The Daily Prompt asked, “Do you like hot and spicy foods, or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring?”
I like my food hot.
Spicy.
Gratuitous heat;
The kind of heat that
Makes me wipe the
Sweat from my
Brow as I eat.
Any residual suffering
For the sake of spiciness
Should be borne with
Stoicism and great
Quantities of
Pepto-Bismol.
Those who read my blog posts on a regular basis (God bless you faithful few) know that I’ve been in Antigua, Guatemala, these past few days to celebrate the marriage of my beautiful niece Hanna and her handsome beau, Beto.
On Friday, April 11, family, friends, and a handful of complete strangers joined Beto and Hanna on a mountain far above Antigua for one of the most joyous occasions I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness.
The bride. 😊 Her dad is the proud-looking man just behind Hanna.
Cutting the wedding cake never looked quite so romantic before.
Mother of the bride, Hanna, Father of the bride and lovely niece Lauren. 
My gorgeous niece, Claire, sister of the bride.
This is me standing in the doorway of Hobbitenango.
Hobbitenango is a tavern and hostel owned by my new nephew and his business partners. The buildings that make up Hobbitenango are all Eco-friendly, made from reclaimed lumber, plastic bottles, and egg cartons.
Still in its early phases of development, Hobbitenango will one day have individual hobbit style houses for guests to rent, and once the shire is complete they’ve planned to create an Ewok village.
I urged them to hurry–I’m not getting any younger.
Niece Lauren and my sister-in-law, Susan.
Delightful Andrea, (one of Beto’s cousins) with her mother. I’ve never met more loving, welcoming people.
The rest I didn’t caption. I’ve run out of superlatives.
Hobbitenango is ringed by four volcanoes. Just at sunset, Fuego, put on a small show for those of us remaining. Of course, my battery was dead, so I had to borrow a photo from my brother’s camera.
Needless to say it was a sight I will not soon, if ever, forget.
Peace, People!
All good things,
They say
Must end.
I want to know
Who are “they”
And why must I
Listen to them?
The three L’s leaving our mark on the beach at St. George Island, Florida, March 23, 2015.
These were a few of our favorite –ings:
Shopping
Wining
Dining
Exploring
Talking
Laughing
Reminiscing
Lauren, Ponce de Leon, Leslie, and Lila, at The Fountain of Youth, March 25, 2015.
Leslie and Lila at The Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs, FL, March 25, 2015.
Lila and Lauren at The Blue Parrot, Saint George Island, March 23, 2015.
Lauren, joined by two little folks at DeLeon Springs. One of my favorite pictures of the week.
Why is it that
Spring break weeks
Take forever to arrive,
Yet end almost as
Soon as they’ve begun?
That’s a question
For the wise folks
Among us, and
Certainly I am not one.
Peace, People!
photo by Kelly Cavitt Dupler
One of my friends took this picture of a little piece of snowy heaven from her ranch in New Mexico and posted it on her Facebook page last week. Isn’t it lovely? I wanted to work it into my Love Month theme.
Still Haiku 1
Breath calmed by snow’s depths
Frozen, a moment in time
Hush love, and be still
Still Haiku 2
White ‘scape nothing moves
Frozen still in this moment
Softly a branch bends
Studly and I live near Tallahassee, Florida, in the state’s panhandle. We both love this part of Florida, but it is not what most folks have in mind when they think of the Sunshine State. For one thing, there are very few palm trees in our area. Instead, we have massive moss-covered oaks and towering pine trees. In addition, our terrain is hilly, quite unlike the famously flat peninsula.
I do wish we lived nearer to the Gulf or the Atlantic. In a perfect world, I’d live a maximum of 10 minutes from a white sand beach, as it is, I’m about 75 miles from the Gulf, but the first really good beach is about 90 miles away. Yesterday was January 1, 2015, and I resolved to be at the beach on that day. Since I’m a grown woman with a driver’s license I waited for Studly to depart for the golf course and pointed my car south to the Gulf of Mexico.
On previous trips I had always immediately gone straight to St. George island, turning left just past Bayside Burgers in Eastpoint, but today I drove on to Apalachicola for brunch. The restaurant I’d planned on visiting was closed (New Year’s Day, duh!), so I asked a local couple for a recommendation and they pointed me to Caroline’s River Dining.
I had a yummy crab quiche for brunch while seated at a table with a fine view of the Apalachicola River. Afterwards, I strolled around the historic downtown, mainly taking photos of signs for some reason.
Only a few businesses were open, so this is definitely a place I’ll need to revisit in the future.
On my way home I couldn’t pass up going out to St. George Island to start off the new year with my toes in the sand.
Maybe this will provide my beach fix for a little while. Or maybe, I’ll convince Studly to move to the Gulf of Mexico. I can see me as a professional beach bum.
I cannot get enough of this neighborhood. We moved into our home in March, so this is my first autumn in the ‘hood.
These photos were taken on Veteran’s Day. The flags were everywhere. Way to go Lake Yvette!
This noble guy and his twin brother guard the driveway of one of the homes near ours. Makes me wonder if we need lions, as well.
I loved the colors on this tree.
And this woodpile and shed reminded me of a cabin in the woods.
Trees! What is it about trees? They speak a language all their own. I’m working really hard to learn it.
Peace, People!
Almost a year ago, my mother-in-law and I took a drive down to St. George Island, off the coast of Florida in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It was a grey, wintry day and the Gulf roiled with barely leashed energy.
We watched this gentleman, a Brit from his accent, set out on the waters in a kayak. He told us he was going to paddle around the small island. It took him awhile to get underway, but once the waves took him we quickly lost sight of his small craft.
I’ve often wondered how he fared on his solitary journey around the island. Did he encounter any dolphins? Did his craft serve him well? For how long was he out in the waves off of St. George Island? I guess I’ll never know.
Peace, People.
I took the iPad for a walk around my neighborhood today and wanted to share some of my pictures.
These leaves are from one of several magnolia trees. There aren’t any flowers right now, but I like the leaves. They’re dark and waxy and large enough to house a fairy family.
I’m no flora expert, but I believe this is a hibiscus or a camellia or a peony. Anyway, it’s a flower of some type.
These photos are of the woods directly behind our home. I honestly never thought I’d live in a forest, yet here I am.
Above is a glimpse of our lake. We have gators, so I don’t advise swimming there, but it’s great for kayaking and paddle boating.
And here’s the road winding to the outside world.
Thanks for visiting my little piece of Florida.
Peace, People!
Study and I visited the North Florida Fair on Saturday night. As fairs go, I’ve seen much better, but the food from local vendors was terrific. A beautiful family cooked the most delicious grilled shrimp just for me.
The highlight of the evening was the carousel. I’d never seen a double decker carousel before!
The Ferris Wheel looked spectacular lit up against the November sky.
Studly ate all of his favorite fair foods: chicken kabobs, corn dogs, and funnel cake. Amazingly he still manages to keep his churlish figure. 😍😉
Perfect night. G,night all!
Peace, People!
Praying for Eyebrowz 