Food and Wine Festival

Today, Doug and I got up early and headed to Epcot to meet Meg and Nick for an afternoon at the Food and Wine festival. It had just opened on Friday, and I was a little worried about crowds.  The heat must have scared some people off because it was definitely a lot easier to get through the countries than I thought it would be.  

We started at the booths near Test Track and then walked through each country sampling food, trying a specialty drink, reading menus and doing a little shopping. It was a lot of fun. The heat made it challenging to try very many hot foods, but I definitely enjoyed the buffalo chicken wings with dill ranch, and the bourbon chocolate cake in the United States.  

Nick had spent most of his summer in the Midwest training for his new position, so he felt the heat a little stronger than the rest of us that had been in Florida the past couple of months. Thankfully, I had a microfiber towel that he could use to cool off. We also decided the best way to beat the heat was to take a ride on Soarin’ and we all enjoyed a trip over the United States in the air conditioning.  

Meg and Nick had planned on going to Disney Springs after we finished at Epcot, but the weather changed their mind. Instead, they headed back to Baldwin Park to cool off before going out tonight. Doug and I knew that the afternoon in the sun trying some of our favorite foods was about all we could handle. We had a great time hanging out with Meg and Nick and loved the festival but knew we needed to head back home. It was a quiet night in Ocala, but that was exactly what we needed after such a wonderful day

Lions, Tigers, and Pigs, Oh My!

A couple of days ago, Cal texted out in the family group chat asking Brett and Karen if they had seen any lions yet. None of us really knew what he was talking about until Gabrielle let Meg know that the story Cal attached to his question was actually real. According to news reports, someone had spotted two lions roaming around loose in a county next to hers. Supposedly, they were someone’s pets, which led all of us to wonder why someone would have lions as pets. Then Meg reminded everyone that it was Indiana, so it seemed to make sense after that. She went on to say that at least in Florida neighbors would know the lion and have seen him at Publix with his owner, so when they went missing everyone would know exactly whose they were. After some of the things I have seen in Florida, I could not argue with that.

All joking aside, it was a little scary for a couple of days until the police finally announced that the search was over. There actually never were any lions on the loose. Someone had mistaken wild hogs for a female lion and her cub. That made the story even funnier. Thankfully, no one was hurt by the lions or wild hogs and instead we all had a lot of fun at the Hoosier state’s expense.

American Martyr

 Last night, I went to see the movie American Martyr The Stanley Rother Story with my friends Barbara and Robbi.  I didn't know anything about Father Stanley before I saw the movie and was very excited to see it.  There were only the three of us in the theaternfor quite a while and we thought that we might have a private screening of the film.  Before it began, however, three more people arrived.

The movie was narrated by Martin Sheen who gave an overview of Father Stanely's life in Oklahoma, his time at the seminary and most importantly his work in Guatemala with the indigenous people of the Central American country.  His call to serve was very moving and his mission was inspiring.  He not only brought Catholicism to the people of the country but also taught them to farm which fed the impoverished area and helped the local economy.  Their love for Father Stanley was apparent on their faces as they talked about him and by their continued work in his name.  

The ending was very tough.  Father Stanley returned to Oklahoma during the Guatemalan Civil War as he knew many priests that had been murdered by the Guerrilla Army.  Even though he was glad to be with his family, he felt God calling him back to the country that he had been serving in for thirteen years.   He arrived in time for the Easter celebration knowing he was a marked man.  He continued to serve his people until July of that same year when he was killed by masked gunman.  The film was incredibly tragic, but awe inspiring at the same time.  It was all that I thought about today and I felt incredibly blessed to have seen it.  

Losing Two Icons

Yesterday, we received some shocking celebrity news - Dolly Parton had passed away.  I was completely surprised as I didn't even realize that she had been sick.  I spent most of the day thinking about what an icon she really was and how much she had been a part of my childhood.  My earliest memories of her were on the show Hee-Haw.  I loved her wit and her ability to poke fun at herself.  Her songs were always beautifully written, and the movie 9 to 5 wouldn't have been half as funny had she not been in it.  Above all of these things, I admired Dolly the most for her philanthropy work and her positive attitude.  She was everything that I thought a famous person should be.  I read a post later in the day that summed up my thoughts exactly - "I didn't even know it was possible for Dolly Parton to die."  Somehow, I thought she was beyond the frailties of this life as well.

Meg was by far the saddest in our family upon hearing the news.  She thought Dolly was wonderful.  She had her book, listened to her music, loved that she sang with Sabrina Carpenter recently and even bought her greatest hits on vinyl not too long ago.  Thus, when Karen sent something out in the group chat about Dolly's death, Meg reminded her to make sure that she was respectful in her text.  

Somehow Cal decided that it would be the perfect time to send an extremely long text to the group chat to let Meg know how bad he felt for her starting off with "Meg, my dearest sister, I am writing to you today with an extraordinarily heavy heart, as I know there are simply no words adequate enough to capture the unimaginable grief . . ."  which led to quite a few replies in the group chat some defending Meg and others laughing at Cal's message.  It did end when I sent these screenshots reminding everyone that I was glad that the rest of world understands how devasting this loss was unlike the women haters in our family group chat.  That quieted everyone for a little while and I spent the rest of the evening listening to Meg talk about what haters her brothers were.  I told her that I was a little nervous for Cal now.  Since he had made light of one of her favorite celebrities dying, maybe he should worry about Shaq or Tiger next as karma can be tough.

We didn't have to wait to find out who the next celebrity death would be as Brett sent a message at noon today to let everyone know that Tim Curry had passed away.  I was surprised at this news as well, but he had been sick for quite some time and was older than I would have thought.  Either way, it was hard to believe that two icons had died so close to each other.  It was also amazing to me that one was Meg's favorite and the other was Brett's.  Fortunately, Shaq and Tiger made it through the day, and we all got a little bit of a laugh when Meg retexted Cal's "sympathy" message to her and just changed her name to Brett's.  I think after all of this, everyone should watch 9 to 5 or Clue in their honor.  

Rain Storm to Beat All Rain Storms

We have had more rain in the past week, then I think we have had all summer. I am not sure if it is from the tropical storms moving in or just normal August in Florida. Whatever it is, it’s definitely been unbelievable. Today, we had to have the rainstorm to beat all rainstorms. Doug was driving home and I was going to run out and get something for dinner when the rain started. I called him and said that I would wait until a little bit later, but the rain never let up for the next two hours. Fortunately, Doug did not have to drive in it.  Once he got home, he could understand why I said that it was one of the worst storms that I had ever seen. 

At first, I really just thought it was the lightning and thunder that was the problem. It was so loud it felt like it shook the house. Our internet and electricity went down for a while but fortunately came back on relatively soon. Just before Doug arrived, I walked outside to see if it had let up at all. I was glad to see that it was just sprinkling but was absolutely shocked when I looked into the ravine at the side of my house. It was completely full of water and flowing like a creek. In the four years that we have owned this house, we have never had water in our yard, let alone a river of it.  I was nervous at first that it would cause damage, but thankfully, within an hour it had subsided. It left behind some of the most interesting marks I had ever seen after a storm.  It almost looked like aliens had landed and made a path through our yard. 

Thankfully, that was not the case, and by the time we finished dinner, I felt a lot better about the situation. I checked the rain gauge before we went to bed. It held 7 inches of rain. That was by far the most rain that we have ever gotten in a two-hour period of time. Hopefully, tomorrow everything will dry out, but if we not, at least my plants and grass are enjoying this very soggy August.

Let’s Be Honest, I Really Don’t Care

 I cannot tell you how many people in the Midwest have said to me, "I could never live in Florida."  There's always a different reason such as "because it's too hot," "because I like having four seasons", "because everyone is a MAGA" just to name a few.  It is not only family and friends who have made these comments to me.  Complete strangers have said many negative remarks once they find out where we live.  

Personally, I will never understand how people do not realize that it is extremely rude to criticize where someone lives or their choice to move to south.  I don't like to give unsolicited advice ever, but these comments go beyond even that.  There is no way that I would say something that might hurt someone's feelings or placed judgement on them.  Since it happens to me a lot, I have started to wonder what would happen if I responded honestly to the naysayers with these rebuttals - "Great, we don't want you in Florida." or "Wow, thanks for letting me know.  I'll list my house right now." or "You are right, I would much rather live somewhere that gets 10 inches of snow with ice covered roads and zero-degree temperatures."  Of course, I never say those things.  I just smile and listen knowing the response that always pops in my head during these conversations is "Let's be honest, I really don't care."  

The nice part about all of this is that Doug and I have been very happy in Ocala, especially this past year.  We enjoy being close to Meg and taking monthly trips to Disney World.  Yes, the summers are hot, but once Doug retires, we will start think about spending July in cooler weather.  We like that traveling is never an issue due to snow, ice or severely cold temperatures.  We do have four seasons; they are just different than in the Midwest and it is nice to be able to go outside every day not having to ever worry about a winter coat.  We love the abundance of sunshine and ever more so the fact that we never have to rake leaves.  Most of all, Doug and I enjoy our life in Florida because we are living it together.  That is the best part.  

Double Shift

My favorite volunteer activity at the church is working in the gift shop. I started doing it shortly after we moved to Ocala and have worked at least once a month ever since then. It’s not a very challenging job, but it really makes me feel good to help people find religious items that they have been looking for and can’t find anywhere else. We have even had customers come from parishes thirty minutes away to purchase things from our gift shop, because they know we will custom order them if we do not immediately have what they want.

Another added benefit to working in the shop is that I have gotten to meet other parishioners. When I first started volunteering at the gift shop, I knew very few people and now I see a friendly face whenever I come to mass.  In the beginning, I was always scheduled to work after the 8:45 a.m. mass. Over the past year, I have switched to exclusively working after the 11 AM mass, because it works better for the scheduler and we like going to the later mass.  It gives Doug and I time to take a morning walk or get a few things done around the house before we leave for church. Since I have enjoyed my time in the gift shop so much, I have now started volunteering twice a month. I thought that doubling my shifts would lead to burn out, but instead, it just makes it so much more enjoyable. Plus, it keeps me on top of the new inventory. I know that it’s not much in the grand scheme of volunteering, but I really do like helping in the gift shop and I don’t think that will be changing anytime soon.