January 13, 2013

Today was a gorgeous day in Central Florida.  Clif and I ventured out to Baldwin Park for a 5K walk in preparation for a 5K I will be doing in February.  I have been jogging on the treadmill, and the best time so far is 43 minutes (and I am totally exhausted).  In case you can't tell, I am not a runner, nor do I like to run.  That being said, the treadmill is not going to be the same as jogging on the streets.  I came to that realization when I was jogging in between muscle toning exercises at bootcamp yesterday morning.  By the time I jogged around a very small retention pond, I was winded!  I had to jog around that thing 4 times!  Needless to say, I am stiff today.  But, training must go on.  So I decided I could at least walk.  We did 3.61 miles in an hour.  I didn't think that was too bad considering the pain I was feeling from yesterday's workout.  I wish I would have taken the camera because the scenery on the lake was beautiful.  Sailboats, kayakers, and paddle boarders were scattered about the lake, and the lakeshore looked like a crowded beach.

This evening, a bright light caught my eye out the front window.  At first, I thought perhaps the woods were on fire, but upon closer look, it was a firey sunset, just aglow with a variety of orange hues.  Absolutely stunning. 



This is snapped using the regular setting.  It wasn't quite as bright as it really was, so I decided to try the vivid setting.



This was too bright, but I think you can get the idea of what beauty I was able to see.

Harvest Time

Looking out the kitchen window this noon, I realized I needed to harvest parts of the garden before the vegetables went to flower.  The neighbors were excited to get a head of broccoli that was the equivalent of three when purchased in the grocery store.  God has been a good provider for our winter crop, especially being we have not spent much time tending to it.



Not only was I able to share with the neighbors, but I used three of the heads to make a broccoli salad which I took to a pot-luck Epiphany party for dinner.  The guests raved about the flavor of the broccoli, and wanted to know where I acquired such perfect floweretts.  Imagine their shock when they learned it came right from my backyard!  If you want to see the garden, look at an earlier post from Thanksgiving.  These vegetables are yielded from those plants.  We still have several more plants to harvest in the upcoming weeks.  Most people don't realize with a bit of careful planning, you can have your own abundant garden from the privacy of your own backyard.  Does it save money, maybe, but knowing where the food comes from, and the chemicals that aren't used makes it much healthier to eat. :)

New Year's Day

Most people have celebrations on New Year's Day.  Clif and I just tend to be low key.  We decided to venture out to Hal Scott Park and Preserve near Wedgefield.  Only this time, we took our bikes instead of our hiking sticks.  I'm glad we did because the last time we went out there, we hiked around 7 miles and my feet had blisters.  This time, we covered 10 miles in 2 hours, and were able to see a lot more.  The biggest difference this year is that most of the undergrowth has recovered from the controlled burn they had last year.  It was nice to see the green palmettos verses charred remains.  We didn't see any wildllife, only evidence of wild boar and a few horseback riders racing along the trails.  That looked like fun!



Hiking and biking in Florida doesn't compare to the scenery in the mountains.  But it is still nice to get out and enjoy the natural setting.  It was a gorgeous day.  The high was 76.



We decided to bike to one of the many primitive campgrounds.  We decided this would be a nice place to camp with our group of friends.  If we bike in the gear, it is only 15 minutes from the parking area.



I tried to bring up the well water, but it didn't work.  It must need to be primed.  I don't think I'd want to use it anyway.  Too much rust.

Sister Time

Diane invited me to Winter Haven to spend the day with her.  She has a season pass to Bok Tower, and thought it would be fun to see the Pinewood Estate all decked out for Christmas.  It was a great time.  We even had an added bonus in that her granddaughter, Ashley was able to enjoy the event with us.  I was surprised when they encouraged us to take pictures as we toured the house.  I am so glad I brought my camera with me.



She had more fun doing her acrobats on the lawn of the huge gardens.  This is one of her famous "tah-dah" poses.




I took this picture because it never occured to Diane or I to add twinkle lights under the batting.  It added just the right touch to this display.  I don't want to forget it so I can use this idea in my house next year.



We would have never thought to put lights in tule either.  This would be a great decorating idea for weddings!
    Each room had a theme to it.  At the end, you had to vote for your favorite room.  Mine was Mr. Buck's room.  It was done as a "nature" room.  It had the most darling snow owls in it.  It was very woodsy...just right up my alley.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it.  I guess I was too busy trying to figure out where to buy those owls.  I want to add one to my collection.



In the courtyard they had these neat Poinsettia balls hanging from the trees.  They were magnificent.



I ended up staying for dinner before heading home.  I heard fireworks.  Then Diane said, "Oh those are from Legoland.  You can see them out the side window".  Sure enough, I was able to watch the entire fireworks show from her side yard.  She is less than a mile from the theme park.  It took me a while to get a shot because my camera was on the delay mode.  I finally realized to snap it when I saw the red shoot going into the sky, then by the time it photographed, the display came out better than the previous ones.

It was a wonderful day.  Thank you Lord for time to spend with family.  I treasure these special moments.

Long Awaited

Stephen has been anticipating the arrival of his new patrol car for many months now.  I think since this summer there has been word that he would be getting one.

He's a beauty....



                          He's already put 500 miles on it his first week.



          Clif got a call from Stephen this afternoon.  He tells dad, "look in your review mirror".
   Imagine Clif's surprise when he realized Stephen was right behind him!  And no....he didn't have his lights on!  Just a mean looking machine.

Gratitude

Today I have much to be grateful for.  Even though I  awoke still being out of sorts from yesterday, the day made way for  many blessings.  I was fortunate to have received a call from a teacher who I not only enjoy the kids in her classroom, but I always look forward to working with her paraprofessional because we connect on a spiritual level.  I knew when the call came in, God was performing His intervention.  He didn't let me down.

She prayed a powerful prayer with me during lunch.  I could feel God's Spirit and Strength just fill my soul.  It gave me the boost needed to lift me out of the short-lived funk I was in.  The day only continued to get better.  I was able to accomplish the tasks I had on my to-do list, and help other people out along the way.

The day ended with 2 of my friends (twin sisters) coming over to help me wrap all the Christmas presents Clif had purchased.  It took the 3 of us just over 2 hours.  If I had done it by myself, it would have taken 6-8 hours, and I probably would have been grumpy!  I was so moved by this gesture.

 I had shared with them on Sunday that I was disappointed I missed out on their Annual Gift Wrapping party they have.  But it was the same day as the baking day I had with Amber and Valerie.  Without missing a beat, they both said, "just give us a date and time, and we'll help you wrap."

 Clif enjoyed the conversations while we busily did our work.  When they left, he admitted he now understands why I look forward to this event every year.  I told him it is the best idea ever...to be able to chitchat and be productive at the same time during a stressful time of year.  Truth be told, I  usually don't have many gifts to take and wrap because I don't get my shopping done until a week before Christmas.  I help everyone else wrap because they still have kids living at home and in school.  But, being Clif was on the ball this year,  I had plenty to wrap, and it was the first year they scheduled it closer to Christmas!

Anyway, all Glory be to God who knows our needs before we ask.  Thank you Lord. :)

Rejoice

One of the new routines I have established since Lent 2012 is to go to the Creighton University website for daily prayer and pray their reflections each morning.  It is a great way to focus for the day.  I can tell a huge difference in my productivity and attitude when I skip this.  It is to the point, it is worth my sanity to etch time to focus my purpose. Today's closing prayer is perfect to what I have been praying in my heart the past few weeks.  It so hit the nail on the head, I just had to share.


I lift my heart up to you, Lord,
to thank you for the blessings
you shower on me each day.

You are the 'joy of my soul.'
I know that in your great love,
I am held and protected by you.

I pray and listen to the good news you send;
I ask and feel the healing.
I am freed by you
from the things in this world
that let me hide from you.

I rejoice, I rejoice, down to my soul.
Help me to prepare my heart
to be open and able to receive your immense love.

 

For more information on Daily Reflections you can visit their website.

www.onlineministries.creighton.edu