Off to Leesburg

Friday, January 20, 2017

This morning, Emma Jean and I went shopping for all the items to make 5 dozen sandwiches for the Women's Bible Conference we are going to tomorrow.  Unfortunately, we were so late getting back that I couldn't make the sandwiches with Emma Jean.  She just insisted that she could easily do them all while sitting down in her kitchen so I missed out on the assembly part.  We also purchased a couple of items for a gift for Ana Huron who is the presenter tomorrow.  That I brought home with me to wrap up for her

Then after watching Donald Trump sworn into office as the 45th president of the United States, we drove down to the Beer's RV where all our PA friends were gathering to fill cars and set off for Leesburg where we would meet John and Mary Christof and Sally Hungerford at the Oakwood Grill for BBQ ribs.  Oh are they ever good there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Ron took this picture of all of us around the long table while we were waiting for our food to arrive.

Afterwards we drove over to John and Mary's for coffee and dessert and lots more socializing.  Mary had left up her Christmas tree and all her wonderful ornaments collected over the years so we had fun checking out all of them and hearing stories about where they came from and what they represented.

Beauty and the Beast

Thursday, January 19, 2017   Jen's Birthday

Bette and I boarded a bus at American Condos this morning and set off for Hudson and the Show Palace there where we were set to enjoy lunch and the musical Beauty and the Beast.  One of the ladies at her park had made arrangements for four different plays this spring and I purchased the tickets so I could join them for all of them - this was the first of them.

We got wonderful seats very close to the stage and in the center so we could see everything very well.  Actually it is a marvelous theater setting with no seat all that far from the stage with tables for eight in the center area and for four along the sides.  Our waiter was also a member of the play participants so was doing double duty.  He was very attentive!

Shortly after we arrived we were called to the buffet lines for salad and the hot meal choices.  There was also a dessert table set off to the side that we could return to after we'd eaten.  Meanwhile we supplied with water and hot tea and lots of time to chat with those at our table which, of course, included mostly people Bette knew since they were all from her park.

The play was beautifully done with great scenery and costumes. Truly enjoyable.

The bus got us back around 5:00, so Bette was still able to make it to the prison for her usual visits with the inmates with members of her church.  They hold services for them along with providing lots of opportunity to simply chat one on one.  Bette has been doing this prison ministry for several years and truly enjoys it.

Ken and I were able to call and have a nice chat with Jen wishing her a happy birthday.

Florida Southern College

Sunday, January 15, 2017

After church today, we picked up Bill and Jan at their motorhome and drove to Lakeland to tour the Florida Southern College campus - specifically the Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings and walkways.  He is responsible for thirteen buildings on the campus and some others have been designed to compliment them.  It is the largest collection of his buildings in any one place.

Our first stop was to check in at the Sharp Family Tourism and Education Center to check in and then wander the gift shop and outdoor setting that included a statue of Frank Lloyd Wright,

a fountain of his design

and the Usonian House next door

that was recently built using his plans. (it was suppose to be built along Lake Hollingworth on the campus as a home for faculty along with several others with the windows across the front facing the water but lack of funds kept that from happening)

The college itself was sponsored by the Methodist church but had been floundering after four moves - two as a result of fires and all seeking a spot in Florida that would attract attendees.  Then it found itself losing students due to the depression.  In 1938 in a daring move the president of the college at that time, Dr. Spivey, decided to call the "architect of the year" according to Time Magazine and see if he would design some buildings and draw attention to the campus.  Even though there was no money to pay for the work, Frank Lloyd Wright was intrigued and agreed to draw up a master plan naming it the "Child of the Sun" campus seeing structures rising out of the ground just as children do as they grow and mature.  He loved all the orange trees, hills and lake and designed the campus around them.

At our first stop we had an opportunity to see how buildings were built into hills as is this Watson-Fine Administration Building.  In the center is the "child of the sun" pole with lights on it that are turned on a couple of times of year for significant events on campus.

This building is actually two now connected with an excellent example of the "posts" he used around the campus designed to look like orange trees.  It takes quite an imagination to see them but the squares in the upper park are the oranges.  The green copper design along the edge of the roof (in some places it is copper) is a representation of all the tree leaves.

Here is a side/front view

The walkways are beautiful and truly pull the campus together especially since they go to all of the Frank Lloyd buildings and none of the others..  The angles, gardens and views created by those walkways do add a special beauty to the whole place.  In this shot you can see the lake in the distance and the Science Building on the left.

The "ceilings" of the walkways are low with openings that are to represent the sun and its rays with plantings below each of the "sun openings".

Each of the posts are also an orange tree with the green leaf cooper along the top edge

These "cardboard palms" were picked as the "proper" planting for this area by the chapels by FLW.

There are two chapels side by side.  The one on the left is the first building to be constructed - the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel and is considered by many to be a true paradigm of Wright's work in that it exhibits all his trademark architectural elements.  The cantilevered wings give the impression the building is floating above ground.   The bow tie design in the steeple is the college's trademark design seen on all their literature and signs.  On the right is the William H. Danforth Chapel.

This is another view of the Pfeiffer Chapel and its interesting "waterfall" stairs.

The inside is dramatic with lots of light coming through the outside walls tiny little "holes filled with colored glass".  

The color is not showing so well in this picture but you can see the tiny lights.  Just picture them in all bright colors.

The "curtain" wall along the front is suppose to represent ..................

More later.................................................

Writing

Monday, January 9, 2017
All through my years of schooling - kindergarten up - my worst subject was English.  I hated reading and seemed incapable of writing of any worth.  In fact, I'd look for ways to get around it as much as possible.  Then while I was in high school, I had to take a semester of typing and that was the epitome of awful!!!!!!  We used manual typewriters and I made so many mistakes in my typing I would get minus scores.  I'll never forget the teacher pulling me aside and asking what my plans were - did I plan on taking any more typing or using it for a job.  When I told her no, she promised she'd pass me with a D rather than fail me.  Thank goodness or I'd have had to do it over again.

Today I now find myself doing huge quantities of typing but on a computer where I can fix it as I go and fix I do ALOT!!!!!  But it is so wonderful to be able to do it as my handwriting is terrible and I really want to be able to record things I've done and communicate easily with people I know.  Word processing, typing on a computer has truly saved me from myself.  I can do it, fix it and keep right on going and not worry.  I LOVE COMPUTERS for just that reason.

All those growing up years I'd hear my mother expressing her greatest wish of having her work in print.  She LOVED writing and did it whenever possible.  She was a wonderful secretary all her life so earned her living writing but her dream of beig in print didn't happen till she started a little newspaper she distributed on our street when we lived in Pleasant Ridge and the street had its own little club -Amherst Club.  Then when she retired she wrote articles for the newspaper put out by the Florida Residents at the park where she lived - Hawthorne.  Many times she would send in articles to magazines but never to my knowledge was one accepted.

Now I find myself writing newsletters for organizations we belong to, taking minutes because of the role of secretary I've been given many times, and now our park manager has asked me to write articles for the local Senior News that comes out twice a month here in Zephyrhills.  Last week I saw my name in print on an article I'd submitted and couldn't help think of mother and how I was fulfilling her wish even though I've been dragged kicking and screaming into it all and certainly without the skills she had.

I think about it today because I spent the first part of the day revising a 5 page Welcome newsletter for our RV Park that is distributed to all who stay here.  The manager had me add a page with all the information she wanted to include.  So from a couple of scribbled notes I filled a page - she liked it and now it is revised and in print.

Then she asked me to write another article for the Senior News so the second part of the day I worked on that gathering pictures and information but trying to keep it short.  I've just now sent it off to the newspaper so we'll see if it is included in the next edition.

One never knows what will happen over the years but I really think it is funny that the subject I hated the most is the one I'm most involved in now as a retiree.  Crazy!  Oh and I have discovered a genre I love to read and now have literally worn out my Kindle cover using it daily and pouring through all kinds of books.  Because of lack of space for "real" books, that has become my favorite way to read though I still love those same kind of books when I can borrow them from our lending library or friends.

Meanwhile our second oldest daughter, Susan, is celebrating her big 5 0 today.  And she lucked out because there was such a bad winter storm in Charlotte, North Carolina that schooled was cancelled today.  That meant she could stay home and really have a day of celebration doing what she wanted to do.  Love this picture of her taken by her husband

What a fun celebration for her!  Over the weekend the whole family went to West Virginia to the Winterplace where they spent hours snowtubing - her choice of a birthday celebration.  Here they are

Personally I love the warmth!!!!  But Happy Birthday to you Sue!

And here is the article I wrote and sent in:

Hillcrest Celebrates New Year with a Bang!

New Year’s Eve at Hillcrest RV Resort had a very special twist.  Residents Roland Bondy and Eileen Herridge chose the site of the New Year’s Eve dance in the large clubhouse as the place for their wedding.  It was held less than an hour before the dance was to start so that residents could arrive a bit early in their elegant wear and add that to their evening of celebration.  Eileen arrived in the back of the Smith’s convertible. The hall was already decorated very festively and they added a beautiful “garden” arch decorated in netting and beautiful flowers as a spot to stand for the ceremony. It was then moved to a corner of the hall so it could be available for attendees of the dance to pose in for a special picture for themselves as a keepsake from this memorable night. 

The entire evening was truly a Hillcrest affair, as resident Emma Jean Cook performed the ceremony and resident Cyril Penton was the chief photographer.  Resident bagpiper Bruce Martin, provided the processional bagpipe music as Eileen came in on the arms of friends and residents Leo and Margaret Smith who gave her away. 

All additional music was provided by resident Travis Golden who then stayed on to provide the music and entertainment during the dance.  Many chose to come in very dressy outfits adding a real special feel to the whole evening.

What a beautiful night and way to say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017 and best wishes to the Bondy’s!

A Sad Day for Florida Winnebago Owners

Saturday, January 7, 2017
Ken and I were up and on our way to Lazy Days early this morning so we could attend the Winnie Gators business meeting (our Florida State Club) which was then followed by a business meeting of our chapter Mid-Florida Winnies.  I still had the secretarial books, sign and name tag bars with secretary written on them that needed to be turned over to Carol Horner the new secretary as of today.

The Winnie Gators meeting was a important as it was the last chance to finalize plans for the annual state rally which is next month and also the time to vote for a new board for the club.  Unfortunately after much discussion the decision was made to dissolve the club after 46 years of existence!!  No one would step up to be the president so it couldn't continue.

That means there will no longer be a state club or annual state rally for not only Floridians but those snowbirds who make the trip down here each year and look forward to a bit of fun with other Winnebago owners.  We have been known for the largest state rally for years with at least two hundred rigs in attendance - a number that is down from over 300 that came the first year we attended back in 2008.  So sad!!

One of the special activities planned for this year's rally to raise funds for our mission giving was a quilt created using donated squares from the members.  I had turned in a square last October and got to see it in the completed quilt today.  What fun that was.  This was my square:

I will post the picture of the quilt once I figure out how to get it off my new smart phone :-)

Winter Returns

Friday, January 6, 2017
Brrrrr!  This morning we awoke to the air conditioning coming on as we set it for 69 degrees at night for cooler sleeping.  So we knew it was warm outside if we needed to be cooled off.  Well, sure enough it was 71 degrees outside at 7:30 in the morning.

However by bedtime it was heading down into the 30s with rain showers.  I had gone over to American Condo to play hand and foot with my friend Bette and 4 of her friends at 5:30 and just carried in a jacket knowing it was suppose to cool down.  By the time I came out at 8:30 it was spitting rain and the winds had picked up so the temperatures were dropping rapidly.

The prediction was for 50 overnight and temperatures continuing to fall.  By Saturday night it was 33 degrees.  The plants were covered with sheets should it get colder than that and I brought in my miniature rose potted plant to protect it.  What a change.

But the people in the Southeast were the ones really suffering from this cold front.  Icy rain and snow with blizzard conditions (40-50 mile an hour winds) blew snow all around.  While it wasn't huge quantities it did make driving difficult and in many places it had been preceded by freezing rain.  Nasty!!

Our daughter, Sue, and her family decided to head to Winterplace in West Virginia anyway as they had planned a weekend there doing snowtubing (using a gift certificate we'd given them for Christmas) and spending the night at a local hotel.  What should have been a 3 hour or so trip turned into six hours because of the treacherous roads but they did make it thank goodness and had a marvelous time.  It was still snowing when they arrived but then the sun and blue skies turned it into a glorious afternoon of fun

Celebrating My Birthday

Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Ken and I spent a couple of days over in Orlando at a huge condo provided by Bluegreens Vacations. While we were there, we attended a session on how to use a membership in the organization but otherwise just enjoyed the grounds, a visit with David and Donna Rumrill at their home, and time at Disney Hollywood.

One of the first things we saw was this Star Wars experience in the mall area with projections of pictures from the various movies and many of the characters on stage such as below.  They have purchased the rights to Star Wars and we found many different things offered and happening that take advantage of this including their evening fireworks show with story and pictures projected on a huge screen.  It was a fantastic fireworks show and we had managed to work ourselves into a great spot on the central street where we could really take it all in.

There were thousands of people there since this is still holiday time on many people's schedules.  I guess lots of kids had at least the first part of the week off.  Anyway that meant huge long lines for most of the rides so basically we just enjoyed walking the park and taking in the sites and beautiful holiday trims.  We did manage to get into the Great Movie Ride and because of the huge numbers have long enough in the room where they show old movie clips to see the entire presentation which we've never been able to do before.  It brings backs so many memories stretching back to early childhood.

We did want to catch the evening show on the river so we decided to head that direction in the early evening, get a small meal and then go into the theater very early.  Well we were able to order the meal and then when it came time to pick it up the gal noticed by birthday badge, said wait a minute and came back with this gorgeous cupcake and put it on my tray and wished me a happy birthday.  What a surprise!!! (I'd notice it on the menu and the ridiculous price of $6.95 so was especially impressed)

Then we headed to the theater only to discover this has become a fast pass item so we were shuttled off to stand by where we were one of the last let in with no promise we'd get a seat.  Just before it was due to start, we slowly filed in with people pushing to move forward to see at least something standing way at the back.  I hung back seeing a spot where we might be able to be right behind the handicapped section in the center.  Ushers were telling everyone they couldn't stay there but one noticed my birthday badge and said wait a minute.  The next thing we knew, we were ushered in front of the ropes and told to take any seat we could find!!!!  Here we were in the very center and found seats about 10 rows back from the very front!!! WOW!!!

It was a great show and especially exciting because of our great view plus being singled out because of the badge.  I was soooooo glad I'd chosen to stop at the customer service area when we first got in to ask for it.  It seamed silly at the time, but I thought why not!!!  It is kind of neat since all staff is required to acknowledge it with a "happy birthday" which would help the day be extra special. And it sure was!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Sunday, January 1, 2017
Texts on our phone, messages on Facebook, emails, phone conversations and people on the street all prefaced things with the greeting of Happy New Year today!  And yes, that is typical each time we get to January 1 of a year but with each succeeding year it seems like it comes at us from via more and more different methods.  This communication age of ours is amazing.  Ways to communicate keep growing and changing -- and now I'm considering getting a "smart" phone I'm even more aware of the different ways we reach each other.  Yes, it is more convenient at times but at times it is information overload.  I wonder what 2017 will bring us.

Yesterday Ken and I took down our Christmas tree and all of the other trims in the house and stored them away.  Then today we finished the job removing the outside trims.  It is so much more than we've done in years because now that we have a home again there is more space to decorate.  But it was fun having a tree again and space to entertain on Christmas Day.

Then last night we got dolled up and went down to our clubhouse for the New Year's Eve dance.  Roland and Eileen who live at the end of our street arranged to make it official and had arranged for a wedding ceremony the hour before the dance was to start.  Many of our residents attended that.  Emma Jean Cook had arranged to get her licence to officiate (she had one for Maine her original residence) so she did the ceremony. Here is a photo of that

Later at the dance another gal in the park took this picture of them

They then set the flower covered arch off to the side of the stage providing a spot for couples at the dance to get pictures of themselves.  Here we are

The music was provided by Travis Golden who lives here at the park and is well known for his jukebox and Elvis manikan which sits on his covered front porch.

He really was terrific providing all kinds of music, and "show" bouncing around the stage in a variety of costumes

and working the crowd getting them clapping hands and doing things like the chicken dance with him in the middle wearing a chicken hat and doing the dance with them.  He had a couple of cute "competitions" one of which included having people move to one of 4 corners of the floor by an ace card for one of each of the four suits.  He would then pick an ace from his stack and those in that corner would have to sit down until we were down to two people left to go to corners.  The winning couple got a gift certificate for a local restaurant. There were raffle prizes and cash prizes as well but that was arranged by the committee.

The kids texted a Happy New Year to us and Beth posted this picture taken at their place tonight while they were preparing to shout Happy New Year

This morning Ken led the worship service at our park church.  We both sing in the choir so it was a busy service for him.

Afterwards we quickly changed as the temperature had gone from 54 to almost 80 when we got out of the clubhouse.  Once the outside decorations were put away we drove to the local Ruby Tuesday where we met Frank and Bette, Jim and Jackie, and Harold for dinner

Following dinner we gathered over at Jackie and Jim's for more conversation.  Ron and Kathy Alesin joined us there.  But it was soon time to head back to Hillcrest for ice creamT and entertainment at the hall. Geoge Raab does an amazing job singing every song he plays making sure there is a good variety of music so chances to do everything from a slow dance to a polka and line dancing.  I loved the last song of the evening Sweet Caroline.  Meant for me, right?  Besides I love Neal Diamond's music. 

Speaking of that, Jean Russell sent this picture to me as well as friend Caroline Landrum and other Carols she knows.