Photo Challenge: Week 5

This past week didn't afford many photo opportunities due to my hectic schedule. I did take my camera with me on a walk on the nature trail by my house earlier in the week but the light wasn't "magical" and I wasn't pleased with my shots.

Instead I took full advantage of our field trip to Ikea yesterday to click away. I love the design of Ikea's products and the fun way in which they are displayed.

These light fixtures in the cafeteria dining room are fabulous! I want one for my house but don't have any where to put it.


These wire cable and clip/hook kits are perfect for hanging kids' artwork. Just by themselves they create interesting shadows on the wall.

The mesh back to a desk chair.

All you need is love.

A glass top desk with a red chair pushed in below.

Stacked silverware drawer inserts.

No more wire hangers!

Cheers!

Fun at Ikea

G-Man and I went to Ikea today to help my parents pick out some new area rugs. We decided to have some fun along the way.

Future chef?

Always dress to reflect your personality.

Number 1 and Number 3 waiting...

Too much fun?

Guest Photographer

G-Man took these photos this morning with my camera while I was drying my hair. He was able to capture that ever elusive color "sky blue pink."

Inner Strength

"My grandmother used to brush my hair this hard. It didn't kill me and it won't kill you."

My mother said these words to me each and every time she tried to brush out my elbow-length, Stands-with-a-Fist-hair when I was a tomboy growing up in Pines Lake. She brushed so hard and said those words with such conviction that I held still and was secretly glad that this grandmother-person wasn't brushing my hair.

Growing up I heard bits and pieces about my mother's childhood. She spoke about her grandmother with fierce determination. This woman was a force to be reckoned with. Some days, I wondered how my mother ever survived.

But as the years passed, I listened better. I heard the love in my mother's voice as she told me more about her grandmother and their life together. I heard the admiration. Even though she never said it, I also heard how much she missed her grandmother.

My mother was born during the Great Depression. She was raised by her grandmother, a practical woman who believed in common, garden variety, horse sense.

For awhile they lived on a ranch in Texas. They didn't have a radio or receive a newspaper. They got their news of the world from the transient workers who came to work the ranch.

My great-grandmother sewed all my mother's dresses from feed sack cloth. She made my mom wear a sun bonnet against the strong Texas sun. In the history of the world, she is the only person to ever get my mother to wear a hat!

When my mother had asthma attacks, she was confined to bed (asthma medicine didn't exist). Her grandmother would sit by her bed, peel & scrape an apple to mush, and feed it to my mother.

I've heard about the wonderful butterscotch pie my great-grandmother used to make. How she would kill a chicken for dinner. I've tried and failed to make her fried chicken (I got my chicken at the grocery store already plucked).

I heard about the time she took a cast iron pot full of slop out to the pig pen. She slipped and broke her arm. She got up still holding the pot. She swung the pot and snapped her broken arm back into place.

She was one tough lady.

Over the course of my lifetime, I came to love and admire this remarkable woman that I never had the privilege to meet. If I ever had a daughter, I would have named her after my great-grandmother. But instead Mr. A's first name is a variation of her maiden name.

Six years ago when my Sweetie and I planned our wedding I made the surprising discovery that my married initials would be the same as my great-grandmother's married initials. The pin pictured above belonged to her. My mom and I temporarily modified it so I could wear it in my hair for the wedding.

This past week has been emotionally draining for me for multiple reasons. I'm tired. Something this morning made me think of my great-grandmother. She was a woman with great inner strength. I came home this evening and ran my fingers over her pin. I felt her initials. I felt the coolness of the silver. I felt the smoothness of the enamel.

I'm still tired but I feel... reinforced. I plan to live up to those initials.

Now I best call my mother before she reads this without being prepared.

My Week So Far

Yep. That about sums it up.

Name Calling

Perfecting the art of name calling must be a right of passage for young boys.

No matter how many times I’ve witnessed name calling I’ve never truly understood it. I’ve noticed that in some male social circles it progresses into adulthood and eventually becomes a form of camaraderie or affection.

With siblings, name calling and insults are inevitable. In our house certain words are not allowed. Such as: hate, stupid, retard, moron. Ugh. I dislike typing those words.

One day, I stubbed my toe on the couch. To prevent myself from cursing I called it a “stupid couch.” A 5-year-old G-Man called me on the carpet for using a word that wasn’t allowed. We discussed it and concluded that since the couch was an inanimate object and didn’t have feelings, it was okay that I called it “stupid.”

Last year during a period of high testosterone levels in our house, I presented the boys with a book of Shakespeare’s Insults. I told the boys that if they insisted on name calling and insulting each other, they could at least do it intelligently.

The English language is so vast there is absolutely no reason to be pedestrian about expressing yourself.

The Bard was a master at hurling insults. Here are a few that you can work into every day conversation:

“A slippery and subtle knave”

“You tread upon my patience”

“You are as a candle, the better part burnt out”

Or my personal favorite:

“Your face is not worth sunburning”

If you really want to mix things up, you can use a randomly generated online Shakespearean Insulter to get something like this:

Thou odiferous beetle-headed hedge-pig!

Have fun with it!

Comments are Open

Well, it turns out there has been difficulty for some of you being able to post comments ever since I turned off the Anonymous setting. To fix that I turned the Anonymous setting back on. I also left the word verification off. So if you see spam comments on my blog for not-so-nice-things, please ignore them and don't judge me. Thanks!

County Fair

We went to the county fair Saturday night. I shared a few snapshots on Facebook and some of my friends up north commented that it was strange that the county fair is in the middle of winter. Well, who would want to go to the fair in the heat of a Florida summer?


My childhood was very suburban. My life is still very suburban. The first county fair I ever went to was in Clearfield, PA. I was in college. It was the first time I had ever seen a corn dog. Seriously.

I was 28 years old when I attended my first state fair... the Florida State Fair.

Most people think of mouse-world and beaches when Florida is mentioned. Did you know that Florida is a huge agricultural state? Not just citrus either. Where do you think all those strawberries come from in February just in time for Valentine's Day? Florida is also a cattle state.

There is something so fundamental about going to the county or state fair. It's essential to be reminded where our food really comes from and see the multi-generational farmers display the fruits of their labors.

Many rural high schools in Florida have agriculture programs. We live in the unincorporated part of the county so the school Mr. A attends has crop fields and livestock.

My favorite part of the fair? The food! If it can be deep fried, grilled, smoked, or served on a stick, you can find it at the fair. I love sausage & peppers and funnel cakes! I'm a purest and go for only powdered sugar on mine. The funnel cake we got Saturday must have been equivalent to a dozen doughnuts!

Oh, even though I have clearance from my surgeon to sky dive, I still stay away from the rides on the midway.

If anyone is interested, the Florida State Fair starts February 4th in Tampa. Y'all come!

Photo Challenge: Week 4

It's been a full week of taking photos. I shot almost 300 frames. Thank goodness for digital cameras! I had a lot of fun at the county fair experimenting with the aperture setting and F-Stop. But truly, I think macro shots may be my favorites. Below are my top picks:

Stairs leading up to Ft. DeSoto.


Vegetation on the top of Ft. DeSoto.

Feather washed ashore.

Florida winter sky.

The "happy-go-pukey" ride at the county fair.

Mr. A and Miss N were on this ride at the time I shot this.

A Small World Full of Spam

For the past few weeks, I've noticed that I've had a daily visitor to my blog from La Vista, Nebraska. This person originally found my blog through Project 2996 and continued to return. I hoped this reader would eventually leave a comment and introduce his/herself.

Well, my answer finally came when I posted about the movie Dances with Wolves. It turns out that La Vista, Nebraska must be Marc P. He's a guy that Marcia and I knew in college 20 years ago! What are the chances of someone I knew so long ago stumbling upon my blog? Especially, when I don't use any real names.

I marveled at the never ending surprises the internet throws at me. Then I got a little shaken up. I don't use real names on my blog because I originally wrote about my spinal fusion surgery and medical information was involved. Just so you know, the medical info was removed when I reached the one year anniversary for my surgery. My second reason for not using real names is because I post photos of my minor children. Enough said there, right? My final reason is because there's a not so nice person out in the world that I used to know. But that won't stop me from blogging.

Now about the spam... Ever since I removed the word verification from my comments I've received a lot of spam comments. I try to delete these as soon as they show up but it's a hassle. I don't want to put the word verification back on because it's a hassle for all of you. My other option was to remove the "Anonymous" comment since all the spam comes in under "Anonymous." In other words, if someone really wants to leave a comment, they'll have to register.

If this creates problems for anyone, please let me know. Thanks!

PS - Hey Marc!!!!

I would have liked to have seen Montana

When life gets hectic or a little overwhelming I always tell people that I'm moving to Montana.

I've never been to Montana. But I have visited the tourism website VisitMT and requested information. Montana appears to be a monstrous state in size and full of beautiful natural wonders. It abuts two national parks: Yellowstone and Glacier (pictured above).

Would I be able to handle life in Montana? I don't know. I'm sure I could tough out a blizzard. But an entire winter? Would the sky be too big? Would I begin to miss "civilization" after a couple of months?

My "threats" to runaway to Montana are sparked by my desire to get away from people, congested roads, and crowded stores. In other words, to have a little bit of breathing room. But could I handle living in a remote location again? I lived in rural western Louisiana for two years and absolutely hated it. We're talking about 20 miles from where Moses lost his sandals. When I moved away from Louisiana I vowed two things: to never to return and to never live more than 10 minutes from a grocery store.

Why did I pick Montana? Because in the movie Hunt for Red October Sam Neill's character dreams of starting a new life on a farm in Montana. Unfortunately, the character dies and his last words are, "I would have liked to have seen Montana." I love that movie along with the other movies I've mentioned in the past week: Dances with Wolves, and Across the Universe.

Anyway, you might say that Montana is my dream too. It's where I mentally escape to when I need to get away from it all. Does anyone else have a special place where they can mentally escape to?

Photo courtesy VisitMT.com

Stands with a Fist

This morning I thought I would sleep in a little bit. Mr. A had his last day of mid-terms and didn’t need to be at school until 9 am. I’ve been working extra hours the past few weeks and could afford to be late to work.

I was snuggled deep in my flannel sheets when suddenly my eyes flew open. I had to be at an 8 am budget meeting. Oh fudge!

I’m on a wash-my-hair-every-other-day schedule so it doesn’t get too damaged by the hair dryer. Today was a wash-my-hair day. I wish I could let my hair air dry but it has a mind of its own. If I don’t take the time to blow dry my hair with a round brush, I look like Stands with a Fist from the movie Dances with Wolves.



Well, I rushed through my morning routine, walked out of my house and into the Florida humidity that suddenly returned. I managed to get the kids dropped off (Mr. A had lots of study time in the library) and get myself to work with time to spare. But round brush aside, I still looked like Stands with a Fist. Ugh.

Now I’m thinking that the wild woman look may actually work to my advantage when it comes to putting my foot down during the upcoming budget planning. However, I do draw the line at the buckskin dress.

Why I Don't Have a Cleaning Lady

In Wendy's comment about her quirks she said that she cleans the night before the cleaning lady arrives. THAT is exactly the reason why I don't have a cleaning lady! I must be the only woman in the history of the world that has turned down the offer by her husband to hire a cleaning lady. I would have to spend too much time de-cluttering so she could actually reach the dust.

Just to give you an idea of what I'm up against... My mother-in-law used to call my husband the little boy who fell apart. Growing up in Illinois, he used to leave a trail of snow things from the door to wherever he landed.

Or your could get a better idea by looking at the photos of our sons' rooms.

I was surprised when I found these photos on my camera. My Sweetie took these last week as blackmail. What do you know? I found a use for them.

The kids rooms look the way they do because we let it happen. The boys are required to clean their rooms once a week and they always do a fine job. But before the week is out they look like a shambles again.

I will point out that it's just clutter. The rooms really are sanitary. No science experiments in progress.

Since it's me against the guys in the battle of the clutter, I just let it go. Trust me, there are more important things in life to get stressed out about.

Note: The boys don't get the striped sheet advantage.

Quirks

Last night was clean sheet night. I LOVE clean sheet night! I suppose most folks change their bed linens about once a week. I do it more often because I enjoy clean sheet night so much.

Actually, I enjoyed clean sheet night last night even more than usual because I put our new flannel sheets on the bed. I haven't owned flannel sheets since I lived in Louisiana 13 years ago and we experienced ice storms each winter. But when I was in Illinois last month I remembered how wonderful flannel feels. So when I saw a set of king flannel sheets on sale at Target for $13 I snatched it up.

As I stretched the bottom sheet on to our behemoth mattress, I realized that I only buy striped sheets. That way I know which direction the fitted sheet goes on the bed. I stopped and thought to myself, that's a little quirky.

For the past 24 hours I've racked my brain trying to think of other quirky habits that I might have. This is what I came up with...

• Whether I need them or not, I always find myself buying interesting dish towels, magnets, and stationery.

• I have re-usable shopping bag brand loyalty. I don't take Target bags into Publix (grocery store) and vice versa.
  

• I always sign my name in blue ink.

But nothing really jumped out at me like the striped sheets. So I asked my guys...

• Mr. A told me that he enjoys what I say now that the filter between my brain and my mouth has been mostly dissolved.

• G-Man told me that he thinks it odd that the making of tea relaxes me not the actual tea.

• My Sweetie thinks it's cute that I sit on the bathroom counter to pluck my eyebrows (I can't see that far without my glasses).

Who knows what you might be thinking about me now. I hope I haven't scared you off completely. Come on, fess up and tell me about some of your quirks.

Facts of Life: Boy Edition

My mother has always said that boys are easier to raise than girls. I used to think she said that because she had two girls and only one boy. Plus, it also implied that my brother is my mother’s favorite.

Once I got into the motherhood gig and the DNA lottery granted me two boys, I started to think that my mother was correct about this subject. As I looked to the future, I imagined that puberty would be a breeze because I could just pass the boys off to their father. I got them potty trained and my work was finished.

It just about worked out that way too. But there were the occasional questions…

When Mr. A was about 4 years old, he watched me put a box of Tampax in the shopping cart. He asked me what it was. I told him it was “just for girls.” He then asked, “Like make-up?” I replied, “Yes.”

A few years later when Mr. A was about 8 years old and we were in the grocery store and he saw the Tampax in the cart and said, “You know, Mom, I still haven’t figured out what you do with that.” I told him that if he really wanted to know, I would explain it when we got home. However, by the time we got home, he had forgotten about it and I let it go.

Then came The Talk in the 5th grade. All the boys went to one classroom and all the girls went to another. Mr. A came home with lots of pamphlets and samples of Old Spice deodorant. I asked him if he had any questions. With his eyes big & wide and his mouth clamped shut he slowly shook his head “no.”

Well, The Talk happened about a month after my Sweetie and I were married. In other words, we were newlyweds. We were cooking a big family breakfast one Sunday morning and being all lovey-dovey. We were whispering in code to each other about how much we had enjoyed the previous night.

Mr. A walked by carrying a stack of plates to the table. He stopped with a horror-stricken look on his face and said, “Oh! I know what you’re talking about!” He put the plates down on the counter and ran to his room. He refused to come out for breakfast. I looked at my Sweetie and begged him to talk to our son.

S took Mr. A for a long car ride. S came back looking amused and A looked totally relieved. To this day, I still don’t know what they talked about.

Not long after that we were in the grocery store again. Mr. A noticed the Tampax in the cart and exclaimed loud enough for the next two aisles to hear, “THAT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH IT!”

Photo Challenge: Week 3

I couldn't make a decision this week. Since there aren't any rules stating that I can only post one photo, I decided to post my top four.

Frost!

Some of the books I read in 2009.

My neighbor's crepe myrtle.

Colors.

A Little Help

Because we all need a little help from time to time.



Note: Once again, PLRH does not condone underage drinking or smoking of any kind.

Cassoulet

This recipe was adapted from Emeril Lagasse. It's become one of my family's favorites over the years. This meal can easily be made vegetarian. Use veggie stock instead of chicken stock and omit the sausage. Or substitute tofu for the sausage. Any way you make it, the beans provide plenty of protein. The cayenne pepper can be adjusted to taste.

Part I

Soak one pound of white navy beans overnight in a bowl. Cover the beans with at least 2 inches of water.


Part II

1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup chopped onions
¼ chopped celery
1 pound white navy beans, soaked overnight and drained
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 quarts water
1 bay leaf

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat and sauté the onions and celery for 3 to 4 minutes, or until slightly wilted. Add the beans, salt, cayenne, water, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the beans are tender and most of the water is absorbed, about 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf.
2. If the beans are prepared ahead of time, refrigerated until ready to use.


Part III

¼ cup flour
¼ olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow)
½ cup chopped carrots
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 pounds smoked sausage, such as turkey kielbasa, cut into ½ inch slices
2 cups chicken broth

1. Combine the flour and oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly and slowly, make a medium brown roux, the color of peanut butter.
2. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots, salt, and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly wilted. Add the broth and stir until the roux and broth are combined and the mixture thickens. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles. Bring to a boil.
3. Add the bean mixture to the vegetable mixture and stir well. Add the sausage. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 30 minutes.

Lentil Soup with Beef

This recipe is pulled from the Food Network also. I make my own beef stock. This can also be made as a vegetarian dish as well. Use veggie stock, omit the meat, and add more veggies. The lentils provide plenty of protein!

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large celery stalks, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 6 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 cups (about 11 ounces) lentils, rinsed
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves


Directions
Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Black Bean Soup (Vegetarian)

Adapted from the Food Network.

Ingredients
• 1 bag of dry black beans (1 pound)
• 12 cups water (more if needed)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more for the table
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Put the beans in a large saucepan, add the water and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Set aside, covered, for 1 hour.

Return the beans to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cook uncovered, for 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and coriander and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the onion mixture to the beans and continue simmering until the beans are very tender and the liquid has thickened, about 2 hours more.

If the beans seem too thick, adjust the consistency with a little bit of water. Stir in the vinegar, season with the salt, cayenne, and pepper to taste.

Tidbits

Gropius was kind enough to share 10 things about herself that we might not know and then give me a shout out on her blog to do the same.

I did something similar to this about a year ago so I’ll try not to repeat myself.

1. I’m lousy at video games. I gave up after failed attempts at Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man.

2. I should have been an interior designer.

3. I have a routine (ritual) for making tea and it relaxes me.

4. In English Lit class in high school, I used to read ahead.

5. I enjoy dry, witty, British humor.

6. My husband is the only man to ever tell me that he was initially attracted to my smile NOT my red hair.

7. I probably know way too much about Wolverine, Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi movies in general, James Bond, and Operation Market Garden.

8. As a child, I did not like the color pink. Now that I have two boys, I have lots of pink things so they won’t use them… my iPod, phone, lunch bag, water bottle, etc..

9. I’m friends with my college boyfriend on FaceBook.

10. The 2 rods and 6 screws in my back DO NOT set off the metal detectors at the airport.

Now the rules state that I should pass this on to 10 other bloggers. But I’m not going to do that for two reasons:

First, I don’t think I know 10 bloggers without overlapping with the list Gropius sent out. Second, it reminds me too much of a chain letter.

Lots of Legumes

Navy beans soaking

I like to cook. I really like to cook soups and stews. Things that require simmering for hours. Dishes that tend to overheat the house when it's 93 degrees outside. Special meals that require cooler weather for optimum enjoyment.

This past weekend I started on a couple of family favorites. We had chili recently and still had plenty stored away in the freezer. So I started with beef & lentil soup. I made the stock from scratch using the beef rib bones leftover from the Christmas roast. While that was going, I soaked the navy beans for cassolet.

Mysteriously, two bags of black beans appeared on the kitchen counter. My Sweetie asked if I would make him black bean soup. I don't like black bean soup. I've never made black bean soup. I always thought that a ham bone was required to make black bean soup. Thank goodness for the Food Network. I found a recipe for the soup and it's completely vegetarian. For the black beans I decided to take my Bentley (slow-cooker) out for a spin. The beans simmered all night and I've got to say that the house smelled wonderful when we woke up. Still doesn't mean that I'm going to eat the stuff.

The beef & lentil soup is one of those recipes that I just kind of make up as I go along and it comes out a little different each time. The cassolet is a multi-day commitment. But now that I think about it. I could simmer it in the Bentley overnight as well. Anyway, it's an Emeril recipe that I adapted. The cassolet could also be made as a vegetarian dish.

Let me know if you would like me to post the recipes. I don't have time to do it now because I need to stir the cassolet... o-lay... o-lay... o-lay.

Cassolet in progress

Frost!

OK, all of you in the north country maybe tired of my cold weather stories. What's the big deal, right?

This morning we woke up to a nippy 29 degrees. You've got to understand that we can go several winters without a single freeze. Last night was the third night in a week that the temps dipped below freezing.

Our houses, office buildings, schools, and all the respective heating systems weren't designed to maintain heat for this long of a period. We have a natural gas furnace in our house so we're comfortable. But many people have had their heat pumps freeze over. Not good.

My office and my Sweetie's turned the heat off over the weekend and it took most of the day for the buildings to warm up. My office was 62 degrees this morning. The heating system at G-Man's middle school burnt out on Friday and still wasn't fixed today. He said it was 58 degrees in his science class. Good thing I taught the boy to dress in layers and *gasp* he listened.

The funniest thing so far was this morning looking at the frost on my neighbor's roof. I noticed there was frost on the solar panels for their pool heater. Trust me, it's there. The next door neighbor's solar panels were frosted too. Only I couldn't get a good photo because we were running late.

The good news is that we should be back up to the 60's by the end of the week. So feel free to come down if you need to defrost!

UPDATE: More frost photos from Tuesday morning (wake-up temp 31 degrees)....

Photo Challenge: Week 2

Big Bend Power Plant

This morning we went to the Big Bend Power Plant (Tampa Bay) to look at the manatees. The plant discharges warm water and manatees congregate in the winter to stay warm. The manatees hang out in the canal most of the time when it's chilly. But they still need to go out to the grass flats to eat. Today qualified as chilly... the temp was 40 degrees and sunny with a windchill of 30 degrees.

I tried to take photos of the manatees. I got some snouts and one fluke. They are hard to see in the photos because they appear to be the same color as the water. We also saw several cobia and sting rays. My best photos were of the power plant, the steam, and my guys.

Note: The exhaust from the smoke stacks is 95% water vapor (steam). Environmentally speaking, this power plant is one of the cleaner ones.

What Floridians Do When It's Cold

Molly has been under this quilt for hours. She doesn't have a snuggie like Flanders.

We take photos of the thermometer to prove that it's cold.

The boys beg for snow.

Mr. A even attempts a "snow dance".

Flamingo Love

This cold spell reminds me of my sister’s outdoor wedding in Miami 14 years ago next month. We expected 70 degree weather but instead there was a cold snap and the temps barely got out of the 40’s. The wedding guests were bundled up and the men were toasty in their tuxes. But my sister and I were freezing in our sleeveless dresses. I ended up wearing a cropped jacket over my dressed but was still cold despite the bun in the oven. That’s right, G-Man was a 5-month speed bump of love that no one noticed under my empire-styled dress. My sister toughed it out because she didn’t want to cover up her dress.

However, the cold weather wasn’t the most memorable part of my sister’s wedding. The ceremony and reception were held at Parrot Jungle*. At the time, it was a typical tacky tourist attraction that opened in the 1930’s. Imagine having to walk through turnstiles to get to your wedding venue. As tacky as it was with the injection molded plastic souvenir machines stinking up the place, the gardens were beautiful.

My sister selected the terrace overlooking the Flamingo Pond for the reception site. We first visited the location the previous April. The grass around the pond was all dug up and covered in big mounds of mud. The wedding planner explained that April is nesting season but in February the area around the pond would be a lush green lawn. She neglected to mention that February is MATING season.

Have you ever seen flamingos mate? It’s quite entertaining. The unsuspecting female stands around minding her own business when a male targets her from about 25 yards away. The male starts running towards the female with his wings flapping and leap frogs onto her back. The coupling occurs with a great deal of enthusiasm on the male’s part while the female attempts to maintain balance on her wobbly legs.

The pink birds provided the entertainment for the entire wedding. It was akin to watching a nature program on the National Geographic channel. Although, instead of Sir David Attenborough narrating, we got to listen to the commentary of the drunken groomsmen.

Mr. A was only a little over two years old and he wanted to know what the birds were doing. I simply told him that they were playing leap frog. He accepted my answer and went back to eating his pasta salad.

My brother was able to slip away and buy some plastic pink flamingo lawn ornaments. Later that night we went to our sister’s house and decorated the front yard because we knew the newlyweds would stop back home before departing on their honeymoon. Pink flamingos continue to be my favorite gag gift for my sister and brother-in-law.

Does anyone else have any unusual and entertaining wedding or nature stories?

*The park now operates under a different name and has greatly expanded.