Hang On To Your Hats!

My cameras have been getting a workout lately and I am here to share a small part of what I have been seeing, so let's get right to it!

When last we met, we were still in Orlando according to me going back to that post, which if you missed it, you can find it here. Does it surprise you that once I've written a post I immediately forget what I wrote? It shouldn't because time and time again, I have written about my poor memory. Now I am not like lots of us old folks who worry about their failing memories because that has been my "MO" forever. While some might bemoan that situation, it works just fine for me as I am always looking forward, not backward. You know what I have always said..."a good memory is overrated!" 

My desktop has had this photo on it for ages for sharing so here it is. The color of this lily is so rich and beautiful! I took this in Chastity's yard next door. Speaking of her, it was so sweet that upon our return she made a point to tell us how we were missed. 😄Living on Lake Willisara in Orlando gave me so many wonderful photo opportunities through the years. I still wonder where the Barred Owls went! Looking out the back sliding glass doors, I could always tell when an otter was probably swimming around because the water moves in a certain way. Anyway, even though it has now been two years (!) since we lived there full time, I guess there are some things I don't forget because when I spotted that water movement, I went outside with camera in tow, and watched until the otter was so close to me and I was able to get a nice portrait..

Not as pretty as the lovely lily, but far more active. 

Dinners and lunches out in Orlando were quite the treat with some really yummy food. We were to meet Ann and John at Superica in Winter Park which turns out to be a small chain of Mexican restaurants including one in the Atlanta area.  Talk about a cool space!

Thinking about quilts when seeing patterns out in the world is just part of being a quilter. The bathroom provided some food for thought. Wait, does that sound creepy? 

The food was delicious and the company even better!

Later that day we met up with Patty and Keith for dinner at The Madison located adjacent to downtown Orlando in an area that has been transformed into a campus for UCF with lots of apartments for students.

Oh my, this was our first visit to the restaurant and it did not disappoint, beginning with the decor.

Above is but one of the dining rooms, all stylish, which is well and good, but if the food is not great than it is a waste. We are happy to say that the experience with food, staff, and ambiance was wonderful. As was the company who, we were delighted to learn, are coming to Murphy in October for two weeks! Woo hoo! 

Every visit home includes a meal at Mary's condo, just down the street. She is so faithful in taking care of us when are food supplies are limited. This time I figured that surely I could pull a simple meal together, chicken, yellow rice and broccoli. How hard could that be? Pretty hard when your stove and oven are not fully engaged!! We struggled through the dinner that it was surely not my best. Perhaps you remember it was Mary who was kind enough to transport my fabric baskets to Murphy?

Sunday night we finally saw David and Michelle, both of whom were feeling much improved since last we saw them together. Health challenges have visited both of them, so seeing them in good spirits was a joy. Again, style and substance in the restaurant.

Every visit we learn things about making it more enjoyable which is a relief after several less than stellar trips!

Monday we got on the road, this time heading to Aiken, South Carolina to visit Pam and Glen who moved there in the spring.

However, we had to get there first and using I-95 turned out to work quite well. Along the way we stopped at Buc-ee's where I photographed the famous restrooms.

Open for only two weeks, it did not disappoint. One thing that was neat is how enthusiastic the employees were; this fellow was chopping brisket like there was no tomorrow! And yes, it was BUSY!

The pulled pork sandwich we shared was delicious as were the cajun potato sticks. Bruce is quite disappointed that he did not get a bigger bag!

As has been true for most of the South, the temperatures were high when we arrived. A disappointment to Pam and Glen as they had hoped to escape some summer heat when they moved from Cape Canaveral but I suspect it shares some similarities with here. Summers are plenty hot, but they just don't last nearly as long. Their new home is on a golf course, a new passion for them, and before it got too hot, Pam took us for a walk in their new neighborhood. As is so often the case, I was lallygagging.

Undoubtedly, a bird had caught my eye. Pam has been a good friend for at least the last decade and since they moved to CC during Covid, our visits have been few, so it was SO good to spend quality time with them. The photo below is so Pam, explaining something to Bruce using her hands.

While waiting for us to arrive she made this beautiful peach pound cake which we insisted on having for breakfast on Tuesday, and Wednesday, for that matter.

Their new house is lovely and oh so familiar as they moved everything from Orlando. Glen was helping with a golf camp for children, so Pam took us to see the sights. Every photo of Aiken shows this view.

Note the gigantic screen in her Tesla, even larger than the one I showed you in Tammy's vehicle! Aiken is a horse town and has been for a century. Think polo and racing. She took us to Hitchcock Woods where we saw some riders along the way.

Thankfully it was shady. The sandy soil is so Florida; we have becomes somewhat accustomed to clay. Glen met us in town for lunch,

at a local hangout in downtown, City Billiards.  Been there since the 50's and with the food as delicious as ours was, it does not surprise me in the least. The Rueben was the best I've had in AGES!

From there we roamed through a huge antique market ,as well as a wonderful gallery with local art, including a large showing of paintings done by Alzheimers patients. Was that ever inspiring!

Bruce and Glen returned to the house while Pam and I went on to the local history museum, about which much could be written, but if I am ever to get current I will leave it at this; located in a huge house that was absolutely gorgeous!

What a fantastic, albeit short, visit it was! From there the drive is about six hours or so. 

Arriving home, our friends had done such a great job keeping things going, including my tomatoes which looked like this when we came home.

They have since ripened and are delicious, although I cannot say my attempt at gardening has been super successful. The cucumbers are good and plentiful but the strawberries were pitifully small.

That said, there is always next year!  

There was little time to catch up around the house as Soul Table happened the next day.

The following day I went to a pickleball ladies "Jump in the Lake" at Peggy's house on Lake Nottely. Pretty spectacular it was.

I'll have you know that someone counted and there are 65 steps down to the lake and I am proud to say that I did them at least three times! Now for some that does not sound so impressive but never having lived with steps before, it has taken quite some time for me to be comfortable on them. I was happy with that as well as the water which was great! My first experience in a mountain lake. Actually, made from damming the Nottley River, does it count as a lake? 

Beth was the first to jump off the top deck into the water.

Linda was bound and determined to do it, however, once up there, where I was poised with a ready camera, it took her a bit to get up the courage. Once she did, her splash was great!

Coincidentally it was Debbie's birthday.

What a marvelous day it was. I relate these adventures merely as documentation and not to sound, well I don't know what to call it, but let's just say, we both feel SO fortunate to be having these great experiences at our age. Since we spent our early adult years raising four sons and working, our adventures were limited, so having them later in life, might just mean more to us than to some.

Whew....

Saturday it was a party at David and D'Anna's beautiful home. Oh their vegetable garden, birds, blooming flowers, it was all so good.

Moving into the newly built garage during a short downpour, half were there, 

and the other half  on the back porch,  they all came out on the front porch for a photo.

I took way more beautiful photos at their home, but as this is running on, I will keep moving. A few days later it was D'Anna's birthday and they came into town for a church event which we followed up with dinner at the newest restaurant in town. I mentioned it before, but Poor Parsons Pub, now with a new owner and a new look, impressed them as much as it did us when we went there for some appetizers. Holy cow, it is so delicious.

Last Thursday morning, while the folks were mowing, I was asked to take some photos of that going on with the hopes that a few more of the church family might be inspired to help with the mowing. The renovation and new roof are coming along so well.

With the regular maintenance of the grounds, and the new roof, it will once again become a showpiece in Murphy. That is our friend Randy pictured above and some days later, he and David invited us to join them at their lot where their new house is in progress. Apparently they bought the lot some 16 years ago and it took this much time for things to work out for them to be in a position to build. Bruce pored over their plans, looking for anything they might have missed.

I hope to take more of this kind of shot as construction progresses. 

Here is something crazy....they lived and worked in Sanford, a smallish city about twenty five miles outside Orlando before moving full time to Murphy last year. As we were chatting around that folding table, enjoying our little picnic, we learned that they know an artist named Marlene London who lives in Orlando. Stunned, we told them that we also knew her because she used to live in Southern California and was a good friend of my deceased sister Carol!! What a small world, right? 

Whew...what a couple of weeks we've had! I think because winter looms, albeit months away, folks tend to be super busy in the summer? We were so thankful when we returned to Murphy to discover that our friends were as good as their word, watering our plants like mad and as I mentioned there are a bunch.

Including something called a Great Mullein that is in the ground just beside the basket of impatiens. What began as a small weedy looking thing, has grown to be over seven feet tall! Earlier in the season Bruce wanted to pull it out, but having seen one before in the park, I suggested we leave it in order to see how tall it would become. Is it finished growing? Maybe not? Time will tell, won't it?

It always does.

your friend,

Gail