Remember my last post was ‘wait for it, wait for  it’………..and this was the main entrance bed.

With a little Disney magic, the flower bed became this.

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.

There are some intricate details in the framework, including the antennas and the curled proboscis (basically a tongue).

The butterflies were resting in a bed full of color.

A stroke of genius was their signs – a giant plant marker, reaching over 4 feet tall.

The festival opened with chilly temps, especially for those of us that have lived in Florida 20+ years and our blood has thinned out.   🙂

At park open, the temperature was in the high 40s.  I never made it to the butterfly house today, but some butterflies were released prior to the park opening.  I’m sure they were trying to find whatever patch of sunlight they could to keep warm.  By this weekend, they will be loving their home when once again our temps soar into the 70s and 80s.  More festivals highlights will be coming soon!

One item to note which you may find interesting (or not) this is only the second time since the Festival started that a Disney character has not been featured in the main entrance flower bed.  

 

Ginny 

 

 

While not really a secret since anybody can see these, but only if you’re walking in Epcot.  The 2019 Flower & Garden Festival officially opens on March 6, 2019 but even though its Disney……………….the magic doesn’t happen overnight.  We’re good, just not that good.  🙂

It’s a compressed schedule and I would hazard a guess that most (ok, maybe only some) guests walking the park don’t realize the prep-work for the festival is happening days and/or weeks before it opens.  Epcot just looks prettier………..

Since the Festival Of The Arts closed on 2/25/19 gardeners have been extremely busy creating floral magic inside the park.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words so this post is mostly about the photos.   Enjoy!

Topiaries –defined as a horticultural practice of training plant material to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes.

They are the star of the show and below are a few of my favorites.  Of course you have to start with the Mouse of the House. 🙂

Along with some of the remaining Fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto & Goofy).

Figment has always been associated with Epcot, since 1982.  While his popularity  comes and goes he’s enjoying a resurgence in his image, being featured in many, many other items besides this topiary.

This is a new location for Lady & the Tramp and I like it. 🙂  Almost feels like I’m back in Venice – kind of.

My favorite all-time Disney movie  – The Lion King – is not forgotten.  Got so say – green topiaries don’t photograph well against a green background, but that’s what I’ve got to work with – can you fix that hon for next year?

Did I mention that July 19, 2019 a new computer-imaged version of the Lion King movie is being released?  Don’t try to reach me that day. I’m watching the movie the day it’s released – just like I did in 1994.

Another popular movie and thus topiaries from Beauty & The Beast were created.

I didn’t grow up with Pooh & family, so while not a big fan of the character, I was drawn to this topiary of Eeyore and piglet.  Great use of plant material!

With Disney’s past collaborations (and subsequent purchase) we are bringing Kermit back into the park.  It was a striking topiary with eye-catching props.

There are non-Disney characters also represented such as this troll in Norway.

I LOVE the flower fields that encircle water.  They only get prettier as the time passes…………then they get changed out before the end.  Different flowers are needed before the end of the Festival.  Yes, Florida is warm (ok, hot!) and has a long growing season, but believe it or not, it can be really difficult to grow things year-around.

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These are very striking trees found in the park and around central Florida.  The pink tabebuia blooms first and quite frankly will be done blooming be the start of the festival.  I had to walk all around the park to find the (last) tree in full bloom.

The yellow tabebuia trees truly stand out.  Thanks to the Central Florida Flowering Tree Society (now defunct, but an interesting story) these trees can be found all over central Florida AND inside the park..

So ‘tabebuia’ is fairly hard for the non-horticulturist to remember (and pronounce).  They are also called yellow (or pink) trumpet trees.  🙂

A lot of times the star of the Festival is the Main Entrance topiary story.  My All-Time favorite entrance was when they featured The Lion King in 1998 – go figure.  🙂  The husband doesn’t agree, but this is my blog, not his – sorry hon.

So………wait for it….……..wait for it………..wait for it……..

 

Yep, you’ve got to wait for the Festival to actually open.  The weekend prior to the festival, the main entrance is full of flowering plants, but not as striking as when the festival opens.

 

I’m ending with a mural painted towards the end of The Festival Of The Arts.  Definitely part of the Disney ‘story-telling’ magic as we blend one festival into the next.  As I write this, I’m regretting I missed an opportunity for a unique photo.  As I was walking around gathering these shots this week, I saw a family in front of the mural.  This little guy (a 4 year-old) showed me which square he painted last week (the pink on Figment’s tongue).  I would have loved to include a shot (parents permitting) of one of our guest artists.  🙂

Hopefully, I didn’t spoil any surprises for those that are coming to the Festival.  For everyone else, maybe, just maybe this is the year you need to visit – just saying.

 

Ginny

Starting any fun-filled weekend with tacos, just screams its going to be a fun time.  We found this place several weeks ago and went back for our second visit.  This time we had an expert – Adrienne.  Since leaving CA she’s been looking for some authentic tacos and while not the same, she deemed the meal mighty tasty (my words, not hers).  Oh yeah, this place is located in Orlando, not Sanford………………..it made a good stop along the drive.

Naturally we started with some chips, salsa and guacamole.  We ordered a variety of items:  pork quesadilla, campechano taco, huerrvos with beef and marrow & mushroom Sopes,

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We’ve talked for a while about doing an ‘overnight’ in Sanford and the plans became a reality for several reasons. First,  it will give us stamps on our second Ale Trail map.  Second, we get to eat at ‘griddle in the middle’ (more on that soon) .  Third, it’s a friends 40th birthday and we’re invited to the extravaganza.  Fourth, I get to eat (more) German food at a landmark restaurant in Sanford.

Many years ago, I had a friend who was the horticulturist for Sanford so I’m not a total stranger to downtown Sanford, but WOW!  We’ve visited recently for our first Ale Trail map and saw some major differences and improvements.  The weekend we picked to stay in Sanford………..was totally hopping!  After checking into our hotel near the interstate (non blog-worthy) we ubered to downtown Sanford. First stop was Deviant Wolfe Brewing.  Got to love their earth-friendly coasters – just saying.  (In case you can’t tell, it’s a cardboard circle cutout with a stamped logo – simple and effective).

Oh well, we’re here for the beer, not the coasters (kind of).

Apparently their first anniversary is coming up on March 16 (see photo above).

After getting our stamps, we walked to the waterfront and found this little guy at the bottom of a flagpole – “Sanford Rocks!”.  Sanford has developed their waterfront area, adding gardens, statues and porch swings for all to sit back, relax and breathe.

Next brewery…………Inner Compass.   Got to love a beer that is called ‘Meh?”  AND it tastes good too.

I mentioned that Sanford was ‘hopping’  and this was just one of several events – street party.  AND another stamp on our map – Sanford Brewing Company, their logo is on the right of the photo.

About this time we started thinking about dinner and walked back to the main street for ‘Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe’, the german restaurant I mentioned earlier.  They have lots of seating, both inside and out, but apparently LOTS of others had the same idea.  At 6pm for a party of 3………….the wait was 2 hours.  Nope, didn’t happen.  Ultimately we settled on Buster’s Bistro, a Belgium brewpub.  It was also very full, but had an outside garden with tables so that’s where we ultimately ended up.  We prepared for a long wait, and unfortunately was not disappointed.  They were overwhelmed and under-staffed.  An hour after ordering, our food arrived – good, but this wasn’t their best night.  Naturally we had to order frites (French fries) and a meat/cheese platter to share.

Then it was on to the main event……….Sashmeister 4.0 for Sasha’s 40th birthday.

While I was in Shanghai, Eric became friends with Sasha and his wife when they had a downtown Clermont location.  When the building was sold, they relocated to Sanford.  A number of the Clermont gang stopped in for his birthday at their new place Luisa’s Cellar.

There was a lot going on and the night (ours at least) ended after the special Burlesque show in the upstairs bar.  Wow – who knew you would see a Burlesque show in Sanford.

Early on I mentioned ‘griddle in the middle’.  It is part of the De Leon Springs State Park in Deland, FL and our destination of choice for breakfast.  It’s at least a 30 minute drive from Sanford – but worth it in my opinion.  🙂

No, the restaurant is not called that, but a friend coined the phrase years ago, and it has stuck.  It is the…………..

They specialize in pancakes, but other items are available on the menu.

Two batters are available: American pancake and stoneground flour (5) pancake.

We ordered pecans and blueberries for pancake add-ins.  Eggs, sausage and ham rounded out our meal.  The meat is brought to you cooked, but you’re on your own to cook the eggs.

Through the years we have brought numerous family and friends to this restaurant.  My dad never understood why he had to pay for pancakes AND make them himself.  He went willingly (I think), but we always heard the comment.

We arrived knowing there would be an hour+ wait, but willing to use that wait-time (2 hours)to explore the park’s museum and also go on a nature boat tour.  The actual spring is surrounded by a concrete & tile edge with the water bubbling up in the center.  This is a natural spring with one of the largest water outputs in Florida.  One of the museum’s exhibits talked about the fragile eco-system of Florida’s Springs.

Another exhibit highlights their history before it was turned into a State Park in 1982.  This was a family owned & operated recreation spot before the purchase.  This photo caught my eye.  ‘Google’ it to get the entire history of the unique Florida attraction.

We got on the 10am 50-minute boat tour, pretty much perfect timing for our breakfast wait.  Ten minutes upon our return, we were sitting at our ‘griddle in the middle’ table.  In the background of the photo below, you can see the Spanish Sugarmill Pacake House.

Okay, okay, while not the best photos, Adrienne finally got the chance to see alligators in their natural habitat.  We keep telling her the gator she saw in a retention pond at the airport was audio-animatronic and not real.  I believe we spotted 5 gators on our nature boat trip.

Since we’re near Deland, we sampled beers at Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co to add that stamp to our map.  It has a cool vibe, just wish it was closer to Clermont.

I was supposed to get a half-pour, but the bartender was generous.

Last brewery for our weekend was Central 28 Beer Company.

It’s located at the end of the road in an industrial area.  You got to really want to come here to find it, you don’t stumble upon its location.  I reminded the others that our first visit was before Halloween and they had buckets of candy – Reese cups goes really well with dark beer – just saying.  🙂

Normally, this would be end of the post.  Not this time!  Eric was inspired to create some exciting and interesting tapas at home.  Char-grilled oysters, shrimp etouffee and grilled fish with our (home-grown) greens rounded out our meal.

Now that’s the way to end a fun weekend.

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

We hopped over to Tampa to meet good friends. It was a quick trip, but always a fun time can be had along the Gulf coast.  The only way to make it better is to take our boat and fish, but alas, that will have to wait for another day and time.

This visit we stayed at Floridan Palace Hotel, located In the north end of the downtown Tampa core.  It was designed by a prominent Tampa architect and built in 1926.  In 1996 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

It has old world charm and I couldn’t resist a few facts:

• At the time it was built, it was the tallest building in Florida, remaining the tallest building in Tampa until 1966.
• The hotel’s bar, the Sapphire Room, was a  popular nightspot during WWII for serviceman who were training nearby.  It’s still open, being recently refurnished but only on the weekends.
• During the 1960s the hotel and clientel  declined and eventually closed its door in 1989.  Current owner purchased it in 2005 and after 7 years, had a grand re-opening.

The Floridan’s original sign was found in a rooftop storage room during cleaning and after being restored was placed back on the hotel’s rooftop one more,

Now on to the primary destination for our time in Tampa…………Bern’s Steakhouse.

We had visited once before with two other couples (affectionately called the Clermont Supper Club) and after some deliberation…….Eric and I decided that first visit was 12+ years ago.

With any fine steak, wine is a good accompaniment.  While not exactly my thing, the adults at the table shared a bottle.  I ordered sangria – yes, that is my thing. 🙂

   

Waiting for our friends, I did a little research about Berns:

• Opened in 1956 by Bern Laxer and his son still owns and operates the restaurant (which during our tour of the kitchens we saw him, apparently an uncommon occurrence).
• 1996 Wine Spectator listed it as a tie for best steakhouse in US.
• 2010  the restaurant was deemed a ‘Top 50 All American Icon’.
• An interesting fact found on the internet…..there is only 1 window in the entire establishment, not accessible by patrons.

Appetizers can be ordered but why!  Every meal comes with French onion soup, salad, meat of choice, accompanied by fried onion strings, a green vegetable and another plated veggie of the day.  Almost forgot the baked potato – topped with your choice of butter, sour cream, bacon and chives – or all of the above!

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I ordered a Pinot noir reduction sauce to accompany my filet mignon while Eric shared a ribeye with Warner.  I had a fabulous dressing on my amazingly, interesting salad: champagne citrus vinaigrette – yummy.  Can you tell I really, really liked my salad.  🙂

An option when making your reservation is a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar.  Our waiter, Victor (bottom right), led us to the kitchen while a wait-staff in training, explained the various stations.

We were able to see the meats as they were cut and weighed before being grilled.

They have a bakery, coffee bean roasting room, salad prep and a service bar and probably much more I am forgetting.  We saw this interesting tray and our guide said they grow their own sprouts daily to top the salad.

Then it was on to the ‘wine cellar’.  With Florida’s high water table, a cellar is a bit of a tease.  You walk down a ramp and then you are greeted with this.

And this.

And more of this.

This is the largest wine collection in the world, having acquired over 600,000 bottles.  The cellar holds 100,000 while a nearby building houses 500,000+ bottles.  They have a catalog system that works for them and yet our guide shared they occasionally come across bottles that were never inventoried.  It is a LOT of wine!

 

Their madeira, some from the 17th century, were on this shelf, ready to be poured.

Interesting wall covering.  The walls are lined with newspapers, then sprayed to keep the wine cellar insulated.  Let me tell you, it was pretty chilly down there.  We were ready to get back upstairs to the warmth.

To finish our meal, we booked time in the dessert room.

Tables are sized for various party sizes, with each table feeling some privacy in their private wine-barrel shaped room.  The desserts are fabled and fabulous.  Here’s a sampling from their menu.  This is only one page of three listing their desserts.

Between the seven of us, there was quite a selection to behold.  First shown was a baked Alaska, you can slightly see the blue flames at the bottom of the dessert.  I ordered the King Midas carrot nut cake while Eric made his way through the Macadamia Nut Sundae.  Dennis was the smart one and ordered brie cheese, accompanied by strawberries.

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We were universally stuffed!  Warner timed our meal which beat our previous long meal with them, occurring in Normandy, France.  This meal start to finish was 3 hours and 42 minutes.

 

Tuesday dawned bright and clear.  Eric and I stopped at a nearby bakery for a morning pick me up.

Dennis plans fun activities and this day was no exception.  While this was not their first visit, it was ours.  Full confession……………..I was not a participant, just an active watcher.

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Eric was a little rusty in the first round but redeemed himself on the second round.  BTW – he admitted later in the week, he was a bit sore from using muscles not commonly being worked.

Notice in the far distance another (square) building?  That’s what I want to do on a future visit………sky diving in a controlled environment.

How could I forget the injectable donuts?  The donuts may have been the draw for some in our crowd, more so than the golf – just saying.  An order (24 holes) came with your choice of your selection of two injectable flavors:  vanilla, raspberry or chocolate.  OR, you could order all 3 flavors for an extra dollar – you can see our choice.  🙂

Before heading home, our last stop was lunch at La Teresita Restaurant.  It is a collection of buildings and first decision to be made was which way to enjoy the restaurant.  We chose option 1.

First to arrive is Cuban bread, slathered with butter.  We quickly demolished this basket.

I ordered the daily lunch special of roast pork and it did not disappoint.  My sides of choice were black beans and French fries.  Needless to say, we brought home leftovers for our work lunches this week.

All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes.  We love their visits to Florida and when plans allow, we get together to catch up.  We need to get up to NYC to see their new place.  Who knows, maybe this Fall!?!

If you made it this far through the post, you know I’ve been absent from the blog for a considerable amount of time – for me.  After the New Year, our weekends and exploits hadn’t seemed blog-worthy and didn’t want to waste the time to write them or your time to read them.  I’m back  🙂  with a few trips coming down the road.  Stay tuned.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I heard about something new and different at Disney Springs this year for the holidays and one day after lunch, we checked it out.

It’s pretty cool, (undoubtedly) better at night, but also (undoubtedly) waaaaay more congested.   We chose to visit during the day.  Oh well, there had to be a compromise somewhere and this was it.

In an underutilized corner of an area formerly known as ‘Disney Village Marketplace’, a new Christmas themed area popped up.  A number of trees were creatively decorated using one of Disney’s character families.   As soon to be seen, they are excellent  photo spots for guests – selfies or otherwise.  Every tree had a themed backdrop along with themed ornaments.  Again – pretty  darn cool.  Here you go – lots of pretty pictures.

 

First tree seen along the trail was a ‘Parks’ tree – all four parks were represented.

• Magic Kingdom opened in 1971.
• Epcot (under a somewhat different name) opened in 1982.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios (under a different name) opened in 1989.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998.

Do you know their original names?  Answers are at the bottom.  🙂

Oops,  I concentrated on the Epcot ball and monorail and missed most of the other Park icons.  At least you can see the Magic Kingdom castle at the very top – sorry about that. 😦

I grouped the photos chronologically and indicated the year the movie, character or event debuted.  Two trees were dedicated to characters.

Minnie Mouse – first seen in 1928.

Pluto – first seen in 1930.

Snow White – released 1937.

I didn’t know exactly where to place this one but research indicated that the Evil Queen in Snow White is generally acknowledged as the first Villain, so here it goes.

Pinocchio – released 1940.

Fantasia – released 1940.

Dumbo – released 1941.

Cinderella – 1950.

Alice in Wonderland – released 1951.

Peter Pan – released 1953.

Sleeping Beauty – released 1959.

101 Dalmatians – released 1961.

Mary Poppins – released 1964.

The Jungle Book – released 1967.

Robin Hood – released 1973.

Beauty and The Beast – released 1991.

Toy Story – released 1995.

Mulan – released 1998.

The Haunted Mansion – While the parks have had this attraction for years, a movie was made based on that and released in 2003.

The Muppets – while created in 1976, Disney purchased Jim Henson’s company in 2004.

Tangled – 2010.

Star Wars – yes this movie was made much earlier (1977), however Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012.

Frozen – released 2013, like anyone could forget – just saying.  Who knew it would soar to its high popularity?  BTW – next Frozen film is being released November 2019.

So yes, I thought these were pretty cool.  I’m sure they were really impressive at night when they were lit up, but we didn’t want to face the crowds and my photos wouldn’t have been so clear.  I only had one thought……we should be selling these larger than normal ornaments!  I guess it’s the retailer in me.  🙂

They have lots and lots and lots of opportunities to create new trees in coming years without any duplication.  Can we say ‘The Lion King’ (my favorite Disney movie)?  And all of the characters in the Marvel universe – just saying.

 

And the answers:

• >Epcot opened as ‘Epcot Center’, changing in 1996 to only one word – Epcot.
• >Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened as Disney- MGM Studios and took the present name in 2008.

 

Until the next post.

 

Ginny

 

This will probably be one of my shortest posts ever!  We just heard about this new dining spot in Clermont and one day later, we stopped in for dinner on a ‘date night’.  While the location is nothing special, in a strip mall with a sports bar around the corner, I liked the atmosphere and décor inside.

When we first arrived there was a large group of ladies (at least 20), celebrating the holiday with a number of tables put together.  Yikes.  They had enjoyed their evening and were a bit noisy. Good news for us…….they were eating dessert and within a few minutes started to depart.  Whew!

Talking to our waitress, we discovered they had been open less than 2 months.  My only worry is that Clermont won’t embrace the concept and they won’t be able to stay open.  The above photo was taken after our dinner (on a Friday night) around 7:45pm.

Their goal is to deliver locally sourced food with integrity in an inviting and service oriented atmosphere.  That nugget of info was straight from their website.  This is a ‘farm to table’ concept, with them purchasing premium products from local grown farms, serving fresh and organic foods.

We started with wine – me a french white from Bordeaux and Eric a French red, Cote du Rhone.

We ordered a series of small plates to share and said they could come out as they were ready.  First to arrive was fried green tomatoes.  It was topped with boursin cheese, arugula and a sliver of red pepper.  The flavor combo with the toppings, really added to the overall dish.  Three slices were enough to share.

This was followed by pimento cheese hush puppies.  My first impression was huh, okay.  Then I dipped it into the accompanying sauce (tomato mustard) and it went up significantly.  Trust me-the sauce makes the dish.

The best small plate were these pulled pork tacos.  OMG!  The flavor was perfect.  They were topped by pickled red onions and thinly sliced radishes – delish!

The tacos tied with dessert for being the best selection.  We selected the cranberry bread pudding.  I’m a big fan of bread pudding and having the cranberries included was a first for me.  The orange sauce surrounding the pudding was good enough to lick the plate clean.  The pink, cranberry flavored whipped cream was good, but not outstanding.

They’re open for lunch (11am – 2:30pm) and dinner (5pm – 9:30pm, Friday & Saturday until 11pm).  Saturday and Sunday they add a few entres for their Brunch menu.  We will have to stop by one Sunday.

This is Clermont’s first casual fine dining experience and I hope it makes it.  The portions were spot-on, not too big but I’m afraid that too many Americans will not appreciate that fact.  If anyone comes to this part of Florida, please consider stopping for a meal.  If you don’t live nearby, think about visiting one of your own local places, especially if they source their food supply locally.

Until the next post.………

 

Ginny

 

 

 

I was getting ready to write my annual Christmas letter, sketching out the basic topics and checking my facts through this year’s posts.  Then it hit me – why am I recreating essentially the same thing for a Christmas letter when it already exists electronically via this blog!  Work smarter, not harder.

Sooooooo, this year, I sent a note with the blog’s address, inviting those on my Christmas list to check out this site if they want to see what the Dardens were doing in 2018.  It would have been so easy to go out, buy cards and write the blog address inside, but I have these card-making  supplies – a craft that ebbs and wanes in the Darden house.  I’ve made a few birthday cards and gift tags but the most use comes at Christmas when I create tags for Christmas gifts.  Now was the time to get them out and put them to use!

After a bit of trial & error and checking my collection of Pinterest photos and digging through (somewhat) organized supplies and finding some graphics on-line……………..I got a design I was happy with.  Oops, no photo of the back side.  That’s where the blog address is listed and a short message from us.

I may gain a few new followers (or not) and while some might consider making tags a chore, it was an easy way to wind down after a long day at work.  I had an assembly line going and worked in stages, completing them over a few nights.

 

So, here we are.  There will probably be another Christmas post, but since I mailed out the cards, I thought I better explain why people on my Christmas list got a blog address.

Let’s start at home.  We try to go for simple and classic.  My goal this year was to spend no money on decorations:  recycle, re-use and re-imagine (kind of like what I did with the tags  🙂 ).  Eric was responsible for the lights outside and I generally work inside.   He starts with lighting up the bushes.

Followed by hanging this garland around our front door.  I’ve got to share………we had this at our first house in downtown Orlando, so it has to be almost 20 years old – shockingly the lights still work and yep, that’s the original light strand.

Over the past weekend, I added this pine swag, since the wreath I normally hang, finally bit the dust and was retired.  We don’t have any pine trees in our yard so we had to go on a reconnaissance mission around the neighborhood and find some pine trees.  We were successful!  Looks like it needs a little ‘bling’ – probably a project for next weekend.

In the past we always purchased poinsettias, but this time a velvet bow around existing potted plants sufficed (remember: recycle, re-use and re-imagine is my theme this year).  Another fun fact………we have two of these pots and they were wedding presents, almost 25 years ago.  The green patina on the pot is real.  🙂

I wanted to add a touch of whimsy, so the rabbit was decked out with a velvet bow.

The last piece I layered in was this stack of three logs.  Everybody comments about them, I can’t believe it – so simple.  They cost nothing – unless you count Eric’s sweat a few months ago as he cut up the branch when he ‘played’ with his chainsaw.

Inside, we have a few trees, the first being my Grinch xmas.  I love the Grinch story and watched it every year growing up (and down here as an adult 🙂 ).  It wasn’t Christmas unless I saw the Grinch – then I bought the dvd so I can see it whenever I wanted (and now it can be streamed, ha!).  I have a small collection of Grinch plush and was just given the sign a few weeks ago – thanks Karen.  🙂

Another tree has turned into my ‘country’ tree.  And while it’s not a popular decorating theme, it’s what I grew up with.  Many of the ornaments were hand-made and it remains a collective from my past.

 

• Garfield’s creator (Jim Davis) was from Indiana and I have a signed copy of his first cartoon book.
• There’s a tribute to my university hidden amongst the branches.
• Most importantly, most of these were made when Grandma visited me and we did them together.

The last item of note is the paper chain.  A number of years ago, our young godchildren lived nearby and this was their contribution to the Christmas tree.  It was going to be a rough Christmas due to personal circumstances and decorating was not high on my list.   On December 24, Eric stopped by Home Depot to find a tree. He ended up getting it free since it was so late and the worker couldn’t believe he was there.  Our friends came over, strung popcorn into garlands, we cut cards and hung them on branches while the boys put together this paper chain from printer paper.  This was the only paper we could find around the house and it worked.

 

Our main tree sits in the library and has evolved into a small section of the original 9′ tree.  I like to think of it as ‘vintage’.  We (and by that I mean Eric) has to string lights around the tree, connect several strands together and find an extension cord to plug them in.  Every year he says we are going to buy a new one that is pre-lit.  And, we haven’t.  We place it on top of a nearby table.  Here’s my aunt posing for a photo.

There’s much, much more going on and here’s a bit more to the story…………..

Our black cat (seen in the last post in her ‘new’ chair) likes to climb – always has.  We have to strap the tree stand to the table and in years past had guide wires securing it to the bookcases behind it so it wouldn’t fall down.  We would come home and see her peeking out at us between the branches.  Aarrgghh!  Not only that, she’s no small kitty and the wire branches would be bent at an odd angle under her weight.  Most ornaments put on the tree now are break-proof or wired to a branch – which is a pain to do.   She still climbs it when she wants our attention.  She looks so innocent here  – not.

It’s not Christmas without baking cookies.  Yes, I should have made them from scratch, but I read about this mix, found it at our Lucky’s Grocery Market and baked them.  The selling point was no artificial ingredients or corn syrup.  OMG times 3!   They were excellent.  Eric does not like sweets and he keeps stealing them from the plate.  There won’t be any left for Santa – just saying.

No post from me would be complete without a few Disney Christmas photos and mine are mostly plant-based, found at Epcot.  Are there better photos, probably so, but here are a few quick shots.

The main entrance has Mickey and friends.

The back side has a few more Disney characters.

A little further inside the Park you can find more of the gang and they are followed by the snowman.

Even something as simple as a round, ball topiary turns into something special at Christmas.

The Epcot tree is the centerpiece where World Showcase meets Future World.

Some friends sent photos from Shanghai Disney, so I’m passing them along.

And this one from Disneyland, CA.

And a fitting end to this post – Magic Kingdom’s castle.

Until the next time.…….

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric headed to visit his family during their deer season and I headed towards Jacksonville.  The reason for my road trip was two-fold:  our friends are moving into another house so I offered to ‘schlep’ boxes between their places AND I was asked to burn six more vacation days before the end of the year, so there you have  it.  Oh yeah, and maybe just maybe visit the Jacksonville bead show which was going on that weekend (more on that later).

Their new place is great.  We got there in the dark, so I couldn’t really appreciate the outside character……. until the next morning.  Wow!

I went out for a morning walk – secretly checking out their neighbors – turned around to see what I couldn’t the previous night and again…….wow.   I think it’s going to be  nicknamed it ‘the castle’.  🙂

And at least for this trip, I got to sleep in the upstairs turret.

They haven’t moved in, so I have a temporary bed in the upstairs front room that will probably be Connor’s – lucky guy.

Naturally with any journey, there’s food involved and this trip was no exception.  Since they haven’t moved in, cooking in their kitchen wasn’t really an option.   Karen was disappointed.   However, we (and by that I really mean me) had the most important thing……….

We had a variety of meals during my six days but there was one repeat – Donovan’s Irish Pub.

We shared several appetizers, starting with the pretzel bites.  Pretzels chunks, cheese dipping sauce and frying was involved = the trifecta, right?

Ugh!  I don’t know.  There was something about them that just didn’t appeal to my taste buds.  😦    I kept trying to like them – honestly.  But after a (small) handful, I didn’t want to waste any more calories on a dish I didn’t enjoy.

However, the fish fingers and ‘chips’ were spot on.

On the repeat visit, I added the fried green tomatoes – yum – and more fish fingers.

Tried a different twist on my beverage.  Yes, yes, it’s been around forever, but I’ve never ordered it since I started visiting microbreweries.   I’ll get it again.

I have two favorite eating places I always like to visit on my trips here.  We were able to squeeze in one of them.  Are there better places to eat – probably.  Do they have this place in Orlando – not that I’ve heard. LOVE their side dish of mac & cheese.  It’s just the right size, especially when you get half a sandwich (avocado & turkey was my choice this visit).

Moving to a new address you always want to check out close restaurants.  One afternoon we had a craving for pizza and stopped at a nearby pizza place – and ordered calzones.

And then, there was this amazing breakfast place, or put another way, a place we could order breakfast 24/7.  My nutty waffle had three different nuts involved which I hadn’t seen before.  Not rocket science putting the three nuts together, but I hadn’t seen it and waffles are pretty much the first thing I look for on a breakfast menu.  There was nothing left on my plate.

One evening, Rich made this amazing dinner…….but I forgot to take photos.  Sorry Rich.  It was so tasty, that I recreated (somewhat) the recipe later in the week when I got home.  I had to make do with a few substitutions and while my version was not as good as Rich’s, it was definitely a hit with me.  I’ll make it again, maybe some night when Eric says it’s my turn to cook.  I’m still waiting for that to happen, ha!

So the Jacksonville bead show, OMG! I had never attended one and while Karen said this was small, it was initially overwhelming.  Yep, forgot to take photos.  😦

It reminded me of my time in China when I would visit the pearl market.  Strands upon strands upon strands of beads were available in booths (tables here).  I bought some beads during my visits.  Ooops, okay, there was more than one visit.  Our ticket was good for both days and we wanted to get our money’s worth – just saying.  My last two mornings in town, we used our time to craft some jewelry.  I was able to complete this necklace – love it!  It’s long enough to wrap three times or as a lariat.  Two other necklaces were 90% finished but not ready to bring home and wear.

Sorry, Sis.  While this posting isn’t titled as another ‘ale trail’ subject, the next topic to be discussed are local Jacksonville breweries.  Go ahead, skip to the bottom and check out my last photo if you want.  First glance, the photo doesn’t appear to fit in with the blog, like maybe some random photo slipped in………….. but let me get there after the breweries.

 

Karen was a good sport and accompanied us on most of our excursions.  First brewery visited was Ancient City Brewing.

• Opened summer of 2015 and wanted to give a shout-out to America’s oldest city, which is the owners home town.
• Guiding principles are (1) their beer has to be the best and (2) they gotta have fun.
• Goal is to use funky flavors like fresh organic coconut & key lime which is representative of Florida.

Another visit was to Bog Brewing Co.

This building was originally a historic pharmacy with exposed brick walls inside, large bay windows and an inviting atmosphere, truly.  While some of those descriptions were found on the internet, the last three words (truly inviting atmosphere) should be underscored.  It just had a good, comfortable vibe.  It’s probably a good thing it’s not close to my house.  We enjoyed our time in this building (yes, drinking beer).  And, yes, they have my ‘baby’ pour.

• Opened in March 2016.
• Mantra is ‘Florida Beers x Old World Inspiration’.
• Serves classic beer styles, Belgian-inspired ales using Florida inspired seasons.  

LOVED their logo.  Notice the beer suds…………Florida!  That reason alone was the deciding factor to add a growler to my collection.  Yep, I’ve started collecting – thanks Adrienne.

Oh yeah, the second photo……….you get in my photos, you own the consequences – just saying.

One night, we let Karen off the hook and visited Old Coast Ales by ourselves………

………sharing a flight.  After a sip of each, we easily divided the pours.

It was hard to find many details on the internet about this place, but I picked up a few nuggets of info.

• Brew on an in-house 7 barrel system.
• Seems like they opened in 2017 (yes, kind of vague).
• Known for a variety of ales but their ‘Kookaburra Brown’ ale is infused with locally roasted coffee.
• They share a roofline with a taco business and I read numerous references to their deliciousness – they were closed when we arrived.

On my last night in Jacksonville, we stopped at Engine 15 Brewing Co.

They have two locations, one of which is in the heart of Jacksonville Beach – which was our destination.  Our selections this evening were:

While trying (kind of) to keep an open mind about Rich’s selection of Raspberry Peanut Butter Nutsack brown ale, it ended up being the better of the two beers we ordered.  A few details about this local brewery:

• Became a reality in 2008.
• They carry 50 tap lines from beers around the world while also serving a pub menu.
• The name?  One of the owners had a 1962 Ford Fire Engine.  I saw it in the parking lot when we left, but didn’t get the significance, until I got home.  Wow, that was too easy and I missed it.

With 50 beers, there was way too many photos involved, so here is a sampling of their offerings when I visited.

Earlier I referenced my last photo which seems to have no connection.  A few facts, (1) I drove a truck,  (2) My friends are moving into a new house and (3) Ideal time to add new furniture to new living arrangements.

While Karen perused local ads for furniture during my visit, one ad talked about some office chairs.  Upon meeting the folks at their storage unit(s), they said ‘Want to see if anything in our other unit interests you?’  Karen spied this chair, turned around and said………this is you.  After exchanging some bills, we loaded up my new chair.

My cat has now claimed it as hers.

Until the next post.…….

 

Ginny

 

 

Back in Florida and we’re on the Ale Trail again.  I believe we will only have one more outing after this and the Ale Trail will be complete!  Or at least the map version I have.

First stop was the Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co. in Deland.  Again, we’re using the tactic of picking a location (#13) the furthest from home and making our way back.

Using my favorite internet source (Wikipedia) I discovered the origin of the name, which is not mentioned on their website.    Apparently DeLand was once known as Persimmon Hollow and the brewers wanted to honor their home.

The brewery was the dream of two home brewers that were best friends.  They received a $20,000 underutilized building grant from DeLand and converted what was a 5,000 ft, 1920s-era parking garage into a state-of-the-art brewery.

If you look carefully at the floor, you can still see remnants of directional lines from the garage.  A glass wall divides the two spaces with the brewing process visible to guests.

As you can see in the photo above, the furniture is a mish-mash of styles – I like it!  They had fans to keep the air moving and the open garage doorway invited all to enter.  This place had good vibes!

But, on to the beer!

While they didn’t have a ‘baby pour’ for me, they had a half-pour and I got the 3 Wise Guys, a coffee porter.  Eric and Adrienne tried the Paddle Wheeler and Beach Hippie.

So I was curious about the phrase ‘Drink Sensibly, But Get Weird’.  Further research came up with their mantra:  ‘Craft beers should be fun, a little weird and truly a work of art in every glass.’  Their brewery became a reality in October 2014 and they canned their first beers (3) for distribution in October 2015, primarily throughout the Daytona Beach and Orlando areas.

Food is a part of most of our excursions and this was no exception.  Eric googled best lunch spot in Deland and we were within walking distance of a top-rated place and more importantly, it was open on a Sunday.

Okay, I’ve got to say, this place didn’t look like much and I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be going in to eat.  It was a former gas station, but had none of the ‘charm’ that is occasionally seen at unique renovated places.

We started with Mexican cokes, taking a break from beer.

Naturally you need chips and dip to start a Mexican meal. It was an interesting presentation, but one we all enjoyed and I could see doing this at home.

We got soft tacos to eat (chicken, pork) and mine was mighty tasty.  Okay, so you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by outside appearances…………….but it might be an easier sell with your dining partners, like me – just saying.

On to our next stop………….Central 28 Beer Company (#5 on the map above).

It was located in an industrial park, literally at the end of the road.  There wasn’t much info on their website and the lady serving out beer said the info was waaayy outdated. My beer was Miss Mary Brown – the baby pour.

No food was served, but their website indicates a food truck is there most evenings.  The bucket above was full of Halloween candy.  Can I just say that Reese peanut butter cups go really well with dark beer – just saying.  Yep, who knew.  You’ve got to try it before you disagree.

As seen below, they can some of their beers and the waitress said one of theirs was being featured at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival this year.

We still had one more brewery to hit this day and we continued our drive.

We headed back into Orlando, on the east side for a brewery named Ocean Sun Brewing, #10 on the map.

We enjoyed the place, but I’m thinking that all of the breweries we experience at the end of our day gets a less than glowing review.

Looking over this list, I can’t even remember which one I drank.  Not because I had over indulged, but because nothing was remarkable.  Eric and Adrienne tried a variety of the beers listed, because they could.

They had a nice facility where you could easily see their brewing equipment.

Now this sign did catch my eye.  How fun……..yoga, then beer.  🙂

We winded down our ale trail with one last shot.

My research says:

• This brewery started as a dream and a hobby and they opened their doors in March 2016. 
• Their mantra is ‘Great beer and great memories go well together’. 
• Their beers are brewed true-to-style and hand crafted in-house to ensure deliciousness in every pint. 

While our time there  was fairly quiet, I read that between trivia nights, yoga sessions, live music and much more, there’s always something going on in their taproom.

A few more posts will be coming before we hit the final two breweries and complete my version of the Ale Trail.

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

While our friends took thousands of photos and many were much more interesting than mine, I still had a few photos that invoked some fond memories of our time in Italy and Germany.  They didn’t seem to follow any flow when I was writing these posts to be included, yet I didn’t delete them, even once I got home.   Thus, here’s a post dedicated to my randomness of photos.  If there was a story, it’s included in the caption below the photos.

 

 

We kept running across (and up and down) spiral staircases.

 

 

Even their cross-walk signals were unique.

 

Insect houses abounded.  I hope to see some in my future (at home).

 

 

Never expected to see a ‘squatty potty’ or cloth towel dispenser.

 

 

Snowball cookies, dry but addictive.

 

So there you have it – finally.  Last post from our trip to Europe in 2018.  We really didn’t expect to have back-to-back trips to Europe, but once the door opened on an opportunity, we couldn’t let it go.

 

Ginny