Are you as excited as I am to welcome Summer’s little sister, Spring, to your hometown? The grass is greener, the flowers more colorful, and the days longer and sunnier. Enjoy the Moment, and enjoy the season, with this little gift I created just for you–filled with flowers and feathered friends.
What’s a sure sign it’s spring in your part of the world?
Disney’s cartoon movie, Finding Nemo, came out in 2003 and fans have been happily quoting from it ever since. Some of the flick’s more memorable lines are:
When the northeastern United States was hit by Snowstorm Nemo this past Friday, the last quote seemed especially fitting to many. Life often gives us no choice other than to plod forward through the tough times. Builds character, right?
I grew up in the Adirondacks, so I’m not frightened by a little snow, or even a lot, but I have to admit the commute home in white-out conditions ranked as one of my more harrowing experiences as a driver. Once home, howevever, I was able to enjoy nature’s beauty. Old Man Winter and Jack Frost had painted everything white.
My favorite image, though, was the sight of my neighbor’s flags flying proudly.
Don’t let the storms in life get you down, there are always blessings and signs of hope ahead. Hang in there! Spring is around the corner, and you will enjoy it even more for having weathered the difficult days.
How has your winter been? If you live in the north, what are you looking forward to most when warm weather returns?
What’s your favorite Finding Nemo line, and why?
Are you ready for a Margarita Moment? I am. One hundred percent. Today we’ll browse one of Key West’s beautiful Mallory Square buildings, the Casa Cayo Hueso Bar & Restaurant. But first, I apologize for being offline last week. Hurricane Sandy preparations took precedence, and I’m thankful we heeded the warnings.
As you may remember, my family lost the fight with Tropical Storm Irene last summer, and this time we braced for Sandy’s powerful punch. We were among the fortunate. Despite having no power in our neighborhood for six days, our property sustained very minor damage, we had a neighbor with a generator in the evenings, and we had relatives only ten minutes away with power (including intermittent internet and phone service).
Some neighbors and friends lost vehicles, homes, were flooded out, or had to evacuate. People on the south shore of Long Island, Staten Island, and parts of the Jersey Shore suffered tremendously. Any life lost is great, and there were dozens of fatalities in the region.
We are doing what we can from here to help those without power–donating blankets and clothes. Local schools are housing people left homeless by the storm. Other schools are serving as warming and recharging centers. We are hopeful the situation will improve soon, with most schools reopening this week.
The morning after the storm, I trekked outside to assess the damage. We had lost a few roof shingles. Then, I walked to the end of my driveway. I looked to the left, and this is what I saw:
Then I looked to the right. I began to get nervous.
If I had two trees down on my little street, how hard was the rest of my area hit? Without access to media, there was only one way to find out. I packed up my child and our go-bags and set out in the car. For my son’s sake, I made it an adventure. We were trying to find our way through the maze of downed trees and wires. There turned out to be only one way out, unlike the usual ten options.
Today, I sit in my warm, whole house while others continue to endure hardships–without heat, without light, and maybe without a loved one. I’m very blessed, very thankful, and send positive thoughts to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Do you have any hurricane experiences or messages of hope to share?
As promised, here’s your Moment:
This souvenir shop is located just south of the Ocean Key Resort on Mallory Square in Key West, Florida. The painted, wooden animals and decorative signs are plentiful and worth a look. If you’re in the mood for an impromptu history lesson, take a stroll through the wide hallway between the shop and Casa Cayo Hueso’s Bar and Restaurant.
You can easily spend a quarter hour gazing at its murals depicting life in early Key West.
We walked through the spacious Casa Cayo Hueso Bar & Restaurant, and the spicy aromas made out mouths water. We had reservations at another place, however, so we couldn’t sample the fare that particular day. But we will return, and when we do, I’ll be sure to share the details.
What restaurant do you enjoy visiting as much for the ambiance and decor as for the great food?
Hi my friends,
I admit, I’ve been living a bit of a roller coaster these past two weeks. Not that anything is really wrong or desperate, like illness or death, but emotionally I’ve struggled. In times like this, music and writing nourish my soul and make me whole again. I write romance, and to write romance, a person needs to truly believe in a happily-ever-after. My relationship with my husband is a huge inspiration in this way. Lately, I haven’t always appreciated him or the sacrifices he makes on a daily basis for our family. He works long hours far from home, and yet I still expect him to pull his weight (and more) at home. He always has, but that doesn’t mean he always will. I wonder if someday he’ll say, “Enough.”
I thought a lot about that this week. I considered many ways to show him how much I love him. I thought about sending him love texts (no, not sexts, that’s not my style, and with my luck, I’d accidentally sext the sitter or one of my colleagues). I’ve never done that, so I didn’t want him to be suspicious. I considered writing a love note. I also thought about surprising him with his favorite meal–but I’m not such a great cook.
None of those ideas seemed right.
Then I was on my way to work a few days ago, and I accidently hit CD instead of FM radio. I only have one CD in my car, and it’s David Archuleta. (Yes, I adore the beautiful purity of his voice.) His song, “You Can” played, my love anthem. Not because of him (Sorry, David!), but because the lyrics bring me back to 1984 when my husband was my best friend on the verge of becoming my boyfriend, when I first realized he could be the one to “save me from myself.” I wasn’t a lost soul by any means, but I lacked belief in myself, and I didn’t grasp my true potential until he came into my life.
So this is for my husband, the one who always believed in me and helped me believe in myself:
What song reminds you of a special person in your life?
For my fellow Key West lovers, here are some recent photos I took just for you:
Until next time, I hope you spend your days doing what you love best.
xoxo
Jolyse
PS Any Key West topics you’d like me to blog about? Let me know. I love to chat Conch Republic.
The Papa Look-Alikes Contest is a big draw for fans of Key West Hemingway Days, but that’s not all this annual festival offers.
Saturday afternoon, Old Town hosted a Caribbean Street Fair, designed to reflect the spirit of Key West during the original Hemingway’s era. A large section of Duval Street was closed to vehicles for local artisans and mom-and-pop food vendors to display their goods. People browsed the stands, many sipping ice cold lemonade in the tropical heat. There was wall art designed from sheet metal, touristy plaques made from recycled fence, Cuban sandwiches, and Bahamian-prepared sausages among other items. We bought little other than bottled water, focused on hydration.
At dusk, over six hundred people participated in the Hemingway 5K Sunset Run/Walk. My husband entered as a runner, and convinced me to participate as a walker. I ran recreationally for a number of years, but with children and other responsibilities, I’d become more of a treadmill kind of gal this past decade. More recently, I was injured in a fall and endured PT for many months. My knees continue to give me grief. On top of that, Key West’s weather was still like a steambath at race time. I had valid concerns about finishing.
I kissed my husband good luck and he flew ahead of us few walkers with the other runners. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, stretching my gait as far as possible and pumping those arms. And I kept that pace. Eventually, I passed a number of other racers, some jogging slower than my walk. That’s okay, though, because we were all in it for fun. The race entry fees went toward a local children’s organization, and there was something special about race-walking from the famous Southernmost Point, down Whitehead Street where Hemingway’s Museum is located, onto the Truman Annex, down the Quay for a spectacular sunset view, looping through sidestreets and back down Whitehead to the finish line at Southernmost Point. Spectators cheered and encouraged everyone. I did it. We all did it. It felt good. I may just enter another 5K in the future, and next time I’ll run.
When was the last time you were coaxed into doing something outside your comfort zone? How did it turn out?
Expressways and bridges lead to the Northway, followed by narrow winding roads. A lone blinking street light in the country hamlet just south of our destination signals memories of my grandparents, town Fourth of July celebrations, and trick-or-treating.
Every mile between town and my home is as comfortable as a favorite pair of slippers–having walked and biked that path countless times. I take in the Lake Champlain waters, stone walls lining open fields, and my family’s church.
Home again.
I step into the house where my parents raised five children, where they lived, loved, and laughed together until she was taken from us far too soon. Although it’s been over a decade since she’s graced this house in human form, it’s filled with her spirit. Every room in the house reminds me of her, and I’m enveloped in warmth. I miss her so much, but when I’m in this house, it’s almost as if she never left.
Of course, my childhood home holds a myriad of other memories. My little brother and I used to play inside the living room closet and Mom would warn us about pinched fingers. We’d peek around the stairway corner to spy on adults on Christmas Eve. And how I loved to sit on those stairs, my skinny legs over the edge as I read book after book.
I’m glad we traveled north this weekend. Sometimes I need to go back in order to move forward again. I love my Long Island home, with its ocean waters, vineyards, and NYC all within a short distance, but I will forever have a soft spot for the Adirondack Mountains, with its evergreens, birch trees, and rugged hillsides. Like my wise brother-in-law has been known to say, “You can take the girl out of the country, but not the country out of the girl.”
Since our daughter left the nest to enter college two years ago, my little world turned upside-down. I mistakenly assumed since she was the older of my two children and I had always worked outside the home her absence wouldn’t affect me as much as it has. Only now do I realize the impact–good and bad.
The good. I took stock of my life and began working toward my dream of being a successful, published writer. I’m unpublished as of yet, but I’ve completed the first manuscript and have begun the submission process. I’ve also begun my second novel, and have two more outlined. (If you’re interested in reading more about that first year, click here.) My husband and I have more time to devote to our younger child. Our son enjoys being the center of our universe, as his older sister did for the eight years before he arrived. It’s only fair, right?
The bad. I have struggled to stay organized. I hadn’t realized how much I depended on our daughter to help with little chores around the house. She’s an expert dishwasher emptier, laundry helper, and pet caregiver. Without her around, those pesky jobs fell to me. I didn’t have time left over to do the extras. No more digital photo books for me. I also didn’t get around to making holiday cards or baking holiday cookies these past few years. Most importantly, though, I missed her. We’d text and Skype, but it wasn’t the same.
I’m happy to report I’m finally back on track and have adjusted to our new family life. In spite of some recent bad luck that waylaid me these past weeks, not only is the house sparkling clean, but our photo Christmas cards have arrived and are ready to address. To my son’s delight, we’ve begun to research holiday gifts and kinds of cookies to bake. I still miss my older child like crazy, but she is happy at college and I know she’ll be home again soon.
My family and I are very blessed in this regard. There are mothers and fathers who’ve lost their child to disease, war, or other tragedy. Their loved one remains with them in spirit, but won’t ever sit around the table again to share a meal. My heart breaks for them, as it breaks when I think of my relatives who have moved on. But I believe we are all still blessed. Let’s savor the little moments and wonderful memories.
I hope that, whatever your situation, you have a peaceful, contented holiday season. Take time to relax; savor family and friends. I promise to deliver a lighthearted post next week. Join me for a Margarita Moment, won’t you? We can all use a little escape now and again.
Enest Hemingway, lovingly referred to as Papa by historians and Key West locals, was an iconic American writer of the twentieth century. He set up residence there from 1931-1940, and was said to enjoy being “the big fish” on the little island.
I read a few of Hemingway’s classics as well as some of his more obscure short stories back in college. I remember being fascinated by his terse, straightforward prose and being aware of the tragic way he died, but I knew little of his life before I became a fellow Conch Republic addict.
Writers are often advised to write what they know. Hemingway was an avid fisherman and hunter, as well as writer. It makes sense to me that he often wrote tales with man vs. nature themes. During his Key West years, Papa wrote many stories, including his novel, The Sun Also Rises. Yet, it’s his 1953 Pulitzer Prize winner, Old Man and the Sea, that comes to mind when I imagine him living and working there.
The more times we’ve visited the southernmost part of the United States, the more my husband and I desired to go fishing. Key West’s economy has always been driven, in part, by the fishing industry. I have no issue with legal hunting and fishing, as long as the animals caught are eaten and not used merely as trophies. The prospect of being one-on-one with nature was exciting AND overwhelming. I’ve seen tv shows with people on deep-sea fishing charters reeling in huge fish such as marlin and sailfish. To reel in fish like these, a person is sometimes strapped into a fighting chair so the fish doesn’t pull him overboard. Scary thought. We wanted a beginner’s excursion equivalent to the bunny slope when learning to snow ski. After some research, we chose backcountry or flats fishing.
I’ll admit it. I’m squeamish about putting bait onto a hook or taking fish off a hook. I’m girly that way, I suppose. However, as soon as we left the dock, watching our captain collect live bait and select our fishing spot, I was eager to try my hand at casting and reeling. I’m an avid observer, but on this day I participated, too. I soaked up Captain Rob’s advice, his history, and as a word nerd, his dialect, too. I learned about the parts of a boat, fishing terms, and most of all, what it feels like to struggle with a fish to bring it in. Before that day, I could count on one hand how many times I’d caught fish, and that includes ice fishing as a youngster with my grandfather on Lake Champlain. (Ice fishing is a passive activity compared to tackle fishing.)
We traveled through water locals call “The Lakes.” The sea is shallow there, between 5-6 ft., an estuary that divides the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico. We anchored at Destroyer Island about three miles offshore on the Atlantic side where the ocean is close to thirteen feet deep. We had left early in the morning for a greater chance of success and were rewarded with dozens of fish swimming around our boat.
Shortly after Captain Rob had shown us how to cast (or pitch, as he calls it), he surprised me by blowing up a balloon. I wondered if we were celebrating the day with a party, but then realized he was setting up a sportfishing line. He was as excited as we were about the kinds and sizes of fish, and about the chance of bringing in “a big one.” We spied a young tarpon and a small school of snook. Captain Rob explained that snook were out-of-season but would have put up a good fight. Oh well. We still had plenty of fun.
My husband caught two barracuda, and we suspect one cut my line. The first fish I caught big enough to keep was the one shown above. From the effort it took to reel it in, I was certain the fish on my line was the tarpon we had seen earlier, and wondered why we didn’t have a fighting chair to keep me from flying overboard. When it surfaced, wriggling at the end of my line, I was surprised. Maybe I should lift heavier weights when I exercise? We also reeled in gray snappers, a number of them keepers.
Two sunscreen applications later, the current changed and our captain moved to a new fishing spot. We anchored a bit further offshore where my husband and I were introduced to an interesting fish called a grunt. They have flourescent orange mouths with sharp teeth. I soon learned how they got their name. These fish sound so much like deer, my hunter husband was on the lookout for four-legged creatures.
In our last hour on the water, my husband caught the prize fish of the day. Hogfish are generally caught using a spearhook instead of light tackle, so Captain Rob was quite impressed. This fish is considered by many to be the best-tasting local fish, too. Of course, we enjoyed sampling every kind we kept–grilled or blackened.
Fishing may not seem a woman’s kind of escape, but you may surprise yourself, ladies. I did. We tell children, “Try it, you may like it,” when encouraging them to take a risk. That motto may work for us adults as well.
I caught more than fish that day; I caught the fishing bug. We plan to book another charter boat our next trip. Popular wisdom claims pursuing a common hobby is good for a couple’s relationship. We never have. Who knows? This may be the one.
Have you ever surprised yourself by enjoying an activity far more than anticipated?
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Friday was the official end to Summer 2011. Were you like me and wear black to mourn the occasion? In the spirit of our denial, let’s pretend we live Down Under where spring has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere. We can wish it were here, too.
One of my favorite events of the spring season is our family vacation to Orlando, Florida. When the children were little, we spent most of our days at the hotel pool and at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. As they have gotten older, we still spend time at the hotel pool, but EPCOT is the new favorite. My husband enjoys the international variety of beers, the kids acquire souvenirs and snacks, and I entertain myself by taking snapshots of the Spring Flower & Garden Festival’s creations. Sadly, I cannot provide you a cold one via internet or hand out my credit card for your shopping pleasure. I can, however, share my montage of memories. (Click on any picture for a larger view.)
Each year, Disney creates approximately seventy-five topiaries to display throughout the park. In addition, there are designer presentations by HGTV celebrities, and Flower Power concerts. You may also enjoy the butterfly pavilion, although it generally closes by 7 PM. I simply love the colors, the art of the presentation, and floral scents that fill the park. It’s truly an escape.
If we could convince our loved ones to attend EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival held each fall from the end of September to mid-November, perhaps we spring and summer lovers would learn to appreciate the cooler months of the year, as well. What do you think?
Back in 2005, Southwest airlines had some knockout deals from the northeastern U.S. to Las Vegas. Unwilling to pass up such a bargain, I convinced my husband to pay Sin City a visit. It helps that we have extended family who live there, an added incentive to make the long flight. We enjoyed that first getaway enough to traverse the country three more times for sightseeing, shows, shopping, eating, and gambling. Las Vegas offers so many quality choices in all these venues, we’ll always find a reason to return.
I have many stories to share with you about this neon city. For now, here are a few of the G-Rated highlights:
On our first trip, we visited the Stratosphere on the north end of the Vegas Strip. This incredibly tall building allows visitors to view the entire city, surrounded by desert and mountains. The scene was absolutely breathtaking! I enjoy roller coasters and Hollywood Studio’s Tower of Terror, but I couldn’t fathom riding any of the attractions at the top of the Stratosphere. One of the rides shoots straight up and the other two dangle their occupants over the edge. (Are these people crazy?)
Since I chickened out at the Stratosphere, we rode New York-New York’s outdoor roller coaster on the lower-strip instead. I realize it’s tame by comparison, but we had fun without a chance of heart attack.
Exiting my home state’s namesake hotel, we glimpsed the M&M store. I had to check it out. I’ve never seen so many chocolate candies in one place. My chocolate loving friends would have thought they’d died and gone to heaven. I know I did. The only bad part, if you can call it that, was we had to eat our purchases shortly after leaving the store. I know what the ads claim, but these little goodies wouldn’t have survived the August desert sun on the trek back to our mid-strip hotel.
It may be hot outside, but inside the gambling was hot, too. We loved the slots. My husband’s favorite was The Wheel of Fortune, and mine was the Triple 7’s. Our aunt and uncle entertained us by sharing strategies for playing the penny slot machines at the Flamingo. It was lots of fun, and we were thrilled to come out ahead of the casino.
We enjoyed people-watching as we walked through the Venetian Hotel’s underground mall–complete with gondola ride. Apparently, this place is also home to a living statue. We walked past a man painted white and in white clothing. He stood very still, rarely blinking. But I felt his stare. My husband thought the guy was interesting. I thought he was creepy. Click on the photo if you’re curious and want to see the statue in action–or non-action, as the case may be.
One night, we took an elevator to the top of Vegas’ version of the Eiffel Tower, one-third the height of the original in France. It was plenty high enough for me, and we loved The Bellagio’s water show. I can’t think of a better way to end a post about the Vegas Strip than with this video. Enjoy!
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? If so, what are some of your G-Rated memories? If not, would you have ridden the Insanity Ride on the Stratosphere or the coaster at New York-New York? Would you have liked the Living Statue or the view from the Eiffel Tower?