Fall in Florida is like Spring in Michigan

I grew up in Michigan - We had long grey winters. LLOOOOOONNNNNGGGG ones . Starting in Mid October til Mid April it was grey and cold. And often snowing or sleety. (is that a word?)

Anyway in Michigan when springtime came people got kooky. Everyone was so happt to see the sun and get outdoors without freezing our butts off that we were all goofballs.  Spring Fever don't you know?

Here in Florida it's the opposite. I know most people think we are sunbathing in the summer time but most of us stay indoors in the summertime because it's too DAMN hot to be out in it. So we rush from our air conditioned cars to our air conditioned homes and offices and don't dilly dally in the heat and humidity.

So now? Now it's FALL FEVER! Yup we are goofy about it. Everyone is so excited that it isn't going into the 90s anymore we just gush about the chilly weather We come out and jog, walk the dog, wash our own cars and have festivals. Now is the time for festivals baby.

Too bad the national touring acts don't know that! They typically tour in the summertime and I just don't do outside in the summer unless I am by my pool (Or someone elses' pool) Yes I will go to the beach now and then to boogy board, but I will be damned if I am going to go sit outside at a backyard barbeque without a pool. No way No how. We turned our heat on for the first time since last winter as it got down into the high 40s this week.

I think I will clean my car this weekend. And maybe go to this cool festival we have here called Porchfest.,,, and maybe go watch the Blue Angels? I just am giddy with it. It's so cool, it's finally cool!

Michelle Smiles Shrimp & Pasta

Here is the website url for the best shrimp and pasta dish that I have been making for over ten years.

http://www.michellesmiles.com/?p=14140#comments

And here is her post and recipe:

The grocery store had uncooked  shrimp on sale.  Lately, I’ve been buying the already cooked and peeled shrimp to save time.  But the sale was good enough to encourage me to cook and peel the shrimp myself.  Oh my!  I forgot how amazing shrimp taste when cooked correctly!   The already cooked shrimp end up rather rubbery and tasteless by the time I get them reheated in whatever dish I throw them into.  But these shrimp melted in my mouth.  I tell you this just as a PSA – buy them raw and cook them yourself.

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 Tbl cold butter in small pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 fresh lemon juice

1/2 dry white wine

1/4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Pasta cooked

In a saute pan, heat a small amount of olive oil.  Place the shrimp in the pan.  Allow to saute for a couple of minutes – as the down side is starting to pink up, turn each over and allow to cook for another minute or two until completely pink.  Once it is completely pink, remove it from the pan immediately.

Melt 1 Tbl of butter in a sauce pan and saute garlic. Add wine and lemon juice, allow to cook on med/med-high until reduced by 1/2.  Reduce to low heat, add butter one small piece at a time – stirring until piece melts and then add the next one.  Once all of the butter is added, stir in some salt and pepper and the fresh basil leaves.  Remove from heat.  Toss with shrimp and pasta.  Top with some grated parmesan or asiago cheese.

The night I made this, I discovered that we were out of white wine so I used red.  It tasted almost as yummy – so whatever you have in the house is good.  Also, if you like tomatoes, you could chop up a tomato and toss it in.

Not much of a Dance Mom

Jamie is no longer in Dance Ensemble but has dance classes every day now that she is in middle school. Each A day she has two classes and each B day she has one dance class. This means she has to wear different colored tights and leotards each day. And each class. On A day she actually wears 2 different pairs of tights one over the other.

I think it's crazy but it's her passion not mine.

I do not however bring her the tights or leos if she misjudged and dressed incorrectly. Some call that mean. I call it natural consequences.

Jamie's first day of LaVilla Middle School!

I just realized this past week if she takes the bus each day as planned I just gained 12 hours a week back into my life!!

I have many hopes for what to use that extra time for - Perhaps Exercise? House cleaning? Meal planning and prep? Landscaping oh yeah and Real Estate!

We will see - She was waxing philosophical about having to ride the bus in the morning...LOL She gets $10/week if she rides the bus each day.

Funny Residence in our town

This is called the Whetstonian - It's actually a house where these folks have decorated with found objects. They have a fence/wall on the other side where it faces a busy street - State St in Jacksonville, FL and they have many pieces of granite that were cutouts from where the sink goes on Granite Counter tops. Pretty cool but very odd.

I love seeing unique structures/places while I drive the streets of my town. I do a lot of driving so this makes it more fun and rewarding. I stated a new blog called Arlington and around Jax - but haven't done much too it. This post really needs to go there! https://arlingtonandaroundjax.wordpress.com/

Happy New Year! We spent the last several weeks getting our living room painted and our pool remarcited so now I need to make some money! Hihohiho it's off to work I go!

If you know anyone anywhere who is thinking of buying or selling please call me! If I can't help I can send a referral as we are members of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the world which means I can get someone best suited to handling your real estate needs!