Bye Bye Boat

Since we're selling our Florida home, we put the boat on the market too.  Sad though we are to say good bye to a boat that we've owned and loved for 14 years, we couldn't leave it on the dock if we no longer owned the house.

Fortunately, we found a friend who will love and care for it!  Our neighbors, Connie and James,

went out with us to see how it ran, and introduced us to

a new island, a new restaurant and a new friendship!

From the dock on the bay side of Palm Island, we walked across the mangrove swamp to the beautiful resort of Rum Bay.



We had a great lunch looking out to the Gulf of Mexico.

It was a lovely day for a boat ride.  We saw so many birds, dolphins, and a few other boats.

Truly a wonderful way to spend a December day in Florida!



Christmas Boat Parade - Venice Florida

It's always nice to have friends who organize get-togethers to do interesting things!  Fran and Patti went up to the canal in  Venice on Wednesday and staked out a place for us to gather.  Since so many people come to this parade, we went up early to be sure we could find a parking place.

Fran and Patti



Bob and Rosemarie

Lis and Reall

Paul and Mary

 

As the sun started to go down, we rearranged our chairs so we were facing the canal and waited for the parade to begin!

Just a few of the many boats - and yes, they were all boats!

 

Jim and Sheryl Visit

Ron's sister, Sheryl, and her husband, Jim, came to visit us just before we headed from the Georgia house to the Florida house. 

Before we left Georgia, we took a trip down to the dam to have a look back at a big part of Lake Eufaula.

 We took Jim and Sheryl to one of our favorite places in Abbeyville, AL, Huggin' Molly's for lunch.

 

After enduring a 3 hour delay on I-75 on our way to the Florida house, we arrived at the Florida house and began to show them this area.  One of the places on our tour list is Solomon's Castle, where we went to lunch one day while they were with us.

And, on another day, lunch at one of the weirdest places in Florida, the Linger Lodge.

They wanted to see Manatees, so we went to the bay where Tampa Electric warms the waters so Manatees can come when the gulf cools off.  Not too many in residence yet, but we did see several.

Banyan trees are always fun.  This one is in downtown Venice, a couple of miles north of us.

We enjoyed the taxidermy display and the many unique retail items to be found at the Shell Factory in Ft Myers.  Then we went to the Ft Myers Flea market - where they picked up some Christmas presents and we stocked up on oranges.

The Great Paint Project of November 2014

When we built our Georgia house in 2006, my brother, David,  brought his sawmill to Georgia to help with the project.  We purchased a load of Cypress logs, and we cut the logs on site into boards that we later planed and stained and used to side our house. 

We restained the house every other year, but still the wood began to change colors - some turning dark, some turning lighter.  We decided this year we should paint it.

We chose a color that we thought was a pretty good match from the color chart at Home Depot - Sante Fe - a light tan color.  As Ron applied it to the detached garage first, it looked awfully PINK!  So back to the color charts - and we decided to use the Sante Fe for trim on the main house and pick a darker color that we could use for trim on the garage.

You never realize how high the peaks are, how much trim there is and how long it will take until you get started.  After 10 days with both of us working, we finally got to the last side.

I did what I could all around the house from the bottom to as far as I could reach from the three step ladder and the top of the air conditioner.  I had to leave the hard part - all the peaks that had to be done from the roof and the tall ladders to Ron. 

I even repainted our sign with the new colors - last step was putting it up!

When the sun shines on it, it looks red (color is Navajo Red), but when in the shade as the second picture shows, it looks dark brown.
We are pleased with the end result and all the hard work was worth it!

Rosie and the Giant Puffball

If you look closely behind the tractor right on the edge of the picture, you will spot what looks like a white ball.

Upon investigation, I realized it was the largest puffball mushroom I had ever seen.  I don't have my mushroom book with me, but I was pretty sure all puffballs are edible.

When slided, the flesh was pure white and firm - just about perfect....still, I wasn't sure about it's edibility.  So I posed the question on Facebook, thinking my many mushroom hunting friends would be able to identify it.

Fried in butter, it smelled lovely and looked really enticing.

Our friends, Patti and Fran, who were visiting from Florida, politely declined to help me eat it - as did my husband, Ron.
Most of the comments on Facebook were negative (as in, "Are you crazy?") But my younger sister, Anne, came through with her opinion and a confirmation that puffballs are essentially edible, so I ate one slice the first evening to see if I suffered any ill effects.  The next day, since I still felt fine, I ate the rest for breakfast.  Now looking for more!!

Weeds, Weeds, Weeds

As usual, we returned to our Georgia property to find lots of weeds waiting for us!

I'm about halfway through the big flower bed - Left it for last, as the smaller ones aren't so daunting.  Ron has been mowing and hauling away the weeds I pile up as I work.

I added a new flower bed, but I have a good excuse for this one...first of all, it's about the size I can handle, and secondly, it rounds off the corners for mowing more efficiently.

This is one of the smaller flower beds - before above with the pile of weeds that came out of it.  After is below - didn't get quite enough bark, but it will be done soon!

New neighbors, Jimmy and Clarice

And every night a beautiful sunset!

Pike Road Hay Art 2014

The town of Pike Road, Alabama, has a hay art contest every year.  Here are some of this year's offerings: