Friday Foto Friends~A "Wild" Lunch

Well, I promised you lots of pictures today from our "Wild Lunch" yesterday with fellow blogging friend Barbara and her hubby Gary from My Journal Memories.  

We met at noon at The Yearling Restaurant in Cross Creek, FL.  You can click on the link below for more information about the restaurant.

Internet Photo of the Yearling Restaurant

The Yearling Restaurant

Here's our friend Barbara and hubby Gary now! This is not our first meeting. We have been blessed with their friendship for several years now, and since they only live about an hour away from us, we have enjoyed getting together for lunch on several occasions! 

Here I am with my hubby as well.  Barbara and I both lamented later that we forgot to ask our server to take a picture of all of us together...but you can trust us...we were truly there together, sitting across the table from one another. Barbara will be posting her own photos of this occasion soon on her own blog. We may have many of the same blogging friends, but we also have others who do not know one or the other of us, so who knows? We may make some new friends out of this connection! That would be fine with me! Any friend of Barbara's is surely a friend of mine!

Before I get into why I called this a "A Wild Lunch", let me just get our foodie pictures out of the way first!

Because this is a truly old Florida country establishment, to me it was only fitting to have something to eat a little more in keeping with the locality...I could've had some of their "Cross Creek Traditions" menu items (click on the link for the menu), such as frog legs, free range venison, or Florida Gator Tail, but I chose something a little less exotic as in the fried catfish sandwich. That was "wild" enough for me, and it was very delicious, along with some cole slaw on the side.

And after we finished our entree's the server asked if we'd like dessert, and Barbara and I both decided we would like to share their house specialty of "Sour Orange Pie".  She brought us a plate with a large piece divided in two so that we could both enjoy it together. The guys weren't interested in dessert, although I think Gary did sample a bit of Barbara's. I have attached a link to a recipe for Sour Orange Pie below. And yes, it is made with true Florida Sour Oranges, which I call "wild oranges"...and you can read more about that in the link below.

Link to a Recipe for Sour Orange Pie

It was good, if you like a tart fruity kind of pie...similar to a Key Lime Pie with an orange flavor. I think I would've liked it better without the drizzle of chocolate and maybe with a whipped cream topping to help soften the tartness. But it was good and fun to try something different!

Now for the "wild part".  I don't know if you are familiar with the story, "Cross Creek", written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings...or perhaps you saw the movie "The Yearling", which she also wrote. Well, if you know anything about those stories, you will know that they take place in a very rustic and wild time of old Florida history, and "The Yearling Restaurant", located in Cross Creek and right down the road from The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park (see links down below), gives us a "taste" of that old Florida era and culture...back when this part of  Florida was still largely uncivilized in the ways we know it now...and the people of that area were mostly known as the poor and wild country "Florida Cracker"...(click on that link for more information).

You can read more about the book "The Yearling", HERE

And this link goes to information about the movie by the same name, starring Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman, and which was filmed not too far away in the Ocala National Forest, which is not far from where we used to live in Salt Springs.

This 13 foot alligator was caught in one of the lakes in the area...

I'm glad I wasn't in the same water when he was there...although, if you get into any lake in Florida, there's a pretty good possibility there could be another one just like him...so beware!

These are just some of the taxidermied animals that are on display throughout the restaurant...there's so much more than what I am sharing!

These animals are all typical of what could be found in and around Cross Creek and still can be found in parts of the Ocala National Forest today...

This is a painting...

You'd have to read the books Cross Creek and The Yearling to get a full appreciation for these displays.

Another feature of the restaurant are books lining almost every wall in every dining room area...and they are for sale. I wish I'd had more time to look them over!

This otter was having a nice time in the old fishing boat: 

We had fun looking at this old telephone operator's switchboard...Somehow I can't imagine how they ever figured that out!  "Number Please?"  My, how times have changed! 

For the Coca-Cola fans...

There was so much more to see, but I need to stop somewhere! It was truly a fun place to visit and to dine with our good friends.  I am looking forward to going again sometime perhaps with our family. It's only about a half hour away from our house! I never realized it was so close!

I never realized that the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park was just right down the road from there.  We have been there before and have taken the tour of the house and grounds. It is also very interesting and fun to see.


Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home~Internet Photo
Here is a link to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park.


After I came back home I found my copy of the book "Cross Creek".  Here are some pictures of the book jacket, which is in a rather fragile condition, so I don't keep it wrapped around the book...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this "Wild Lunch" today.  I'm so glad Barbara thought of it and invited us to join them there! We had a great time!!!  

Wednesday Blessings!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope your day has been extra special for you! I know mine has...and here's one of the reasons why:

This smiling group of people you may recognize, at least some of them...yes, we are blogging friends and we brought along some of our favorite subjects for our blogs...hubbies!

Left to right there is Mari Bruins, a.k.a. My Little Corner of the World and her hubby Bob, who traveled all the way from western Michigan to visit Your Friend From Florida, Terri D'Orsaneo, and she instigated this little get together with your's truly and my hubby John on the back row, and we met up at the Cracker Barrel in Ocala with Barbara Mims and her hubby Gary, a.k.a. Journal Memories.  We had such a great visit!  One thing I have discovered since joining this "blogging family", is that bloggers are a wonderful group of people to know!  It sure would be fun to meet ALL of you someday too!!   Thank you. Terri, for being the one with the true gift of hospitality to help bring us all together! What a blessing!!  Oh, and speaking of blessings... Mari brought us each a jar of these wonderful "Cherry Berry" Jam preserves, straight from her part of western Michigan, where the best kind of tart cherries are grown...the kind that make the best cherry pies.  I can't wait to try this on a fresh hot biscuit!  Thank you, Mari!!!

Today is another special day, because it is also the birthday of our "baby" son, Scott! However, because he is working and living a couple of hours away, we will not be celebrating together until Sunday afternoon.  Still, we called and sang Happy Birthday to  him this morning before he went to work.  I just can't believe my "baby" is 49 years old already!!!

Speaking of "babies"...our current "baby" Blackie was helping me in my office/Room with a View" early this morning...He likes to check out the waste basket to see if I threw anything important away...

I think he was actually trying to climb inside and sit a while, but he soon gave up and moved on to other things. It really is a lot like having a toddler in the house again...gotta watch every move they make! LOL.

Speaking of "children", here's my "Big Baby Boy"...the oldest, a.k.a Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop...

and these are two of the planters he has made for me to grow my new vegetable garden.  I will use these for the zucchini and yellow (summer) squash plants.  He's still making one for my tomato plants.

He also picked up some dirt for me so I can get started...but since we were busy today in addition to the fact that there was a frost this morning, I decided to wait until possibly tomorrow afternoon to do the planting. I have an my annual eye appointment in the morning, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Meanwhile, I have all these things growing in my kitchen that need to get planted before they get too big!

Meanwhile,  I took these pictures Sunday morning next to our church parking lot. The purple wisteria vine is growing profusely and blooming beautifully, although I think it might even do better if it had been pruned a bit before it started blooming. Still, it is quite lovely,  and I will close this post with these thoughts tonight from John's Gospel:

John 15:1-10

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 

8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Amen.

Good Night my friends! I hope you have a blessed and glorious rest of your week.

 

Tuesday 4~ We've Got Questions

We've Got Questions

 Welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. It's nice to have you take part.

Here are some questions for you.....

1. Where did your mother and father grow up?
My Father grew up in Crafton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Here is a link to some fun stories I wrote about where he grew up. My mother grew up mostly in Ohio, but also lived in Maryland for a short while when she was young. HERE is a link to some stories about my mother and her family.

2. Where did you grow up? 

I was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania and lived there on a farm until I was almost six years old, (and farming became too expensive  unless you had partners or government assistance and my father didn't want to go that route) but we moved to Tavares, Florida when I was in 1st grade. I lived there until I was married. HERE is a link to a post about my hometown. (where I grew up).

3. What was your favorite meal your mother made? What is your favorite recipe to make?

Gosh, I can't remember, there were so many good things my mother made. I don't know how she cooked so many wonderful meals and worked a full time job. I'm remembering her Salisbury Steaks and gravy, Mashed potatoes, and probably green peas.   

I actually just made the same thing the other day, except for the peas...we had green beans as hubby is not particularly fond of green peas, but he LOVES Salisbury steaks.  To make them I use ground chuck, and mix it up much like I would for a meatloaf...add chopped onions, bread crumbs, egg, and a little bit of ketchup and mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Make them into patties and brown them good on each side, drain off the grease, then add water and cover and simmer until they are done. Then make gravy with the water that they have been cooking in. They are SO good! 

 

Here's Mom cooking in her kitchen...

 She probably just got home from work...note she is wearing a dress with an apron and still has her earrings on, which she didn't ordinarily wear at home. LOL.

And she had to feed a family of six hungry people...two big teenage boys who were football players, my dad who worked hard all day at the post office, and my sister and I who were growing girls.  Here's a picture of us kids not long after we moved to that house:

4. What are the advantages you enjoy where you live?

Where we live now? Well, let's see...it's not far from our local small town and grocery store, doctor, church, Dollar General, gas stations, etc.  And the closest bigger city is only 15 miles, where there is a Walmart, small hospital, and many other stores and restaurants, etc.    It is still a "small city", and we don't have to fight traffic to get there.  Where we live is semi-rural, and even though it isn't fancy, it's  friendly and convenient.  We are very thankful for our home and community. And our kids live nearby. You can't beat that!

So now, why don't you tell us all about you?  You can join in the fun HERE

(Writing this on Monday afternoon) Oh, one last thing...Thank you all on your comments on my Sunday post! Some of you asked how Blackie did in the new kennel/crate last night. 

Well, MUCH better! We brought him inside around 10:00 p.m., when we were going to bed. I put him inside the crate and tossed a couple of treats in there and shut the door and he didn't object one bit. I will admit that I probably did not sleep as well as he did, as I had one ear on the door of our room trying to hear if he was making any noise out there, and a couple of times I tiptoed out to where I could peek at him without him seeing me, and he was perfectly peaceful.  I ended up getting up around 5:00 a.m. and let him out and fed him, and then I encouraged him to go outside to go potty, but he really didn't want to go out in the 30 degree weather, and the porch actually was icy from the rain we had the day before.  Finally he stayed out for a little while, but was right back at the door wanting to come inside, so we brought him in and let him wander around the house for a while.  He discovered this box and promptly jumped right in and twisted and turned about in it for a few minutes and then jumped back out and went and tried to make the back of our couch a scratching post, so that was that and outside he went!

 By then the sun was up and it wasn't too bad, but the pond looked like this:

Yes, that is frost. I also did see a few tiny snowflakes swirling in the light on the porch while it was still dark outside. I know the northernmost part of Florida did get snow yesterday, but we really weren't supposed to,  however, I know what I saw! It was snow! Frost doesn't come down in flakes and swirl around!

So all in all it was a good night, and he may have to come back in tonight too because of the freezing temps.  I'm glad we have this option and it helps my conscience knowing he's not outside freezing!

One more thing, in my last post I told you about our visit with blogging friend Terri. She posted her version of our visit HERE today, if you want to check it out!  It sure is fun to meet up with our blogging friends in person, and I wish we could ALL do that someday!! Wouldn't that be wonderful?  It would take some doing to make it happen, but it sure would be fun!  

Okay, I think that's all for now. This post will go live Tuesday morning, but we will be traveling to Gainesville for an important doctor appointment for my hubby, so I won't be around all day to visit. I'll try to catch up with everyone hopefully Wednesday.  Blessings to all!!!

Some words from God's Word to ponder:

Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

That definitely gives us some "food for thought".   Amen.

P.S. Tuesday morning 5:51 a.m., I had some "help" with posting this blog this morning:

Yes, that's Blackie, and yes, he spent the night indoors again last night and did very well. Never heard a peep out of him, but he was sure happy to see me come let him out of that crate this morning!

And for those of you who may not remember or weren't here with me then, that "clipped ear" you see is from when he went to be neutered. Because he went to a special program for neutering and spaying "feral" or stray outdoor cats, they clipped his ear to show that he has been neutered.  Although I'm not crazy about it, it does give him a special extra "charm".  

Okay, time to get this thing published so I can go on about my duties today. We will be on the road in a couple of hours to drive an hour away for a medical appointment for hubby. TTYL.

Sunday Thoughts

These are some good thoughts to ponder in light of all the turmoil in our world today:

Psalm 103:19 NKJV

19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,

And His kingdom rules over all.

Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV

"16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 

All things were created through Him and for Him. 

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."

Isaiah 45:7-8 NKJV

"7 I form the light and create darkness,

I make peace and create calamity;

I, the Lord, do all these things.’

8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,

And let righteousness spring up together.

I, the Lord, have created it."

Psalm 46 NKJV

"1 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

11 The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah"

Psalm 121 KJV

"1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, 

and even for evermore."

Knowing this Great God of Israel, "The Lord of Hosts is with us", I do not need to fear whatever this world may throw at me. I just need to remember to "Be still, and KNOW that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I wll be exalted in the earth!"    God is in control...no matter what!  

And that gives me great peace of mind as I go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning. "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."  There can be NO better help than that, not from any army or government or person or thing. Praise God! Amen. 

Switching Gears now...I know some of you are waiting to hear about our visit on Saturday with "Your Friend From Florida", Terri D.   Well, I was kind of waiting for Terri to share her pictures first, but I think she's waiting until tomorrow, and I didn't want to steal her thunder...but maybe I'll just share a couple of pictures...

Of course Terri wanted to see Blackie, who is quite the celebrity these days...so here we are...oops! Our eyes are closed! But not Blackie's.  And he's loving that chin rub from Terri!

I think Terri may have a better picture of this because hubby took these pictures first on my camera and then on hers. So I hope hers are a little better! We'll have to wait and see!

Here we are on the front porch, with the flag waving in the breeze.

And here's my sweet son Benton washing the dishes for us so we could visit! (I don't have a dishwasher, but I have great kids!)  He came and had lunch with us, but sweet Rose had to work so we missed her.  Benton volunteered to wash the dishes so I had to take his picture and share it with Rose!

We had a great visit and and I was so happy that Terri was able to swing this way on her way back home from her whirlwind trip to Georgia to visit her family.  I will let her tell the rest and share her pictures in her post tomorrow!

Thank you all for your kind words of compassion regarding the crazy calamity of our poor kitty getting trapped in that "tent". 
Needless to say,  that "tent" will be going back to Walmart probably tomorrow. In the meantime, I ordered something else online and it was delivered yesterday afternoon:

Since we have more cold weather on tap for tonight, I wanted to have another option available for Blackie if we can get him to go in there...well, lookie here:

I let him come in the house and walk around for a while and he went right inside this with no problem. However, I haven't tried to shut the door on it with him in there yet. We will see what develops  later.

So stay tuned for further developments!

I hope wherever you are you are safe and warm and cozy!  I know some folks in the panhandle of Florida and southern Georgia have had some snow today! We had about a quarter of an inch of rain this morning and the current temperature is 46. It was a raw, damp, windy day. It's supposed to be down to freezing by morning, so that's why the need for the indoor crate for Blackie.  

Okay, that's all folks! 

Have a blessed and peaceful night!  

And remember:

"2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber."

Amen.