Gallivanting Conclusions

We arrrived in Cocoa Beach late this morning and out our balcony we could see a water rescue under way.  We never did hear what the rest of the story was......sorry.  The humidity and temperature were both high and so these pictures are hazy!  

The beach was a busy place, windsurfers, beach schooners, waverunners and fisherman.  We had a nice walk and enjoyed the sunshine and warm breezes. 

Nothing like a delicious feast, great friends, shared laughter and perfect weather!

The guys took some of the scraps from our dinner and fed the catfish in Banana River.

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Here is a view of the results!  Crazy!  The guys finished off their day fishing; Becki and I went to the beach for girl-time until dark, went to the pool and just lounged; where the men caught up with us and we continued a great evening of conversation. 


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I woke up in time for the sunrise.  !  Take the time and savor this; sing the hymn with me...........When morning gilds the sky, my heart awakening cries, may Jesus Christ be praised.....It is a very special way to start the day.  (You can fast forward it if you are not patient..........)

After breakfast, we packed up and headed to the Farmer's Market,

then to a yarn shop and the many local shops in the historic downtown.

This is the yarn I bought, cotton boucle.  I am not sure what it will be yet.

 I spotted a woman with a large pink bag and asked her where she got it!  Yup, off we went to the shoe store where you hafta make a purchase to get a bag-Becki felt she needed to support me, so I have two!  Friends to the end!  See Nyki check  them out?  (I was so glad to see her when we got home-she was so excited to see us, too...........think group hug here!)

This is a treasure I have been looking for , for quite a while!  It is a printers type drawer which I will convert into a shell collection display case!  I was so excited to find this!  It is rather large, 2' x 3' so it will hold tons! 

We found some pretty engraved shell napkin rings............just the accent to go with some antique linen napkins I have!   

                                

I also bought this sea urchin which is not my usual habit, I prefer to find my shells not buy them; but these are pretty fragile so when I saw this green one, well, I couldn't resist the purchase!

                                       

After our goodbyes, we headed north for home.  We saw a sale at a nursery not too far from home and thought we would stop.  We bought two of these plumbago plants and will be going back for more; this place was quite the find right in our own neighborhood!  Like Dorothy, I am feeling like....'there is no place like home'!

Off to the Water Again

We spent the day getting sunkissed again.  Caleb did some water skiing and Kristen joined in for a swim in the middle of the lake.  The idea of alligators gave her much pause!!!  I forgot the camera today-I couldn't believe my error....

Caleb and Kristen were kind enough to pose by the boat in the yard after our trip!

We just said goodbye to the kids and I have laundry going so Bill and I can pack an overnight bag so we can head to Cocoa Beach tomorrow!  This social life sure has been hectic lately.

Here is a new bloom on our bromeliad.  They are making a slow recovery from last winter's many frosts.

And here are the finished socks after their refreshing dye bath!  (Jacquard, pink )  I will send them right out in the mail, Marsel!

Just So Much Life!

Bill and I working to install a retractable screen door to the front of the house. It turned into such a project! We cut it twice and it still didn't fit!  We didn't have the tracks installed right, thought it was too wide, cut the tracks and when we reinstalled them we realized our mistake!!  Grrrrrrr.  We quit the work and went to eat dinner!   Bill finally conquered it yesterday.  The door is really made for a wood frame installation not for stucco but we made the appropriate adjustments; just more time consuming!

The screen is nearly invisible and since we are starting to get ready for a temperature reduction, we will open our windows in the evening and the early morning.  We thought Nyki would love to be able to see out the front door-she did; it took her only a few seconds to butt her head against the screen to make it retract and away she ran!  I chased her for 10 minutes and she finally ran back in the front door and looked pretty smug!  There goes that idea-I am going to have to install a kid-proof lock on the door so we can safely use it without losing her every time!

We did get a few visitors  while working on the door.  A blue tailed lizard.  Very pretty but I warned him to stay high on the wall or Bling would get him!

The new teenaged Sandhill cranes are in the yard each day again.  The come right up to us and tease for bread after they clean the area under the birdfeeder!

Caleb and Kristen came for a visit.  I taught Caleb how to make my guacamole.  Always nice to have them around! 

In  fact, when we sat down to dinner in the diningroom, the birds came right up to the back yard  to ask for food!  So interesting to eat  with them! 

I am working on a new pair of socks......it is slower because it has two patterns going on-one for the lace and another for the two cables running up the sides.  I usually choose a simpler pattern for my socks but this is going well, and looks so nice.  It is out of a bare fingering weight from KnitPicks, the alpaca/wool/nylon blend yarn.  I will experiment with dyeing it when the pair are finished. 

Back to Retirement!

I finished the socks for Marsel;

 they are now soaking in the crockpot to overdye those reinforced heels!

I have the huck lace bamboo shawl on the table to fringe!

And a new pair of socks are on the needles.............

I have the new warp for some more plastic bag totes ready to go on the loom today!  See the first bag?  Yes, it is good to buy souvenoirs when you see that their bags are 'just the right color' you have been looking for!  (And I have just the right color purple bag to go with it-I unashamedly mooched it off a newly presented gift-as in still in the recipients hands! ) 

The Canon

Blogger wasn't allowing an upload of a video so I am trying another way to share the cannon blast from the Fort trip!


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Last Day of Tourism

We went to Fort Matanzas today.  The weather was perfect for a boat ride over to the fort.  The added benefit of going on a Saturday was the staff of recreationists on duty!  

We were immersed in the history and learned so much!  They stayed in character and just fed us so many interesting facts that it brought this place to life.

We saw this gopher turtle on the way out.  He stood about 10" and was a bit longer ; he was nibbling the growth along the edge of the road.

We drove along the beach for a few miles, even got stuck for a bit!  So many laughs were shared along the way!  (We were in my little Yaris which was easier to push anyway!)

A photo shoot at the lighthouse in St Augustine. 

While waiting to cross the bridge back to the mainland from Anastasia Island, we saw the 'pirate ship' just as it prepared to go under our bridge; in the background is the Castilla de San Marcos; the main fort in the area.

We toured the old part of town that is full of shops now and had a treat of a raspberry truffle milk shake that was delicious beyond words..........I didn't think to get the camera out until I was slurping up the last of the delicacy!!!  Bad blogger...........

We dropped our guests off at their hotel near the airport and then made our trip home where we literally went right to sleep.  What a great time.

Tourists

We drove to Orlando to visit The Holy Land Experience.  You know how it is, you need company to get you to visit things in your own backyard!

It is a nice blend of beautiful landscape/flowers etc.

Historical lectures..... while viewing a model of Jerusalem.  We weren't allowed to photograph many of the exhibits unfortunately!  But we were thoroughly edified by the many subjects.

Dramatic recreations.

                                    

The guys were guys.......

And the pleasure of each other's company made the day perfect!

A Day to Share

We took a trip to Jacksonville to pick some wayward Midwesterners-visitors from Iowa for a few days!  Always nice to visit with friends who know you thoroughly and still want to spend time with you.

We took a boat ride today and stopped at our favorite restaurant, Corky Bells.  High 80's for temperatures, no humidity, and excellent food and company made  a wonderful time.

After our great feast, Bill rememebered he hadn't turned off the bilge pump in the boat.  A turn of the key proved it had dire consequences on the boat's battery!  He got a ride to a nearby store, purchased a new battery and then back to the boat to install it.

We had a great laugh at Bill's expense!  Engines all fired up and we head for home!

We saw this guy on the way home.  He didn't launch into the water when we got close for a picture-it was nice to get a shot of him and get a good, albeit safe, look from the boat! 

We are off to be tourists tomorrow.  I will post pics Saturday morning, Lord willing.

Sweet Potato

I do not like to eat sweet potatoes but I do like this use of them!  Isn't it just so pretty-all purply/bronzy in color and our gentle, warm breeze just lightly tosses the vines.  I am going back for more!

 Bill had bought some excellsior lined baskets for someday and even remembered where he had put them so I will be repotting my new hanging plants later in the day!

Tranquiltiy of Sock Knitting

I finished one sock out of the second skein of Finn wool which I have spun.  This one will be for Marsel as her nights are getting cool and I want to send her a sock hug!  I used an addition strand of spun nylon for the heel area-she is notorious for wearing out the bottom of her heels.........it is the bony way her feet are made.  When I make an identical pair for myself , they last forever so it has to be her own particular unique feet and not the yarn itself that is the cause.  (I will overdye the heels to make them blend in. )
 A fun experiment for me!

Nyki helped me inspect the second sock when I took a pic for a Ravelry group for Wendy Johnson knitters.  She is quite the assistant!

Throne Woes

No, this is not a new lawn ornament!!!  We have two bathrooms but one has been out of commision for a while.  We have out of town guests coming this week and it gave Bill the incentive he needed to replace the toilet.  Out with the old...........

....in with the new. 

We liked the new toilet so much, we bought another one for the main bathroom!  Both toilets were cracked and so the update is a much appreciated albeit needful renovation!  The quick installation of both was more involved than it needed to be due to cracked hardware from the previous owners.  We have yet to have a job go quicker than expected!  Horray for a husband who doesn't quit!

As it is for children, the box has been a source of delight for Nyki!  I build the boxes up in a stack and then toss the mousie-she runs straight up the pile and knocks it all down.  She feels pretty powerful!  My clean up the clutter traits are warring with the indulge the kitty traits...........I will give her a few days to play!

Gifts From Afar

When you share anobsession with friends, they become wonderful enablers.  This is a pile of shopping bags which were purchased from the 'Black Market' (it is now legal but kept its old name) ,an open market in Mongolia,When my friend saw them, she knew I would go crazy with them-she not only bought them for me, but then managed to fit them in her suitcase and bring them all the way back!   (They weigh 7.5 lbs!)  Is this love or what!?!

She also brought back more conventional souvenoirs for us, a mug for Bill and a felted wall hanging for me!

Sandy, thank you these are amazing!

Travelling Woman Shawl

I finished this month's KAL on Ravelry!  It is knitted on #10 needles, Coopworth fiber, now a sportweight yarn which I had handspun and dyed.  It blocked out at 76" at wingtips.  This is a bit colorful and I might overdye it to tone it down after it has its maiden wearing!  It was a fun knit (and re-knit) and many thanks to the BeginningLaceKnittersGroup for their work.

Full Steam Ahead

The quilter's block has been overcome!  I have been quilting without any more problems with my stitches-it is looking good if I do say so myself.  I have another quilting job lined up and I already have the pattern picked out for this one so it will not languish on the frame forever!  Another incentive, is my own unquilted top that needs attention.  Nice to be busy with the quilting again.