Surviving the Fever of Summer

 

from FaceBook

This morning as I begin to compose this blog post, we have a very strong rain storm outside. Our usual habit is to ride our bicycles for about 45 minutes (4-5 miles) within our gated retirement community, but when we stepped out on the front porch to look at the weather, it was clear we should stay home -- at least for the time being. 

We took our seats on the front porch to watch the varying shades of slate blue gray clouds in the distance from which the rumbling of frequent thunder rolled in our direction. Lots of quick, sharp lightening lit up that area, too. It was a wonderful show that we enjoyed in silence until the wind picked up enough to signal that rain would get us wet. 

I must include the fact that the temperature was cool! Oh my, what a relief! We've been under heat advisories for days now, from noon to 6pm, as the "feels like" temp was around 105 degrees with plenty of humidity. It's been the kind of weather that makes some people say, "I could NEVER live in Florida!" 🙄

horses at Dudley Farm in Newberry, Florida

That's okay. Our lack of a state income tax and other positive aspects have been bringing in a lot of people, creating too much traffic and messing with the charm of our 1,200 horse ranches, just within our county.

one of our lakes

Here is a snapshot I took the other day on our bike ride, at one of the places where we always stop for a drink of water. All of the water to the right of the palm trees is overflow caused by the afternoon rains we've been having. This is our rainy season. Pretty dramatic. 

Now that the patriotic holidays are past us and we are in the harsh reality of a Florida summer, our daily routines are dictated by access to air conditioning. As stated earlier, we ride our bikes early and get any yard work done pretty much by late morning. On the days when errands need to be run, we may skip the bikes and get out to the grocery store and such before heat and the worst of the traffic sets in.

a sand castle decorates our bathtub

As you can imagine, once the outside activities are done, a good shower is mandatory. About once a month I take a bath. 🤭 (Don't worry, or get your hopes up, this won't be a racy post.) 

Naughty or Nice (True Confessions)

https://myjournalmemories.blogspot.com/2024/12/naughty-or-nice-true-confessions.html

Dec 17 2024

Last December I blogged about the flood I inadvertently created with our walk-in tub.  I don't care to re-visit that nightmare, but if you do, or if you've not read the story, click here.

the seat, jets, and control panel

Anyway, while I prefer to shower, which is quick and holds no danger of testing my husband's commitment to me, we do think the walk-in tub should be used from time to time to keep the mechanisms working properly. That's why I take a bath only about once a month.

It is required to climb in and shut the door (SECURELY) before ever turning on the water. One has to wait some minutes for the tub to fill and once that is done, the jets are turned on and the bath can take as long as desired. The jets are comfortable but loud, so relaxing to music is out of the question. The actual bathing doesn't take long. So what is one to do while sitting there?

bath tray

The fear of accidentally dropping my phone into the water defines the decision to keep my phone far out of reach. I decided this was a good opportunity to read a book. I also decided to treat myself to a tray so I could rest my arms and to hold the book. In the above snapshot is the one I got from Amazon for about $50. As you can see, it has a flip-up thingie to support an open book (magazine in this picture) and a beverage cup (NOT glass). 

I have long since lost track of the site where I found this tray but if you Google it, there are many many trays to choose from. Most, if not all, of them are adjustable, sliding to the width you need according to the dimensions of your tub. 

from Face Book

With tongue-in-cheek, I thought the above graphic was applicable as I move beyond the flooding disaster to a more pleasant interaction with our walk-in tub.  

But to address the idea of "Be the architect of your future," since I gave up needlework a few years ago, another pastime needed to take its place. I decided reading would be good. Aside from stacks of books on the lamp tables and such, this habit is easier to accommodate than the sewing machines, scissors, patterns, fabric, ironing boards, etcetera that filled up my sewing rooms. 

Gary reads a lot, so we enjoy each other's company as we read together in the same room, usually the lanai with the ceiling fan quietly whirling above us. We take breaks over coffee or tea (and sometimes with cookies), talking about our books. We both read biographies and history-based accounts. Gary has read a lot of war stories that have enriched our conversations, while I have more of a bent toward psychology, as well as memoirs. Several times one of us has read a book that the other has just finished.

Here is a sampling of books that have kept me busy this summer: (some I've shared before -- they are worth mentioning again)

Battlefield of the Mind 
Joyce Meyer, author

The Let Them Theory
Mel Robbins, author

Loving People Who Are Hard to Love
Joyce Meyer, author

In the Presence of My Enemies
Gracia Burnham, author

Healed By Horses
Carole Fletcher, author

Cold Before Morning 
John Paul Jones, Jr, author

(Click on the titles of the books to be taken to a link for further information and for ordering.)

While most of the books I read are authored by born-again Christians, that is not always the case. No matter the author or the genre, I look for validation of Biblical principles in what I'm reading. Much of what man considers to be 'common sense' originated in Scripture.  

Agapanthus in our front yard

Having reached the three-quarters of a century mark, I've more time to ponder things I've personally experienced or observed, seeking to "connect the dots," trying to understand why life, personalities, trends, etcetera have taken certain turns.

A couple of conclusions you may have seen, as I have:

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Life gives you lemons to make lemonade.

And this one for me, since I like to write:

Putting pen to paper to get at meaning ...

I conclude this post with a refreshing snapshot from the back yard of some of our children. Taken at night with accent lighting tucked in and around the flora and fauna, the peaceful surface of the swimming pool is a delight after a day of summer's fever.

T and M's back yard

The Lord is thy keeper:

the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

Psalm 121:5

Meditating on the comfort of cool shade reminds us of the Lord's constant and comforting presence, demonstrating His love and mercy.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Nostalgia

Facebook photo

Nostalgia

Welcome to fall, or as Pam reminded us at Closed Doors - Open Windows, this is the Autumnal Equinox. With the changing of the season (although it's not very apparent here in Florida yet), I've been in a wistful frame of mind.

my blog header 2013 - 2017

During my last 4 years of living in Colorado, my blog's title was "The Brown Bungalow" because we lived in a (brand new) Craftsman style house that looked (to me, anyway) like a cute bungalow. 

one of several headers I made for the 
Sweet Tea and Sandals blog

When we relocated to Florida, I changed the blog title to "Sweet Tea and Sandals," which communicated some of the fun changes taking place in my life with the move to a city on the Atlantic coast.

For many years I had a free creative program on my computer that enabled me to design my own headers. I loved being able to do that, but along with a lot of other unanticipated changes in recent years, I lost that feature. The program has since changed a lot and now requires a monetary subscription. I decided to do without it.

the header for the blog when I lost it

Then in late summer of 2023 I unintentionally did something dumb that resulted in the loss of Sweet Tea and Sandals. That terrible circumstance, combined with the changes referred to above, was like a gut punch, and more than I felt like tackling. I opted to start this blog, the one you are reading now, My Journal Memories.

my current blog header

This title does not stir up fanciful mental images of tropical food and footwear, but that's just as well because the themes of my writing have shifted to a more serious motif, acquired with aging and life events.

"Resiliency is the ability to take disappointment 

and conflict and turn it into something better."

Ginny Luther

Walk in My Combat Boots by James Patterson

Southern Living

But with that said, it's been over seven years since I arrived in Florida. I'm still wearing sandals eight or nine months out of the year and I love the way southern restaurants brew up sweet tea.

palm branches

Something I did not anticipate with living in Florida is the amount of landscaping upkeep required of homeowners, palm trees, in particular. To prevent branches from rubbing on roof shingles and leaving stuff in the gutters, Gary regularly uses his pole saw to cut things down.

trimming palm branches for 
the trash truck

Then there are the weeds. They never take a vacation. (smile) Gary was telling me the other day that one of his first favorable impressions of me was that I pull weeds. On one of our first dates, as we were leaving my front door, I stopped to pull up a couple of weeds in the mulch bed. As I stood up, I told him I don't have beautifully manicured hands because I pull weeds all the time. Fortunately for me, he saw the benefit of that quality in deciding if I was "a keeper." (note, I do get professional pedicures regularly to compliment my sandals.)

the pedicure of yours truly

Returning to the subject of autumn in Florida, we kind of have to pretend there is a change in seasons. My friend Sandy (blog: Home Ec Major) who lives in the Panhandle has taught me that although summer clothes are still required for comfort in the autumn and winter months, we can wear the more seasonal colors. For me, that means I switch from wearing white sandals to brown. 😉

Home Decor

We can also switch out some of the home decor, which I'm doing just a little more of this year. Jersey Girl and I had lunch this past week, followed with a little shopping at a resale store. 

"new" table runner

At just $9, this suede table runner was perfect for our dining room. Then on another day I found this pumpkin at Hobby Lobby:

on sale for $7-something

the lil' pumpkin looks good no matter 
where I put it!

Not into Halloween decorating AT ALL, I choose to focus on blessings, thankfulness, gratitude, pumpkins, and the foods of the season.

Food

Cracker Barrel

To segue from autumn decorations into seasonal foods, we bought a small loaf of pumpkin bread at Publix to go with our habit of de-caf coffee and tea in our mid-afternoons. 

Mid-week, we had lunch at Cracker Barrel where the decor lends itself especially well to autumn and winter. Of course, with 90-degree temps right now, there was no flame in the fire place. They do tend to light it up in December, partly for warmth but probably more for the ambience of the Christmas season.

my plate at Cracker Barrel

As I've said before, Gary and I eat a lot of "heat-and-eat," which translates to the fact I've not made a homemade meatloaf in some two years. But Cracker Barrel made up for it, along with the turnip greens, okra, and biscuits. I have, by the way, made biscuits for Gary several times, and they tasted good, but mine don't compare with the flaky tender version we had on that day. Gary had the fried chicken, which was such a large serving that he brought home leftovers that still made for an ample supper for the two of us. Fried chicken. It doesn't get much more "southern" than that!

Bushnell, Florida

Paying Respect

With the slightly cooler weather we're having, we made a trip to the cemetery to visit the gravesites of our late spouses. It's an hour-long drive to get there, so it is our habit to take folding lawn chairs with us and we sit for a while at each of the two graves. But with the searing heat and wilting humidity of summer, our last visit was in late May or early June. 

our car near Edith's headstone

In my growing up years, my family did not live anywhere near the cemeteries of our relatives, so this practice of visiting gravesites on a regular basis has been a learned experience for me since coming together with Gary. But I like it. 

the back of my late husband's headstone

What are we supposed to do when visiting a gravesite? That is a reasonable question.

During the first year, especially, I would just sit and cry. A lot. Then as time passed, I would talk to him, sort of telling him what had transpired, but not expecting (or wanting) any reply from him. Just getting things off my chest, as best I could. I would also thank him for leaving me in such a good place, so to speak. He really did.

Nowadays when Gary and I visit these graves, I reflect on how incredibly blessed I've been since Tom's passing. I thank God again (as I do every single day) for His mercies to protect and provide for me. 

I thank the Lord for forgiving me for my blunders, mistakes, and the (frankly) awkward manner in which I've handled some things during the depths of my sadness. I also thank Him for lessons I've learned about human nature (mine and others) that is imperfect and the need for forgiveness. As somebody said in a recent movie we saw on TV, "grief makes us do things we regret." 

But God forgives and Christ has redeemed the repentant. I hold tight onto that truth. 

a wetland area at the cemetery

Then to bring this line of thought to a close with a bit of a smile, as we were getting out of the car near my late husband's grave, we heard what sounded very much like the grunt of an alligator. Just across the road from our car was this wet area with cattails and pond scum. 

We did not see a gator, but the common warning here in Florida is that any body of water the size of a bathtub or larger has the potential of a gator. We did not poke around to verify that but turned with our lawn chairs in hand and headed for the burial ground. 

autumn color in Minnesota
2022

I close with this thought: Autumn is proof that change can be beautiful. Accepting change is key to surviving whatever adjustments beg to be made. 

Until next time, grace and peace.

Post Script: How to Flip a Photo Horizontally

After my previous blog post, Jennifer from Trading Ashes For Beauty asked how to flip a picture. Of course all I can tell you is how I do it on my MacBook Air laptop computer, using the Photo program that came with it. These instructions will probably vary depending on the equipment you have. If what you have is different, perhaps my instructions here will somehow get you started in figuring out how to do it on your own computer.

Step 1: here is a selfie of me holding up my iPhone. Note that the word "Broncos" is backwards. I want to flip the picture horizontally so "Broncos" is not backwards.

Step 2: however you normally do it, get the picture into your photo program. Then look for the word "edit." Mine is in the top right hand corner of my screen. Click on "edit."

Step 3: Near the top of my screen, in the center, is the word, "crop." Click on that.

Step 4: Now go back to the right side of the screen to find the word, "flip." Click on that.

Step 5: When you have done that, your snapshot will flip so that "Broncos" reads correctly.

Voila! I hope this is of some help!