Weekend Update

Riding my bike Sunday morning, I came across some folks putting things out for a garage sale, one of which was this:

Despite the injuries to the pint-sized MINI, perhaps I should have purchased it as this may be as close to having another MINI that I'll get! They told me that no sooner had their children received it on Christmas day, than they wrecked it. I always did like that forest green color.

Most Sundays I'm lazy and don't do my ride before the market, but, for whatever reason, I felt like getting it done. What a lovely morning it was. After seeing things that I'll soon show you, I knew that whatever happened at the market was just going to be gravy. Cycling down Fern Creek towards the lake, I stopped my bike for this guy:

He looks pretty big doesn't he? How about this size comparison which happened soon thereafter?

It is good to know that hawks leave blue jays alone and who can blame them? Blue jays are ornery song birds. although if they did get into a fight, there's no doubt who would win that battle. Of all things, turning down Waterwitch, I saw two more hawks high up in a tree! No eagles though.

Saturday, Dana put on a Corn Festival at Winter Garden with games, grilled corn, and hay rides. It was all very fun for the children, although both big and little folks lined up for the hay ride.

As I was walking around getting my weekly market photos, I heard someone call my name. Turning around, I was pleased to see Dr. Gross, one of the radiologists I used to work with. He brought one of his daughters out to the market, shunning the one closest to his home in Winter Park, mostly to get his kitchen knives sharpened by our guy who is getting quite the reputation for quality work. Marrying later in life, he and his wife Lisa were surprised when they had twins about eight years ago. Parents will photograph any movement their children make these days, and he, apparently, is no exception. Ready to get an action shot of her getting a snow cone:

If you'd like to see more of this fantastic market click on this.

Saturday afternoon was spent watching, you guessed it, college football! During my drive home I listened to the final quarter of FSU trouncing Wake Forest. That sounds slightly mean-spirited doesn't it? All in good fun! They, undoubtedly, felt the same way when they beat us two years ago. :)

Thank God for November weather! One of the great things to happen at Lake Eola is that with the addition of a big expanse of green space, well, not so green right now, but you get my meaning, is people doing "park" things, like this huge group doing yoga in the morning.

Children are always loving to feed the birds,

How cool is it that people were playing croquet in the afternoon?

I haven't played croquet in years! This looks like perfect grass for the game doesn't it?

It was interesting hearing people's reaction to the new art. I'm not sure what these folks thought, however, it looks to me like they are just glad to have a place to rest.

So many folks were there, including friends who always stop to say hello. Then too, I had some new customers which is always a good thing because oftentimes they become repeat customers, or so I hope.

Here are a few, unrelated to the weekend that I thought might either bore you, interest you, make you laugh, whatever.....

Leaving our doors wide open, well the back and front ones anyway, all kinds of bugs fly into the house, including this super cool looking one:

Do you think I need to clean my windows? I do.

The other morning was super foggy,

you could hardly see Lake Jennie Jewel. Lake Gem Mary, same thing:

See those two For Sale signs? Both on our little cul-de-sac! In eighteen years living here, only one of the houses were for sale and now two at once? Plus, a neighbor on the Appleton side put his up for sale on Saturday! Who will these new neighbors be? Hopefully nice ones. Damn that Angela--she opened the flood gates!

Speaking of new neighbors, this new "pharmacy" opened on Michigan a few weeks ago. Yeah, right! So, why show this photo? Well, that is not a real person holding the sign, but an animated mannequin! Very weird.

Waiting at the traffic light, I could not resist. What I didn't see from my vantage point is the electrical cord. Hmmm....What will they think of next?

Finally, this morning the sky looked almost like a streaky window.

Make that a really, really streaky!

Time to get to work--have a Marvelous Monday!

The City Beautiful

Some of you may not know that Orlando uses "The City Beautiful", as, maybe you'd say, a nickname. Sort of like Chicago is "The Windy City", although I don't know if they have that printed on stuff. Certainly we do. Familiarity breeds contempt was something I learned from my parents long ago, and while I don't think I have contempt for Orlando, I certainly am very familiar with our city having lived here nearly 55 years. That said, I'm sure I don't see it in the same way new folks and tourists do. Today, instead of setting up my tent at Lake Eola, I strolled around the whole lake looking at some pretty amazing new public art. Scott Maxwell, one of the few remaining columnists for the Sentinel, wrote this about it today. Say what you will about chain restaurants, but they sure are good community partners; Darden contributed big bucks for this project. Without further ado, let's take a look-see, want to?

For weeks now, this sculpture has been in place across the lake from my space,

and I've been dying to see it up close. Most of the other sculptures have been enclosed with fencing for quite some time now, however, this one has been in glorious view--so very beautiful in person. Continuing my walk, after parking near Matt's old apartment on Broadway Street, I  am struck by how the park looks on a Friday morning, with people strolling, walking dogs, and some folks running, on what is a beautiful weather day, the kind of day the tourist board drools over. You can usually spot the tourists as they are taking photographs, sort of like me. :)

Swans, the park is known for the multitude of swans, as you'll soon see.

Whether or not we're known for our turtles is not for me to answer.

Okay, more swans with the paddle boats fashioned to imitate them.

Why look, it's the Sun Trust tower! The super looking turquoise band shell has just been re-painted. Disney provides the funds for this, one of the few things that I can think of they are involved with inside the city limits. Remind me of others if you think of any.

A few friends posted photos on Facebook of this remarkable sculpture,

which as you can see, is still being planted. All of the new sculptures are interesting, very much so, but none so much as this one of a lady lying on her side with dirt and asiatic jasmine covering her body.

Honestly it is so fantastic I hardly know what else to say, and that's saying a lot, when I run out of words! A little later, on the other side of the lake, a fellow asked me if I'd photographed, "the lady of the lake", which seems like a clever title to me. Because none of the installations are entirely finished, there are no name markers for me to share the details. While I've been typing this an email from Terry Olson, the arts director for Orange County came through,

In the next ten days there are four public art events around Orlando!  You are invited to join me at them.  The visual image of our city is changing rapidly and for the better.  I hope you are excited about it like I am.

Monday, November 11, 10:00 am  Dedication of Red Tails Monument/sculpture outside the cafe at the Orlando Science Center.

Tuesday, November 12, 6:00 pm   Illumination Ceremony for the upgraded Tower of Light at Orlando City Hall, 400 S Orange Ave

Monday, November 18, 5:30 pm    Unveiling party for the eight SeeArt Orlando sculptures starting at Church & Orange with a Lymmo bus to and entertainment at each of the sculptures (but it will be a great night for walking the route).

Tuesday, November 19, 6:00 pm    Unveiling of the Urban Art Museum (outdoor art), 932 N Mills

I hope I’ll see you at one or all of these outdoor events.  Let’s celebrate the beautiful weather, the beautiful art and the  beautiful people that are part of our community!

Posters for all four are attached in the one pdf.

-------
Terry Olson, Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs

with a few more details about all of the exciting events happening in our city. If I am gushing over the lady, I'm still making my mind up about this one.

Perhaps you noticed it across the lake in the first photo? Sitting on Central Avenue, across the street from The Waverly, it, too, was unveiled a few weeks ago. What do you think? 

The installation of this sculpture has wreaked a little havoc with our market loading, and unloading, set as it is where we come into the park every Sunday.

I know I really like this one, even more so now that I can see the base, which has been enclosed with the curtained fencing for a month or more. My booth sits under the tree on the left. Asking the workers what comes next around the base, they were a little sketchy. Although I've seen this same scene below for more than six years, almost every Sunday, it looks so different without all of the vendors. Well, duh, of course it does!

See the ligustrum tree on the left? Bruce ties our tent to it every week. So, how beautiful are the oaks? Beautiful.  Heading along the path to the right, here is one that I'm also still puzzling over.

This too, has been shrouded for weeks. Not only was it hard to photograph, but it's hard to understand what the artist is trying to say. Or, at least it is to me. How about those gigantic feet!

I may not understand the meaning, but I sure can appreciate the movement in the figure, as well as the clothing. Some folks are so talented, it's mind boggling!

Continuing around the lake, past the playground, I knew there was one more I hadn't seen yet. By golly, it was a perfect day to see this one.

What one Gail? Well, the sidewalk is closed while they complete the installation, so I couldn't get the shot I wanted, but here is a little closer shot: 

Wondering why I said it was a perfect day to see it? Those metal wands, or more like rings, if you will, rotate by wind power, which is in abundant supply today. In case you're wondering, this one is on the corner of Eola and Robinson, across from Panera.

Whenever I go to England, I marvel at the trees, however, I've got some pretty spectacular ones in my own backyard don't I?

Remember what I said about the swans? Here's yet another swan reference.

More typical of the art seen heretofore in the park, it is a little baby in comparison to the new pieces! While it's true that 55 million tourists come to our area annually, most never see the real Orlando, instead, spending their hard-earned vacations in the theme park area. In fact, I hear almost weekly from people who do venture downtown how surprised they are by what they see. Sometimes they even say the city is beautiful. 

Well, now it is even more so with the addition of bold, interesting and in some cases, beautiful public art! Thank you, thank you, for both the artists, and those generous folks who made it possible. I hope you enjoyed your "sneak peak."

Oh my gosh, just as I was finishing this up, I notice the two turtles at the base in the above photograph. 

How I love photography!

p.s. I have no idea why on the web the text font changes because it does not for me...

I Didn't Make it to the Cover of a Magazine,

however, I did, after nearly six years of entering, make it to the cover of our Orlando, 2014 Historic Preservation calendar.  As I've done in the past, I attended the first ten minutes or so of the City Council meeting for the presentation, along with a group photograph including Mayor Buddy Dyer and all the winners. Had we stayed we would have seen this big news voted on. Thinking about it later, really, once the calendar is in use, my photo will not be seen again, unlike this year when I had both the month of April and December. Remind me why it was that I wanted to make the cover?

It is nice of them to validate your parking ticket for the garage which was full to the brim, causing me to finally park the Pilot on the 9th floor. Taking a few shots of the city while up there, here is a view of Orlando Utilities on the right-- the roof on their new building is chock full of solar panels. To the left is their old headquarters, which only recently opened as a W Hotel following extensive renovations.

According to the newspaper, it is quite nice inside which comes as no surprise. Looking West, here is the Amway Arena,

where the Magic play. It is so very hard to imagine they have been playing for 25 years now. Earlier in the day Angela called, asking me where the SunTrust building was.

It is very hard for me to believe, given as smart as she is, that she did not notice the building on the right. Both Bill and Dave work for SunTrust, although not in this building, rather Bill is in the Dr. Phillips branch, while David has his office on Park Avenue in Winter Park. Eventually, after extensive instructions from me, she found it, as I learned later after stopping at the new house to drop off one more print, which I think will finish up the "Gaillery", as they call it.

Anyway, the calendar is weak this year, mostly because the neighborhood was weak. I'll try not to let that influence my happiness at finally making the cover!

The morning, or at least two hours of it, was spent in a focus group on ovens, or rather, ranges. What do I mean by that? Well, it means, I, along with 18 other people were asked questions about the design, price, burner placement, how we would put pans on the stove top, what we thought of convection ovens, as well as induction cook tops. The moderator, named Robin was from London. I'm pretty sure the company paying us was LG, although I can't be certain. There were about a dozen ranges in the room, covered at first, then, once uncovered we were to look at them, and pick our favorites, over, and over, and over again. For my trouble I was paid $75---not too shabby. Heck, some days I drive all the way out to Winter Garden, set up, take down, spend eight hours, and don't even make that much, so it seemed like a win-win situation. Bruce asked to be taken out to dinner on the easy money. :)

I hope one day they choose the neighborhood where we saw this fantastic house,

except the calendar is black and white, so this house would not be a good candidate. Isn't it brilliant?

While Bruce and I watched Antiques Roadshow Monday night, a dragonfly kept buzzing around in the lampshade. You know what that means...

Finally he got free, landing on the wall, and staying there all night long. When I got up in the morning he was gone to parts unknown.

Bruce flew to Miami on Tuesday to check on his Yard House before flying to Houston this morning. Both the Seasons 52 and Capital Grille are nearly done, which is very exciting. Usually Bruce is overwhelmed with work around the holidays--we are so excited that this year that will not be the case.

Just think--Christmas is a mere 49 days away! Let the shopping begin...

A Weekend Off

Before we go even one sentence further, I'm posting a photo for my purple-loving niece, Laura.

I learned early on that she is not alone in her love of all things purple, however, that holds true for lots of things, people are very passion about things such as dragonflies, peacocks, old doors, daisies, and the list goes on. Knowing that as I do, I try to find things that people will like, succeeding on occasion. I saw this super cool slideshow on the Washington Post website, and it inspired me to give my peacock feather another go, albeit without a microscope.

The intricacy is mind boggling isn't it? Bev, in particular, loving all things science, will find the slideshow fascinating.

Friday dawned with two events on my agenda. First Friday at FAVO seems to arrive in the blink of an eye. On the way to FAVO, I stopped for a moment at the house where the "pop-up" art event was happening, hosted by Sara.

She definitely knows some people with beautiful and expansive homes!

Although a cold front was on the way, it did not come soon enough as my room was HOT, despite a rotating fan. Eventually, about three hours into it, Bruce carried our stools outside to cool off.

You can see many of the folks in shorts, including Mr. Bruce in the black shirt in front of Room 139. For the first time ever, I sold nothing. Not one thing! Amazingly enough, talking to Sara on Monday I learned I sold at least one thing on the street corner. Good grief, you just never know!

Saturday morning, I re-arranged the stuff in my car, fully intending to head out to Winter Garden, when Bruce suggested it just might not be worth it as rain was on the way. Turns out he was right--Missy, my WG neighbor, kept texting me about the pouring rain. So, so glad I stayed home. After breakfast at the newish Peach Valley Cafe up the street, which was very average at best, Bruce did what he always does, and I spent much of the day watching football, waiting, and waiting, for the Florida State game. Except, I had a party to go to....

Having almost never watched Oprah Winfrey, I was not quite sure what to expect as far as a "favorite things" party goes. Well, now I know. The invitation read, bring a favorite thing unwrapped and a dish. Barb asked for what she calls, "your famous potato salad." So I guess that means I didn't watch football all day! Below you will see a crummy photo I took with my phone because, duh!, the camera I took had a dead battery after taking this one shot on the way.

The sky, after a full day of rain, was just too beautiful to ignore. Okay, so back to Barb with her "favorite thing."

What do you see in front of her? Why, you see a gigantic bag filled, and I mean filled, with "favorite things." You can bet I felt pretty stupid with a bottle of Kiehl's Creme with Silk Groom. All twelve or so women explained their goodies while standing up. Not a one of them had A favorite thing, instead multiple favorite things. You can guess what came next....choosing by number, (mine was 10), then exchanging and the like. My pitiful bottle came home with me. By now the game was on, and several of us were getting anxious when, lo and behold, the youngest woman there asked if Barb would turn on the game. Woo hoo! Get this, they have a 90" television! Crazy right? Bruce drove me out there as I dislike night driving,  and while the girls were doing girly stuff, he and Steve went to eat at a place near their home called Nona Blue, which I later learned is owned by Graeme McDowell, the golfer from Northern Ireland.  No wonder Bruce had fish and chips! I've said it before and I'll say it again, how I wish we had a cool place like this nearby!

Driving home at half time, we hoped the Seminoles would win, and win they did! In case you are wondering, my touchdown towel saw some use! When the 'Noles were having terrible seasons, I used to drink out of my "lucky mug" given to me by Bruce's mom. Mostly it did not work, but sports fans are crazy, don't you know?

Sunday, unlike Saturday, was picture perfect! Beautiful breeze, beautiful sun, beautiful light. Because of Fiesta in the Park, we got to actually just hang out! Well, sort of. I needn't tell you how Bruce spent much of the morning.

If it wasn't enough that our neighbor Wanda's husband died two months ago, she also had to put her dog of 17 years to sleep! God bless her, I don't know how she stands the loneliness! Anyway she and Frank own a big log house in West Virginia, and her daughter Donna drove her there to close it up for the winter. Along the drive home, she bought a case of apples, sharing them with the neighbors. Instead of making a pie, I made apple crisp from Cook's Illustrated. I swear the text makes me laugh; beginning the recipe he writes, "Simply stated, there is seldom anything crisp about a crisp." Well, he did indeed put the "crunch back in crisp."

Next, I might try to make this.

Later on we did a little shopping at the fully decorated for Christmas, Mall at Millenia, in search of some sandals for Bruce.  Never you mind that it is nearly eight weeks away!

Back when I was posting so many cardinal photos you wanted to scream, you probably figured that would go on forever, and frankly I hoped that it would. Where they have been lately is anyone's guess, however, I heard the familiar chirping out back and tried to get a shot...

Ha ha! Pretty good of the feeder though.

Sue loves collecting, whether it be old chairs, bottles, well, too many things to list. That includes animals. Although she has two dogs and a cat, she is having a hard time saying no to this stray kitten.

Who wouldn't?

Eric and Martha to the Rescue

As I was re-arranging the bedroom, as in moving all the furniture around, minus the heavy triple dresser, I found a little piece of nostalgia. When Matt went to Florida State back in, what was it, 1993? Anyway, football was king, even Matt got into it, so much so that back in the days pre-internet everything, if you wanted tickets to a big game, such as Miami, students waited for days to get them. I told you it was big. Tomorrow is one such game as Miami comes to Tallahassee featuring two unbeaten teams. Let's hope there are lots of occasion to wave this:

Although we didn't get up there nearly often enough when Matt was a student, we did manage to attend a couple of games---can't remember which one they gave these out for. Yesterday afternoon, while setting up for FAVO, church members were decorating the trunks of their cars--a new, or at least new way to me, for kids to get candy on Halloween. They call it "Trunk or Treat." So many clever ideas people came up with! This was one of my favorite decorations:

Florida State forever! During Jonathan's time at FSU, the team was nowhere near as good, so he's especially enjoying this season, as are all Florida State fans. :)

Here's my idea of fall decorating:

Wondering what today's title is all about? If you're actually reading this closely, I've no doubt that you are. Anyway, since no reader came forth with an idea about the funky white blobs I found buried in the garden, (see previous post), I sent the image to Eric, my master gardener friend. I knew he'd know what they are, and he did not disappoint. A Puffball. So, I read about it, learning that they can become quite large. Very interesting stuff, but not nearly as interesting as what I found this morning!

After a good long sleep last night, I came into the kitchen to make tea, and of course, have a glass of orange juice, which btw, was from a jug I'd found frozen in the freezer; absolutely delicious--there is nothing like fresh orange juice. My eyes were a little sleepy, so when I first glanced at the bowl with the puffballs, I thought perhaps Bruce had put some rubber bands in the bowl. My land, he did not. Take a look at what happened!!!

Not only did they look crazy, but did they ever have a strong odor! I quickly took them out back because of both the smell and they looked just plain creepy, despite the orange color!

So Eric helped me with my mystery while Martha Stewart came through for my bedroom. For the last five or so years, I've had some very dark brown curtains in my bedroom. I love the curtains, but since I went back to the striped quilt, the big floral pattern just seemed a little much for me. Even me, I know you can't believe it! Anyway, I went searching for something lighter but interesting. To make a long story short, after what I'm calling an exhaustive search, I ended up at JC Penny, finding just what I was looking for. I had no idea they carried a big line of Martha curtain panels, but they do, and they are great. Bonus points for a sale.

As you may recall the spiffy orange lamps came from there as well. Oh yeah--and that throw pillow!! How is that for cute??? Marshalls in case you want one for yourself.

I got my teeth cleaned yesterday and as I was driving home, stopped at a red light actually, I saw these crossing guards solving the world's problems. Well maybe they weren't doing that, but they were chatting. One of the guards attire caught my eye. Can you guess which one?

That man takes his job seriously! Or so it seems.

David had shoulder surgery on Wednesday and is coming along nicely. Bill, as you know had kidney surgery earlier this month. It seem so weird that they both went through recent surgery so close to one another but I guess that is identical twins for you. There's a good chance that those surgery types might be reversed one day as if one has something, the other is usually not far behind. That must be a very weird feeling indeed.

In my present vocation I meet a lot of interesting people. Well, I did before but I never went to their homes. Earlier today I dropped off two baskets of prints with Sara, the woman who organized the home art party I participated in earlier this year. Tonight, would you know it, while I'm at FAVO, they have an event in Delaney Park, across from the playground. I don't know Sara all that well; aside from knowing she is British, from Yorkshire, that's about it. My golly her house is terrific. Across the street from Cherokee School, she told me the story of how they rescued it from former serious disrepair. I was in heaven seeing it all, including this view of the back of the house.

It seems as if gardening is in British blood as all of the Brits I know love gardening. She claimed it was all a mess but it didn't look that way to me. She's got her sewing studio in a converted garage,

where she makes all sorts of funky bags with printed images on them. Admiring the window box on the side of the studio, I learned it was a gift from President Clinton for her role in doing the flowers for his inauguration many years ago.

Back then she lived outside Washington, DC, and worked for a florist. According to her, three of them worked for days, practically 24 hours per day, to make everything beautiful. Now, how's that for interesting?

Anyone know what these balls are?

Vintage bingo balls! Having written that, what exactly does vintage really mean these days? Those little creatures on the left are Sara's handiwork. I only wish we both weren't time challenged, as I could have looked around for ages. Perhaps she will invite me back...

It's been a very long time since I made caramel corn, but that's what we're serving tonight at FAVO. I hope other folks like it as well as my darling sons once did.