A Key Lime Milkshake

This past weekend, my husband and our niece took a road trip south. Now the REAL reason for this long weekend trip was not to stop and see lovely Savannah,Georgia although that was fun. It was not to visit my husband's brothers and our niece's uncles in sunny Florida, but they enjoyed spending a few hours with said kin. It was not to spend hours and hours in a car listening to books on tapes and CDs even though this does make the miles roll away. My husband said that waking up in Key Largo on a Sunday morning was extra nice because it was so peaceful. Nope, that isn't really why they went either. Was it to have bonding time with uncle and niece? Well,it's a nice thought, but that ain't happenin'. The REAL incentive for taking such a looonnngggg car ride was to get a milkshake. Not just any milkshake mind you. These one-of-a-kind milkshakes are only made in Homestead, Florida just outside of Miami at the Robert Is Here fruit stand. The very best one of the many tropical shakes they make is the key lime shake!!! Once we got a key lime/strawberry shake and discovered it didn't hold a candle to the key lime only shakes. Our family has visited Robert Is Here several times over the years and always get a shake to drink while walking around the fruit stand and buying jams and fruit and then another shake for the road. We tell all of our friends to go to South Florida when they want a milkshake. One year I was on my way with a friend to Robert's and my pastor called to tell me that Robert's was closed for renovations. NO! We had told our pastor and his family to go there once while they were in Key Largo and they did. He remembered being told they would be renovating during such and such a time. At least he called and we didn't travel that far down the state only to be disappointed. We stopped at a DQ and I asked them to make me a Key Lime shake which wasn't on the menu. They did their best, but sorry nothng close to the real deal.
My wonderful, loving, sweet, kind husband is bringing our family back 4 of these treats on dry ice. He did this last year and they handled the trip beautifully. I savored mine over several days. It is now 6:00 and my mouth is set for my milkshake, but "Robert Is Not Here" yet. Any minute now, a key lime shake with my name on it will be delivered. And here it is....

Peppers, Tomatoes and more

Here are some pictures of the garden patch and my neighbor's lovely corn in the background. I didn't zoom in on any weeds, but they are there for sure!!

Summer

Today marks the beginning of summertime. I just took the 2 doggies out for a stroll. Unlike the humandidity (my dad's word for humidity) of yesterday, today is breezy,kind of sunny and super pleasant. Now if each day of the summer season were like today, we'd be in business. Although I tend to see the glass half full, I also realize summer will have HOT days period. I can still hope for days like today to outnumber the HOT ones. Several years ago, my friend and I were across The Pond during a particularly HOT summer. A/C is just not in the Old Country. I guess it is generally cooler over there or maybe the people are not such hothouse tomatoes like their american cousins. One day, she and I were sitting in a HOT restaurant and she said, "I think we're the hottest ones in here!" This became our joke. We literally meant that everyone else in the place looked air-cooled and totally comfortable compared to we two who were experiencing sweltering tropical moments that were lasting for days! We were far from the new meaning of "hot". Just last week, this same friend and I were driving on our park road and saw a guy sweating profusely as he jogged along in oppressive heat. She said,"He looks hot!" Now I knew what she meant, but I chided her by simply saying her name in such a way. This brought giggles from both of us and tears to my eyes since I only seem to cry when I laugh as we both remembered our "hottest ones in here" day. Hot is not my friend, cool is. So may this season of the sun be blessed with gentle winds and lower temperatures and my hot friend and I will do nicely.

What's for Dinner?

After way too many nights of leftovers, we are having stuffed peppers for dinner. My daughter is home for a few days and this is one of her favorites. However, she doesn't like the rice mixed in with the stuffed part, just on the side. So, for tonight that is the way it will be. My garden peppers are just itty-bitty right now, but just you wait...in a few more weeks, I won't have to buy my peppers, just walk on out to my garden patch and pluck a few off. My next door neighbor has a garden that makes mine look crummy, but I don't mind because he shares a lot of his crops with us. Thank you, Lord, for such nice, generous and caring neighbors.
I love the whole idea of having a garden, but I hate the weeding. With nothing but rain happening lately, I can't even walk in it to pull the weeds up. Well, I guess that is one advantage to rainy days. My squash plants are huge,but not ready to harvest. My mouth is watering just thinking of the fresh tomatoes,cuces,peppers,eggplant, lettuce (I planted mesclun this year) and my neighbor's corn. Well, dinner is ready, so I am off to enjoy a not-from-the garden meal. At least it's not leftovers again!

Dementia Daze

Over the past week and a half, our household has been experiencing dementia daze. My mother,who has a type (unique to her I am sure) of dementia and who lives with us, had to spend one night in the hospital as her GP told me to take her there if she had problems with dizziness over the weekend. So, on Sunday morning a little over a week ago,I followed doctor's orders and went to the ER. I will spare you the myriad of tests run, all of which she passed with flying colors, just to be told that she had an infection. The kind common to many elderly ladies. Reminder to self: Never take anyone with dementia to the hospital! For one thing, I truly doubt that this hospital would take my mom again even if I showed up there with her. They would probably say,"We don't have any space available, so sorry." Dementia is a strange brain thing, however I have learned, well maybe not learned, but trying to learn a few helpful words of advice. 1.Let it go. Whatever the person says that may cause you to get upset should not be given a first or second thought. 2.Keep a sense of humor. The things the person says are truly funny sometimes. Laugh and enjoy the funny way thoughts come out. For example, mu mom said the other day,"It's too bad Marvin (her husband/my dad) died because we could have had a double ring burial." Is she planning on going somewhere anytime soon??? 3.Everything will be okay. There is a saying about not sweating the small stuff, to that I wholeheartedly agree. Don't sweat anything. God is in control of dementia too. 4. This is only temporary. My friend Karen reminded me of this and it has been such a help to me as I care for my mom's needs. Yes, sometimes, I feel like I am the one in the "daze", but thanks to my incredible husband,two super daughters,a wonderful church family,fabulous friends,support team of pros and God being ever-present, my dear mother and I will get through this weirdness.

Uncle Grover and Grandma Ford

This is my Great Uncle Grover and my Grandma Ford. The picture was probably taken sometime in the early 1950's in front of the home built by my grandfather. Grandma was 8 years older than Grover. Grandma opened up her home to her baby brother and they enjoyed each other's company for many years. Uncle Grover also came to live with my family when my brother and I were in high school because he had dementia and needed more care than my Grandmother could give. I do believe the humor gene came from him. My dad and brother had that same gene and now my nephew has it. These four generations of men in my family had/has such an amazing, quirky sense of humor. I can still hear Uncle Grover as he gently would pull my and my brother's ears and say, "Whee now, whee now." He also said for who knows what reason~no reason probably, "Hoolay, hoolay, Bob Doolay, hooligan, hooligan, Bob Dooligan." He would carry an old, hard potato in his pocket, pull it out and ask people, "Do you know what this is?" There are way too many Grover stories to tell here. But whenever you need a laugh, come on over and I'll tell you a few.