Okay. This is where I do a bunch of meanderings. About this or that or whatever.

I read four books! And I loved them all! They made me remember why I love to read. “Our Missing Hearts” and “Little Fires Everywhere” both by Celeste Ng. Next up was “Happy Go Lucky” by David Sedaris, and a fourth book, “Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn. You can check out my thoughts about this month’s reading on my book page. It’s over there on the right side.

That’s called a “widget” and I’ll possibly be making more as this year flies by.

Besides reading books, sewing, and playing music, I used to spend many hours a day reading blogs. I learned so much. But I guess blogs have gone out of fashion and the posts aren’t always that great. I only have a few that I follow regularly now. One of my favorites is “Cup of Jo”. (I also follow her on Instagram.) I have nothing in common with this woman, but I love what she has to say, the people she interviews, and her links.

As Kathryn Jezer-Morton at New York Magazine said about “Cup of Joe”–“A nonconfrontational lifestyle blog for a readership that has come, over the years, to feel like a (very) large group of sympathetic lady friends.”

I especially like the posts about beauty uniforms. I actually find a lot of the stuff is affordable and something I would wear. That’s how I found some really cute sneakers, “Zoe Bakes” and CeraVe. ( I can now not live without CeraVe). Here is a good post that I just read on Sunday.

We had friends come for dinner on Sunday that are vegan. They only eat plant based except that they will eat seafood. Back when I was a strict vegetarian I also ate seafood. I was that person for several years but had to give it up for the pork products–bacon, prosciutto. pancetta. And none of those fake meat products can make up for those three. Fake bacon is fake and tastes fake. But I still continue to make vegetables the center of my plate.

So anyhow, I did a stir fry with shrimp. The shrimp was from our local fish market, Shelly’s Seafood. Made my favorite tofu recipe and added broccoli and rice. Then stir fried those veges with my own sauce recipe, And made two desserts from the “First Mess”. OoooooMmmmmmGeeeee. (I haven’t made any of the main dish recipes but these two desserts were outstanding!)

Stimulating conversation. Wonderful food. SO MUCH FUN! (But dessert was the best!)

And moving on…..

We bought new kayaks in February. I had some issues getting into my “sit in” kayaks. (maybe I busted up some parts of my body at some point in my life which makes squatting difficult.) I love kayaking so I was really sad about this issue. I joined in a “Santa Paddle” back in December and I was able to use a “sit on top” kayak with no problem. So we sold our old kayaks and bought new. And they are SO HEAVY. We had planned on keeping them in the garage. But after struggling with getting them onto our floating dock–they are staying right there. My plan was to take them to many of our local rivers and springs. But now they will stay right there and I’ll rent kayaks at our destination!

But it was wonderful getting back out on the water.

And another subject. Can I get my hair cut online? I’ve been to all the locals. This one decided I needed bangs. I heard her say “Whoops” and she didn’t apologize. And then there are the ones that talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. It’s just a freaking haircut. 20 minutes at the most. Stop talking about nothing. And my latest place knew that I was trying to grow my hair out and cut two inches off. That was my last haircut. In May. 2022 Good thing I’ve decided to be the crazy old lady with a pony tail and cats. Okay. I only have one cat. But at any moment I could have ten. And a pony tail.

The entire country has been experiencing crazy weather–blizzards, tornadoes, sand storms….Here in Florida we are having freakishly summer-like temps. Blooms are bursting forth among the landscaping that is dead from December freezes. It’s quite a juxtaposition. Thought I’d share some snaps that I took over the last week in the yard. (I have tried to not include any of my DEAD plants that will need replaced in March!)

With all of these beautiful blossoms, can butterflies and hummingbirds be far behind?