Spread a little sunshine

These machines never came with a guarantee as no one wanted to stand behind them. I am continuing my search for that special machine that I have a specific purpose for.

Orlando "Old Town" Car Show

A week stay at Summer Bay Resort gave us warm days and sunshine. What a spring treat and opportunity to enjoy the warm skies of Florida. We always look forward to our getaways and experiencing new places. Old Town, in Orlando, has a car show every Saturday evening and what a show it was. There were several hundred cars that showed the time involved and talent needed in restoring them to their original condition. The license plates would state the owners feelings about their ride. It was fun to see the dashes of some of the vehicles. What memories were brought back. All in all, it was a fun evening and we wonder why we traded so many of those vehicles in, instead of putting them in the shed for future restoration.

Winter - Schminter!!!!!

As our family and friends are enduring another snowy winter in the Midwest, we want to share with everyone some of the winter events we have experienced in Florida. I have to show you another great Santa face that Jo creates when she makes Dream Whip for our pumpkin pie topping. I have started a photo collection of these as each one is different. Some with a smile, some with a frown. Some eyes open and some with a wink. Just fun to see each new creation. We have done horse sitting for a friend with Toby and Cricket. They each have their own personality. Always fun to see them. On a bright sunny day in our back yard we had a Pileated Woodpecker, (Dryocopus pileatus) join us and show off its beautiful colors. The adults stand about 15 inches and are mainly black with a red crest and a white line down the side of the throat. Check them out on line to get all the details. Of course the clear days brought some cold nights so it was time to harvest the remainder of our oranges so we would not loose them to freezing. We had a wonderful crop and enjoy the juice that Mother Nature provided us. Warmer days brought a flock of Robins, (Turdus migratorius) to our back yard. Most likely they were enjoying the area as it is still too early to head north. The warmer weather gave us needed rain and some wind. A large tree in the horse paddock fell near the horse stable and fortunately no horses were injured. Pete seems to be saying, "Look what just fell in my paddock, glad I was in my stall". We met friends of Tom and Denise from Iowa and were able to spend some enjoyable time with them. We all got together in Spring Hill for the car show and had our car there for the evening. February brings the Family Motor Coach, FMC, gathering to Brooksville. We always like to go and see the new rigs and hope to meet some Winnebago folks there. An event that may never happen again was the night lift off of the Endeavour Space Shuttle. This took place at 4:14 AM and we watched from our back yard. First there was the orange glow on the horizon and soon we could see the shuttle engines glowing as it lifted off 119 miles to our east and headed west. What a sight and right in our back yard.

Merry Christmas - 2009

We wish all our family and friends

a very Merry Christmas - 2009

and a wonderful New Year - 2010

Snow in Celebration, Florida

The town of Celebration was originally built for people who worked at Disney World. Over the years, the town has remained an area of beautiful homes with a small downtown area of specialty shops and festive evening activities. Children, along with adults, come to the town center, Market Street, and wait for the "snow" to arrive. What a treat for those who have never seen real snow. Of course, this "snow", the 11th annual Now Snowing Event, was made with foam blowing from special bird houses with more foam applied to the street for the children of all ages to play in. Another interesting area is Old Town, where car shows have been held every Friday and Saturday evenings for over 20 years. There are also many shops, restaurants, and rides in Old Town.

Disney World in December

Orange Lake Resort gave us the opportunity to visit Disney World and the surrounding area. We spent quality time with our friends, Everett and Carol, from Illinois. They visited us at the farm in Iowa this past summer so it was fun to have them show us around the Orlando area. Several evenings during the week, Disney World lights the sky with fireworks at the different parks. We viewed two of them and what a sight. While in the Grand Floridian Hotel we saw a full-size Ginger Bread House. Take a look at the recipe for building this house. What a task that would be! Jo has decided to stay with her own great Christmas sugar cookie recipe. Everything was decorated with lights and ornaments making the entire grounds a Holiday extravaganza.