Come to the Beach!

Rows of beach chairs are waiting for you...

















Seagulls are splashing and preening...getting all spruced up for your photo-ops.
















The shelling is great! And the sand is perfect for building giant castles...

























The breezes are just right for kite flying! Not to strong... not too gentle...















Walking on the shore or body-surfing in the waves, dozing in the sun or reading a book...

RELAX... listen to the rhythm of the waves...the crash of the water on the breakers...the sound of the breeze...the laughter of children...

Ahhhhh..........









Come join us...
We're waiting for you!

Jane









(All photos were taken at Honeymoon Island State Park...Dunedin, FL. This gorgeous park is just minutes from my home. Stop by for a glass of iced cold pomegranate and mint lemonade.)

Mmmmmmm......

Mmmmmmmm......

That was the sound made by Music Guy (MG) this morning as he looked at his breakfast...

Cinnamon French Toast with Bananas and Applewood Smoked Bacon.

There is no "recipe" for this French toast.... I just scramble 6 eggs in a flat-bottomed dish, and added about 1/2 -3/4 cup of half and half, lots of Saigon cinnamon and a couple of dashes of pure vanilla extract. The big "SECRET" is the bread. Fresh Market makes a cinnamon raisin bread that is perfect for French toast. I buy the unsliced bread and cut it into thick slices. The texture of the bread soaks up the egg mixture perfectly. Griddle up these slices in a non-stick, DRY pan (I hate greasy, oily French toast!). Top with butter or Olivio and maple syrup. Add bananas...or strawberries, blueberries, etc...or a mixture of all three and enjoy. If you really need additional sweetness, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar.

What a way to start the day.... and it's quick and easy!
Jane

Explore Central Florida... Tavares

Tavares... "America's Seaplane City"


Look what's new in Tavares... An airport for sea planes!

Nestled alongside Lake Dora is Tavares, the county seat of Lake County, in Florida. It's a cool little town just down the road from Mt. Dora (known for its quaint shopping and art/crafts/antique festivals).

Since my first visit to Tavares, a year ago, I have observed wonderful development of the lakeside area. There is a fabulous water park for the kids....complete with a "plane" that has propellers which shoot streams of water! And now, there is the new "airport" for sea planes. All along the waterfront, new, interesting restaurants are opening. The lake views from these restaurants are spectacular... especially the sunsets and sunrises! There are also some fabulous water festivals...sanctioned Jet Ski competitions, bass fishing contests, speed boat racing...and more. There is even a "Planes, Train and BBQ" competition! (Check with the official website for a list of events... www.tavares.org )




Here's a photo of the water park... Wouldn't you just love to play here!!! There's lots of shade in this park...provided by an abundance of oak trees. Picnic tables are also available.






Tavares is also known for it's natural beauty. The Dora Canal and other byways are wonderful places to canoe, kayak, or motor through. There is an abundance of wildlife just waiting to be enjoyed and photographed. Below, you will find some beautiful photos, borrowed from the Tavares website...






































These wildlife photos were taken by Pat Johnson, a resident of Tavares and an avid photographer. She has captured the beauty of natural Florida in these photos.



















This is one of my photos...taken in the late afternoon, along the shores of Lake Dora...just a short distance from the water district. I just love this drive... It's the lakeshore drive between Mt. Dora and Tavares.

This area is definitely worth a day trip...better yet, a weekend getaway. There are some wonderful B&Bs in the area...and it's only 40 minutes from the Big Mouse area of Orlando.

Get out and explore...
Jane

Be sure to visit Susan (http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com) to see all the fabulous Outdoor Wednesday links.

***** Quick side note: This weekend is the 2010 Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, FL.
It's held at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. For more information, go to
www.floridafolkfestival.com

Feeling Creative again...finally!!!

After weeks of helping my mom and sil with health issues and hospitals, and dealing with a major sinus infection (DO NOT DELAY in seeing a doctor when you feel the symptoms starting!!!), I am finally feeling human, although exhausted all the time...and CREATIVE. After all, it's time to change the look of my home... Off with the reds and oranges, in with the cool summer blues! That means...rolling up the old rug, laying down the new, changing pillow covers, hanging new paintings in the blue shades and bringing in the blue chair. These are little changes, but what a complete difference in the looks of both the family room and living room! I even changed the "drapes". All that's left to do is to recover the ottoman with a lovely blue, green and white striped fabric. Maybe later...time for another nap!

Here's a peek of some of the changes... The Breakfast Room.

As usual, I forgot to take photos of the "before" and concentrated on the "after"...
Here are the new additions to my breakfast room wall...

This was a $.50 framed painting. The painting was done on a piece of very thin wood and the frame was in terrible shape. The inner border is a linen fabric....all surfaces were gaudy shades of gold, browns, and blacks. I used a mop brush and pounced the frame with "bright aqua green" acrylic paint. The "painting" was painted over with "mars black" to resemble a chalkboard. The writing was done with "titanium white". And that little footprint is actually cut from a print found on the internet and decoupaged onto the board. Simple...quick...and just right for my wall!

This mirror was found at an art wholesale store...$9.00. It was painted silver with metallic gold "bamboo". I had planned to cover the frame with shells...and may one day do that. But for now, it sports "cerulean blue", "lime green", and "lavender" over the silver and gold (some of which peeks through!). The Sand dollars were found on Honeymoon Island (Dunedin, FL) and are hot glued to the mirror. I did try using ZOTS for a less permanent decoration, but they were not strong enough to hold for a long period of time. They actually popped off, one at a time, during a dinner party!

The paintings are my "Beach Huts" and "Coconuts for Sale"....I have shared the huts before, but was inspired by a photograph found on "Beachsnaps blog" (thanks, Becky!). It was a scene from Matlacha...





The floats were found on a sale table at Steinmart for $1 and $3. They were painted the most awful shade of mauve (Ick!!!) With a little paint, they are now worthy of displaying. The styrofoam floats in the basket are actual crab trap markers found on the beach after a storm. (Don't you love these kinds of treasures!!!)







All of these items, paired with jars of shells (the shells were found at our local beach...Honeymoon Island; the jars are Home Goods and garage sales) and a burlap topped table, my breakfast room is ready for summer.
*All paints are acrylics by Liquitex and Amsterdam (found at Michael's)

Create!
Jane


Check out all the wonderful Thrifty Treasures at Tales from Bloggeritaville and the Tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch. These posts will definitely get the creative juices flowing...

Grandma's Special...Cracked Sugar Cookies

Have you ever found a cookie recipe that EVERYONE LOVES? This is one of those.

When I first began blogging, I shared a bit about my mom...aka "The Cookie Lady". At 91, Mom has forgotten a lot about the recipes she has prepared for oh so many years. She struggles to remember how to measure, how to set the oven. and other rudimentary cooking details. BUT...she has not forgotten how to bake Cracked Sugar Cookies!

In her residence, she shares her baking efforts...carrying little ziploc bags of these cookies down to the dining room. People clamor to get some of Helen's cookies...and those who miss out, often come knocking on her door to ask if she has any more. She's become so popular that her kids have begun to give her the makings of these cookies for any special occasion.

Why are they called Cracked Sugar Cookies? Well look at the cutaway... the center of these cookies are hollow!


These cookies are among my family's favorites. The first time I made them, I sent my future husband across the state with 6 dozen cracked sugars to give to his grandmother...she got CRUMBS! The first recipe all three of my sons asked to have was cracked sugars and my DIL asked me to bake these cookies for her to take to her company Christmas party. My neighbor likes when she leaves a dish here...she wants the Cracked Sugars I usually put in her dish as a thank you. It's one of my most requested recipes. And so I will share it with you.....

CRACKED SUGAR COOKIES

1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
2 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar. Add yolks and vanilla. Mix together. Sift together the salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and flour. Combine all the ingredients. Roll the dough into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I always line with parchment paper)...about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container to maintain crispness.
Makes 6 dozen.

Be sure to visit designsbygollum.blogspot.com for more great Foodie Friday recipes!

Everybody's Doing the....

STINGRAY SHUFFLE.

It's that time of year...
All along the west coast of Florida, the warnings are posted...




It's Time to do the STINGRAY SHUFFLE!

About this time each year, Stingrays are commonly found in our warm, shallow Gulf coastal waters. Most of the time, they can be found buried in the sand, and moving with the sway of the tide. Due to the stingray's coloration, which reflects the seafloor's shading, beachgoers are instructed to shuffle their feet when in the water, so they will not step on a stingray or especially their tails. The Stingrays' flattened bodies are composed of pectoral fins joined to their head and trunk with an infamous tail trailing behind. The tail has a barb, which holds the venom. The venom is not enough to severely harm a human, but it sure hurts like heck! By shuffling your feet, you warn the stingray of your presence and it can move away...and you will not step down onto a barb.

Although members of the shark family, stingrays - at least those who live in the Gulf waters, will not harm you. That's why there are stingrays found in most museum "please touch" pools.

Last spring, I was shuffling along, about 5 feet from shore, in knee-deep water, when I disturbed a ray... it rose from the sand and fluttered in the water. Seconds later, if appeared that the whole sandy bottom was rising. Stingrays rose from their hiding places in every direction! They swam by me, gently brushing my legs with their fins. What a glorious sight! (and I did not have a camera!!!)


These graceful creatures are an absolute joy to watch. Just be sure to SHUFFLE.....

Come to the beach...
Jane (artfully graced)

SKIN CANCER AWARENESS

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month.

As Florida natives who have been in the sun all our lives, almost every member of my family and my husband's family are dealing with SKIN CANCER. Like most of us born in the 60s and before, we LOVED that golden bronzed look and spent countless hours soaking in the rays. We used iodine and baby oil, mirrors, and aluminum foil-covered cardboard in efforts to increase our tans. And now...

WE ARE PAYING THE PRICE for our foolishness and ignorance. And so are millions of people all over the world.

Did you know...
1. Over 2 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with some form of skin cancer last year?
2. 1 in 5 Americans will get some form of skin cancer in their lifetime?
3. Melanoma kills more young women under the age of 35 than any other form of cancer?
4. 90% of skin cancers are caused by sun exposure, yet fewer than 33% of adults and children use sun protection regularly?
5. Each blistering sunburn doubles your chance of getting skin cancer?
6. While melanoma is uncommon in Latinos, Asians, and African Americans, it is most deadly for these people (Bob Marley died of melanoma.)?
7. UV Rays can pass through clouds...Yes, you can burn on a cloudy day.
8. One American DIES of melanoma almost every hour (every 61 minutes)?
(info from www.aad.org, www.skincancer.org , skin cancer foundation)

What can you do to help prevent skin cancer?

USE SUNSCREEN EVERYDAY!!!

There is much confusion about sun care products...what is SPF? what does "Complete" and "Broad Spectrum" mean? do these products REALLY last 8 hours? do we reapply? do we use sun care only when we are outside for a long time? what about tanning beds...are they safe?

SPF - means SUN PROTECTION FACTOR - Factor is a math term....IF you burn in 10 minutes without using sunscreen, then using an SPF 30 (10 minutes x 30) will allow you to be in the sun for 300 minutes (5 hours) before you burn. Of course, there are other factors which many affect the time a sun product works (water, sweat, rubbing off, medicines). Be sure to use a "shot glass" of sunscreen for each application.

Do some products really last 8 hours? Again, your skin type determines how long you can be in the sun. Also some products are not waterproof or sweat-proof. They wash off and must be reapplied. If you are just going in and out...not sweating, swimming, etc., you should be fine with most products. However, if you are swimming, golfing, etc., look for a product that addresses this. FOR MOST PRODUCTS, REAPPLY EVERY 2 hours. (I use a product that truly works long term...up to 8 hours. It completely penetrates and works from the inside out. I have not burned since I began using this product 6 years ago...and I still lightly tan.)

COMPLETE suncare shields the skin from UVA I and II and UVB. UVA I rays are the most damaging rays...leading to skin damage, skin cancer and premature aging. .

BROAD SPECTRUM protects the skin from UVA II and UVB.

You CAN get a sunburn through the windows of your car! (My sister has had 30+ suspicious spots and squamous cells removed from her "driving" arm and her left cheek.)

Should we use tanning beds? NO!!!

PROTECT YOUR SKIN...ALL THE TIME!

Australia has the strictest guidelines for sun protection. They are much stronger than those in the U.S. For the 4th year, the Australian government has a campaign (www.skincancer.gov.au/) to promote skin protection and skin cancer awareness.
The five basic rules of protection are:

Wear a hat.
Wear a shirt.
ALWAYS wear sunscreen
Wear sunglasses.
Stay in the shade.

(check http://www.aad.org/ for free skin cancer screenings near you. (American Academy of Dermatology)

Take care of your skin...and protect your family!!!

Jane

ps: Check out Maya's fabulous giveaway! It's a "completely coastal" print by one of my favorite coastal artists...from Outer Banks Trading Co. Go to http://www.completely-coastal.com/2010/04/canvas-art-giveaway-by-outer-banks.html to see for yourself...