Today, 12.02.2010

From the Simple Woman's Daybook..

Outside my window...the moon is rising

I am thinking...my cat is eating too much catnip.
I am thankful for...a warm home.
From the kitchen...the smell of chicken in the oven.
I am wearing...jeans and my "dunkie junkie" tshirt.
I am creating...An Art Journal from here.
I am going...to see TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) next week!!
I am reading...Don't sweat the small stuff (and it's all small stuff)
I am hearing...Christmas music on the XM Channel Holly
One of my favorite things...The Riverside arts Market on Saturday.
A few plans for the rest of the week: laundry, getting the Christmas tree up (finally), mailing gifts..

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...From St Augustine, FL
 

Today, 11.24.2010

Due to tomorrow's holiday, I am posting my "From the Simple Woman's Daybook" today:


Outside my window... ~ it's dark and quiet.
I am thinking... ~ about putting my Christmas tree up this weekend
I am thankful for... ~ having the next 4 days off. And my health. And my Family and Friends.
I am wearing... ~ red sox PJ bottoms and a tank top
I am remembering... ~ that tomorrow is Scrap Your Day, charge your camera!
I am going... ~ to enjoy Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle
I am currently reading... ~ The new issue of Food Network Magazine, YUM!
I am hoping... ~ the weather is nice this weekend
Pondering these words...~ "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation
           is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

From the kitchen... ~ a bowl of cereal and a large DD iced coffee.
One of my favorite things ~ all the neat places to see while I am in the Lake City area
From my camera..~ fireworks at the mall after the lighting of the Christmas Tree on Saturday

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today, 11.18.10

From the Simple Woman's Daybook:

Outside my window... ~ I can hear a lot of highway traffic.
I am thinking... ~ I'm not really cut out for this place..
I am thankful for... ~ my family, both near and far.
I am wearing... ~ jeans and a turtleneck
I am remembering... ~ how chilly the nights can get here.
I am going... ~ to see Harry Potter tomorrow!
I am currently reading... ~ craigslist, LOL
I am hoping... ~ and wishing, and wishing and hoping!
Pondering these words...~ "Noone can make you feel inferior without your consent" ~Eleanor Roosevelt
From the kitchen... ~ nada, I had Panera's for supper!
One of my favorite things ~ Pulling out the TSO/Christmas cd's for the holidays
From my camera..~ Finding a little bit of fall in the trees.

..and then there was Saturday

After that 3 hr adventure from Friday, including a nice bruise on my side from the cow train ride, Saturday was even more packed. I started the day at about 8:30am at Jax Beach for the Out of the Darkness walk for suicide awareness and prevention. I was there to support a former co-worker who lost a brother to suicide a few months ago. It was a beautiful day at the beach, and at about 9:30 (after coffee & a donut) we set off for a 3 mile walk on the beach. Thank goodness it was low tide! :)

After the walk, I had enough time to shoot over to the Arts Market for just a bit. This weekend there was some chalk art going on, and the Salvation Army was kicking off the "Bell Ringing" season. Bonus: A couple local restaurants got together and started a food truck! Mossfire Grill & O'Brothers are the restaurants, and they call the truck "busin' your chops". I didn't get a pic of the menu board, but I did grab a corned beef and cabbage "taco" and enjoyed it at a nearby park.

Last, but certainly not least, I headed home to change, feed the cat and head up to church. From there a bunch of us car-pooled to a favorite restaurant in Fernandina, FL called Barbara Jean's. Very down home, southern cooking. I had my shrimp n grits for dinner and for dessert a few of us split a big bowl of "Chocolate stuff" Kinda like a cross between warm pudding and raw brownie batter....sooooo good!!

It was almost 8:30pm by the time I got home..it was a wonderful day, full of good friends, and good food!

Fun from Friday!

Since I didn't have to work this past Friday, a friend and I brought her almost-2 year old daughter to play at Conner's A-maize-ing Acres.

It's a family run farm that years ago was close to filing bankruptcy. So they started the acres and now it's huge and quite popular. There were several school field trips going on as well while we were there. They have hay rides, a barrel train, plenty of playground areas, pedal go-carts for bigger kids, a petting zoo, and of course the corn maze.

She was a little hesitant at first near some of the stuff, like the big plastic pool filled with clean, dried corn kernals. But for the most part she was game to try or go on almost any toy, or near any animal. Except the chickens. For some reason she didn't like them much.
She loved posing for pics, and was an absolute ham the whole time. I caught some pretty cute moments!

Among the animals we saw: a horse (complete with new foal), cows, peacocks, chickens, rabbits, ducks, pigs, a donkey, and one very old dog.

By the time we left, we were all covered in dust, and plenty tired.
I have more photos to share another time, but here's one last one of the corn field! You can't see the design, but this years theme was the Special Olympics.

Today, 11.11.2010

From The Simple Woman's Daybook:

Outside my window... ~ It's dark. :)

I am thinking... ~ I may try get to the beach in the morning.

I am thankful for... ~ our Veterans and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.

I am wearing... ~ jeans and a TSO (spring 2010 tour) t-shirt

I am remembering... ~ How the sight of christmas lights give me such joy!
I am going... ~ to a corn maze tomorrow!
I am currently reading... ~ a few holiday decorating magazines.
I am hoping... ~ that I can leave work at work for the weekend.
Noticing that... ~ My scrappy area could be rearranged.
Pondering these words...~ "In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks."

                                          — John Muir
From the kitchen... ~ warm apple crisp with whipped cream.
One of my favorite things ~ The smell of a balsam candle burning.

From my camera... I love fun, creative window displays, especially near the holidays!

Garage Sales

This saturday I decided to forgo the Arts market for some garage sales. I'd only been to a couple since I moved here, and really don't buy much. I do enjoy picking through things to see if I can find any real treasures. I especially like to collect Homer Laughlin pottery, which was pretty easy to find up north, and I'm always on the lookout for books that I haven't read, and clothes that I can use for work or otherwise.

Yesterday I got word of a subdivision-wide tag sale so a friend & I headed out to see what we could find. There was plenty of walking to do and we needed it! It was all we could do to keep warm. The morning started out in the mid 40's and never got past 57 deg. all day. BRR! I'm such a wimp now! :)

So, here's a collage of  what I picked up. I'm not sure where I want to use the stool, but the tower shelf looks good right where it is. Still not sure what I want to use it for, but I'm sure a use will present itself soon enough.

Grand total: $4.50 for all of it. What a deal!

Today, 11.04.2010

From the Simple Woman's Daybook....

Outside my window... ~ It is cloudy and gray. The rain was needed, so I don't mind!

I am thinking... ~ That I shouldn't have had this coffee tonight!

I am thankful for... ~ my family & friends

I am wearing... ~ yoga pants and a cami. However, the only yoga I will be doing tonight is curling up on the couch!
In the learning room... ~ keeping my emotions in check when dealing with a difficult boss.
I am remembering... ~ to pick up a few items for a Tea on Saturday.
I am going... ~ to be very busy on Nov. 13th!
I am currently reading... ~ The Rook by Steven James
I am hoping... ~ the weather is sunny this weekend for the beach walk.

On my mind... ~ Thoughts of a friend's newborn grandson, born at only 28 weeks.

Noticing that... ~ I *really* need a haircut!

Pondering these words... "The choice you make today will usually affect tomorrow." ~unknown
From the kitchen... ~ Chicken and rice casserole, and a cup of coffee
Around the house... ~ are a lot of photos that need sorting.
One of my favorite things ~ Criminal Minds marathons! :)
From my camera...

Perfect fall weather last weekend had me sitting out on my balcony enjoying coffee and some relaxation.

Not Catching Up

I'm not even going to try and catch up to all my Project 365 shots that haven't been posted here. So instead of posting a hundred pics or so, here are a few of my recent (and not so recent) picks, plus today's shot.  8/23/10: I recently started following a local foodie blogger, and she mentioned this spanish bakery in one of her past posts. I'm glad she did because they have some of the best latin pastries I've ever had! One of these days, I'll get some pics inside too!

9/25/10: On my way to the Riverside Arts Market I saw these boarded up houses, and wonder why they are still there. There are actually 3 of them, but I could only get 2 in the picture.

10/09/10: Caught Scout one morning laying in the sun with the shadow of the blinds on him. I think he may see some birds out there..he looks like he's smiling!

10/10/10: I went to the beach to watch the sunrise before church, and I'm so glad I did! Managed to find a few small pieces of sea glass as well.

11/02/10: Today after work I voted and got the first peppermint mocha of the season. Today was damp and drizzly, so it was perfect for a nice hot beverage!


The next couple weekends are busy ones, with a benefit tea for the local Women's Resource Center this Saturday, and the "Out of the Darkness" Suicide prevention/awareness walk on the 13th. Chalk Art at the arts market, plus the Ladies group from church is meeting at a local restaurant for dinner on the 13th. **phew**

Happy Halloween!

What a busy weekend for North Florida! The Riverside arts market was my first stop in the early afternoon for the Thriller/Zombie dancers. After that, a stroll down the north riverwalk to the Landing. I was going to get a starbucks there, but they had the whole mall plus the area surrounding the mall closed off due to the Florida/Georgia game going on at Everbank field, (where the Jaguars play). The mall has a big screen that they were showing the game on, plus live music and food vendors set up outside as well. Boats were docked 2 or 3 deep along the riverside, as well.

In lieu of paying $10 just to go in and get a coffee, I continued wandering towards downtown.

 I stopped in to Chamblin's Uptown bookstore and got completely lost in that sea of books. Found the second book in a mystery series I recently started. Across the street I found a nice spot to sit and enjoy my sandwich. All around were people resting, playing chess, or just chatting. The weather was beautiful, in the low 80's. Knowing there was only a couple of hours til the movie was going to start, it was time to head back to my car.

After a short trip back home to feed the cat and grab a few things, it was back down to the Arts market for the free movie. This week was Ghostbusters! I brought in some coffee, and bought a bag of kettle korn from a vendor and settled in for the show. The short film they showed before the movie was an episode of "Flash Gordon" entitled Purple Death.

Here is a collage of just a few of the shots from the day. Click this, or any of my pics, to see in more detail.

October Scrap Your Day

Monday, October 25th was Scrap Your Day, and the "theme" this month was Careful Composition. Since I cannot take photos at work, I made the best of what I have here at home.

From upper left and clockwise: Some colorful plastic chinese take-out containers, quick n easy supper (fettuccini & chicken), my favorite travel mug, groceries to put away, me and part of my cd collection.
I *really* need a haircut!

Those are my favorite shots from the day.

my mantra..

Weekend Update

Saturday was our breakfast day for the Ladies group from Church. We meet at a local restaurant once a month, arriving at 9 and usually we don't leave til almost 11. Lots of chatting, and making plans for future outings and discussing various other endeavors. Coming up soon we have A banquet at a local women's resource center, and lunch at a restaurant we went to last year that we'd all been looking forward to doing again. They have the BEST Shrimp and Grits!! :)

Instead of hitting RAM for saturday morning, I decided to go to Barnes & Noble to get in a little quality magazine time, and a big cup of coffee since it is Pumpkin Spice time of the year.

During the fall the RAM has free movies on saturday evenings, and last night it was The Wizard Of Oz, what a great movie! It was a tradition for us to watch it when it came on TV every year, and I honestly can't remember the last time I watched it from start to finish.

Today I went to Church, then to lunch at the Olive Garden. I needed a long walk through one of my favorite nature preserves to work off that dinner. I did manage to see 3 Pileated Woodpeckers! They are huge! I tried to get all 3 in one picture but the best I could do was 2, as they kept flying from tree to tree. They weren't too happy that I was bugging them.

It was actually kind of buggy out there, so I didn't linger around after the birds flew off for the last time.

Tomorrow is Scrap Your Day, so hopefully I remember to take pics throughout the day, and not just starting when I leave work, *that* never happens!

Back at it..

After taking a couple, ok more than a couple, months off from blogging for various reasons, I want to be back doing this. I figure there's no better time than the present, right?
The reasons for my absence were varied, and I won't get into them here. Suffice it to say it was time for me to make a few minor adjustments to my attitude.

I've been up to the usual since my last post: Saturdays hanging out at the Riverside Arts Market, walks through the local parks and even a vacation back home. I am still taking my daily 365 shot, and participating in scrap your day with Jeanne. The little kitty is getting fatter as the weather cools and he is sleeping more.
Speaking of the weather cooling, this is what makes the unbearably hot summer (almost) worth it. Once the time change happens in 2 weeks, i'll be that much happier then, too!

Central Florida jaunt

To start off my 4 day Holiday weekend, on Friday I took a drive to the Orlando area of Florida to see the Citrus Tower in Clermont. I've decided I need to venture further away than I have been. So, for me this was a new drive in very new territory. It's definitely the farthest I've driven in one go since I moved here. 

There is a miniature White House next to the Citrus Tower as well as a mini Mount Rushmore, and a mini Statue of Liberty, too! Inside the White House there were all kinds of wax statues, souvenirs and Presidential memorabilia, such as the China they used or jewelry worn by the First Ladies.


Here are some photos of a few of my favorite displays, and the outside of the building. The day was gray and a bit wet, but thankfully it wasn't raining too hard.

I believe I was supposed to pay to walk thru the Hall but there was only one person working, and she was leading a school group, so I walked thru quick and poked around the store area before heading to the Citrus Tower. I loved the Lincoln Statue.

Out front there was a bench with a Barack Obama sculpture sitting there, presumably for people to sit next to him. It was too wet, and it honestly didn't look much like him, not to mention his face was more green than anything. Next time, I'll get my picture in front of Mt Rushmore though. :)

After the Hall of Presidents I headed over to the reason for my visit: The Citrus Tower! It stands about 22 stories up, and because of it's location the top of the tower is at about 500 feet above sea level. Pretty tall for down here.

There were actually 2 different signs for each direction, but I only did the one side this visit. Hoping for much better weather the next time I go. Perhaps better planning on my part to actually look at the forecast before I go?

The oranges will show in the winter, and that sounds good for my next visit.  I picked up some key Lime coconut bars in the gift shop, and headed across the street to my next stop.

While searching the internet for other things to do there, I noticed that they had Friendly's Ice Cream. I honestly thought those were only in the Northeast! I sat down and ordered up a glass of water (tap, ugh) and a banana split. Jeanne had sent me a copy of The Improper Bostonian (Anthony Bourdain on the cover, Bonus!) and enjoyed reading that while I noshed.  I stopped at the Florida Mall in Orlando for a little while, and then drove back home. Lots of holiday traffic, but hey, i wasn't in a rush. I drove right past Universal Orlando, too. Oh,  how I wanted to stop and see the Harry Potter section of the park! :)

Downtown Jax

Last week I went to the arts market, and decided to take the trolley to the Jazz Festival that was going on a couple miles away. I would have walked the riverwalk, but not in the heat. The air conditioned trolley ride was well worth the dollar! Here are a few pictures of the Jazz Festival and the downtown area in general.

This first one is from The Arts Market and a church jazz band that played there. Being under the bridge is great, even in the summer. There is always a nice breeze coming off the river to cool us off.

Downtown isn't usually where I venture, as the parking situation is pretty horrible. The garages are expensive, especially during special events, so the trolley was perfect for this. I got a few shots of this sculpture in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, or MOCA, as most cities are calling them. I definitely should make it a point to go in there sometime! There is a good mix of old and new buildings, plus a few that are empty and in dire need of demolishing. The new main library is beautiful, 4 floors of pretty much everything, including a neat little courtyard with a fountain and shaded tables and benches to sit and relax. It had a very open feel to it, with desks set up in several different areas for people to work on a library computer or your own with the free wifi.

This is a large sculpture on the outside of the library set on a shelf into a corner. In my walking around downtown I found the building that housed the previous main library, and an even older one, where you could just read "jacksonville Public Library over the door, along with the slogan they continue to use "open to all". Hopefully this new library is big enough to last a few years more than the previous 2!

I found a goldmine in Chamblin's Uptown. Bookstore and cafe, I could have spent all day in there. I picked out a few books, and purchased a large coffee. They brew Green Mountain there, so that was a nice taste of home! In addition to this location, there is another one a bit further away, so I'm sure I'll make my way to that one eventually!

breakfast, books and tacos..

Saturday morning I went to breakfast at a local restaurant with the ladies from our church. This trip there were 18 of us. After noshing on a western omelet and plenty of coffee I headed down to a Barnes and Noble store a little bit further away than the one at the Town Center for a little change of pace. There are *only* 3 BN stores within 50 miles of where I live, but several Books-a-Million, and one or 2 Borders stores as well. I grabbed a few magazines, a coffee from the cafe and headed to the section where a local high school jazz band was playing. I was very pleased to see many comfy chairs too!

The band finished playing, and the magazines pored over, I headed out in search of a local park I saw online. Set along the St Johns River, the Walter Jones Historical Park was a nice cool area to walk along looking at some old barns built in the mid to late 1800's and a nice view of the River as well. There was a birthday party going on in one of the pavilions and a few other people walking the trail. Other than that all I heard was the sound of birds and the rustle of the breeze thru the trees. After a leisurely walk thru there I got back into my car and headed southeast towards St Augustine.

Since it had been some time since breakfast, it was time to find dinner. Now, I've been thru the historic district at least a dozen times in the last couple years, and I don't remember seeing this taco/burrito shop. I went in, ordered, sat down at a small booth and amused myself by taking some pics, and reading the (allowed) graffiti on the walls. It was delicious fresh food, and I'll definitely be going back next time I'm in the area! And next time, I'm bringing a sharpie to add to the artwork!

back at it....

Starting off where I finished that last post on Jeanne's & my last trip to Boston, day 2 is winding down. We spent the afternoon in East Boston, taking the Blue line out to the Maverick Station. We walked along the water (on a road, no beach here), and stopped in Piers Park for our lunch of strawberries and some photos of course.

Clockwise from upper left: Entrance to Piers Park, 2 shots of some reliefs on the pillars of one of the small pavillions in the park, covered benches along the water, giant metal fish sculture on top of a nearby marina.

As it got later, we headed back to Cambridge to wander around the Hatch, and the Charles River Esplanade. Clockwise from upper left: MIT in the background and the Longfellow Bridge in the fore (AKA the Salt & Pepper Bridge due to the pillars looking like giant S&P shakers), love the sunset setting on my camera..getting darker!, lots of people out enjoying the weather and watching the sailboats on the Charles, odd building on MIT grounds near the Kendall/MIT station, Duck boat making its way past with the Hancock tower behind.

Once it got much darker we saw what we had always wanted to and happily snapped away for about a half hour before making our way back to Dunkin Donuts and a long subway ride back to our car, and the drive back to Northampton...

Boston photos, Day 2

After packing up our things, we checked out of our room, loaded our bags into the car, and drove the 1/4 mile down the hill to the Riverside T station.
So begins day 2 in Boston. Clockwise starting from upper left: Sunrise in our hotel room, view of Riverside T station from the parking garage of the hotel, on the subway heading in to the city, at Starbucks on Tremont St for our morning sustenance, Custom House tower & the Holocaust memorial, Jeanne feeding some crumbs to the birds. Greedy lil things! :)
The weather was beautiful once again!!

After enjoying our coffee and muffin we headed towards the Haymarket. So many sights, smells and sounds, all at once. Vendors calling out for more produce, prices to prospective buyers, and telling people not to touch the "merchandise". The deals were not to be missed. If our car wasn't so far away, we would have bought lots of stuff. :)
Clockwise from upper left: Lettuce: what a deal!, artist at work, seafood vendor: fresh shrimp for $2/cup (it was delish!), A small piece of street art called Asaroton (meaning unswept floor), Seafood vendor shucking oysters. In the center we have 2 statues of Mayor James Michael Curley. We ended up buying a quart of strawberries for 99 cents. That was our lunch.

 After the Haymarket we headed to the North end.  Had to have a cannoli at Mike's Pastry! We took a short walk along the waterfront, then got on the T and headed over to East Boston, a place neither of us had been to.
Clockwise from upper left: the Bunker Hill monument visible from east Boston, The glass wall and tables at Mike's Pastry, tray of cannolis..YUM!, pretty tulip, Aquarium stop on the Blue Line, Custom house tower from East Boston.

Still more to come from East Boston and beyond. Including some pics from the skyline at dusk from Cambridge!

More Boston Photos!

Here are just a few more Boston collages to share. As I said we had beautiful weather, and we also really enjoy being there on weekdays so that we get to see the "normal" hustle & bustle of the city. Trying to get on the subway during rush hour is probably the hardest thing. Crowded, and not the least bit comfortable, unless you happen to score a seat. :)

(from upper right and clockwise): One of the Muses in front of the Boston Public Library, The Prudential tower peeking out from behind The Lenox Hotel, the Soldiers & Sailors Monument on the Boston Common, here I am enjoying a slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, The First Church of Christ, Scientist (aka The Mother Church), and in the center: Jeanne & I always get this shot of ourselves reflected in the Hancock Tower. The glass seemed especially clean this year!

These blossoms stand out against the bright blue sky, the view from our hotel room, the restaurant we ate at in Chinatown before the TSO concert, the gate to Chinatown , and last but not least, The State House. This was the first time we really had a chance to wander around Chinatown, and we loved it. So different and interesting! The restaurant we chose was on a whim, and it turned out to be excellent. After dinner we wandered back to Tremont St towards the Wang Theater. And that brings me to my last collage for Day 1 in Boston. TSO!

Upper left: Jeff Scott Soto, awesome voice! Upper right: Chris Caffery, Lower right: Taking a bow, lower left: Intermission/introductions. The first part of the concert was "Beethoven's Last Night" in it's entirety, along with narration in between songs. The 2nd half of the show featured a few songs from their newest album called "Nightcastle". Being in a smaller theater, they couldn't use pyro like they  do in the Christmas concert, but the special effects and lasers were out in full force. After the show we made our way to the merchandise table then to the autograph table.

Definitely a night to remember....We made it back to the hotel very late, and by the time we wound down enough to crash, it was almost 2am! Before we knew it, it was up and back out into the city for day 2!

Week 15 of Project 365, and some Boston Love..

Week 15, (4/9-4/15) clockwise from upper left we have: a free sample I ordered of NV nut clusters, Red Robin bacon & guac burger I had while on vacation in W. mass, a new little Boston travel book to read while at the airport, my balcony railing (in FL) with the laundry building behind it, railroad crossing warning, my poor scrappy desk waiting for me to do some creating, and Slaid Cleaves (Texas folk musician at the European St Cafe in Jax) - Awesome show! Slaid is on the right, watching his guitarist do some Ham bone...

Now for a few of my favorite Boston shots: Jeanne & I got to stay there for 2 days and both were absolutely beautiful weather-wise. We totally lucked out! It had been ages since we'd done an overnight visit, and wanted to get some good evening/night shots. Especially of that familiar skyline. Here are just a few photos from day 1 to start. We each took over 900 shots or so in those 2 days! I was able to get mine down to about 700, and could probably delete a few more even, but that can wait for another day..

Starting at bottom left: We meet at the Northampton Dunkin Donuts and set off nourished with coffee, muffins and the GPS. You don't want to see the traffic on the Pike, it's never pretty. (upper left): here we are at Fenway Park already. Amazing! Flurry of activity there as it was only a few days til Opening Day, and the beer deliveries had to be made. (upper right): the Boston University store/Barnes & Noble, 3 floors of books, college apparel, and Starbucks. (bottom right): The infamous Citgo sign, seen in every Red Sox game on TV. Look for more views of it soon!

After walking around the Fenway Park area we found the Fenway Victory Gardens. Some people have probably had the same garden plot for 30 years, if not longer. It was so neat seeing gates, and entrances individual to the person who owned it. many plots had little patio areas to relax, and some looked like they hadn't been used in years. Someday I hope to see this area when it's in full bloom! There were a few early blooming plants, and a lot of geese.
The bright yellow forsythia caught my eye against the weathered wood of the fence, as did the beautiful Peregrine Falcon. Or is it a hawk? (correct me if I'm wrong, please!)

More to come soon!!