Family Fun

Family Fun

Between us, Mike and I have four children. Three girls and a boy. Actually, make that three women and a man. We also have three sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. Most of them live in Ohio and Wisconsin. Our son lives in Florida. This past week, Kendall, the youngest of my three girls, came with her two daughters to Florida for a short visit.

We picked them up at the airport late Wednesday evening and made the most of the two full days they were around. 

One item on their must-do list was a boat ride.

Mike was happy to accommodate them. (And let me just say, God arranged everything on His end perfectly, too.)

Thursday, we all headed out in the boat under a clear blue sky. Mike drove us around the lake so the girls could see the route we take to pick up my mother at her dock. (We didn’t need to pick her up this time…she was already with us in the boat.) Then we set off exploring. 

 That's Me with My "Little Girl"

Mike steered past the old boathouse I photographed a few months ago. One day I plan to paint a picture of it for our home. We explored an adjacent lake and then…we went under a bridge to discover a wonderful new-to-us lake. It was huge and calm enough we could see fish jumping. 

Yep...
It's a Flip-Flop Kind of Life...
and we Love it!

Only a few houses were scattered along the shoreline and with the sun shining and the wispy white clouds reflecting on the smooth surface…. Let’s just say, it was breathtaking!

Mike and I have lived here for a couple of years now and we are still discovering new and beautiful surprises in our little corner of the world.

Once home, it rained. Yep, we had what some would call a “gulley washer.” Our boat ride was sunny, bright, and beautiful. And then, only once we were back inside did it rain. Not long. Kendall and the girls spent that night with my mother. It was such a pretty evening, they were able to use her pool.

Also, on the girls “bucket list” for this trip was a return visit to The Cove restaurant. You can drive there by car, but it’s more fun to go by boat.

So, on Friday, we loaded up once more and headed out to The Cove. Again, the weather was perfect. We pulled up to a dock and hiked the short trail through the woods to the restaurant. The food there never fails to please. I guess that is one reason our whole family enjoys it.

That evening, the girls and I picked lemons from our tree and made fresh lemonade. That is both delicious and fun!

Mike made his famous steak and veggie sandwiches for us on the grill.

The Two Noras.
Both are "Grand"
On the Left Great GRANDma, Nora
and on the right
GRANDdaughter, Nora

Five o’clock Saturday morning came much too quickly. I told you it was a short visit. Mike drove Kendall and the girls to the airport in Tampa for their early flight. 

We’re family. We don’t have to spend every minute of every day together. We don’t have to have a long, elaborate vacation at a resort. All we need is …a little time with each other with a spattering of sunshine and a lake full of water. And a boat. 

One last pic...

                       Our pleasure...

 

 

 

He Said, She Said

  He Said, She Said. 

It's all about perspective.

When my granddaughter and I visited the library during COVID, my granddaughter, ten years old at the time, checked out The Dangerous Book for Girls. It is a fun book offering a range of how-to advice and information about growing up. There was a section in the book called “boys.” The author offered what boys think and why they act as they do. Interesting.

 

My granddaughter wanted to know what the authors told boys about girls. Smart.

 

So on our next visit to the library, she located The Dangerous Book for Boys and turned to the section labeled “girls.”

Doing Her Research

The authors of the book had little to say. They wrote an entire paragraph basically saying that girls like to talk. They also mentioned in a sentence or two that girls don’t find body noises as funny as boys do. 

I could have told her that!

 

Remember the Mel Gibson/ Helen Hunt movie What Women Want? It’s an “oldie” from back in 2000. Through an electrical accident Mel Gibson’s character can hear what women are thinking. It’s a romantic comedy but certainly captures the notion that men and women indeed think about things differently. 

 

I have come to appreciate the male perspective. After Tom died, I found myself asking what he would do in a particular situation. If I wasn't sure, I'd ask a male friend. 

Now I turn to Mike. He offers an honest view into the way men think. Sometimes he doesn't even know it! But having that perspective allows me to make an informed decision.

 

And because I seek that different perspective, I’ve learned a lot through the years.

 

This brings me to my writing. I know how women think. Most women. I have no problem showcasing a female perspective. I feel fairly comfortable portraying a male character as well. 

But like my granddaughter, I need to research a bit to figure out what goes on in the minds of men. I often ask Mike or one of my son's-in-law to read a section to make sure I am capturing the male point of view. Or their expertise. 

In fact, recently I asked my son-in-law, David, to review paragraph I wrote concerning one of my male character's work in technology. David was the one to turn to because that's his strength. And he's a man. I wanted the paragraph to reflect the male character's take on the issue.

 

What I’ve decided is this:

 

Men and women both like to talk.

Men and women both like someone to listen to them talk.

Men may laugh at body noises while women may not. Yet in truth, both are embarrassed at those noises in the company of the other gender.

 

As for what really counts? We’re the same. 

We all want to be loved, accepted, and appreciated. We are all capable of problem solving and creativity. We all have gifts and talents. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. 

 

I’m pretty sure we are more alike than we are different. 

 

But just for fun, what would you include in a book for boys that tells them about girls? And if you were writing a book for girls telling them about boys, what would you write? Please share in the comments below. It's easy.  This could be interesting... and fun. And if you like you can post your comment anonymously. 

Note: A form of this post first appeared in 2010.  Forgive me for updating and recycling, but I'm in the middle of crafting a novel and I have a deadline!

 

 

 

 

 

Morning Coffee

 Morning Coffee

         Mike is up before me every morning. He will venture into the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot. As is my habit, I’ve set it up the evening before, water in the holding tank and coffee in the filter. He turns it on and wakes me so I can shower and get the day started. I prepare breakfast while he showers.

Routines. Routines simplify our lives. They offer a rhythm to daily living. 

We pray. We eat. We talk about the day ahead as we drink our coffee and clear the dishes from the table. And then…

And then we have our second cup of coffee. 

Morning Coffee

The second up of coffee is often the space when Mike and I share memories of the past or dreams for the future. We talk about our travels here and abroad. We talk about our children and grandchildren. We share stories from our work lives. His as a supervisor at Tampa Electric Company and mine as a teacher…of both young children and young adults.

He shares stories of his work and ventures in Costa Rica and Guatemala. I share stories of my travels in other parts of the world and my life in Kosovo.

We are both widowed. Mike was widowed for nearly as long as I was married. Yet widowhood is a bond. It's a shared experience of grief and emptiness. We sometime share such stories, stories of both good times and bad over that second cup of coffee.

And we dream. We talk about the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, an adventure we both expect to experience this November. We talk about our desire to travel to Alaska. Neither of us have been there. 

We have a list of places we’d like to go and things we’d like to do. 

We’re not restless. We enjoy our home and life in Florida. We love our family and have good friends. We appreciate our church and often talk about the sermon…over a cup of coffee.

That second cup. It is both the signal of a pace of life that is not hurried and a desire to share time together.

And when the coffee pot is empty, we move into the spaces where we are needed. He will tend to the yard or boats or other chores he deems his to do. I will wash the dishes and settle into my desk to write.

Morning coffee sets the tone and rhythm of our daily lives. Do you have a morning routine that sets the tone of your day?

 

Football

 Tis the Season…For Football

Saturday, Mike and I watched the Florida Gators play the University of South Florida (USF) football team. 

I graduated from USF. Was I torn? No.

When I attended the University of South Florida, we did not have a football team. We had a great basketball team, but football? No.

Competitive swimming? Indeed. But football? No.

In fact, in my seven-year tenure as a student at USF we had no football.

 And yes, it took me seven years to complete that four-year program. Give me a break … I got married and gave birth to my first two children before I collected my first diploma. 

I digress. This is about football.

One of the Gators
Hanging in Mike's Office

In the 1970’s, USF had men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, and an outstanding men’s and women’s swim team program. There was talk of archery and badminton and bowling. BUT NO FOOTBALL.

Why? The answer I’ve heard was twofold.

Some professors and alumni argued that football brought the academic standards down, implying football players aren’t smart enough for college. That isn’t necessarily true.

The second answer cited the financial drain on the school. 

A football program is pricey to launch, but I’m told that if it’s done right, monies are easily recovered within five or six years and schools actually make money even if their school is not one of the Big Ten. It certainly makes recruiting new students easier.

I graduated from the University of South Florida with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. My advanced degrees were realized at the University of Cincinnati. I sent two daughters to Miami University in Ohio…and yes, Miami of Ohio was a University before Florida was a state. (Just Sayin’) And one daughter graduated from Ohio State. 

Excuse me, The Ohio State University.

Mike is a huge Gator fan. Huge. So when we married, it was easy for me to cheer for the Florida Gators…. and USF, MU, OSU, and UC…

Uh...I need not mention the outcome of the 

Gators vs. Bulls game. Let's just say, no matter what happened, 

"My team won."

 

Recipe for Joy

 Recipe for Joy

Recently, our church decided to put together a cookbook. It will feature favorite recipes from members of our congregation. I’ve had some experience with church cookbooks. They are filled with tried and true dishes.

Mike suggested I share picadillo. It’s one of his favorites. You may remember my blog post about my first experience making it. If you want to try this favorite Cuban staple, CLICK HERE.  

Then, this week when I talked about my blog, Mike said I should share a recipe or two. I appreciate he likes my cooking, but I wasn’t sure about filling the space with recipes. Still, I culled through my recipes and cookbooks, wondering if anyone would be interested.

I pulled out another church cookbook. One I’ve had since 1986. The cover is missing. Many of the pages are ragged. But as I turned the pages, remembering precious friends from those days, I came to a well-worn page, stained with chocolate fingerprints. It is the page featuring a family favorite: Brownies. 

I would often make the brownies and while they were still a bit warm, we would slice them apart, put vanilla ice cream in them and pour hot fudge on top. 

The chocolate treat was not only a favorite in our family, it was a favorite with their friends. So, those fingerprints on the pages? Not mine.

Sweet Memories.

Brownie Recipe
Well Loved & Used

 

So, in case you can’t read the recipe in the picture, here it is: 

Brownies

2 C sugar                                       6 T cocoa

1 ½ C flour                                     1 tsp salt

1 C Crisco                                    ½ tsp vanilla

4 eggs                                           ½ C milk

*opt: vanilla ice cream, *hot fudge topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Grease a 9X12” rectangular cake pan. In large bowl, mix first eight ingredients until batter is smooth. Pour into cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty (30) minutes. Brownies are done if toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares. While still warm, split individual brownies horizontally and fill with a scoop of ice cream. Pour warmed hot fudge topping over brownies and serve.

And remember, it isn’t the chocolate or the ice cream. It is the love and memories and friends who make any recipe delicious. It’s the recipe of life.

 

First Date

 First Date

First dates are usually awkward. At least for me. This week Mike and I recognize our “first date.” Our first date wasn’t awkward at all. 

Mostly, because we didn’t realize we were on a date.

Our high school reunion from George D. Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Florida was to be held Saturday, August 27, 2022. It should have been in 2021, but COVID brought those plans to a halt. 

Long before I left Ohio, I planned a post reunion potluck picnic at the Waters’ lake house near Tampa for the Sunday afternoon after the main event. I knew it would be work, but I also knew there would be some friends attending the picnic who couldn’t attend the organized reunion event for one reason or another. I considered that a win.

I posted the idea on our high school class page. The response was encouraging. 

Mike, a man I knew as a neighbor and friend, lived right up the road from the lake house. He was in my graduating class and was a long-time friend of my late husband,Tom. I knew his sister, Cindy, from classes we had together and his dad was my dentist.

Mike turned out
 to be my Reunion Date.. 
And my Husband!

Noting the response to the picnic, Mike offered, via Facebook messenger, to help with the event. He told me he had put on boating events and had coolers, grills, canopies, and tables. I promised to evaluate what I had available at the house and what I needed once I made my way to Florida.

My mother and I drove from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the Tampa Bay area with an overnight stop to visit cousins in Kentucky. Once at the lake house, we cleaned, scrubbed, and tidied up everything. My brother-in-law mowed the lawn and I assessed my needs. 

The grill was broken, we had plenty of chairs but only the one large picnic table. And we could use an additional cooler. I texted Mike and he told me what all he could deliver, bringing his son with him to help with the set-up. 

I headed out to shop for table coverings and decorations. I saw some red polish and decided to buy it for my toenails since I was wearing “open strappy shoes.” I don’t generally use polish. 

I was standing in the checkout line when my phone rang. Mike had driven to the event center and called to tell me how to get there. It sounded complicated.

“Or you can ride with me if you want to,” he offered.

I looked at the polish in my hand. I was already being a bit adventurous, so I agreed. 

We set a time for him to pick me up. My mom wanted to take a picture of us by the lake.

 

“Mom, it’s not like prom or anything.”

She took the picture anyway.

The evening was wonderful. We were likely more relaxed being together because it wasn’t a date. We shared stories, laughed, sat together at the reunion, and danced. I flitted about chatting with old friends. And when we’d had enough, we left.

The reunion was wonderful and Sunday’s picnic was a huge success. The day ended with rain in the evening after most folks left. Mike came back to pick up his grills on Monday as my mother and I were packing up to leave.

And then he kissed me.

So…Mike and I consider that reunion our first date. 

But not our last. 

 

 

Journey of the Pen

 Journey of the Pen

I am in the throes of writing, revising, and editing multiple works.

I am crafting book three of a series, editing a novel, and outlining blog posts for the next two months. Uh…make that three months. And... I am getting ready for a writing conference.

I have two more novels drafted. Who knows if I’ll get to them before the conference? It’s a haul.

Sounding busy? I am. But it could be worse.

I kind of got into this tizzy…this barrage of half-written books in 2014. That was the year Tom died. My first novel, Breathing on Her Own, was released April 1 of that year. I had the second one, Libby's Cuppa Joe, ready. I was on a roll. 

I started a third book in late September. I was still researching and developing character sketches for my main characters. I had a plot and a plan. 

We were to leave Ohio for Florida November 1st. Tom would be driving the truck, pulling the camper, and I would follow in the car. We planned stops along the way.  I decided to work on my third book as part of National Novel Writing Month in November. 

My idea was to dictate thoughts as we traveled, entering the fifteen hundred to 2000 words in my computer each evening at our campsites along the way. 

Hmmm…that sounded much more doable in 2014.

Anyway, it wasn’t to be. Tom headed out on his daily bicycle ride on October 29^th. If you follow me, you know the story. His bike went off the pavement and threw him into a tree. Two hours later, he was gone. From this earth. He was a believer and follower of Jesus, so I know where he is now.

I have often described that time in my life as the day the ink ran out of my pen. The closest I came to writing anything was my weekly blog.  Even that was a struggle. 

I tried to write, but none of my ideas panned out. They all wound up in a file I called "Fits and Starts."

Writing is Building... 
Rewriting is  
Getting Rid of Useless Material

In 2022, I came back to Florida for my high school reunion. Some of my readers are familiar with that next chapter in my life.

Like a good novel, a neighbor, a man Tom and I both knew in our youth, offered to help me with the “Post Reunion Potluck Picnic” I was hosting the Sunday after the reunion. Mike and I graduated together. He offered to drive me to the reunion event on Saturday night as well. 

Mike and I have now been married over two years.

And… I’m writing again. Mike encourages me at every turn. Because of him I have joined a local writing group. I’ve finished one novel. My favorite so far. (My beta readers like it, so that’s a plus.)

The first two novels in a series are ready…until some editor tells me otherwise! The third one in the series is in the revision stage. Two other books I crafted in my “dark hours” need serious work, but I like the concept each offers so I’m willing to invest the time. 

And…I’m happy.