Christmas in Photos

 

Little ones do put the merry in Christmas.  We had a great trip to Michigan that was busy, but so much fun. Big family get togethers, a family bowling party, and lovely and quiet holiday time with our daughters, son in laws and of course our granddaughter Audrey. Who is at the cutest age.  Walking, saying so many words and just the happiest little girl.  She loves to read too, just like her Nana.  

We are back in the Florida sunshine, but missing family so much.  The good news is that I have a plane ticket booked for later this month, so more Nana time is on the way.

Happy New Year!

Christmasing

 

The countdown is upon us and all the Christmas preparations and lead up to the actual holiday are winding down.  I am getting excited to see family and especially my sweet granddaughter.  All the presents are wrapped and shipped, the food shopping lists are prepared for when arrive and our plans for Christmas week in Michigan are set.  It will be hectic as always, but so much fun too.

There have been festive breakfasts, lunches, cocktail parties and dinners with friends to get us in the holiday spirit.  It is always a different feeling in Florida, but no less festive with palm trees decked with lights and Christmas parades both on land and by boat.

I tried a new recipe this morning, thinking a could recreate one of my favorite cookies my Mom used to make, but they were not a success.  Ginger Molasses cookies that should have been chewy, were dry and crumbly. I have a lot of my Mom’s recipes, but couldn’t find that one, so I will keep trying.

And, I will leave you with the cutest snow bunny with pink mittens.  My daughter lives in an area of Michigan that is known for lake effect snow and they have already had a bunch.  Audrey will have so much fun growing up there. 

Happy Wednesday and one week until Christmas!

Hello December in Photos

 It was a week of Thanksgiving food prep including a pie crust I am pretty proud of and my famous homemade Cranberry, Apple and Ginger Chutney.  We drove a bit north of Tampa to my mother in laws in New Port Richey this year, so no big turkey to prepare for me. It was a nice change after so many years of hosting, but also a little sad too.  I do love a big holiday crowd.

My very full, beach inspired Christmas tree is up and I added some sparkle in a corner by the kitchen this year with this cute little flocked tree I found at Target.  I seem to shop at Target less and less, but do find something good now and then.  I also, planted some poinsettias at my neighborhood entrance for some holiday color.  This Michigan girl will never get over poinsettias planted outside in December.

Finally, we celebrated our anniversary (42) with lunch in Siesta Key.  It looks so great after being ground zero for Milton landfall just under two months ago.  Florida you are amazing!  And, I can say the same about my town too.  After a lot of clean up, Venice is almost back to normal, palm trees are decorated and the annual Christmas parade was a much needed lift to everyone’s spirits.

Bring on the holiday season.

Life Lately

 

Life has been good and busy and honestly, too busy to even remember to take photos to share here.  But, I am ready to get back to normal after the hurricane clean up and celebrate the holidays.  I feel like all of the Florida Gulf Coast feels the same way.  Hurricane season is finally over and our normal sunshiney days await for the next 9 months.

Since we returned to Florida from our trip to Michigan, there has been a lot of catching up, but also fun. Snowbird friends are arriving back for the season, so we have been out and about.  Golf and yoga are always part of my days too.  I hosted a dinner party and today, I am going to test a new crust recipe for my Thanksgiving pies.  

The most fun occurred last weekend when my daughters visited for a long delayed girls weekend to celebrate Melissa’s 30th birthday.  We had planned to go to the new Margaritaville resort in Ft. Myers, but the pool was filled with sand from the hurricanes and we ultimately decided to spend the weekend here at my pool.  I made them fun drinks, they got plenty of lounge chair sun time and we had a great night in downtown Sarasota with rooftop pre dinner drinks, a wonderful dinner at a new to us restaurant and post dinner martinis at a speakeasy type bar.    I miss them already, but luckily Christmas is very soon.

I am a big theatre geek and have seen Wicked three times on stage, so I did something I have never done before and went to see the movie by myself yesterday.  I knew I would have emotions and wanted to experience it on my own.  There are really no words for how good it is and how it paid wonderful homage to the play and to The Wizard of Oz.  During the iconic songs, I had both chills and tears.  Seeing it again, will be happening soon.

Happy Saturday!

A First Birthday Visit

 

We arrived in Michigan reeling from a quick evacuation due to Hurricane Milton, but ready to enjoy time with friends and family and worry about clean up we return.  Of course the main event and the reason for the trip, was our Granddaughter’s first birthday party.  We were feeling fortunate to be there for the party and to spend time with her.  She is so much fun and a happy girl.  The party was filled with “One-toberfest” details including giant pretzels with beer cheese dip, bratwurst, cider and german beer.  Audrey loved her smash cake, made with love by our daughter and she thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.

After the excitement of the party, we relaxed and played with Audrey, but also did all the fall things.  We walked amongst the pretty fall trees and went to an apple orchard for hot cider and doughnuts.  On her actual birthday, Audrey had her first taste of ice cream and that was a big hit.

To round out the visit, we spent some time on Michigan State’s pretty fall campus, attended a wine tasting dinner and our former dinner club with good friends and golfed and had a wonderful dinner at the newlywed’s country club.

We made it home to a devastated city with trees down, fences down, roofs damaged, beaches closed and so many plants and trees completely brown from salt spray and windburn. A lot of work is ahead, but I am trimming, planting and cleaning with so much motivation to get back to normal - and thankful in the midst of so much uncertainty and stress, we can also count our blessings. 

Milton Evacuation from Venice

 

Now that Milton has left the state of Florida and unfortunately left so much damage, I am focused enough to give a recap of the week.  Also, I want to thank all the readers who were kind enough to leave comments on Instagram as I updated that I was safe.

As the forecast and track became more and more dire, we had to make a decision on Sunday whether to stay and miss a planned trip, or evacuate early to get out in time and safely.  It is not an easy decision to evacuate and face the traffic on the highways, gas shortages and just leaving your house not knowing what you will come back to.  Luckily I live in a newly constructed cinder block house that is built for a category 5 hurricane and it already withstood Ian fine.  Right when we left, an evacuation order was issued for our zone due to flooding concerns too.

We packed the car, grabbed the dog because you can’t leave a dog in a kennel that will lose power and drove 13 hours in the middle of the night on Monday.  We made it to Atlanta (usually a 6 hour drive), found gas at one lone pump and went to bed early after a long day at the hotel I had reserved in advance.  Watching the hurricane hit from afar is not a great feeling and seeing the eye pass over Venice is surreal.  

We did not lose power, completely (just flickers off and on), so by watching our cameras, we could see that screens and a support from our pool cage are down and there was definitely a power surge because the dining room light somehow turned on.  We feel lucky about this for sure, because for many in Venice it was much worse, especially the beach areas that were already damaged from the Helene storm surge.

We now spend time with family and friends in Michigan before we head back to clean up our place and also help our community with ongoing cleanup.  

Please pray for recovery for all our favorite spots in Venice, Sarasota and Siesta Key.  Floridians have got this, but will need help, even if it is good thoughts across the miles.  

Post Helene Clean Up

 

Florida just keeps taking the hits this hurricane season and Helene left so much damage in my little corner of the gulf coast.  When locals say run from the water, hide from the wind, this storm was a perfect example. The power of the surge was not something you would want to be caught up in.  Many rescues were needed, beachfront homes flooded and belongings were tossed around.  Sand was deposited like snow drifts.  For my city it was primarily a beach event that will take some time to recover. Both the Venice Jetty and the Venice Pier are closed awaiting repair.  The beaches have been cleaned, but are still closed to facilitate clean up efforts.

And, that is what I helped with this week.  My volunteer group spent Thursday morning cleaning the beach pavilion area by picking up debris and palm fronds.  Also, while the deep sand has been removed from sidewalks and parking areas, there remains a layer of mud/sand that needed to be scraped off.  

You want to help where you can, and we are lucky to have first responders and emergency crews to make things safe for the willing hands to start the clean up.  Florida knows how to do this well and after one week, it shows.  But, as we learned with Hurricane Ian two years ago it, takes time. 

Finally, the damage in North Carolina is on another level.  It will require so many resources coming together to build back infrastructure, homes and put back together people’s whole lives.  So many lost and so much suffering.  But, Americans are strong and we help each other.  All will be well. 

Riding Out Hurricane Helene

 

 

We did all the hurricane prep yesterday and now we wait.  Because we added permanent storm screens, the process is much less stressful and much easier to do.  Anything that might fly, goes on the covered part of the lanai and down comes the screen with the press of a button.  We most likely won’t get hurricane force winds in the outer bands, but it’s always better to be over prepared.

Having ridden out Hurricane Ian, we know our house can take sustained category 4 winds, so we feel like old hands at this now.  We have become Florida people with hurricane supplies, a generator and a more laid back attitude to the whole thing.  The worst thing is being stuck in the house while the storm rages, but this one is a fast mover and the sun will be out by Friday.  

Hopefully people in the landfall area (most likely the panhandle) where storm surge will be high, evacuated as they were advised.  It is not fun to leave and wonder what is happening, but it is the price you pay for beachfront living.  It is times like this that I don’t regret our location close to the beach, but not right on the beach. So many pretty spots are in the path, but Florida knows how to do this, will be ok  and recover as necessary.

Today may get wild at times, the phones may keep sending emergency alerts about flooding and storm surge, but my little part of Florida on the beautiful Gulf Coast will be ride out this hurricane just as it has for hundreds of years.

Starting September

 

The funny thing about living in Florida, especially being from the midwest is that September does not mean anything changes weather wise.  In fact it can be even hotter and hurricanes are more likely.  So for us, seeing the fall season through the experiences of those up north are as close as we get.  I did buy some cider at Publix though - and will drink it poolside.

September is the start of football season and it is always a good fall Saturday when Michigan State wins. Also, anyone who is a Detroit Lions fan is extremely excited for this season, which starts Sunday.  This is their year for a super bowl win and we will be cheering them on from Florida.  And then, to everyone’s surprise the Detroit Tigers are in contention for a wild card playoff spot.  I will be watching and hoping all of September.

I found a delicious recipe for peach cobbler and will share here.  There is something with the start of fall that makes me want to bake something.

Finally, we have received the official wedding photographs from the photographer and all I can say is wow.  I will write a final wedding post soon, but wanted to share a few of my favorites.  I can’t get over the church, the venue and the beautiful couple.