Confessions of a Grandma

Now, I wonder if that will give my traffic an uptick.  It's just a sampling of some of the other art work on my bedroom walls. ******* There have been a lot of rabbits around lately.  The hawks, an eagle, and a coyote have started hanging around as well--self service buffet.  The cycle of life keeps on rolling along.  There were a bunch of them on the lawn this morning, but only one stuck around to have his picture taken.

It has been a rainy week here in Venice.  My sister was lucky to have picked the previous week for her vacation. Some pictures of a trip to Spanish Point from last week: I have been busy this week in spite of the rain--lunches with friends, a picnic, my volunteer duties, yoga classes, impromptu get togethers with neighbors for an evening glass of wine.  Some how I have had so many occasions to laugh and really enjoy myself in the past two weeks.  I am feeling good.  I think I will be able to face things at home once I get there. I will be in a whirlwind next Monday and Tuesday to get the house cleaned up and closed down.  All I have done in that regard is make up my list.  I have not even printed it out yet. I finished my wall hanging and put it in my bedroom: This will be the weekend of strange meals as I clean out my refrigerator.  I won't be posting any of the recipes.  i will be thankful for the garbage disposal. ...

Sometimes the news makes me shake my head. Last night there was a story about a nine-year-old girl whose best friend has cancer and has undergone a number of treatments that resulted in her going bald.  The girl shaved her own head so that her friend would not feel so odd about losing all her hair.  The girl was suspended because her school has zero tolerance for dress code infractions and shaved heads are an infraction.  The school board ended up apologizing--as well they should have, in my opinion. Another major storm hit the New England coast.  Where is it all coming from?The Washington state mudslide is so tragic.  There really is so little we humans have control over and yet we go on acting as though we do.  I heard a geologist saying that the mudslide in this location was inevitable.  Why were houses built there?  Well, people have to live somewhere and I don't know if there is a place on earth that is not vulnerable to some kind of cata...

I went for quite a run without, but lately they  have found a way. Yuck!

My company has headed back north and it will only be a week before I pack up and follow them there. It is going to be quite difficult to have to drag out boots and a winter coat, but I am afraid that is how it is going to be. I enjoyed having my sister and my brother-in-law stay with me for the past week.  We had a good time and they obviously really needed the break from a brutally cold winter.  I have plenty of room here and there were plenty of things to do.  The weather, except for their last day, was beautiful.

The weather has been cooperatively pleasant.  A long walk on the beach yesterday morning and a walk in the preserve today.  Sister and her husband went down town while I walked horses yesterday.  Lots of dining out.  Lots of laughter.  relaxing by the pool. Down side?  They looked at the VT weather forecast for next week (highs in teens, lows below zero, snow) and have decided not to go back. Lunch at Snook Haven "old" Florida style. Myakka River

My sister and her husband arrived Monday night.  I picked them up at the Ft. Myers airport.  It poured buckets all night, but my sister got up the next morning and went out with cup of coffee in hand to watch the sunrise.  It was 10 below zero when they left Vermont and they had 20 inches of new snow the day before.  She laughed at me for having on my morning sweater. We took a tour of town and beaches, went out to lunch, and mostly relaxed on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we made a trip to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens  in Sarasota.  The orchids were in bloom.  Even though I had reminded her to bring her camera before we left, I forgot mine.  I took pictures with my camera, but the cable to get them off the phone is at home. I should have reminded them about sun block, I guess.  They both got red faces.  To me, putting on sunblock is routine--wash your face, brush your teeth, put on sunblock, start your day. They are glad for th...

Tomorrow is the next meeting of the poetry group I joined here in Florida.  I have invited my neighbor to go with me since I recently learned that she writes poetry as well.  Actually, I have met a number of poets this year. Then I will have to head down to Fort Myers to pick up my sister and  my brother in law.  They are coming for a week.  I know that the Vermont winter was oppressive when they are making a trip to get away from it!  I have never heard my sister say she is sick of snow before. I have a list of things to do to impress them with the area.  Beaches, parks, and botanical gardens, birds singing, palm trees, sunshine, and shrimp.  I am excited about having some company.  

The YMCA is less than a mile from my house.  It's a busy, busy place and parking is sometimes a problem.  It only makes sense to ride my bike there.   I was looking for a basket to attach to my bike.  I can strap my yoga mat to my back, but sometimes I want to take extra things like a towel and my wallet and my house keys.  I also thought carting books to and from the library would be easier in a basket than packed up on my back. Then I remembered that I had some upholstery fabric samples.  I got out my sewing machine and made my own bike basket. It works for me. ************** Of course I did purchase some material at the quilt show last weekend.  I am making a wall hanging, not a bed sized quilt.  My Florida bedroom furniture is oriental style.  I think this will look nice hanging on the bedroom wall. The red material is for the backing.  I have not decided yet whether I will fold that around to the front...

I have pictures of more quilts from the show this past weekend. Chickens seemed to be a common theme this year.  I took pictures for my chicken raising friends and neighbors. This one is Hawaiian birds and fruits: Of course, there were some Christmas quilts: These were all happy quilts.  They made people smile.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful son. Always the hiker.

It never occurred to me in my pre-retirement years that I would someday be living in an age restricted, gated community.  But here I am. I like my house.  I like the city of Venice and this general area of Florida.  I have friendly neighbors.  I have made the effort to be more involved in activities and meet new people than I ever have before.  I have been going to yoga at the Y.  I joined a poetry group at the library.  I do my volunteering.  I have made the effort to stay in touch with the couple friends Mike and I had made down here, but I have also been inclined to branch out with female friends.  There is no shortage of widows around here.  I helped out with the fund raising big yard sale here in the park and I met a lot of new people that I had only waved to in the past.  I am trying to remember people's names. Where I am going with this--I decided I would attend the park picnic.  It is the big deal for the social act...

This was the weekend for the annual quilt show sponsored by the Quilters Guild of Venice.   I went on Sunday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits and browsing the vendors. This was the over all winning quilt, "Florida Wedding", best of show: Imagine getting--or giving--this as a wedding present.  Other prize winners: It's Not Over (recognize grumpy cat?) Here Comes the Sun Neil's Garden Mangroves/Windows (very abstract) Synchronized Turtles This was my favorite: Roseville Hand Applique It looks busy in the photograph, but it was stunning in person.  It was marked as in the beginners category, but the quilter started it in 2001.  We figured she was an expert by the time she finished.

Wandering around the antique shops the other day was a major nostalgia trip.  Nostalgia on so many levels. One shop was filled with depression era items--the glassware that my mother amassed by going to the Saturday matinees.  The dishes and tinware that filled her kitchen were a snap of recognition and then memory around every corner. My mother would have been amazed to see the prices on some of those pieces.  She did not consider her things anything but useful items to have in the home. She had a banjo clock with a picture of Mount Vernon on the case hanging on the wall.  I once referred to it as an antique and she actually snapped, "That is not  an antique!  That belonged to my mother!"  Which would have easily made it 150 years old, but to my mother's mind, antique  and junk were synonyms. Seeing the prices on some of that stuff made me think that maybe we should not have been so quick to give it away.  We all took what little we w...

The weather would not co-operate with  my plan for a long bike ride today.  It was very windy and riding into the wind is just plain no fun. I took a car ride instead and went to check out Arcadia, FL .  This is one of those side trips Mike and I had talked about doing but never got around to. Compared to Venice--a different world entirely.  The interior of central Florida is farm country--citrus groves, cattle farms, and a few horse ranches.  It has its own beauty. Also, it was a good reminder that there is more diversity in this state than one would ever gather if Venice was one's only experience of Florida.  Venice is older, white men with grey hair, gold watches, and sporty convertibles.  Then there are the tan, blonde women of a certain age that you would not be able to guess.  (There is a reason why the dentist office offers all kinds of make-over services!)  I mean, I live in a "poor" neighborhood where shopping at Steinmart or B...

I get it.  Nobody really cares all that much about what anyone else had for meals on any given day. All the same, I will continue to bore you with Meatless Monday posts, because Meatless Monday is a real thing, a movement that I do support.  It is good for our health.  It is good for the environment.  It even has historical significance as part of the nation's war effort during WWI. And I care what I eat and this is my blog. And I learned something.  Bear in mind that it is full blown pollen season her in Florida.  Since avocados are so readily available here, I have been choosing them over cheese as a topping for sandwiches.  Yesterday, though, I had some homemade tomato soup and the thought of a grilled cheese sandwich really appealed to me and I enjoyed my light supper immensely.  However, when I went to bed, I really noticed the stuffiness and the cough.  This made me notice what I had not noticed before--that I had not been bother...

March.  Already. And even so, no sign that this brutal 2014 winter is going to let up any time soon. If you are not in Florida, I don't know why not.   Everybody else is here !  Since I am one of them, I am not allowed to complain about the snow birds, but I am also just glad that I am here long enough so that I don't feel the need to do all the "vacation" things.  I don't think it has been as crowded in this area since I have been coming here.  They are predicting that next winter will be record breaking numbers of vacationers because of the bad winter this year.  I suppose I will make travel plans with that in mind. ****** Since I am half Ukrainian, I have been watching the news about the crisis there. It is pretty scary stuff.  As I understand it, this big stand-off is over Crimea, which has been a part of the Ukraine only since 1954 and which is ethnically Russian.  Crimea was a "gift" from Russia to the Ukraine?  It makes so ...