Tuesday, May 26, 2020

A Weekend Wrap-up


This will most likely be a rambling post of thoughts.

I trimmed a plant and brought some in. Made a pretty table centerpiece.


I put a simple finish on Lady Liberty and put out my patriotic decor in time for Memorial Day weekend.



Here is just a small sampling of them. For the most part I spread them out over the house. These days I seem to be in a less is more mood and I have never really found a place in our home to put all of it together which is what I would like. My other place to put things is the sewing room for which you can't see today. I have a mess made in there right now.

Four of my favorites are on or near the top along with Paw Patrol for Tucker.

I spent a good part of the weekend painting at Mom's and trying to decide what to do about her technology so that she can watch church better. Jeff and I watched with her this Sunday morning so we could see if the technology is just too old to handle it all or if it is user error. I think it is a combination. Now I have to see if the user error can be taught enough to warrant buying new technology.

We painted a couple of walls that had needed it but I never got around to it. They weren't just horrible, but for her they were. It was mostly where someone had touched up things with a finish that was different so they glow in the sunlight. I have two more small walls to do, but I am not what I used to be and if I go all out I won't be able to have the energy to keep Tucker.

I rested yesterday and Jeff and I took pretty much an all day drive. We left around 10:00 yesterday and drove all along the coast to Cape San Blas. The traffic was a little lighter than over the weekend as many were heading north to home. The area from Santa Rosa Beach to Inlet Beach was not even considering social distancing. Now the beach area is large, but there are only so many little places to eat and they all seemed beyond crowded. We were able to see Lindsay's friend's house that was burned. It was not huge area, but you could see the trail it took. IT seemed to have melted the siding on many homes that it didn't burn all the way down. I didn't take any pictures as we just rolled on by.

I hadn't been all the way to the Cape since Michael hit. I had stopped short of Tyndall AFB when I went. Now Jeff had seen the areas around Tyndall as he helped work out there. It is still sad to see so much devastation a year and a half later.

One of the more interesting things I noted this time were the live oaks. I shared the pines all broke in half and much of that is is there or cut out probably for logging, but the live oaks that survived were bare after the storm.

Yesterday, they were the oddest live oaks I have seen. They were coming back, but rather than their huge canopies draped with Spanish moss they had smaller branches that had survived and each individual branch had lots of new growth and leaves growing all along the branch. I really should have taken a picture because I can't describe the oddity. Just a bunch of big branches with lots of new growth close to the branch. Perhaps a good description is that the limbs were wearing a fuzzy sleeve.

You could definitely see the path that it took. We even noted where the eye wall came across because the trees down go in two different directions. Mexico Beach had lots of building going on, but you could see where many homes had been and how they were just taken right off the pilings. It reminded me of how as a young girl we drove to Houston along the Gulf Coast near Biloxi a full two summers after Camille hit and it was still so much evidence of such a strong storm.

We of course live on the coast, but when Lindsay and Paul Allen were in elementary school we visited Cape San Blas many summers for a week. It was just so quiet and unspoiled. We would rent a house on the bay side and spend the week snorkeling and frolicking in the water. Our last vacation over there was the summer before Lindsay started 6th grade in 2001. We have gone over but not for a week at a time since then. I have a big birthday coming up this fall so we have rented a home there but on the Gulf side for the event with insurance for canceling  this time. I told Jeff I would love for us all to be there again, but my birthday month is the height of hurricane season and with Mother slowing down there are just too many things that could throw a wrench in the plans that I am a little scared to even write them down.

The cape was breeched by the storm and they have put big pieces of concrete rocks along the place where it was breeched. It will take a very long time for that to come back and may need some dredging to add sand there. The process for getting dunes back involves fencing and sea oats to capture sand.

Picture is from Wikipedia and shows where the breech occurred.


The Gulf waters are just on the other side of the rocks. I remembered to take this to show the kids as we were leaving.



We went to the end of the cape to the state park and walked on the Gulf and bay side. I am the lady who must always pick up a couple of shells and stop to look at the different plants. We took a hike along the bay and my find was a hawk feather.

A storm was coming in and followed us home last night.

I
The clouds make it hard to see but there is the fencing and sea oats I mentioned.

Bay side hike location.


We packed food since we didn't know how crowded or if we could get anything along the way. We did however stop on the way home in Panama City for a drive through milkshake.

Oh and my treasures for the day.



That was our day. I say it very frequently that I am so grateful that we didn't get that one and that Tucker waited a week to arrive.

I have stitched a little bit on two smalls, but I have some ripping out to do on both. How is that!
I also read a book for which I would have recommended IF you like Florida history. It was a historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Miami. It was a fun read for someone who loves Florida history which I do. However, we made it all the way to the end of the book with no sex and while this one didn't have too much it was still a little sad because the detail wasn't needed to tell the story. Seriously, why does everything these days feel the need to add something like that. Pooh!

I did self frame my little verse. I love this verse, but I don't know if I love the stitch. It is going to be in my office area of my sewing room, so it was for me anyway. It is a lovely pattern and would be great with the called for silks, so I am holding onto it. I may do it again ONE day.



That is it for me today. A long one, but I kind of wanted to record the day and the thoughts.

Memorial Day weekend always ushers in the summer season to me and Friday morning as I sat out on the back deck I felt the heat of summer arriving.




Sandy

13 comments:

  1. I would enjoy knowing the name of the book about Miami/Florida history. Your get-away looks like it was wonderful, even with the storm coming in. Thanks for taking us along!! Have a blessed week!

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    1. You might like the book. IT wasn't exactly dirty, but I have readers who might think so I always hate recommending a book without a warning. It was the second book in a series. Dummy me thought I ordered the first one, but I didn't know it until halfway through so no problems there. I may go back and read the first one this summer. IT was called The Rising of Glory Land by Janie Devos.

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    2. Thanks! I will check them out!

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  2. What a great idea to pack a lunch and take a long drive like that. I'm about ready to do that too. (I guess I've wondered about going to a bathroom! lol) But it's great to see something new or that you haven't seen in a long time. Love your stitching and pretty shelves. And the shells and feather you found! Have a good week!

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  3. Hi Sandy: Lady Liberty is beautiful, you did a beautiful job finishing her.
    What a funs day being at the beach, the shells are in perfect condition, lucky you, and the feather excellent find.
    Your Isaiah is lovely, nice frame.

    Catherine

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  4. Thanks for sharing your interesting and busy weekend! It's always good to refresh one's home environment! Even if it is just changing a few things around or adding a plant! And now you have to find a spot(s) for the feather and the shells!

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  5. All the pictures are beautiful this morning. Something for everyone. I could use a drive along the beach! Water is just comforting. And your flat fold looks great. I just cannot master them. Hope you can help your mama with technology then you can come help me. I think we need a smart tv downstairs but not until the old one dies. Off to Grimmwood this am.

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  6. Well done on getting the My Big Toe piece framed, Sandy! I enjoyed seeing your patriotic display and what a pretty centerpiece you created. Your drive sounded like a good break from the every day. Enjoy the rest of your week!

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  7. This is a very enjoyable read, even with the honesty about hurricane destruction, and notes about not being as energetic as in the past.

    We drove the Gulf coastline last summer when coming to Ocala from Milton. Yes, the destruction was shocking.

    Your stitch from Isaiah 30:15 is both beautiful and so wise for every.single.one.of.us. A quiet trust in our Heavenly Father is our only hope during this distressing time with COVID.

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  8. I like that you even brought a tiny bit of sand home with your sea shells and feather! LOL. That proves you actually picked them up on the seashore. Enjoyed your post and all the details of the coastal areas where you went. It must be so sad to see the areas that are still so devastated from the hurricane, and then the new fire areas too. Glad you actually got onto the beautiful beach and enjoyed the sand and salty air before the storm rolled in. Lovely idea to pack a lunch and go. We used to do that as kids because there were no fast food places to stop. We need to do it again. Loved your stitching's . Lady Liberty is beautiful! And the last one is perfect. Thank you for sharing it all with us. Have a blessed week.

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  9. I had trouble posting yesterday, I think I wrote too much!! Lady Liberty is gorgeous and it looks great as a standing stitch. Your framed verse is beautiful too, the frame goes very well.
    That must have been nice to take a ride and exploring old haunts. Those boulders are huge and such a big area to fill in. I hope you aren't going to be hit by Bertha. I always pick up shells in Florida, they have a nice variety there. My sister collects them with the goal of framing out a mirror. I missed my trip there this past month. Stay well! Mary

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  10. Your Lady Liberty is a lovely finish, Sandy--classic and will stand the test of time. I am not liking finishes that have too much going on in the form of artificial flowers, too many bows and ribbons, etc. Loved seeing where you have them displayed, too. How nice to be able to get away and drive through the pretty landscapes that you have nearby. I am just driving on the highway back and forth to NY to help out mom. Not the most inspiring views :) But, I'm so glad I can be there for her with the lockdown going on. We feel very blessed. Have a great weekend!

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  11. Well, I'm coming in here pretty late, but it was enjoyable to read all the same. I look forward to hubs being past his knee surgery and feeling like taking a road trip. That will probably be a few more months at least - and then who knows where we'll be with the big C. I love how you finished your Lady Liberty! And your simple, but pretty and patriotic table centerpiece.

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I am so glad you stopped by my little blog. Drop in again anytime.
Sincerely,
Sandy