Thanksgiving Dinner: Pilgrim and Indian Style

Sunday, November 20, 2016
After worship at our RV Park church where Ken led the services (Pastor Mike preached) and we both sang in the choir, we hurried home to change into our pilgrim clothes  (Ken dressed totally in black)

and get our vegetable dish and pecan pie and then set off for the Heritage Bible Church where we were attending till ours began.

We arrived just before the services ended.  Members were sharing what they were thankful for.

Yesterday morning, Emma Jean and I were over setting up all the decorations on our table (below) as others in the congregation worked on theirs.  Each table for 8 was beautifully done in a variety of different styles.

The kitchen was decorated, too, and then filled with all the wonderful dishes provided by members for the feast of ham and turkey.  Here are a couple of the ladies doing some of the last minute set up.

The pews were pushed forward so there was plenty of room for all as they began to fill the tables.  Every place was eventually taken.

After eating, we all gathered outside for pictures.  Here are all the Indians

And then all of the pilgrims

Pastor Santiago Huron and his family then gathered for a picture.  Most chose to be Indians

Emma Jean sewed hats, collars, cuffs and aprons for she and Pat and then made hats for Lana and I while we were instructed in the making of the other items last week while sewing at her place.

What fun we had preparing and then enjoying this lovely Sunday afternoon meal and fellowship.  As a church we also provided for Thanksgiving dinner baskets for many nearby who are struggling.  Many of our leftovers also made it to their homes.

Meanwhile back in Pennsylvania, Rachel discovered that the church flowers for the worship service were dedicated to her on her 16th birthday which was a couple of days ago.  Sugar cubes on floral sticks are intermingled with the roses.

And Beth, Dean and the boys were trying to get warm after being at the Western University football game (which they won and now have a season with no losses) in snow plus high wind with temperatures in the 20s)  Bethany had a wonderful birthday celebration starting with flying to Washington DC for several meetings, two of which were in the FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States) room and an evening gala 

Then flying home (she saw Senator Sander Levin at the airport)

and going directly to work to find her door decorated and everyone in purple (her favorite color) eager to celebrate with her.

More Quilting Fun

Friday, November 11, 2016
After getting some exercise at the pool in the early morning, I was able to clean up and finally get to work at my sewing machine.  Wonderful!!!!!  Several projects were started but not done so it felt good completing a couple of them.

I've been making some items that will be put into gift baskets that will be given out to attendees of our Winnebago Florida State Rally in February.  A couple of years ago I took on the challenge of gathering as many items as possible for the least amount of money to create as many baskets as possible as door prizes for the rally which attracts about 200 motor homes each year.  It is my belief that winning a gift is exciting enough to encourage people to come back year after year.  It is just fun to have your name called and that can only happen if there are lots of gifts to be given.  Each chapter in Florida donates at least one basket and several do multiple ones.  Some of the vendors also supply gifts as does Winnebago itself.  Last year our chapter came through with 24 gifts!!!  Many of our members love to do handicrafts and have created some wonderful items we could put in the baskets including homemade bottles of wine, wood carved bowls, handmade greeting cards, towels with cross stitched borders, placemats, ornaments, table runners etc etc etc.  We attach cards to these items saying "made just for you by a Mid-Florida Winnie" and then included other purchased items as well to create a themed basket.

This year I've already gathered items for baskets themed for Happy Hour, Office, Dining Table, Kitchen, Travel, Leisure, Garden, Christmas, BBQ, Picnic, Cheers, Cleaning, Storage, and Game Time.  At our meeting this past week, I have even more wonderful items to put into baskets including a fabric wreath that can be hung on a door or used as a center piece.

Today I made a couple of more.  I completed a casserole carrier and a fabric cozy that you can set the casserole in before reheating it in the microwave and then use as a potholder to take it out and put it in the carrier.  These two items along with a casserole will fill one of the baskets.

Below you can see the cozy under the casserole that is sitting on the open carrier.

It is reversable so could be used with the print showing as well

Once I got these done, I was able to take time to write both the minutes and the newsletter for our Mid-Florida Winnies group and pass these along to our president as well as pictures I'd taken for the newsletter while at our outing.

This was truly a fulfilling day for me!

Fun With Our Mid-Florida Winnies

Monday-Thursday, November 7-10, 2016

As I mentioned on Monday our Mid-Florida Winnies group gathered in Cocoa for a campout this week.  Tuesday the hosts purposely left the schedule open till our 4:00 Happy Hour so that we could all do some exploring on our own.  This was the first time for many of us to even be in this area.

Ken and I drove down A1A just two see what the area looked like with the Atlantic Ocean on our left and the Indian River on our right.  At times we were quite close to both and at others the land was wider and all we were seeing was businesses and hotels, motels, and restaurants.  We did pass Patrick Air Force Base which stretches out for a couple of miles.  The further south we went the more cleanup we could see taking place -- cleanup from the hurricane that went through here about a month ago.  The road was being repaved, roofs were being repaired, windows were being replaced and there were huge piles of tree debris that has yet to be picked up and disposed of.

We did stop in Cocoa Beach as we worked our way back to the campground so we could walk the beach, watch the sandpipers scurry in and out of the water as they hunted for food, and just enjoy the breeze and beauty around us.  The beach is still covered with alot of seaweed but otherwise is wide and very few people were out enjoying it as the red flags were flying because of the severe undertow. 

Lots of foam was washing up along along the front ridge of the waves leaving little piles that tended to look a bit like snow

We found a boardwalk back in among the low dunes where we could sit on a bench and just enjoy our surroundings.

Cactus like this added some color to the area as well.

We then continued on back north making another stop on Sykes Creek Parkway to find this waterway that carried my maiden name.  We were never totally successful in fully identifying which waterway it was since there were several within walking distance but it did give us a chance to discover this interesting historical marker and the cannon beside it.

And this is the waterway we finally "declared" to be the Sykes Creek

Though this could also have been it as it was right next to the Sykes Creek Parkway in a Wildlife Refuge area

We continued north a short distance to Cocoa Village where we parked and walked around checking out the shops, buildings, and park before finding a restaurant where we enjoyed lunch.  This old theater was right across the street from where we were parked.

And these murals were on the walls of the local visitor center.

This intriguing fence closed off an alley way between buildings

This bed and breakfast obviously made from an old home that probably once sat on land overlooking the Banana River.  Now a motel has been built in its backyard and it faces the water.

Down a block from this was a pretty park with views of the Banana River which is behind me when I took this picture.

Across from the park was this long building with a restaurant on the corner where we stopped for a bite to eat.

On our walk back to the car we passed an ice cream place where we stopped for a dish of the delectable stuff.  This courtyard area was kitty corner from where we were parked.  It is a quaint downtown area - fun to walk around but we weren't really interested in stopping in the shops and buying anything.

By the time we got back, people were already beginning to gather again at the Zopff's for Happy Hour.

Thanksgiving dinner - turkey and all the trimmings followed at the clubhouse nearby. Our hosts provided the turkey and dressing and the rest of us brought side dishes including a table full of desserts. 

Afterwards we had turkey races using dice to decide which ones moved forward.  Our "bookies" collected the bets and distributed the winnings.  

Wednesday morning our hosts provided a wonderful pancake casserole and sausage breakfast with real maple syrup, juice, coffee and tea.  Our meeting followed

And then we were off for a boat tour of the Banana River including going through a lock and touring the port area with its huge variety of boats, ships, and freighters, along with marinas, restaurants, and terminals and other support services.

(Two of the passengers from this cruise ship were on the boat tour with us)

Our hosts even provided a drink, pretzels and cookies for our enjoyment on the two hour ride.

And the birds provided lots of interest as well.  It is amazing how many big ones can be found along the seacoast including these white pelicans.

Happy Hour was followed by a soup and salad dinner with the hosts providing a selection of six different soups and the rest of us bringing salads and desserts.

Afterwards we shared humorous stories from our years of motorhome travel.

In the morning we gathered once more for more conversation as well as muffins, coffee and tea before going our separate ways once again.  Ken and I stayed long enough to get two loads of wash done including the bed sheets so we could again make up the bed before putting the motorhome back in storage.  All of the things we'd moved in, we bagged and put into the car so we could shift them back to the house when we returned.

Once again we were off, got back, put the motorhome to bed and moved back into the house for a week and a half before we are off again for more travel. (we'll be flying to our daughter's home in Texas for Thanksgiving week)

Off for Cocoa Beach with the MFW

Monday, November 7, 2016
The Motorhome is back out of storage.  We've attached the car, reloaded some food, clothing and other items; and after giving blood (Ken) and water aerobics (Carolyn), we were off for some more travel.

Cocoa is across the state so it took us a couple of hours to get to the JOY RV Resort where the other twenty-three RVs were already pulling in and getting settled for our four day campout.  Happy Hour started shortly after we arrived with over forty of us gathering at in the space alongside the Zopffs motorhome.  Lots of goodies filled the picnic table for our enjoyment while we caught up with each other.  Many of us haven't been together since last spring so there were many travel stories to be shared since quite a few were on caravans this summer and others of us were out seeing the countryside on our own visiting family, seeing new sites, gathering genealogical info, and generally just enjoying our mobile life style.

Following Happy Hour on Monday, ten of us drove down to Cocoa Beach for a wonderful fish dinner at Sunset Waterfront Cafe where we sat in the open area terrace that overlooked the Indian River.  It was pretty dark by the time we got there so we couldn't fully enjoy the water but we sure could enjoy our time with each other, the gorgeous weather and wonderful food.  Here we are gathered around the table.

More later

The "Official Season" Has Begun

Tuesday-Sunday, November 1-6, 2016
In our park, as in many, a full schedule of activities begins on November 1 and ends on March 31. This is when many of the residents begin to arrive who are going to spend a period of time in Florida. And they sure have been arriving in droves here at Hillcrest!!  Every time we turn around we see another vehicle arriving bringing enthusiastic residents in and others who are already here are flocking to them to give hugs and welcome backs.  The place comes alive and life moves into "very busy" mode.

We finished getting ourselves moved into the house on October 31 and moved our motorhome over to the storage area in the morning on November 1 (couldn't do it on the 31st as one of our jacks wouldn't go up- it finally budged in the morning) so the electricity could be changed over to the new residents of 92A - Glen and Lana Buchanan were due to arrive on November 2.  They were moving over one space from where they have been so they could enjoy the cement pad we put down several years ago.  All went as planned and we've already been over there for a Happy Hour gathering on the patio that now sits outside their motorhome.  It will be loved for sure this season.

Both Monday and Tuesday Emma Jean and I worked more on our sewing but also took time to do a bit of shopping together - first at the little Christian store in town that is going out of business and then at the hospice thrift shop she loves to check out.  We ended up with some nice things for gifts and she also ended up with a couple of nice shirts for Santiago's boys.  She was putting together a bag of gifts for the family to show her appreciation of their support and love.

Tuesday Bette invited me over to play hand and foot with her friends at American Condos where they live and I was back there as a sub on Friday for another round of the game though playing a different set of rules.  It is amazing the number of different rules this game seems to have acquired!!! That was proved to me on Wednesday when I joined the newly formed "girls" group of card players at Emma Jean's and once again I played hand and foot with yet another set of rules.  Our group of four includes Orrie and Donna.  We'll be meeting every Wednesday though I had to tell them I'm going to be away next week and then again at Thanksgiving.

Ken has already been busy putting up notices on the sign board at the front of the park for the various activities something he does every couple of days in order to get everything up at appropriate times.

I've already posted several things on our community bulletin board and begun rounding up workers for he upcoming park wide yard sale that Missions sponsors.  Last spring I wrote a 4 page newsletter to cover all the necessary info concerning activities offered by our board.  It has been a bit of a challenge getting the front office to distribute it to those coming in so I've delivered some to people and made sure others are aware to ask for it.

Arrangements have been made to handle the name tags that we offer at our One Stop Shopping hour at our club house.  This is where we sell all tickets, offer trips, and provide any other needed items so people aren't constantly going to a chair's home.  I'm still looking for some one who is willing to sit and take the orders that I then send off to our MFW friends John and Barbara Trent who make them and get them back to me quickly.

We attended our last Sunday service at Heritage Bible Church on Sunday taking Glen and Lana with us to experience it.  Next Sunday services will begin in our park at the clubhouse and we sing in the choir so need to change over for the "season".  Emma Jean and Dale will also make that change.  They have been such an integral part of Heritage over the summer season that the Huron family actually dedicated a song sung by the 5 girls to them and wished them farewell.  Actually we do plan on going there in two weeks after our service to participate in the Thanksgiving dinner that will follow their service.  In fact Emma Jean and I will be decorating a table on the Saturday before.