No Fall Here

 

If I had to pick a least favorite month in Florida, September would win far and away.  Tomorrow starts the month that is the peak of the hurricane season and we can look forward to watching those ever changing cones of uncertainty.  We are ready and prepared of course, but it’s still stressful.  September will forever be that month where we got to experience Irma, our first hurricane, in just our third month living here.  We had to learn about hurricanes on the fly and I hope to never experience such a big one again.  It would take a lot to convince me to evacuate after that adventure.

Also, it always seems to get just a bit hotter the first part of September. When summer is over for most of you and all the fall things are being celebrated, we are still right in the thick of the heat and humidity.  And at this point, a bit of coolness would be welcome.  

The best thing about September is that my favorite month; October, is getting close.  That is when we do start having beautiful, low humidity days and we can finally open the door wall for outdoor living at its best. Some of the best and most beautiful beach days are in October too.

So, enjoy your pumpkin everything.  I’ll still be in the pool most days, with another tropical drink, just trying to cool off.

Happy Monday!

Stormy

 

This is the time of year and especially as we head into prime hurricane season in September, that we ride the roller coaster of weather reports, hurricane tracking and the unknown.  I have learned to be prepared, but also go about your life, until it is pretty definite that something is coming.  And that might change too.

On Friday, when all this tropical storm/hurricane talk was starting, we had plans to drive south to Punta Gorda for lunch.  It looked threatening, but ended up being a pretty nice day for lunch on the waterfront.  The stormy weather held off until later and we had a great time exploring a new place.

On Saturday morning, it was still unclear where the storm was headed, so I stocked up a bit at the grocery store and had a relaxing day between the off and on storms.

By Sunday, it became clear we were not going to get much beyond a few storms from the outer bands.  One of my favorite things to do, when the gulf is volatile, is to head to the beach and see the waves.  They were rolling in with a bit of force and you could see something brewing way out in the gulf, but luckily, for this round, we were the fortunate ones.  On to the next.   

Happy Monday!

Life Lately

 

I have been feeling the need to get back into my routine - pre covid.  That means yoga in my clubhouse on Mondays, golf at least once a week and my regular volunteer gardening job on Thursday mornings.  I recently resigned from a big volunteer commitment with my HOA and took on something with less hours.  This gives me more time for beach walks, additional yoga on the beach and exploring the area with my husband.  There is a lot that is safe to do and I’m ready to get back to the Florida lifestyle I love.

This past Thursday, we entertained at home for the first time in a long time and it felt so good to cook some fun recipes and bring out my favorite platters and martini glasses.  Just two other neighborhood couples and we did appetizers and cocktails here and then walked a couple houses away for dinner and dessert.  I made Raspberry Lemon Drop Martinis and they were so good. (1 ounce each raspberry vodka, citrus vodka and triple sec, 2 ounces lemonade and 1/2 of a freshly squeezed lemon)

Also close to home, my neighborhood has been having Food Truck Tuesdays and so far, we have tried pizza and barbecue, with tacos and lobster rolls on the schedule.  Last night, there was a doggie treat truck and needless to say, my pup loved her banana, peanut butter frozen yogurt in a “woofle” bowl.

Finally, we are having our usual summer thunderstorms most days and Monday morning there was a beautiful rainbow.  Always the sign of a good week to come. 

Happy Wednesday!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

This is a great recipe.  I am a diabetic with somewhat of a sweet tooth.  My trick is to not deprive myself, but practice portion control.  So, one cookie; not 3.  

Finding a cookie recipe that cuts the carbs, but still has authentic peanut butter cookie taste and texture is a game changer for me.  It was so quick and easy to put these together with just four ingredients and all four are pantry staples.  I used regular sugar this first time making the recipe, but want to try the Splenda for baking that I normally use to cut the carbs even more.  Hopefully the texture will remain the same.  About 5 grams of carbs per cookie with regular sugar.

I followed the recipe exactly, except in my oven the cookies were done in 10-11 minutes.  Make these today and you won’t be sorry.  Enjoy!