason we came to Northeast Florida for the day. . .
This particular show for Picasso's work focused on his prints regarding bull fighting in Spain.
It was neat for me, because I actually have experience making lithographs. . .although I wasn't really any good at it. Plus, my back could not handle the weight of the stone or the continual bending over.
Anyways, though mom and Shirley weren't really thrilled with the show, I loved being able to see some of his not so popular work. It made it that much more interesting to me to be able to dive into the lines and shapes.

"The world today doesn't make much sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?"
Loved this quote!

After viewing the art, we strolled down to Kilwins to buy fudge slabs, required for every trip to St. Augustine.
Then, we took a moment to sit at an outside table and enjoy the wonderful weather and each others company.

Shirley and mom talking

Shopped a little more, but my feet and knee were killing me.
So, here's a little backyard garden at the art glass shop to end with. This is what I want my yard to eventually feel like.

St. Patty's Day

So first off, we spent the day before St. Patty's Day driving down to cousin Peggy's on the west coast (South of Sarasota).  It's become a tradition to get together and have corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. 

Jamie got voted to drive. I did catch a pic of mom sleeping in the back seat, lol.

She'll hate me for putting this up.

Donia (Peggy's daughter) and Peggy

Aunt Joyce, Bumpa, and Dad (who's behind Bumpa)

 The pics above are of the family gathered on the side porch. 

Mom can't get inside the trailer, 

but the weather was nice and very enjoyable. 

In other news, the amaryllis opened up, finally.

Oh, and I'm going up to visit Russ and Lana in July. I'm flying up on the 4th, hanging out with them for a few days and then joining up with the TNT youth group. They're going to be on a mission trip to Staten Island, NY.

So, I'll end with some Leya pics. The first is of her on the playground near Russ and Lana's place in Secaucus, NJ. She loves the slide!

 

She also loves to play with her mommy's phone! Leya self-portrait! 

Rainy Day Blogging

It was raining a little bit ago.
Soaking, light rain that made all of my thirsty plants shake off their dusty leaves and sigh in contentment.

Mom gave me this Amaryllis a few years ago. If you have never experienced the opening of one of these flowers, then you're truly missing out. I put hardly any effort into this plant. It gets watered just as much as anything else in my yard (which is very rarely by me. . .plants in my yard have to be able to mainly live just on rainwater). 
As you can see in this pic, the flower is coming close to opening up fully. I've shown pics of that before on my blog. It's always breathtaking. Simply beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes me stop and stare at it.

It'll probably open up fully while I'm at work. Oh well.

Other tidbits. 

Got a new bromeliad. My mother called it a housewarming present. Her logic was directed at the rental property that I just purchased. No matter, this pretty little plant will be gracing my front flower bed.  I love the gradient quality of the yellow center, green leaves, and blue pot.

 
Of even greater note, I bought myself a Lazy Boy recliner. For $150. It's brand new. With the tags.
Be jealous. . . :)

Went to another birding festival this past weekend.
Didn't see a whole lot of birds.
This osprey with his fresh fish dinner was a little ways off the trail that mom and I took.

The trail is relatively new, and wraps around the shore of Lake Apopka (which I learned on Saturday is Florida's 3rd largest lake. . .I had always been under the impression it was ranked 4th. . .hmm).

Noteables by Nancy and Jamie 
These are things that mom and I notice which most ignore.

Green Anole (in brown coloring) sunning atop a strange cocoon
of leaves. Mom spotted this one. Not sure what the cocoon was spun by. 

Branch that has partially broken off the tree on the left hand side of the pic. It is somehow supported by the Sable Palm in the middle. The tree at the far right of the picture has grown around the branch. The crazy thing is, the branch is still alive.

 The north shore of Lake Apopka used to be a prime spot for growing vegetables on what are called Muck Farms. The state purchased these farms a while back and reflooded them, with the idea being to restore the lake to its once pristine condition. I tell you all of this because the above pic is of volunteer mustard greens growing on the side of the trail.

If it hasn't been evident yet, I love nature. I love knowing about and experiencing nature. I love sharing that knowledge. I want to help others love nature just as much as I do.

 I'll end with this pic up the hill from my house.

February is surprising me

Fun times. Sick times. Surprises and Bliss.

Toby and I. Enjoying the weather.
Walking.
Whistling.
Loving the fact that we live so far out that we can be as ridiculous as possible and nobody ever sees us.

Few more enjoyable bits.

The swamp maples are putting on their spring show. Waxy, shiny, beautiful little fairy wings.

Chewy is getting the pots ready for spring planting. At least that's what we assume. He keeps moving the planters around the yard at night. It's different every morning.

My friend Elisha and her family came down to visit from Cohoes, NY this last week. I'd never met her son Joseph (Jojo), who is only a few months older than my niece Leya.

These pics are of Jojo and Toby enjoying each others company. Meaning, Toby doesn't quite know how to play with an infant. He kept snapping at him playfully and then rushing Jojo like herding dogs go after sheep and cattle. Jojo thought the whole thing was hilarious. So these pics are blurred like crazy, but it was lots of fun to watch.

The weather for the first part of February has been perfect. When I say perfect, I mean PERFECT. . .I do not know how else to describe it. Mom and I took a moment yesterday to grab an ice cream cone at the downtown shop, Scoops, and then enjoyed the swings by the fountain.
We had a rummage sale meeting at 1:00p, and neither of us wanted to leave the wonder of that moment.

Oh well.
Heaven can wait.

I end with a little trailer park humor.
This sign showed up on the end of a unit next door to a trailer that my parents own.
Mom and I assume that these people like the fleas.

The Creeping Crud

We will start today with a little poetry. . .

Invitation by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer. . .
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

I'm sick again. Have been for a week now. Was sick back in December. The creeping crud has returned. Stronger than before.

But, in spite of all that, I've had some really good days recently. I got approved for a loan, I got my taxes filed, and I have been helping mom get the rental business in a more organized state. No matter how sick I've been feeling, I'm appreciating the sense of accomplishment.

Not only that, but God has really been working on opening my eyes to the wonders all around me. Literally. It seems like they're getting thrown in front of me.

Beautiful Sunsets while collecting rent in the trailer parks. . .

 

 Gorgeous little snakes that slither down my front door to fall at my feet when I open it.  This baby black racer is non-poisonous, and a good little guy to have around for pest control.

 These last couple don't have pictures to accompany them, unfortunately. Mom and I were driving the other day into town and witnessed a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers chasing each other around a telephone pole.

The other little bit of wonder is that I have a pair of bluebirds nesting in one of my fence bluebird houses! I'm so excited!

I allowed myself a bit of a splurge on Wednesday. Bought myself a windchime to hang over my bromeliad bed. It's so delicate and mystical sounding. Brings a smile to face every time I hear it chime.

Other little tid bits that cheer me up in the midst of my sick. Toby went with me on Tuesday to take Steve to have an epidural shot. This required that the pup and I sat in the car for a couple of hours (they have a waiting room, but it's really not comfortable).

It wasn't hot, just bright. Toby wasn't really thrilled with the whole thing, just happy that he got to go with me. If you notice, I don't look too thrilled either. This is because I began to get chills while we waited, along with more of the hacking cough. Yech.

Chewie caught me unawares the other day. Just happened to catch this shot with my phone. He does this all the time so that his mom, Carrie, doesn't get all the dog food.

 The two of them are named after Star Wars. Chewie is obviously from Chewbacca the Wookie. Carrie is named for Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia.

Speaking of Star Wars, I have to share the little gift that Richard left on my desk. They're pop up cards. I'll be sending them on to others who'll appreciate them just as much!

Check out these skies!. . . Ugh. . .Just absolutely breathtaking. . .

 To end, here's another poem from a book that I bought for my mom. It holds special memories for the two of us. She used to read them to me and Russ when we were little.

Excerpt from "Honey I Love" by Eloise Greenfield
My mama's on the sofa sewing buttons on my coat
I go and sit beside her, I'm through playing with my boat
I hold her arm and kiss it 'cause it feels so soft and warm
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my mama's arm
I love to kiss my mama's arm