november is about makeshift pie plates and friendsgiving!

okay, i'm done trying to explain my blog-failings... i've just had a hard time being consistent (no real reason). i won't go into detail about everything that has happened since the last post, but i will post some pics with short descriptors. detailed depictions will be saved for the important stuff!

Shea agreed to drive down to the bradenton 'farmers market' the week after opening week...it was not a huge event, but it was good to get down and see what they had to offer! i did get some dip season packets, and tonight i made the lobster dip and was not disappointed!

there was a clown street performer- remnant from the ringling?  perhaps!

there were a couple decent music-makers singing (far apart enough not to infringe on each other). 

since we had lily-the-dog with us, we took her for a photo shoot at a pumpkin patch, 'pretending it felt like fall.'

then we painted pumpkins and carved some pineapples...which if i'm not mistaken are still in shea's freezer waiting for pictures...

found this tree on a morning walk, and made me think of halloween-scream!

southwest keeping true to their festivities-on my way home from abq halloween day!

the following week i believe we went to emerson point park in palmetto (it's like the counter part to the desoto park in bradenton...sister parks, of sorts). the mound wasn't much to see, but there was interesting history behind it, and i believe it is probably one of the largest mounds of artifacts in the state. it was a nice easy little hike, and at one point we passed a family with a young boy playing near the water (alligator trap), and he kept saying, "mom. mommy. mom! mommy!" (like stewie on family guy...and for the record i had to look that up, because i don't watch the show, i'd just heard it on a commercial or something)...just so everyone knows, i'm pretty sure it was more annoying in real life. 

they would build up the mound, construct a temple, burn the temple down, cover the mound again and build another temple.

and yes, still trying to get in some of those morning walks; i have to get back into it after i go on trips.

i can't get enough!

one of my friends sent me the best sea glass from the great lakes! i love it! fun finds! 

i got really excited that i was able to go to FRIENDSGIVING down in miami. i need to take advantage of the proximity and try to make it down more often-seeing my HONDURAN friends means the world to me! there's something about being around people who know you from the past, and sharing a very special place, you can't replicate those friendships!  one of my friends back in dallas sent me a message saying that i looked very happy in those photos...as i thought about that, it made me think about the fact that each group of friends, from each walk of life really does own its unique, special chapter, and it would be very difficult to fully explain the feelings and experiences- but each feels like home!

i loved getting together-it'd been a couple years, and about 26 years since i saw omar, finally met luis, and it was such a treat to meet the beautiful families that i see on fb! we were missing a few faces- ricardo and stephanie had a prior engagement, and patty was also unable to make it...sad face. i believe there may be a couple more who live in the area that we are going to have to try to hit up for next year!

i got to meet some new friends from sofi's school, as well, and the kids...wow, the kids! they have not learned the tactic of de-escalating the situation yet. i loved staying with hellen, because it gives us more time to hang out and catch up-over coffee! which was exactly what we did the next morning, and in the middle of our coffee, (first breakfast, if you happen to be a hobbit), her husband came out and we got the unexpected news that the gentlemen were there to pick up the tables and tablecloths! ayayay!! so we rushed to get everything together and broke down the tables and chairs! oopsie! OH WELL!!

time flew by, and i had to go. about 10-15 min out, hellen called, and i had left the pie-plate! good thing i don't make many pies! so i planned to go back in december to collect it, unfortunately that trip won't happen because of how i'm scheduled in december...a couple last-minute things came up.

it was difficult to stay away from the appetizer table once the cheese and dips were put out! okay, the truth is we may have parked ourselves on some chairs nearby (had no one been watching, we might've pulled the chairs right up to the table...)

the tables and settings were beautiful! hellen and jacira did an impressive job putting them together! there was a beautiful light breeze, and somehow even after we weighted the vases down, one of the darned things kept blowing over....ghost of thanksgiving present?

so glad to be included with these fun ladies!

i was scheduled for a dentist appointment a couple weeks ago, so i took the day off and used the morning to get up to st. pete to the de soto fort park, because they have a dog beach! this was the first chance that i had to get the boys out to the beach! i think they might have enjoyed it had we been able to spend a little more time there! so we had fun, did a little photo shoot- our Christmas cards will feature a little beachy pic!

then last weekend, we were trying to decide whether to make a beach afternoon, or a myakka afternoon. myakka won! i hadn't been out there since i arrived in may, and it was closed for a bit with the hurricane and abundant rains over the summer! 

so, while we were there, when we got to the bird observation area, there was this car mini-van with a bunch of rubber duckies in the windshield. who does that? who puts their rubber duck collection in the window of a car mini van? i suppose it was appropriate, as we were in the bird area. after we saw that, we started walking down the deck toward the observation area, and a family was walking back-we agreed it was probably their car (out of the 5-6 out there)...we were right, they just seemed like the rubber-duckie-collecting-type. yes, there is a type, and had you seen them, i'm certain you would have been able to 'nancy-drew' it and put 2 and 2 together, as well. oh the powers of deductive reasoning.

you can see across the way, there were so many vultures!  

there were quite a few alligators out and about! 

 then for thanksgiving, i decided i would try my hand for a second time at pecan pie! i had an extra pie crust, so it just seemed right. good think walmart was open on thanksgiving day,  because i needed a pie plate (remember, i left mine in mia!). i'd remembered seeing them fairly cheap, and there had been quite a few of them before i left for friendsgiving. unfortunately my luck ran out, and there was not a single pie plate in the aisle (i looked down 3 aisles and then some!). and as i was wandering the store, they had people guarding the pallets with all the black friday stuff. #worstjobever.  anyhoo, embracing my alias (macgyver), i broke down and got the cheap cake tins...($ .88/3), can't beat that! when i got home, i cut the tin at the N,S,E, &W points...for those of you who aren't geographically oriented, the 3,6,9, &12 points... and for those of you not fluent in analog-time-keeping pieces...i cut 4 pieces to divide the plate into equal quadrants. now, for anyone lacking in geometry skills, geography skills, and time-keeping skills, sucks to be you #educationcounts.

after flattening it out a bit and adding foil to fill in the gaps after  creating 45 degree angled edges,  the cake tin becomes a pie plate! awesome. of course as i write this, i'm thinking i might've been able to grab one of the graham cracker pie plates in the cooking section and disposed of the graham cracker...s'more great ideas!

bruno got plenty of sleep-he took a nap for me!

and that's how november has been! not over yet, but it's had a great start!

so much to be thankful for!
julie