Past, Present, and Future

Another oldie, but a goodie!

I told you I found some good stuff the other day and this one is no exception. The twins must be around 5 or 6, Jonathan, probably around one year old, making Matt around 9. I can't recall who the woman was that took this photo, but I've always loved it foremost because of how adorable the boys are, (Bruce is darn good himself), and secondly, because it shows off the wonderful play space Bruce built. With a sandbox underneath, he built a walkway connecting it to the swing set. Many wonderful hours were spent here until we finally decided we needed a larger home. The house we purchased when we had one son, over time, was just not working with four little Pecks in the house. The folks who bought our home put it into the contract that the playhouse had to remain in the backyard. Sadly, we agreed, only to see the entire house torn down a few years later. A bittersweet memory.

So, that is the past segment, and here is one example of the present. The promised rainbow.

I don't know about you, but this was the first one that has ever come right to me. I ran in to get Bruce telling him to hurry because they generally do not last for long. Count me wrong. Lord, have mercy, this rainbow, soon thereafter joined by another one, was brilliant in the sky for about 25 minutes, leaving me flat out astonished!

While I stood lakeside behind our home, Bruce walked down to the big lake with his fishing pole. Standing on the shore, he caught this beauty, captured on his phone by a passing acquaintance.

He immediately set it free to get on with its life. The luck he's had has been remarkable and for his sake, I hope it continues.

Oops, glad this isn't in front of our place.

Since observing this a few days ago, the hole has remained the same size, so pretty sure a sink hole is not in the offing.

This week I've been trying to get more walking done, some days around the complex where there are plenty of flowers to admire.

Azaleas are blooming on many streets with these bushes being some of my favorites because I just love the colors and abundance.

Gayle, the head of our landscape committee, told me they don't have much luck with hibiscus and that may be true, so I'll enjoy the ones I do encounter.

The photo below is a good example of how you can see something pretty, admiring it, and think not much more about what you've seen. Recently David told me that a few years ago, during a hurricane, this beautiful Orchid tree blew over, exposing the entire root ball. No ordinary tree, it was planted in memory of a resident's Mother. With work they saved it and he also told me that it has never bloomed for so long and so beautifully before. I call that a blessing.

Susan, the president of our condo association, has been putting me to shame by walking over to Lake Davis, circling not just that lake, but Lake Cherokee as well, followed by walking home. I have been driving over and doing the lake walk. She does it faster because, well, everyone walks faster than me. It doesn't help that I am continually stopping for photographs when either the light is good,

or something, like a bit of new Spring growth catches my eye.

Then I might see some turtles and think of how much my sister Lisa loves them. So, another break in the already slow action.

So it was that I was walking and snapping when much to my delight, I ran into Angela!!! After exchanging warm hugs, we turned around and walked back the way I had already walked, chatting all the way. There is no good reason we can't pick up the phone and call one another, but she's been busy, and presumably, I have been too. Lily has been good company for Angela since Matt died. Lots of drama on her side and of course, lots on my side as well. So much to say, not nearly enough time.

Here's something very crazy that happened on Friday afternoon. Bruce and I spent the morning in search of some nightstands for the guest room. Used is always my preference, however, it was tough sledding for most of our search. We went to Atomic Junkies on Edgewater Drive, followed by a stroll over to "Top Drawer", another store that recycles furniture. Walking around seeing nothing to our liking, I remarked to Bruce how much art they had for sale. Soon thereafter, he says, "well, look at that!"

I laughed and laughed seeing my photo, "Primary Colors" hanging on the top right. A mixture of the past and the present. Small town we live in.

My visit to see Maureen yesterday was a frustrating one. Her wound seems so slow to heal and she's got a host of other things going on. Not life threatening by any means, but darn, life is so hard for her, being totally dependent on others for everything. Then I learned the clothes I'd previously purchased have been misplaced. I decided to take a walk to clear my head, walking from Westminster Towers to Lake Cherokee, walking in reverse what I'd done two days prior. Much busier on Saturday, I came across this,

run by these folks. That business name is good.

An artistic touch in front of a lovely home; the neighborhood is rich with them.

The mother in the shot below passing me as she was running with her little boy in the stroller. Most folks don't seem to know that throwing bread to birds is not such a good idea, albeit interesting.

Looking up, there was Susan doing her Saturday walk, dressed more appropriately than I. Wearing a light sweatshirt, I was indeed sweating as it is warm as can be. Thank God the humidity is low!

Returning to the towers, after not finding her clothes anywhere, it was back to the thrift store for me. A good thing that clothes there are very cheap. (I search for top brands at rock bottom prices and wash them at home) On our way home from church we spent time with her, I showed off her new clothes and fed her lunch. If it is making me depressed, can you imagine what she feels like?

Oh how I hope there are sunnier days, and nights, in her future!

your friend,

Gail


p.s. The bird enthusiast side of me wanted to post more bird photographs. The smarter side of me said, "don't!"

That's That

It was around this time, 11 years ago, that Bruce thought I might be able to sell my photography, something that had never occurred to me. By now you all know the story of how we began selling at the Orlando Farmer's Market when it was a teeny tiny thing, hanging around  for the next eight years, and had success beyond our wildest dreams. That era came to a close today my friends. SunDance still sells my stuff, but Out & About Photography is officially closed for business. That, of course, happene,d maybe two years ago, except we still had all of our inventory. Late this morning, we made a trip to the storage unit, came home, sorted out what we thought we might want,

and then drove to Central Street and made a gift of it here.

After giving a few canvases away in our parking lot, I bagged everything up and off we went to officially close that chapter of our lives. It was a darn good run.

We kept our storage tubs and after lunch, we filled them with closet things, lots of old photos for example. I came across this one of me, now nearly 50 (!) years old, taken by the local Melbourne newspaper as part of an article about how I was making my Mom's dress for a charity ball!

Oh how I loved that sewing machine and I probably cried the day they told me that it would cost more to fix than to keep. I used it for the following twenty plus years after this photo was taken, making clothes for myself and the boys. I totally still miss that knee lift.

While we are still on today's activities, as I sat down to write this post, finding the photos, etc., I kept one eye on the sky because we'd had a light rain followed by sunshine. When the sky looks like this, you can pretty well bet that a rainbow will follow.

Lo and behold, it did happen, and even more wonderful than I could have hoped for. Photos in my next post, but I will tell you that it remained, first one, then two rainbows, for nearly thirty minutes!!

So, what else has been happening? Maureen remained in the hospital until today and now she is back at Westminster Towers, hoping that this time the antibiotics will work! I talked to Carol briefly and her report on Lisa's visit was that it was wonderful.

Must have been last Friday night that I was planning on heading down to the pool for a chit chat with the gang when David and Michelle, along with Grace, were out front chatting with the neighbors and yours truly. For my far away friends, I thought I'd show this because it gives you a better understanding of what our place looks like.

Earlier Bruce had gone down to fish and when he didn't come home, I went looking and found him with some of the other stragglers.

Something super cool happened as we were preparing to leave. A large owl flew past us barely above our heads!!! Although sure he'd flown into one of the nearby trees, not a one of us could locate it.

Saturday, on my way to see Maureen, I detoured once I saw an estate sale sign and am I ever glad I did!! Down the street from the sale, well, seriously, need I explain?

Seeing the blooms on the trees is fantastic and seeing them on the ground is a bonus.

Our friend Sandy's nephew has opened a brewery behind Cecil's bar-b-que, just off Orange Avenue, a block from Michigan. The whole LPV clan went to support his efforts on Saturday night. Here's some of the old folks and that would include me had I not been taking the photo.

The young folks sat at another table..

Should you be in the area, be sure and check out Rockpit Brewery! From there we went to a place that Guy Fieri should visit the next time he comes to town. Our sweet friend Brittany was moving back to her hometown in New York the next day and a bunch of folks gathered to wish her well. An offshoot of Johnny's Fillin Station, Johnny's Other Side attracts all sorts of folks with good food and live music.

And then it was Sunday. On our way home from church, traveling South on Bumby Avenue, for some reason, Bruce turned off onto Vine Street and then turned left onto Francis Avenue. Long, long ago, his Grandmother lived in a tiny house on that street. His parents held onto the property for years and my sister Nancy once lived there as well. We checked out the street, continuing on toward Curry Ford Road and whoa Nelly, we came across this house with the lift used to paint it still in the street.

Can you imagine? I could not. Sadly it was gray and rainy so Monday, on my way to see Maureen, I drove back by to see it under sunny conditions. Amazing! Well, count me shocked when I traveled down Vine Street and came across this amazing creation. Unreal that the artist's first name is Maureen! Plus that these cool things are in that neighborhood.

The creativity is astonishing! Although you can't tell it from the photo, some of those circles contain little mirrors. Love at first sight.

A smattering of Robins continue to visit and just yesterday another batch of Cormorants came through.

Super active on the lake this time, while some of them kept flying around, some of them towards me!

I do love my ducks, however, the two that swim in the big pool are quite the nuisance leaving evidence of their presence behind all too frequently.

Do you see them alongside the pool?

I'm hearing from Jackie all about the huge snowfall in Vancouver. Boo hoo! I wish it had snowed that much whilst we were there. That said, it is 22 degrees, and that, my friends, may have been more than this wimpy Floridian could have handled for days on end. Then again, you only live once, right?

Giving that all away today was a little sad, but that's that. Onward!

your friend,

Gail

An Eventful Week

Aren't they all? It is hard to imagine we've been home for six months now, but that's what the calendar tells me. The weeks just keep on flying by! I just got a text from Jackie telling me that it is snowing in Vancouver, a rare occurrence. She knows I will be jealous! Speaking of white, I was wondering about the name of our kitchen cabinet paint--Eider White, so while talking to Pam she reminded me that it is from a duck. Well, that wasn't enough information for me, so I went to Google and found THIS! Found only in the Arctic, I will have to content myself with seeing them only in a photograph but it makes me happy to know that our paint is named after something so cool. While we are on the subject of birds, I think the last wave of Robins have come and gone for the year, but not before I got what I think is a good shot of one that I spotted in this magnificent tree just down from our place.

A number of afternoons, because the weather has been fine and dandy, I've been walking around the property, seeing what I can see while getting some much needed exercise.

There aren't a lot of cats here, but every now and again I will see one, including this handsome girl.

I don't know the scientific name for this lovely purple flower that I saw at the smaller swimming poo,l located more in the front of the property. Pretty, huh?

One reason for doing these walks, aside from the aforementioned reasons, is simply pure gratitude that I can walk with ease, whereas it is hard to know if Maureen will have that chance again. Presumably so, but it's anything but certain. When last we met, I had not the slightest idea that surgery was once again required because the antibiotics were not working. A third surgery on her broken hip happened at 8:30 Wednesday night (rescheduled from 8:30AM), during which time they removed the prosthetic and replaced it with an antibiotic-filled spacer that will remain there until such time as the infection is cured. Should that happen, she faces a FOURTH surgery to insert a new prosthetic. How much can a person take? When I saw her yesterday morning, although still somewhat groggy from the anesthetic, she is doing as well as can be expected. More details as they come. Lisa is still in California with Carol who tells me that her calming presence has been good.

I brought Maureen a calorie-laden doughnut from the long awaited Lucky's Market that opened on Wednesday, across from our Publix. We popped in during the grand opening while they were giving out some very tasty samples of everything from fresh squeezed orange juice at their juice bar, to pickled okra and brussel sprouts from the pickle bar.

We also sampled pizza from their large oven and was it ever tasty. Let the grocery wars begin!

Something else momentous happened and that is that SunTrust, the bank David has worked for since he was 18 years old is now merging with a bank from Winston Salem, NC., BB&T. This is very big news for all sorts of reasons, one of which is that the SunTrust building is the tallest building in town. The merged bank will have a yet to be announced name. Bill, before moving to Regions, also worked for SunTrust. What this will mean for any of the employees is unclear, however, we think David will be just fine.

Maybe it was Tuesday night that we met Alec and Ikira at Earls so that Bruce could turn in his computer.

The structure in the foreground is a new escalator put in by the mall so that folks will actually know the restaurant is there! We had a good time gossiping, eating and drinking. They were in town for a restaurant convention and thoroughly enjoyed the warm, sunny weather. Orlando folks will get a kick out of this--being from the Uber crowd, they called for one to take them from International Drive to Groveland. Yes, Groveland! It won't surprise you in the least that they could not get a return ride. I suspect the driver who took them there had no clue how far it was! Eventually a fellow from the business they were visiting took them as far as Apopka which meant another Uber back to the hotel. They spent a very long time on I-4 allowing them to see all parts of town, both the good and bad.

Indeed, unlike last week when it was gloomy, this week has been delightful with bright blue skies and, frankly, temperatures that are too hot for me. How does 83 degrees sound? At least the humidity has been low.

Coleus are such interesting plants, aren't they? The colors, the ruffled leaves. It's all good. As are the blooming Tabebuia trees!!

That same afternoon I came across the handsome cat and I just loved the way her paws were positioned.

Talk about a handsome cat. This one is a beauty with those beautiful blue eyes!

Pam mentioned the other day during her visit that our spot was perfect for me because I so appreciate the bird activity. Indeed.

Loud as can be, crows.

And a twofer!

It has been quite some time since I've seen the otters, but during parts of the last few days, they have been swimming around quite near the shoreline. Actually, because my desk faces the lake, while I am writing this blog, you can find me jumping up from my chair to run out back, lest I miss something. Let's face it, I'm a little crazy.

Perhaps in another six months it will all be old hat and I'll be able to ignore the hawk flying into the tree outside my window? What do you think?

Finally, for some time I've heard from folks that the first words of my blog posts are missing when they read this on their phone. Checking into it, I've made some changes, not just with the mobile part, but I've gone back to an old layout. Let me know if it works, will you?

your friend,

Gail

A Breath of Fresh Air. Again

This is not our first rodeo as far as painting kitchen cabinets. For the life of me, I can't remember what our cabinets looked like in our home on Gusten Place, and you won't think any less of me when I remind you that was over 35 years ago, will you?  In any case, with a houseful of small boys, I painted our cabinets white, using oil based paint. How I did it is a mystery. I suspect I did not labor over the color either. White was white back then, or so it seemed to me.

Fast forward to September 2014 and this time Bruce and I painted the cabinets together. Mostly he did all the hard work of remaking each cabinet door, as well as making seven new drawers, while I sanded and painted. During the process I wrote many posts, but this one entitled FAQs sums it all up. Once we were finally done, Angela came over to see it, exclaiming "it is a breath of fresh air" in here. And so it was.

Perhaps you are wondering why we had someone come in to do it this time, and if so, let me explain. In a condo, you cannot work whenever your heart desires because noise can be a problem. Furthermore, space to work is also a problem. And so it was that last September I got my estimate from Troy and finally on February 1, the kitchen was completed!!! To say that this is not our style of getting things done is an understatement. That said, oh my! With a nearly bare refrigerator, Saturday morning I did some grocery shopping and when I walked back in with my bags, my heart was so happy to come home to this. Indeed, even though the day was gloomy, coming into my light and bright kitchen felt like a breath of fresh air all over again.

Finally, after months of bits and pieces, the whole plan has come together. Over time, I was beginning to doubt my vision, but seeing it finally done, I am pretty darn happy. Let me just stop a moment and get a comparison photo, shall I? I think I shall. (from September 2018)

Not exactly the same angle, but it will suffice for comparison purposes. And how exactly did last week go? Challenging for sure. When Troy brought the doors back on Thursday, or was it Friday, who knows or cares, for that matter? Anyway, Mr. Peck had a few concerns, so Troy painted the fronts in our living room.

Nothing major, just one more coat to make them perfect. He began taking all the paper down and it was then that I began falling in love with the kitchen.

While it is not crazy modern, for that we would have had to replace the cabinets, it is modern enough for the two of us. While Troy was doing his thing and Bruce was out doing his thing, I made a practice basket using some piping I'd purchased a few years ago at an estate sale for about a dollar. One day I'll be able to get a good shape but for now I am on a learning curve.

To make the sides of a basket one needs to turn the whole thing up on its side, and sew round and round. Before I've wrapped the cord with fabric, but this time I tried just changing threads using a zig zag stitch to connect the ropes. Cheap fun. :)

As I was sewing, not only were there American Robins everywhere, through my window I saw another huge flock flying on top of the water. What now? Turns out it was a huge flock of Crows or Ravens, not sure which, but unlike the ones in Vancouver, they did not attack.

Speaking of Vancouver, our weather continued to be gray most all of last week and into today until about an hour ago when the sun finally broke though the clouds. I don't know which flock was the noisier, the Crows or the Robins.

Early Saturday morning, David called to tell me he was seeing more birds than he could ever remember and I should get outside and photograph them. Which means they were here for five days in a row, making a mess of the streets and some of the cars. With a stand of 20 Camphor trees along the shoreline, they were having a heyday outside our windows. I worked hard to get those photographs of them in the trees, which sounds pretty silly doesn't it because photography is not work for me, but still. Anyway, leaving for my shopping, it was super easy to take this out my car window as they were all over the parking lots.

It seems as if they took the Sabbath off, however, for a few hours this morning, they were, once again, flying everywhere. I'm guessing they have had enough until they next find plentiful food on their journey to the North. Then again, I am probably wrong, and we will hear their calls in the morning.

Friday night, while Michelle was over seeing the kitchen, I invited her to help me with the jigsaw puzzle that I'd begun before the painting started. Her enthusiasm was minimal when we began, but four hours later she had discovered that doing a jigsaw puzzle is a lot of fun! Neither of us had done one in decades which might just as well have been forever.

I was so excited to have my kitchen back that once home from the markets, I made some fresh Tomatillo green sauce, blueberry muffins, and then as part of our dinner, fried green tomatoes. YUM!

As the sun set on Saturday, I thanked my God for his many blessings as I know how lucky I am to have both a loving husband, and good health, at least for now. Our sister Lisa has gone to California to help Hank take care of Carol who still needs your prayers. At the very least, for comfort. Maureen is still on her antibiotics; hopefully they will work and one day she will walk again.

I feel sort of silly whining about how long it took to complete this project.

yours truly,

Gail