Meanwhile....

While I've been writing about Austin, here in Orlando it has been raining, and raining, and raining. One day 3 inches, another day 2, and so it goes this time of year. If a girl wants to take photographs she just has to get a little wet like this squirrel. It's been a long time since I posted a squirrel photo and believe me, it will be a long time again, however, since I've managed to outwit them as regards to my bird feeders, I don't hate them they way I used to.

Somewhat appropriate that I've included the rain gauge; we've turned into weather nuts around here, checking it frequently although the pool tells most of the story. Early this morning I drained yet another few inches to keep it from overflowing. Either you love crows, or you don't. I'm not much of a fan mostly because they scare the other birds away.

What else have I been doing aside from taking photos of birds in the rain?

One day I made bread which is always fun and tasty.

It is so weird how when you are my age, things from your past come to you when you least expect it. After a little hand kneading, I decided to put the dough in my big green "fix and mix" Tupperware bowl, one that's seen probably thirty years of service. I hope my children will have fond memories of it as our big popcorn bowl. Anyway, covering the dough with my lovely French hand towel, I remembered a trick I learned a gazillion years ago--place it on the oven rack with the door closed, leaving the light on for a bit of warmth.

This method worked beautifully, just as I'd remembered. These days bread making instructions would have you roll out your dough, then roll it back up, tucking in the ends to form a loaf. I did not follow those instructions on the white bread; the cinnamon loaf I had no choice. Can you figure out which one of these loaves was formed the proper way?

The ugliest one! From now on I'm going to go with the method that works best for me. So, you see that bowl on the right? It's one I bought in Burnett, Texas, population 1,400. The stamp on the bottom reads, Watertown Lifetime Ware, a brand I was unfamiliar with. Here's a better look:

I paid $5.00 for it which, after consulting eBay, seems about right. I love the color, don't you? Doing a little research I found out this line is one of the first to use Melmac, commonly known as Melamine. 1946 was the year, just after World War II. It must have seemed so modern at the time! The piece is as good as new, despite the age, which I don't think will be the case with most of what we buy today. Seems like everything I buy has a very limited shelf life due to poor construction. Make them stop!

Oops! Another birdie! The feeders were empty so I had to fill them even if it was raining. I had just a tad left so I put it on the front walk, attracting scads of blue jays. This one, I think, is a baby because of the size.

A lot of the week I was waiting, and waiting, for my order to be done. The first Friday of the month arrived and with it FAVO night. My room is the one on the bottom with the lamp in the window.

Most of the day it rained, and then it stopped in time for our showing. This was early on, however, there were not nearly as many folks as we always hope for. I will tell you that every person who comes for the first time freaks out at how cool it is, saying, more people should know about this! I did not pick up my order until 8 in the morning, so I had much work to do to get ready. All's well that ends well--I sold some things. Not nearly what I hoped for, but enough to not go home too disappointed!

Winter Garden on Saturday morning was nice as always. The peaches are starting to come in:

Sometime in the last few months a new vendor began selling French macarons, which looks as if it is spelled incorrectly but it is not. According to him, these take a WEEK to make!

No wonder they are a little pricey!

Personally, I hit a new low at Winter Garden--oh my! Folks were there, just not interested in me. The one good thing is that the weather was mostly tolerable, with the rain holding off until 4PM when I was safely ensconced on my throne in the living room, watching a little golf. I told Bruce I was not looking forward to being in the tent on Sunday during another hour long deluge. God must have been listening because, although we got a few sprinkles a little after 3, prompting the market to close early, somehow, what looked like another mega storm, passed us by. Not a great sales day, but not terrible. Hey, it's summertime and the selling is not easy!

Woo hoo--my gerbera daisy bloomed again!

All this rain is making the plants look like they are on steroids. The grass is growing like nobodies business, as are the weeds in my flower beds. The nerve of them!

While on vacation, I did not take a library book along; no need to chance another lost one. So it was that I had to wait nearly a week to finish, "The Perfume Collector," which turned out to be very engaging so it was hard to wait to finish it. A real page turner! It was good, but the one I started after finishing it, is superb. Jennifer Haigh's writing in "News from Heaven" knocked my socks off. Oh wait, it's summer and I wouldn't wear socks if you paid me. You get my drift. Here's a glowing review from the New York Times which I knew nothing about before randomly picking up the book at the library. I am thrilled to have found another outstanding author whose work has been previously unknown to me!

So, that's what has been happening in Orlando. Not terribly exciting but it's what I do.