21 Jan 2014 - New Favourite Shelling Place

Some day it will be a tea towel.

There are mounds of shells along the beach at Lover's Key State Park

Antique car show at Miromar Outlet

It's been a busy week and we've seen lots of new things. I know the time is going to fly quickly here so we've committed ourselves to enjoying and getting the most out of every day.

We went to the Miromar Outlet Mall last weekend. Besides having some great stores, it's the most beautiful mall I've ever seen. There are lots of big water fountains and one fountain has huge coy fish. The local antique car club was strutting their stuff and it was interesting to see of the older cars that I recognized from my father owning and even a couple that Wayne had ('56 Ford) when we dated. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed sitting outside and having lunch while a local busker played and just generally people watched. Of course, I also shopped 'till I dropped and expect the glow will soon wear off the shopping bloom...although I'm not there yet!

I decided that I must have something (other than shopping) to keep me occupied...especially in the evening. I cannot remember when I first start doing embroidery but whenever I did learn it, I know that I really loved it. Because my Mother did not knit or crochet, I never learned that but I have done needle work most of my life. I think I started doing simple cross stitch and then did crewel embroidery a well as regular embroidery. While we were out shopping one day, I went in to Joanne's Fabrics--which is like Michael's on crack--and as I walked down the embroidery isle, I was hooked once again. I'm enjoying the process of choosing colours and watching as one portion is completed before starting another. The last major project I did was a baby quilt for Colin and another for my nephew Christian. Colin's is pristine...it became a wall hanging. Christian's was his favourite 'blankie' and it is pretty threadbare.

Today was a bit overcast so rather than packing up and going to the beach, we went for a short drive to Lover's Key which is a strip of land that connects Bonita Beach with Ft Myers Beach.  There has been 2 pods of Pilot Whales which have beached themselves in this area over the past couple of days so it has been a hive of activity with news people, environmentalists, etc. hovering along the Key and we thought perhaps we might see something from the road. We didn't....but ended up going into the State Park, which we have passed so many times before but never investigated. I'm so glad we did as it turned out to be an amazing place which will now be our favourite beach on which to spend the day. As well, it is LOADED with sea shells, and I mean loaded. We spoke to a number of 'regulars', some of whom are there early every single morning to walk the beach and find some of the more illusive or more rare shells that wash up every night. We got some advice on how to look for specific shells and advised to find out when the low tides are as that is the very best time for shelling.

There were two extremely large Osprey nests, each with a resident pair close by and at least one of each pair had caught a fish almost as big as themselves. One of the nests included everything from sticks to rags and seaweed, and a whole lot of other stuff I couldn't recognize. I took my new point-and-shoot camera and I was impressed with the results. However, I am anxious to go back with my big camera and see if the magic is still there!! The bird above was about 100 feet away so the 20x zoom on the little camera seems to work! It may be quite useful in Africa...which is why I bought it.

That's what we have been up to. We will be going to the Swamp Buggy races on Saturday and then Scott & Brenda will be here for a few days and there are lots of places we want to take them. And that's the end of January!

Today is our darling Gillian's 4th birthday. I can close my eyes and see Sue and I restlessly sitting in the hospital waiting room for news. It was the first opportunity either of us had had to be so close to a grandchild's birth and it was wonderful. Gillian was a large, healthy, beautiful baby and she captured our hearts right from the beginning. We are always away for her birthday but we Skyped and got to sing to her.

Until next time, love and hugs to all. Everyone stay warm and healthy...I wish we could send you a bit of sunshine. xx