Taking a Little Time

Just a quick update on the studio progress.  192 sq ft of "I'm lovin' it" tucked away in my little corner of the yard.  Only 12' x16' but sometimes looking larger than it is...sometimes feeling like a project that will never end.  Maybe that's what I like so much about it.

Spring, in all its glory, seems to be on its own time line this year with things blooming early or late or just out of order.  The Dogwood and Azaleas hardly lasted a week and the Jasmine is not only early, it seems to want to stick around a while.  Wish you could smell it.

 My little "friends" are busy, as usual, looking for last years acorns in all my potted plants and newly spread mulch.

The Cardinals are nesting in the roses outside my bedroom window again this year.  The hatchlings are tiny, well camouflaged and not willing to pose long enough for me to focus through the window screen but their hungry squeaks sure make their presence known.

The cabbages in the big pot are growing faster and larger than the ones planted in the garden.  Go figure.

And the tomatoes, scattered in pots among the flower beds, are doing their thing.
As for me and mine, life is spinning in all directions at once.
There is no such thing as enough time once you pass 60.

March is just a blur

March rolled in with the fog and I've been in one ever since. No idea where the month went. No idea what happened to spring. Just as the Dogwoods began to bloom, they were gone to leaf. The Azaleas blossoms only lasted a week and I almost missed the Wisteria completely.

It's been unseasonably warm and it seems that the plants just don't know what to make of it. I've kept a spring journal for the past nine years trying to get a grip on what blooms first and what takes its time here in my part of Florida. Only the Hickory trees are following form this year, continuing to be the last to bud and even they will be a month early.

As everything around me seems to be rushing ahead of time, I seem to have been backing up. Tried all month to coordinate my schedule with that of my husband and with the weather so we could finish the windows for the studio but never connected on a single day. The car had a problem. The pool pump went out. And, the time I had designated for filing taxes was redirected toward a week long family illness.

As everything outdoors rushes into June before April has even arrived, I'm still stuck in February, with winter clothes still in the closet and all this indoor stuff demanding to be done. So, I think I'll put my fingers in my ears, say "la-la-la" to it all and go shopping for flowers...wonder if I can find a short sleeved shirt.

If it's Shish Ka-bab, it must be February

As my children were growing up, birthdays provided an opportunity for each to set the menu with their favorite meal. Always, my younger son requested Shish Ka-babs and it has become a late February tradition spanning many decades.Sometimes it is dinner at home, prepared by his wife and shared with his children. Occasionally, the family at large manages to turn it into a surprise party. Since there can be no surprise in the fare, we attempt a bit of creativity with the party theme. This year, as spring seems to be getting a jump on the actual season, we decided on a "Beach Bash" complete with anything and everything we could think of in the genre of Jimmy Buffett.

Orginally, we were going to hang a few Haiwaiian shirts as background but I acquired so many at thrift stores (for no more than $1 a piece), that I found myself in posession of a dozen, of varying sizes, in no time at all and decided that we should wear them instead. Washed and ironed, that part of the preparation was complete but we no longer had the needed background. Completely apart from planning and while enjoying coffee on a mild and sunny morning, I noticed my distant stand of bamboo greening with new spring growth. At first my thoughts were only hopes that a late freeze would not damage the tender young leaves. Then suddenly, the bamboo images burst into an entirely different portion of my brain and the issue of a beachy background was resolved. The drab and empty planters on the deck would be filled with cuttings of bamboo, creating walls of tropical flavor. Immediately, I saw the deck transformed in my minds eye. I phoned a daughter and asked her to cut Palmeto fronds from her property to use as covering for an umbrella and to fill in the lower portions of planters. A daughter-in-law offerred the use of a life guard chair, once used as product display.

The tropical coziness of the deck far overshadowed the drab, colorless remnants of winter that stretched beyond. Here's hoping the photographs give you some ideas for your own unseasonal beach party plans.

Here are some of the inexpensive ideas we used:

• Paper parasols threaded into strings of Christmas lights
• Hawaiian shirt coozies at Dollar Tree - $1 each
• Angel Food cake turned into Pina Colada cake. Instruction link HERE
• Tropical gift packaging by attaching printed computer images
• Endless MP-3 Beach Music
• A bar serving frozen, virgin Strawberry Daqueris & Pina Coladas
• A section of grey, weathered fencing set on saw horses as a buffet table
• Collections of sea shells
• Hors d'vores decorated with celery "palm trees" & olive "coconuts"

January Spring ????

Tank top or long johns? It's hard to figure these days. Sunny and bright. Pouring down rain. Oops, cold front moving in! That's a typical winter here in the northernmost part of the Florida panhandle but it usually isn't quite this confusing in January. Fighting a cold that won't go away and the ravages of the aging process, I was pretty well down in the dumps this morning when I noticed something unusual in the the shrubs across the lawn. Ha! One of my Azaleas is blooming. And that's not all. I noticed that the dogwood buds have set, the Spirea is in new leaf... and little flowers are popping out all over. My Meyer Lemon tree is going absolutely crazy with blooms. And, oh, did I mention that it will be in the 20's at night, day after tomorrow. Go figure. Where's the box of tissue?

Easy Ornaments for Gifts or Tree

Pipe Cleaners to the rescue. About the time I ran out of my previously purchased decorations for packages, one of my daughters grabbed 3 pipe cleaners and pinched and twisted the above holly leaves and berries into existence. It took her a matter of seconds and intrigued me enough to give it a try myself. The holly and snowflakes each used 3 pipe cleaners, the bells and tree each used two. Just take a closer look; they're not hard to figure out. And, with a package of 55 pipe cleaners selling for $2, they end up costing only about 4 cents each. (For reference, the tree is 5" tall.)

Studio Update - December

I thought the onset of Florida winter, with its intermittent rain and cold spells, and the inevitable busyness of Thanksgiving and Christmas would bring progress on the little studio to a halt but I overlooked the tenacity of my son and his wife. A little at a time, not every day or even every week, but with a flurry of activity here and another there, they are still bringing my dream to life. There is now a step, a porch and a porch roof and as they add sheets of tin to the the steep pitch, my husband and I work slowly to fit and install the antique door and windows.

With money and time in short supply, this project would never have gotten off the ground had it not been for my son. "It won't be quick," he said, "but it's not impossible."

There are philosophical lessons in his words. Lessons that I learned from my father and obviously passed along. One step at a time. Never give up. Never lose faith. Pray as you go and don't forget to be thankful...I am.

Easy Pina Colada Cake

These cakes contain a tunnel of Pina Colada goodness and are beautiful when sliced.

• Using store bought Angel Food cakes, cut a slice from the cake tops, about 3/4" thick and set aside.
• About 1/2" in from the outside and inside edges of the cakes, press the tines of a fork straight down, into the cakes creating the outer boundaries of what will become a channel.
• Once the channel boundaries are established, use the fork to remove the cake between the two rows of fork perforations (Be careful not to dig out all the way to the bottom of the cake.)
• Fill the channel with 1 package of prepared instant Coconut Pudding to which 2 cup of very well-drained Crushed Pineapple has been added.
• Replace the tops on the filled cakes.
• Frost with ready-to-use Cream Cheese Icing.
• Pat Flaked Coconut onto frosted cakes.
• If desired, coconut may be "toasted" using a torch as when making a flan.

Idea Starter - Twin's Cakes

I had an original idea for cakes for my twin grandson's third birthday. With little money and less time, it is not well executed but you get the idea...and the party was themed around cars.

A quick trip so the store for a single cake, a bag of cookies and some icing. As you can see, I cut the cake in half and trimmed for the windshields and hoods. Beyond that, you can take your time and do a much better job than I did. Imagine the cars being two different colors. Think if there had been a good job done of piping the windows. How cute these could be. Cookies for the tires. Gumdrops for the lights.
But, my grandsons loved them just the way they were and went immediately for icing covered "tires".
If you give the car cakes a try, please share your photos with me and I'll post them.
Enjoy.

Sweat, Sacrifice and Love

The tiny studio that made its way from my dreams to a drawing pad sometime last winter, captured the imagination and heart of my son, Trace. With spring came his determination that the studio would become a reality and in the glow of autumn color it is. In early spring came a Saturday surprise of cinder blocks and 4x4s. I might have been able to stop right there. Just seeing the footprint in place seemed to satisfy something in me. But the dead tree that needed to be removed spurred a level of activity and added a sense of excitement to the project as if it were actually leading to something real.

This morning, as Trace and my daughter-in-law, Susan, set about another day of labor on my behalf, I was, quite simply, overwhelmed.

Every step of construction had seemed to be a kind of completion in and of itself, the day the floor was set, the day the walls were framed, the day the exterior sheeting was finished. They were great moments and there was great satisfaction. And between each step, there were long periods when life would return to normal and the little building would sit quietly and wait.

But this week, when the gable ends went into place with my crazy oval window cutout, the ridge timber set and the rafters perfectly cut and spaced, a different kind of excitement took place. There was celebration of accomplishment with great smiles and "job well done"s. But there was to be no familiar pause between stages. With the oncoming rain, here was suddenly a rush to dry it in and the hurry felt uncomfortable.

The work on the roof was genuinely difficult. It began each day at first light and continued long past dark and something in me ached for the labor that was being done on my behalf and without my help. I've spent all evening thinking about this; what was the source of my ache, my discomfort? And, as I've pondered the matter, I've continued to see my son's face as he kissed me goodbye this evening...exhausted, sweaty and smiling.

Just a few minutes ago it came to me.
What a silly thing. How seriously we take our roles in life. How many years do we labor for our children? How many sleepless nights do we spend as they step awkwardly toward adulthood? Somehow, the birth of our children prepares us for those things. But what in life prepares us to relinquish that role? At what moment do we recognize that it is they who will labor for us and they who will spend sleepless nights as we step awkwardly toward old age? My moment was today.

Halloween...ALREADY???

Welcome once again to my versatile front porch table. This time it's turned upside down, its standard position for holding winter fire wood, but holding bales of pine straw instead. To make better use of funds, I've opted for pine straw instead of hay and will use it later to protect bedding plants from the winter's cold. And, I'm hoping for double duty from the planters as well, using Crotons for color instead of Mums. I'll plant them later to replace things lost to this summer's drought.

The grand-babies got a kick out of the "Candy Corn" painted pumpkins though I must give credit for the idea to some fabulous magazine. I would love to mention which one but I must have flipped through dozens while at Mayo last week and sadly don't remember.

Since most of the pumpkins will be cooked and processed for Holiday pies, my only real splurge was the crow and I just couldn't resist. In another setting, he might look a bit sinister but with all the squirrels and birds on, around and thourgh my yard and porch, he seems to be just another visitor and I like him. I'll turn the Jack-o-lantern face around after Halloween and he can stay in place as a decorative vase through Thanksgiving.

My sister told me about creating the dolls with a bit of candy and hot glue. What a great, cost-saving surprise to find the combination of lollypops, Dots and Tootsie Rolls all in a single variety pack.

After the pumpkin carving and porch decorating, the grand-babies and I made "Pepitas" - roasted pumpkin seeds. Placing the pumpkin "goo" and seeds in a bowl of cold water, tends to do most of the separating for you. The seeds let go and float and can be easily scooped from the surface.

Drain. Toss in a plastic bag with oil and salt. Drain again and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Try adding some Cayenne or Cajun Spice Mix if you want a little zing. Fresh, crunchy, and FREE greatness. Yummm.

Spring Dreams - Autumn Faith

About the time the Dogwoods and Azaleas and Wisteria were in full bloom and the spring sun was fully into yummy, mellow mode, and people were tempted to say, "It doesn't get any better than this"; it did. Having been on the tenuous precipice of the the "unwell" since Christmas, I had become remotely resigned to giving up the building of my little studio any time soon. Then the music began.

To the random tap-tap-tap rhythm of hammers, the staccato injections of "how-tos" and "dos" and "don't dos", rose the melody of children's laughter, to a crescendo of giggles that would wain only to rise again and again. Then a litany of doctor's visits began and summer came and summer went and I have no idea how it passed so quickly. The almost month long visit of my daughter's family flew by as if passing in only days.

The planning of a 50 year high school reunion that began in January as a committee of two, took a heart wrenching turn when my dear friend of 57 years died suddenly on a golf course a month ago. No time for grieving, I had just become a committee of one. And, at the changing of the seasons, to complicate things even more, I found myself five hours away from home, wandering aimlessly through the diagnostic routine of the Mayo Clinic with nothing but the needs of the reunion on my mind.

I've been home a few days now. With the reunion plans fairly well in hand, I have finally experienced a sense of competition, a genuine belief that it will actually come to pass. So, this morning, for the first time in weeks, I granted myself permission to retreat with my morning coffee to my chair on the front porch, a most favorite spot in my world. For a moment, the low, early sun captured my attention with it's long, lazy shadows and fresh, yellow light. Then my eyes fell on the lonely, little studio, unfinished and abandoned, the siding stained by the needed gift of rain, the primed and pretty floor littered with curling and colorless leaves. My heart sank and a sense of melancholy threatened. But, from somewhere, the distant sounds of children's voices laying lightly on the heavy morning air, reminded me of the joys of the spring building project, the happy faces, the satisfaction. If there is built nothing more than that, the tiny studio will have been a blessing.

The 50 year class reunion is just a week away. My work is all but done and I look forward to posting highlights of this labor of memorial to my good friend who will never be truly gone.

And September will end and November will begin with return trips to Mayo - Jacksonville.

It is a curious thing to me that the book written by Lady Lucia Edmondson, the mother of the woman for whom I was named, is titled "Scrambled Impressions at Mayo Clinic". Though my copy, passed to me by my mother, was lost decades ago, I was stunned to find one online. It is signed exactly as our copy was. Wouldn't it be serendipitous if the self same book had come full circle?

At any rate, my posting will be sporatic for a while. I intend to work on my own "Memories at Mayo" and will share them with you. In order to keep this disjointed, little journey of mine accessible to you, I'm going to label this post and subsequent, related ones - "Faith and Flutterbys". And for those of you who were not raised in my household, a flutterby is another way of saying butterfly. What a neat message of hope that seems to me to be, that my studio project is not abandoned; it is simply in a cocoon stage and will emrege, in it's time as the lovely little retreat I intended it to be.