Greetings From Florida

I made it to Florida safe. It was a nice air ride and yes I did fly over the ocean! I was thrilled. Here is a cloud view of the coast. 

Back up a minute......I got a pat down going through security because something in my breast area set off a signal for them to do a search. It was ok and the lady was super nice and explained what and how she would perform the search. Then she wipped my hands with a strip of something and put it in a machine while I waited. I asked her what was that about...Well, I wish I wouldn't have because she said loudly..”It’s to test you for explosives”. I just about died right there as everyone turned to look. I was free to go and on the plane I went. Hahaha, had to share that story. Yes I’m new at all this. 

Landing was a little bruttle on my ears and head, but once I was off the plane I was fine. No vertigo. Yay!

Once I landed I grabbed my things and headed out into the Orlando airport like a Super Hero. Wonder Woman as a matter of fact. I wondered where the heck I was. I took a left instead of a right and ended up on the other side of the airport. My driver was calling me wondering where I was. I had to keep saying, “I’m lost but I’ll get there eventually”. That airport was sooo busy, big and crowded. I was overwhelmed. After asking every info station where to go, I finally found my ride. 

I dread now going back. I hope it’s a little easier. 

My hotel sits right under the farris wheel “Eye of Orlando”. 

I had the whole day free when I got here so me and another girl took a trip to Target to get some drinks and things. Later that day we met up with another girl from our group and we all had a nice dinner. I ordered a Califorina Roll. I don't know about you, but where I live, our sushi rolls are, well, rolls cut into slices. This was different but so delicious!!

The sleep night was nice and calm as I could hear arguing next door and slamming doors til 4 in the morning. Nice huh? Luckily, I only have a fitting to do today at 3 then I guess I have the rest of the day free again. We will probably do a group dinner tonight. 

So far, I have enjoyed sitting around the pool and working out a little in the gym. My shoot will start tomorrow and finish up on Tuesday then I’m heading home late Tuesday night. I sure am missing my man! 

In The Air

By the time you read this I will be in the air on a plane, by myself. When I seen the flight route, and seen that it possibly could be flying briefly along the coast line, I went online and changed my given isle seat in the back of the plane to a left side window seat in the center of the plane.  Ok, yea, it doesn't take much to thrill me.

Two years ago I went to Tampa. That trip was a bit harder as it was the first time in 23 years that I had ever been away from my husband over night. It was also the first time I had ever been on a plane! I thought is was a once in a life time opportunity so I took it. Other than missing my husband like the dickens, I enjoyed my trip. 

Well guess what? I got an invite to fly to Orlando this time to do another photo/commercial shoot this weekend. I was a bit quicker to accept the invitation this time since it was a shorter stay and I had done it before just fine.

The only thing I’m hating about this trip is being away from Nick again. A part of me says “stay”. Then another part of me says “go”. It gives me a chance to shine, get away from work and visit a place I have never been that I would never get to do otherwise. I really wish he would go with me but he will not fly and an 8 hour road trip was out of the question.

I look over my shoulder, and hope all the way until take off ,that he will surprise me by turning the car around and jumping on the plane. That only happens in the movies I reckon. I really hope if he ever gets the opportunity to take a free trip somewhere, he would go. 

Nick has been the best at making sure I have everything I need for the trip. He made sure I had a new iPhone because mine was going bad and he took me shopping last weekend. He ended up walking 5 miles around the mall while I shopped. He never complained. I know he really doesn't want me to go not matter how much he tries to hide it. 

I think he worries about me. I have Meneire’s / Tinnitus (inner ear problems). When It flares up, I get dizzy, loose my hearing in one ear, and can have sudden, unexpected episodes of vertigo. It comes and goes. I can go weeks at a time between flare ups. Well, guess what?.... It decides to flare up this week and so far through today. I just pray I do not get vertigo because It hits so hard and violent that a stranger would probably call an ambulance and that will be unnecessary, expensive and embarrassing. 

I just hope I do ok.  The plane ride can either help or hurt. I'm taking my chances here. Well, see. ......

Stay tuned, I’ll blog more when I get on the ground. For now, I'm going on airplane mode. 

Wild Things- Crown

A mother that attends my church asked me the other day if I could crochet a gold crown for her daughter's first birthday.

The theme of the party: "Where The Wild Things Are". 

A 1963 Childrens Picture book.

Where the "Wild Things Are" is a story of a young boy named Max who runs away from home (in his dreams) to an island full of wild beasts. The beast eventually crown him king as they see him being the wildest of them all. (something like that). I just read this somewhere, I never saw the movie nor read the book.

The book was actually banned for libraries in 1964 for being too dark and having supernatural Themes. 

Well, Now, somehow this story has resurfaced to be a big hit with children between the ages of 1 & 3. My niece recently had a birthday party using the same theme.

So, When this lady asked me to make her daughter a "Wild Things" inspired crown, I didn't hesitate to say yes. I have crocheted crowns before so I knew it would be an easy task. 

Within an hour, I made the "Wild One" a crown. 

I had to guess at the size by placing my hand on the childs head. My guess was right. It fit her just perfect and she looked like she enjoyed trying it on. I would show you pictures of  how cute she was but I do not have her permission and I'm sure the Mom wants to be the one to post them. 

But I can show you my creation. 

What do you think? I love how it turned out. I even cut out a felt "number one" to add to it if she wanted too. 

I've linked to these fabulous parties:
great ideas at flusterbuster.com
inspire me tuesday at astrollthrulife
party in your pjs at aginglikeafinewine

School- Thinking Back

As me and Nick went uptown to vote for or against a $250 million school bond referendum, it made me think back to when I was in school.

Did we even have these votes or were bonds just bought by generous individuals?

From what I can remember, the parents paid for everything their child needed for school. Not tax payers.

I know some taxes were spread across to the schools but not like it is today.

I remember the first day of school my dad had to write out a check for book fees. This helped pay for books in the class rooms and at the end of the year, if the books had damage, you paid another fee. The only thing free was in elementary school. We had a fresh pack of crayons and two pencils waiting for us at our desk on the first day. Pens were a no no.

Everyone would keep our learning tools under our desk in a pencil box like this old one.

There were no free lunches. If you forgot your lunch money, you were able to charge lunch for the day but they would pin a big note to your shirt telling your parents to pay up. You could actually find the lunch menu for the week in the local news paper and you could decide to eat school food or bring your own. There was one lunch line and the only choice you had was white milk or chocolate milk. The lunches were also cooked right there in the kitchen and most of the time it was actually good. 

I remember when clubs, athletics, and PTA’s would get invovled in fund raisers to raise money for the things they needed such as equipment or uniforms.  When it was time for a field trip, It was up to the parents to pay for their child to go. If they didn’t pay, the student had to stay in class. I had to do this once because I forgot my permission slip. The students that did not get to go on the field trip usullly spent the day having fun helping around the school or watch a movie. Now days, they would not dare leave a kid behind. They would never hear the end of it from a mouthy parent if they did. 

Rules were rules and everyone knew it. The parents usually never argued to the teachers unless there was a question about at grade. 

One more thing, We would start our day with the pledge to our flag. Not sure sure if they still do.

It was even written inside the pencil boxes.

Note: My husband being older than me, just informed me that I had it lucky. He said they had to use cigar boxes and didn't get chocolate milk!

 

How's The Weather

How's the weather where you are? I'm telling ya, It's just crazy here. Mother nature can't seem to decide if its Winter or Spring. Well, I have already put away the coats so I declare Spring.
One day it will be in the 80's and then the next day it will be in the 40s.

This past weekend we were expected to have a storm. Now, let me just tell you how I get when we are expecting a storm.
First off, I love thunderstorms. We do not have any trees around our house so I do not fear a good storm. But when I hear we are going to have a thunderstorm, I start scurrying around my house cleaning. I have not figured out why I do this. But I get this anxiety were I have to get my house tidy before the storm hits. If we are out somewhere and the sky turns dark, this will bother me to the end. I just don't know what makes me do this but it has to be done.
[You can guess the look I'm getting from Nick. He probably wished we had more storms.]

Sunday as me and Nick sat watching TV, our phone alerts went off. We just looked at each other , Like, "Is that your phone or mine? Well it was both of our phones. So we stopped watching TV and looked to see what was the matter.

It was a tornado warning.

It warned us to take shelter but this only made us run to the windows with curiosity and watch as the storm blew through. We had some strong winds and hard rain, but no tornado. I have not seen a tornado in my area since about 1975ish. However, some parts of the city reported tornado like damages and hail. We didn't even get one hail ball. Our trash can blew over and my gnome made a dive into the bushes. Other than that, we are all fine.

We had a freeze warning for this morning and it's currently 68 degrees.
Maybe we will get some steady temperatures soon.

Up Town Brunch

My daughter invited us to come have brunch with her in her living town. I told her we would. After all, I have never had “brunch”.

Well, neither has Mr.D. 

Let me start by saying my husband is a creature of habit so taking him away from his 8:00 bowl of oatmeal in the mornings can ruin his whole morning. 

“Brunch?” He says with a gruntle look on his face. “What the heck is brunch? You have breakfast then you have lunch.” Why can’t we meet her for lunch instead?, grrr those city folks!”

I explained to him that brunch is the “thing” around town and she wants us to do one with her so I said we would. “I told her we would be there at 10:30am and by the time we walk to a place and order, it will be around 11:30 and then you can just call it what you want”. 

It takes us about 30 minutes to get there (and somebody was not in a hurry). We got there around 10:45. We walked about two blocks to a little place called Leroy Fox . It had outdoor seating and the weather was perfect for sitting outside. We found a place and took a seat. The waitress brought out regular lunch menus and brunch menus. 

We started off with some fried zucchini spears which was their specialty.  

My daughter and I ordered from the brunch menu. She got a pimiento cheese egg and chicken biscuit smothered in gravy and I got the Bacon and Egg Sammie loaded with cheese and Avocado with sweet potato tots on the side.

Then there was Mr. D. He ordered from the lunch menu and ordered the black bean burger wrap with a side of fried Brussel sprouts. (I think this was my payback for making him eat brunch). 

Everything was so delicious. 

After we ate we took a longer walk through town to walk the food off. There were festivals going on, and lots of people out walking their dogs and riding bikes. It was just a beautiful day. On the way back to her place, she suggested we all try a “Acia bowl”. So we went into this place called Clean Juice and got a smoothie in a bowl. We ordered the “beach bowl” made with lots of healthy stuff and topped with fruit, granola and coconut. 

We left in time for her to meet up with her friends and headed home. Our eating schedule was a little off the rest of the day but it was worth it. 

I love time I get to spend with my daughter. I still have issues with her being away from home on her own but It gets easier every day. She’s lived on her own since she graduated college which has been about 4 years now and I still miss her in the house. But she has a great job in uptown and loves the city life. 

She works in the tall building on the right. What a life!

Destroyed Jeans

I’m on a jean frenzy again or should I say “jean fingy”

Summer is coming so I really do not need a pair of jeans but yet I want a pair. Everywhere I go, all I see are the distressed, torn and ripped jeans. It's the style.

I get it. But I can not bring myself to buying a pair of jeans that look like someone wore them for ten years and decided to return them to the racks. 

Seriously, I really do like the style and are perfect for warm weather, but why are they so darn expensive? Here is a pair I found online since I didn't have my camera out in the store.

(Source)

They typically range in price from $39.99 to $99.99 depending on which store you shop or how bad they are torn up. I think the more holey they are, the more they cost. 

So, I said the heck with that and dug an old pair of Old Navy jeans out of the closet and destroyed a pair myself.
For free! 

I just made a $20.00 pair of jeans look like an $80.00 pair of jeans by using grandma's old grater and a pair scissors.  

I like them better now and it’s all I needed to satisfy my fashion nerve until....well....until next week. 

I need new summer shoes! 

Ive linked up to these fun parties:

Style Link up at livingoncloudanddreanine

20/Happy

So yesterday was the day for my yearly eye exam. Last year I thought I'd try one of the fancy clinics in town. I was totally unhappy with the way they did things. You can read about it here.

Well, this visit was back to my original eye clinic and it was much more pleasurable. Did I mention, I love going to the eye doctor?
I didn't have to wait. They took my insurance card and sent me on back.
I first sat at this machine that took a photo of my eye balls. Then I went into the exam room.

" Why hello again, hows the eye sight going? " Dr. M asked, as he came into the room.
I replied, "Lets just say, I can tell I'm are getting older.”

He had me place my chin in the chin holder and placed the lens machine in front of my eyes and began flipping different lenses.....
"Hows is this?" " Which is better?" "One or Two?" "Two or one?" "How about now?"
This went on for a few minutes until I was able to say "wow! I can even see the little print on the bottom that says 20/20!"
He laughed and said "Let's just say your 20/happy for now."

Dr. M then says, "That's how you would see if you got prescription reading glasses".
I replied with concern, "But my 1.50 over the counter readers work just fine."
He flipped the lens on the machine and said, "This is how you see now in 1.50's. See how much clearer the prescription lens is?"
He said I am farsighted (meaning I see better far away), one eye is worst than the other and that I have astigmatism. Other than that, my eyes are healthy with no concerns.

He said I would be fine with my over the counter readers if I wanted to continue being 20/happy, but if I wanted to see perfect then I need to get the prescription lens.

I'm seriously considering getting prescription glasses for reading. It's just I already have enough trouble keeping up with the 20 pair of cheap ones that are all over the house.  

And this is just my little stash of specks at my desk and I want even mention the ones in my car. 

I’m trying to figure out how can I keep up with ONE pair of good ones? I’ll make my decision soon. 

Dandelion Tea

Yes. “Dandelion Tea.

I will no longer call these little bright yellow yard flowers “weeds”.

My yard is full of them. The neighbors yards are not. They keep weed killer on their lawns but little do they know, they are killing something that is beneficial to your health. 

Did you know you can eat every part of a Dandelion? I always heard about the green leafy part being edible but I always thought the yellow flower was poison. As a kid, I can remember other weeds we put in our mouth. Most were by dare, but we did it and we lived. 

We sucked the juice from Honeysuckle, chewed on sour grass, ate wild blackberries and attempted to smoke rabbit tobacco. 

But Dandelions? Umm never. 

After seeing several recipes online using dandelions, I did a little investigating (aka Googling). I found out that these little sunshine flowers were good for you and have lots of health benefits.

• Detoxifies the body
• Has fat metabolizing enzymes and natural diuretic to eliminate water weight- both aid in weight loss.
• Rich in Fiber and antioxidants.
• High in vitamin K, A, calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium.
• Cleanses the Liver
• Minimizes stress
• Boost immune system
• Balances blood sugars
• Reduces inflammation....

And the list goes on. I will have some links at the end of my page where you can read a little about them. It will surprise you. 

I am from the South and we like our tea sweet and cold but I just had to try some Dandelion Tea. 

So, out to the yard I went carrying a little bowl, hoping my neighbors were not watching, and began picking dandelions. I felt like I was six again. There were no threat of pesticides or weed killers ‘obvliously”. Ha.

The bees would beat me to a few so I made sure to leave them plenty to work with. 

There are many recipes for Dandelion flowers, and I plan to make Dandelion bread soon, but for now here is how I made Dandelion tea. 

Dandelion Tea:

(1 cup Dandelion petals for every 2 cups water.)

1. Wash and pat dry. 

2. Pinch off the yellow petals removing the green best you can as the green can be bitter. (A little green wont hurt)

3. Place the petals in a pot of water and bring to a starting boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. It will begin to have a yellow tint.

5. Using cheese cloth, drain the petals from the tea. 

6. Pour into your favorite mug , add a teaspoon of honey or other flavor of your choice and Enjoy.

The tea alone was rich in flavor. It had sort of a honey taste even before adding the extra honey. It was actually good. I would make this tea again before going out and buying some overpriced weak tea from the store.
"Well, it was all good until the next morning when I saw some cats messing around in the yard". 

Warning: Dandelions are closely related to other plants such as Daisies, Marigolds, Sunflowers, etc which some people are allergic to. If you have allergies to such flowers, do not attempt to eat Dandelion without consulting a doctor first. 

Sources:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-dandelion.html

https://draxe.com/dandelion-tea/

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-706-dandelion.aspx?activeingredientid=706&activeingredientname=dandelion

Recipes:

Dandelion Bread

Dandelion Jelly

Dandelion Honey Butter

Dandelion Wine

I’ve linked to these great parties

Great party Idea at flusterbuster.com

DIY Rain Chain

I don’t know about you but I am ready for Spring to show up! We have warm days, then we have days that feel like the middle of January. Mother nature can’t seem to make up her mind. But, then again, it’s not unusual that we completely skip Spring and jump right into Summer. It’s crazy.

Do you like the rain? I love those short rain showers in the Summer time that bring thunderstorms along with it. You know, the short lasting ones that once they water the gardens, the sun comes back out.

Speaking of rain. I have been wanting  a “rain chain”. 

What is a rain chain you ask? 

Rain chains are a creative, beautiful and functional alternative to gutter downspouts. It guides the rain water visibly down chains from the roof to the ground. It can change the look of a plain down spout into a whimsical piece of art. 

(Source)

Since I do not plan to actually use a rain chain for a down spout, I chose to add one on a shepherds hook near my patio for fun. 

I knew I did not want to actually buy one as they are expensive and looked too easy to make myself. The options to making these were unending. You can just use a chain alone and it will be pretty or you can add extra charm to make it one of a kind.

(Source)

I wanted to make mine using vintage tarte tins.

First, I priced out some chain. It was outragious for a 6ft piece. So what did I do? I went to the craft store and purchased some split rings (key chains). You have to do the math on how many it will take depending on how long you want it. I needed about 6ft. I used 34-1 1/2 inch rings and spaced them with 24-1 inch rings. 

Then the search was on for some old tarte tins. I caved and bought some from a seller at Tin Roof Porch on Etsy. The lot of tins were more than I actually needed but his prices were great. You should definitely go check out the other vintage items he has for sale. I only needed a few to use on my rain chain. I plan to clean up the other ones and keep them. I’m a sucker for old kitchen and bakeware.

I cringed as my husband drilled tiny holes in the bottoms of these tiny tins for the chain. They were just so darn cute! I can’t believe I actually ruined them to hange outside. 

I had no idea how I was going to get the tins on the chain. I ran to my art closet and pulled out some beads and wire. I played around until I found a solution. The cups were a bit wobbly on the wire, so I dabbed some hot glue on the top beads to hold them straight. I really did not want to do that.

Now my rain chain is ready. I love how it turned out. This will make watching rain even more fun.

I can see the chain from my kitchen window. 

Once I decided on a spot to put it, I anchored it down into a small rock pile. It’s also in a spot where my husband will not have to worry about cutting around it, so that made him happy. I’m sure I will be adding some additional looks around the bottom of the chain. Maybe a pot of flowers or a fairy garden. 

Note: It cost me less than 20.00 to make this one. How cool is that?


I've linked to these fabulous parties:
dishing digging it link party at Lifeandlinda.com
totally terrific tuesdaylink-party at Liveradomlysimple.com
great ideas at flusterbuster.com

Tiny Crochet

I took a break from crocheting a gingham check blanket to try something different.

Remember the lot of vintage crochet thread my mom gave me a while back? Well, I wanted to see what it would look like if I actually crocheted a dish towel out of it. 

I pulled out me tiny crochet needle and the large spool of thread to see what I could do. 

I chose to crochet using the moss stitch as its makes a tighter weave look. 

Oh my gosh! It took like for..ev...er! After a couple rows I wondered what in the world had I started. I refused to give up and kept on crocheting. A few nights and several TV programs later, I created a small dish towel. I’m pretty sure that after its washed, it will be the size of a washcloth as it’s made with 100% cotton thread. Well, see.  

My husband felt of it and like the texture. It’s soft and thin. It was almost like gauze. If it comes out as a washcloth, we can still get some use out of it. 

Now I will get back to working on the gingham check blanket. I have really been taking my time with it as its boring me. The warm weather is among us now too, so it makes crocheting a blanket less appealing. 

I also have another project in the works that I can’t wait to show you. 

So stay tuned. 

Loui

Meet Loui.

Loui lives in my window shutters. Every year he comes out of hiding and spends the summers working for me. 

He is my bug catcher. 

I had a little scare this Winter. I saw a cold stiff lizard in my carport. It was around the same time I read about lizards dropping from trees in the cooler temperatures as if they were dead, but not really. I even read on The ShipsLog (I think) where he warmed a lizard up and got it mobile again. Maybe he can confirm that in his comment.  

So what did I do? Promise not to laugh? 

Well, I actually warmed an old wash cloth in the dryer, went outside and picked up the stiff lizard, wrapped in the warm rag and put him in a safe place under the carport. I was hoping it would come back alive.

It never did. After a week, I placed him in a little sandwich bag and threw him in the trash just in time for the trash man to dump him in the big truck and off they went. I was sad. I thought it was Loui. 

I got a text the other day. Nick said “Loui is back!”. I was so excited. 

I’m still not sure if the dead one was the original Loui or his brother but they all are named Loui so I guess it don’t matter.

When I come home from work, I walk up to the window and say “Loui Loui” and the little guy will actually leave his work station and walk down close to meet me as he lets out a big yawn. He is not shy. 

I’m sure the neighbors think I'm a crazy woman. From their view, it looks like I’m standing there talking to the bricks. So, I now go inside and open the window and we talk through the screen. 

Easter Run Down

Saturday my daughter came home to spend Easter. We spent the morning doing a little shopping until the crowds started getting on our nerves and we ended up coming back home. Nick took us up town for some ice cream and coffee. Yep. I had ice cream and she had both. Seriously, even the jingling ice cream trucks around here sell ice cream and coffee. I find it weird, but whatever.

After ice cream we met up with a neighbor and purchased some fresh eggs from her lovely hens. I just love how they look in this vintage basket that mom gave me last week. Just look how colorful they are by nature.

Me and my daughter dyed eggs later. I boiled some regular store bought ones and some of the fresh ones. I decorated a few of the fresh ones and she dyed the white ones using the dyed rice method. Its so easy. You just drop some food coloring in a small bag of rice and shake the egg around to create a unique look. 

While I made a cake with the some of the fresh eggs and will eat some of the eggs for breakfasts. While I made a cake, my daughter made some marshmallow Easter fluff. The recipe can be found HERE.

Sunday morning it was rise and shine at 6 am to make it to church in time for sunrise service on the church lawn. This is one of our favorite things to do on Easter. After the service we all headed into the fellowship hall for a hot breakfast that included biscuits, gravy, eggs, bacon and grits. My oh my was it good! My mom and dad made the breakfast so that made it even more better. I love my moms gravy. She makes it dark and so thick that a spoon will stand in it. 

When we came home from church, My daughter had an Easter basket waiting for her. Did I mention shes 26? I mean, your never to old for an Easter basket are you? She also surprised us with our own basket full of goodies. 

After a short rest, we put on our Easter outfits and headed out to regular church services .

We did not do our usual Easter dinner with Nicks side of the family. Instead, we headed to my moms house where my Sister in law created a large delicious meal. It was a change from the normal but it was great to spend time with family. 

Now it’s late and I'm typing this blog with one eye open as I’m about to fall asleep. (or coming off a sugar high). So excuse the rambling. 

It’s back to work tomorrow and the morning will come quick. 

Happy Easter!