HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !

Wow!  Has it been that long?  Time sure flies when you are having fun!  We have been so blessed to have company come to visit us here in our winter quarters.    First, cousin Janice was here for 4 days and we were 'sharing' her with her sister Natalie.  Since we have the extra bedroom we got to keep her for the nights and sometimes awhile in the daytime.  She had a great trip, first here then to Boston and on to VT to go skiing with her grandkids.  Then the day she left, our wonderful daughter, Angel and her hubby Paul, the world's greatest son in-law came for a four day stay with us.  We had a really nice relaxing time together.  Then all of a sudden everyone is gone and I am missing them already!
We celebrated Angel and Dennis' birthdays while the kids were here.  The weather was pretty nice for the first few days and then we had a very cold, windy day with temps not getting over 50* and the TV even had wind chill factors out there!  It got down to 28* the next morning.  We all had our plants covered once again and there was ice on the birdbath!  But the wonderful thing about these cold mornings is that they don't last!  By noontime it is up to 70* most times.   Today is a really nice blue sky day with 78* at noontime.  Shuffleboard and bean bag games scheduled for this afternoon.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S Day to you all !  

Tonight we are having a dinner/dance at Sunshine Hall.  Our great decoration committee has things all decorated up for the special day.  We have a "Holiday Tree" that is all decked out for Valentine's Day. The story of how we came to have a Holiday Tree is a short one. Someone said, " necessity is the mother of invention"... well it was necessary that we find a good storage place for our Christmas tree after Christmas. It is a big one and posed a problem as we didn't readily have a good big place to accommodate it for the rest of the year, so our talented decoration committee came up with the idea of using it for all seasons and occasions !   Here it is in all it's glory as a Sweetheart Tree!

Part of the Hall ready for our party

A quote for Valentine's Day day.  This one is by Rupert Brook.

"A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years."

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

Mother Teresa

Blessings

I want to share today thoughts on a great subject...Blessings!   Awhile ago I heard a wonderful song by Laura Story with the title "Blessings".  I bought the song and have played it so many times since.  We ordered the music at church back home in VT  and our little choir sang it for a Sunday morning anthem.
The words have a powerful message and Laura sings it so well.   If you'd like to hear it you can go to Google and type in ... Laura Story "Blessings" youtube ... and just click on the version with the heart surrounding the words 'Love never fails' from God's Word.

I am trying to be more thankful... for all the little things.  Each day is full of these little wonders.  I just have to think to look for them.  I have had a cold and fever for a couple days, Dennis shared it with me, and I've tried to find the good in this situation!  Amazing how many things to be thankful for here!   Friends who call or inquire for me, a nice quiet place to rest and recuperate, cousin Natalie who brought me cough drops, my hubby who made supper, a good book to read just when I was laying low, some good songs to listen to as I accompany them with my honking and sneezing, and how fortunate I was to be able to sleep at night after taking Tylenol which I am able to have on hand, and on and on.  Maybe the best thing is that I will be nearly recovered and surely past the 'sharing' stage by Sunday when we expect company!!

I am feeling so much better today and can even make it to my American Sign Language Class later today. We are being taught by a very sweet and patient couple who moved here and joined our Sunshine family this fall.  There are about a dozen of us and we are doing pretty well with our signing.  I really didn't want to miss a class.
Before getting this cold, I went with 4 friends to the annual Kumquat Festival in Dade City, about a half hour from here.  We had a grad time wandering among the booths of arts and crafts and 'all things kumquat'.  The kumquat pie was the big treat of the day.  We all bought a basket of kumquats and came home with the recipe.  Delightful pie!    If you see any up north in the supermarket, give this recipe a try!
       

         The Kumquat seekers

               Kumquat Pie
 1 Baked 9" pie crust or a Graham crust
 1 (8 oz.) container Cool Whip
 2/3 C. pureed Kumquats
 1 Can Condensed sweetened milk
1/2 C. lemon juice
OPTional  May add 4 oz. cream cheese to the condensed mild and whipped topping if desired.

1.  Beat condensed milk and whipped topping (and cr. cheese if used)
2. Add lemon juice and beat until thickened.
3. Add pureed kumquats
4. Pour into shell
5. Chill in fridge for several hours.
Also may freeze pie and take out just a short while before serving. May serve with whipped cream or not
Really yummy!!

I also want to recommend a blog that I follow, written by my friend Cyndy who is a wonderful writer.
... Musings On The Hill.     http://www.darlinghill.blogspot.com   Her blog is so uplifting as she talks of her faith and of her life in a remote and lovely place in the hills of VT.  Lately she speaks of answered prayer, miracles, and the wonders of nature.  Oh yeah, she is a great photographer too! In summer we love to spend time with her and Syd on The Hill.  She invites you to 'visit the hill' through her blog.

I am about to make some soup for lunch.  Then a rest and off to class.  I leave you today with a Bible verse;  I Thessalonians 5:18   "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."      Blessings!

Of Company, loaves and fishes

It's been awhile!  Lots of nice things going on this past week.  My cousin from VT and her hubby, who have a place here in Sunshine and come down for six or seven weeks each winter, have arrived.  It is always such fun to have Natalie here to pal around with.  And she likes to play word games like I do, something most of my friends here aren't into!  We have had some picture perfect weather here and we have taken advantage of the pool.  Neither of us like to bake in the sun for very long, so we hop out and dry off in the sun, set ourselves up in the cabana type area next to the pool and play our word game.  Quiddler  is fun and doesn't take as long as a Scrabble game.  Cards with letters on them are used to form words, long ones, short ones, odd ones etc.  The letters have different points on them, the harder to use will get you a higher score etc.

Went to a sing along the other night.  A group from the First Baptist Church of Bushnell came over to Sunshine to sing and play for us.  They are awesome!  "The Fruit Pickers"!  They sing gospel songs and old favorites.  So you see I keep moving.

We have a rainy day today, much needed !   I have indoor things to do this morning, like making bread because we are out of homemade... I ate the last piece for breakfast!   At 11 AM we will have our American Sign Language class so I will get the bread rising just before I leave and it will be ready to put into the loaf pans when I get home at lunchtime.

Next week Natalie's sister is coming for a 4 day visit.  More fun!  We three have great fun when we manage to get together which isn't often.  Natalie and I both stop at Janice's house in NC on our way south each year.  Best B&B around!  We are planning a few fun things to do while she is with us here.  The day she leaves, our daughter, Angel and hubby Paul will arrive from VT for a 4 day stay.
Can't wait !  Not nearly long enough but we will be so happy to see them and will have a great time.

Natalie, Dottie, Angel and Janice kayaking last summer

We are hoping our fishermen, a group of guys who love to fish and get out as often as they can, will have another fish fry next month.  They came home this week with a huge catch.  They commented that they didn't have time to have a coffee break as they were so busy hauling in the fish.  They freeze them up till time to treat us all, cooking up platter upon platter to serve with the side dishes the ladies whip up.

The Sunshine Village Fishermen and Fish friers

Our fish fry about to begin

Better get to the bread.  But first a little story.  I think of this often when I am making bread.  Years ago, when the kids were little, we had a neighbor on the next street over who kept a cow for his family's milk.  We were visiting one day and we came up with a great idea.  I make homemade bread, he has fresh milk, so we could just do a little bartering here.  So I would trade him a couple loaves of bread for a jug of fresh milk.  The cream atop that jug was so rich and lots of it.  I used to skim off quite a bit of it and using my blender, make a little butter.  I was telling him I did this one day.  The next time we did our barter, my jug of milk had only a little cream on top!  Guess he wanted some butter too. Boy, that upset me!  I was complaining to my hubby about it and he happened to see the neighbor the next day.  He mentioned that I wasn't happy about him holding back the cream from the top of the milk, and he blurted out what I had said in my complaining.  " If he is taking the top off my milk, I guess I'll just cut off the top of his loaf of his bread!" The next jug to arrive had the usual amount of cream on top !  Years have passed and he moved away but we see him once in awhile at the local alumni day parade and we still laugh about the bartering!

A Date With Nature`

They are keeping me busy around here!  My newest challenge is writing the Sunshine Village Newsletter and getting it ready for printing.  Chris brings me items to include, I write a couple short stories of our happenings and take some pictures of our events. Linda writes a manager's column and finally it all comes together and I get it on my computer and we are ready to print.

We had some much needed rain later this afternoon.  I am so glad it held off as this was my day to go on a hike with my friends, ladies who get together a few times a winter to do  something fun together.  I met these great gals here in the Park when we all were here together.  Over the years things change as does everything...didn't someone once say, " the only permanence we know is change? "... With us the change was the moving on of some of the gals to different towns around Fl but still within an hour of us still here. We try to keep in touch and we really enjoy our times together.

We all enjoy the out of doors and seeing the beauty of nature.  Our plan today was to hike around the perimeter of a County Park about 40 minutes from here.  Then to have lunch near by and check out a few Thrift Shops before heading home.

The hike was very nice, about 3 miles on a fairly wide trail which, for the most part wasn't steep, just a couple little hills.  The trail was covered with lots of long pine needles from the fragrant pines.  We had the woods to ourselves, it seemed, as we only met one jogger,  We didn't see any wild life, no wild hogs or deer.  Although on our way home we did see a wild boar dead beside the road and a few wild turkeys in a field.

We worked up an appetite hiking and had our lunch at a quaint little Italian Deli back in town.  It was good!  Then we did some Thrift Shop browsing and shopping before heading home, tired but satisfied and content after our day together.

So true, how exertion is good for the body, companionship good for the soul and being out in a forest and enjoying our Creator's handiwork is good for our spirits!

Hikers, missing Wanda who took our picture

Part of the trail

The License Plate

Again yesterday someone commented on our license plate.  It isn't a fancy one or a vanity one with a witty message... just three little numbers... 536 on the pretty green plate.  But there is a story here.
Many years ago, before my time, (and that is a long time ago !), the powers that be in our state capitol, in Montpelier, decided it was time to have an official Dept. of Motor Vehicles, as we know it today.  They would require the registration of all motor vehicles in the state.  This was in 1927.
There were getting to be quite a few of these get-you-there-quick motorcars around. Henry Ford had come out with a better one than his Model T and called it a Model A.  This was offered in a few different styles and offered colors...  black, black or black, and was priced so dreamers could afford one.  Lots of other auto making folks were cranking out (and cranking up) production as well. I don't remember what make or model my dad had at the time but he and my uncle and their friend all decided it was time to send for the new license plate from the new DMV.
I can just imagine the scene now.  A very cold January day after a snowstorm.  The guys in the Village gathered around the old Round Oak wood stove in the General Store.  Perched on chairs, and crates near the cracker barrel and pickle barrel, warming their hands and maybe smoking their pipe.  I can almost hear the jingle of the buckles on their open overshoes as they thaw out their cold feet!  They proceed to discuss all the important stuff of the day.  The three friends decide they will send for their new license plates.  They fill out the form, if there was one, or simply send their requests to the new DMV.  They sent all three in the same envelope.  The price of a first class stamp was around $.03 so they realized a savings of $.06 by using one envelope.  Yankee frugality at work here!  They get the letter ready in time for it to go out on the 'stage' that brings the mail twice a day.  I know all this because my dad used to tell the story.
I guess this new DMV was a bit frugal too because they sent the shiny new plates back in the same package.  They were numbered in sequence, 536... 537... and 538.  My dad got 536.  This nice little number has been in my family ever since. The object of many conversations with strangers everywhere we go.   My dad went to be with the Lord in 1963 and at that time Dennis and I took over the license plate and we still have it, 85 years later.  My cousin had the 537 that his grandfather received in 1927 but gave it up when he moved in the '60's and their friend's granddaughter's car still sports the 538 and she still lives in our little village.
I thought to tell you this story after looking through some photos I had scanned into my computer this summer and running across this one.  I have an earlier one at home of my dad and me standing by the back of a car with 536 on it when I was only  year and a half old.  He always took such good care of his vehicle!  They always looked like brand new ones even though they weren't .  He was always washing and polishing and keeping them tinkered up to perfection.
So have a nice day and take a ride today and as you do, if you are up north, just imagine that snowy January day long ago and the old motorcar sliding around on the 'road' (and I use the term lightly) and landing in a snowbank, shoveling it out and cranking her up to continue on their way.  Or if you are in a sunny and warmer place, as you zing along down a 6 lane turnpike on your way shopping, or to the beach, pause to think just how far these motorcars have come.

This is 1949  The car, a 1936 Buick

I came zinging down the highway last month in a modern SUV and we
spotted this old Model A in the parking lot so my friend snapped
a photo. 

Ice On The Birdbath !

Another cold night and really nippy morning.  We do this every winter, even here in FL.  But we then experience a really nice, blue-sky day when the sun gets up to warm the day for us.  We go from wearing a coat and gloves to just a long sleeved shirt by noon.

A few years ago I wrote a poem about 'ice on the birdbath' and it seems like a good time to share it with you.

Ice On The Birdbath

Poor little bluebird, you look so sad,

Or cold, or bewildered or...mad?

As you stopped by our birdbath this morning

For a drink it seems, and without warning

Your feet slipped and slid on cold, hard ice!

You looked all around just to see, 

"Was anyone watching me"?

You dipped your head for a little drink

And tap-tapped your beak... on a skating rink,

When along came a warbler so yellow,

Another curious fellow.

I fully expected to see a hockey game,

A la Woodstock, of Charlie Brown fame;

You, wearing a scarf of red

And a bright toque on your head!

Instead you puffed out your feathers

Pondering this nasty change in the weather.

Then you both flew away...

"We'll come back soon, on a warmer day"!

We really upset our local birds yesterday as the tree surgeons came and felled a very big live oak tree in back of our place.  It is sad to see these giants toppled but with the high winds and rain so common here in summer, and these great branches leaning toward our houses, it is a relief to know they won't come down and destroy our homes.  After cutting, we could see that it had started to have bad places in it's trunk and some of the larger branches.  So, today will be a busy time getting those huge logs hauled away and the tree folks will come again to mill out the giant stump. I am sure glad there are a few nice, fat, evergreen type trees near the feeder and birdbath for the birds to hide and play in or just wait their turn  for others to eat their fill and take their bath.

Daily Bread

Our old Wood Stove

Today is a good day for making some homemade bread.  We awoke this morning to temperatures in the 30's here in sunny, warm (?) Florida.  It's mornings like these that I am missing the old wood stove in my VT kitchen !  We have a nice modern heating/cooling system here so we are thankful for that.  But I do find myself comparing it to the cozy old cookstove.  Once she is fired up and just oozing her warmth and comfort, she isn't noisy at all as she has no motor to run and no fan to blow.  She is just a little chatty as the logs crackle, sputter and sizzle a bit.

I got the urge this cool morning to mix up a batch of whole wheat, oatmeal bread.  There isn't much that can beat the aroma of fresh baking bread.  Only the eating of it!  Baking bread seems to satisfy body, soul and spirit.  The Bible often speaks of bread, right from the beginning.  In Genesis 3:19 when God told Adam and Eve that they would have to work for their bread outside the Garden of Eden. Again in Exodus 16:4 where the Lord told Moses He would rain bread from heaven for his people as they were in the wilderness.  In the Lord's prayer we are to ask God for our daily bread, Matthew 6:11.   And in John 6:33-35 Jesus tells us that He is the Bread Of Life.   SO I am writing about bread today as I wait for it to rise and bake.

How little work it is today to whip up and turn out a couple loaves of bread !  At home, I sometimes get some winter wheat berries at the local co-op and using my friend Cyndy's grain grinder, I grind these berries into nice whole wheat flour to use in my bread...but I didn't have to plant, water, harvest and thresh this wheat first !  How soft we have grown, huh?  And the flour is only ONE ingredient in our bread !   I used some milk in the bread today and I didn't even have to milk the cow or feed her!  So I will really be thankful tonight after thinking about all this, for my aromatic, tasty slice of bread with butter and some homemade spiced tomato jam!

Keep warm and well and ...  Bake some bread !