Valentine's Day

This might have been my nicest Valentines Day ever!  It was twelve degrees at our mountain cabin, twenty-six degrees in Raleigh, and we went to the beach at Sanibel Island!

First we went to church.  When we were here last fall we found a church that we liked very close to my brother's home.  Jeff and Anna went with us yesterday, and they liked it, too.

Then we went to Sanibel.  A plus for me...they were having a lovely Arts and Crafts festival.  I did not purchase anything, but it helped feed my soul to see all the lovely artwork.

And being on the beach with my sweetheart was very special.

He gave me some beautiful roses.

And for an extra sweet treat...some Norman Love chocolates!  We fell in love with Norman Love the last time we were in Fort Myers.  Oh, my, his candies are works of art as well as delicious treats.

Today we will drive to Sarasota for the first of the radiation treatments.  I think it will be so much easier for Charlie this time.  I hope so.

Journaling in Florida

I did a couple of quick journal pages last week using ephemera from a few of the Florida restaurants we have visited.

The first one utilizes the place mat from Yoder's Amish Restaurant and a brochure from Cha-Cha Coconuts in Sarasota, and a napkin from The Mucky Duck on Captiva.  I painted the background with watercolors to match the bright pastels of the artwork.

On the next page, I had already painted the sky and water and was stuck on what to do next.  The napkin from The Green Flash restaurant on Captiva Island solved the problem.  I added some green paint to the horizon and then some text with gel pens.

I have never personally seen the green flash phenomena, but it is on my bucket list to experience it one day.  

According to Wikipedia:

Green flashes and green rays are optical phenomena that sometimes occur right after sunset or right before sunrise. When the conditions are right, a green spot is visible above the upper rim of the disk of the sun. The green appearance usually lasts for no more than a second or two. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset (or sunrise) point. Green flashes occur because the atmosphere can cause the light from the sun to separate out into different colors. 

It was a great weekend for us, because our kids came down for a visit from North and South Carolina!  What a shot in the arm for Charlie and me.  More than halfway through cancer treatment and we were feeling in a bit of a slump.  Nothing like your loved ones showing up to improve the old attitude!

We went to Sanibel Island on Saturday and had a beautiful day.  

Little Charlie loved the warm, gentle, shallow Gulf ocean waters and all the seashells.

We rented a car for them that was supposed to be a Hundai Sonata, but instead became a Camaro convertible.  I got to ride to Sanibel in it with son Dave.  Wheee!

Feeling blessed and loved.

Fun on the Gulf

We have had a very nice Labor Day weekend.  Today the Dattoli Cancer Center is closed, so we have had a luxurious morning of sleeping in and lallygagging about!  There was a thunderstorm this morning and it has been very gray.  My brother's home is on a lake, and this is how it normally looks in the morning.  I love the reflections of the trees.  Sometimes there are ducks, herons, iguanas, otters, and other interesting critters to see.

We went to church on Sanibel Island yesterday, then went to breakfast at The Green Flash restaurant on Captiva Island.  We sat at a window overlooking the docks, and saw an osprey fishing while we ate.  This photo is borrowed from their website.

After that, Charlie and I went to the beach on Sanibel for a couple hours.

On Thursday I had the privilege of lifeguards doing practice drills right in front of us.  Yesterday, Charlie got to watch a beautiful Latina girl doing a photo shoot in a thong bikini at the edge of the water.

Last night we celebrated the birthdays of both of my sister-in-law's parents, who also live in Fort Myers.  It was a nice family weekend.

Back to Real Life

I can't believe my trip to Florida is over already.  And it's gotten so cold here!  Katy and I enjoyed trips to the beach, first with our niece Laura, and then with my brother Jeff.

 

Sanibel Island was my favorite.  We walked on the beach and looked for shells.  They were not hard to find.

 

 

The Gulf was extremely calm and serene.

 

 

We drove through the Ding Darling Nature Reserve on Sanibel.  The white pelicans were visiting.  I had only seen the more common brown ones on our North Carolina beaches.

 

 

Ft. Myers Beach was much more commercial, but very colorful.  I like the multicolored buildings.

 

 

We also really enjoyed sitting on my brother's back deck and watching the birds around the lake.  There were lots of ducks, but also a bald eagle.  Once we saw an otter as big as my dog.

 

 

My father tolerated the trip very well, and enjoyed being with us in the warmer climate of Florida.

 

 

For Thanksgiving, my brother grilled a turkey, and we all made side dishes and desserts.  It was a wonderful family holiday.  My niece has painted all the interior doors in the family home, and one of them is a Gratitude Tree. 

 

 

We all wrote what we are thankful for on a leaf, and taped it to the tree.

 

 

But I missed my husband and my dog, and am thankful that we are all together again!