Go fetch a lemon....

Dead trees in the swamp at Lettuce Lake Park

I took my 7 minutes this morning before I got out of bed (as per speaker Barbara Williams from the Gospel service I went to last Sunday) and had a good hard think about my week.  Actually it was more like and hour and 47 minutes as I woke up at 4:30 am, because I had a morning flight and no alarm clock, only my I phone which has been know to be unreliable.  So I lay there in the dark with the french doors open listening to the sounds of a Florida dawn.  There were twigs snapping and morning doves and later the blue jays were screeching for the peanuts I've been treating them to all week. 

I am so happy that I was able to join my new daughter in law and her mum on their week away and feel so lucky that the three of us get along so well. We are all so different but complement each other so well. We did girl stuff like outlet mall shopping there we bought Asic running shoes for 60% cheaper than in Canada. And one of us may or may not have told a waiter we write a restaurant column for a blog.  We made a valiant attempt to get Steve Yserman's autograph for the Boy Child, but his assistant turned us away. We walked a few miles of beach and beach towns, we breakfasted at the Vinoy Hotel, where you can get the best Hotel breakfast with impeccable service...my favorite meal.  (see I mentioned a meal on the blog).  We had our share of laughs including a good belly laugh over dinner last night. I am so going to miss these girls/ladies.  I am so going to miss saying "Tracy.....go on outside now and pick us a lemon for our gin".  

We may not have missed the weather back home, but boy, did we miss our husbands and other kids and siblings.  We kept saying  "oh I wish so and so was here" "wouldn't so and so love this. And that's what else you do in your seven minutes, you think about the ones you wished you could have shared it with.

Tranquility

We made a trip out to the most glorious nature preserve call Lettuce Lake Park.  Miles of boardwalks through tree lined swamps full of turtles and frogs and birds.  The only sounds were birds chirping and gentle splashing.  And Mama H saying, "you can't look for nature, it has to come to you"  And baby did it come.  Luck was with us and we spotted this handsome gator soaking up the sun.  

Come to mama.....

Because we weren't planning to go alligator hunting/spotting, I left me camera behind so these pics are all courtesy of my daughter in law...pilfered from her blog Life of Three Speaking of which, on of the Life of Three girls was feature in the Huffington Post this week. earing her Banana Republic Mad Men inspired Muff.  Check it out HERE.   What you don't own a muff?  What....you don't know what a muff is?