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Monday, January 8, 2018

Broccoli Cheddar Soup and flowers that bloom!

My Christmas cactus bloomed on Christmas day. It was loaded with buds and it is at it’s peak right now. I placed my Poinsettia on the table in front of the cactus and had all kinds of beautiful color for the holidays.

And I made the best Broccoli Cheddar soup! I started with the recipe on all recipes HERE….and then I modified it some.

This is my version….

Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2 tablespoon butter
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 stalk celery chopped
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh broccoli
6 baby carrots chopped

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion, garlic and celery in hot butter until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Whisk 1/4 cup melted butter and flour together in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
Gradually pour milk into flour mixture while whisking constantly. Stir chicken stock into milk mixture. Simmer 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots, sauteed onion, garlic and celery; simmer another 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Stir 2 cups Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts. Season with black pepper. Spoon it into your bowl and top with the remaining shredded cheese.

It sure makes a nutritious soup for these winter days!

(do you think I have enough butter on my toast? Don’t answer that…it’s a rhetorical question! hahaha)

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE .

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Sandhill Cranes

We walked out to the driveway to get into the car and heard the funniest sound….it sounded like honking!

So we looked up into the sky and watched as flocks and flocks of Sandhill Cranes flew over.

I went back into the house to put the photos onto my computer to take a better look and my husband came back in to get me.

MORE Sandhill Cranes were flying over!

Many flew over in a vee formation like geese do.

I’m showing most of these photos straight out of my camera.

You can see them the way we saw them.

And you’ll just have to imagine this part….

Honk Honk Honk!

When I looked back at my photos from last year, I found these from exactly a year ago!

Sandhill Cranes we saw at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve.

They aren’t rare to see around here but normally you only see a few at one time.

What a treat to see so many migrating. The other bird we saw migrating over the Christmas week was the American Robin. They showed up by the hundreds on their way South. We saw them every day for about a week and then they were gone!

We’ve had some very cold weather here but we did not have any frozen precipitation or snow like they had in North Florida. I’m glad! And it’s supposed to be around 70 every day this coming week. That’s more what we’re used to this far South! I hope you are all safe and warm! Take care!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Looking forward…..

I love the start of a New Year! It seems like a new beginning…a fresh start.

Karen used this quote in a post and I fell in love with it. I put it on a photo I took when I hiked last week. Thanks Karen!

I even love January! Of course it’s easier to love January when you live in Florida. We’ve had a few cold days and nights but we’ve also had lots of beautiful days to get on the trails and hike.

(hiking the Florida trails by myself)

To really appreciate a ‘new year’, you need to look back and see what has happened this past year and what can be ‘improved upon’! My husband and I survived the worst year of our marriage in 2017. In January of last year, my husband woke up one morning in severe pain. Many of you will remember that I asked for your prayers. He was in pain one day…it was worse the next….and the next….until he could barely move. We had good advice from his son and found a specialist that gave him a proper diagnosis….Polymyalgia Rheumatica. With the right treatments and drugs my husband has found a way to manage his illness and a year later he can do just about everything he did before. I won’t say he never has pain but he can deal with it now. We even managed to get in 53 hikes, the same amount as the year before. Which amazed us!

I like to write down every hike. I write where we go, what we see, the duration and temperature.

I also kept track of the books I read and ended up reading 70 books last year.

Oh, and I found a new crafting passion….altered books! I’ve made quite a few but I think I’ve lost count.

I’ve probably made over 20 hardback altered books

and twice as many little handmade books.

(many of these are made out of notecards I’ve received and paper I’ve collected)

So it was a year I wouldn’t want to repeat but I’m happy that we survived. I can honestly say, I’ve learned a lot and I have indeed been blessed.

I want to choose a word for this new year but can’t decide.

Do you have one you would like to share?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Great Blue Heron

We saw the most beautiful Great Blue Heron on one of our hikes.

You would think he had mating plumage with the colors around his face and feathers out the back of his head.

But it doesn’t seem likely in December. What do you think?

A little perspective…

he was in the marshy area between the trail and the Rainbow River.

We also saw an Eagle as we stood on the bridge at Blue Run Park in Dunnellon.

Not the best photos but I was excited!

I know it’s bitterly cold in most of the nation today. (I don’t mean to rub it in but it’s close to 70 here this weekend and we hope to make one more hike this year which would be #53 and match what we did last year)

Stay safe and warm!

Happy weekend!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Books “My 2017 Reading list”

I love to read. I remember reading aloud when I was in the second grade and I was terrified to read in front of my class but also elated. I don’t watch much TV, my husband and I read in the evenings after dinner. Goodreads is great for keeping up with the books I’ve read. I don’t write lengthy reviews but I like to write a little something about every book I read. My Goodreads tab is on my sidebar if you want to look over my reviews. Or you can click HERE.

I read 68 books in 2017 and when I went back over my list, I realized I gave only ONE book my highest rating!

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

It was phenomenal and I’ll be ready to read it again next year.

I think it was my best year ever for good books though. I discovered a new series that I dearly love. The Molly Murphy series by Rhys Bowen is SO good! And several of my favorite authors had new books come out this year. Louise Penny, David Rosenfelt, Alexander McCall Smith and Charles Finch to name a few.

And since I just finished an amazing book this week, I have to mention

The Third Hill North of Town by Noah Bly.

I could NOT stop reading it! I stayed up late and picked the book up to continue reading while I ate breakfast. It would be better NOT to read the reviews on this one.

Just start reading….and enjoy the ride!

Do you have that ‘one favorite book’ this year?

Happy Reading!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Monday, December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas

I hope your holiday is filled with joy and holiday cheer!

Happy Holidays to all of my sweet blog buddies!

I made these Christmas cards to share!

God Bless you ALL! Island with a palm tree

*** Merry Christmas ***

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Puffins, Puppies and Palm Warblers!

That sounds like quite a strange combination for a ‘critters’ post!

I’ll start with the sweet Palm Warbler I saw on the Florida Trails when I hiked this week.

The only ‘unusual’ siting on Hike #50 was a horse! I had my camera ‘at the ready’ and happened to look down the trail just as this horse (and rider) turned off into the woods on the horse trail!