Jimmy Buffett and Me

Jimmy Buffett passed away last Friday, September 1, 2023. He was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day 1946 (what a present!). That’s my Daddy’s hometown. My Uncle Vincent used to be the… Continue reading →

Watching the World Go By

I’m usually way overscheduled with enough on my to-do list for six people. Today started like that, with a trip to Big Lots for a new comforter set and some organizing things. There… Continue reading →

Freedom Friday! Escape to Gemini Springs

I was dangerously close to burn out from work and was in dire need of fun and relaxation so Gizmo and I escaped to Gemini Springs. We went early, so almost had the… Continue reading →

I Have One Day Off This Weekend

My mind is saying “I have to do this and this and this and this and…” My body is saying “Be quiet.”

Finessing my BuJo

I don’t know where I’ve been for the past few years, but I’ve only recently discovered bullet journaling. Come to find out, it’s very close to what I used to do years ago… Continue reading →

Bridges (Human and Otherwise)

 Yesterday was my husband’s and my 39th wedding anniversary. That alone made it a great day. I spent most of the morning on Facebook saying thank you to family and friends who were… Continue reading →

A Walk in Mead Garden

Ever since my laptop died (and I priced replacements – yikes!) I haven’t been posting much. Posting on my phone just seemed like too much work. Somewhere along the line it’s gotten easier. … Continue reading →

Explorers Are Never Lost

Today I am not writing in my garden due to a most inconvenient series of thunderstorms (don’t they know they’re only supposed to come during the week and not screw up my weekends?)… Continue reading →

Happy New Year, Y’all!

Our Florida winter came and went on Friday and Saturday. Today is a balmy 80 degrees and a gorgeous day for a walk in the woods, so the pups and I hit the… Continue reading →

Hopeful

“Hope springs eternal,” Mama used to say.  I’ve been watching my friends’ Facebook posts and the Twitter posts of whoever happens by. Many are condemning this year as a total loss and hoping… Continue reading →

Poinsettia Love

Resilience is a wonderful thing. It gets us to the other side. Shortly after my beloved mother-in-law passed away, my husband and I cleared out her house. In the garden was a poinsettia… Continue reading →

Retreat

I may have to leave the tree up for a while… Smokey’s Retreat

Merry Christmas, Y’all!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and fabulous New Year. Smokey says “Can we open presents now?”

It’s Christmas Eve Eve, Y’all!

And I’m freaking out. Normally I take time off around Christmas – a nice, leisurely week before to prepare. This year I didn’t. If I ever pull that again, slap me. The tree… Continue reading →

Pup Walk – Gemini Springs

Our family experienced a tragedy recently. We lost Li’l Bit, our miniature pinscher. This is our first real outing since then.   Our cars are getting older and the thought of “how far… Continue reading →

Heaven and Hell in Orlando

Hell came to Orlando a couple of weeks ago and it had the nerve to do it on my birthday weekend. Not that there is anything special about my birthday (other than to… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – Z is for Zentangle and Zephyr Hills

Today is the last day of the A to Z Challenge. It’s been fun, y’all! For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – X is for ?

I had no idea what to do for X. So I did some research. I learned a whole lot of x words I had no idea existed. For more on this challenge, go… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – Y is for Yard and Yuki

I’ve been fortunate enough to live all over the world, but my favorite place to be is still in my own yard (or maybe the beach). And Yuki, my Japanese Chin, is one… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – W is for Woodpecker

Our woodpecker doesn’t linger, but does a flyby every now and then. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – V is for Violet

My African Violet wanted to participate. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – U is for Uniform

Our family loves men and women in uniform. There are too many of us to list in one post, but I found some pictures I hadn’t posted before. Here they are. For more… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – T is for Theatre

Theatre is one of my major passions. As a dear actor friend of mine was fond of saying “‘Twas ever thus.” I was so busy between work this fall and one show after… Continue reading →

Weekly Photo Challenge – Abstract

I’ve been so busy with the A to Z Challenge this month, I’ve neglected my weekly photo challenges. I’ve missed all of you! But most of my entries have been photography, so I’ve… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – S is for Squirrels

We have several families of squirrels who visit our peanut bowl daily. These two often mirror each other. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – R is for Red Flowers in My Garden

Red is the primary color in my garden this week. Much to my delight, I discovered we have a tall red amaryllis that I knew about (pictured here) and a short one that… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – Q is for Quilt

I had intended to post a picture of one of the quilts my mother-in-law gave me, ones that either she and her mother or her mother-in-law and her mother (I don’t know if… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – P is for Peanut

The neighborhood squirrels love the peanut bowl at the base of our sweetgum tree. We provide peanuts. They provide us with entertainment. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – O is for Ocean

In celebration of #NationalParkWeek the pups and I took a trip to Canaveral National Seashore. (In case you missed it, free admission to U.S. National Parks all week!) Here it is. Pups are… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – N is for National Park Week

Today is the start of National Park Week, y’all! Free admission to U.S. National Parks! Wahoo! Go! Check out National Park Week. For more A to Z Bloggers go here.

#AtoZChallenge – M is for Morning Glory

Morning glory says hello.

#AtoZChallenge – L is for Landscape

Landscape from our hike to Little Big Econ. Most of the trail looked like this. But some was on a narrow trail that ran beside the river. We had a good time. For… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – K is for Knitting

My mother was a wonderful seamstress. There was nothing she couldn’t make. But she had never tried knitting. When we lived in Maine, it seemed as though everyone knew how to knit. One… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – J is for Jellybeans

J is for jellybeans…there were more of these at Easter. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – I is for Ibis

An ibis came to call For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – H is for Hiking

Last Saturday the pups and I went hiking at Little Big Econ. We haven’t been in a while. As it turned out, we didn’t pick the best day for it. It rained. But… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – G is for Garden

One of my favorite places to be is in my garden. Here’s what’s blooming today: And I was excited to see a hint of coming attractions: For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – F is for Fabulous Felines

Our cats follow this blog and were dismayed to see that the cardinals were featured for the letter C instead of them. To add insult to injury, the dogs were featured for the… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge E is for Easter and Egret

  Egrets are a fact of life in Florida. They often like to have their picture taken. We also ran across an egret moonlighting as a host in a restaurant. For more on… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – D is for Dogs

I’ve had dogs all my life. I love them. These are the ones we live with now. For more on this challenge, go here.

#AtoZChallenge – C is for Cardinal

We have a couple of feeders in our yard and a wide range of visitors. My favorites are the cardinals. We have several generations. This is one of the young ones. For more… Continue reading →

#AtoZChallenge – B is for Blue Jay

This fellow and two others are frequent visitors to our bird feeders and our squirrel bowl.  They enjoy the peanuts as much as our squirrels do. For more on this challenge, go here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape

This is from one of our most interesting Pup Walks – Lake Jesup Wilderness. We went from this   to this   I have rarely felt so isolated or so free. The pups… Continue reading →

#Blogging from A to Z Challenge Begins! A is for Azalea

I just spent half an hour trying to figure out how to add the Blogging from A to Z Challenge badge. As you may have surmised, I’m not very good at it. But… Continue reading →

My Acting Life – Southern Comforts

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Treat.” For those of you who have been wondering where the heck I’ve been, this is it. My favorite treat is doing theatre and… Continue reading →

Daily Ritual

I am a morning person. As my morning goes, so goes the rest of my day. I find if I start it peacefully, my day goes better and I build a buffer zone… Continue reading →

Connected

I was trying to catch a shot or two of the young squirrels that visit the peanut bowl we set out for them when I happened to look up and catch this glimpse… Continue reading →

Close Up on Our Girls’ Day Out

Once upon a time, when we were both off on Fridays, Daughter and I made it a point to get together and spend the day catching up and enjoying ourselves. Those days are… Continue reading →

Half and Half

This was a gift from my husband shortly after we became engaged (in 1977). All these years and many moves later (we were an Air Force family) it’s a bit battered, cracked, and… Continue reading →

Muse

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is: “So what’s your muse — what subject do you turn to frequently, more inspired each time?” I love the beach – it never fails to lift me… Continue reading →

Morning Pages in My Garden

My favorite place to do morning pages is in my garden with the flowers, birds, and squirrels. What are morning pages? Three pages of longhand stream of consciousness writing done first thing in… Continue reading →

Fab Friday

Our family gathered for breakfast early Friday morning at one of our favorite spots – Linda’s Winter Park Diner . We’ve been coming here for years. No matter how long it’s been since… Continue reading →

Saturday in the Park

Since it was early and not yet blazingly hot, I loaded up the wagon and we went. The little blue wagon is one of the best purchases I ever made. All of our… Continue reading →

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I am off today so the pups and I took an early morning walk to Mead Garden. Fred Rogers went to college at nearby Rollins College and lived not too far from here.… Continue reading →

My Writer’s Toolbox

I’ve been writing ever since I was big enough to hold a crayon. Here are some things that help me. They may help you. 1. Write where you’re most comfortable. I tried the… Continue reading →

Once Upon a Time

I was a music performance major at the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) I was dusting my piano today and realized it’s been a very long time since I played it. One of… Continue reading →