Wordless Wednesday - Evening Splendor

Evening Splendor

June 19, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

1950s Good & Plenty Candy Commercial

I have never been a huge sweets fan having never really developed a sweet tooth.  As a result there are very few candies I actually like.  Good & Plenty is one of those candies I do like on the rare occasion I feel like a sweet treat.  The candy coated licorice just appeals to me.  Here's a very old television commercial of this sweet treat.  Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Opportunity

The Weeds

June 18, 2010

Weeds always amaze me at their tenacity and adaptability for survival.  Regardless of what chemicals are sprayed on them or how often they are pulled up, they come back and with all their relatives and reinforcements.  They take root in the tiniest of cracks and crevices in some of the strangest locations.  Weeds never miss an opportunity to take root!  This is a valuable lesson to take over into daily living, setting up roots where we can, never giving up and always taking advantage of the opportunities that come our way.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Acts of God

This past week we have had a bit of rather turbulent weather ranging from severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings, high winds and a tornado touching down causing heavy damage in Midland, Ontario.  On Wednesday at 1:41 PM Ontario and Quebec experienced a 5.0 magnitude earthquake with the most damage in the epicentre of Echo Lake, Quebec.  Tremors were felt throughout most of Ontario and into US states as far as Pennsylvania.  It was rather scary to feel the house shake and sway as it did.  I was on the lower level that is mainly below grade when the tremor hit and things did move!  Despite the damage caused by these Acts of God there were no deaths and only minor injuries.  What an amazing blessing! 


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Shallow Waters

Minnows

June 17, 2010

One aspect of boating is a greater appreciation for calm waters.  In the shallow waters of some waterways it is easy for an observant viewer to spot a wide range of flora and fauna.  This time of year it is common to see tiny minnows flitting about in shallow waters.  There was quite a large school of minnows just barely visible towards the middle of the picture.  They quickly moved away upon seeing my shadow but I managed to get a few pictures.

Garden Gnome

©2006-2010

For Those in Ontario

[from my email files]

-----
Pinocchio, Snow White, and Superman are out for a little stroll in town one afternoon enjoying the sunshine. As they walked, they come across a sign: "Beauty contest for the most beautiful woman in the world."......"I am entering!" said Snow White.

After half an hour she comes out and they ask her, "Well, how'd ya do?" "I won First Place !," said Snow White.  They continue walking and they see another sign: "Contest for the strongest man in the world."......."I'm entering," says Superman.  After half an hour, he returns and they ask him, "How did you make out?"  "I won First Place too," answers Superman.. "Did you ever have a doubt?"

They continue walking when they see a third sign: "Contest! Who is the greatest liar in the world?"
Pinocchio quickly enters the contest. After half an hour he returns with tears in his eyes. "What happened?" they asked.

"Who the heck is Dalton McGuinty?" asked Pinocchio.

-----

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Here's Looking At You

Here's Looking At You

May 21, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Start of the 2010 Boating Season

The Wake

June 18, 2010

We took our boat out last Saturday for her maiden voyage of 2010.  The weather was gorgeous with warm winds from the south making the water on the choppy side.  One of my favourite things about boating is the wake.  When the boat comes to plane the motor hums nicely while cutting through the water forming the foamy sparkly wake behind the boat.  It is just so pretty as the sun turns the water droplets into diamonds!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Plant City Wall Mural

Plant City Wall Mural

May 22, 2010

During our recent vacation we made several side trips to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing.  Plant City, Florida is located in Hillsborough County, Florida off of Interstate 4 just south on Highway 92.  It is known as the winter strawberry capital of the world hosting the annual Florida Strawberry Festive in February or early March.  This even is attended by people from all over the United States as well as worldwide.  Plant City is a picturesque town a bit on the quaint side yet touristy.  There are several antique and second hand resale shops in the downtown area that is has cobblestone pavement on the streets.  I just had to have a picture of their gorgeous wall mural that spans the entire lower level side of one of the businesses.  A small, well kept park with benches and a fountain are set in front beckoning you to sit a spell.  There is a small parking lot as well so you can browse a few of the quaint stores.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrate Father's Day and the important role of fathers in the family but it is more than that.  Good fathers don't just happen.  Rather good fathers learn to be good fathers by modeling their fathers when they are children.  As they mature to become fathers themselves they take those lessons and pass them on to their children.  But good fathers wouldn't be good fathers if they just did every thing exactly as their father did.  Instead they take the lessons learned from their fathers and build on them.  The cycle continues from one generation of fathers to the next generation of fathers.

My husband had an excellent role model in his father who in turn had an excellent role model in his fathers.  He learned strong family values based on love, respect, faith, hope, and stewardship.  He learned that it was important to give back to the community to make the community stronger for families.  He has in turn been an excellent role model for our kids and now our grandkids.  He doesn't need a special day to know how cherished he is as a father because the kids and grandkids show him every chance they get.  On this special day though we'll show you just a little bit more that you are an excellent father and Grandpa (aka Pappa).

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Cow

The Cow

May 17, 2010

Advertising signs have always intrigued me.  I love finding unique and interesting advertising during our travels.  I spotted this cow advertising on top of a small permanent restaurant stand at the Wee Flea Market in Webster, FL.  It is likely bigger than a real live cow!  Despite being devoid of actual advertising the cow still got my attention.  Doesn't it look rather impressive?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wee Flea Market at Weber, Florida

Wee Flea Market at Weber, Fl

May 17, 2010

If you recall from a recent post we enjoy visiting flea markets.  The Wee Flea Market is located in Webster, Florida.  There are actually two flea markets in Webster but the Wee Flea Market is the largest.  The Wee Flea Market is open to the public from 6 AM to 3 PM on Mondays.  As with any outdoor activity in Florida it is better to plan visiting as early in the day as possible.  We got there about noon on a drizzly type day so many of the booths were closed.  Unlike many flea markets a lot of the walking paths were paved making it a bit easier for walking.  Despite the weather the vendors that were opened were extremely friendly thanking us for shopping on a rainy day.  It will be a lovely flea market to visit again the next time we are at the vacation house.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Redneck Satellite Dish

Redneck Satellite Dish

May 17, 2010

We stopped at the Wee Flea Market in Weber, Florida during our recent vacation.  I seldom buy much at flea markets unless it is something we need but I do love to do a lot of looking.  Beside the booth where I bought my water balls that I admit was a curiosity purchase there were redneck satellite dishes.  There is no doubt in my mind that these dishes actually perform better than the high priced ones we have at home ;)  I could not justify buying one but I did take a few pictures something many of the vendors at flea markets don't mind.  I might just have to make up a couple of satellite dishes myself.  My husband is going to be so thrilled with this idea!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Reflections

Reflections

May 21, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Do You Have to Pay the Meter if You Can't See It?

Almost Hidden Parking Meters

May 23, 2010

During our side trip along Florida's Gulf Coast I spotted these almost perfectly hidden parking meters.  I would hazard and educated guess that with a week from when we saw them if the area wasn't trimmed you wouldn't even know they were there.  This could give the hapless tourist a parking ticket that I think could be fought out in court although few tourists have the time or inclination to return to where they got the ticket to fight it.  Still if you can't see the meter then you shouldn't have to pay!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Chair at the Fleamarket

The Chair

May 23, 2010

I love finding oddities at fleamarkets especially items that I don't know the actual function but can speculate a bit.  Take this great chair I found.  I didn't buy it but rather only took a picture.  It looks like a motorcycle seat attached to office chair legs.  So what could the function be?  Perhaps the original owner liked his motorcycle so much he converted his office chair to give the same feel.  Perhaps it is an earlier version of an ergodynamic chair meant to improve posture.  Then I got to thinking.  It wouldn't be a fancy milking or horse shoeing stool because of the wheels that would make it impractical.  Notice the nice leather with complimentary brass trim.  I think this stool may have belonged to an affluent dentist.  He would easily be able to roll the chair around as needed, sit for certain dental proceedures without being encumbered by the back of a chair.  What do you think?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - Building a Home

Part of building any home is building family relationships. It's funny that so much emphasis is put on the building itself when that is really where is should not be. Our home right from the time it was established well before our kids ever came to be was built on respect. We raised our kids built on respect and to this day not one of them would ever bad mouth us, or swear at us and I doubt would ever raise their voice to us. At the same time we respected them. They are the everything we have worked so hard for.  In return they have brought their loves into our lives where we have welcomed them as one of our own.  There is no married ins, they simply become our kids, our family.  We are so very, very proud of our kids.  They are some of the most amazing people you would ever want to meet and while I might be just a bit biased I will always toot their horn.

A home is not a house.  Far from it.  A home is all about relationships, love and that I will be there for anything regardless of what happens.  Today is a special day for me so I am sharing it with our kids and grandkids.  We were very blessed that our kids brought their little ones into our lives so it really is like reliving our lives as young parents while advising as older experienced parents while enjoying the innocence of youth through our grandkids.  We get the absolute wonderful opportunity to view the world from another fresh set of eyes while watching our babies become very capable and loving parents.  And life goes on while building a home :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Penned Chickens at the Lakeland Fleamarket, Lakeland, Florida

Penned Chickens

May 23, 2010

A common sight at the Lakeland Fleamarket was penned chickens at several of the booths.  Some looked like they might be selling the chickens but others were like this one just sitting out beside the booth.  Well in this case the chicken pen was sitting by the food truck and did not appear to be for sale.  I had to wonder why they were there.  Were they there for the purpose of selling or to be killed for some of the food being served?  I can't see them being killed on site in such a small unit so perhaps they were there because the family spent so many hours away from home and this was one way to still have chickens.  Could they be a bit of a status symbol?  See these are the kinds of thoughts inquiring minds can come up with.  In hind sight I should have simply inquired about why the chickens were there but what a lot of people don't know about me is talking to strangers does not come easy so the questions went unanswered, slipping into my memories of the trip.

I have been wanting to get laying hens here so I've been doing a bit of research.  My husband isn't too fond of the idea of me getting chickens so we are into the great chicken debate.  To me the pen pictured is much to small for the number of chickens in it even for a brief time.  They were in full, blazing hot sun too which didn't impress me.  Despite that the chickens looked quite healthy but I don't have a lot of experience with chickens so maybe they aren't as healthy as they look.  At any rate if I ever do get chickens I will be posting a lot about them here.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Food Fare at the Fleamarket

Mobile Cuban Food Truck

May 23, 2010

Dotted throughout the Lakeland Fleamarket in Lakeland, Florida are several mobile food trucks as well as a few permanent food booths and a beer booth.  There is a large Cuban population in central Florida so it is quite easy finding small eateries specializing in authentic Cuban cuisine.  This mobile food truck was selling a variety of snack type foods including the very popular Cubano sandwich.  What caught my eye here were the penned chickens.  This was a very common sight at this particular fleamarket, one we hadn't seen before. 

If you note the sandy road, most of the walking paths in the open were gritty sand.  I noticed that the footware of choice was sandles and why not given the heat.  We both had sandles on but next time we go I will definitely be wearing running shoes.  That gritty sand is just downright nasty feeling between the foot and bed of the sandle!  It's also important to pay attention to the weather when going to the southern fleamarkets.  Many of them start closing up around 1 PM because of the heat so it is best to go early in the morning for a more enjoyable experience.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Lakeland Fleamarket, Lakeland, Florida

Produce Stands at Lakeland Fleamarket

May 23, 2010

We have always enjoyed wandering through fleamarkets as a bit of entertainment when on vacation.  We also frequent a couple of fleamarkets in the GTA when we are there along with a few local fleamarkets.  Fleamarkets vary greatly in size with some offering a lot more than others.  Fleamarkets are a great source for just about anything including furniture and antiques.  Some things are new and others are used but there are always great deals.  There are usually refreshment stands complete with simple foods like hotdogs and French fries.

Common to many fleamarkets are produce stands selling fresh local produce.  In most cases the fleamarket produce prices are always a good deal.  I love wandering through the produce stands taking in all the sights, sounds and smells!  The produce stands at the Lakeland Fleamarket renewed my determination to do a bit of canning at our vacation home.  That way I could take advantage of inexpensive local produce that I would not be able to bring back into Canada.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Fire in the Sky

Fire in the Sky

May 20, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

The Armadillo

Armadillo

May 23, 2010

On our way back from the beach my husband said get my camera.  Given the camera is almost surgically attached to me finding it isn't an issue.  I'm the official picture taker of the family but sometimes he spots things I don't.  He had spotted an armadillo that he declared as road kill but still worth of a picture.  At the time I did not think it was road kill and since I wasn't exactly about to get out of the car to check I just kept snapping pictures.  Armadillos are actually expanding their range as far north as southern Ontario.  They have poor eyesight and other than digging for grubs don't really bother humans.  I look forward to being able to catch a video clip or two of a living armadillo.  That would be really interesting!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Laughing Gull

Laughing Gull

May 23, 2010

While sitting in the shade of the cabana snack shop I let my mind wander a bit to take in all the sights, sounds, smells and just simply being there.  Then the Laughing Gulls caught my attention.  I personally like seagulls.  I think they are rather interesting and have even more interesting quirks.  This little guy landed on the picnic table right in front of me posing rather nicely for a picture.  I managed to get quite a few pictures of the gulls even though I refrained from feeding them.  Feeding gulls is a rather interesting story that perhaps I will share with you sometime :)


Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Blog Your Blessings Sunday - In the Garden

This past week really focused on the garden from cleaning out the beds and getting the gardens going to buying plants and planting.   The weather has be quite warm with a fair amount of rain buy in between rain showers I go out to putter a bit more in the gardens.  I love it when it rains just after doing a bit of planting as that saves me having to do the watering.  The gardens have really changed within the matter of a few short days and they continue to evolve daily.  I get such pleasure watching the changes.   What a blessing it is to be able to enjoy gardening and reap the benefits of gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Sand Dollar

Sand Dollar

May 23, 2010

On the Sunday of our vacation we headed to the Golf Coast to enjoy a late lunch combined with a bit or R&R along with swimming.  We ended up stopping at St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.   It was a rather hot day so first we found a restaurant with an outdoor patio for people watching.  After lunch we headed to the beach where I settled in the shade of an umbrella at the beach cabana snack bar while my husband headed to the water for a swim.  I lazed about people watching, taking pictures and sipping a cold one while he enjoyed a swim.  A DJ had a booth set-up for karaoke which proved to be quite entertaining watch young girls about the age of 10 singing their hearts out.  I discovered there is a thing called the karaoke mom who coaches from the sidelines with the goal of getting their child discovered!  Behind the karaoke booth there were a few artisans selling their wares but I didn't want to lose my shady spot.

My husband came up to show me the sand dollar he found in the water.  Normally the sand dollars we see are cleaned and quite brittle.  This large sand dollar was very much alive so after it's photo shoot my husband returned the sand dollar to its aquatic home.  Then he went back in for another swim.  The whole day was just a true delight!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

I Wish You Enough

[from my email files.  I have taken the liberty of adding a custom made graphic that is © by me but do not know the author of the inspirational piece so have marked it as author unknown.]

---- 

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

Only if you wish, send this to the people you will never forget and remember to send it back to the person who sent it to you. If you don't send it to anyone it may mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE....

To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

-----
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Attack of the Hawk

Attack of the Hawk

May 19, 2010

Animal behaviour interests me so quiet observation is necessary to decipher exactly what the goals are of the behaviour.  We were sitting enjoying a morning coffee at the vacation house when I noticed a hawk perched on the lamp post across the road.  Well I just had to get pictures of a hawk because they are rather impressive birds.  All of a sudden this little bird about the size of a blue jay landed then proceeded to torment the hawk.  It would dive and squawk at the hawk that seemed to take little notice.  When the hawk finally flew off the little bird was in hot pursuit!  We've documented aggressive bird behaviour before but in this case there seemed to be no reason for it.  I watched this happen a couple of mornings then the next morning the hawk flew over with it's catch clasped tightly in its talons.  All of a sudden it dawned on me what the little bird was doing as I watched the little bird continue attacking the hawk with it's prey.  By attacking the hawk there was a good chance it would drop any fresh catch giving the little bird and easy catch.  Now that seems like a rather smart thing to do!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Wordless Wednesday - Babbling Brook

Babbling Brook

May 19, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Rainbow After the Storm

Rainbow

May 17, 2010

Setting up the vacation home meant multiple shopping trips so after lunch we headed out to do a bit more shopping.  This trip involved four major stops, ducking rain.  At the first stop we were just finishing up when it became quite apparent from inside the building that the storm had hit full force.  We took our time checking out then had to wait almost 10 minutes for the pelting rain to let up enough so my husband could run for the car.  We loaded then headed to the next stop where again it pelted, and the third then finally the fourth stop.  We were wet and tired.  Driving along we spotted a gorgeous rainbow that in many ways was a reward for trying to shop in such conditions.  Isn't it gorgeous?

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010