An Assortment

 Good morning dear readers; it's been a while since last we met. 

With so much to cover, it is hard to know where to start, but because he has now become such a fan favorite, let us begin with darling Christian who is now six months old and as cute a a button.

Not only is he as cute as can be, but Fallon describes him as "her angel" and from what we observed, she will get no argument from us, as he was just charming with a disposition that would be the envy of any new mother. 

As you can well imagine, I had a lot of fun not only holding him, but taking photographs like a crazed woman. It is hard to pick a favorite so here goes, I will let you decide. On our January trip back to Murphy, we stopped by the Engage store in Oxford, Florida, just outside the Villages, which by the way goes on forever. Bruce wanted a new pickleball paddle and at the factory store they are heavily discounted so there was that. What to our wondering eyes should appear, but a paddle for little one. Fortunately, I remembered to take it with us when we packed.

Obviously it is a bit of a joke, but Bill really appreciated it because he is a serious pickleball player who is sadly injured at the moment. Injuring his bicep, and only rest will do, keeping him off the courts and he is very sad about that. 

Fallon and her little angel.

The playpen, (pictured in the first photo) is new, as is this cute little play chair, or that's the name I am giving it.

We rushed over when he was awake and it was so good taking turns holding him and watching him doing his new trick of rolling over. We could not be any happier for them and are so pleased at how well they have adjusted to their new life. 

Unfortunately, David and Michelle were not well for most of our visit, meaning we could not see them until we had seen Christian so that no germs would be transmitted. As much as we loved seeing Christian, we still wanted to see our own cute boys, although they would cringe at that, they were once our boys!  Eventually David came over without Michelle who got the bug a few days later than him.

The older they get the more I think they look like my Dad. Speaking of which, holy cow am I ever looking more like my mother these days! Fallon sent some photos that she took and I was like, who is that woman?

Speaking of our Florida home, I brought my peonies with me, hoping they would survive for a few more days.

Because they were so highly anticipated in my Murphy world, I hated to leave them behind. I put a vase full in the basement before we left, hoping the cool would preserve them and it somewhat worked! 

The main theme of the trip, aside from seeing family, is how hot it was. Oh my goodness, we are unaccustomed to 95 degree weather these days. As I type, it is 63 degrees outside. When we played pickleball with our old group at Dover Shores, we were dying even at 7:00 in the morning. The only saving grace was that the humidity was lower than is typical. Normally I need natural light in my indoor spaces, but even I was willing to shut all of the blinds and curtains to keep the heat out. 

A nice surprise was  finding a blooming orchid that I had attached to the baby Schefellera.

We arrived on Friday a little after lunch time which was a good thing because we had to deal with my dead car battery. We had learned from Keith that it would not start so it was no surprise. Thankfully, we have AAA and they came, first trying jumping the battery to no avail, and then replacing it. Now if you are like us, your idea of a good battery is in the $100 range. NOT!! A nearby garage was willing to replace it for over $500 so we went with the AAA guy who was already there and installed it for $325. Astonishing what things cost. 

But  with the MINI back in business that meant that I could drive the baby car for a few days. One of the mornings I went to my old stomping grounds, Lake Davis to see what I could see.

It's baby time in the bird world and I saw a bunch, including this Geese family,

along with all manner of waterfowl, including some cygnets.

The beginning of another hot day behind our condo.

As we were heading out our friend Sarah June gave us a little figure of Jesus to take with us and so we placed it on the dashboard. Yup, insanely hot.

Somewhat ironic is that when we went to Florida in January, it was unseasonably cold and our next visit it was unseasonably hot. Obviously, we are not picking the right time to visit! Looking at the ten day projection I knew that high temperatures  were forecast but after being chilly for so long, it was merely a concept to me. Reality hit big time!!

Unfortunately, two sets of friends were on separate Alaskan cruises so between that and David and Michelle being sick we didn't get as many visits in that would have been to our liking. It was good to see the old pickleball gang though, both at Dover Shores, and our community group. Plus, Mary had us over for a yummy dinner on Saturday night which was marvelous. Because the cupboards are nearly bare, it was weird being in your own place with no food to speak of.  Thus we had Publix subs one day, we checked out a new food truck spot down the street, 

which was cute, but in the end, the prospect of eating outside held no appeal. Instead we ended up at Tijuana Flats, where the food and decor have drastically changed. Well, drastic is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but let's say it as not nearly as good or colorful as we remembered.  (I am including this to update Matt and Tom who have enjoyed many meals here)

A place that turned out to be fantastic was Primrose Lanes, the updated bowling alley we knew as Colonial Lanes since our childhood. Although we did not bowl, the next time we got to Orlando we hope to do so. The decor was so fun,

and the food was extra yummy! 

For those new to this blog, here is our community in Orlando as we were driving in.

Birds galore live amongst the humans and it pleased me to no end that I was able to see many of them.

I do love my little birds here in Murphy, but the big birds are pretty great as well. If you missed my last post with the bluebirds, here's a link. As well, in that same post there is a photo of the hydrangeas and here's what they look like now!

If I had to guess there must be 50 or so in various stages of blooming.

For the first time ever we drove through Atlanta on our way home and even though we began the trek through it at about 2:30 in the afternoon, it was brutal with traffic extending as far as the eye could see. Thank God for the lane dedicated to more than one passenger! 

In another first, we took the interstate the entire way so in order to not die of boredom on the road, I played dj using music from both of our phones. That part was good.

Bruce had a birthday while we were there, although it turned out to be very low key with a meal not to remember. We did finally get to celebrate on Tuesday night with only David, as Michelle was still under the weather. That meal at F&D Italian Kitchen was wonderful! Discovering that we had quite a number of bottles of expensive wine in the condo, all gifts from David, we took one with us, paid the corkage fee of $20 and shared a bottle of 2016 Silver Oak. I'm not sure if we have ever had a bottle that old before; it was a pleasant surprise.

Leaving early on Thursday morning, our mission was to get back to Murphy in time for Bruce to meet Grayson for the end of the year pool party for Big Brothers. Instead of breaking it into two days, we were making good time, so Bruce just kept driving. All was well when we finally arrived around 5:00 in the afternoon.

Turns out that there was enough rain in our absence to keep the flowers in good shape. 

Friday we found time to get caught up before the party, getting a few groceries at Ingles when the sky looked like this:

Clouds would have been so helpful in Florida! Although the folks here might not be thrilled with the forecast of rain for days on end, I am not complaining one bit. 

Grayson was very much enjoying himself at the pool. You may recall that it is a part of the gym where Mr. Bruce continues his senior body building ways.

We saw our friend Dottie who was giving a swimming lesson, something she has done for decades. She is but one of many active 80+ year olds that we know.

It is hard to believe that it has been two years since we first discovered Murphy, or at least to me it is. Time goes by so quickly doesn't it? Aside from our family and friends, there is not much we miss about living in Orlando. Except perhaps the absence of rainbows. That said, one appeared on Sunday night. I noticed the sun coming through the door after a day of off and on again rain, so I said to Bruce, 
"I wonder if there is a rainbow" and by golly, there was.

Wonder of wonders, a rainbow in Murphy. Probably it happens more than I know but it was a first for me.

And isn't that the way it is; you think you have seen it all before and then a Roseate Spoonbill flies onto a dock across the lake! We lived there for nearly six years and never once that bird until the morning we were to return to Murphy. Indeed, life is a wonder, isn't it? 

your friend,

Gail

The Heatwave Continues

To the best of my knowledge, I've never had a door slammed in my face before, that is until two days ago. Wow, it was really something, especially because it was a 96 year old woman slamming a heavy front door. Say what?

Our landscape committee, filled with volunteers, works very hard to keep our "village" looking good. In fact, should you drive in here, off crazy busy Michigan Street, you would be tempted to not believe how quiet and peaceful it is, under the giant oak canopy. That said, every now and again, the landscape beds are due for a refresh and now is the time for ours. One of the things that Ann has complained to me about, time and time again, is that the committee once removed a tree she had planted without telling her. Well, little Missy here thought it wise to let her know that the work was to begin in the next couple of days. My plan backfired big time with her shouting at me...."why did you tell me if I can't do anything about it?" I guess she's got a good point, but my motives were pure. I'll let her simmer down for a bit before I go back over because, having the door slammed in your face once is one thing, twice, well, I'm not ready for that!

It is still blazing hot, in fact, I saw the temperature reached 100 degrees yesterday. With the absence of clouds, we've not had much of a sunset for weeks, until, my goodness, what a surprise last night!

Bruce has been keeping very busy with his various volunteer projects, but he set Friday aside for me;  we went to New Smyrna Beach with an umbrella and high hopes. My first disappointment was the cost to drive on the beach. Twenty dollars my friends. We were totally shocked, thinking perhaps we could park the car and walk onto the beach. That would be fifteen dollars. We drove. After the beaches in Vancouver, while pretty, the sand is coarse and those logs on the beach. Remember them? Our second disappointment was that the beach had tons of seaweed.

Is there anyone who wants to put their chair into big globs of seaweed? Not me, but what are you going to do?

Apparently there were some strong winds overnight, pushing more than typical amounts of seaweed onto the beach. The water, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise, warm enough to swim if you weren't afraid of rip currents!

While I did go all of the way in, mostly I sat in the warm shallow water along the shore. I asked Bruce to take my picture, and while I am was mostly pleased with the results, had I known that my old lady arms would show so prominently, I might have sat with my hands in my lap!

On the other hand, I am glad to be alive, so arms be damned!

Can you just feel the impending heat in this sunrise photograph?

When it gets so hot, folks take to the water, especially on a holiday weekend. We spent hours at the pool along with many of the other residents. I don't mind sharing the pool one bit, especially since I am not having to take care of it!

We finally had a cookout at the pool, with Bruce fixing hamburgers and hot dogs. I'd made some potato salad, corn on the cob, and an orzo salad. Dave and Michelle joined the fun. Another resident helped Bruce with the grill, of which there are two.

The orzo salad is made with fresh spinach and grape tomatoes which looks like Christmas in the summer.

Then you zest two lemons, followed by the hot orzo which essentially softens the spinach. Finish  with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper and you have a fine salad that is cool and refreshing.

Following church, we went to Houston's, or make that Hillstone these days, although they have not totally gotten rid of their former name.

I've probably told you this before, but if not, the reason they changed the name is because if you have a certain number of restaurants you have to put the calorie count on the menu. Rather than doing that, they changed the name of a batch of their restaurants. We still call it Houston's. Our gift card is now depleted, so it may be a while before we return but it IS so good.

Sunday night we watched the Memorial Day concert on PBS. Anyone else see it? I'm pretty sure it is being re-run all week long, and I highly recommend seeing it if you have not. My nose continues to run and all the crying I did during the show did not help one bit. I thought of our brother Pat serving in Viet Nam, Bruce's Uncle dying in WW11, and others who have bravely served our country. Really, really good.

So, I have found my "Dale and Jackie" here at Lake Pineloch Village. Not formally a guerrilla gardener, Bill has transformed a plot of land, near the front of the property, into something of a showplace with all manner of terrific plants. One plant we've been watching closely is this Voodoo Lily.

If you can imagine, this is the flower portion of the plant. Checking on it this morning, I discovered the big head in the middle has turned black with the next expected phase a big stalk coming out of the middle! Stay tuned for more.

Finally we've had some visitors.

Can you see Mama down below? That topiary stubbornly refuses to improve, so I've got another one for a replacement. Hopefully, with some better sunlight, it will improve. Time to beg some soil from the landscapers!!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. While the heat is intense, it is no comparison to the agony folks are feeling in the Midwest, what with tornadoes and floods. 😢