Georgia Bound

Good morning friends!

Just a quick note to remind you, and me later on when I reread this post in the future, that we are bound for Georgia. Unfortunately, it is raining this early in the morning, however, most of the car is packed so it should be okay. Our hope is that 240 miles north, the rain will have run its course and setting up camp, while perhaps messy, is doable. 

Look for a full report in this space in about a week from now and until then, take care.

your care,

Gail

 

Finally Fall

More often than not, the calendar reminds us that Fall has arrived, however, being outdoors usually tells a different story. Not so this year I am happy to report. The air is dryer and the temperature is below 90 degrees for the first time in as long as I can remember. Of course my memory is poor, so there's that! For the first time in months we have returned from the pickleball court somewhat dry, and I don't mean wet from rain. Hallelujah, and can I get an AMEN?

As has been the case for months on end, we've gone pretty much nowhere aside from gathering supplies, so having this arrive in the mail was such a treat. Finally, something to look forward to!

Georgia State Parks are really great, however that comes with a cost. Of course camping in a tent is very inexpensive, but what the heck, as retirees, we save money when we are able, and in this instance we were able. I was booking the reservations online and saw that a park pass costs only $50 annually. With half off stays, it was a no brainer! Surprisingly it came within days which was a pleasant surprise. It's going to pay for itself on this trip alone. The parks we are visiting in Georgia are Reed Bingham, Franklin Roosevelt,  and Kolomoki Mounds, all in the SW part of the state. Before heading home we'll stop by Bill and Lisa's new place in Lake City where they have promised to take us on a Suwannee River cruise in their pontoon boat, the perfect vehicle for social distancing. Although they have a guest room ready we haven't decided about using it. With plenty of room beside their pond, we may just camp there.

Picking up our gear from the storage unit, he followed that by doing an inventory. Shopping at Costco this morning, I found a small fan should we need it, although with the predicted temperatures, I'm thinking we'll be good. Not just good, but excellent.

What? We did something other than play pickleball this morning? Hard to believe but true. That said, we played twice yesterday, so my knee needed a rest! There are some folks that can't play in the morning but are dying to play, so we usually relent and go. What can I say? We are hooked. 

To tell you the truth, it is thrilling seeing Bruce having so much fun after a lifetime of working and stress. Now he is fully realizing the dream of retirement. I wish the same could be said for his brother whose improvement is moving at a snail's pace. We are so lucky to have activities that bring such joy. 

We are still looking for more men to play so Sandy invited Alan who came out the other night for the first time and left very happy.

Bruce is across the court in the photo above with Diane as his partner. They are playing against Patti and Lisa. The stage is set for my story....you may notice the racket in Lisa's hand has a big Z on it? She bought a new racket and did not like it at all, so she and Bruce switched and they are both happy. In a note about how small this part of Orlando is, I worked with Lisa's dad at the hospital for about twelve years.  

Yup, playing night and day! 

A trip to Publix was one place I went this week and it still shocks me that there are empty shelves in the cleaning department. 

While I don't buy tons of cleaning products, I would be happy if I could find a bottle of 409.  Additionally I was pleased to find plenty of fabric at Hobby Lobby, so now I have fabric to work on the dust ruffle.

Not that I have started it yet; at least I have the supplies. Going through my blog I found photographs of when I began that quilt and was shocked to learn it was in November of 2019! Never has a project taken me so long.

What I was searching for was any post related to my new range. Alas I found none, but I did come across this one from Vancouver that is filled with pretty spring flowers. Not to mention a quilt I made while there.

With humiliation I have to admit that the new appliance guy came, was extremely professional, and he confirmed the previous diagnosis, however, he is going a step further and replacing not just the board, but the housing as well. When the part arrives is another story altogether that at this point has no ending. Maybe while we are camping? If that is the case there are multiple people here in the village that will come to our aide. That is one of the great things about living here, helpers abound.

The change in weather was precipitated by a cold front that came through on Saturday night, staying all day on Sunday, with dreary, rainy weather in its wake. Bruce had gone to help Bill leaving me with more than enough time to begin a new puzzle.

Unlike several other Pomegranate puzzles I've done during the pandemic, this one was relatively easy and I finished it the next day. 

Isn't it cute? Charley Harper's artwork is so enchanting making the puzzles a joy to assemble. I'm thinking I might go back and re-do one of the puzzles that gave me fits before to see if I'm improving.  

There is but one thing that I don't like about playing so much and that is that it leaves me very little time for photography. Of course I could do it in the afternoon, but the harsh light is unfavorable for great photos. Every now and again, I do get something pretty. 

With that in mind, I cannot wait to put my camera to use again during our upcoming trip. There will be new lakes, hills, forests with predicted ideal weather. With overnight temperatures predicted to be in the middle 50's, seemingly campfires are in our future too. Stargazing, oh how I have missed you. 

Just when you thought you'd seen every sunrise on Lake Willisara, here is yet another one from this morning. And no, the old red sky at morning played no part in today. 

Thank God, it is finally Fall.

your friend,

Gail

p.s. Should you be a new reader, the text in a different color is a link to another website, in this case the parks we are visiting should you care to know more about them.

A Disappointing Turn of Events

Currently I am on hold with Whirlpool, hearing a recorded message telling me that my estimated wait time is zero minutes, however, at present I've been on hold for 6 minutes and counting. To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement. Didn't you just buy your appliances Gail, you ask? Indeed, we did. In spite of that, two years ago, almost to the day, this symbol came up on my range.

I'd only just baked a cake two hours earlier using one of Bruce's Mom's old recipes as shown on this card that she gave me many, many years ago. As you can see, it has been a well loved treat.

On this occasion I added some chopped apples, imagining it would make it a more nutritious cake for breakfast, the time of day when we eat this sort of thing. It baked up beautifully.

So, I was a happy camper, thinking of having it the next morning and that it was large enough for sharing. I've been most pleased to find a willing recipient in Patti who is a cake is perfect for breakfast gal.

Having a digital oven is great when it works, but not so much when it doesn't. Still I was hopeful that all would be well once the breaker was flipped for a reset. Except it was not. After holding for 30+ minutes, Bruce spoke with a "representative" who told him to unplug it. Great. That meant sliding it out away from the wall, which he did, hoping it would not scratch our floor. Unplugging it for the requisite 10 seconds, he plugged it back in. You guessed it, an hourglass. We left it unplugged overnight to no avail, so back to square one, we called an appliance repair company to come out. There's a long story connected to that which I will skip but I do want to mention that Brian from Reliable Appliance Repair in Longwood came out and he was super. Confirming our worst fears, he told us that it was the "motherboard" that needed replacing, to the tune of $800 for the part and installation. We said to go ahead and order it.

Fuming, after thinking about it for a bit,  I thought better of that decision and called Whirlpool to let them know that I thought it was unreasonable for a two year old oven to break. What could they do for me even though the measly one year warranty was expired? After a long conversation, Patrick said Whirlpool would make good and replace the motherboard at no expense except we had to use their preferred vendor, the very one I had been trying to avoid due to absolutely tons of horrible reviews. He said he would set it all up for me which I was hoping would streamline the process. Okay, so this happened on Tuesday afternoon; I'm typing this on Friday afternoon, and I am far from closing out this case. Fields Appliance Repair is coming on Monday to make their own diagnosis and then they will order the part. Again, I took to the phone, calling them directly to explain that I needed an oven ASAP and having someone come out and confirm the earlier diagnosis was a silly waste of time. We need a motherboard!! I'll spare you anymore except to say that now I've learned that they are on backorder!!!! More phone calls did nothing to change that status and now I fear that it will be weeks before I have a functioning oven again. Apparently this is yet another problem brought on by the pandemic. The fallout continues, seemingly unabated.

For some folks this would be an inconvenience, but for this blogger who uses her oven for more than baking cakes, this is horrible news. Perhaps I can find a friend willing to loan me a toaster oven? That's my next idea. At first I was just imagining it would be the following Monday, September 28 which was going to come with another problem and that is.........we are going camping that day!! Yes, I'm hoping the weather in Georgia will be cool enough for camping, and have made reservations at two parks, neither of which we've visited before. According to our friend Gayle, the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park is amazing, and we are soon to find out for ourselves. To say that I'm excited is putting it mildly.

And why am I so excited? Because, much as I love doing puzzles and playing pickleball, I am hungry for a little change of scenery, something most folks can surely relate to. Speaking of puzzles, I ordered the one below from Amazon and was it ever fun. Just hard enough.

Thinking of change in scenery, coming across the photo below from our time in Vancouver, it almost seems as if that time were all a dream two years later.

While that view was extraordinary, the one we have today is pretty nice as well, in an entirely different way. 

The air has been stifling, the humidity is so high. In the mornings the windows are covered with condensation, as is everything else outdoors, including our front porch chair cushions. Although we've had them less than two years, their light color was not my best choice. Every week when landscaping crews blow the parking lots, just outside our gate, sand and dirt fly everywhere including on our furniture.  First I washed one of them in the machine, and it did not much of anything. Next up was spraying the heck out of the other one with OxyClean, again with no improvement. Following that I went to Amazon!

Two good things came out of letting my fingers do the walking. One, the new cushions are clean, and two, they are thicker! One cushion arrived around 5 in the afternoon, thus the above photograph. Around 8:30 the other came and now we are all set, hopefully for more the next couple of years!

My goodness, the days are getting shorter and it seems to be happening so fast. Of course all of time seems out of whack these days. 

Should you be wondering about Cris, his improvement has been not nearly as rapid as was hoped for but on the flip side, he is not declining so that's something to hang onto. Bruce called him the other evening and I overheard what was being said. Bruce asked Cris if there were anything he wanted to tell me and his reply kind of shocked me. "Tell Gail I am sorry about the quilt." Knowing nothing about what he was saying, Bruce explained that it had been lost. Naturally I was sad, having spent countless hours making it, but I knew that once I'd given it away, this kind of mishap was a possibility. Well, the good news is that, whereas once it was lost, now it has been found. Yippee! 

In other news, the carport outside of our gate, where I park the MINI Cooper part of the year, is not what it used to be, with one of the metal support poles rusting off at the bottom and causing the roof to cave in a bit. All cars had to be moved, so we shall be looking at caution tape for a bit. Thank goodness one of the maintenance guys noticed it!

And yes, it rains even while the sun is shining! Yet another misery from rain and wind in the Panhandle and Alabama. Our friend Yvette's daughter lives in Pensacola and her in laws place on the beach suffered some serious damage, including flooding and torn out doors and windows. The good news is that no lives were lost. Apparently there is yet another storm system in the Gulf of Mexico as I type. Ugh!

To tell you the truth, it's a wonder I've got much to say because as far as I can recall, I've gone nowhere this week, maybe even dating back to last week. That's even saying something for this homebody, although I am set to leave after typing my final words because, the cupboards are becoming increasingly bare. Time to put on my mask and hit Publix!

your friend, 

Gail

 

Sunday in September

Yet another Sunday has come and is half past and our routine remains out of whack. Bruce is over helping Bill this afternoon and I'm delighted to report that there are very near the finish line with the floor. Actually the room is complete, as is half one closet, with the other half on the agenda today along with another smaller closet. While it took far longer to complete than Bill and Fallon were hoping, the end is in sight. While on the phone with her yesterday she said she cannot wait to hang her clothes up once again. Who could blame her? I also confirmed that she is in her last semester of book work with clinicals to begin in January! We are so proud of her hard work and determination! Before we know it, she will be a Nurse Practitioner. 

Will we ever be able to gather for church again? Of course, but right about now it feels like forever. The same goes for seeing Maureen at the nursing home, something I've not done now for six months! The good news is that she seems to be just fine, easing any worries we might harbor. 

One thing I did yesterday was begin to puzzle about the birds on the beach that I photographed two weeks ago. 

Identifying shore birds is not a skill that comes easily to me, especially when they are in a flock. I've learned that there are Terns and Royal Terns, but it was just yesterday afternoon that I learned that there are also Mustard Terns. Say what? Yes, such a thing exists, and the identifying marker is the tip of yellow at the end of their beaks! And while I thought the above would show it well when I chose the photograph, I realize it isn't that great, so here's a better look.Better? I've also just learned that there are 2,059 bird species in North America. While that is an amazing number I think there are more types of insects than birds. Oh nature, how you do cause wonder.

Something else of note, or at least to those of us who have been looking for a new swimsuit of late, turns out those too are experiencing a shortage according to this very fascinating article about the area in China with the most swimsuit factories. If the article is not of interest, I do suggest you at least look at the photographs. Very messy, some of those workrooms are. At the very least, it is interesting to know where our swimsuits come from.

Michelle was so sweet, dropping off a little goodie bag while returning the Tupperware container I'd brought over. Filled with macaroni salad, a dish I've not made in ages. but know that she likes. That container belonged to Bruce's Mom and it looks about as good as the day she bought it, but that's Tupperware for you, it never fails. Did you know that I sold it for a short while during our stint in California 40+years ago? It was a good thing that it mostly sold itself in those days!

Ah yes, pumpkin. It's that time of the year isn't it? More so in other places, but in an attempt to imagine it was Autumn and cooler than it is, I made a Pumpkin Bundt Cake. Looking everywhere, I finally found the recipe I'd been given by my mother in law many years ago. It is both typed and stained. Nearly torn in two, I was just happy to have found it because although there are plenty of recipes online, I know this one is tried and true.

Before I located said recipe, I had looked online and in one recipe it called for toasted pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, to be sprinkled on top. Another one spiced them which sounded appealing. Well, never imagine that all things go as planned in the kitchen because it doesn't. This fail was a first though. What went wrong? You tell me.

Would that be poultry seasoning Gail? Why yes, you are correct. It pays to read the label!!

Is there anything worse than a crummy peach? Of course there is! I was suspicious when the sign said they were from maybe Idaho, I can't recall. My fears were confirmed, and it quickly went into the trash along with the poultry seasoned pepitas.

That's the thing about fruit, you just never really know what you are getting, especially while wearing a mask and cannot smell it for ripeness. Now that seriously complicates matters.

It's been raining cats and dogs here, but you wouldn't know it from the "official count" as reported in our newspaper. Imagine our surprise, having checked our rain gauge the evening before, to see this.

A trace? A veritable monsoon, we collected 4.5 inches! According to the above, 15.87n inches fell in 1945 during the month of September. By our count we are nearing that already as most days we are receiving upwards of 2". I'll be curious what is reported at the end of the month. Before you go and tell me that rainfall is collected at the airport, we are between the two airports, and while it has been known to rain on one side of the street, I'm still not buying these totals.

This is our friend Patti who rocks the pickleball court. Oh my she is good and when I grow up I want to be Pickleball Patti, my nickname for her.

Just like us, she is always up for heading to the court to either practice or play. Nancy sent me a darling Lily tennis dress the other day that came in the mail. I brought my camera and asked Patti to take our photo. Mr. Peck is both rocking his sweatband and his ankle brace. It may be fun but it is not without challenges where our bodies are concerned.

Shopping has not been one of my pandemic past times, thank goodness for Nancy.

I'm not complaining one bit about playing every morning because I do love it for the fun and exercise, but every now and again, I need a photography fix, so I went over to Lake Davis to see what I could see. Turns out I saw a Muscovy family on the move, probably assuming I had food.

Another thing I saw was the very interesting Egyptian Goose. Maybe a month ago we saw a pair along with a few ducklings, a rare sighting at Lake Davis. I don't know where the others went, however this one seems content hanging around.

Perhaps you recall our horror at seeing the lake so low for months on end? Not so these days as evidenced by the mark on the water level sign. Not as full as some years, but pretty darn full.

Showing it to Bruce, he thinks the lake has risen about 2 feet. Guess what? It's raining for the second time today. Gray and gloomy to go along with. 

All the rain has caused explosive growth on our new tree, something I've been mentioning far too often for some folks tastes. Looking through some earlier photographs, I came across those taken when we planted our tree. Here's what it looked like in March 2019.

At the time Pam said it was going to be too big for the space, something that seemed unimaginable at the time. The moral of the story? Pam knows best because, as our friend Gayle said, it is like Jack and the Beanstalk! I had to stand inside our door to get most of it in the photo.

Now you can see for yourself that I'm not exaggerating! I sure wish some of our rain would head over to the Pacific Northwest and quench the raging wildfires. Jackie texted yesterday saying that even in British Columbia the smoke was so thick it was blocking the sun with extremely poor air quality as a result. We get hurricanes, they get wildfires, neither of which are good. Heartbreaking. 

One final sad thing, or at least it is if you are an FSU football fan. New coach, same results. Another heartbreaking loss is in the books. Always another game, right?

your friend,

Gail

Endless Summer

Labor Day! Often overlooked, more a last hurrah of summer in some parts of the country, this holiday has taken on new meaning during the pandemic. At least it should, in my opinion. According to the Labor Department website, it is a holiday to celebrate "the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well being of the nation." Imagine where we would be without the labors of truck drivers, grocery store clerks, the building trades who built our homes, and the list goes on? Thinking of workers, I've been wondering where all the lab techs have come from. Surely before the pandemic there weren't as many as have been required to run all of these coronavirus tests. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has thought of this because I've found this web article from the Department of Defense calling them the unsung heroes of the pandemic. No kidding! Although the article references an Army hospital, the same scenario is playing out all over the country. The world, for that matter. Thank God that there are those who are willing to do the job! Perhaps one silver lining of this upheaval will be the realization that all jobs are important!

On a less serious note, something fantastic happened this week! And what would that be Gail? I bought the last jar of Claussen pickles at Publix the other morning!!

And while I would have prefered the hearty garlic variety, beggars cannot be choosers.  I was rationing them with lunch until something else exciting occured yesterday afternoon at the pool. I was chatting with a young woman and the conversation turned to what has been different in our lives since the pandemic. Mine was that I now buy what I can find regardless of the price, a VERY big change for this frugal gal. Hers was that she has watched more Netflix/televison than she has done for the last twenty years. The conversation took a turn to shortages and as you have probably guessed, I brought out my pickle woes. Lo and behold, she shared my pain!! And my love for only Claussen. She went on to tell me that the WalMart grocery store carries a big tub of them and she's bought some during the pandemic. As you may recall part of the problem was a glass shortage, but these are gian pickles packaged in a hard plastic container, so there you go. Once home and cleaned up I made a rare trip to that store and there they were. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Bruce was over helping Bill;  much to everyone's delight, the floor is all put in. More than 450 square feet of one board at a time, the younger and elder Peck men could not be more pleased. Especially the younger, as he sanded and stained each individual board, followed by several finish coats once the boards were installed. With just the closet to do, the end is in sight!

The days are much the same, pickleball, a few trips to the store, preparing meals, going to the pool, and watching Endeavour, one episode each night. While Bruce was helping Bill on Wednesday, I tried finding some fabric, with tried being the operative word. As well, I went to Barnes and Noble to exchange some books. My darling husband checked into what the appropriate gift is for a 47th wedding anniversary? The answer was books, and with that in mind, he visited two B&N to choose some books which I thought was amazing. He did such a good job choosing books that he though I would like that it turns out, I had already read the purchased books, one of which was a signed copy. Because our storage space is so limited, I wondered about keeping them, and then I thought better of that decision. With his blessing, I exchanged them for some others.

Roaming the entire place, while upstairs looking at the selection of puzzles, I came across a biography section and saw Anne Frank, a book that I should have read years ago. Now that I have,  it was not at all what I imagined. Firstly, she was so articulate for a teenager. Secondly, while I'd always imagined they lived in one room, the book had a diagram of their "accomodations" and I was surprised to learn that there were several rooms spread over two floors, as well as an attic. There is nothing new that I could say about the book that hasn't already been written before, however, if you'll bear with me,  I'll write a few thoughts that came to me.

• We have it easy, easy, easy, in spite of what we read and hear.
• Walking home from the pool yesterday, rain began falling on me, makine me even more aware of the sensory deprivation they had while hiding. 
• I was surprised at all of the helpers who aided them during those two years. Those were some seriously brave folks. Would I do the same? 
• The difficulties that all eight people had with getting along with one another was a bigger part of the book than what they could, or could not do.
• I hope to never live in fear for my life.

While I have read countless books about the Holocaust, this was my first time reading a first person account, a powerful experience indeed. God bless the woman who gathered her papers (diary), found her Dad through the Red Cross, allowing the world to know. Heartbreaking.

So much so that I am now reading the above book, When Life Gives You Lululemons, as an antidote to all that sadness. A sequel, if you will to The Devil Wears Prada.  Now that was a fun book, and this one is too! We shall soon see about my other choices.

In the world of birds, it is molting season. These are male Wood Ducks who will become so colorful later in the year.

 To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if this is a male or female Cardinal.

The other evening, while in the kitchen, I heard a noise that I first thought was related to my cooking. In truth it was a neighbor knocking on the back screen door, wanting to show me the baby snapping turtle she'd found on her back step.

Observing it in the box for a few minutes, she let it go on the shoreline. Not the prettiest of creatures, but it takes all kinds!

Around the property, there are hundreds  and hundreds of bromeliads, most of them in bloom right now, a most pleasant sight.

The front garden crew, specifically Bill, has the area filled with butterfly attracting plants. Following pickleball the other morning, I walked over and saw probably a dozen flying around in the hot and sunny weather.

 Who knew that the polka dot plant produced tiny blooms? I do now.

While making some egg salad the other day I used my egg slicer. So what?

It got me to thinking about the design of this gadget, and because mine is old, wondering if there was any way that it has been improved over the years. A quick Google search tells me not much has changed, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. So much of what we use changes over time, but the trusty egg slicer remains the same. For those who don't eat eggs, this works amazing on mushrooms as well. Now I'm wondering who invented this gadget. Willy Abel should you be wondering.  The link is fascinating stuff....he invented the bread slicer as well. Plus, someone used it as a musical instrument before! Who ever said reading Camera Crazy was a waste of time?

While the calendar tells us that we are marching toward Autumn, here in Florida we are still in the midst of endless summer with days in the 90's for the foreseeable future. Maybe six more weeks of intense heat before we can even think of going camping? Probably so. While the humidity and heat remain, the only sign that Fall is on the horizon is the shortening days with sunset now before 8PM and sunrise around 7AM. I'm embarrassed to report that it is only in my 66th year that I've begun to understand a tiny bit about what the Spring and Fall equinox means. Don't think less of me okay?

your friend,

Gail

Taking the MINI Cooper Out for a Workout

Wow, September already. How did we get here? A day at a time is how. Have the months flown by for you as they have for us, or is time standing still? Stores are already bringing out the Christmas stuff, but what will it be like this year? Just today I learned of a young father who drowned both himself, and his 19 month old son, following an argument with his wife. This happened not all that far from here and the woman who made us aware of this tragedy wrote something to the effect that people are hurting, both financially and mentally, in part because the future is so uncertain at the moment. It broke my heart, yet it did not surprise me because I've been expecting this sort of thing from the beginning of lockdown. What more is there to say except that I hope and pray that this is an isolated incident that just so happened during the time of Corona.

In better news, one of my photos was selected for the annual historical calendar here in the city of Orlando. Several months ago I mentioned it, so I thought I'd follow up with both that news, and the selected photo.This is the first time I've entered in a few years so I was grateful to be chosen; which month will be news to me when the calendar comes out.

Let's see....it's been some days since last I wrote a post so what have you missed? I know, one morning we drove to Sanford to check out their pickleball courts which was super fun. They are very nice, and this is but one of two parks where they have courts!

Again, it makes me crazy to think Orlando has only an indoor facility and some part time courts that are set up in a roller hockey rink in a very part time manner no less.

As such, I wrote to both the city and county regarding this lack and was pleased to receive replies from both of them. While I was not quite as pleased with their answers, there are some plans in the works. Sheepishly I admit that I got one thing wrong in my emails and that is the exact name of the park I suggested they think about using for pickleball courts. Calling it Fiesta Park when the true name, as I discovered yesterday, is Orlando Festival Park. Duh! Nevertheless, I'm still sold on that location because it is underutilized and is convenient to downtown. While we are super fortunate to have our lined courts to play on, it is a distinctly different feeling playing on the real thing as we discovered for ourselves when we got up the nerve to accept the Sanford players invitation to join them. Yikes were we nervous because they are all far superior players, however, they were kind, making us glad we went for it. 

Other than that, on Saturday I drove, for the very first time in over three years, FAST. Since Bruce's retirement, he's been our driver pretty much everywhere we go, including two cross country trips. For the most part, especially during Covid, the MINI has sat idle, however, as I discovered on Saturday, she's still got it in spades! And while I thought I might be nervous, driving to Cocoa was a good test, and dare I say I passed with flying colors? I think I will. 

Following are some scenes from the beach that day, including, you guessed it, a few birds.

It was pretty much a perfect day with mostly sun, warm water, and just the right amount of waves, especially as the day progressed, to jump around in. And while some folks are nervous about going in the water, for me going to the beach is about immersing myself in the ever changing surf. Of course I do love wandering too because I never know what I will see.

Loads of businesses may be struggling but as is always the case, others are surging and in this instance it must be sign makers who are crazy busy. And yes, people were cognizant of social distancing from what I witnessed.

I was puzzled by the above bird because I can't remember ever seeing an Ibis at the ocean, but according to Cornell, this is most likely a juvenile, a fact I imagine is not in the least interesting to most folks, if Bruce's reaction is any indication. I sent him some of the photos I took and he was bold enough to admit that the birds didn't do much for him. Thus, I know that I may be just a tad more enthusiastic on the subject than say, most of you?

Which brings us to pickles, or the lack thereof. Should you have thought I was exaggerating....

Occupying a good bit of my time was finishing the quilt. Here the binding is being sewn on the front of the quilt and although there are few quilters that read this blog, I'm here to tell anyone who will listen that using the paper towel roll was the bomb! Although not pictured, it is on the floor. (btw, there are 2,176 pieces in this quilt!)

Okie dokie. Binding attached on the front and now comes the thread and needle time. Except, try as I might, I could not thread my needle, so you know who came to the rescue. I ended up using twice as many.

This step took a seriously long time but with the help of pickleball videos and the complete opposite, hours of Indian Matchmaker, helped me get to the end!! I'm thinking it was nine hours and well worth it.

So now it is done, except for one thing. I'd neglected to plan for finishing it really because instead of searching ahead of time for a dust ruffle that would work, or make that the new term, bed skirt, the look was underwhelming.

Truth be told, this was a little a painful after all of this time, however, I'm working on rectifying the problem. First I got rid of the big fat green pillow, followed by a search for a navy blue bed skirt in a few stores. A waste of time, but I gave it a shot, wearing my mask of course, because we are bound and determined to buy local whenever possible. That was not my first thought though after auditioning different colors from the quilt, after which I'd decided on tiny white polka dots on navy fabric that I'd hoped to buy from Hobby Lobby. Not so fast Gail!

There were some blues, just not ones I wanted which is what led me on the further search. As it stands, I'll show you how I solved this problem in my next post. I was working on it when I thought to myself--self, you need to write instead. And here I am doing just that!

While I wish that I could write that it is getting cooler, I can't, however, after a lengthy conversation with Jonathan, Austin is far worse when it comes to heat. Holy cow, day after day of over 100 degrees! In a silver lining kind of way, he said he is glad to be working from home and missing the 15 minute walk to his car every day following work. Imagine how hot the interior must be!! No, don't, it sounds too hideous. We are grateful that the hurricane missed us completely, but of course, mourn for those in Louisiana who have to deal with the aftermath. Not to mention no electricity for air conditioning! 

We felt a massive sonic boom on Sunday night, so much so that it rattled the sliding glass doors, when the booster returned to Earth. That was interesting to say the least. There's been plenty of rain too, so the drought from earlier this year is officially a thing of the past. With all that rain there have been some amazing sunrises of late.

My lens was fogged somewhat with humidity, but as I kept wiping and looking NE, wow!

Looking at the lake out the window just now, I am ever so grateful to be living here, healthy and happy during these strange days. Oh how I wish it were the same for others, but that is a mystery that cannot be explained, unlike the 90 minutes of Endeavour where they figure everything out! That show is so good. As was the novel I just finished, Sisi, on loan from Ann. I finished it just before going to sleep and could not wait to wake up in the morning and do some research on the topic. 

Recently I stumbled upon a blog post entitled, "How to Write a Good Blog Post" so I read it. Where was that 13 years ago? And yet I carry on.....

your friend,

Gail