Tag Archives: Florida

When Months Fly

10 Jul

VaOn the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I’m not sure where the month of June went.

Photo credit : WordPress A.I.

Last I remember, it was May and our beach vacation at Myrtle Beach was ending. We were packing our car, but not to continue with our plans to drive north into North Carolina to visit family east of Raleigh.

The previous morning we received a phone call from our daughter in Florida, that she had been to the emergency room most of the night with chest pains and other symptoms of a heart attach. Praises to God, it wasn’t a heart attack.

My husband and I decided to not make an impulsive decision about our travel plans, ontinuing as planned or change them to check on our girl. We had made plans for a family get together and our cousins were looking forward to our visit, as we were.

We prayed for guidance during the day, then in the evening we shared our thoughts and feelings. We would be driving to Florida in the morning.

We spent a week in Florida. Our daughter was ok, but feeling extremely tired. I’m fairly certain she would have skipped suppers without some help getting the meals together.

Her Rose of Sharon bushes were in full bloom while we were there. I was hoping the Amaryllis would be blooming, but it was not to be. They bloom to their own timetable.

We were able to have dinner with our friends, DiVoran and Bill during that week and a lunch with another friend. And, of course, I got to spend time with my grand dog,

Back at home, reality came swiftly. When we headed to the beach we were in the middle of our mice wars and had emptied all closets, looking for mouse signs. Now it was time to “pay the piper” and put everything back,

Photo credit : WordPress A.I.

The chaos in our bedrooms was not this bad, but when we looked at our mess, it felt like the picture!

And then the month of June happened and suddenly it is almost mid July.

Photo credit : WordPress A.I.

Does anyone remember the television soap opera that opened each episode with this

“Life sands in an hour glass, so goes the Days of our Lives?” Well I can tell you, our hour glass is on steroids.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2025 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Observations on Voting and Housing

22 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Update on voting

The voting results are in and most of the ones I voted for won. There were a few disappointments but time will tell how they all perform. Proof not promises has long been my standard. The yard with the most signs which included some I definitely did not vote for, now has a sign for my preferred candidate for president. Interesting.

I remain puzzled at the dearth of signs for local candidates. Have we become intimidated or simply lazy? It will be interesting to note the amount of signs displayed for the November 5th elections. Will the trend continue?

Destroying forests.

On another topic, housing. I would never wish to live in an apartment, much less ones like I see on the television.

Photo credit: WordPress AI

Just looking at the above picture I feel a claustrophobic affect on my breathing. Yet as I was walking our grand dog this morning my heart ached as I observed the progress being made on a new town home subdivision. So many trees simply demolished. The machines appearing to me as giant monsters.

Speaking about the grand dog, he was weird this morning. We are in Florida and it is hot. Usually he is quite happy to come inside after taking care of his business, but this morning, he was not at all interested. He sat on the hot concrete of the driveway staring at the street. No idea what that was about. Was he sensing an earthquake and wanted to be outside? That would be a first. Inside, he continues to stare outside.

Grand dog Ollie

It’s almost time for us to return to the North Carolina mountains. I look forward to the cooler weather, but will miss our friends and the sweet familiarity of our home town.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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My Brightline Train Trip-Part 3

6 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

New Years Day (1/1/2024 Continued)

Our next RideCircuit driver, for the ride back to the Brightline Station,  regaled us with the history and stories of the areas of Fort Lauderdale as we passed thru them, such as what was presently going on in the neighborhood where he lived.

Photo Credit: https://observernewspaperonline.com/2021/11/01/brightline-offers-door-to-door-transportation/

As we passed an old church building, he pointed at it and informed us that it had originally been built in 1921 as the St. Anthony’s Catholic church.  When that parish moved to a larger building in 1949, they sold the building to the Lutheran Evangelical Church and the building’s facade was moved to its present location.  The building was registered as a “Historic Landmark” by the city fathers, and sat vacant for many years.  In 2017 the building was sold to a local developer and the “Holly Blue” Restaurant & Lounge project was begun.  The restoration was finally finished in 2023, and that’s what I call a unique building transformation story.

Photo Credit: https://fortlauderdalecra.com/theabbey/FortLauderdale/neighborhood/

At one point a bunch of young kids on bicycles came riding at us, acting as if they were going to crash into us.  I grabbed the back of the seat in front of me when our driver didn’t slow down, and the cyclists peeled off around our shuttle vehicle, laughing and shouting at us.  When I asked him what that was all about, he told us about the gangs of young kids on bicycles that were stopping and terrorizing motorists in certain areas of Fort Lauderdale, causing the local law enforcement folks a lot of headaches.  He said several cyclists had deliberately run into cars, and then sued the motorists for damages (No money had been awarded to the cyclists that he knew of).

Photo Credit: https://wsvn.com/news/video-shows-dangerous-behavior-involving-bicyclists-cars-in-fort-lauderdale/

Our RideCircuit shuttle driver dropped us off right in front of the Brightline Station.  Billy and I had purchased coach tickets for our return trip, so we didn’t have access to the 1stCClass Lounge at this station.  However, we did inspect the lounge and found that it wasn’t as plush as the one in Orlando, but was still quit comfortable.

Photo Credit: https://www.roadtripsforfamilies.com/fort-lauderdale/

At first, we heard an announcement that our 3:25 train was going to be a few minutes late, but then heard the call that the train was arriving pretty much on-time.  We proceeded to the track-side waiting area, with the other passengers, and watched the train pull into the station.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

We had purchased a coach tickets for our return trip to compare 1st class seating, comfort, and amenities with that of coach.  Of course, the price was half that of 1stclass seating and that had something to do with our choice of return tickets also

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

As we boarded the coach car for our return trip, we found our reserved seats (side-by-side with no table) and discovered that coach seating was a little more crowded than 1stclass, and not as roomy as first class seating (No tables between some seats, so less legroom).

Photo Credit: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/brightline-

The train left the Fort Lauderdale station within a minute or two of our original 3:25 departure time and we were surprised to see that the car we were in was full.  Once we left the Fort Lauderdale station, Billy accessed the “Speed” and “Google Maps” apps on his iPhone so we could keep track of our progress and speed for the return trip.

Photo Credit: https://apps.apple.com/speedometer-speed-tracker

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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My Brightline Train Trip:Part 2

28 Feb

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

New Years Day (1/1/2024 Continued)

I was surprised at how quickly the passenger exchange took place at the West Palm Beach station.   Within about two minutes the train was moving again.  The train picked up speed, and before long we had passed thru Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, and Delray Beach, before arriving at the Boca Raton station.  Another quick passenger exchange took place, and we were off again.  We quickly passed thru Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, and Pompano Beach, before arriving at the Fort Lauderdale station.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/fortlauderdale/brightline/station/

Since it was New Year’s Day, and most of the museums were closed, our plan had been to visit the Museum of Discovery and Science first, and then catch an Uber to a restaurant on Los Olas Street for lunch.  Then after lunch we had planned to catch another Uber to the beach for a stroll in the sun, before returning to the Brightline Station for our 3:25 pm return train ride back to Orlando.

Photo Credit: https://onthegrid.city/museum-of-discovery-and-science

However, when we exited the Brightline Station, and were looking around for which way it was to the museum, a Brightline electric courtesy shuttle (Ridecircuit) driver across the street called us over.  She explained that as Brightline ‘Premium’ passengers she was available to take us anywhere we wanted to go within a 5-mile radius, FREE!  We were not aware of this amenity, and immediately took her up on the deal.  Since it was getting close to lunch time anyway, and the Ridecircult shuttle was right there, ready to go, we decided to change our plans and have lunch first.

Photo Credit: https://www.ridecircuit.com/fortlauderdale

Our friendly Ridecircult shuttle driver took us to Los Olas Street and showed us the “Restaurant Row” area.  We checked out the many great restaurants as we rode thru the area and asked her to drop us off at the Cuba Libre Cuben Restaurant.   

Photo Credit: https://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/in/fortlauderdale/

She gave us a phone number to call for our next FREE Ridecircult shuttle ride to the beach and she was on her way.  At the Cuba Libre Restaurant, we sat at an outdoor table where we could “people watch” and admire the many antique and luxury cars cruising up and down the crowded Los Olas Street.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The Cuba Libre Restaurant doesn’t look all that big from the Los Olas Street entrance, but it is huge inside, because it is located on a corner lot that I didn’t notice when we exited the Ridecircult shuttle out front.  I can just imagine what last night’s New Year’s Eve festive atmosphere must have been like, with a full crowd and all that great Cuban music and dancers. Just the place to be to celebrate the New Year in.            

Photo Credit: https://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/in/fortlauderdale/

However, at 11:30 am on New Year’s Day, as you can see in the photo below, there were nothing but empty tables, set for the lunch crowd, for us to choose from.  We ordered their Ropa Vieja plate (one of Billy’s favorites) served with plantains and black beans and rice.  There was enough for two, so we split that delicious meal.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that delightful meal, we called for our next Brightline FREE Ridecircult shuttle pickup for a ride to the beach.  This time the man who picked us up had a serious problem with his vehicle’s running gear (it was making a lot of noise) and said he hoped it would last until he got us to the beach.  We made it to the beach, and he dropped us off at the Cortez Street entrance to the beach, just north and across A1A from the Elbow Room.  Then he headed off to his repair station for a replacement vehicle.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The weather was warm by now, and the beach was crowded with sun-worshipers.  We were both surprised at the sight, as it had been cold enough in Orlando (this morning) that we both had left our houses with jackets on.  It is amazing how different the weather can be in just a short distance traveled south this time of year in Florida.  We walked the beach for a while and then realized that the time for our 3:25 pm Brightline train back to Orlando was getting closer, and we needed to allow time for our Brightline FREE Ridecircult shuttle to pick us up and get us back to the station. We called for a pickup and watched for him, as the traffic up and down A1A was really heavy.  Our shuttle finally arrived and the trip to the station was very interesting.

Photo Credit: https://www.ridecircuit.com/fortlauderdale

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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2022 Road Trip-Part 18B

22 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 18 Continued (6/2/2022)

Leaving Wildwood, I headed south 20 miles on I-75 to look for the Fort Armstrong Historical Monument located in Bushnell, FL.  This Florida monument describes the 1836 Battle of The Wahoo Swamp during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842).  General Richard Call lost his command because of the disastrous defeat his 2500 soldiers suffered during that battle.  It also tells that later that year, Fort Armstrong was built by Major Robert Armstrong and his men to protect against the Seminole attacks on the Fort King Trail.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was less than 10 miles south on I-75 to where I found the Richloam General Store & Post Office located near Webster, FL.  This former old 1921 Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) Depot was the first depot in Richloam and Postmaster, Lucius S. Brinson, moved the Riverland Post Office to this building in 1922.  Soon after that Brinson opened and began operating a general store in the building, and it remained in operation until 1936.  The building was used as a private home until the 1950s, after which it stayed vacant until 1973, when Brinson’s son, John, renovated the building, and reopened it as the Richloam General Store & Post Office.  This building is the last remaining structure from the Richloam Community.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed south five miles on SR-421 to Linden, FL where I turned east 10 miles on SR-50 looking for the Paradise Airsports field located in Groveland, FL.  This small grass field caters to Ultralight aircraft and has a flight school in one of the ‘open-ended’ hangers there at the field.  I stopped long enough to watch a couple of colorful Ultralights take off and fly around.  I had always wanted to own an Ultralight, but never had the money or time to spare to get into the sport.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was another 15 miles east on SR-50 to where I visited the Central Florida Railroad Museum located in downtown Winter Garden, FL.  This small museum is situated in the old restored 1913 Tavares & Gulf (T&G) Railway depot that replaced the original 1899 station there in Winter Garden.  This museum is filled with antique railroad artifacts, photos, and memorabilia relating to the history of the railroad’s influence on the city of Winter Garden and the surrounding Orange County area from the late 1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Leaving Winter Garden, I continued another 15 miles east on SR-50 to visit the Orlando Science Center located in the Loch Haven Park area of Orlando, FL.  This large privately owned museum has four floors filled with exciting exhibits, giant screen movies, interactive programs, the Dr. Phillips ‘Cinedome’ and more.  The lobby was overrun with kids, so I opted not to go thru the museum today.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

I looked for the Orlando Fire Museum reported to be located there in the Lock Haven Park, but neither Greta (My Garmin) or I could find it anywhere.  I circled the park twice and never saw it.  So, I continued east for the last 35 miles of this trip on SR-50, which took me back to my home in Titusville, FL from where I started 18 days ago.  Boy, was I glad to be home.  My lovely wife, DiVoran, had cooked a delicious meal for my homecoming, and we enjoyed it together, on our screened-in back porch, over lots of conversation about what we both had been doing for the last two weeks.  Tonight, I get to sleep in my own bed which I have sorely missed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

This brings to a close my 2022 Road Trip.  I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I have enjoyed remembering and writing about them.  Join me again next time as I explore new areas of our wonderful country and visit new historical places and museums.  Keep your eyes on the road and drive safely.

Photo Credit: https://www.clipartmax.com/cartoon-driver-waving/

—–The End—-

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Ian is a Turtle that Keeps on Going

29 Sep

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Thankful we made it through Hurricane Ian with no loss of electricity.

We are at our daughter’s house and she has inherited the title, Head of Hurricane Preparedness. My mother was the first leader, then the post was passed on to me. I am very happy to have abdicated the job. She is much better at it than I was.

She scours mark down deals in the off season to augment her preparedness stash-battery operated fans, lanterns and a slew of candles. She also filled multiple containers with water. If only she could find a battery operated room air-conditioner! Of course it would have to be on clearance.

It wasn’t intentional…really it wasn’t, but she also is the one who stays awake and alert. To my amazement, since abdicating, I have discovered that I can sleep through a storm. I woke several times last night to make sure my fan was still running. Didn’t even occur to me that it was the weather waking me up. In case you are wondering why my husband isn’t the one to stay awake and alert, the man has always been able to sleep soundly through a storm. But oddly enough, most nights he sleeps poorly. Hmmm…maybe I need to get him a white noise machine of hurricane winds and rain.

As Hurricane Ian downgraded to a tropical storm, it shifted and the eye passed over us. I slept through it. We are still having wind gusts and rain showers and the public is being advised to stay inside. Ian is still a turtle!

The news on our south west coast is not good. Lots of damage from winds and rising water. I haven’t been able to locate actual numbers on loss of life. A lot of speculation going on but each life is precious and even one is tragic. Please remember these people in your prayers as well as those who are actively rescuing people from rising waters. Central Florida is going to experience serious flooding along rivers.

Hurricane Ian is heading north and probably west. It is a headstrong storm, In fact, the breaking news forecast now is that just off our coast, it is recreating itself into a Category 1 hurricane and make landfall at Charleston, South Carolina. I guess that is why the wind here is picking up again. If you are anywhere near the track, don’t ignore it!

Be safe

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I Love Carpet-Part 4

31 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

continued

From Heidelberg, we moved to Virginia.  We purchased our second house,

Our Virginia House

which had loose-laid carpets in all the bedrooms, living room (now I was glad we didn’t have that rust carpet with us!), dining room and family room.  The padding wasn’t too good, so we upgraded that in later years, to find that the carpets were quite good quality, and were going to last a good long time with new padding.  They were all a light tan color, and went well with all our furniture.

1991 – our grandson taking the taste test of a new toy this shows the light tan/cream carpet

We later purchased some very pretty, very thick carpet to replace what was in the family room.  All the floors in this house were wood.  The kitchen had rolled vinyl.  I purchased bathroom carpet for our master bathroom in dark brown, and gold for the second bathroom upstairs.  For the bathroom downstairs, I just had bath mats.

After living there for nearly 13 years, we decided to move to Florida.  Both our girls were married by this time and out of our house.  We purchased a new house in Kissimmee, which is essentially a suburb of Orlando. 

There was either carpet or vinyl throughout the house, so we didn’t need to purchase any new carpets, thank goodness.

Looking from the kitchen into the family room – carpet and vinyl flooring

We lived in that house for three-and-one-half years before selling it and moving to Orlando proper.

This house that we live in now, has carpet in the living/dining room, and all three bedrooms.  Other than that, all the floors are ceramic tile.  We did purchase a loose-laid rug for the family room, just to make it a bit more comfortable.

 the rug we purchased

The bathrooms only have throw rugs or bath mats.  I did have a throw rug for the entry/laundry room, but recently I tripped on it and fell hard on that ceramic tile.  So it’s out the door!

Well….that’s my saga about carpet.  I still love to walk barefoot through the carpets in our house.  And when we go to Titusville to visit my brother Bill and his delightful wife DiVoran, I luxuriate my feet in the carpet in their living room.  It’s a gorgeous dusty rose, and feels so good on my toes! 

As you can see from this series, I take my shoes off as often as I can!

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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12 Months in Florida

13 Jun

My Take

DiVoran Lites

On the first of January, the New Year begins. 

She makes resolutions and repents of her sins.

On the first of February, the cardinal sings

And flashes to his mate on crimson wings.

On the first of March, she goes wild for seeds

And tries to think what a farmer needs.

On the first of April, she tells fool jokes,

 But they’re never are funny as other folks’

On the first of May, she declares it’s summer! 

Not always, though, and that’s a bummer.

On the first of June, she forgets her plants

And they are eaten by tiny ants.

On the first of July, she’s ready for joy 

Coming to visit: grandgirl and grandboy!

On the first of August, she’s sweltering hot

And wants to go back to a cooler spot.

On the first of September, pampas grass blooms

Down the hill from the school, a bicycle zooms. 

On the first of October, she celebrates age

A birthday is coming, so now turn the page.

On the first of November, she thinks about gifts

She goes to the church, and her loving heart lifts.

On the first of December, she turns on the songs

And listens to Christmas because it belongs.

Pictures by Pixabay

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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Moving On…Almost on Schedule

14 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our target date for our annual migration from Florida to North Carolina was April 4th. Our actual leaving date was April 6th. A two day delay is almost a record for us as we seldom leave on the planned date.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

We managed this even with two surgeries and an emergency hospital admission for my husband. We did have to promise to return in June for medical follow ups.

Saturday, April 2nd was the annual Fox Lake Spring Craft Fair. For our area it is a pretty big event and our daughter had secured a table to sell books. Of course, I wanted to remain in Florida for that! The weather forecast was almost 100% rain and even though her table was under a large pavilion, a day of wind and rain didn’t sound good for sales. Regardless, the event was on and we went early to set up. Fortunately, there was an overseer making sure everyone was in the correct spot.

Our set up was simple. A table cloth, banner and books. I enjoyed watching the other vendors set up. It was obvious they were well acquainted with craft fairs. Most had help but the vendor next to us set up her whole table alone and did a great job. One thing I will say though, books are heavy, even with a hand cart.

Vendors spaces were not limited to the pavilion. There were a lot of vendors on the outside. I didn’t realize how many until we were leaving for the day. I was too tired to take pictures of them. I did snap these pictures early in the day of a few vendors set up close to the entrance of the pavilion.

Besides my daughter there was another local author there, Jay Heavner. I bought two of his books a few years ago and was hoping he would be there. He writes murder mystery novels set in our county. When people stopped at our table we would ask what type of books they enjoyed. If the answer was murder or mystery, we told them there was an author in the far corner with just what they were looking for. On a side note, since people are moving to Florida in record numbers, his books give a local’s perspective of Florida. Check him out.

I walked around looking at the different crafts for sale. Man, there are some talented people in the area! I was drawn to two of my favorite things, quilts and wreaths.

A man stopped by our table carrying what looked like twisted wire. And that is exactly what it was. Twisted aluminum wire made into art by a retired electrician. Our cousin, Roger, is a retired electrician and I promptly took a picture and emailed it to him with the text, you can do this!

As the day progressed we kept checking our phones for the hourly rain forecast. Little by little the expected rain time pushed further out. With each delay we said, “thank you, Jesus.” The event was supposed to end at 4 pm. Around 2:30 the skies took on a threatening locker and some vendors began packing up. At 3 pm, we decided to pack away most of the books and leave one or two of each title on the table. We were making ready for a quick departure. Hauling books in the rain would not be fun. My daughter scoped out the vendor parking field and found an empty space next to the paved road. I don’t know how she did it, but she maneuvered her car into the space. When we decided to pack and run, we wouldn’t have to pull the cart in mud.

Being in the pavilion recalled to mind memories of church picnics there as well as the year the high school Band Parents association ran the kitchen for the MacDonnell Douglas company picnic. It was a hot, hard work, fund raiser, but when you have kids, you do these things. It was mind boggling that 32 years had passed since then.

The crowd, which had been quite heavy began to dwindle as the clouds became heavy and dark. We decided it was time to go. We almost made it home when the skies delivered the promised rain. Once home, we left the books in the car and made a dash for the house. We were tired, hungry and happy that the day went well.

The following day, my husband and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary. We are blessed. And now we are settling into our home in the North Carolina mountains. The hummingbirds arrived two days ago and unfortunately a bear did too. My neighbor captured a photo on his game camera of one a bear sniffing around their children’s trampoline. The neighborhood is hoping that if we all bring in our bird feeders at night the bear will move on. It’s kind of creepy seeing a bear on the porch like we did last year. He made multiple visits.

The following day, my husband and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary. We are blessed. And now we are settling into our home in the North Carolina mountains. The hummingbirds arrived two days ago and unfortunately a bear did too. My neighbor captured a photo on his game camera of one a bear sniffing around their children’s trampoline. The neighborhood is hoping that if we all bring in our bird feeders at night the bear will move on. It’s kind of creepy seeing a bear on the porch like we did last year. He made multiple visits.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2022 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Our Trip to Spain-Prolog

9 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when terror struck the United States on September 11, 2001?  I’m sure you do.  That’s not the kind of event a person easily forgets.  As it happened, my wife, Divoran and I were in the middle of a wonderful family get-together at one of our favorite places in Central Florida; DeLeon Springs State Park. 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Our family had been visiting the campground since the late 1960s, before it was a state park.  We loved camping there and knew the original owners well.  One of the unique things about this campground was its rustic Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant, where you can cook your own breakfast on the hot-plate in the middle of your table.  This particular day our son, and his family, as well as our daughter, and her husband had joined us for a special family breakfast together.

Photo Credit: https://www.floridarambler.com/ponce-de-leon-state-park/

We could not have been having a more wonderful family time, when the terrible news came filtering into the restaurant over the airways.  I remember how deathly quiet it became, as all the airplanes in this country were grounded.   You might remember how everything seemed to be on hold, as if the country was holding its breath, to see what would happen next.  We finished our breakfast in stunned silence, not really able to grasp the enormity of the attack.  It wasn’t until we got home, later that day, that we were able to see the news reports of just what all had happened.  It was only then that we began to understand how devastating the event had been, and finally the impact began to sink in.  We could have never understood, at the time, just how much this event would change our lives, and the lives of most people the world over, forever.

Photo Credit: https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2001-sep-11-attack/

—–To Be Continued—–

Did you know that Bill and his wife DiVoran loved DeLeon Springs so much that DiVoran wrote a trilogy set there-Onisha

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 64 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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