Our Seasonal Tree
All decked out for Autumn

I am hoping you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and were able to spend some time with friends and family.  We had a lovely day here in Sunshine Village...the weather was nice and there was a nice big group of our snowbird friends attending the wonderful turkey and ham dinner at Sunrise Hall.  The table groaned with the bounty!  Lots of good cooks here and every household brought something to share.  We all were so grateful for not being hungry and some worked in church kitchens to help provide a nice meal for those not as fortunate as we are.

Up the highway a bit from us, in Leesburg, there is a homeless shelter that many volunteers are working on.  Work on the shelter has been done in stages. The south wing opened in 2010 and the north wing, which they are working on now, is expected to be finished soon.  It is a shelter for families and is called the Samaritan Inn. They have been blessed with gifts of money and volunteers from churches, civic groups, corporations and businesses.  Residents have to work on a case plan for their lives and are not charged a fee for their stay at the shelter.  They can save their money to get together their deposits for housing etc. The director said, "The whole idea is to give people a boost and a safe haven where they are cared for as they move on with their lives in a positive manner.  This is not a rest stop; this is a work station.  We just can't open the door and take reservations like a motel because everybody has to agree to work a case plan.  We want to help these folks move from dependence to independence and productivity.  Our goal is to have them ready to leave us with a job and a place to live." Since opening in June 2010, the Samaritan Inn has had 34 adults and 57 children.  Of those 60% have left with a job and a home. The shortest length of time someone stayed was 2 weeks and the longest resident has stayed for 18 months.  Each individual's needs are different. On the wish list for the Inn is funding for a ministry assistant and a Christian counselor.   What a wonderful concept !  Getting folks from dependence to independence.... a real 'leg up'  and onto the right path again.  Wish we could see more of this type of help.

Now is the time to be getting out the Christmas decorations.  Folks around here really go all out with the lights! We don't put up too many but every year we do get our BIG star out and hoist it up to the roof peak.  It is visible as soon as one comes into Sunshine Village.  We have had it for several years here.  We are closer to the entrance than we used to be and it still shows up high in the air.  Today I helped with some decorations for Sunshine Hall.  Dennis and some of the guys have built a stable and a manger for the nearly life-size holy family.  Someone found some hay, probably from the farm up the street, and now all the lights are arranged and tonight we will see how it looks.

We are planning our annual Cake Auction and a Quilt raffle to help finance "Christmas For Our Kids". Our way of helping to make a nice Christmas party for some local kids not so fortunate as most.  Every year it is a labor of love and we sure enjoy watching them at their party.

I am hoping our sign language class will soon start up again.  I have been practicing a bit and had a nice conversation or two with my friends Cy and Frank already.  The pool is open most days and is a great gathering place when the days are warm enough.  We have really cool mornings but usually it gets up into the 70's by noontime.  The pool is covered every night with the heater left on so the water stays really nice at about 83-85 degrees.

Her Highness ... Miss Lizzie

I think she likes it here!

Now Lizzie is making me think a nap might be in order.  Or at least an hour to curl up with a book.  Even the sun has gone in for a nap at 2 PM  and my work is all done.  Hubby still at work so I may just succumb to my yawning.  

A quote worth thinking about!

"We would worry less if we praised more.

Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent

            and dissatisfaction."              Henry A. Ironside

Being Thankful

Here it is almost Thanksgiving Day again.  Although shouldn't every day be a day of Thanksgiving?  We truly have so many things to be thankful for.  I once decided to make a list, an alphabetical list of all the things I was thankful for.  I ran across it the other day when looking through a folder of mine.  This was a great idea and I guess I need to do it again soon. Somewhere near the top of a thanksgiving list should be gratitude for our health.  And of course for our families and loved ones.

It has been cool here for a week with a couple days really dreary, just like November days in VT.  Then out comes the sun today and makes us all feel better.  Yesterday afternoon we met our VT friends in Leesburg and went up to The Villages to a car show.  The guys really liked that.  Also had a few shops with sidewalk sales for us girls to look at.  After an afternoon of wandering through the streets we had a nice supper at one of the restaurants there and headed back home.  It was a fun time.

Picked some oranges from our tree here.  Big and juicy Red Navels.  

Our annual fall Park wide yard sale went well on Saturday.  Several residents set up shop and sold things.  This year we didn't have enough to sell to set up.  We took a bag of things to the local youth center's Thrift Shop just before leaving for home last spring.  It was fun to wander around and see what was being offered.  I bought a couple books and a cookie jar shaped like a big red apple.  

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We are having dinner here at Sunshine Hall.  Looking forward to lots of tasty turkey and all the fixings and hopefully a piece of pumpkin pie.  

"We would worry less if we praised more.  Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction."    {Henry Ironside}

A Time To Work...A Time To Play

I hope you all haven't given up on my blog!!  I am finally setting down to write some thoughts here.  It has been a busy time getting settled, getting over a bad chest cold and finally coming out of hibernation to collect hugs and up close greetings from our other snowbird friends.  We have participated in some of the Sunshine Village activities.... a wonderful pot luck, as usual enjoying the creations of all the great cooks around here.  A couple of Sunday night Ice Cream Socials were fun too.  And not to mention the cleaning of the Florida room..... especially ALL it's windows.  We have seven large screened areas here each has four window panels that are easily removed for cleaning that is 7 X 4 .........28 window sections to take out and wash inside and out as well as the inside and outside of the screens.  Not too grievous a job but time consuming.  I use an old fashioned window washing formula ... vinegar and hot water and soft, lint free rags to do the job.  The windows are not glass but a strong vinyl.  How they shine when freshly cleaned and buffed with the soft dry cloth!!  I am sitting here now listening to my fountain tinkle and glancing out these squeaky clean windows ! NOTHING like clean windows !  Now I have the rest of the house windows to tackle but that is another job for another day.

Back to the writing again after a ride around the Village in the golf cart.  Saw some WV friends come in and had to go say "Hi".  Then those dirty windows were fairly shouting at me so, while I had my helper home (day off) we tackled three more.  Then I finished writing the Sunshine Village Newsletter for Nov.  Kinda late but better late than never. Now it's time to start planning for the Dec. one !

Our sweet white kitty, Miss Lizzie, is enjoying her home away from home.  She has settled in so well here, enjoying the porch and finding her new favorite spots to hang out.  She still gets a bit nervous when she sees us with anything that resembles a suitcase.  Den brought my sewing machine in it's case out to the kitchen the other day and she thought we were getting ready to pack up and be off again.  She gave us a concerned look, kind of threatening like, and turned tail and went to hide someplace.  She surely isn't a seasoned traveler yet. 

                                                                         

My 'Hairy ones' taking a break.

Yesterday was our 'go to town' day and by town, I mean off to Leesburg which is about 20 miles away.  Some things you can't get in Bushnell, the small town just 8 miles from us.  We ran errands all morning as we had a few projects to get supplies for.  Planting a few more perennials was one of our projects so Lowe's seems to be the best place to get nice plants.  On the northern most side of the car port we have a nice white lattice work/trellis that now has a lovely yellow Esperanza plant growing up its sturdy support.  The hibiscus was blooming the other morning after a gentle rain but the Camellia in the front seems to have bit the dust.  We bought some lovely purple plants that they promised would withstand some frost and planted them there.  Our grass, out back and planted before we left last spring, has come up and grown quite well.  A few oranges hang on the orange tree and the little lemon tree we planted last year seems to be holding it's own. Also planted a couple small heather plants.

A close-up of a Hibiscus just after a gentle rain the other day.  This is just outside my porch window.

The Esperanza 

It seems SO nice not to be hearing and seeing all the election ads and slander !  We honestly don't know what to believe.  Only time will tell I guess, how the people's choice will help or hinder our country.  This much we know ..... GOD himself is in control and knows how it will all play out.  My prayer is that we who are called by His name will humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways and that He will then hear us and heal our troubled land.

Tomorrow our dear friends from Ohio are arriving!   Looking forward to seeing them again.  We have a great time playing Bid Euchre, a great card game with them a couple evenings a week.  These evenings are long with darkness falling so early.Also we will be planning for our Ladies day out trips which are always fun.

Quote for this time:   "Kindness don't have no boundaries."  Kathryn Stockett who wrote, "The Help"