A Change in Weather

Had I known that writing about how awful the weather has been would make a difference, I would have mentioned it all of the time. Oh wait....I have done that, so much so, no doubt, you have been sick and tired of my complaining. First off, we got some rain, not long after I finished my last post. After months of daily rain, the plants are very accustomed to regular watering, so having no rain for days on end has put some stress on our landscape. Rain came tumbling down outside my bedroom window as I sewed.

Have you read any accounts of the ongoing suffering happening to folks in the Panhandle, Georgia, and North Carolina, following Hurricane Michael? What a mess on all fronts. The other day I took a walk through the "village" all the while admiring the huge oak trees to be found.

It is a wonder there are so many remaining as they must be quite old to be this size.

That said, I know some of them have been lost, or parts of them, just last year when Hurricane Irma came through Central Florida the most recent. We are settling down just fine to condo living with one reason being the beautiful landscaping that we enjoy without all of the maintenance. Now we are talking!

You might be tempted to think that I eat sweets most days of the week, and while sometimes that is true, rarely do I eat candy, preferring cookies most of all. That said, at this time of the year, aside from vegans, is it possible to resist candy corn? I think not. Bruce, when he finally got home from Calgary, after a long flight delay, was thrilled to find it, however, he complained that the edges between the layers weren't quite crisp enough. Are you sure this is Brachs, he kept asking? I went so far as to dig the empty bag out of the trash. :)

Saturday afternoon, while watching college football, I decided to tackle something I'd been thinking of doing for quite some time. (some pun, eh?)  Over the years, and as it turns out, a whole lot of years, I have accumulated lots of loose recipes, keeping them in folders, or as was the case in our home, stuffed into the corner of a kitchen cabinet. Beginning the purging task, I had no idea that it would be a trip down memory lane. Take this recipe, for example,

stained and ripped in two, I suspect I've kept it because it came from a woman, whose name I just can't dredge up, who was one of the techs while I was an x-ray student. In other words, it goes back nearly 50 years! This one I copied down into my recipe notebook, one I began several years ago and added to during our time in Vancouver. I'm not one for leaving an iPad on the counter for recipes, although I know it works well for some. Should I ever want to make the one below, it is readily available on the internet which is where I found it in.....

1991 (!), printed from one of our very first home computers!!!(sorry for poor quality photo) Anyone else remember Prodigy? I can still remember Matt encouraging me to buy it during a Costco shopping trip. At the time I had zero understanding of what Prodigy would do for us, but I agreed and the Pecks moved into the internet age. Who amongst you, realized how life would change so dramatically with the advent of home computing? Not me, for one. Life during a revolution is never smooth as we have all been privy to as we adjust in all ways to the technological revolution. Somewhat like a modern day Industrial Revolution which I am capitalizing as it is a recognized historic period. What will future historians write about our times?

I cut that activity short to make a huge pan of scalloped potatoes to take to the neighborhood Octoberfest party, held poolside/lakeside. David and Burch grilled the bratwurst,

while everyone gathered, bringing all manner of salads and treats. Then some big clouds rolled in and before long there was a short burst of showers, stopping as quickly as they began. Left behind though was this beautiful sunset.

It was a chance to meet new neighbors of all ages, including this woman Bruce was chatting with who is 90 years old and looks about 75!

A DJ kept the party going and it won't surprise my sons to know that their Mother got the dancing started. It's what I do.

The only problem was that it was hot as the dickens making me want to jump in!

Michelle is part of the committee that puts the parties on and she found this funny thing online. It's what she does.

This old lady took an Advil before bed thinking that three hours of dancing would do her knees in the next day. Seems to have worked. So while it was hot as the dickens during the party, Michelle told me that Sunday would be cooler. The earlier showers, apparently, were ushering in a "cold" front. While that seemed hard to imagine then, much to everyone's delight, we woke to a temperature not felt since May. Yup, it was below the 70 degree mark!!

Sunday, the weather was a dream come true with the daytime temperature only reaching the high 70's. And while I've never been fond of the hot weather, I think that returning home during the hottest months of the year has made it all the worse. Had we returned in say, the middle of May, I could have worked up to it.  No different really from how people feel in the North, waiting for Spring. Floridians LONG for cooler weather and it seems as if we might have that in our future. Checking the upcoming week's weather, there is not a 90 to be found. Thank goodness.

Following church, we had lunch at Dubsdread and when asked if we wanted to sit indoors or out, we were thrilled there was an outdoor table still available. It was perfect. On our way home, we drove over to Bill and Fallon's house to see a project he is working on. I did not hear the text come through saying they weren't home until we arrived. I beamed with pride though, thinking of all that they have accomplished to make this formerly PINK, somewhat run down house, a home.

This morning Bruce left, once again, for Canada to finalize his projects there.

I told him to give my love to Vancouver.

your friend,

Gail