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.

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

January's over?!

Doesn't seem like it should be February already. I have to confess, my Christmas tree is still standing in the corner of my living room. It looks a little forlorn now. Why is it so difficult for me to take it down? This is precisely the reason why I didn't put one up for years. Oh well.

Well January here has been satisfyingly typical. Up down up down up down goes the thermometer. It's very obviously driving my sinuses CRAZY.
But, that doesn't mean it hasn't been absolutely GORGEOUS most days. I took this pic while walking Toby up the hill.

The flowers are all starting to burst forth with glorious color. They make me feel all warm and sunshiney. They make me want to start digging in the earth, to start planting new things. Crazy enough, they make me want to start cleaning house. However, I am sane enough to realize that the former statement is only a symptom of Spring Fever, and therefore must be ignored! :)

I did take the time recently to at least freshen up the paint on my totem pole fence post. So that's one thing off of my refresh and renew list! CHECK!

Mom and Dad have been enjoying the pleasant evenings by sitting out on the front porch, or out in the backyard while grilling miscellaneous meats on the charcoal grill. Last week in particular afforded several evenings of splendid weather and spectacular sunsets.

Other than that, not a lot going on. Well, aside from the fact that I'm purchasing my first rental property. Which therein means I'm taking on my first ever HUGE amount of debt. Yup, time to start wearing my big girl pants.

To end, here's some Frog and Feather shots. Hope you have a wonderful first week of February!! :)

Frog flying up the hill on Avalon Road. What a beautiful day!

Toby sends you nose kisses!!

Developments

Ok. . .I can officially let the word out. . .I went for a job interview today.
I didn't get the job. I had already decided that I wasn't going to take it, even if it had been offered to me.
I have a feeling that it would have been. Oh well.

It was for a digital media specialist at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, FL. That's right, Tampa, which is according to my calculations 1 1/2 hours from my house.

You ask, what's the big deal, move to Tampa, or even Lakeland (which is the in between city).
Put it simply, I don't want to. I don't want to move further away from my family, I don't want to move out of my house. Well really my yard. Just the thought of leaving my yard and all my plants slightly breaks my heart.
And I know it's fully possible for me to move to somewhere else and have a yard full of other new plants. . .I didn't say that all of my reasoning was rational! :)
My more rational reasons are that I don't feel like I can move too far away from my mom and her situation, both health and business wise. 

But anyways. . .mom and I drove down to scope out the location and how to get there this past Saturday.  In the process of spending all the extra gas and miles on the car, we also decided to make a day of it and head down to Ft. Desoto park in St. Petersburg.


Mom checking out the museum

Ibis bathing in the freshwater well

We've always loved that park. Mom and Dad used to take us there camping during the summer. It's also a great place to see migrating and shore birds.

We stopped at a new little museum that they've built to mimic an army barrack from the turn of the century, first.  It had a ton of information (almost too much), but it was still very interesting. Outside the museum there was a little fresh water well which had attracted all kinds of birds.

Shoreline plants

Mom "tilting"

Willet in the surf

We then made our way down to the fishing pier. This is where I captured shots of the shore life, including sea oats and all kinds of birds.
The Willet picture is one of my favorites, and it's a total accident. Well an accident in the sense of I was holding the camera and taking pictures the way that you do when you can barely see because it's so bright out. Well, anyways, I loved it once I saw it.

We also checked out a few hiking areas, although mom really couldn't go onto any of the trails, we still took the time to look for birds.

Saw a few interesting warblers, but mainly it was just a very beautiful day to be outside!