Keep on Learning

There will probably be no "truckin" in my future, but for sure there will be learning.  Speaking of songs, while working on the big hand sewing project, I watched a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers documentary made in 2007. While very long, it was completely engaged from start to finish because, well damn, they made some great music over the years!

So, isn't it just a wonder of the world how peaches are, no longer, so fuzzy? One of our local produce shops, Clemons, carries the most wonderful peaches from South Carolina in August. He drives up there once a week, bringing back a truck load of goodness to his customers in Orlando, and I thank him for doing so.

I still peel them though. :)

Is our neighborhood, specifically right around us, changing!! More new folks moving in across the street.

The children of Miriam wasted no time in turning her house over to a young woman (27) and her boyfriend! It never went on the market following the same pattern as Herb and Corrine's home. It is astonishing to think that last year at this time I had two sets of neighbor's approaching 90 years of age, and now those homes are filled with young folks, and children. I only hope Miriam's daughter sold the house for a regular price, unlike the other house that was purchased for way less than the going rate. How much less?  $100,000 less!! Not looking good for our little slice of heaven in the middle of the two, or so it seems. That said, we have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.

I learned the other day that our former neighbor Elie, who moved to Southern Oaks where we go to Hill's Happy Hour, has suffered a return of the cancer that claimed his leg when he was only 16 years old. Such sad news. Speaking of HHH, here is part of the gang from Sunday night. Please note the cute little VW camper bag in front, a gift from Tom's folks last Christmas.

It looks cute sitting there doesn't it? The perfect size for a bottle of wine.

Monday was Days for Girls, and was it ever a super day of sewing. Sharleen began the session with an update on our chapter, inventory, and the big news is that she was able to purchase an amazing tool to cut the liners due to the generosity of two sisters; two of whom you know!

A special die was made in the shape of the liners and not only can it cut six layers of fabric at once, it also cuts the waterproof material, which before this, was very labor intensive. Happy Days!

There were loads of happy sewers, well loads as in 23, including several new ladies who are very enthusiastic about the cause.

As I was leaving I told the shop folks, see you on Wednesday, the day I was scheduled for my next Bernina class. Nope, I had the wrong day...back again on Tuesday morning. Mickie is the Bernina instructor, and is she ever a talent.

Particularly when it comes to embroidery...she made all the cool stuff on the walls; my favorite being the awesome Florida bag although those dish towels are pretty amazing.

Mostly that is what we talked about, decorative stitches, although I did learn more about machine maintenance which was quite helpful. Following the class I wandered around, managing to only buy a few small pieces of fabric, as well as watching Lisa, the shop owner, using the longarm quilting machine.

There are classes on how to run this machine, and once you've learned, rentals are $20hr. See how much I have yet to learn???

Hobby Lobby is going to custom frame these posters sent from the headquarters in Vancouver.

Slated for the "back of the house" they spell out the mission statement, as well as highlighting the rights of the staff. This project may be quite difficult, however, it is good to know, in the long run, how great the folks at Earls treat their employees.

I did stop by the project to see Bruce, whom I found with the tile guy, and the Project Manager from the construction company that is doing the project.

After the big construction wall came down,  Mr. Peck was not thrilled with the revealed tile work. He is, however, pleased with how the patio ceiling looks. Can you blame him?

I suspect that most folks will forget that this massive structure was not there before. I need not remind you that this project has been anything but easy. The furnishings are all in place,

and are they ever cool. The blue booths are really more like little love seats, sitting adjacent to windows that were also never there before. Yesterday was the turn over, meaning the chef and his team are getting deliveries, and will begin putting the amazing kitchen to the test. Woo hoo...the end is in sight!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch home, I sewed. Well, not all of the time, but a bunch. After making another project I had a fair number of 2" blocks left over. Hmmm...well, I put them together, then I framed them, then I set them in a sea of off white fabric courtesy of the recent garage sale haul. Beginning in the pieced panel I started with traditional straight lines. Using diagonal lines on one of the sides, I thought, what the heck, this is going to be a little blanket for Baxter, Ielt's go for broke and practice free motion quilting. Clearly this is going to take a ton of practice before I am any good!

What is free motion quilting? Doodling with a needle and thread is what it is! Actually, people are capable of creating amazing designs using this technique, but for now,  I'm going to learn to be a doodler. Maybe.

It is all about rhythm, of which I have very little! Nonetheless, the more I did, the more comfortable I felt. I've tried it on small swatches before, but there is nothing like the real thing, learning how to cover large areas. The front looked a mess, but the back was even worse!

Because you are moving the fabric around, this sort of thing happens when you don't have a good bond between the layers. All part of the learning process is how I'm looking at it!

Baxter will never even notice.

And now, ladies and gentleman, I must do some tidying up in my sewing room. The day is slated to be rainy due to a tropical storm in the Gulf. I'll put on some music, and whistle while I work. Not really, I'm terrible at whistling, but perhaps I can hum...

Oops...I nearly forgot. I came home the other afternoon, finding a UPS box on the front porch. SunDance sent me two plaques that have been made by a Christian gift retailer in Indiana, one of which is this:

There's that.

Secondly, and way more importantly, I have a feeling there are those amongst my readers that have a sewing machine sitting idly in a closet. I also know you are a generous lot, and I'm asking that you consider donating that machine you will never use again. Days for Girl's long term goal is to teach the young woman to make their own kits, and if you are so inclined, you could be a part of that effort.

Thanks much,

Gail

Variety Show

While Bill and I were chatting last week, he asked when I was returning to the market to which I replied, I'm not quite sure if I will be going back. Surprised, he followed his earlier question by asking if I was going to stop taking pictures. "Not on your life!" At present, I may not be selling, but that does not mean I have quit seeing! Let's have a look now at some taken this week because I seriously can't help myself!

Who could resist capturing the sunlight/shadows on this house adjacent to the dry cleaners? Not to mention it is framed by a blooming Golden Rain Tree.

Yes, it is that time of the year when the trees are filling the skies with their brilliant yellow blooms.

I adore seeing them everywhere, made even more resplendent against a brilliant blue sky on a sunny day, of which we've had plenty this week. Hallelujah! For a few days I had the windows open, however, later in the week, the humidity got to be a little too much. Maybe a week from now I will open them, and they will stay that way for months? I sure hope so!

Driving to Leu Gardens on Monday, I took a street running parallel with Mills Avenue and came across this scene which left me wondering who are the people who have four classic cars parked like this in front of a building which is not a business? Not quite sure what it is, but it is fun to speculate.

That would be a Porsche on the left, a Ferrari, a Jaguar and finally a Riley. Never heard of a Riley? Me neither, but this link provides some information, however, this link is better, explaining that it was a British pedal cycling (!) company before making automobiles. Speaking of bicycles, I was super sad the other day when, while riding along Pershing I noticed that I'd lost my daisy! People think I'm observant, but where and how I lost it is a mystery to me. Maybe I'm losing my skills?

A few blocks from the car scene I saw this super cool dumpster.

At one time this image would have been a complete fabrication, however, these days I see nail polish in turquoise, and every other color of the rainbow! In fact, Tina, the nail girl I visited yesterday was wearing baby blue on her toes.

Wondering what she's doing in the photograph? Well, my big toe has either a plantar's wart, or something in it. Saturday Bruce, using a needle and tweezers, spent about twenty minutes poking around; Tina spent about twenty seconds, announcing there was nothing in it, or something to that effect. At times her English is just fine; other times, I've not got a clue what she says.

Back to the Leu Gardens trip on the free day, first Monday of every month, the roses were not only spectacular but oh so fragrant as well!

I've mentioned this before, but every visit I am newly amazed at the sheer number of Moms and their little ones. The sidewalks are clogged with strollers, and more often than not, they are empty as the children are running around. During my last visit the deck bordering the lake was closed, however, it is now open and brand new. These children were making use of the deck, running here and there. I overheard the Moms saying they were both sets of twins. Is that redundant? Can't decide.

Try as I might I can't recall the name of the girl twin in the striped dress, however, her brother in the red shirt is named ROMEO!! What are they thinking? For the record I was not eavesdropping, they just were talking loud. While some children were mostly running around, others were peering into the water at these guys.

There are loads of plants and trees in bloom at the gardens, none more interesting than this one.

Can you believe it....Indigoferia tincotria is the proper name. No, I did not remember it, I had to photograph the sign hidden below! Anyway, turns out this plant was the original source of indigo dye. 

Today's title suggested this post would be full of variety, and I've yet to disappoint you on that score, have I?

I also told you I was becoming obsessed with the horses...

Lest you think I'm entirely crazy, one reason for documenting them regularly is to see how this field changes now that the incessant rain has mostly stopped. Or, maybe we'll get a freeze this year? It's been quite some time since that happened...we are probably due.

Here's a change I can get excited about!! It must have been Monday, or maybe Tuesday, that I saw a truck with fencing arriving and two ideas came to mind. Either the fencing was going up to keep junk out, or maybe, just maybe, it was coming done.

Well, sure enough it was the later thought!

Will the corner once again be lovely? I sure hope so!

Finally, the calendar says it is fall, and along with dropping temperatures, well, just below 90 degrees, there are some Cyprus trees beginning to show their orange side.

This is along the shores of Lake Davis which is filled to the brim.

Mr. Peck is just about to board his plane to come home! We learned yesterday that the President of the company is delaying the opening for two days, so instead of Wednesday, the restaurant will open on Friday of next week. Why did I do that? You can do the math! Anyway, the good news is that it is not the construction causing the delay, but not quite enough staff for the "front of the house" as they say in restaurant lingo. Although this is the first time ever that construction has been completed on time, Bruce has made me swear I will not brag on him when I meet everyone at the opening party. Stopping short of swearing to that, I promised to do my best. I'll let you know how that goes...

Happy weekend to you,

Gail

Friday the Second

Having watched a fair amount of documentaries in the last year, I can say without question the one that had me in tears from beginning to end is Alive Inside. Have you heard of it? In the last few years I've listened to a few radio pieces about the power of music, but actually watching people come alive after years of unresponsiveness is both inspiring, and heartbreaking.

You can watch it on Netflix if you have it, and I hope that you do! I suspect it will set your heart soaring!

Combining two of my favorites, music and older folks, I will definitely be donating to this worthy cause.

It was only last evening, while talking to Pam about sleeping problems, that I shared with her how the year that I was not well, I would go to sleep with my iPod to distract me from the pain. It was such a blessing to me, and to see the folks in the nursing homes come to life while listening to personalized music had me bawling. Apple, where are you in all this???

We were chatting during the intermission of the play we'd gone to see at the Mad Cow Theater. Called "You Can't Take it With You," it won the Pulitzer Prize back in 1937 for best drama.  Pat invited me to be her date, which I was happy to accept rather than face another night home alone. Plus, there was food! Pam made another spectacular meal. I mean seriously good. There is nothing Pam does not do well.

The mayonnaise in the foreground, or I guess I should be calling it by the fancy name, aioli, was so delicious when paired with the perfectly cooked asparagus. Oh my! And the truth is, the meal was more enjoyable than the play! Not that the play wasn't good, but it is what might be called zany, and loud, and let's face it, the Mad Cow theater is pretty small for all that. Or, it seemed that way to me. A very large cast of characters...

It was my first time seeing a play in the new space, well they've been there two years, but it is new to me and it is really nice. Walking over to Church Street from a parking garage on Pine Street, the sun and clouds were putting on a show.

Closer to home, on my morning bike ride I saw this...

The folks on the other side of this wall have listed their home for sale, and while there may be other reasons, this wall may be contributing to their desire to move. It was only just a few months ago that another careless driver did the same thing; I'm thinking it was only repaired a month or so ago! Pay attention folks!

I wish I knew how to download photos from emails because I would give you a preview of the restaurant which looks smashing, to say the least! Bruce took a bunch this morning before heading to the airport for his afternoon flight. Seeing the chefs in the kitchen with food on the counters is thrilling. Soon...I'm bound to be able to figure it out.

The wind chimes are going like crazy outside and I think what it means is a COLD front is moving in!!! I saw that the overnight temperatures were to be in the mid 60's this weekend! Oh happy day.

Happy weekend to all!

Gail

p.s. Ignore any critical reviews of the film...they are just plain cold hearted folks who've probably never once set foot into a nursing home!!!

p.p.s I was thinking about Matt Stromberg in the last few months of his life--his iPod was on constantly and I remember Angela saying if she heard Talking Heads one more time she was going to scream but it sure brought Matt comfort. :)