It’s a bit nippy in Tallahassee this bright December morning. 
🌴 But just look at the rest of our week! 🌴
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas?
While somewhere far, far away…
And that’s a good thing!
Tag: florida
Let It Snow (Somewhere Else)Â
I love snow in theory. Newly fallen snow is indescribably lovely, draping the world in peaceful beauty. Even day two can be nice if one doesn’t have to scrape snow and ice off of car windows or shovel the heavy stuff off of sidewalks and driveways. By day three, though, the majesty has worn off.
Studly Doright, our two children, and I lived in North Dakota for three years and had quite enough of the frozen precipitation. Snow would begin falling around October 31, and didn’t stop until late March. Sometimes snow was still on the ground in April and May. Brrrrr!
Now that Studly and I live in north Florida I occasionally find myself romanticizing the idea of snow. Not enough that I want to actually experience it in person, mind you, but I miss being able to watch it fall softly from the comfort of my home.
Fortunately I can find it on the Internet.
Dean Martin sings Let It Snow and I melt. Ironic, right? (There’s a brief commercial at the beginning…)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mN7LW0Y00kE#
Peace, people!
Messing With Cats
Doright Manor is built in such a way that four doors open onto our porch. There is set of French doors in the formal living, another from the den, and another from the master bedroom. Then there is a single door opening from the master bath directly across from the French doors in the den.
Since completing our covered/screened in porch project we’ve almost exclusively used the den doors to access our new seating area on the porch. This morning while sipping my coffee and watching squirrels cavort around the lake I decided to open the door to the master bath so the cats could easily access their litter box without having to go all the way around the house.
Our older girl, Scout, is totally chill about the new doorway. She’s sitting in one of the patio chairs like, “Yeah, I knew that door would open eventually….No biggie.”
But our younger baby, Patches, has had her mind blown. It’s like she’s discovered Narnia. Patches has run back and forth nonstop across the porch all morning to verify the door’s existence, stopping at intervals to meow a clear question, “What’s going on here?” There might be an expletive in there, but I’m not that fluent in Cat.
At some point she’ll run out of steam and questions. That’s when I’ll open the door onto the master bedroom. That will really blow her mind.
Peace, people!
Easy Livin’
Our covered, screened-in porch is the perfect place to relax on a mild November evening. There’s a family celebration in full force across the lake, fairy lights and lilting voices twinkling on the calm water.
I’m sipping a Shock Top Raspberry Wheat Ale and tapping my toes in time with the guitar music drifting across the pond. Whoever’s playing isn’t very adept at their craft, but they’re quite enthusiastic. I like that in my musicians.
The man I adore, Studly Doright, is inside the house heating leftovers from yesterday’s Thanksgiving Day meal. I’m not a bit hungry, having already eaten two pieces of pecan pie, an avocado, bacon, and cheese omelet, and a ham sandwich today. The ale is my dessert.
Life is good here at Doright Manor. There’s a black and white cat winding around my ankles and a black cat snuggled down for a nap in the chair next to me. No, it’s not an exciting life, but it is filled with peace and love.
Peace, people.
Anagogglin
My vocabulary was enriched this week by the addition of the word, “anagoggle.”
Saint Helen and I were exploring the little community of Colquitt, Georgia, and had walked quite a distance from my car. When we realized we were both fairly tired of walking in the heat we decided to begin angling our way back to our starting point.
“We’ll just have to anagoggle our way back to the car,” Saint Helen said.
“Huh?” I replied in my most articulate manner.
“You know,” she said, demonstrating a zig zag pattern with her hands. “Anagoggle. You’ve never heard of that?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Must be a New Mexico thing,” said Saint Helen.
“Indeed.”
By that time we’d anagoggled over to the car and I’d conjugated the verb successfully: I anagoggled yesterday, we went anagogglin, we can anagoggle.
Peace, people.
It’s a Jungle Out There
Saint Helen (my mother-in-law) and I were enjoying our morning coffee out on our newly completed screened-in porch when this magnificent bird made an appearance.
Saint Helen grabbed her iPhone and quickly snapped this photo as the bird flew away to handle some noisy business just around the bend in the lake. Our imaginations have run amok:
- The bird is fending off an alligator
- The bird is protecting a nest
- The bird is attempting to establish its dominance over another male
- The bird is trying to impress a female
- The bird is auditioning for an episode of Swamp People.
Heck, we aren’t even sure what kind of bird this is. Maybe an egret? A heron? An ostrich? If any of my readers can identify it I’d be grateful.
The Corruption of Saint Helen
I took my beautiful mother-in-law, Saint Helen, to lunch at The Edison in Tallahassee today.
I had an outstanding BLT. She had a strawberry salad. We both had a cocktail!
Well, to be fair, Saint Helen only had half of one. I drank every last drop of mine.
Rosewater Pink Lemonade shaken with Bombay Gin is a lovely way to celebrate October 29. Or any other day, for that matter.
Peace, people!
Flight of the Flip Flips
Studly Doright and I just returned from a trip to Gruene, Texas, for a reunion of the Floydada High School class of 1975.
Always on the lookout for bloggable material, I had the marvelous idea of posting photos of myself on a variety of stops en route to Texas from Tallahassee.
I started out strongly:
Unfortunately, I quickly forgot all about the idea after the second stop. I might’ve been sidetracked by the quotes on the booths. 
Notice I was incredibly proud of my toenails. They’d been painted green to commemmorate Floydada’s team colors.
Due to heavy rains and cooler temperatures in Gruene, Texas, not a single person got to see my toes at the event. Their loss, right?
The reunion was incredible, though, even without my toes on display.
Peace, people.
Fangirl
There are things in my life that I get a little geeky about. I’m already trying to figure out how to justify going to see Star Wars Episode VII on Christmas Day. I have full color action packed dreams about Han Solo and Chewbacca. That’s geeky.
But this post isn’t about Star Wars, it’s about me geeking out over a favorite author retweeting one of my tweets on Twitter. (Sounds a bit like Rockin’ Robin, doesn’t it?)
When I find an author I like I will read any and everything he or she has ever written. One of those authors is CJ Box. Mr. Box doesn’t write scifi or fantasy, my two favorite genres. No, he writes what I’d call modern western novels, set primarily in Wyoming. One of his protagonists is a game warden named Joe Pickett.
I know Joe Pickett better than I do some members of my own family. Joe’s one of the really good guys in this world, but he’s not perfect. I’d like to think Joe and I could be best friends, but he’d think I talk too much. He’d be right.
While driving around Tallahassee today after getting a pedicure:
I saw a sticker on a car window that read, “Blind Eye Outfitters” and all my warning bells started ringing. Blind eye, eh? Does that mean the outfitter will ignore violations of game laws? Instantly I wanted to touch base with Joe Pickett, and see if he should investigate.
Of course Joe is fictional, so I did the next best thing and tweeted CJ Box. Imagine my delight when he not only favorited my tweet, but then retweeted it! This geeky fangirl squealed a little, I’m not going to lie.
Maybe CJ will notify Joe for me. It could happen.
Peace, people!
Beer for Breakfast
I spent my morning doing important stuff. No details, but trust me on this. Important Stuff. By the time I’d finally showered and dressed, it was nearly time for lunch, so instead of grabbing my regular breakfast bar I headed to Tallahassee’s newest and coolest restaurant, The Edison, for brunch.
If location, location, location means anything at all, then the Edison has that in spades. Situated on one side (southeast?) of lovely Cascades Park, The Edison provides diners a front row seat to the park’s ponds, walking trail, a variety of Florida waterfowl, and a dramatic waterfall. I chose outdoor seating on this perfect fall Friday and was just delighted by a pair of egrets landing nearby.
My server was exceptional and knowledgeable about the craft beers on tap at The Edison. I ordered a Leinenkugel Harvest Patch Shandy. When the server brought that she also brought me a sample of Southern Tiers Pumking beer. Oh my! About halfway through my shandy I began feeling lightheaded. That’s when I realized I was essentially having a beer for breakfast. Oops!
My meal was good, not outstanding, though. I had a whole wheat flatbread topped with sundried tomatoes, broccoli rabe, and chicken, among other ingredients my uneducated palate wasn’t familiar with. The flavors blended nicely, but I found it a little dry. I’m no food critic, but I thought it needed a light olive oil or cheese base. The meal was served with a side of fries that weren’t served quite hot enough for my taste.
The Edison is still new. Overall it has great ambience, and I observed impressive looking meals being served. In addition to the multi-level restaurant there’s a wine bar, a casual coffee area, and a great indoor bar with a pair of big screen TV sets. I will definitely give The Edison another try.
Peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 