Camera Crazy

As you may or may not recall, yesterday afternoon Kelly was arriving to have her photo shoot just as I was finishing my blogging. She has a website and other social networking sites she wanted some photos for. She'd just had her hair done and came in with her makeup bag to get ready. I'm not so experienced in this kind of photography, however we had fun, chasing the light and trying to get some good shots. The most fun we had was when she picked up Baxter who'd been hanging around--they both look so good in this one.

I said that was the most fun but this one is pretty crazy. I'd climbed on top of our air conditioner blower thing out back and it came on. I handed Kelly the camera and had her take my picture:

Crazy huh? Look how incredibly dark my hair is underneath!!!! That said, I'm noticing gray hairs are starting to populate my scalp, generally sticking straight up! I remember when we first moved to Melbourne when I was 16 and we had air conditioning for the first…

While getting ready for Briggs and Victoria's visit a week or so ago, I noticed that the guest bathroom rug was looking a little dreary. Ever notice how much more things stand out as needing updating when company is coming? I sure do. Anyway I went to Ross looking, not really knowing what I would find. That's the way it is with those kinds of stores, an aspect I appreciate. I bought a turquoise rug because the shower curtain has that color stripe, not to mention that it just felt cheery. Immediately, I was in love! Once I get an idea going it is hard to stop me, so last evening, after the torrential afternoon shower, I arrived at Sherwyn Williams ten minutes before closing. You can imagine how thrilled they were to see me come in toting a rug, however it took me all of about one minute to choose the color, it's a shade lighter than the rug, they mixed it and I was out of there with a minute or so to spare. Normally I'm fast, but not that fast, however, this time I was …

Perfect Party Ingredients:
*Beautiful location
*Outstanding weather
*Diverse Guest List
*Open Bar
*Food, food, and more food
*Generous Hosts
*Door Prizes including two first class tickets on Delta to anywhere in the US
*Clown
*Two lifeguards with water games
*Pool
*Gulf of Mexico
*Limousine and trolley service
*Cecil's BBQ smoker
*Beautiful Gulf coast sunset

Steve, Bruce's best buddy at work, did an amazing job with his party this year, planning every last detail including twenty five hotel rooms for those of us who traveled. Surprisingly there was not even a hint of bad weather; I drove (letting Bruce have a little break) through at least fifty miles of torrential rain making us a little nervous for Steve, what with 150 people invited. Everything went off without a hitch!

Today's photo is of Todd, the design manager, holding Bruce's administrative assistant's son--I just love this image.

Despite the threat of rain, Wednesday morning Maureen and I took off for Ocala. She needed a ride to Sherri's farm, from there the two of them were heading to Sherri's house in North Carolina to spend some time relaxing. All was high and dry until we reached our exit with only light rain falling. The drive off the interstate to her house was so beautifully scenic with the rain saturating all the shades of green, not to mention the lovely horses in the fields. Most of my Florida readers know that Ocala is the "horse capital" of Florida, but for those who've never been there, it is beautiful. Just like all states, the terrain is different from region to region; Orlando is pretty much completely flat, a bit to the north around Ocala there are what we would call hills, however, most folks from other states would laugh at that description.

Sherri has these beautiful horses:

There was a steady drizzle when I was out trying to get some photographs which I'll blame for…

I will have to call Lisa later to find out what her handy, fancy rain gauge has to say but by my eyes and ears tell me we've had a lot of rain in the last 24 hours. It's pouring as I type. Last night the wind and rain woke me up several times, with rain greeting me when I awoke at 6:30 this morning. Reminds me of my time in California but add five months of solid rain and you'll get the picture of why I begged Bruce to come back to Florida! Actually I didn't have to beg him, just asked nicely. Last evening I put all my sad, neglected porch plants out for a good soaking--you can see they need a trim:

I had a suspicion that we would have no visitors at the museum today and I was right except for one woman who came in to pick out some note cards. The inventory is mostly depleted with very few options, however, I've never witnessed someone take so much time to pick out three blank cards before. If you can imagine she spent FORTY minutes to pick out 3 seventy five cent c…

When Briggs and Victoria arrived carrying a bottle of Plumpjack wine, I was almost embarrassed to tell them what was on the menu for the night, however, they seemed to be delighted with my plan. Plumpjack is a small winery in Napa Valley (Plumpjack) which I'd hoped we could visit on a trip there years ago. On our way to the airport, we tried to visit, alas, it was too early and we were leaving on a jet plane. It turns out Briggs got it on a visit there, making it a super special gift. We had a wonderful evening chatting, eating, and in Victoria's case, some crying. Her sister in Seattle is dying of breast cancer; the details are frightening. With any luck she'll be going out there this week to assist in her care.

Saturday I was up bright and early and off to the market. Fortunately I'd packed the car the day before making my wake up call not too early! The market is struggling to establish itself, a familiar theme with markets. Not only were the crowds thin, but the ven…

Yesterday I spent 3 hours with Angela while waiting for her procedure to begin. As is often the case it was delayed but my meter was out so I finally left her to take a nap. I got a start on things for this evening, had an early dinner, and went to bed with my book. I'm reading a fantastic one right now called The Help suggested by my friend Linda. Oh my it is good. Here's a review from The Times if you're interested. Ok, so it doesn't seem to be working but I guarantee you that you will be enthralled with both the story and the characters!

I've been cooking this morning as well as picking up Angela at the hospital, picking up prints from Roger's house, picking up dry cleaning for us and a prescription for Angela, and the weekly laundering. I think I'm mostly set for our guest to arrive at 7.

I made this impossible pie last evening--caramel and coconut custard.

Here's the chicken setting up for ten minutes before I put it in the cast iron skillet.

Here'…

And on the 23rd day it rained. I knew it had been incredibly long since there was rain, but not the actual day count. While having a pedicure last Friday afternoon I had no choice but to hear the television blaring in front of me; I see I'm not missing much by not turning it on. On the other hand I did learn the handy fact about the no rain days. That statistic went by the wayside yesterday afternoon in the heart of Orlando. I heard from Lisa in Longwood and they had so little it wasn't enough to measure in their fancy rain gauge. Bruce's afternoon flight was delayed a bit because of rain and lightening, yet somehow he got to Connecticut in record time. We got a much needed soaking at our house. My mini garden has required constant watering this last week because of the severe heat. As I type this it is 14 degrees cooler than on Sunday which I am very thankful for.

That said I have only been outside this morning. I took Baxter for a run in the park, did a bunch of errands,…

Thursday night, you may recall, Maureen and I went to the Guitar Town auction with a performance by the Blue Man Group. It turned out to be very fun, including a red carpet which you see pictured with Maureen below. Doesn't she look super?

It was my first time attending a live auction which was very fun, albeit long. There were people from 38 states online included in the auction as well as other bidders via phone. Prior to the last guitar going for over $8,000, the highest winning bid was for a guitar done by our graffiti artist friend, Decoy, aka Brian Demchak. He is the one who did the Warhol on what is known as the "Black Box", or in my language, the permission building. During part of the auction Maureen and I amused ourselves reading the artist statements--yeesh! BMG put on a lively show that was both silly and entertaining. I must find time to research their makeup--very intense! We got home way past my bedtime, somehow I managed to stay up just fine.

Friday I washe…

For quite a while now I've been meaning to write about my friend from the market. Here's what I know about her: Her name is Wafaa and she's married to Rick. She is French and spent some time living in Morocco. She and her mother along with Regina and her husband make the most amazing food. I first met her at the Whole Foods market when she was set up next to me. The first thing I tried was a Napoleon and I thought I'd died and went to heaven. The oh-so light pastry with the creamiest filling you can imagine. Following that I began to sample her ample varieties of quiches which are simply delicious. Her almond croissants, strawberry and lemon tarts, not to mention sandwiches, are some of the best things I've ever tasted. Add the fantastic food to a great personality and it is no wonder her business is a great success. During one of my weekly market photo strolls I took this one of her next to one of the 10 foot tall guitars being auctioned off this very night.

Which …

I'm finally back to the blogosphere after having a wonderful holiday. Yesterday I did a crazy photo shoot which found me on the Anderson Street overpass looking down on the I-4 traffic. That was some crazy shooting fun! It was a city thing which I'll talk about tomorrow showing you a little something. For now, let's concentrate on the trip.

I've put captions on the pictures this time; for those who don't have time to look at it full size I'll try to briefly recap.

1. Left Monday morning bright and early, hopefully forgetting nothing.

2. Around Lakeland we left the interstate, traveling south on small roads allowing us to see what Florida is really like. We saw phosphate mines and orange groves, two industries which made Florida prosperous. A few hills and gorgeous, spring green everywhere.

3. Eventually we got to the park and set up our campsite. The lake was closed due to high bacteria levels, ironically from a large Earth Day celebration, according to the ranger…

The camping trip was terrific, unfortunately when we arrived home I had a message that one of my very old friends had died and the funeral is today. She really wasn't old at all, only 52, with her only daughter graduating in a few weeks from high school. Bina and I met when we worked together at a now defunct hospital probably twenty five years ago. She'd had a bad heart for years now and apparently it finally quit working for good. I'm playing a little catch up around the house today before going to the funeral at 2; I'm glad I am home to attend.

I will post more about the trip when time permits. Before I go though today is my dear Jonathan's 26th birthday. When someone dies you realize birthdays are definitely worth celebrating.