Birthday celebrations

Last week my camera suddenly stopped working...I was downloading photos and it just froze up. I haven't had it for that long...so I was a little distressed. I tried to recharge it...tried to turn it back on a few times...nothing. well...I gave it another try tonight and IT WORKED! I am so excited! Now my only problem is that I have been taking photos with a camera Brenna found for John at the Airline unclaimed items warehouse. Imagine...a huge building full of every kind of phone, camera, I-Pod, I-pad, computer...sunglasses, clothing...anything ever left on a plane.................... It works...it's nice...but I don't have any way to transfer the photos from the camera to my computer...at least not easily. So until I figure that out...this will be a post with no pictures.

Our friend John McClure celebrated his birthday last Saturday (his birthday is actually August 14th- same as my nephew Ian). He is dating a lady who had a nice dinner party for him. They cooked lamb, chicken and some fresh fish (from John). There were a few friends, John's sister Terry and John and I. It was nice...lots of great food and I enjoyed talking to some new people and seeing some old friends.

This past Friday, my brother David had a birthday. He and Bridget rented a room at the Crane Creek Inn in Melbourne. I have passed that place by thousands of times...and always wanted to see what it was like. (Megan and I actually tried to book a room there after our house got messed up during the hurricanes in 2004...but it was booked) David called Friday night and invited us to come over for a glass of champagne and a chance to check the place out. Their room was down near the pool/patio area...very nice. They had walked up to dinner at the Firehouse Grill and then for coffee at the Cuban restaurant down the hill. It was perfect. John was tired...but Brenna and I headed over. Destin and two of her friends came and David's friend Todd was there. Todd had brought along some Chinese Lanterns. You light it, it lifts up and floats away...pretty cool. They had launched one the night before...and thought it would be fun to light one down by the creek behind the Inn.Great idea...but there was a breeze blowing. Todd...as lively as usual...haha...assured us all that it would be NO Problem! He lit one...it lifted gently and started heading straight for a palm tree in the back yard! (if you clicked on the link...the second photo shows the pool  area...that's right outside where their room was and you see the bottoms of the trees...the lantern got stuck in the fifth one) Thank God we've had a lot of rain in the last few days...because otherwise the tree would have immediately burst into flames! We are all running over...freaking out...thinking we are about to watch the place burn....trying to figure out how to get the thing out of the tree and put out the flame! Everyone was calling out suggestions...Get a hose! Throw water up there! Call the Fire Department! S&^%! Luckily Todd was thinking fast...he grabbed the pole near the pool...and instead of pulling a person out of the pool...he used it to pull the lantern out of the tree. (perfect length...we were lucky) David stomped it out and we all sighed with relief. Todd was determined to make it work...and despite out concerns...lit another one that did float up safely over the Inn and sailed off into the night time sky and hopefully didn't land near anything else! So if you happened to be out and about Saturday night around 11:30pm and saw an unidentified flying object...it wasn't a UFO of a meteor (haha) it was a Chinese Lantern.
After that Brenna and I headed home...didn't think to look up to see if the lantern was still up there...hahah But the Inn was very nice...a perfect spot for visitors looking for a place to stay in town.
*If I manage to upload the pictures...I'll add them later.

I is done

When we go up to North Carolina we usually fly to Atlanta; then drive from there. That way it's only about 3 hours in the car versus11 or more. Each time we've gone recently...I've gotten a book on CD for us to listen to while we drive. (when we get tired of music) The first year it was Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand. That was a great book to pass the time, because it was exciting to listen to the reader describe the races. It was hard to stop for a break...haha.Another year we listened to Pater Mayle read his book A Year In Provence. I loved it...John was okay with it...but I don't think he liked it as much as I did. (My brother David loved that one!...A  book about traveling through France drinking good wine and eating delicacies...how could he not like it..haha.

 Last year we listened to Bill Bryson read his book A Walk in the Woods. It was great as usual...and since we were driving through areas that he was talking about in the book...it was even better.

This year we listened to The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I read the book a while ago and we both liked the movie. A patron at the library told me she enjoyed the book on cd, because she was from Jackson, MS and the readers were either locals...or had the perfect accent to read the parts. We didn't get through the whole book, so I have been listening to it since we got home. Many afternoons John and Brenna have walked in and heard it playing while I go about my business (ironing, etc) and I think I'm starting to drive them a little crazy.
 Brenna kept saying..."Haven't you already read that book?" "And seen the movie"..."Yes" but it didn't stop me. The other day Brenna walked in and John  looked at her and said "You is smart. You is kind. You is beautiful'" (a slight variation from the script). Brenna looked back at him and said "And you is obviously listening to that book too!" Haha
Good news John and Brenna...I finished it yesterday! haha...and if you haven't read it/ seen it/ heard it...it's definitely worth the time!

I wish I may, I wish I might...

Did anyone catch the latest meteor showers this past weekend? Brenna and I went out Saturday to see if we could see any falling stars. We saw three good ones...the kind with glowing tails...and a flash of light. Pretty cool...every time I see one I feel like a little kid...I get so excited. Clouds began moving in so we decided to go back to bed and get up between 3 and 5 am...which we had read somewhere was going to be the best time to watch. The first time I went out...it was cloudy... so I went.back to bed and woke up an hour later...CLEAR skies! I woke Brenna up and we pulled up the lounge chair and a cushion...we laid back and watched the sky. We ended up seeing about 12-13 that hour...then the clouds came back...and we went back to bed. It was good fun...none of the ones we saw in the early morning were very dramatic...no big tail shooting across the sky...but it's still fun to look and look and then all of the sudden see something drop or shoot like the one pictured above (from the internet)...it was worth the missed sleep!

Awards dinner-August 3,2012

 

Saturday morning we slept in and relaxed...then Kathie, Sandy, Jennifer, Ava and I went into Cashiers and Highlands for some last minute shopping. we went to the furniture/antique store above...Kathie knows the owners. It was fun to look around.

 This is actually from Friday night...we used the golf carts to get to the barbecue.

                       It makes parking a lot easier! we took them on Saturday night as well..

                                                                 John and his niece

                                                    coffee, tea and cocoa in the afternoon

                                               All spiffed up and ready for dinner. John and Bill got 2nd place in their flight...and John won one closest to the pin prize....so we enjoyed the awards part of the evening...hahaha

 As usual...the flowers were beautiful...simple but so pretty and fresh looking.

As the sun was setting we stepped down from the dinner area and took this picture of the lights in the tent.

                             Floating candles and hydrangea leaves in the water were pretty.

After our main meal, each table got one of these dessert platters....yumm! Since we didn't have a full table full of people we got extras...and we made sure to try them all...or at least most of them...haha. After that we headed back to the house where we met up with Sandy, Ava and Jennifer who had just returned from their dinner...and we all had a nice evening talking and promising to try and get together a little more often.

Friday ngiht Low Country Boil

  The sisters-in law....posing on the deck

Friday was the day of the annual Ladies Luncheon. Sandy, Kathie and I attended just like last year.

We sat at a table with a member who was from Ft. Lauderdale...her guest, her mother-in-law was also from Ft. Lauderdale. The way the table was set up, I ended up seated on the opposite side of the table from where Sandy and Kathie were. Since the place cards were in place...I didn't want to argue with anyone about where I should sit...so I was between two people I did not know. (we got there a little later than the others...and I didn't want to ask anyone to move...the whole idea is to meet new people...so what the heck...I went with the flow...haha) I enjoyed Gayle, on my right, we enjoyed talking about Florida and North Carolina. She was very pleasant. The woman on my right never said two words to me...she just talked with her friend. Oh well...she wasn't rude...she smiled my way...but kept to herself. The food was delicious as usual...especially the dessert...a "Wild Berry Pudding" wild berries combined with creamy white chocolate in a bread pudding. Yum!

 The speaker this year was a local garden designer...with an impressive resume...he and his partner do all the floral and event styling at the Highlands Old Edwards Inn & Spa. He demonstrated how to make terrariums for your mantle that I don't have or tabletop. It was interesting...similar to the style of the centerpiece, with the moss, etc...the best thing was most of the finished products only require watering one day a week...that sounds like my kind of plant...haha

 

 Friday night was a barbecue/Low Country Boil down by the clubhouse. They had grilled salmon, shrimp with potatoes, corn, etc, and (delicious) fried chicken. There were collard greens when it comes to greens...I feel like a Pittsburgher...rather than a southerner...no greens for me! hahah, hush puppies, yummy corn bread, cole slaw, beans and rice. Everything I ate was really good. I loved the colorful table linens and napkins...and as usual...the flowers were beautiful.

 Our group-Bill & Kathie, John, (Bill & Kathie's daughter) Jennifer and her daughter (and her doll...Julie), John's sister Sandy and I. The entertainment for the night was a Grammy nominated Bluegrass band. They were good...got the crowd up dancing. They took a long break right after they started...which I thought was a bit odd...but they were good once they got going. Sandy is a pretty good clogger...and she got up to dance...I couldn't help but laugh, because all I could think was...if her sweater got tangled up in her feet while she was dancing...I thought she might go flying.(this after the table bump Thursday night and a little fall on the stairs earlier in the day...but she did not fall...and everyone clapped. She had fun...and I got a good laugh. She really is a good clogger. Jennifer used to dance...she gave it a try when we got back to the house...I didn't even try...figured the torn ACL might hinder my ability to move the way you have to...I think I made John nervous when I acted like I might try...hehehehe

 You can never have too many pictures...hah. Last time we saw Jennifer was 4 years ago....so I had to make up for lost time! haha

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday night was the Pairings Party...cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres down at The Landings.

  We had some tasty food and John and Bill found out who they were going to be playing with/against.

                                         Pretty sunset down by the lake.

                                           John and his sister-in-law Kathie.

 Thursday night John cooked up some fresh fish that we brought up with us. It was a lovely evening...so we sat out on the porch.Of course...we took lots of pictures.

                                                                  Bill & Kathie

 At one point Sandy was trying to get out of her chair...or get closer to the table...or something when it wobbled and a few drinks tipped. Kathie lost one drink...and then asked "Didn't I have a lemon in my water? Why yes...haha...and there it is next to the cheesy tomatoes on Sandy's plate. And you can't see it...but there was also a bit of water on there too. Oh well...she made the best of it. And we all got a good laugh.

North Carolina

I know I'm back in North Carolina when I see all the trees! I miss views like this!  this is my favorite!

 We just got back in town after a few days up in North Carolina. We went up to visit John's brother and sister-in law, his sister Sandy, and his niece and her daughter. It was all part of the annual Member/Guest weekend at Trillium. We have enjoyed being a part of it for the last 3 years.

John and Bill have managed to win something each year....this year they got 2nd place in their "flight" and John also got one prize for a shot closest to the pin. He had two birdies one day...but wouldn't you know...another golfer got a hole in one!...so no extra prize that day....other than knowing he had played very well!

                     While they golfed every day...we went into Highlands and Cashiers...to eat, shop. etc.

 I tried to get out and take a walk each day.Usually...the first day I start up the hill and feel like I am on the verge of collapsing...because I am huffing and puffing. I have to say this time I felt pretty good! (all that therapy paid off!) I walked up and down the hills for about 45 minutes to an hour...a little more of a workout than my walking around Indialantic! haha But I love looking down the roads and seeing scenes like this.

 I had to stop and take pictures of plants and leaves along the way. A hint of things to come in October. I loved this maple leaf. First saw it upside down and then flipped it over to see the red lined edges.

 And here and there there were yellow leaves in the green grass...and I had to look at each one...tried to stop myself from taking pictures of all of them! hahah

                                             I always like the clover! (so do the bees!)

                                              Lots of wildflowers everywhere...they're beautiful.

                                                  Here is the view from our bedroom window.....

                                       so nice to wake up to! The temperatures were great...not as hot as last year. A little bit of rain  a couple of times...but generally BEAUTIFUL weather. I loved it all!