Since Scotty was visiting last week, I took the opportunity to introduce him to his adopted “flamingBRO”!
I told Scotty that when we got to the flamingo area there would be a lot of flamingos and we’d have to check their legs for the #38 tag. (Sadly, I am not able to pick Kazi out in a crowd without his tag. I only visit him once a year. I know. Not great Flamingo mothering.)
Well, almost as soon as we entered the park, a flamingo, very much removed from the flamingo area, comes roaming up to us, and guess who it is? You got it! #38 – Kazi!
When Scotty tried to give him some of our newly purchased flamingo food, he turned up his nose at it!
Some other patrons came by and told us to “Watch out for that one! He’s mean!”
MEAN? My adorable adopted flamingo? My parental instincts fired up, I was tempted to tell those people THEY were the mean ones! How dare they judge my innocent Kazi.
Then I went into guilt mode. How much of this is my doing for adopting him and then completely neglecting him? I know my biological children can understand that my neglect is done with love.. and also because they’re all grown up.
Maybe Scotty was the problem. Could Kazi be jealous? I just wanted him to meet his human brother.
It was clear that Kazi was not warming up to us. We went on to visit with the other more sociable flamingos. They were quick to gobble up (in a kind of slobbery way) the food we’d bought.
We enjoyed the rest of the park, but I still had a heavy heart that my own adopted flamingo did not want to be with me. I tried to chalk it up to flamingo adolescence and vowed to make one more attempt to connect before we left the park.
As we were exiting, we saw Kazi, still separated from the other flamingos, in line — get this — to have his picture taken with an exotic bird!
Maybe this was the problem. Kazi was jealous of all the attention these pretty birds were getting. Or could it be, he had an identity crisis and thought he was in the wrong species? I knew I shouldn’t have read “The Ugly Duckling” to him. It’s bound to mess with a bird’s psyche. Or, maybe, he had a crush on one of the colorful exotic birds.
I just hoped that the birds would all be kind and not bully him for his pink feathers or long neck. It’s gotta be tough on an adolescent orphaned flamingo with an absent adoptive mother.
I told Kazi that I would always love him no matter what. If he wanted to be with a different kind of bird, that was cool. “You do you, Kazi!”
Once he saw that I was not going to force him to hang out with his own kind he took the flamingo food that I’d saved for him from my hand. Yeah, it’s probably just that he was hungry, but I like to think it was our talk.
Even flamingos need to know that their mother loves and accepts them, regardless of their quirks.
I’m proud that I’ve brought Kazi up to have a mind of his own. He doesn’t feel the need to conform to what others view as “normal” flamingo behavior. He ignores the taunts from those who call him “mean” or any bullying squawks from the macaws.
You make me proud, Kazi! I hope next time you’ll join Scotty and me in a family picture:
Starting on Friday last week, I had a series of Microadventures! Each of them deserves a lot more than one photo and a quick writeup, but I want to hit the highlights while these are all fresh in my memory.
For those who’ve been following along, my Microadventures have 3 parts: 1) Do something fun 2) With someone else and 3) Blog about it. Being an introvert and away from my Colorado home, the “with someone else” requirement is often the biggest challenge. However, it is absolutely the biggest reward!
Each Microadventure ‘Buddy’ has a superpower that I admire and can learn from.
Tim and Amy
My series of Microadventures started at a “Go With Us” event that was posted on Facebook. Amy and Tim of Go With Less! – Nomadic Lifestyle fame were in the Tampa area and sponsored this event.
Amy and Tim are personal friends with my friend, Adam and he told me about their popular group, knowing my plan to have a nomadic winter.
I am in awe of the community of travelers from around the world that they’ve built. Amy and Tim are so outgoing and friendly that it’s not surprising that people are naturally drawn to them and want to be part of their community. They have thousands of subscribers to their YouTube channel and in their Facebook group!
I was amazed that they had a large group of 16 people who gathered at this event when they’re just visiting here!
As we all went around the table giving introductions, most people talked about how easy it was to make friends while traveling.
However, when it was my turn, I revealed that making friends when traveling was hard for me.. that I had to specifically make it a “goal” to meet people and that it was awkward for me to talk to new people.
Well, I guess that helped break the ice, because at the end of the event, several people exchanged contact info with me! I feel like I have a whole new group of instant friends!
Tim & Amy’s Superpower: Connectors! Friendly and welcoming, these two are able to create and foster community.
Faye and Cyd
I went right from Crabby Bill’s to Sun City Center, FL to attend a performance of the Pelican Players. About a month ago, on Microadventure #8, I’d seen Cyd Charrow sing “Gimme, Gimme” on stage with the Pelican Cabaret Singers. She’d invited me to a play titled “National Storyteller Championship.”
Even though Cyd, along with the others in the play, were actors, they all told stories, and even competed to win a prize – a pelican statue! Cyd’s story was one of an unusual dream, and included some very entertaining interpretations!
Cyd’s sister, Faye, was visiting from Colorado, and sitting next to me in the audience. She was my talented voice teacher when I sang on stage last summer!
Both Faye and Cyd are wonderful stage performers! They even hosted a special Livestream Performance, Faces of Love, on Sunday with a 3rd sister, Janice.
Cyd and Faye’s Superpower: Performers! These sisters have a natural command of the stage and musical theater.
Scotty
On Saturday morning, I headed to the East Coast of Florida to meet up with my youngest son, Scotty. He was out in Florida with some friends for Spring Break and tacked a few days on at the end of his trip to spend with me.
I’ve shared countless priceless adventures with Scotty over the years. One of the best parts of sharing an adventure with him is his amazing flexibility. He is always up for doing whatever I suggest. However, on this trip, when we found ourselves in Melbourne, Florida, he was the one who suggested roaming historic downtown to see if we could find all the city’s murals.
I just loved this simple Microadventure. I’ve explored so many cities with Scotty over the years, and we often do something just like this — a sort of scavenger hunt of the city’s iconic spots. He reminded me of one of our first trips after my divorce: Thermopolis, Wyoming, a trip that he had planned himself!
With Scotty, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing. I always have fun. He’s always willing to play any game I come up with or come up with his own for us to play. Most of our adventures have included road-tripping where we’re in the car together for hours, singing and talking.
We can talk for hours about almost any topic and I appreciate how we can look at it from all angles, and even if we disagree, still see each others’ point of view.
My next adventure is with the family of Chris Blakeslee in St. Augustine, Florida. I’d met Chris’s Mom, Patsy, and his sister, Bonnie, last September when I was visiting Chris in St. Augustine.
I have to say, I was totally enamored with Patsy from the moment I met her. We became Facebook friends and she always finds the time to put a thoughtful, sweet comment on my posts. I’m just so impressed how tech-savvy, sharp, and vivacious she is. I’ve been interested in healthy aging since I turned 60 and Patsy is a great inspiration and an example of ageless beauty.
It was also fun to get to know Bonnie and her husband, Bruce, a little more during this short visit, too. I told Bonnie that I liked to write and she friended me and took the time to read some of my writing. She told me about the writing she does – Christian children publications! Now that’s something to be proud of!
Of course, what would have even made this visit better would have been if Chris had been there, but he lives in Bali, and doesn’t have a trip back home planned until May, when I’ll be back in Colorado.
I’m just grateful his family welcomed me with such kindness and didn’t think it was too weird that I was visiting and asking them to be part of my “Microadventure.”
Patsy, Bonnie, and Bruce’s Superpowers: Kindness, Generosity, Grace
Tony
My final microadventure of this short Florida road trip was at my “cousin” Tony’s house in Newberry, Florida. Though he’s not really my cousin, he was married to my cousin many years ago and, thanks to Facebook, we’ve become good friends.
Our visit started with Tony’s Marvelous Margaritas. Even though I’ve been giving up alcohol for Lent, Sundays don’t count, so I took full advantage and had two margs!
Tony has been a very gracious host to Scotty and me in the past. Since the last time we were here (2 years ago) Tony has continued to make improvements to his beautiful property.
He’s building a big barn structure and has all kinds of plans for a pool and a loft – so much room for all his grandkids (he has 5 right now), kids, and friends to enjoy. He has a big fire pit where he hosts bonfires. Sitting on one of the stumps and looking out through the trees at the setting sun was such a picturesque scene.
Tony took Scotty and I on a tour of the property (with Scotty taking Tony’s dog, Cooper’s, spot in the back of the golf cart.)
He even created this super-cool and lovely “Flamingo Trail” through his acreage with little flamingos strategically placed. Mark my words, this property will make it to the Tour Books and Travel Sites as a “must see.”
Yay! Today is one of my favorite quirky holidays because I, along with my family, have always been a lover of Math! I have many happy memories of Pi celebrations over the years, which included doing Pi puzzles, eating Pies (Pizza, Chicken Pot Pies, or, of course, just good ol’ fashioned yummy fruit pies), dressing up in Pi Attire, making foods that look like Pi, and, of course.. memorizing digits of Pi!
One of the activities that I think was the most creative was my Pi Poetry in which I (playing the role of Professor Pi) created 3 new types of poems using the number Pi with examples of each. Though I was very impressed with myself, the judges from the comPItition that I’d entered did not even give me an honorable mention. What a PIty!
I still believe I will become famous some day for these creative PI Poems. What do you think?
Derived from Haiku (俳句 high-koo)which uses a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
Definition: A Poem in which the number of syllables in each line, matches that of PI: 3.1415
Example:
What is the
Point
Of Never-ending PI?
It’s irrational.
Definition: A poem in which each line has double the syllables and the number of metrical feet as that of PI.
Example: MatheMatical Ratio a Fraction
a Number-Crunching disTracTion
let Go
for You will Never reach SatisFacTion
Definition: a poem of fourteen lines following the rhyming scheme: aaa.bccccbddddd; Typically a love poem.
Example: Diameter, a straight and simple number
Alone and feeling down and umber
In boredom she would simply slumber
[Pointed pause]
But wait!
A number of a different sort
Up front, she finds he’s rather short
Oh, but past the point, there’s no report
of ever reaching an ending port.
It’s fate!
He’s different, yes, not Hex nor Bi.
This irrational number was her guy.
At last she’d found her Sweetie Pi.
And so, she proposed with an excited cry,
“Let’s go full circle and multiply!”
That’s my most creative Pi-Day contribution. This year, I’m just doing the good ol’ fashioned eating some Key Lime Pie!
Today’s microadventure was fun both for the event and the company, which, of course, is always the goal. However, since it was the first time I’d met Madeline, and the only thing I knew about her is that we had a mutual Facebook friend, I wasn’t quite sure how she’d like being my microadventure-buddy. I’m happy to say she very happily agreed to not only joining me for the event, but enduring my photos and questions with good humor and interest!
Actually, when she told me she’d recently bought a Winnebago and was traveling only with her dog, I was in major awe of her bold spirit! I just love her sense of adventure and felt bonded with her immediately!
There were so many beautiful and unique works of art. Every time I go to one of these events, I’m so tempted to buy something special for myself. Maybe it’s a good thing that there are just too many special things that it’s hard for me to pick out just one! There’s also the fact that I don’t even own a place out here (yet). However, when I’m settled in my Bradenton condo (April!) it will be fun to find some special art pieces to decorate the place and make it feel like mine.
After perusing to our heart’s content, Madeline and I took a walk around Phillippi Estates (where the event was held).
Then we grabbed some lunch at this Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck! (Michael B., I just sampled the goods here with lobster bisque, but waiting to really pig out (or would that be Lobster Out?) with you!)
It was a little chilly outside, so Madeline invited me to her Winnebago to enjoy our soup and talk. Her van was so pretty and clean and new with lots of coziness to accommodate both her and her dog.
She shared a beautiful purplicious quilt that she made with the help of a friend. She had never made a quilt before, but her experienced friend taught her how and now she has her own special work of art for the ultimate in coziness.
A colorful and vibrant day with a colorful, vibrant new friend!
Exploring Sarasota’s downtown Farmers Market and Mattison’s City Grille
As usual, I’ve had so many wonderful microadventures, that it’s difficult for me to choose one to blog about.
I’ve been meaning to check out the Farmers Market in downtown Sarasota for some time now and last Saturday was the day! I texted, Bill, someone I’d met when I first got to Sarasota, to ask if he’d want to join me, and he gave me the thumbs up!
The Farmers Market had a variety of booths with plenty of produce, food vendors, art booths, and knick-knacks of every sort. It was a party-like atmosphere with music and colorful displays. The sun was out and being the frequent “observer of happiness” that I am, I could just feel the positive energy all around me. I thought about what a contrast my life is to what’s happening in Ukraine right now. I felt both gratitude for my life and sadness for what’s going on there. Not wanting to take any of it for granted, I savored the sights, sounds, and smells on this lovely day.
I found a bunch of yummy fruits and vegetables as soon as we arrived and filled up my bag. I saw a crepe place (one of my favorite foods!) but I’d already eaten AND I’m trying to eat healthy again in March. (I ate very healthfully in January. February? Not so much.). Maybe I’ll come back for a crepe in April!
Bill, who knows a good food when he sees it, regardless of the month, stopped to buy a kettle cornball. He just went traditional, rather than trying one of the flavors of the week.. Dill Pickle or Black Truffle Sea Salt. Yeah, that sounds pretty “cornball” to me!
After we’d walked the full length of the Farmers Market, we stopped at Mattison’s City Grille for a drink and to talk. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite places in downtown Sarasota! Mostly because there’s almost always music playing! Bill and I had been there earlier in the week for dancing and I loved it! There were such a variety of songs that ranged from oldies to rap and everything in between!
I was going to expand this post to include other cafes and restaurants in downtown Sarasota. The streets are filled with quaint coffee shops and unique restaurants. I’m really enjoying exploring!
But those stories and photos will have to wait for another blog post.. another microadventure!
A few weeks ago I was exploring the beautiful Selby library in downtown Sarasota and saw an item on the bulletin board that advertised this TEDx event. The event itself was free, but you needed to fill out an application to be in the audience, I guess because they needed to limit the number due to Covid.
I got my acceptance as an audience member last week, but because applications to be in the audience were closed, I couldn’t invite anyone to go with me. Since my self-imposed requirement of a microadventure is that it be with other people, I decided that I’d have the additional challenge of meeting someone at the event.
I introduced myself to the man sitting next to me and it turns out he teaches conversational Spanish at the North Sarasota Library for free! That’s the exact thing I want to get better at! The class is 5 Saturdays starting March 26 which are just the exact final weeks I’m going to be out here for the season. (A very serendipitous meeting!)
The presentations were very interesting and, of course, all the speakers were articulate and seasoned presenters. Giving a TED talk is a very big bucket-list stretch goal for me. I’ve participated in Toastmasters to up my game with public speaking and maybe some day I’ll actually audition for a TEDx event, but for now, I’m much happier to be in the audience.
The theme for the night was “Doing Good.” The presentations were unique with a wide variety of topics from the perspectives of soccer referee to day-care provider to congressman to professor to name a few.
After the talks, there was a meet-and-greet networking opportunity with the speakers and volunteers.
The natural introvert in me would have just left after the talks were over, but I wanted to challenge myself to meet others, so I joined a table and introduced myself. I met Dr. Giti Javidi, a professor of Cybersecurity and her husband who also taught at the University of South Florida. We were soon joined by another professor, Dr. Tom Becker, one of the speakers at the evening’s event, along with his wife.
The group was very friendly and welcoming. Dr. Becker’s presentation had been about tenure and the pressure it puts on graduates to publish. I remember hearing about that from Matt & Stella.
It was exciting to be in a University atmosphere around students and people like me, who loved to learn. The event reminded me that I wanted to explore the University more and really take advantage of all the wonderful ways there are to be a life-long learner!
Mary and I enjoy Carpe Diem Week with some fun girl time in Florida!
My 2022 New Years Project has been to have at least one microadventure each week with another person and to write about it. And if you’ve forgotten exactly what that means:
A microadventure is an adventure that is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding.
This week I enjoyed a series of microadventures with my friend, Mary, who flew out from Colorado to spend most of my birthday week (aka Carpe Diem Week) with me, here in Florida!
We found this wonderful little Airbnb in Tampa which served as our home base during Mary’s stay. It was the perfect location, only about 15 minutes from the Tampa airport and close to Tampa’s River Walk.
Mary arrived on Tuesday afternoon. After we settled into our Airbnb, we headed out to the Tampa River Walk and enjoyed the colored lights along the walkways in the breezy evening air. We (finally) found a dinner spot, though, clearly I hadn’t done enough planning since there weren’t the many restaurants that I’d imagined there’d be. To be honest, even finding a parking garage was an adventure! But we returned later in the week to explore this area more and I know I could come every day and never get bored.
On Wednesday morning we made our way to Ben T Davis Beach and walked enough, both to get more than our share of steps, and a couple of well-earned blisters from walking with the wrong shoes. Still, the scenery was pretty and conversation with Mary is always interesting. We dipped our feet in the water to cool them off before heading back to get ready for our evening in Gulfport!
Becky joined Mary and I at The Tiki Bar & Grill for some delicious drinks and dinner. If you look off to the right hand corner of this picture you’ll see there’s a guy playing the guitar. We had “front row seats” to the Open Mic Night performers. Becky knew the lyrics of one of the songs better than the performer herself! Next year, it will be her up on stage!
After dinner, we headed over to the famed Gulfport Casino for some East Coast Swing dancing! The dance floor was expansive and the experience reminded me a lot of going out dancing at the Avalon in Boulder. The music included two of my favorites: the Stray Cat Strut and In the Mood. Even though I didn’t know this crowd, there were plenty of willing and talented dancers. So much fun! It’s quite a drive from Sarasota, but they have swing dance every Wednesday night, so I hope to make it out at least once or twice a month.
On Friday, we ventured North of Tampa to explore Weeki Wachi Springs State Park. The “main event” that makes this park so unique is the live mermaid show that’s performed twice a day. We arrived at the park just in time to get in for the first showing. The performance was a little like an underwater ballet performance of “The Little Mermaid.”
Unfortunately, we weren’t at the park early enough to be able to enjoy any of the boat rides and the water park area was closed as they were preparing for the next season. We got to explore Tranquility Trail and the Park Ranger show but I’d like to come back here some time, maybe with Diego and Reneya to get the full experience.
On our way back to Tampa, Mary and I stopped at this charming Nature Coast Botanical Gardens located in Spring Hill. I learned about both Weeki Wachee Springs and these gardens from this Only in Florida article. I didn’t really know what to expect, but was very pleasantly surprised by the beautiful themed gardens with sweet settings, benches, and gazebos. I could just imagine a romantic picnic around every corner.
Our final Microadventure was back at Becky’s townhouse in Sarasota where she hosted a very fun birthday luncheon for me to celebrate my 62nd birthday! We had princess decor and pink balloons from Dollar Tree! My favorite! Friends, food, and lots of birthday attention! What a perfect way to spend Carpe Diem day! Even though I was away from my Colorado home, I was happy to receive fun greeting cards and gifts from friends and plenty of texts, calls, and birthday wishes!
It was hard to pick just one photo from each of these microadventures. Each one was filled with moments I want to remember.. music, sunshine, laughter.
There are memories of things that aren’t even part of any of these microadventures…
Struggling to uncork a bottle of wine until the cork finally popped with a bang spilling wine everywhere!
Watching romcoms and still loving a happy ending, even when they are cliché.
Mary and I trying to line up a double-date Bumble lunch and both inviting the same guy!
Sharing cheesecake, red-velvet cake, and maybe a little too much wine
Morning Dance Workouts
All of these beautiful moments (and so many more) add up to microadventures that add up to major adventures that add up to a very happy life filled with love.
Enjoyed the day seeing Our Town at Sarsota’s Asolorep Theater, followed by a meal at Wicked Cantina and a sunset walk on Lido Beach.
Today’s microadventure starts at the beautiful Asolorep Theater for a performance of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play: Our Town.
Becky volunteers at this theater as an usher and she made me aware of this performance which was outstanding on many levels. First of all, Becky’s family actually personally knew Thornton Wilder! Her father and Thornton Wilder roomed together and were friendly enough that she remembers him as “Uncle Thorny!”
Outside of this being a rather prickly-sounding nickname, I think it’s very endearing to imagine Becky, as a child, calling such an esteemed writer, “Uncle Thorny!” I’m almost tempted to suggest an update to his Personal Life of his Wikipedia page with this inside knowledge!
The next unexpected surprise was that the underlying message of the play was the importance of savoring life’s everyday joys — the very same message that I’m promoting with Carpe Diem Day! So often, it’s not until after we lose something (or someone) do we realize how much we took it (them) for granted.
It’s for that very reason that I love having the time to give my full attention to these microadventures each week. I love savoring the experience and capturing memories with photos and the post-adventure blog post. But all of this is especially fun when my microadventure partner is Becky. She fully engages and joins in on my immersive experience, a willing participant in all ways.
After the afternoon play had ended, Becky spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with me, indulging in a delicious Mexican meal and then a walk on Lido Beach, during that most beautiful time – sunset!
Mother Nature is once again gracing us with sunny, warm days which always gives me an extra boost of happy juju. But that was just the icing on the cake. The play, the company, the food, and the beach.. it’s more Becky’s than mine, but I really enjoyed “Our Town” — both the play, and lovely Sarasota.
The second poem is one where I started with an existing song and rewrote the lyrics. The original lyrics are from Jay-Z’s 22 Two’s. I’ll refrain from doing an imitation of Jay-Z in CarpeDee attire (though that might be fun, come to think of it..)
My changes are in caps:
Too many DO GOODERS MARG DRINKIN’, and too many NERDIES on a mission
Doin’ our best CARPE-DEE rendition
Too many LOUD CELEBRATORS, I got my suspicions
That you’re just a fish in a pool of sharks PEOPLE, listen
Too many FLAMINGOS wanna be DOVES, so if you a BIRD
I’ma call you a BIRD, too many BIRDS CAN’T FLY
Too many GOODIES give these NEGGIES too many chances
Too many WINERS wannabe lovers don’t know what romance is
This microadventure really started with a macroadventure that involved me singing on stage under the tutelage of Faye Nepon. Through that performance, I was introduced to Faye’s sister, Cyd Charrow, who is part of the Pelican Cabaret Singers.
When I heard that the Pelican Cabaret Singers were going to be performing not too far from Sarasota, I absolutely wanted to attend!
The performance invitation read:The Pelican Cabaret Singers will perform after a delicious lunch by Banquet Masters in Community Hall on Saturday February 12. The doors will be open at 11:30 a.m. to view raffle baskets and socialize; lunch at noon; followed by a performance by the Pelican Players Cabaret Singers.
I was told that the performance would be in “Sun City Center” which sounds like a building, but as it turns out, it’s actually the city name of a 55+ community. Though this created a bit of confusion for both me and my GPS, I eventually figured out that this little city was very close to Ruskin, the place that Kellie, from Microadventure #5 lives. Kellie had said she’d be happy to meet up for microadventures, and she likes theater (we both love “Beauty and the Beast” and Disney music) and happily accepted my invitation to join me!
I’d been eating very healthfully since the beginning of the year.. including no desserts, sugar, or chocolate. However, I could not resist completely indulging at this delicious luncheon.
There was a buffet-style with salads, veggies, chicken, and lasagna.
Check out the dessert table! Though I started with the carrot cake, I admit, I went back for samplings of the cheese cake and chocolate cake. It was Valentine’s week after all..
The program included some fun show tunes that I hadn’t heard in years. The audience couldn’t help but snap their fingers or sway to the beat on some of these old favorites. “King of the Road” brought back happy memories – Glenn Campbell on the record player when I was a kid.
Cyd’s performance was “Gimme Gimme” from the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” I haven’t seen that play yet, but after watching this performance, I’m putting it on my list! Cyd did an awesome job!
It was such fun to see this performance and share it with Kellie. Musical theater, delicious food, and new friends! What a treat!