Ne'er a Dull Moment

 

pound cake in cast iron skillet

While I don't like to use the word, "busy" (it can sometimes come across as a boast on how important we think we are), this past week has been, I'll say, "full."  Gary has commented more than once how our calendar hanging on the pantry door has something for us to do nearly every day followed with his sincere question, "How did THAT happen?!"

I dunno. Life. It doesn't necessarily slow down when you live in a retirement home. ("Retirement," as in, we are retired. We don't live in a Retirement Home. You understand, right?)

Let's Begin With Food

Looking back over the past week, it got off to a wonderful start with the baking of a new recipe sent to me by Ida, a neighbor and member of my church. It looked so easy and I love any opportunity to cook with my cast iron pieces. Ida did not invent this recipe but gave credit to Mrs. Pat, so in respect for this clever cook, I'll not print the recipe here but steer you to her blog post with the recipe. Click here:

Mrs. Pat's Skillet Poundcake

Calling for only 4 ingredients, plus shortening to grease the skillet, and with the help of an electric mixer, you can bake this in an hour, allow to cool and then reward your efforts without the need for frosting or any other embellishment (unless you want to, of course). Gary loved it and Patti-across-the-street liked it, too. 

the first slice

Very dense, moist, and easily sliced, I promise you, this won't last long!

Returning to our "full" calendar ..... I have no pictures for this, but I've finally reached that place in my life where I can schedule cataract surgery. I am eager to have this done so I can SEEEEE without feeling I'm looking through a haze. This past week involved medical appointments to get that procedure set up. Due to that, my blogging may be scarce while I rest the eyes. You understand.

Bicycle Bulletin

Schwinn for sale ..... sold!

While cruising through our community Internet marketplace Gary came across a non-electric Townie bike. For those of you, who like me, only know how to ride a bike but are not aficionados, a Townie has a more forward pedaling position and allows the rider to take feet off the pedals flat on the ground, and still have a proper leg extension so you don't hurt your knees. Also, the rider can sit up straight without having to lean forward at all. For him, in his current stage of life, this is a good thing. (we are not Lance Armstrong, racing-bike people)

Gary's Townie

We made the call and very quickly had a used Townie in the back of our truck, hauling it home. Since Gary has been instructed to wait until June to resume riding his bike, he could not ride it back to our house. I, however, gave the bike a spin around the seller's cul-de-sac and pronounced it a fun ride. 

my Schwinn -- for sale

While I did not need to replace my bike, as things turned out, another neighbor was selling a female version of the Townie. With my florescent bike vest tucked inside my bike helmet, this time we  walked over to see the bike and having made the purchase, I rode it home.

my "new" Townie bike

If you compare the 2 snapshots of my bikes, you'll see it's easier to climb onto the Townie and I really, really like that. My Schwinn took some getting used to with that higher bar between the legs. 

Also, a water bottle and attachment came with this one, as well as one of those cute-sounding "ka-ching!!" bells, so I can pleasantly notify pedestrians when I'm approaching from behind.

Gary moved my two mirrors from the Schwinn, which I count as absolute essentials (I miss mirrors when we're walking!). This bike had not been ridden in a while, so Gary cleaned off the dust, WAXED IT FOR ME, and pumped up the tires. (whataguy!!)

In addition to riding my bike home from where we purchased it, I rode all over our little neighborhood while Gary occupied himself with this 'n that in the garage.

Palm Surgery

On to other adventures of the past week..... Palm trees. I tell you, since I am better acquainted with northern climates and their vegetation, I had no idea Palms were so high maintenance. I think I mentioned in my last post that we have one in particular that needs serious attention.

"before"

This Sylvester palm (center of picture) had all that dead growth hanging on the underside.  Over time the branches just do that; this is a healthy plant.

"after"

This "after" snapshot was taken from the far side of the street behind our house. As you can see, this is a much cleaner cut, and by the way, better prepared for any windstorms that may come up. Very tidy. With hurricane season beginning June 1st, Floridians need to be conscious of tree safety. 

how to get to the dead branches

This last snapshot illustrates the kind of  ladder needed to do the work on the underside of the palm tree. The man doing the work for us is much younger and we hope he never has a misstep while up there. There are trucks that are sometimes used to do this work, with those cherry-picker baskets for the worker to stand in, but to get one behind our house would destroy other landscaping features. We've already had a conversation as to what we'll do when this work has to be done again. That may just spell the end of it with a large stump in our back yard as a foundation for a bird bath or a large pot of flowers. We'll see.

Mother's Day

from Gary

That delightful day began with coffee in bed and a card from my husband that would melt the heart of any woman. 

Cody's signature orange truck out front

After church we had lunch at Cody's Roadhouse. Gary had the chicken fried steak while I enjoyed the salmon.

Salmon over yellow rice with Teriyaki sauce

The hostess gave all the female diners a Carnation as we were ushered to our tables.

selfie

It was a wonderful dinner; no dessert needed because as it was, we waddled out to our car.

While the two of us have not produced children together, if we add up all of Gary's kids and mine, and the grandchildren, and his GREAT grandchildren, we could populate a small town. We heard from all of them. Even my newest daughters-in-law via our union reached out to me via text and phone call. 

I'll post pictures from years past of me with each of those born to me:

my eldest son and two of his offspring
photo-bombing the picture

my second-born son;
he and I both have gray hair since this was taken

my third-born,
my playful dancer and bookkeeper daughter

All of these snapshots are several years old, taken at those rare times when schedules allow us to visit in-person. I've become comfortable with FaceTime and am glad that option is available.

Advice From My Dentist

Earlier today I had my teeth cleaned. As per usual, a bag of dental necessities was handed to me as I departed. I like what this bag says, #SmileFirst.

Yes, let's be that person to smile first and change someone's day. You never know what's going on in a person's life, what thoughts are transmitting between their ears..... Don't try to change people, just be kind. 

Until next time, grace and peace.