Mystery Solved!

Before I reveal the mystery that was solved, let's all just bask in the total cuteness of the card Bill and Fallon gave to Bruce for his birthday, shall we?

Talk about a feel good way to begin, I can think of nothing more fitting than Snoopy and Woodstock. We are the kind of folks who save cards for ages, loving to come across a fine stack to reminisce; this one will surely be enjoyed many times in the future.

Okay, so here is the mystery. There have been no field trips this week meaning lots of staying around here, including one afternoon when Bruce and I went to the pool to cool off and read. And yes, it's been killer hot, with temperatures climbing to 96 yesterday and today. Plus all the dust in the atmosphere! Anyway, we came home and found a white mailing bag on the front porch. With my memory, I thought, did I order something and forget? Heavy, there was not a smidgen of paperwork in the bag or any clue on the outside as to the contents, or sender. Opening it, I burst into laughter, wondering who in the world could have sent me a box of Arborio rice?

Nancy happened to call about this time and I asked if she was responsible. No, she was not. I was seriously flummoxed, that is until about three hours later, Jonathan sent a text "should be a package out front if you haven't seen it yet." Indeed. Having read about my search he did what young people, and increasingly older people do, he found it on Amazon.  Wasn't that sweet? Generally I don't think he reads the blog so he must have been bored!

Because we have been home so much I was thinking I didn't have a bunch to write about, but turns out, once I checked my camera cards, I have more than I thought. In fact, maybe too much! Let's begin with something exciting as far as I'm concerned. I'd been told by the front gardeners about an  interesting new plant there so I went to check it out. For the life of me I can't think what the plant is called, but while there I heard a loud bird and began focusing on that. (no pun intended)

Not much of a photo, but it is kind of fun to see the lit up wing. I was shooting into the sun and in real time I had no idea what kind of bird it was. The only thing I did know was that it flew into a nearby tree, where I kept tracking it when much to my surprise, looking up, this guy was sitting on a nearby branch.

This would be a Red Tailed Hawk, but the bird I eventually identified is one I rarely see, as in maybe two or three times before, and that bird would be a Northern Flicker from the Woodpecker family.

Isn't it interesting with the spotted belly and the little black ascot? So, there is something exciting for the week.

That said, once I see an owl again, as in a few posts ago, I go hunting, searching in all the big trees nearby. Well, lo and behold, I was walking near the canal and there it was, not ten feet from me, perched on a fence. Thrilled and actually even more so when it flew onto a tree branch where the light was somewhat better for picture time!

Cute, cute, cute! This morning I did not have to go hunting because I spotted it out my bedroom window, chatting up with a neighbor about how neat it is to see an owl, and dragging Bruce out back to watch. Generally the only thing that bothers an owl is the dive bombing from Crows and Blue Jays and even that is sometimes not enough to get them to move so it is not hard to get fairly close. Anyway, eventually it flew into the tree and Bruce left to work over at Bill's house, something he will not be able to do after July 1st when the unit Fallon works on becomes a full Covid Unit to care for the increasing cases. Naturally we are all nervous about that. For now though, once I'd wished B a goodbye, coming back inside what should I spot, but the owl in the lake!

Earlier it had looked as if it were panting from the heat so it was not terribly surprising to find him there having a drink before flying away.

Switching gears to another nature family, Bruce called me over to his car to show me a moth he'd never seen before. Neither had I. Doesn't it look as if it is made of wood? Apparently others have noticed the same as it was easy to find on the web using those very same search words.

Pretty cool, huh? I think it was the same day that the rice came, in fact as I was putting it on the counter, as I recall, I noticed some action on the front porch that gave me pause. Yes, Black Racer snakes are not dangerous, but who likes to watch one come sliding out from under your porch chair? Not this woman for one! Yikes.

In the kitchen, while I've not made any of the risotto yet, I did make some dried cherry scones that, while good, may have needed a bit more time in the oven? They were tasty enough but I think a bit more browning would have looked better.

Although I can enter only three photos for the contest, I printed five to examine them more closely before submitting the entrants. Hopefully there are some winners in this group. I remember the year that my photo was on the cover and I was so excited until such time as I realized that it would be viewed once, unlike when it is chosen for a month. Ha ha...be careful what you wish for!

For sure we stayed home yesterday while dog sitting Grace.  Bruce spent most of the day reading a thriller given to him by Connie,

while I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out that mountainside. Seriously, aside from our meals and making some chocolate chip cookies, I did nothing else and I still have a long way to go! Thank gosh Sue told me about using a magnifying glass!

 Another unreal sunset although this time it is the sunset reflected in the Eastern sky.

And they say that this dust cloud will make the sunrise and sunset even better? How can this be?

That was quite the sunset in Vancouver, wasn't it? Because I am still struggling with this new Blogger format, I've had to see all the photos I've posted in this space for the last few years, each time I wanted to upload a new one. Because of that, I came across the above so why not relive it??

I hope everyone reading is safe and sound, staying at home as much as possible even though, I for one, am dying to do more stuff, as I imagine you are as well. Remember the words of wise Mothers everywhere, "it is better to be safe than sorry."

Continuing my quest to make the ordinary, extraordinary...

your friend,

Gail

Like a Wildfire

Yesterday I was on pins and needles wondering how Matt and Tom were facing their journey back to Britain, having been forced to do so due to the new travel restrictions. They traveled to Phoenix, several days earlier than planned, to board a flight to Chicago, and then on to London. All day I was wondering about what they were facing. Not a word from them until Bruce finally texted and got the scoop. Wakening this morning, checking his phone he found a text from 2:30AM that they were home. A parent's worries are never over are they? So now my concern for them is coming back only to find empty food shelves. Probably silly on my part but, as that overused phrase goes--it is, what it is! Early on, while the trip was being planned, I mentioned to Matt that it was going to be a trip they would remember for the rest of their lives, with seeing the Grand Canyon one of the many highlights. Sadly, they did not make it that far, but they certainly will remember this trip for the rest of their lives, won't they?

It is like a wildfire out there with no putting it out in sight.

We are now in about day six of the panic and I fear it is going to get way worse before it gets better. Yesterday afternoon I received a long note from a friend in the Seattle area and she painted a grim picture of what we will be facing. As such, I went to Publix in order to shore up my pantry and freezer. Oh my goodness, what a sight those shelves were!

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so here's yet another to document what this is like.

In Florida, along with some other Southern coastal states, we are somewhat accustomed to panic shopping for hurricane provisions, but this is that, and WAY more. Generally, because we eat most meals at home, I'm pretty well stocked, but I needed to fill some holes. While there, with the mindset of making meals that would last for some days, I picked up ingredients for lasagna, mac and cheese, that sort of thing. Sounds outrageous I know, but so has everything else up to this point. I learned last night that they were even closing the Florida State campgrounds. And here I thought we could go camping to get away from this madness!! I've yet to confirm it so today I will try and do so.

Another thing she mentioned was getting more library books ASAP because all of the libraries are closed out there. She implored me to take this seriously and pointed out some hazards we might face, such as one of us getting sick with something else and the hospitals being overwhelmed. Carol said to make sure all of our prescriptions were filled, and get ready for a quarantine which is what she thinks they are facing next!!!

Bev reminded me, when thinking about our new vocabulary during these troubled times, of "flattening the curve", one that I left out the other day. Jane said her friend is calling it, "desocializing" and on the radio yesterday I heard this term, " boomer eraser", which is just plain mean! At first I thought they meant boomers money, which we are certainly experiencing in an unprecedented fashion, until it hit me that it is referring to folks like me that are dying. Gulp!

Carolyn called yesterday afternoon saying there was a duck by her front door that just would not go away and she was concerned that said duck would get run over by a car. Walking down to check out the situation, we were able to corner her and head her back to the lake. Good news! Walking home I ran into other neighbors, including David and Michelle out walking Grace. Dave said, "Mom, I know this isn't like you to be able to sit still and stay home, but it seems as if you should be taking this seriously." Oh how right he is, if we really have to stay home for weeks I will go mad. The funny thing is, most of us are not even thinking of getting sick, we are just stunned by the measures to keep us well!

Saturday Bruce wanted to support a local restaurant, so we went for lunch. Like those empty shelves, we were the only patrons there.

So sad seeing this, but in a bright spot, my sandwich from Delaney's was delicious.

Sunday, instead of going to church, we met up with folks at the Pickleball court, watching for a time and then getting some instructions from Greg and Leslie who have been wanting to get this going for a while. Now that both tennis courts are painted with the special lines, there were at least ten people  there, having fun. I guess yesterday new guidelines were announced about gatherings, limiting it to ten. Does this affect outdoor gatherings?

Let's get past the doom and gloom for a bit, shall we? Of course the photo below is part of it, but I promise only this last one is a downer!

Yesterday morning I accompanied Bruce when he was going to check on the painters at the church. Tree trimmers were there as well. Bruce and John made the stand to place out front and it was moved for the workers. From there we went to Mead Gardens for a walk, and as we were leaving the car I said, "honey, let's go find the owl!" Both of us were trying to remember which tree it was as we walked the path, coming along a scene just made for Bruce. A little boy was fishing, caught a turtle instead, and his young Mom was doing her best to remove the hook. Offering help,

she was thrilled to take Bruce up on his offer. In return she said, this is without prompting mind you, there is an owl over there with her baby. OH MY GOSH!!

Actually she was in the same tree as her owlet earlier, but while watching them, Bruce saw her fly onto this branch in the wide open! Always anxious to share the wealth, we pointed them out to another young Mother with her children, both of whom had little binoculars. Turning away a bit to focus on the little one,

the young boy called out that another one flew in!! We could hardly believe our luck.

Mom and Dad at either end of the couch is what comes to mind, except it is a tree branch. (an attempt at lightheartedness on my part) When you are standing beneath trees staring at birds, inevitably people stop, wondering what you are looking at. In this instance, a woman stopped to see and chat and were we ever glad she did because she was, get this, wait, I can't remember what she is called! I do remember what she does though and that is remove birds from places where they are not wanted, such as warehouses or think, the garden center at your local big box store. Seriously, she gets paid for it! Only too happy to share how it works, we listened in amazement. As well, she said she walks most days in Mead Gardens and had not seen the owls for a while so we felt so lucky to have seen three.

There were irises in bloom along the lake another very welcome sight,

and as we were returning to the car we saw the reddest Northern Cardinal I think I've ever seen.

The gardens were looking lovely on this gray day, no harsh light to wash out the scene.

Returning to the church for one last check up, Bruce moved the sign back onto the grass where it will remain for who knows how long. While there we saw this going on.

Yup, washing down all of the chairs from the fellowship hall. Folks like these, who do cleaning for a living sure not worrying about their jobs while the same holds true for our Publix workers, several of whom I spoke to yesterday, thanking them for working so hard to restock the shelves.

Soon, the question won't be what is closed, it will be what is open? If Seattle's experience is anything to go on, the answer will be almost nothing, a thought so surreal that at this point, I can't wrap my head around it. Today is primary day in Florida and that show is going on as I type. Bruce popped over already finding only one other voter at our polling place. Wonder what the turnout will look like in these strange times.

I shall leave you with something beautiful to contemplate-- nature never disappoints.

You might recall our new motto, "doing all that we can, while we can" which I adopted after Carol's death.

Never could I have imagined it would take on new meaning in the following days. Your thoughts?

your friend,

Gail

Getting Together with Friends and Family

The countdown begins until the big drive...only six more days to go. Our friends and family have been so good to us, you would think we were moving away forever, what with the outpouring of love and kindness we've been shown. More company on Saturday night....

which of course means lots of chit-chat about old times. I am constantly telling the twins I DON'T want to know any more than I already do about their high school antics, however, they seem to feel free to ignore my pleas. Yikes...those were some seriously crazy days.

Sunday morning, before church, I finally rode my bicycle around the complex admiring all of the massive oak trees, and how, although the buildings are similar, they are also different. I was trying to find some information about how this was built, but aside from reading that they began the construction in 1983, taking five years to complete it, I cannot find much else. I do so wonder about this huge piece of property off Michigan...what could it have been?

One of our ministers is leaving for another church; Sunday was the farewell service including the Orlando Gay Chorus, of which Talia apparently was a member. I'd always heard they were super good, and now I know that they are!

On the way home we stopped here:

Although we'd driven by many times before, this was our first shopping trip, courtesy of Sue. She insisted on paying me for the wedding party photos, which seemed silly to me, but I finally agreed. Having a gift certificate to spend is an occasion to go crazy, especially if you are trying to empty out your food supply. Here was our haul which included a $13.00 six pack of beer, along with a $6 bag of Siracha popcorn. Unreal, right?

Finally we took some time to relax Sunday afternoon. Bruce took his boat out on Lake Pineloch(the big lake) for some fishing time, catching and releasing one; if you look very carefully you will see his orange kayak in the distance.

Meanwhile, I went swimming in the big pool with David, whose picture I insisted on taking.

I loved our swimming pool for sure, but it is nice having a big pool where you can swim laps. It does not hurt that the setting is superb.

With the waterfall and hot tub, I told David I felt like I was at a hotel! Bruce brought the boat in,

as rain seemed imminent. Nothing like Saturday's downpour though...holy cow did it ever rain!

A tiny nap for Bruce, and we were off again, heading over to Pam and Glenn's wonderful home for a party in honor of the couple about to embark on a grand adventure. Everyone in our group are great hosts, but I suspect we can all agree that Pam and Glenn sure know how to throw a party!

Pam outdid herself, making a chicken mole, pork carnitas, and ground beef for tostadas. Cheryle provided the table decoration.

Lisa,

made some fantastic scratch refried beans. Irene, pictured on the left in a super cute blouse she made, brought some cookies that were to die for. Honestly, I've never had a cookie with cayenne pepper before, and frankly, I did not know what I was missing!

Pam insisted we get out of the kitchen for once...

As if there were not enough alcohol in our beverage choices, David, pictured on the right, made a delicious Irish whiskey cake.

It was all good fun and your little blogger cried when Montel brought one of my prints her daughter purchased, maybe six or seven years ago, having everyone sign it, wishing us well.

Monday morning, bright and early, Mr. Peck, the provider in all of this craziness, flew to Seattle, while I organized our closet and dumped most of what was in the junk drawer, pictured above on the kitchen table. Seriously, did I need twenty or so writing instruments? I think not. Walking from the kitchen to the bedroom I saw what I thought looked like a big bird in one of the trees out back. Grabbing my camera, look what I saw:

Walking closer I was thrilled to see another owl fly up onto the same branch!

Before we officially moved here, early one morning Bruce had seen them in a tree outside our front courtyard, telling me about it much later in the day. I was, of course, freaking out. They did not stay long, but you can safely bet that I will be on the lookout from here on out.

Speaking of out back, it is pretty awesome, having someone else do all that yard work.

Last evening, I was watching the Home Run Derby, and I noticed it was pretty much a full moon on the lake, I kept thinking to myself, "by the light of the silvery moon."

Any long time reader of this blog is very familiar with our lifetime of doing everything for ourselves. We are kind of digging letting others do things for us during this time. During our nearly 44 years of marriage we've never earned a dime from real estate, however, this time will be an exception. I'm kind of thinking we are spreading the wealth, and keeping people employed. Today I had a maid service come in to clean Gem Mary Court, and by golly, they did a fantastic job. Once again, Google to my rescue, as I had never heard of Maid to Clean. Perhaps it was the clever name that caught my attention? At any rate, it was well worth every penny!

For now I am letting our house go without sentiment. Wonder what I will say to that in a couple of years?

yours truly,

Gail

One Way to Force an Under Refrigerator Cleaning

It is anyone's guess how long the ice had been building up in the bottom of our freezer, but I suspect it has been quite some time. While I was spending most all of my time in the sewing room, ice kept building, and building. And then, it started leaking out. Yup, one day I found a pool of water beside the fridge. Hmmm....I'll get a towel to soak it up. And so it went on for weeks like that. It is astonishing how much I can ignore when I don't want to deal with something!

Two things I made that were absent from this blog before Christmas are now making an appearance. I learned to make a fabric wallet with a key holder for Maureen, which I was pretty darn pleased with after this, my second attempt!

Seeing it in a photograph, I notice all of my uneven stitching, but I hope Maureen will find it useful. I used navy polka dot for where you put your dollar bills! I just love that fabric!

Then too, I learned to make a "needle house." What pray tell is that, you ask? Well, here's the inside of attempt number one:

When you have a son who lives an ocean away, making useful things for him is a good way to show your love, so when I discovered during Matt's visit that there are times you need large needles to complete knitting projects, I thought it might be fun to try making this after stumbling across it on some kind soul's blog. Kind, that's what I think of all the wonderful bloggers out there who share their talents with the rest of us! The front looked like this:

All kinds of wrong going on, not the least of which is that it opened on the wrong side!! When Bruce came home from his trip that week, I asked him about the scale of the door, which I also knew could not be right. He drew the dimensions on the one above, and I made a new one., A continuing theme, right?

The window fabric came from my stash of estate sale fabrics, the door button once belonged to Matt's great grandmother, and the blue rick rack came from his Grandma Peck. Now we are talking--three generations of women who sew!

I am working on something new which I'll show a little later, but when I could not open the freezer door without fear of yanking the handle off, I knew it was time to take action. Consulting Google, I learned it was probably a frozen, blocked line. Mr. Peck agreed to be dragged away from his desk to do what he does best..run the show! Once again, kind folks, sharing their knowledge on the internet, helped him know how to remove the drawers, which, frankly, were a tad messy.

I was not only able to clean up the spilled corn, but also the overspray from an exploding can of Coke, so there were several benefits to this fix!

The door came off next...

This part was kind of fun...

It took about ten minutes, using the blow dryer on high, to dislodge a pretty sizable piece of ice.

This was just what I was hoping for, rather than letting it all melt on the towel. Turns out, he also had to take the lower panel off of the back of the freezer to get to the little drain which is all clean; we are now the proud owners of a very tidy freezer that opens just fine and dandy.

Yeesh--you should have seen under the refrigerator...that's tidy now as well.

I've neglected to mention how our little Baxter is having some troubles with his house training. Sunday, when we came home from the car dealership the first time, we found a big puddle on the new wood floor in the sunroom. Sadly, not the first time this has happened.

Before leaving to trade in the Honda, we placed his blanket in the hall bathroom, keeping him in there with the gate I use at the front door. The gate, while useful, is cumbersome to use on that doorway, so I went to purchase a new one. Would it fit in the MINI? Why, yes it did.

I am all about the errands this week, finding any excuse to drive the MINI! You may remember from this post, the photograph I shared of Alissa taking a photo while the muralist was working. Me and my MINI, while in the area, stopped back by to see the completed work.

Furthermore, there is a lot to get used to in my new baby car. The horizontal lines, arranged vertically, are the gas gauge! The "command center" has a super fun ring of changeable lights.

This old dog will be forced to learn some new tricks!!

We had that little cold snap, but now we are back in the 70's during the day. Out on my bicycle yesterday morning, I visited my owl, well make that two, the first I've seen both in a very, very long time. Can you spot both of them?

One of them, I think the female, was impossible to photograph, but I did get a shot of the male saying good morning Miss Gail.

That would be a wave in owl language! Speaking of owls, for Christmas I received a number of owl related gifts, including this adorable one Irene brought back from Prague. Standing proudly amongst my birdie stuff...

To my dear readers, the above photograph merits a quick glance. For me, however, it is filled with memories of people and places. The framed photo is one I took many, many years ago in Switzerland, the vase belonged to Bruce's Mom, the painting is from when I volunteered at the Polasek, the yellow vase on the left was purchased during a visit to Deland with Matt and Tom one Christmas, the orange birdies were a gift from neighbors, and of course the canoe paddles, purchased in Vermont, and used for many adventures. That pretty much sums up how I feel about life, if there is a story connected to something, I flat out love it!

This rope coil bowl might be my latest obsession...time will tell.

Finally, only in Florida, a water skier I saw yesterday on my ride!

Brave soul that boy, even with a partial wet suit on!

Here's hoping you have no reason to clean under your refrigerator any time soon!

Gail