Manatees and alligators and herons, oh, my!

After dropping Trey at the airport, we made a day trip to Blue Springs to see the manatees. We were told last night that someone that day had seen 8 or 10, but we were amazed and pleased to see many more than that! There are numerous springs in Central Florida where millions of gallons (in this case 100 million) of fresh water come from underground each day. The manatees are attracted to such places when the rivers turn cool; the springs are a consistent 72 degrees year round. The water is crystal clear and beautiful. (The air temp was great today, too. After a brief cold snap, the air was in the low 70s with a gentle breeze.)

We also saw, for the first time since moving to Florida, a couple of alligators. Here's a shot of one (on the far bank, thankfully).

And comfortably preening itself in a tree was this large bird, a heron, I think. (I'm not very informed yet about Florida flora and fauna.)

Tomorrow I think we may see some more animals of the domesticated kind: human sized mice and dogs, and probably some fantasy creatures like princesses, too. Can you guess where we're headed?

Toto, we're not in Jersey anymore!

Yesterday was mostly quiet, just four of us opening packages, lazing around, baking cookies, eating brisket and fudge. UNTIL . . . I checked the weather forecast, intending to call Lisa to tell her what clothing to pack. What?!! Tornadoes in the area? To our northwest, south, headed right for us! Off went the Christmas music! On went the TV! By the time we were aware that we might need to take shelter, the immediate threat was past. But folks in our area were in need of prayer. And tornadoes (tornado-like winds) did property damage in towns all around - to our west, south, east. It was fascinating in a "deer-in-the-headlights" sort of way to watch the television show rotating cloud readings as they moved past.

Our first Christmas Day in Florida won't be forgotten.

Lisa and her family and my parents are enroute to Florida. The weather has cooled, from highs in the 80s and humid to highs in the 60s and drier. What do we have planned? Tomorrow: meet David and Malia Carden (from Tennessee; we know them from New Jersey and Camp Manatawny. They are visiting Malia's family in Tampa) for breakfast probably at Cracker Barrel. Open gifts and eat turkey and trimmings meal, Bible class tomorrow night. Thursday: take Trey to the airport (bye, 3, sniff, sniff) and see manatees or Shuttle. Friday or Saturday: Disney's Magic Kingdom. Sunday Dad preaches in Kissimmee, Bob in Mount Dora, Lisa and family head home.

Then Loni and I have yet another week off from teaching to enjoy!! Yippee!

How Jersey are you?

Family, this one is for you!

You Are 66% New Jersey!

You've definitely got some Jersey in you. Congratulations, it's a great thing to be. However you're score could certainly be a lot higher!

How New Jersey Are You?
Make Your Own Quiz

And Tracy, you got me started - I was reading the old posts I missed in your blog! It's your fault I'm addicted. Must log off now, must bake, must wrap, must clean, um, maybe just one more quiz . . . .

113 of me!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 113 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

DVD - Invincible (Go Eagles!)

If you haven't seen Invincible yet, rent, borrow or buy it soon. It is a really good, feel-good movie! (And we enjoyed the Philadelphia Eagles connection, too . . . .) It's a Disney movie, rated PG with no language or situations to be wary of (well, in one scene the kissing couple moves into the front door of a rowhouse together, but nothing further is implied; and many of the scenes are in a bar where the character and his buddies hang out and he works part time).

Fern & Jerry Hill

Today is the 50th anniversary celebration of two very special people, Fern and Jerry Hill, founders of Timothy Hill Children's Ranch.

Jerry and Fern are widely and well-known in our fellowship and beyond, true and loving servants of the Lord and His kingdom. They established the Ranch in memory of their firstborn son who had a dream of opening a children's home/ranch for children and who was killed in an accident while still a child. Not only have the Hills established this ranch and are passing the torch to their sons, they teach and encourage on Long Island, NY and throughout the country.

They have been friends and encouragers of ours since our early years in New Jersey (wow! We have been privileged to know them for 25 years!) If you don't know them or the Ranch, check out the web site http://www.timothyhillranch.org/. Fern's book, Graduation to Glory, about Timothy's short but influential life, could be a manual for raising children. Fern and Jerry are wonderful speakers, together or apart. Fern is one of the most hospitable people I know, and I think Jerry remembers everyone he's ever met. These are incredible people, and I'm grateful for how they've touched my family's lives.

(These pictures are from the Ranch website, borrowed without permission. I was visiting the site today and discovered that today is the celebration. I just had to share this with you. I love these folks!)

Joseph's mite

One of the first members we met, and anyone meets, at Mount Dora is Joseph. Mount Dora has official greeters every week who rotate in the duty, but Joseph is "on duty" every week with an outstretched hand, a big smile, and a slightly garbled "Hi." I don't know how old Joseph is; it's hard to tell. His speech is hard to understand. He rides a bike to and from worship and is there whenever the doors are open. I ask him how he is and he shrugs a little and says, "Some pain." Truth is, he's in pain pretty much all the time, but (perhaps because he's one of society's fringe folk) he doesn't get much attention for it. He has some sort of job, I think, but it doesn't provide much. The folks here at MD are more aware of Joseph's needs so I haven't been too nosey. But the reason I write about him is because of something that occurred tonight.

I saw him this morning bringing grocery bags of wrapped gifts into the foyer. I didn't know what that was all about but didn't feel the "need to know" - maybe not my business. But tonight I saw him carrying some and offered to help him carry them wherever he was taking them. He accepted my offer to help and asked me to read the labels to tell him who they were for. As I assisted, I began to understand that Joseph had brought these gifts for the members. Each grocery bag contained one or more individually wrapped, tagged, and bowed gifts for various members of the church here. What? How did Joseph earn the money to buy whatever was in these bags? How did he buy and transport them to his home (by bicycle)? Who helped him wrap and label (and read the names from the directory?) each gift? (I know he has friends in the community who assist him in various ways as folks from the church do.) Some recipients, with a gentle, grateful smile, called him Santa Joseph. Soon it was time for worship and I excused myself to take my seat. He thanked my afterwards for my help.

I am reminded of the widow's mite. From my abundance, I have purchased and will wrap, bow, and label gifts for my family. I tried to stay within my budget, but I didn't have to sacrifice financially to give to my loved ones. From his limited means, Joseph gifted his spiritual family. I'm sure he sacrificed, but I sensed in him a quiet joy to have an opportunity to give. The modern day widow's mite. Something to think about.

Who Knew?

Snow in Florida - Who knew . . . that there would be snow in Mount Dora, Florida? Yes, there is snow in Mount Dora, Florida - trucked in from elsewhere, I've been told. On Saturday, area children had the opportunity to sled and slide on snow in Donnelly Park, the center of Mount Dora. And when Loni and I were at Curves this afternoon (Monday), looking out the window toward the park, children were still digging and making snowballs from the remnants, which is totally amazing considering that it was in the high 70s here today! (These are pictures of the park, but not of the snow. Floridians really decorate for Christmas, but hey, it's warm out. Perfect weather for spending hours decorating outside, and you need all these lights and decorations to enhance the holiday mood. I just wish I had a photo of that roof with those flamingos pulling the sleigh!)

Yes, today I had the windows open in the house and the car windows down, even this evening, and it was great! This is my kind of weather! Yeah! Oh . . . um . . . sorry to those of you in colder climes, um, you can boast next summer about your perfect weather while I'm sweltering in 90s and 90% humidity, okay? Just let me revel in this while I can, please? This is my trade-off for the four seasons and missing leaves and snow (from inside the warm house) and spring and reasonable summers. So, I'm going to enjoy it while it's here! Who knew?

Garbage Disposers - Who knew . . .that pasta is bad, bad, bad for garbage disposers? Who knew . . .that unclogging the sink clogged by pasta could be such an ordeal? Who knew . . . that fruit pits and grapefruit rinds are good for garbage disposers? Who knew . . . that you should run the (cold!) water for a minute after all the food was disposed of? Who knew . . . I could reach middle age (ahem) and not know how to operate a garbage disposer? Our landlords warned us when we moved in not to put grease in it, but that was a far as the instruction went. I told them that we had never used one! My mother told me that grapefruit finds were good for it. I knew to use cold water. But my knowledge and instruction were lacking!! Cleaning out the fridge last night, at bedtime, I thought, "Pasta is nice and soft, perfect through the disposer." NOT! First went the pasta, no problemo. Followed by the sauce, problemo!! Sinkful of tomato sauce/water - yuck! And who knew . . . that my husband could get it unclogged this morning and still leave for work before 8am?! What a guy! (Okay, okay, so he, the cabinet floor, and the kitchen rug got sprayed with chopped up pasta, and I got to clean the cabinet liner and replace the undersink contents and wash the rug and mop the floor before I went food shopping. However, the pipes and sink were clear, the kitchen cleaner than before the incident, and I learned some valuable lessons!) Who knew?

Christmas preparations in Florida

Hanging the lights - Sorry, Lis, that you're freezing in Virginia. We hung the lights today and I got a bit of sunburn. It was so nice today although it was chilly yesterday, by Florida standards. Yesterday was in the 50s and windy; I wasn't really dressed for the chill. Today was back to warmer temps. This morning Loni and I wore jackets to Curves, long sleeves late morning to buy our Christmas tree (see below), and switched to short sleeves to put up the house lights in the afternoon. It was probably in the high 60s or even low 70s. I'm liking Florida weather! Sounds nice to y'all, too, doesn't it? Down here they wear winter jackets, gloves and scarves in weather like yesterday's and this morning's. We probably will in a few years, too. Today, in between other tasks, I even did a little weeding and planting. I planted a poinsettia in the front flower bed. Lowe's is selling hanging baskets still. The downside of this still warm weather is that the wasps are still making nests, too; Bob had to spray in the eaves so he didn't get attacked.

It's always "fun" (a bit of sarcasm in the voice - hear it?) to hang the lights. I understand why some folks leave them up year-round. They are so pretty, though, that it's worth the trouble. We plugged them all in first indoors and thought we had way more than we needed. Not so! Just enough. Our previous house was a ranch style house; this one has gables which Bob had fun going up and down and all around! He's such a good sport.

Buying the tree - There are tree farms in central Florida, but we have a particular kind of tree we like that doesn't grow in Florida (or New Jersey), Frasier Fir. (They are the softest needled trees with pretty strong branches and arranged nicely for ornaments to hang well.) They sell cut ones at the local tree farm, but they sell them at the Publix grocery store, too, and at Lowe's, both around the corner. Why go all the way to a tree farm to buy a cut tree when you don't have to? We settled on Lowe's.

Finding a place for a tree in our house - There really is no place for a tree in our house. I measured and moved and removed furniture. I discovered that IF I moved a chair from one corner (by a doorway, the only doorway into the computer room; we could block it if we were willing to go in and out through the window!) to another spot where there's room for it (but not really), and IF we could find really skinny tree, it would fit in that corner. We did. It's taller than any tree we've ever had and very slender. It's not bad. I'll try to post a pic after it's decorated. For such a lean tree it's really quite full.

Fresh Florida fruit - Last week I told you about the just picked strawberries we bought, and this week I ate a grapefruit from a tree in our back yard! (It wasn't so sweet, but I think it was the variety of grapefruit and how fun to eat one right off the tree.)

A wreath for the car - While at Lowe's I bought a wreath to hang on the front of the van. Loni thinks this is quite weird. (I should have listed this as one of my weirdnesses!) While I was in the house hunting for wire, Loni and Bob hid it, messing with my grey head. (I'm going to retaliate by sneaking wreaths on Loni's Eclipse and Bob's pickup! Sh! Don't tell!)

More to come? I'll post more Florida Christmas prep as events occur, if they're interesting. I wish I could post that we watched the shuttle launch. We could have watched it! We tried Wednesday night but it was scrubbed. We forgot that it was rescheduled for tonight. And apparently the nighttime launches are pretty cool. We did see a rocket launch last month. The shuttle is said to be much more spectacular.

Have a wonderful Lord's day!

Tagged! Weird, who me?

So Lisa passed this along to Bob who tagged me (and Loni and Trey both posted their weirdness, too). But I checked out Malia's (who tagged Lisa) and she called it a meme. I didn't understand Wikepedia's definition, so I'm still not sure what a meme is.

1. My idea of cleaning includes reorganizing. It is hard for me just to clean and not reorganize in some way, trying to improve how things fit and look in my house. I like to organize and to be organized, although you couldn't tell it sometimes from my house and personal spaces.

2. Christmas music - must start playing it the day after Thanksgiving, or even the afternoon of Thanksgiving. Trey must have inherited this from me because he was complaining before Thanksgiving that I wasn't playing it yet. I have, hmm, how many CDs of Christmas music? (more than I can listen to in the brief season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just counted - that would be 40!) and must add to the collection each year. Which reminds me . . . haven't purchased any yet this year and it's December 2nd! I usually buy the Hallmark Christmas CD for sure but don't plan to this year. Not an artist I care for.

3. I hate getting a haircut because it never is what I want (except way back when my friend Teri cut it. Loni and I would drive 2 hours back to north Jersey for Teri to cut our hair!). I have a great hair, hair lots of women would love to have and often comment on (today it was a stranger in the Panera Bread bathroom). It's thick and wavy and graying gracefully, but I rarely manage to get a cut that works with my hair. Right now it is way past needing a cut but the last one was so bad that I dread trying it again! Gotta make that appointment (um, not tomorrow, it's Sunday, and not Monday, they're all closed, but Tuesday!! gotta remember to do it!).

4. I love the outdoors, if the temperature is right. I love being outdoors when the weather is nice (60s, 70s, 80s with no humidity) and there are no mosquitoes. I like strolling/shopping outdoors, walking outdoors, easy hiking outdoors, even weeding and yardwork outdoors if (the big if) the temperature is right. My idea of sightseeing/vacationing is outdoors walking rather than driving or being indoors. Beach, mountains, plains, canyons. Fresh air and the beauty of nature. I prefer having windows open, rather than AC or heat, if it's nice outside. So Florida might work out after all (hehe -- if I just stay indoors from May to October).

5. Like Lisa, I love to read, esp. fiction. (It took her and her siblings a long time to catch this from me!) I can get so lost in a book that it affects my mood. If the characters aren't getting along or the main character is unhappy, and I have to stop reading at that point, that's the mood I'm in, for a while at least. I read a lot and I read quickly, but I don't remember details of what I've read. Loni is much better at recalling plot details. I can hardly remember the title or characters in a book when I move onto another. Another reading weirdness about me is that if I want to learn something, I'm much more likely to get a book or look it up on the internet than take a class, watch a video, or ask someone to teach me. If, after I get a teaching job someday, Lord willing, I have the opportunity to continue my education, I really should pursue something about reading - teaching reading or doing media science.

6. I'm a picky eater. I don't like cheese, watermelon, mayonnaise, lima beans, sweet potatoes, any soda except cola non-diet, coffee. a long list! The reason I like to cook is so that I can cook what I like, the way I like it. I love chocolate but I'm selective: Hershey's, M&Ms, Milky Way Midnight - the cheap stuff. No Godiva for me! I only like some chocolate cakes and brownies, so I'll usually decline if I didn't prepare them. I like to travel and would have liked to be a missionary, but food would have been a problem. I rarely taste anything I don't recognize at potlucks. Sorry, friends.

I'm sure my family would have listed other weirdness about me, but these are what occur to me to which I'll admit.

Florida PLUS!

Plus! Fresh strawberries, picked this morning here in Florida, bought at a road-side stand, in December! (They were kind of bruised up, though. I've been told you can pick your own around here, but I haven't seen a sign inviting me to pick some. Maybe if I pick my own, they won't be so bruised. It's pretty bad to pay $12 for half a flat and have each one be bruised more than a little. But they sure are SWEET!)

Negative - Florida doesn't do good tomatoes. We moved from Jersey just as Jersey tomatoes were getting ripe and I MISSED IT! Boo hoo. I keep buying tomatoes from the stands around and they're just almost ripe and I think they come from TN or someplace, but not from here.

Plus (if you like grapefruit) - FL has good ones and they're just getting ripe. We have a grapefruit tree in our backyard and they will soon be ripe (I think).

Negative, maybe - I'll be checking this out soon. There are Christmas tree farms but the descriptions of the trees don't sound like any Christmas trees I've ever seen. We shall see . . . . soon.

Plus - putting up Christmas lights in shirt-sleeves. Negative - haven't done it yet. Bob was sick on Thursday, his day off, and it was drizzling when we got home this afternoon, Bob from his retreat and Loni and me from shopping.