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And if you look to the left there is the potted garden, comfy adirondack double chairs and even a table which is covered with plants but still, a table! The old fashioned shuttered window, the sail shade, the party lights and wall decorations make it a cozy, comfy, cute little space that nobody would ever guess existed from the outside of the walls.

If you look the other way, however, it's an entirely different thing.  There is something that passes for a garden filled with decorative grasses, non blooming plants and quite honestly some weeds beside a gravel path to nowhere.  That's the way it looked when we moved in and has looked that way for eight years.  It's a sad looking roughly ten feet of........................this mess.  

It's always been on the list to do something about it but we've been distracted with other projects and real life.

When we bought the house we knew that the property as a whole needed work and we made the decision that every year, we would do one big project.  Sometimes the project ended up being things you cannot actually see, like replacing plumbing systems, updating the electrical,  relocating and buying a new HVAC system; all things that clearly needed to be done and we absolutely benefitted from the project's completion.

Other years, other projects were very visible  such as creating a whole new kitchen,  bathroom and family room!  Even just repainting walls created big changes. Everyone could see those things happen, you could not miss it.  And the differences are positive, amazing and worth the time, money and effort.  

This year however, we were still kind of reeling from the family room project which took far more time, money, effort and patience than we ever anticipated and it kind of burned us out a little bit.  Other than very small things (like Tim replacing old electrical outlets throughout the house for example) we originally opted to start nothing else new.

But then I got an itch to work on this courtyard garden situation. I talked to Tim about it and he was on board so I'm tickled to bits to say that our new project this year is, at long last, the courtyard garden. I am so excited!

So much so in fact, that as soon as Tim and I discussed it, I immediately went outside and started tearing out the old ......ok let's call it a garden.  The crappola that filled that space at any rate.  Some of it came out easily, other bits had roots that I swear went all the way to Middle Earth! ARGH!  I struggled through nearly half of it before calling it quits for the day.  Perhaps this was a bigger bite than I could really chew?  The next weekend, Tim jumped in to help and we knocked it out in no time at all.

we Once we cleaned up we headed out to a local nursery to read plant labels and see what's possible and what's not.  It is a Full Sun situation so only certain plants need apply.  I was happy to see that there are a lot of options that fill the bill.  I am hoping for lots of colour and fragrance, perennial plants that attract butterflies and bees!

Tim and I talked possibilities for awhile and eventually got carried away and have decided to expand the garden.  So my next step will be to take out the gravel/shell path (which can all be added to the driveway) and fill that entire area with  beautiful things!  There will be a stepping stone pathway through, but mostly it'll be colourful, green, growing, lovely stuff!

I worked for a few more hours on it this morning and came in looking like the Pigpen character from the Peanuts comic strip.  Another day or two like that and I think we will be ready for watering system which means I turn it over to Tim.

After he is finished I will be adding more good dirt, which we politely refer to as Amending the Soil.  What passes for "soil" here is really more sand than anything. And while sand is great for  drainage so we surely do need some, really good dirt is necessary too.

After the dirt situation is corrected to my satisfaction it'll be stepping stones and then, the best part, the plants!  I still do not know for absolute certain what plants will be going in, but I know that it will be colourful, a veritable rainbow of vegetation.

This is not a project that will be completed over night. It's gonna be awhile. But I am hopeful that it will be finished, completely done and gorgeous by fall.  And I cannot WAIT to show you pictures of the finished project.

For now consider this......Future Garden!​

There are so many wonderful things about living by the water.  Many of them I anticipated, at  least on some level, but other things were unexpected.  For example, this being our rainy season, it should not surprise anyone to learn that we usually experience at least a little bit of rain every single day.  Some days it's a LOT of rain.  And this year it's been a Lottalot of rain!

And that's all good stuff.  The green growing outside things are happyhappy which in turn makes the wildlife happy. And all of that makes the people happy.  The only thing not awesome about it really has a negative hiking impact as in it either causes us to cancel the hike entirely because we are literally rained out, or the hiking day itself is perfectly lovely but the trails are less than ideal.  Dang.

And that was our dilemma on this past Friday.  Every single day of that week we had experienced absolute deluges of water which left our usual preserves buggy, mucky and flooded.  The trifecta of crappy hiking.  So instead of hitting any of our usual trails we went to Caspersen Beach to walk the path there.  Bonus to living by the beach!

Now this isn't a stroll on the beach at the water's edge that I'm talking about here, although, there is a beach and we can (and did) access it now and again.  Nope, it's an actual hiking trail that is about two miles long (which means 4 miles total to the end and back).  And while you cannot see it most of the time, the beach is on one side of the trail and the intercoastal is on the other.  (you have to wander down other little paths to reach either most  of the time) No matter how much it rains, the sand only gets so wet. No muck, limited bugs and as long as we didn't decide to go for a swim, we didn't get wet.  Not bad!

We haven't done this trail in over a year at least, so it was nice to be back.  Obviously, this is a Photo Safari Report and also obviously I'm calling it the Caspersen Beach Hike.

I think we saw more tortoises than we ever have before, maybe a lifetime total.  Once they woke up (all of the tortoise alarms must be set for the same times because we saw none at all for quite some time and then suddenly we saw ALL of them!)  And while I'm sure they all look the same to you (frankly to me too) I'm sure they know the difference. 

Here are some of them:
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Definitely saw more birds than expected too.  Well wait a minute. I expected to see the sorts of birds that hang out at the beach  (and we did) but the other birds were a lovely surprise. Especially the number of Cardinals!:

Not too many flowers seem to grow that close to the beach, but there were a few successful botannical shots:
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Then, for the butterfly and dragonfly category, there are a few contenders :

Pretty trails and general scenery photos abounded. I will try to keep it to a minimum:
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And then there are the randos which, this time, are all of the same thing, the "shell tree" that we found on the beach.  Someone found a bit of driftwood that had a lot of branches and then took the time and effort to wander the beach seeking out shells that had holes in them and decorated with them.  It Was Awesome!

I sincerely wish I had ever been creative enough to think of doing such a thing!  Maybe another day, another walk. Who knows?

Anyway, that's it for the Caspersen Beach Hike. Hope you enjoy it.  For now, here's Sam and Joy, signing off on this Photo Safari Report.

Joy and I hit a local preserve last week so clearly it must be time for another Photo Safari Report!  I shall call this one the Mostly Insects Hikes because it seems that of all the pictures I took, most of them were of insects of one sort or another!  Weird.  Not my usual at all.

These dog days of summer, we try to get up and out as early as possible but not so early that the sun isn't up yet. It's dangerous to wander through the preserves before it's light out, for one thing and dang it, neither of us really wants to be up and out that early either!  So we were out the door before 7:30 and it was already hot.

Well of course it was hot. It's July in Florida. If you expect anything else you are delusional.  But early mornings are absolutely the coolest part of the day so it's as good a time to get going.  Fully swathed with sunscreen and wearing hats, we set out.

I took a lot of botanical shots and for some odd reason (I'm sure operator error) they didn't turn out well. It's a shame because this time of year there are colourful flowering things at every turn and in every direction.  Clearly I need to work on that and figure out what I'm doing wrong. In the meantime,  here's what  I got:

There were birds all around us.  We could hear them, heaven knows, as they are a rowdy bunch!  At times it was quite the cacophony.  Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it can be really loud.  This time we even Saw a lot of birds for a change, but alas, I only sometimes got a good shot.  Here are a few:

But by far and away, my best shots of the day, to my tremendous surprise, were some of the hardest ones to get.  Insects!  Butterflies and Dragonflies, the sorts of creatures that move fast and frequently.  I guess it was a bug centric photography sort of day!  The camera gods were smiling on me for sure:

We kept the hike short due to the heat. Our goal is always to be back at the car no later than 10 am during the summer and sometimes that's just not long enough. So I guess there's nothing left to do except to leave earlier.  Which is our plan for This week and we'll see where that gets us.  Could be better, or not.  One never knows.

But we will find out.  And then once I post, so will you ;)

Take Care, Have fun, Stay Safe!

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I think maybe it's time for a kittyboy update, eh?  It's been a little bit.  

Obviously, they've grown a lot since I last posted their pictures.  That's Brysco on the left and Wyatt on the right. I know, I know, they look a lot alike.  But much like people with human Twins in the family, eventually you see more and more differences between them and most (not all) of the time, we know which is which.

They are very playful which is so fun.  And while they play together and sometimes on their own, what they mostly prefer, is to play with us! That is, interactive play.  Whether it's dangling a beguiling feather on a string or something as ordinary as making the bed, or anything in between, that is their ideal playtime.  And most of the time, we are happy to oblige.

Once again, much like human children, they sometimes get a little bored with their toys and they long for a new challenge, something new to learn,  anything a little different.  Usually I accomplish that by not having all of their toys out at once.  I choose one to "hide" in the utility room for a few weeks and when I take it out again, they are delighted all over again.  Or sometimes, I come up with an idea of something I can make for them.  The "find it" box is a great example.

I had a good sized shoe box, put some of their favourite small toys inside, taped it shut and cut some holes in the top.  They were overjoyed with this toy and beat the crap out of it.  So much so that when we got a slightly bigger box, I recycled the first totally destroyed box, and created a new one.  This time with holes cut in the top AND the sides.  Oh my goodness, this was an instant hit!  Of course, I've had plenty of other ideas that were not so popular.  Oh well, Live and Learn.

With this in mind, a few weeks ago while we were grocery shopping, I happened to spy in one aisle, something totally unrelated to anything else in that aisle (which is why it caught my eye) It was a package of 5 or 6 spiderman themed superballs.  Not huge ones and not so small that they could accidentally be eaten, so in other words, a perfect size. Each one was a different colour with a different picture of Spidey on it.  I threw it in the cart. Why not, maybe they would enjoy it. If not, it was relatively inexpensive.

As soon as we got home and groceries were put away, we opened the package and tossed one of the superballs.  They went mad for it!  Chased it all over the house, watched it bounce and ricocchet all over the place!  Wow!  Who knew?  Superballs were the perfect kitty toy.

Within a few days, we managed to lose all but one superball.  What?  It's a small house.  There are a limited number of places these toys could be. And yet all that remained was one lone yellow superball.  The kitties were sad and I was concerned.  What happens when the final one gets lost?  I guarded it like it was gold.  When I threw the ball and the boys loped after it, I chased it too and snatched it up before they could get their paws on it and bat it into some blackhole that apparently exists here.  Not much fun for them!

I proposed that, the next time we grocery shop, we buy another package of superballs just to have a few more and that I would go on the search with flashlight and long handled grabby thing to at least attempt to find the other ones.

In the meantime, Tim went on line and bought two bags  (for less that the cost of the original first package) of superballs.   It arrived on Sunday!  With great excitement I opened the bags and just dumped them on the floor.  Kitty Excitement Pandemonium ensued!  Oh  My Gosh, we laughed so hard.  And we all played until we were all exhausted.

So obviously I needed to find a container to corral these babies so there would be no slipping and falling on them in the dark of night!  I rummaged around in the pantry and came up with a perfect container:  (sometimes I save things and I don't know why I save them but I always know that eventually the opportunity will present itself)

Taadaa!  And for those of you will really sharp eyes you will see that this originally was a very large M&M container.  And if you truly know me, you will not be surprised by that.  

I don't put the lid on of course, so if they want to play with the superballs on their own, they can fish them out (and they do) but at least when I get around to picking them up (a zillion or so times a day -which has become part of my new exercise program), they are all in the same place and I don't have to hunt them up at playtime.

Oh yes, I have already gone on the hunt for them armed with, once again, flashlight and long handled grabber thingie, but that was my own fault. When I enthusiastically, but not wisely, opened and dumped the bags when they arrived they went EveryWhere!  Everywhere!    The bonus of that was that I found two more of the original Spiderman superballs which is odd because I had already searched everywhere several times.  Back to the blackhole theroy.

Anyway, that the latest on the kittyboys.  They are a little older, a little bigger, but still sweet and fun and playful and they bring us so much joy.  And apparently Superballs.  Lots and Lots of Superballs ;)

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This past weekend Tim and I got to spend time with our best friends, the Minocks (yayayay!) AND got to visit MOSI up in Tampa.  Wow it was a two-fer!  MOSI, for those who are wondering, stands for Museum of Science and Industry.  Exceptionally cool.

I am a museum fan, always have been.  In fact, my earliest memory goes all the way back to Chicago, where I was born but specifically, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.  My sister wasn't born yet and I am three years older than her, so it was before then.  I don't know exactly how old I was, but somewhere between brand spankin' new and 3.  I don't' know if that memory is why, but let it be said clearly here, that I will go to pretty much any museum.  The museum of spark plugs, the museum of cat toys, the museum of matchbook covers.  Yup I would go to those AND enjoy them AND learn things!  I love learning things :)

That long ago visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, made such a huge impression on me that I've never forgotten it.  At the time, I was most impressed with Colleen Moore's Dollhouse than anything else there, but I do know that I enjoyed it all.  Colleen Moore's Dollhouse, if you are unfamiliar with it, is an amazing work of art.   If a person were 6 inches high, they could live in this dollhouse as it has electricity and running water.  Seriously!  The teeny tiny books in the library have actual words in them, the kitchen has pots, pans and dishware, the dining room table is set for a meal fit for a King or Queen.  Oh, did I mention that the dollhouse is a castle?   Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle - Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (msichicago.org)  (by the way, I just checked and the dollhouse is still at MOSI, Chicago!  

MOSI in Tampa does not boast such a thing as livable miniature castles, but it did have a planetarium and we definitely couldn't pass that opportunity by.  It was a great show, we learned a lot and, speaking for myself, caught a teeny tiny catnap in as soon as the lights went down.  Oops. Don't tell. Shhhh.

It's a very hands-on type of museum which is always fun. We got to be kids once again and, even though there were a LOT of actual children there, the staff encouraged us to participate as well.  There was a ton of real time, actual participation scientific principles illustrated. For instance there was a bed of nails to lay on, we got to experience the wind level of a hurricane and sharpened our Alpha and Beta brain waves in a game (which I won - woohoo!).  And so so so Very Much More! We  tried them all.

Next there was  a huge exhibit on Flight through the years, up to and including NASA projects.  It wasn't just reading and observing (which is cool enough) but we also got to do a few things like actually go through some of the computer steps to launch a rocket. How cool is that?  Got to get Tim fitted for a space suit too:

The next part was about brain games and I think that was my favourite part.  We tried (I believe) every single illusion and brain game and brain trick they offered.  It took quite awhile but it was worth every single second.  Here's Tim playing his part in one of the illusions:

It's amazing to me how our brains are just naturally wired so differently and how little science fully understands about it yet.  Remember a few years back there was that viral dress that some people saw as yellow and gold and other people saw as blue and black?  Yeah, that dress was there.  And yup, different folks saw it differently this weekend too!

The last part of the museum was dedicated to dinosaurs and other ancient creatures. That is always fun. Shall we put a little twist on it?  Everything was made out of Lego's.  How cool is that?  Answer?  Very!   I gotta tell ya, Tyrannosaurus Rex doesn't look nearly as frightening made of Legos. Still impressive just not scary.  There was a lot of informational signage in that room. My favourite explained that, "A lot of people ask us if we follow some sort of  instructions when we make these kinds of things.  The answer is, Nope".  I love that!  Be Creative, Go off-script, Learn Stuff.  If it doesn't work, you learned something and can try again another way.

By the time we finished up there we were filled to the brim with new ideas and starving so we moved on to find food!  We ate and talked and laughed and caught up and had even more fun which doesn't seem remotely possible and yet, that's exactly what happened.    By the time we went our separate ways, the skies had filled with ominous grey clouds, there was thunder rumbling over head and clearly rain was on it's way.  And while it rained, it did not dampen our enthusiasm for another great Minock Day!

In the Mood to talk about Fashion again?   This will be the Part II to last week's fashion post.

Last week I did say that Fashion is fun.  And I stand by that. It's true.    But sometimes clothing purchases are more about a specific goal than having fashion fun.  Like, for instance, buying a dress to wear to a wedding or a new suit to make a presentation.  Perhaps you recently lost or gained a few ellbees and need to accommodate that.  Or maybe you are on vacation and the weather you packed for is in no way the weather you are experiencing.  Been There, Done That!

Or maybe your new clothing purchase is even more practical than that.  For instance, maybe you recently had a surgery that results in needing some different clothes.  Not the most fun reason, but hey, new clothes is new clothes!

Two years ago when I was about to undergo a bilateral mastectomy, a kind and wise person suggested that I might want to invest in some button front shirts because after surgery for awhile there would be No Way in Heck that I would be able to put on a pull over shirt.  (AND they were absolutely correct!)  At the time I owned only 2 button front shirts; one had long sleeves, the other one itched.  Yup new shirts were needed.  It was an unexpected expense but absolutely essential as it turned out.   We ended up buying six button front shirts ultimately.  And I am still wearing them.

My surgery this time was abdominal and nobody mentioned anything about certain clothing options being better than others so I just  didn't give it a seconds thought.  UNTIL the day prior to surgery when the hospital called to give me the time I needed to arrive (5: 30 am !!) and the usual no food or drink after midnight speech and at the very last she said, "You will probably want to bring a loose summer sundress for comfort".  I said" ok, I can do that."  And I did. And I am so glad I did.

I ended up wearing nothing but dresses for two weeks.  The very idea of something pressing against - even gently - or rubbing against the incision was unimaginable.  And then too, there was the swelling.  Suddenly my abdomen instead of being almost flat (not completely I will admit) was all pooched out  thus limiting what I could even get on, even if I was willing to risk the pressing and rubbing. Dang!

I asked the surgeon about it at a follow up appointment, as in, how long is this going to last?  And When can I start working out again?  and the response was, first, "hell no you cannot work out yet you crazy person" and  The puffy tummy thing can go on for awhile. The area is inflamed and irritated from surgery and can take - get this - up to a Year to completely heal.  A YEAR???

I know how to dress in disguise.  I am well versed in how to hide anything I don't really want anyone else (or frankly me either) to notice.  But I cannot imagine wearing the same dresses over and over every day for even 3 months let alone a full year.  The impracticality alone makes it crazy.  So I went through my closet.  

Ultimately I found 3 pair of shorts with elastic waistbands.  They sort of worked.  Unlike the loosey goosey-ness of a dress, they definitely  press on my poor tortured belly, BUT luckily, all three pair are rather loose and as long as I wear the right top with it, not too bad.  I decided that I could alternate the dresses with the 3 pair of shorts at least through the warm (hot!) months and then I could reevaluate when the weather begins to cool off. 

 I mentioned these thoughts to Tim and added that if the budget could bear one more pair of shorts, I thought I would be pretty much all set. He thought that would be just fine and the very next day, off we went to our local Beall's.    We bought headed off to different parts of the ladies clothing section and met back up at the fitting rooms. Over and Over and Over.  Ultimately I found one more dress (couldn't resist)  and 4 pair of bottoms that fit nicely, were comfortable, not horribly expensive and, I felt, would go with tops I already owned.  I asked Tim to help me choose.  He bought them all for me because he is a Very Nice Man.

I had the best time walking each piece through my closet to see what would "go" with what.  The goal is always to have at least two tops (minimum) for each bottom and woohoo!  Success on that!    I even took photos for you guys to see my haul!

I ended up with the one dress of course, two skorts (skorts are awesome! Where have these been all my life?) one actual skirt - it's like cargo shorts only a skirt and one pair of actual shorts.  Tim chose 3 of the 5 items I bought. He has Great Taste!

Ready for the fashion slideshow?

Photos were taken on different days, which is why the different hair styles. The day of the green cargo skirt I hadn't even combed my hair yet when I took the photo for heaven's sakes. I have some nerve!  

Anyway, I lovelovelove my new clothes and I had fun sharing them with you!    Have a great day ya'll

 
As of today, I have been knocking around the planet for a whopping Seventy-One Years!  Holy Cats that's old.   Dang.     I find myself reflecting a bit on my life today.  After this many years of wandering around, mostly blundering my way through, what have I learned?  Well, one of the biggest take-aways for me is that Most people are truly lovely humans and that people from everywhere around the entire globe are more similar than they are different. 

I have learned to appreciate, to forgive, to laugh, to be kind and to be grateful first before I do anything else.   I have discovered what is and what is not worth arguing about, (most things are not) and that whatever is going on in my life, in my town, my state, my country or the entire earth, it will change and be something else soon. I know now that the end of everything is the beginning of something else.

I have accepted that nothing is forever but this moment, right now, is precious.  I know that respect is earned, hard work feels good and that there is nothing at all wrong with occasionally doing nothing at all.   Eventually I figured out that failure is nothing shameful but only a learning experience and that losing sometimes teaches us more than winning.

I know that Love really is one of the most powerful and important things anyone will ever know. And that I have been exceptionally fortunate in my friends, my family, my husband, my children (both my biological kids and their life mates who I consider my bonus kids).  

All of life is an adventure and if you approach it with the attitude that it's going to be mostly great, then mostly, it will be.  Everyone we meet has something to teach us, something of value to offer and is a unique individual.

AND,  finally, I still believe in the birthday rules!  You didn't think I would do a birthday post without them did you?  Silly...  Here we go:

BIRTHDAY RULES

1. Number one and most important on this hit parade:  It's all about the birthday person.  It really is.  No exceptions. If it's your birthday, everything that day is about you. Period.

2. Of course, to be absolutely fair, I am not a person who really likes being the center of a big crowd of people. But a small, comfortable, familiar crowd is fine. In fact it's awesome.  A small group of people that I really care about it absolutely perfect.  If that group consists of me and one other person, sometimes that is the best group of all.

3. And there should be at least one treat that a person rarely has, like cake. Or ice cream.  Or cake AND ice cream.  And for heaven's sakes, if a person is going to indulge, it should be the good stuff. The real deal. No fake, crappy substitutes.  And speaking as a person with Lactose Intolerance, if I'm going to suffer later, I want the suffering to be worthwhile, which means the ice cream must be primo.

4. There should be a few cards, some of them should have sparkles, some flowers, some funny, some touching or maybe thought provoking. I like cards.  I set them up on top of the big display cabinet in the living room and admire them for far too long afterwards.

5. There should be some sort of contact from people far away, whether it's phone calls or emails or texts or facebook posts or telepathic thoughts, heaps of good wishes from folks far away makes a birthday extra special.  To think that all of those people bothered to take the time to acknowledge your existence on your birthday shows that you matter in this life.  That's important.

6. There should be no chores on your birthday.  Not one single solitary gotta-do should be done by the birthday celebrant.  Those things can either wait a day to be done, or someone else needs to do them.  I'm immovable on this fact.

7. The birthday person gets to choose what or where to eat for dinner.  And no matter what they choose, that's what dinner is.  Doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.  It is the ONE day of the entire year where nobody else's likes/dislikes/or personal opinion should take precedence regarding food.

8. It should be a happy day.  Only positive comments and thoughts please.  It should be a day of smiles and laughter. If there is something negative or sad that needs to be said, keep it to yourself for one more day.  Not even boredom is allowed.
​Happy Birthday to me!  

Birthday Hugs all 'round!

There's Joy (on the left) and me (on the right) with cameras so you know what that means. Photo Safari Report! Yayayayayay!  It's been about a month since I've felt up to it but Myakka being a part driving/part hiking sort of place, it was an excellent choice for the first hike post surgery.  With that in mind, I'll call this the "It's Good To Be Back Hike"  coz it was, indeed, good to be back out there.

Let's see what we found:  

Deer!  I just adore them and was delighted to see so many of them.  No bucks, just does and fawns.  Look at those sweet faces!

Alligators!  This is Florida after all, and Myakka seems to harbour more than it's fair share of them. I wouldn't go swimming in the Myakka River but they make great photos from a safe distance.  Saw one woman cooing at them while taking pictures and she said to the alligator, "Do you want to be my friend?"  I said, kindly but firmly,  "No, he absolutely does Not want to be your friend. They are not friendly".  I don't know if she was serious or not, but just in case.......

Birds!  Not nearly the usual variety or number, but birds nonetheless.   I will try to keep it to a minimum;

As always, there are some botanicals, one of my favourite categories:

There was a plethora of Dragonflies!  I mean, clouds of them!  It was kind of awesome.  And they were remarkably cooperative about having their pictures taken.  Here are a few photos:

I'll finish up with a couple of randos, a little of this and a little of that:

I was so exhausted when we got back that I immediately just laid down, fell deeply asleep and that was pretty much it for the day.  Still, it was absolutely worth it!  Hope you enjoyed the "It's Good To Be Back Hike" even half as much as we did.

It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I get out there again, but once I do, expect more (and hopefully better) pictures then!

Just for fun, do you want to talk fashion today?  We haven't really talked about clothes in awhile and to me, fashion is fun.  I think it is for most people.  Well, perhaps unless you are in the industry where fashion is your livelihood, then maybe it's more stressful than fun, but since most of us are not a part of the fashion world, I think most of us would agree, that at least on some level, fashion is fun.

Not that I've ever been, in any way, fashionable, unless it was by accident.  Doesn't matter.  I still enjoy meandering through clothing stores, magazines, catalogues, youtube and other social media type videos and just seeing what there is to see.  I would love to be more stylish on a regular basis but gosh, who can afford that?  Honestly, the hardest part of always looking fashionable and "in style" is the cost.  Most  trends hit hard and then disappear so for folks who have the desire to always be au courant, there is a price to be paid.

When I was still working, I made a lot more of an effort for sure.  The the way I got around spending an absolue fortune on clothes was that I leaned hard toward the classics.  That way while I may not have been strictly In the Peak of Style, I also wasn't totally out of style either because the classics are eternal.  They can be perked up and made fresh with addition of one or two slightly trendier pieces, like truly classic trousers with a different, newer, more stylish top, or shoes, or jewelry.  It was fun to play with the things in my closet, combine them differently, come up with new fun ways to wear each piece.  I felt pretty confident that I presented myself well to the general public.

And then I retired.  And suddenly it didn't matter nearly as much how I looked every day and I guess I started slacking off in the fashion department.  At least part of the problem as my own unfamiliarity with the concept of casual clothes.  When I was working, I didn't change when I got home, I kicked off my heels, rolled up my sleeves, put on an apron and kept going.  Casual clothes were for weekends and most of the weekend was filled with errands, house chores and yard work.  High fashion not necessary!  Basically it was comfy  shorts or jeans and the least stained tee shirt in the closet.  Clearly once casual became my every day attire, changes needed to be made.   Even I could see that.  So over the past few years (since we moved to Florida) I have struggled to find my way. 

Now, multiple years down the line I have found that while of course I do own shorts and capri's, to my surprise I now own more dresses than I have at any other time in my entire life!   Childhood included!  When did this happen?

That rainbow of dresses spread out on my bed in the photo at the top of the page is every single dress I own.  And I am shocked that it turned out to be so many.  But I also love every single one of them and wear them often.    I'll start with the oldest piece:

The ubiquitous LBD or Little Black Dress.   This is the oldest garment currently in my closet. I bought it way back when we lived in Connecticut in some sort of thrift or 2nd hand or outlet type store (I don't recall which one).  It was two sizes too big at the time but I bought it anyway and then took the unprecedented (for me) step of actually taking it to a tailor to have it altered to fit me.  Why?  Well it's a great  dress.  Excellent Quality.  Evan Piccone as a matter of fact. And it cost me less than $10 bucks when I bought it.  And I have not regretted the purchase for even one second ever!  I've worn it as is, I've worn it with blouses underneath, sweaters or blazers over top.  With sandals, with flats and with heels.  It dresses up and down beautifully.  Obviously it has been worn and washed a zillion times as the colour is faded now. I suppose I could re-dye it black again to refresh it up. Or continue wearing it as is which is more likely what I will do.  I will own this and wear this probably for the rest of my life.  Quite the return on investment!

Second oldest dress in my closet.  I bought t his one in Colorado. Not positive where I found it but most likely, Kohls.  I bought a lot of Colorado stuff at good old Kohls.  Initially what drew me to this dress was the unusual colour combination - turquoise and chocolate brown.  Not the usual thing.  At the time I had two different pair of heels, one chocolately brown, the other were bronze slingbacks, that worked equally well. At the time I had a dark brown fitted, one button blazer that worked perfectly with it.  It was great for an easy peasy work day outfit but now the heels and the blazer are all long gone and because of that I've nearly put it in the donation bag a dozen times.  What saves it each time is how comfortable it is and how indestructible!  It's literally wash and wear and packs like a dream. A keeper for sure!

I bought both of these oddballs here in Florida.  The striped one, rather circus inspired I'd say, is so voluminous that normally I wear it with a belt and often with a button down blouse underneath.  The polkadot/flora also looks especially nice with this cantelope colour filmy blouse underneath. I know it sounds like it doesn't go, but it absolutely does!  Wouldn't it be very cute with a pink or red jacket?  Both are fine with sandals, sneakers, flats or barefeet!  Very Comfy but nice enough to wear when I work at the museum.  I love clothes that are flexible about their use.

How Very Tropical! ​Obviously, Florida Purchases.  The pink one I bought on a whim one day shortly after we moved here. I was walking down the avenue and a store that was closing had a spectacular sale going on - last day of!  I don't remember what I paid for it but it was a teensy fraction of the original cost. Love it with a denim jacket and 5 lbs less than I currently weight. dang it.    Oh I can get it on right now, just it looks a whole lot better 5 lbs ago.  Sigh.  The other one I bought for a wedding which sounds unusual.  Not in Florida.  An old friend of Tim's was getting married and it was a Tropically Themed Wedding. Everyone was supposed to wear Tropically Inspired clothes.  The pink one would have been perfect if the stars and my scale and my wishes were in alignment. But alas, they were not. So off we went to a local store and this one fell right into the cart.  The back is longer than the front so it has a kind of salsa feel that makes it even more fun!

It's Sparkle Time!  Love these two.  The gold and black one Joy gave me.  Originally it was hers but I think it turned out to be uncomfortably itchy to her. Luckily it wasn't to me!  Normally I wear this with a black pullover sweater over top and it appears that I'm wearing a sparkly skirt rather than a dress.  The blue one I bought to wear to Youngest sons wedding. And I have worn it a surprising number of times since then. Mostly Christmas Parties but still it's refreshing to buy something for one specific occasion and then be able to wear it other times and places as well.  It is dressy so clearly it don't wear it to the grocery store or to do yard work or scrub toilets.  But every fancy dinner or theatre visit or special holiday one of these babies comes out without a second's hesitation.

Grocery Store Treasures.  Hard to believe but I found both of these (different years) at my local Publix Grocery Store.  I don't know if ALL Publix stores carry clothing but ours does.  Maybe because we are a beach/tourist town?  Whatever the reason,  they were such good buys.  Each was less than $20 bucks. The blue one in particular is great because while it's a terrific summery sundress on it's own,  during the cooler months I wear it as a tunic over white skinny jeans and it's still awesome.    The green one, I think I was drawn to the colour more than anything and those fun little tiers in the skirt.    I wear a white tank top under it and sometimes a lightweight summer sweater overtop. Comfy, cottony, easy to care for, love them both.

bLast but not least, the new kid in town.  I did a little shopping over the weekend and this one came home with me.  It's linen, so nice and cool it's very lightweight and comfortable, floaty but not too loose and the design is so fun!  

There you have it. I own eleven dresses!  What?  How on earth did that happen?  Never thought of myself as a dress-wearing person on an ordinary day but it turns out they are so loose and cool and comfortable and honestly, nice looking. Kicks up my style a wee bit and that never hurts!

I have been writing for awhile now, my fingers are getting tired.  Originally I intended to include my new purchases from this past weekend (in addition to the light blue dress) but now I'm thinking, it'll just be Part Two which I'll put together another day.  Which day?  I don't know for sure, but it'll happen.  Stay tuned.