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.

Captions on Life

 

Kane's Furniture Store

In With the New, Out With the Old

You may have to lean in closer to your screen to understand what this picture is. We were furniture shopping last week when we saw this dining set (I guess that's what it's called) that would have been perfect for us if we had the space for it. It's a bicycle table with two stools. The table was pretty narrow, so seating two more plates on the opposite side might have been tight. It's very clever!

Ethan Allen ~ 1984

We were shopping to replace two pieces of furniture that are in remarkably good condition ("excellent" would be a better word), albeit "dated." 

Harvest Gold recliner ~ 1980-something

We are celebrating our second anniversary this month and just now dealing with furniture issues stemming from the marriage of two households. Most of my furniture was sold prior to selling my house. These two pieces are Gary's and have served him well over the years. 

The recliner is where I sit to watch TV (and nap). It does not have any electric knobs or handles to recline, just "leg power" but it's very comfortable.

The couch is beautiful, like a piece of art (as was the 2002 Ford Thunderbird we traded in for a small Ford truck). It's hard to release such attractive possessions but at our age and with the square footage of our home, practicality has to be the determining factor.

new furniture

We (actually Gary) did advance research on-line before driving to one of the several furniture stores here in town. We thought we wanted one of those largish, L-shaped couches in white or ivory, but to shorten the story, we were not satisfied when we saw it in-person. 

Then this light tan love seat caught our attention. It's got two seats with the middle console, and we bought TWO of them. (yes!) Two pieces of furniture instead of one really big piece, which provides more flexibility.

We have the old furniture listed on-line with no responses at all, thus far. We have tried consignment with no success. Of course there is always the option of donating.

Orchid from Mary and Tony;
Gardenia cuttings

A Pleasant Surprise

Patti across the street has a gorgeous Gardenia bush just outside the door to her lanai. She gave us some cuttings. With a scent surely from Heaven itself, I walked back to our house wishing we had such a bush. 

our first Gardenia 

But then to my delight, the very next day we realized we have two Gardenia bushes alongside the walk to our front door! Gary planted them over a year ago and one of them popped open a flower for us! We had forgot what they were!

Sylvester Palm (center)

High Maintenance

Having lived more of my years in states with no tropical plants, I am learning how to cohabitate with palm trees. Lovely and graceful, but like some people, they are "high maintenance." When they are short, keeping them trimmed is a job but not especially dangerous. When they reach greater heights, they need to be managed or they look unkept and almost like they're dying.

Gary enjoys trimming everything outdoors but after that unforeseen fall from a ladder last Spring while working on a palm tree, we're having to hire younger, more agile people to do the task for us. 

I love trees but it seems a house with just bushes might be the wiser choice for retirees....

Reality Check

sign in a hardware store

Today I won't share more car show pictures (we stopped in at two of them this past weekend) but I did snap this sign at one of the venues. Need I say more?

Another item under "Reality Check" -- are any of my readers still getting mail for your middle-aged children? I've lived in 3 houses since my three children left home to be self-sufficient adults (the last one left in 1997) and yet I still get mail for them. It's nothing worth passing on to them, just junk. But really? Postage is costly.

Hmmmm.....

We're seeing the stories on TV about scammers and/or Artificial Intelligence posing as grandchildren trying to trick grandparents into sending money. 

Special Occasions

Mother's Day is this weekend. I'm sharing some especially good pictures of my mother here.

Mama in about 1998
with  our Cocker Spaniels

She will be celebrating her 99th birthday this weekend in addition to Mother's Day. We don't have a party planned but I'm sure my sister and those family members who live nearby will not allow the occasion to go by unnoticed. (I hope to visit her later this year)

Mama on an especially good hair day

I've sent her some small gifts for the fun of opening them up. It's hard to shop for those in nursing homes when their material needs are minimal. 

Maggie, one of Sister's pups

Sister and those of her family who live close to our mother have made sure she gets plenty of visits, which is what she enjoys the most (along with anything chocolate). There are THREE Basset Hounds in our family who stop in at the nursing home fairly often. You can see how well that goes over!

there's nothing like a warm puppy!

It's been just about 52 years since circumstances of life (i.e. my late husband's career) have allowed me to live in the same town (or even the same state!) as my mother, so keeping in touch with phone calls (when her hearing was good) and frequent letters, along with occasional in-person visits, have kept our relationship alive. 

My mother has been good to me and Sister, and was a faithful, attentive wife to my daddy. Her marriage taught me the basics of how to relate to a husband, how to raise children, keep a clean house, and to serve the Lord. She is the one who taught me my life-long love of sewing and how to sing alto. One of my treasured special memories of her was hearing her play the piano as I left the house to walk to school. A favorite of hers was the hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

Concluding With Encouragement

Still thinking of motherhood, I want us all to remember that although the greeting card industry wants us to label them with sainthood, they (including myself) are just people. Humans who face all the weaknesses and temptations of life simply cannot get it right all the time. Sometimes we mess up out of inexperience, sheer ignorance and sometimes out of deliberate selfishness, fear, and even anger. That describes all of us, whichever gender and calling on life. 

Guilt hounds most people, but perhaps mothers most of all. We pour ourselves into little people who then grow up to be --- well, fill in the blank there. Sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much. 

I guess what I'm saying here is that we need to be forgiving of mothers (and everybody, actually), because life is tough and none of us get it right all of the time. Applying the Golden Rule, if we want to be forgiven, we need to forgive and move forward as wiser and more gentle people for the experiences. 

"All My Children" November 2021
3 adults with their spouses
11 grandchildren

Until next time, grace and peace.

A Week in the Life Of

close-up of Magnolia next-door

It's been an engrossing week here, but in the process I managed to collect snapshots, "blog fodder," as I like to call them. I'll begin with nature because when it involves flowers, the words flow out of my fingertips easily.

our neighbor's Magnolia tree

The Magnolia's have read the memo, "It's time to bloom!" and they are, all over our community! From a distance the flowers look to me like popcorn on nearly every branch but up close, the milky blooms are large and graceful. They don't last long at all, but even as they are fading, the petals become a pleasing shade of goldy-brown.

Vanity plate at a car show

Not to be outdone by the Magnolia trees, purple-pink field flowers grow wild alongside our North Central Florida highways. They make a carpet of deep blush that softens the reality of our increased traffic. It seems everybody wants to move to Florida! Or I should say, Floridahhh! (I have no picture of them from our moving vehicle.)

glass-topped table on our lanai
overlooking the red Hibiscus bush

We spend some time almost every day on the lanai with our books, puzzles, sometimes music, and just enjoying the peace of this retreat. As I type this afternoon, I am sitting at the table with a fan blowing toward me. We're at just about 90 degrees this afternoon.

car show in Dunnellon

Both last Saturday and again today, we've gone to car shows. These have been our first since trading in the 2002 Ford Thunderbird for a small pick-up truck (2023 Ford Maverick). 

2002 Ford Thunderbird with only 16,000 miles
photo by Terri D of Your Friend From Florida

The truck has been more practical for our needs, but the T-Bird was like a special jewel in our garage. Those who know our story will remember that Gary acquired the car and me the same week, so wonderful memories are wrapped up with that. He likes to say, "I had to get the car to get the girl," which is absolutely not true, but the car did add some fun magic!

brand new Ford Maverick 2023

Yes, we've seen the news story on TV that our truck has yet another recall by Ford. It's the 3rd one since we bought it last fall, so we're not happy about that. 

Gary bought this shirt for me as an early Mother's Day gift. We spent several hours at the Ford dealership getting a recall matter fixed, along with a routine tire rotation and an oil change.

As they say, "I digress." Getting back to the car shows, there's a lot of crazy stuff at these events. But admission is usually free and on a pleasant day, it's good entertainment with plenty of sunshine and free Vitamin D on the skin. Here are some of the wild things we saw today:

Gary knows the makes and years of the majority of what we see, being quite the car buff himself. Me, I just like to tag along and enjoy the time with my fella!

This last vehicle is an Econoline truck similar to what Gary drove in his USAF Air Police days. The ones he drove were dark blue with a red light on top that the fellas dubbed "the bubble gum machine." 

By the way, once a security cop, always a security cop. This man knows the rules and he follows them!

sign is a recent purchase from 
Hobby Lobby with a birthday gift card 😊

Moving to other events of this past week, our kitchen has demanded unplanned attention with a water puddle on the tile floor. To condense the story, the water line to the refrigerator was fine, but something deep inside the inner workings of the 17-year old unit was awry.

out with the old (a Kenmore Elite)

We agreed it was time to shop for a new one. As my late husband liked to say, "Money -- there's more where that went!"

new refrigerator just unpacked from the truck

Gary, who is excellent at product research (he takes a lot of clues from Consumer Reports magazine), narrowed the choices down and we made our final decision with a purchase at Lowe's. 

in with the new! (Whirlpool)

Features I love about this new appliance:

-- the easy-clean stainless steel that accepts refrigerator magnets

-- ice bucket inside the freezer drawer

-- water dispenser inside the refrigerator 

-- deep door pockets

-- freezer drawer below refrigerator

Since it's been my lot in life to move many times, I have definite opinions on refrigerators. When I began cooking in Gary's kitchen I recognized that the refrigerator was not what I would have chosen, but it came with the house when he bought it and at the time it was operating well. Now we have a model we both like and I've added just a few magnets to the door:

Colorado Columbines

skyline of Boise, Idaho

Denver's skyline

Old Faithful

reminder magnet

We don't use ice much, so the ice bucket inside the freezer instead of outside on the door is my preference. I bought a scoop at Walmart and keep it in the bucket. I've done it this way before in a previous house and liked it just fine. There is also an easy-access inside water dispenser.

Gary's decorating style is less "busy" than mine, and that's okay. I've got a box of many more magnets, but these 5 will suffice, representing history from each of us.

my homemade cookbook binder
sits on the counter full-time

Before we leave the subject of the kitchen, we ended up making one more purchase this week -- another refrigerator! Gary's habit is to keep batteries in the fridge so they last longer. Also, when we combined our households, we both had a lot of ice bags of useful sizes that we wanted to keep. Of course all these non-food items take up valuable space! 

retrieving refrigerator 
at Best Buy

An "Insignia" brand, this little cutie fits perfectly at the end of the kitchen counter for easy access AND a little more counter surface when I need it.

Yes, we have two microwaves and they serve us well. 'Nuff said.

Pam and John
Closed Doors Open Windows

Our week also included some medical matters (all routine, all good), calls and an appointment regarding financial matters, walking in our neighborhood as time and weather allowed, and most fun of all, a drive one hour north of here to visit Pam and John. 

Gary met these wonderful people about 18 months ago when their kids accepted into their consignment shop many of the knick-knacks and some furniture from when I was selling my house. Last week Gary told me he wanted us to go see them again, so the four of us met at a small country cafe for a wonderful lunch. 

John and Gary have been employed by the government in law enforcement, so they have that in common. And of course, many of my readers know Pam and I met through our blogs in about 2017. 

The Watchmaker's Daughter
another recent purchase from 
Hobby Lobby with a birthday gift card 😊

As time allowed, I have been entranced with this book on the life of Corrie ten Boom. The movie of her story came out in the mid 1970's but I am only now reading the book. It is hard to put down and full of lessons on good character in the worst of times. I'm not done with it yet but I can sum it up this way:

ALL OF MY PROBLEMS ARE QUITE SMALL

Lawrence Jones, far left on
Fox & Friends

Another public figure I've come to appreciate of late is Lawrence Jones. In looking him up regarding his faith, I found this quote that spoke well of him, also illustrating feelings many of us have had:

"You start getting tested... For me, the faith walk became real when life became real, and when you're alone and you don't have that support system being with you every single day.

Part of the Gospel itself is understanding that Christ paid it all because I'm imperfect. Anytime that we try to project ourselves as these perfect beings, I think we take His glory away, because .. if we have it all together, then He wouldn't need to pay it all on the cross for our sins." Faithwire.com

morning flowers on our golf course

This past week has been full with mostly the requirements of keeping up with life. I thank the Lord for His provisions, protection, and personal relationship with His people. I hope you can say the same.

Until next time, grace and peace.