Sunrise…

…A beautiful Easter to you…

and yours.

I love finding a great hotel…

At a good price…

This one in Tallahassee Florida fits the bill.

Try it on.

Hotel Duval

Located right downtown.

Fantastic shower!

Interesting art

wonderful food

The daughter had whole wheat french toast with berries and maple syrup

Lunch consists of farm to table fare….LOVE that

New Mexican Red Chili Enchiladas topped with Sweet Grass Dairy "Heat" cheese and a free range organic poached egg. Served with a Southwestern side salad tossed in a house made Honey-Lime Cumin Vinaigrette.

Close to Florida State University

 

Which is a beautiful place, too..

Their dining hall is beyond words….Harry Potter anyone?

The baby of the bunch will be heading here this fall…

GO ‘Noles!

~~~

Kayaking the great Lagoon…

Our beautiful corner of the earth is a paradise…

But even more so  for kayaking.

The river is so shallow that motorized boats cannot use it.

Which leaves it a quiet peaceful place to listen to the sounds of nature…

It is full of mangroves and spoil islands to explore.

And explore we did  this Mid-January… 80 degree weather.

Sorry Northerners…buts I gots to tell it like it is, no?

We were watched by pelicans and egrets and cranes as we paddled around

the islands.

One of the islands is a Pelican refuge. Home to hundreds of pelicans and their nests.

We enjoyed the company of several dolphins

that seemed to follow us for awhile…

We wandered across the channel to our own little private island

 

Maybe YOU want to come explore our corner of the world.

You won’t need your mittens.

promise.

Fall cooking…Join me…

Yep…That time of year. And while we don’t grow pumpkin and apples down here

I have enough northern roots left to want to cook with Fall.

which means I pretend 

Quintessential fall.

…Enter these two guilty characters

 

These two ought to be outlawed They are that dayum good together.

Regular Bonnie and Clyde of the salad set.

These two, and the fact that a very good friend who runs a 100 year old apple orchard in NY…who every year at this time…sends us a BIG box of straight off the tree apples. LOVE her and her apples!

Heirloom and tart, crisp and sweet

THAT is the fall I remember. Bring it ON!

SO

My cooking juices get going….on windy, salty ocean swept days.

Today we are making a Quinoa salad with apples and cranberries, toasted walnuts and gouda.

I am adding the crunch of crisp fennel….that goes SO well with apples. And peppery arugula

and red onions cooked in balsamic vinegar….Red Apple. Which I so happen to have. See Bonnie above.

I like to toast the quinoa in a dry hot pan after I have rinsed it….helps retain the crunch.

Bought some cider and a whole organic chicken…so am adding them to the party.

Hellooo  smoky warm Gouda.

I make a stuffing with dried whole grain  bread, onions, celery, diced apple …some cider…and lots of fresh sage.

Stuff the hen.

Baste with extra cider….A good friend in NYC taught me this way to cook a bird in the fall….and it is oh so perfect! And smells like fall and covered bridges and picking apples and…..

The salad is truly wonderful and would make  great vegetarian fare at your thanksgiving table…It tastes so much like thanksgiving…..I think Bonnie and Clyde add the perfect touch. You can add some of the roasted chicken to the salad for the next day. It’s THAT good!

It just doesn’t like to take pics as well as it should…

Or…is that me?

Quinoa Salad adapted from this fine recipe.
Chicken….ya gotta wing it.
Bonnie and Clyde found here

I LOVE fall….even though I have to borrow some of it.

You?

Weekend getaway??

Why not…

 

Head to  Miami Beach

and the height of South Beach art deco

for a visit to the legendary

Raleigh Hotel

It is said that Ester Williams swam here…

Of course. Makes sense…LOOK at that iconic pool!

I want some plain old black inner tubes for our pool

…remember those?

Great outdoor oasis…

throwback actually.

Maybe enjoy a dirty martini

it is the weekend for Heaven’s sake.

 

The Raleigh…

learn more here

Beat ya there…

Spring has sprung…

And the horrible little secret is…

My paper whites from Christmas are still doing their thing.

I mean, really. They aren’t dead….not completely growing either. Just at that place I love them.

weird.

In other news….I found me a HUGE dough bowl

so huge that son # 3 walked in and asked what a baby’s cradle was doing on the table. sigh.

Back to the drawing board.

A seashell full of fall…

So…we do fall a little differently around

these parts.

A’yep.

Morning respite…

These mornings…when windows and doors are thrown open

to catch the nighttime breezes

we awaken to the gentle sound of burbling water

coming from a bamboo pot fountain…it has been gently pouring water for years…

through every season.

right outside our living room window in a small courtyard that is mostly ignored

allowed to wander.

There is no pretense…no pretty…just working away. Growing at will.

The ceiling is the untrimmed fuchsia of bougainvillea

in this little unkempt corner of our home.

But on mornings like this…with a cup of coffee…and some birds singing…

and the quiet of a family sleeping in…

it is a teensy slice of heaven

Gently trickling.

A glorious Sunday to you.