Observing November in the Land of Flip Flops

our front door

We continue to make note of the differences between living in Colorado and Florida as the seasons come and go. My family and friends out west have told us about the snow storms they've already had in recent weeks, while we decorate within spitting distance of tall palm trees in our still very green yard. There is no traditional autumn color here but the shades of green are beautiful.

wrapping Christmas gifts

Christmas gifts are getting wrapped and the grocery list for Thanksgiving dinner has been made without any concerns for a debilitating blizzard to put a snafu in the plans.  They tell us hurricane season doesn't officially end until November 30th, but the forecast looks like we'll be okay from here on out.

yes, that is clean laundry neatly stacked on the bed

The afternoon sunshine filters through the blinds on the west side of the house with intriguing patterns. I often have to just stop and marvel at the beautiful sight. 

beside St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville

This past Sunday after church and lunch, we changed our clothes and drove downtown. We wanted to settle the question of where to park when we take out-of-town guests to the river walk.

The Lone Sailor statue at the Southbank Riverwalk, Jacksonville

After living in the Rocky Mountain west for so long, it has been very interesting to poke around the nautical sights of our new home. Jax is a big Navy town.

Jaguars' Everbank stadium

We don't claim to be Jacksonville Jaguars fans (although our Denver Broncos are a sorry team this season); but we did enjoy the cheers of local fans wafting across the river as we strolled along.

my veteran

Speaking of football and recent controversies, we hung our flag out for the first time in this new house on Veterans Day. Yes, we believe people should stand for the national anthem.

LED Cafe lights on the back porch

Beloved hung lights around the ceiling of the screened-in back porch and then built a ladder to hold the remainder of the string. I added some silk grape vines. I plan to buy some plastic grape clusters from Hobby Lobby to fill in the blank spots, giving our private refuge from the world a bit of an Italian ambience (neither of us are Italian, but we like to eat at The Olive Garden).

Beloved grilled our dinner

We love this quiet hide-a-way nestled near the forest. I still marvel at the Lord's goodness to give me this particular desire of my heart.

our local mall decorated for Christmas

We made a trip to the mall where, as I raised my camera, Santa waved to us from the lower level.

Did you know much of the Thanksgiving decor at Hobby Lobby
is on sale now for 80% off? 

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, Beloved reminded me of a cartoon where the turkey is telling Santa Claus, "Wait your turn, fat boy!"

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD,

and to sing praises unto thy name,

O Most High:

To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,

and thy faithfulness every night.

Psalm 92:1-2

Where've Ya Been???

Cox Comb in Paducah, Kentucky

Oh wait! It's not, "Where YOU'VE been," but rather, "Where have I been?"

Beloved at Whitehaven Welcome Center in Paducah, Kentucky

An opening came for The Cook on Fifth Street to move into assisted living, so Beloved and I made a car trip into the midwest to help with that effort.

We drove a couple of days, leaving behind the Land of Flip Flops and at our very first potty stop, I had to dig into my luggage to pull out socks and a sweatshirt! It was cold!! I was mildly surprised at how acclimated I had become to much warmer weather.

Jerry (on left) and Danny (on right) welcomed us

Sister, who also has this penchant for whimsey (it runs strong in my family), had positioned her friends on the bed,  waiting for us when we got to our room in her house.

They wanted to know if we had brought one of my staff members
with us. Sadly, I did not.

We arrived just in time for Former Farmer, nephew-in-law, and Beloved to move the big stuff and for we girls to bring over boxes, and The Cook herself.

unpacking her kitchen

There were serious conversations about what to bring and what to leave behind. This was a noteworthy exercise in 'down-sizing.'

hangars for the closet

Decisions had to be made, too, about the best use of closet and drawer space.

the year my grandfather won a free turkey
from his barber shop

Of course, this process stirred up a great deal of memories and much nostalgia.

alterations in progress

In addition to the actual move, I was called upon to hem up clothing for my mother's refreshed wardrobe for her new life at the assisted living center. The final tally came to 8 pair of slacks, 1 pair of jeans, and 2 pair of jammie pants.

removing candle wax from a pair of slacks with an iron and brown paper bags

I also learned how to remove candle wax from polyester via instructions on the Internet -- a very satisfying accomplishment, I should add!

Beloved vacuums the basement

We pretty much took our marching orders from Sister, since our mother has been living next door to her for the past ten years and she best knew what needed to be done on this venture.

Sister grills our lunch while Beloved checks his phone

Although we have been really enjoying our new home in the Land of Flip Flops since this past June, it was good to travel north to see some real autumn color. Sister and Former Farmer have much of that on their property. It's been good to see it for ourselves.

Monday Night Football

We took time out to watch our team on Monday night football.

Sister, The Cook on Fifth Street, and me

On our last full day in town, Beloved and I paid my mother one more visit. There is still much to be done with what has been 'left behind' but we'll take the holiday season off and get back to it again after the first of the year.

Crewel embroidery by my mother

Welcome Autumn!

front door message

I'm welcoming Autumn today. It's expected to arrive in my time zone somewhere between 4 and 5 p.m.  

It's advent will be of special interest to me since I usually greet the season with jeans, sweaters, socks, a light-weight coat, and sometimes a snow shovel. 

my fav footwear

This year, of course, I'll be keeping the boots and socks tucked on some high shelf while I continue my "life is better in flip flops" fashion mantra.

Yes, yes, I've read that wearing flip flops all the time is not a good idea (posture, back and foot problems, etc.)
http://www.somasense.co.za/blog/how-flip-flops-affect-muscles-posture-gait) 

But for someone who has been bound up with restrictive, cold weather footwear for decades, my toes are greatly enjoying this new-found freedom and cannot easily let it go. I've learned, to my surprise that flip flops are not just an accessory; they are a way of life! 

I will admit, however, that when I have serious walking to do beyond my home, I usually change out of the blingy footwear into a more serviceable sandal that can support my feet better. (Having my entire foot exposed to crowds of clumsy people and grocery cart wheels makes me shudder.) I still have a long-standing love affair with my 5 pair of Naturalizer pumps (with hose) that I wear most Sundays to church. (may they never wear out!!)

back porch table

Another difference in how I will greet Autumn this year is with more outside dining. In years past, September temperatures could vary from fantastically wonderful to suddenly cold (along with measurable snow). Enjoying dinner out on the deck was not an assumption.

My readers may remember that we brought with us from Colorado a beautiful, huge heavy black metal table and chair set that fit with lots of room to spare on our equally huge deck.  Due to some blindspots in our perspective, we didn't realize until we were unloading the moving truck that the set absolutely would not fit on the back porch of this house in Florida. We sold it to our realtor and bought this smaller round table.  The fit and look are perfect.

pancakes on the porch

Especially now that the back porch has been screened in, this has become a favorite place for breakfast, lunch, and coffee. Dinner? Well, the current angle of the evening equinox is such that the sun pierces through the forest trees, blinding us. This will change in the weeks to come, so when that happens, we'll be having supper out there, too!

Internet photo. Google Images: "cardinal"

The other day I was enjoying my coffee on the back porch when a fellow who looked just like this guy showed up just steps away! I was delighted!! Red Cardinals don't normally take up residence in Colorado but according to my research, they are in Florida year around. Later that same day, Beloved got to see both Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal in our trees.

Of course, in our former home, September was a time when the birds were packing up their bags and heading to warmer climes! 

jigsaw puzzle - TWO pieces were missing from the box!

As I work this line of thought about changes we experience with this season, there is one "elephant-in-the-room" difference between Autumn in Florida and Autumn in Colorado. Hurricanes. That is one dissimilarity that does not please me. 

When we moved here, we knew that kind of weather was a possibility, but in spite of Hurricane Matthew taking out the Jacksonville Pier just this past October, such storms were more of a rarity in northeastern Florida. We did not especially concern ourselves about that. Well. 

The deed is done. We are here. We will do our best, just like everybody else.  

As the storm came closer and we were gathering our survival supplies, we stopped into the Hallmark store to buy two jigsaw puzzles. That proved to be a good idea after Irma took down our electricity (at least during the daylight hours).

our dining room is just inside the front foyer of the house

With the arrival of Autumn, I don't know how much I'll decorate with the traditional cold weather themes, especially when we get to winter. I mean, we sold our snow blower and donated most of our really heavy winter clothes, so why would I feel obligated to decorate with snowmen?  Hmm. I may have to re-think that one. I do have some mighty cute snowmen in my collection...

beaded butterfly table runner from Pier One Imports

We were in Pier One Imports last week when one positive aspect of Hurricane Irma came to light: a reduction of an additional 30% off ALL merchandise (including sale items) in all stores affected by the hurricane! I have had my eyes on the beaded table runners for months but did not want to hand over the full asking price. 

The first one I saw was autumn leaves and it was gorgeous.  I looked through all of them to see if there was another one I might like better. That's when I found this one with the butterflies, a decidedly spring design, of course.

A mental debate ensued and I finally decided that since our house has a tendency to look a little dark during the daylight hours, I preferred the brighter colors of the springtime beaded runner over the one with the autumn leaves.  This is Florida, after all. 

close-up of the beaded butterflies

So with that conclusion, the purchase was made. Now that the jigsaw puzzle has been assembled (minus 2 missing pieces that apparently never left the puzzle factory, grrr!), the dining table is showing off the new table runner.

There is more to Autumn than what I've recorded in this post, food being one.  We will enjoy the traditional edibles of the season. Some things just never change, and that's as it should be.

Autumn door decor with a palm tree in the background

P.S. If you have the time, please visit the blog of my friend Lea who has encouraged me to invest in beaded table runners. She's been buying them for some time, which inspired me to add them to my decor. 
http://www.ciciscorner.com

Hello to the Hodgepodge!

After over 3 months away from the weekly Hodgepodge, I'm back. When I checked to see the last time I had submitted replies to the Hodgepodge questions, I was surprised it had been so long (April 5th). 

It was just 10 days after that when Beloved and I began the inquiry into a cross-country move from Colorado to Florida and that adventure took on a life of its own, so to speak. By April 26th we had flown to our new home town, put a contract on a house and contacted our realtor in Denver to put The Brown Bungalow on the market. 

Blessedly, our house sold immediately. We closed on that house on June 16th and closed on the house in Jacksonville on June 26th. It has been a whirlwind that [for the most part] has settled down in just the past week. 

That said, it's good to be back with the Hodgepodge community. Let's see what questions Joyce has given us for today:

1. We've reached edition number 315 here in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. So tell us, what were you doing at 3:15 yesterday?  Is that typical? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) what's your energy level usually like at 3:15PM?

We went to Whole Foods to buy specialty items we can't find at Walmart or Publix. Usually I try to do my grocery shopping earlier in the day because I am a morning person and by mid-afternoon, I start to drag.

2. A frisbee, a tantrum, a towel, a party, a punch, or a curveball ... which have you most recently thrown or had thrown at/for you? Elaborate.

I'll say I've had a frisbee sent my way, meaning that although I was NOT expecting it, it just glided into my hands. I'm referring to this move of 1, 724 miles cross country. While it's unrealistic to think there won't be any curve balls in a venture of this magnitude, the move went very well. The Lord has blessed us at every stage.

3. What are three things that would help you right now. Tell us how or why.

1) I'd like to find a dedicated health foods store besides Whole Foods. If I don't, I'll need to shop the Internet. I enjoy Whole Foods but there are some things they don't carry. The smaller health food chains I'm familiar with in Orlando and Denver are not in this city.

2) We are actively seeking the Lord's guidance on a new church home. As life-long Southern Baptists so far, we have visited 3 SBC churches and there are more out there because we are in the 'Bible belt,' (which is a big difference from out west in Colorado).  It is fun to visit around to see what the various congregations are like, but we do want to settle on one sooner rather than later.

3) We look forward to making new friends here, people we can really bond with.

4. Do you think you're strong? Why or why not? What makes  you strong?

Physically: no I'm not all that strong

Mentally: I'm average

Emotionally: well, I cry easily

Spiritually: hat comes from my relationship with God and He does some pretty amazing things in my life.

Daily Bible reading, prayer and meditation make me stronger. 

Healthy eating also makes me stronger (going against my food allergies and intolerances is a quick way to really bring me down).

5. Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? What's your favorite book set sometime in the past?

I can't seem to find the time to just sit down and read nearly as much as I would like, but when I do, historical fiction is my favorite. I don't have a favorite book because I never re-read a book. But when I do get to read, I most enjoy historical fiction based  on Bible characters. In the past I've read about Old Testament Esther, David and Noah; New Testament Mary the mother of Christ, Paul, Mary Magdalene, Martha, and others.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Here's a snapshot of our house taken from our back porch the other night:

looking through the windows to the family room,
breakfast nook, kitchen, and the stairs to the second story

This picture was taken from the covered back patio, which the locals refer to as a "lanai." I don't relate to that word but prefer the homeyness of "back porch," so that's what I intend to call it. We are in the deep South, after all.

* * * * *

Linking up with other bloggers today at

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com

Decorating Conundrums

stairs to the main floor

When we found this house in April, were told that it had been on the market for some 8 or 9 months, which we thought incredulous because we liked it so much. Now in retrospect we understand two things: (1) the Lord was saving it for us; and (2) the real estate market is not quite as 'hot' here as it is in Denver.

upstairs hall

We love the house for many reasons, but it could be that those are the very reasons others did not want to buy it.

looking from the upstairs bonus room into the foyer (below the light fixture)

As you are seeing with the photos I'm posting today, we have a lot of curved walls!

looking down into the foyer from above

And some of the doorways are pretty narrow, which was a challenge for the movers when they delivered our furniture a couple of weeks ago.

entering the kitchen

The combination of the narrow doorways and the curved walls reminds me of a castle! I love it!

But have you ever tried to put furniture up against a round wall? Or to hang pictures?

Even the powder room has a rounded wall, which makes hanging a t.p. holder a bit tricky.

The dining room into the family room -- a good place for the globe on its pedestal.

The niche in the entry foyer is a fun decorating element. 

I'm still working on what goes in there. 

That stairwell was a challenge because I can't bear to leave huge walls blank. However, with just a little thought, a solution came to mind.

The vinyl lettering kits were 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I bought two, one for the stair well, and one for another wall (a flat wall!).

I used vinyl lettering in The Brown Bungalow and let me tell you, not only were they easy to put up, but they were very easy to remove as well!

Scripture in the stairwell, positive and uplifting. The other kit was used on the wall that separates the kitchen from the breakfast nook.

Before I close this out for today, let me show you one of Beloved's projects in his garage.

A couple of days after we signed the closing papers (and before the moving truck arrived), he had the garage ceiling and walls painted white, and the floor was stained gray.  (I shared this same photo in a post a few weeks ago) Since then he has gained a lot of satisfaction from arranging his work bench, tools, and cabinets.

Beloved with his steel peg board

He didn't know what he was going to do about pegboard because he's never really been happy with his previous installations as they always seemed to be too loose.

He looked at Home Depot and found metal pegboard by an outfit called Wall Control. He also checked it out on YouTube and ordered three 16" x 32" sections plus accessories from Home Depot for about $95 with free shipping.

He didn't want to mount them directly on the wall as the stud spacing in this garage is whacky (quoting my husband). This was another conundrum! He didn't want to mix mollies (wall anchors) with screws. So he built a frame on the wall to receive the panels. 

The panels came yesterday and he mounted them today. He is very pleased with the result, and so am I! It's very sturdy.  The panels come in shiny steel, gray, black, and red. He chose to order his in gray, to go with the garage floor.

So, problems are getting solved and we are happy about that!

I will close this out with a shot of the powder room mirror (which out of necessity turned out to be a selfie, too). I was thrilled the owners chose to leave this feature. THIS was not a problem!