Sunday, February 27, 2011

Life's a Beach

I spent the day, today, with Kaylanne; just the two of us having a 'girl's day', enjoying the great weather and the beach community life style. We did a little window shopping, shared a foot long sub, walked the beach together and did some people watching. It was such a simple day and yet I feel so rejuvenated and blessed to have spent the whole day in God's grace, healthy, happy and down right rich. Watching the little ones playing in the sand and surf, admiring the young adults as they strolled (and trolled), eyeing each other with appreciation, yet holding back from interaction with each other...it was a beautiful beach day. I am so glad to be able to spend so much time here, doing just these easy and natural things that bring such pleasure.
All of us are already getting tanned and the exposure has me self conscious, so the diet is in full swing. I know all of the rules and techniques for losing weight, it's just so danged hard to quit indulging in the sweets and snacks. Winter was so blasted cold and long that we spent almost all of it inside, eating and inert. Now I am paying the price. I'm glad that my suffering will be overshadowed by the beauty of this little town and the sea. If I have to give up the sweets, at least the fish is fresh and plentiful and this time of year the vegetables are so beautiful that they don't need to be drowned in butter or creamy sauces. Don't you just love my optimism??? Some people manage to start the new year with diets and exercise so that by the time the weather is conducive to being out of doors, they are fit and ready to go. Not me! I wait until the last minute and then spend the first two months hidden under loose clothing and hunting for deserted beaches for a place to swim and sunbathe. Nonetheless, the dreamed of metamorphosis is underway and I'm determined to lose enough to at least fit into last year's swim suit without having too much peeking out and feel OK enough to wear a breezy sleeveless blouse.
Tomorrow Tom and I will toss a bag full of clothes and sunscreen into the trunk of our little Miata and, weather permitting, put the top down and head south to meet up with his siblings and families in Florida. We've rented a condo on the beach just beyond Sarasota in a little seaside village named Nokomis. His brother and sister, with their respective spouses, are escaping the snow and winter weather of Ohio and will fly then rent a car and drive down to meet us. I think they'll be in for a bit of a shock, coming from the cold into the warm and tropical weather we're expecting to find there. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would want to live in the north where the winters are so harsh...visit, sure, live there???? NO WAY! As beautiful as that part of the country is, and let me assure you, I appreciate it and find it gorgeous, but four or more months of snow and sleet just isn't my idea of the high life. Give me a walk along the beach at sunset any day. I guess it is good that so many are willing to live up there, though, otherwise it would be far more crowded down here in paradise. I guess that's about it, in a nutshell.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Date Night

This week, on our "day off" Tom and I actually had a date night. Dinner and a movie, what could be more traditional? Less than a five minute drive away, which absolutely suits us just fine, is a multiplex theater with modern, comfortable seats that is well worth the money; so we caught the late matinee showing of "The King's Speech". If you have already seen this film, you know why it has received such high reviews, if you haven't seen it, plan to. It is rich and captivating with no explosions, cars flying through balls of fire; there are no scenes with nudity or immoral behavior. This is the best movie I have seen in years, and I love movies. If you haven't heard of this cinematic tapestry chronicling the years surrounding King George VI of England's rise to the crown, it is worth your time to experience this period piece set in pre-war Britain. It is a movie both Tom and I enjoyed, the great 'date film' of the day and deserving of Academy Award recognition.
After the movie we walked back across the parking lot to a new restaurant where Kaylanne is hoping to find a second job, Elli Bistro. It is the newest jewel in a crown of three fine dining establishments here on the Alabama coast. The first two, well established venues are in Orange Beach at the Wharf. We have not yet visited those two, although we were generously given a coupon for a free appetizer at the Villaggio Grille. I'm definitely planning on a meal there and will report on how it went. Back to our lovely dinner at Elli...Holly, our server, was efficient, friendly, engaging and helpful, besides being about as cute a young woman as one could find hope to find in the pages of any fashion magazine, right down to her platinum, very modern cut hair. The restaurant itself is modern and edgy but warm and inviting, usually qualities that are mutually counteractive. The food was beautifully executed by master chef, Jason with a definite flair for the unusual. Tom opted for one of the night's specials, Angel Hair Pasta with Escargot, his first time indulging in the famous French delicacy, and I went for the rack of lamb. The lamb is offered with a mint puree, similar in recipe to a pesto, which was beautifully balanced and exceptionally light, belying it's richness. I am not a mint and lamb kind of girl, so I asked that the sauce be offered on the side. When Holly checked back with me to see if I was enjoying my dinner, I mentioned that, while the mint and garlic sauce was lovely, I would have preferred something on the sweeter side. She disappeared into the kitchen and reemerged with two ramikins holding a couple of alternatives the chef thought I might like to try. The first was a savory fig sauce, delightful and delicious, the second was the winner. It was rich and complex with an earthy quality well balanced with the sweetness of the dark cherries. I was totally in heaven. The plate had wonderful eye appeal, a generous mound of couscous, seasoned with bits of those same dark sweet cherries and lots of garlic held three perfectly grilled lamb chops with haricots verte framing it all. The green beans were slightly al dente and fresh. All in all, one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. I have a tendency to be quite critical of food when we eat out and the higher the price the more critical I become. This little restaurant certainly hit a home run in every way and the next time you find yourself in the area, you really need to visit this little gem.
Well, I guess I could go on about how Izzy is progressing with her potty training and how excited she is to be wearing her training pants, but I think I've used up more space than I should have. Have a beautiful week and enjoy the warmer days ahead. I know we are all ready for some friendlier Spring weather. I guess that's about it, in a nutshell.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

oh this bitter cold....

In the middle of my shower, this morning, right after I lathered up real good, the water pressure drizzled to a stop after having turned an icy cold. GGGRRRRR!!!! I now know for certain that I have had just about enough of this crazy cold weather. When I got up this morning about 10 to six, I expected the pipes to be frozen shut. We had set up the coffee pot before bed with water in the reservoir in anticipation of it. Before I even got into the shower, I had done the morning dishes (plenty of water then) and brushed my teeth (again, no problem). It just took getting naked to have the pipes once again freeze, not at all like my temper.
Tom has taken Kaylanne, Izzy, Kyle and the Jr. to scour the local second hand stores in hopes of finding an acceptable vacuum cleaner, maybe even a coffee table and dare we to dream of a working laundry duo? Kaylanne's move to Gulf Shores, Alabama is now complete. Her Grandfather, Dad and brother did the moving after she had packed it all. I stayed in Gulf Shores at the campground with Izzy and we snuggled and watched Toy Story 3; it was the first time I've seen her sit, enraptured, throughout the whole movie.
After the foursome had finished carrying all of the furniture and boxes to the little two bedroom apartment, Izzy and I joined them for a quick visit so she could see her new digs then all of us returned to the camper for a dinner of Asian inspired chicken salad, filled with mandarin oranges, pineapple, tender chunks of roast chicken and crunchy bits of Red Delicious apples, tossed with spring mix salad greens and ginger dressing...I also added a generous pour of raspberry vinaigrette...and then topped each serving with some crisp Chinese noodles. So easy, so yummy and a crowd pleaser to boot.
Please keep our adventurous grand-daughter in your prayers as she searches for a job this week. I have every confidence that she will be fine and there are many opportunities down here, I just pray that she finds something that she finds rewarding and lucrative.
Sunday we plan to begin her search for a 'home' church and hopefully a great pre-school for Isabella. We've been trying to convince her that it would benefit her to get accustomed to using the "big girl potty" so she can begin school. She likes the idea of school, but I've yet been able to see that translate itself into her commitment to getting out of diapers. At just a little over two years old, I'm thinking she should be about ready, but then again it's a pretty personal issue.
For some reason I seem to be procrastinating on finishing Izzy's 'baby blanket' that I started when I first heard that Kaylanne was pregnant...nearly three years now??? I've made scarves, hats, headbands and flowers this year until I've just about depleted my yarn reserves, yet I still have her blanket in my 'project' bag, awaiting the last few touches. There has to be some psycho-babble reason for this, but I'd just be making it up if I were to explain it myself. Oh well, I guess that's about it in a nutshell.
I will not complain about this cold weather anymore, after seeing the grip it has had on so many others in the north, east and central U.S. Many of our neighbors here in the campground are from Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan. Some are pulling out to head further south hoping that Florida with offer relief from the chill. According to the weathermen, Miami does look inviting. Tom and I were discussing last year and our attempt to avoid winter's frigid clutch by traveling to Texas south-eastern most shores only to be thwarted by a snow storm as we traveled the Tropical Highway. I find that the way I follow weather throughout the states has changed dramatically since we have traveled through every region during our several treks back and forth across the continent. Having the luxury of mobility and knowing we can choose where we want to be for each season, I think we would be heading a little further down Florida's pan-handle also were it not for spending precious time with our great-granddaughter. Still, it seems unfathomable to choose to live in those states with such harsh winter weather patterns that occur every year. I know they each have amazing beauty during the three other seasons, but by comparison of their duration, it just doesn't seem to be enough to want to live there year round. Now visiting them is another story, of course. The Great Lakes region is breathtakingly beautiful and bucolic in many ways, but those folks are really getting their fannies kicked (again) this year by old Jack Frost and the thought of spending the night frozen in my car just hold no appeal to me.
On a more political note, I just need to say, "What the heck are you thinking?"...Cairo, Egypt, has been in the clutches of a dictatorship for decades and I am delighted to see its populace waking up, but please tell me we are not going to send American soldiers in. It is obvious to the whole globe that Mubarak has subversively attempted to dispel the uprising of Egyptians through violence, but are we really in a position to be the world's referee anymore? I do believe we have the human responsibility to lend assistance to any country trying to achieve cultural independence, and I am ashamed to see that we have sent billions of United States taxpayers dollars to aid the current regime of this tyrant, but we need to be very careful of our motives to engage our troops onto foreign soil. It is time to voice our support of the people of Egypt, as they try to achieve a democracy, and certainly joining the rest of the planet in pressuring Mubarak to step down, NOW, would be appropriate. This is a very delicate situation to say the least. Mr. Obama has certainly stepped into a presidency fraught with issues requiring much thought and skill in order to come to the proper conclusion. Let us all pray that he is up to it and does better than he has in his decisions and problem solving as to how to handle the banking mess, health care and our national debt. Yikes, all I can say is, pray, pray, pray. May God in his mercy keep us all from destruction and save us from ourselves. And I truly mean that in the most sincere sense. Our little 'blue marble' may be in great jeopardy and we, as brothers and sisters, all, need to look hard at how our future is going. As citizens of the greatest nation on earth, we are so very fortunate to have our freedoms, our lifestyles and our wealth. But we need to acknowledge our fragility and realize that all could be lost if we don't actively sustain our national heritage. This is not a time for continued complacency. This is a wake up call.
I truly believe God call us to our greatest purpose and if we refuse to answer he puts obstacles in our chosen path until we are redirected to follow his path for us. This is true for each of us as individuals as well as for our nation. Let us continue our prayers that our leaders follow the path of our greatest good, but also know that we need to be ever vigilant in choosing our leaders.
I guess that's about it, in a nutshell.