Love...is all you need!

MacDaddy....See what LOVE started....

LOVE  LOVE  LOVE

Family portrait...Tessa, WG, Beau, and Julie (Baby-Mama).
Beau and Tessa were dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. So funny!!!


LOVE   LOVE   LOVE

MG and his sweet friend, Miss J...


LOVE  LOVE  LOVE

DB and SC...


LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED...

Palette Love....made for MG's new place
(So glad I was a first grade teacher...I can print in a fairly straight line...
even with a paintbrush!)

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and an adventurous 

NEW YEAR...

filled with LOVE.

Jane

PS...Fifi Flowers...SC LOVED her "Hurley" painting!

THE BIRDS

Today, I had the most amazing experience...and NO CAMERA!!!

I was visiting my brother's home and passed a pond in his neighborhood...FILLED with the most incredible birds... (I am borrowing photos from National Geographic and other online sources.)

What first caught my eye were the 30+  ANHINGAS floating and diving in the pond. As I left, they were all sitting together, drying their wings...

BLUE HERONS were scattered along the shore. Interestingly, they seemed to be spaced apart at equal distances. I wonder if that was a territorial thing or just a coincidence. My SIL and I counted 8 of these beauties...

Of course, there were many EGRETS feeding...and walking about...

and some ducks... floating...

The most amazing birds were 3 rare WOODSTORKS wandering together along the banks...and a few more at random points of land. We counted a total of 7...

                                       

All in all...there were about 100 wild birds in this one medium-sized pond. I hope to head back there tomorrow...just in case the birds are still hanging around...and I'll BRING MY CAMERA!!!

I am linking up with Outdoor Wednesday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS...

WISHING YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS...A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON...AND A PROSPEROUS

 NEW YEAR!!!

This is the only kind of snowman we'll probably see...it's 80 degrees, today!

Praying that the true meaning of Christmas fills your home...

May you find JOY!

and PEACE...

 MAY YOUR DAYS BE MERRY and BRIGHT...

and MAY ALL YOUR CHRISTMASES BE WHITE...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jane

DECEMBER BEAUTY IN CENTRAL FLORIDA

This weekend, my (patient) husband and I drove my sweet mama up to my sister's home in Mt. Dora...in central FL. For the first day in a month, the skies were gloomy...no rain, just clouds and gray....and the colors of Florida were truly displayed against the soft backdrop...

We were greeted by this beautiful coyote...He was laying  right in the middle of the  drive into my sister's neighborhood. As our car approached, he balefully looked at us, stood, and slowly ambled under the fence and into the pasture, where he, once again, laid down.

The presence of the coyote did not faze these cows...they were just feet away from each other!

The grays of the skies and lake were a perfect backdrop for the colors of the leaves, the reeds in the lake, and the bouganvilla. This is Lake Harris...and the view from my sister's home.

Remember this turtle planter? With his "filling" dormant, you can see the patterns on his shell. Don't you love the aging on him?

A few examples of the ground covers on the slope down to the lake.

It's FALL/Winter! See the colored leaves?
Notice the waving Spanish moss? Most natives of the south do NOT remove the moss from the trees. We think it's beautiful...

Cypress "knees" in the lake

Bouganvilla....

Red and white impatiens...planted by my mama on one of her trips to  Mt. Dora.

These are tangerines...

This lone tree stands outside the pasture...down a rutted road, across from the orange grove. It's just there waiting for someone to find it...to share its bounty. This small tree (about 6 feet tall, and skinny...really small by grove standards) had HUNDREDS of tangerines. And I picked a basketful!!!

Some of the wildlife in a pond...look carefully, there are coots, ducks, an anhinga, an egret and a heron.

A pair of Sand Cranes...

COOKIES!!!

Last night was our neighborhood's annual cookie exchange. As usual, it was so much fun...and delicious!!!
And, of course, I forgot my camera! DUH!!!


This is a photo taken from my friend's phone. As you can see...there are so many wonderful offerings...everything from the classic Peanut Blossoms to cupcake "Christmas Trees" (these were so cute...a regular-sized cupcake, with a mini cuppie and cookie star on top). There were Ritz Cracker/Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies (covered in dark chocolate and red melts), Pretzel-Toffee cookies, Chocolate Crinkles and Chocolate Chips, Classic Shortbread and Peppermint Cookies, Apricot Bars, Decadent Oreo No-Bake Cookies, and 2 kinds of Buckeye Candies...one in the traditional "buckeye" form, the other shaped like little MICE...sliced almonds for ears, skinny fruit roll-up for the tail. SO CUTE!

My contribution...thanks to bloggers!!!...was a Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate Chunk cookie. 


I made a few adjustments with the size (I used a Whoopie pie pan in place of the muffin top pan...made 4 oz. cookies), plus added an additional bit of caramel sauce on the top (drizzled it from the tines of a fork). 


These cookies were truly fabulous! (Yes, I splurged and tasted one, or two...or five!) And they won our CE contest for best tasting cookie. Here's the link for the recipe. TRULY...you have GOT to try these!!! (photo is from picky-palate.com)
http://picky-palate.com/2010/05/20/salted-caramel-dark-chocolate-chunk-cookies-the-la-cookie/

I also made Chocolate Covered Grahams...again, thanks to a blogger.
(photo is from Shugarysweets.com)


I had difficulty with "dipping"...not because of the recipe, but because I am too impatient!...so I used a knife to spread the chocolates. I also pulverized the candy canes in my processor...to DUST. For me, this was better than biting into peppermint candy...which my teeth don't like very much.
http://www.shugarysweets.com/2011/12/chocolate-peppermint-grahams.html

Since I am unable not supposed to indulge in sweets, I used the neighborhood ladies...and their families...to test these recipes. And they were both HITS. And now that they have passed the "neighborhood test", I'll be making them for our Christmas party.


Happy baking....
Jane

IT'S HARD....

To get motivated to finish decorating.

I started...and the tree is done

Special ornaments are in place...

And so is the mantle (except for the candles and stockings, and a bit more garland)...

But what did I do today?

I painted! (and it felt GOOD!)

Tomorrow, I will complete the entrance...and the new painting will hang above the bench (this was last year's entrance)

And all will be merry and bright...

Merry Christmas!

Jane

DOWNTOWN CHICKS...

My 92 (almost 93!) year old mother and I went to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants in Ybor City. It's a place near her childhood home...and one of the "haunts" that she and my dad used to frequent.

La Tropicana Cafe is a landmarks in Ybor...

It's known for its Cuban cuisine...well, cuisine is really too fancy a word to use here...It's know for its FOOD!... Cuban sandwiches, ostrich egg-sized deviled crabs (my FAVORITE!), beans and rice, and cafe con leche. 

Every morning, you will find the restaurant filled with old guys, dipping their Cuban toast into frothy cups of cafe con leche, reading La Gazetta (the Spanish newspaper), and discussing the events of the day. As lunch time approaches, the clientele shifts to business folk, locals, and the occasional tourists. The scent of Cuban sandwiches and black beans permeates the atmosphere...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The other day, Mom and I stopped in for a deviled crab and cafe con leche.

As we left...this is what we saw:

Yes...your eyes are NOT deceiving you. 

That's a hen with chicks!

Actually, there were 10 chicks...and a few sparrows...feasting on the sidewalk.

They live in this hibiscus bush, right next to the restaurant. As we approached, several scooted under the leaves and into the branches...a foot above the sidewalk.

This was definitely NOT something you would expect to see...in the middle of town!!!

(I sure hope these little guys are not on the menu...Maybe I'll not order yellow rice and chicken, for awhile!)

Cheers,
Jane

I am linking with Outdoor Wednesday...

MY FIRST ANNIE SLOAN PROJECT...

Found...one cabinet at the local Hospice Thift Store...HALF-PRICE DAY...only $17.00!!!

Bought...1 can Annie Sloan, Emperor Silk (Bright red) paint, clear and dark waxes...more than $17, but well worth it!!!

A little elbow grease...one door with dark wax, the other with clear wax. Lots more to do...

A beautiful, new cabinet to hold my dishes!

I LOVE THIS PAINT!