 'Oh Say Can You See' What do you see... that is still the same today? What do you see… after nineteen years have flown by? What do you see… by the dawn's earliest pink light? What do you see… as we continue our perilous fight? What do you see… looking down at two holes in the solemn ground? What do you see… forever searching and maybe still not found? What do you see… nineteen diligent years later? What do you see… as you peer into those deep craters? What do you see… from an airplane’s crash? What do you see… past all the fire and burned ash? What do you see… past the smoke and dusty air? What will you believe… as people begin to not care? And do you still hear… that valiant band playing through the quiet air? And will you bear witness… to those fighting still and forever as they must? As the next round starts... and we have to keep rolling past all the dust. What do you see… through twilights shining gleam? What do you see… past all those forces unseen? What do you see… through those shining bright stars and breathtaking broad stripes? What do you see… through the horror of all those bombs bursting this very night? What do you see… through pollution and the reddest of red blood? What do you see… as free men - and women - stand here in the mud? What do you see… past Liberty’s smile? What do you see… from sea to shining sea all those miles? What do you see… though concealed fighting to be disclosed? What do you see… as foe’s strike their continual battle blows? Do you see there is proof? That our flag is still there? Oh Say Darling Can You See… her most beautiful story? As she stands here - proud… in all of her glory? Yes - I do. I do see it all. Yes even in war’s havoc and confusion and nineteen years later. I even see Heaven on Earth and God our Creator. I see that reflection shine above all and very tall. I see Angels in the sky… And God in our hearts as we bawl. I see reflection bounced off millions of broken chains. Forever more - unconfined. I see all those who paved our very way. With their very lives - they all gave. Yes, I see those next pages of her remarkable story be flipped. As her bright blazen stays now - and forever - lit. And, I STILL see the land of the freest of free… and know that this is God’s Country home, of the very, very brave. ~  'A September 11th Afternoon - 2020'
9/8/2020 1 Comment #81) The Forgiving Gift of Time 'Blooms of Wartime' 36x48 Acrylic on Canvas [SOLD] ~ So Long Summer Sabbatical, Hello Sweet September ~ Remember when you had to learn - or rather, memorize - the dates of seemingly countless historical events, while growing up in school? I mean - does anyone ever really forget that the U.S. Civil War took place from 1861-1865? Or that World War I lasted from 1914 until 1918? Added on to that one - y’all know the historical significance of November 11th, right? And let’s never forget that our country was founded in 1776? July 4th - to be exact. Throw together just a few more for the heck of it... How about World War II lasting from 1939 until 1945? How many of y’all know when we first landed on the Moon? Or let’s go even farther back here - way back. When was Jesus born? When did He die? And - why did the event of His death have to happen in order for humans to be where they are today in God’s image??? Are any and/or all of those dates burned into your memory at this point in your life? Whether you ever spend a moment thinking about them throughout your daily activities, or not? They - and an infinite number more days, periods, and good ol’ fashioned chunks of time - helped change the course of human history. All those dates, and every infinitesimal thing in between - they were, and are, all moments in time. Placeholders in time. Bookmarks in time. Moments of time that were simply one page... of a much grander, and larger, novel. If you flip to page ninety-nine of a very thick and heavy, weighty and bulky, five hundred and forty page Tom Clancy book… but you read only that single page - you’ll definitely not understand the context of what came before, and will never know what happens later on. Or - even much, much later on. And let’s not forget about those lucrative sequels. What will happen to our beloved hero then?... Once a new book deal is signed. If Jack Ryan has to jump out of a burning building on page two hundred, but the story doesn’t explain why he’s doing that until you flip to page two hundred one… and all you’ve ever read was page two hundred... You’ll never find out that maybe he was escaping a bomb explosion. A small fire bomb that would be igniting an even larger bomb. Or that he may have been jumping from the first floor - and he’s just fine to continue on with his work after the jump. The spy operation that he being in the middle of - would make no sense to you - the context - having not read earlier chapters. Context is relevant. To every story. And context is relevant to the entire story of humanity. So, ohhhhh... with all that being said - Can you believe that Memorial Day weekend was over three months ago now? I can’t, really. Do you remember that weekend? And the days… weeks, and trials we’ve all had to face, since then? Memorial Day seems like it is one of those placeholders to me. The unofficial start to summer fun. Just as Labor Day is another placeholder - or bookmark. The unofficial end of summer, and the beginning of the autumnal season and beauty and grandeur of fall. Along with a change of routines, school days, and pumpkin spice and apple cider. A whole heck of a lot has happened since this last Memorial Day weekend - in this, the grand and mighty year that is, our dearly beloved beast - 2020. This summer was loaded with pages of a massive and thick and complicated novel. We all witnessed a different sort of start to the summer season, we then witnessed a completely different summer altogether, and now we are beginning a different sort of autumn. Yes, it’s been a definite year, and we’re not nearly through with it just yet. I mean - what else can possibly come next? ALIENS. Yes - my dear friends - Aliens. With all that has happened - I would not be surprised by such a blurb in an upcoming news reel. So much has changed. And then, quite sadly, so much is still the same. But - the context of the events that are taking place is imperative to the story at this point. That Memorial Day holiday weekend started out as any other. And, my hubby and I ventured out to a lovely meal during the patriotic and memorable date. We chose a local German restaurant - the German Schnitzel Haus, located at 13475 Atlantic Boulevard, in Jax. And, just because… well - for no reason other than because I wanted to, I went ahead and vlogged the experience for you. We ended up enjoying our meal, the entire patio outside to ourselves, grabbing some monstrously sized dessert afterward at Whataburger, and then made our way over to what I call The Bridge. Jacksonville is a city by the water. Ocean, rivers, creeks, swamps, intercoastal, etc. - so bridges are everywhere throughout town, and I absolutely love them all. And really, I just seem to call every bridge and any bridge in town - the bridge. I’m quite a huge fan of bridges - by whatever name they happen to go by though. They absolutely fascinate me. Their structure, color, height, curvature, where and what and whom they are branching together in their arch, and then, even what happens to be hanging out underneath them... it’s all equally exciting and thrilling to me. So we went to The Bridge after we ate. And we just - hung out. Utilizing the shade from the structure, we relaxed. We watched all the activity taking place beneath the massive structure. And I captured a bit of this and a little bit of that, on video, for you. But since that fateful weekend, America has not been settled. She is very sick right now. She is broken-hearted. And my heart breaks - for her - and with her. Sure, I saw many, countless precursors to the actions that are currently taking place. I read, and understand the context of the previous pages. But I believe it was that weekend - Memorial Day Weekend - 2020, that helped ignite a flashpoint. I’ve previously discussed this event with you. I’ve even questioned if we are a world at war with one another? But when one is at war - the actual name of it is actually quite irrelevant at the time. After all, are we at war today? Does anyone know the answer? Many say yes - and many say no. Are we at war today if people deny it? Some say it's a cultural war. Some say a revolution? My brain is trying to tell me that all wars are unique. They all have a different appearance. They all have their own reasoning and context. And with any war - there will be those who it doesn’t affect as much as others. Could our national heartache and upset actually be such a fight? Taking place, right now? I really don’t know. But I do believe wherever we are - that we are at a tipping point. I do believe we’ve been in a lead up to THIS for a very long time, though. This - being whatever THIS is. And I’m talking years here - not days, weeks, or even months. I’ve seen the writing on the wall, and I’ve read the pages. And, sadly, yes... I do believe we may be currently living on the razor’s edge. I believe we are about to cross the event horizon line of a black hole. And we may be about to go past the point of no return. And just like a real black hole, way out there in outer space… It’s size, shape, power, grasp, and gravity… Some will never see it. Some will never understand it. And many - will never even read the books written about it later. But whether the books are written and read, or not, may be irrelevant to whom and when it is actually taking place. Because, when you’re being sucked into a black hole, your most likely only concern at that point is for your own survival. And as happens with every single thing that is sucked into a black hole - there comes a time, just before reaching the event horizon line, that one can still escape from its force. It’s that moment I am referencing here. With an extreme and heightened awareness of one’s immediate surroundings and what is happening. But it also may be very confusing. As such a force is so powerful and vast, that up close and personal, things may appear quite strange. Kinda like right now... What’s happening all around us - is literally and actually happening all around us. But - What’s been done is done. And we have to figure out how to continue onward. And it’s up to people to choose to see it. Or not. And people can definitely turn a blind eye. And people can deny all they want. And far into the future, many will just remember the numbers: 2020. And maybe not the significance of all that has occurred in that time period and during this exact time. And the event horizon line I’m talking about here is FORGIVENESS. Remember how I asked you earlier WHY Jesus rose from the dead? It seems there is currently a vast lack of forgiveness taking place in this world right now. We left forgiveness outside the black hole - if we did indeed cross the event horizon line. It didn’t join us on the next pages of our journey. We need to find forgiveness in our hearts - once again. And it is this lack of forgiveness that makes me question this relationship we have with one another. Once forgiveness is lost, there’s not much left to keep us tethered together. As a People. As a Nation. As a community. As global sovereign states and neighbors. And as a civil society. As peaceful patrons inside a grocery store. When someone does something or someone wrong, we have a very civil way of handling the situation. It’s pretty basic… and it’s called an apology. And after the person who wronged another apologized, this very basic and very humane thing usually occurs. And it happens on the opposing side… The other side of the wronged - by the person or persons who were wronged. This is where Forgiveness always factors in. On the side of the wronged is where forgiveness always matters the most. And forgiveness is sometimes, and most of the time, the more important part of the transaction amongst two beings. And if it happened today - right now - would that be a miracle? Because, is it forgiveness that has been lost? I see the anger. I feel the sadness. And heartache. But to top it all off - everyone wants everything in the entire world fixed overnight. Seemingly and literally. But real and lasting change doesn’t work that way. Who can solve such complex issues? Only you can bring about real change. Yes, that WHO - is YOU. You - hold all the power. You - hold the answers deep in your heart. You - have to understand context and reality. And - You - HAVE to give… You have to forGIVE. And that’s the only way out, and that’s the only way forward. Forgiveness. But, beyond forgiveness, there is something much bigger, larger, grander, than any one human - of which you also have to give. And yes, you have the power to give it. You have the power to give... the gift of Time. These are big Asks. They are monumental. But wars and revolutions and cultural change and new ways of living are never won easily. And not without great sacrifice. Forgiveness. & Time. And you have to do ALL THAT - while having the strength and will power and patience and diligence to sit through the five hundred and forty page novel... And keep reading. While you’re tired. And when you don’t want to. And even when it gets really boring. And really, really sad. The gift of TIME is a powerful thing. Of all the aspects in our technologically advanced society we are now home to here on Earth - Time is something we have yet to master. It is something that our infinite universe even doesn’t have the power to ultimately control. And it wants to - really bad. As space and time unite in other worlds, and time itself is bent around curvatures of distant planets and stars and galaxies. Time is still there. It just flows differently. We may not recognize it there if we stumble across it way out there. But it is there. And it never ends. Time is in itself indestructible. And TIME - holds many - and ALL the answers to this here little problem we are facing today. So as the summer season began this year, in this year - 2020... And I beared-witness to sadness and heartache throughout the world with my own eyes and ears… I decided to give to myself - and you - something very special. I gave Time. I gave myself Time. I watched Time pass. I let Time flow all around me. I blew a wish into Time. I cursed in the face of Time. I yelled at Time. And I cried many tears - over Time. But I also relished Time. I took advantage of Time. I used Time. I made deals with Time, and I placed bets with Time. I bargained with Time. And I even tried to manipulate Time to my advantage. I talked to Time. I listened to Time. I willed Time. I pleaded with Time. And ultimately, I let Time take over all five of my senses. And I let come what may. All through the passage of Time almighty. Yes, it was because of both national and global events that seemingly ignited over that holiday and the days immediately afterward, that I stepped back from my online presence in the world for a while. A lot of people have asked when I’d be writing once again. As it has now been three months since my last publication to y’all. I guess you could say I sorta closed up shop for a bit. And I enjoyed a Splendid Summer Sabbatical. Away. Away from publication. Away from deadlines. Away from technology in a sense. Sure, I’ve been on social media. Yes, I’ve been perusing the internet - probably the same as most others in the world. Of course, I’ve been checking the news. I’ve been chatting with friends and family on Facebook. But it’s all been very brief. And as I escaped from technology on one hand, I delved deep into my new YouTube channel with my other. I gave my very own website a little break. And for some strange and unknown reason that God understands, I now crave the art of filmmaking. Of pasting together clips, to summarize a story. To show viewers the beauty that lies on the other end of my camera. But for the most part, I lived entirely and exclusively OFF-line for a chunk of time. And instead, I worked. On myself. Yes, I still wrote. I still planned, and plotted. I filmed. I painted - and I painted with intention. And passion. And I painted purple. I painted “Blooms of Wartime” the nights of national and international heartache. The paint and color pouring onto the canvas. My reprieve from sadness overflowing in our world. I prayed. I exercised. I sweated. I read. Books. Lots and lots and lots of books. Books of all sorts. Books made from paper - printed on wood from a tree. I read - not by the light of a Kindle. I flipped the pages and smelled the scent of ink and paper. And I rested my eyes far less on the blue screen, and more so on the invisible air around me. I’ve done this all before. And I’ll do it all again. I’m not sorry in the least for stepping back. Because - Sometimes, you just need to go a different way. To regroup. Refocus. Reset the internal compass… to True North. I lived my real and true Summer Sabbatical. And I watched everything taking place around me. And I highly recommend it. In fact, I stayed so far away from the online world that I literally let my Macbook Air sit in a corner on a bookshelf and collect dust for quite some time. It sat there, for weeks upon weeks. It powered down. It lost all its energy and strength. I touched it not once. It literally gathered wispy dust bunnies on top itself. As if a magnetic force. Trying desperately to maintain its power in this world, and to suck life out of the room, and life back into its own body. Dust pooled on top the shiny gold and reflective apple. Yes - my precious and trusty laptop gathered as much dust as she could reasonably handle… until one day - She finally screamed at me. And I picked her up. Like a piece of sunken treasure. And I plugged her into the wall. And I breathed life back into her body. And began writing, once again. So... yeah, while months ago I said goodbye to the online written word... And for someone who runs a website in 2020 - the internet is a very crucial thing to be nestled safely amidst. It was definitely risky to say goodbye to all that. But I love risk. And I loved saying goodbye for a while to the daily digital grind… of website maintenance. I said goodbye to that oh-so-fancy, and lucrative, techy word - engagement. I followed no statistical numbers on how my website was doing. I didn’t check my likes, my hearts, my comments, for quite some time. And while I said goodbye to all of that and then some - I gave myself something in return. Something huge. Something as powerful as a black hole. I gave myself that funny thing called: TIME. The gift of Time. I personally needed to process everything that was taking place in the world. In my own way. In my own Time. In my own head. And none of that abides by a publication schedule. So, what the heck... I said goodbye to that while I was at it, too. I know, I know, you’re saying that as a blogger I need to publish according to schedule. But - just because I wasn't on a publication schedule, with normal posting dates and times, doesn’t mean I couldn’t write. And didn’t mean I could no longer publish. It simply meant I put the ball even more so in my court than it was before. I won! Yes, I won myself over, and I do win here, in a way. And I’m winning - while America is currently losing. And she’s losing - real bad. I ache for what is happening in our beautiful and breathtaking and magnificent country. The country I write about. The air I breathe in. And the magnificent melting pot of people who live here under the flag of freedom. I don’t have any answers to any of America’s problems right now. But I know one thing we can give her…. And we can give her this graciously…. Time. She needs Time. Have you ever wondered why the Civil War did end up lasting from 1861 to 1865? Why did the war have to last that many years? Wars are not won overnight - you say? It took from 1861 until 1865 because the world needed from 1861 until 1865. Period. Time. What was solvable in 1865 had no context in 1861. And as I mentioned way back at the beginning - context is crucial to any story. We don’t even know if we should be rooting for Jack Ryan - as he jumps out of the burning building - or not - unless we read the whole story. Is he the hero - or the villain - at that time? Is he jumping from the 98th floor, or from the 1st floor? There is no magic wand that puts ideas into heads of the past. Thereby granting them the magical power of hindsight - to solve their worldly problems overnight, instead over the course of years. But today - living in this digital, instant, speed-of-light lifestyle that humanity has enveloped itself in and gladly swallowed whole without checking for side effects first, there’s not a whole lot of room for TIME to actually do its thing, at the same time - no pun intended. Its - almighty and ever-powerful - thing - that may ultimately help - something. Anything. We need time. Yes, and we need patience. We need MORE patience. We need to respect the virtue of patience more. And the only way to learn that is to give - yourself - time. There’s an old saying that you may have heard in one form or another… Fast change leads to no change. Or - Fast change is not lasting change. In other words…the other old saying... Slow change is the best change. Or - The only good and lasting change... is slow change. And I’m not saying I necessarily agree or disagree with those sentiments in some way. I’m just saying those sayings are old because they themselves have withstood the test of their time. And I am saying a new way of thinking is required to get past all of this heartache. I am saying risk and change are both good. But I am also saying that by stepping back for a few months - I respected that chunk of time. What I am writing to you today, I could not have written to you in the middle of the night, crying myself to sleep, three months ago. After only one night grieving for our nation… no ideas were in my head to solve any of our problems that we continue to face. But after three months of grieving for our nation… I have now - new - perspective. I have hindsight. I have reflection. I have brainstormed. I have contemplated. I have lived. And I have new thoughts. And ultimately, I have new ideas - only because of that precious and miraculous gift of time. If you check my YouTube channel information page, you’ll see the date of release of my channel was just before all this sadness began in 2020. After the beginning of the pandemic - but just before our further national upsets that have triggered so much heartache across the world. And if there is one thing at all that 2020 has taught me, as well as my amazing life in Florida - that is to never give up. So, Memorial Day weekend came and went - my channel had just started publication - and then I punched out for that lucrative Summer Sabbatical. BUT - I did NOT close up shop. I did NOT delete everything I worked for. No…. No…. And that’s definitely something the old Christine would have done. I would have given up. And I would have hit the delete button. But, I have since learned of the power of perseverance. The power of patience. And most imperatively, that forgiving power of TIME. So I did not hit DELETE. And I did NOT give up on my dreams. I merely put the oxygen mask on myself first. And then simply breathed for a while as my airplane found a safer flying zone - so to speak. Yes - I’m in this for the long haul. My website and branding and channels and social engagement is all still alive and there and breathing. And I respect the time and patience my dreams need in order to grow. Just as I value time itself. I value my very new and very small channel and my precious eight subscribers on YouTube. I am in no rush here. Nor would I want to be. I value where I am at presently, as much as I value life itself. And I will continue to give myself the gift of time. All. The. Time. And I’ll do it again any day, and twice on Sunday. Even if it's risky to my business. Even if I risk everything. Because TIME is imperative. And because, ultimately, my personal and business goal and my real DREAM of Christine’s Floridian Dreams - is to help you in any way to make your very own dreams come true. To kick you in the behind with some soft, yet, tough love, and persuade you to get off your couch. To pull off the covers… and get out of bed. Well before you want to. To: March Before You Feel Like It. And take your own action in this world. To live your very best life. Each and every single day. - And, yeah, twice on Sunday - just for the heck of it. So, after three months of my summer sabbatical coming to a close, and after three months of thought and reflection and glancing into outer space... Dreaming of black holes that lead to other magical and distant worlds. I look out toward the sky and ponder… There may be no better gift in the entire world for us to give to one another… as that seemingly magical gift of time. So it is my hope for America today - that we all will grant her some time. That we all can exude the patience of saints. As wheels turn and flowers bloom. And as we sprinkle pumpkin spice on top of our latte foam. America needs time to process everything, just as we all do. And just as I couldn’t do it all on night one, neither can the rest of the world do it in a few months. Everyone will have all their own ideas, at their very own pace, and at their own time. We all have to make sense of things. We all have to process. We all have to give. You may not see much giving in front of your own eyeballs right now, but know it’s there. Just as I know that black holes exist but I cannot see them for myself - I do know there is more goodness in this world than bad. More love than hate. And more forgiveness than we think we have within us to give. So go ahead and give yourself some time. Shut down that iPhone. Say goodbye to your blog subscribers if need be. Say hello to a new way of doing business. Yes - close your laptop - a very needed tool in our dearly beloved 2020. Close it up and let it gather a bunch of dust bunnies if need be. Stop receiving - stop Receiving texts and likes and hearts and follows and tweets… and Give instead. Give to others in the format of real life. And NOT with the Like button. How? In your own way. Give… to yourself. And Give… to America. And the world. And after a new chunk of time - time far into the future from right now and today - I can only hope that we will all look back upon this time period. And we will have that new perspective. A perspective unavailable today due to the vast and mighty power of time. And it is my sincere hope that I have been all wrong here. That we are NOT really at war with one another, or on the verge of. That the shot heard round the world of today has not been released from its trigger. And that war was not in our future together. And that instead we all came together. And we saved burning forests and trees and buildings. We salvaged all the plastic in the oceans and the baby sea turtles thanked us by swimming freely into the ocean. We breathed clean and non-suffocating air. We made true and lasting and realistic reforms to challenges that we are currently facing. That school children twenty, fifty, one hundred years from now will study the numbers 2020 in mesmerization of what we SOLVED - together… Oh so very long ago. And we all walked down the street hand in hand. And not gun to gun. Weapon to weapon. Evil to Evil. Hate to Hate. Heck - I’ll still welcome those aliens I mentioned earlier, with wide open arms. Besides, those aliens... they do come in peace. Duh! No it’s Love to Love that I’m rooting for inside my brain. But, as an old adage and quite familiar saying so goes… Only time will tell, my friends. Yes - Only time will tell. So give her some time, why don’t ya? Just give all of it and then some - Time. ~ 
 I’ve written to you before about telegrams. For some unknown reason, that maybe only God understands - they absolutely fascinate me. But really, they were just another form of human written communication. Of their age. We used to write STOP. Now we write with Hashtags. Writing. It has been around forever. And it will never die. Just as cavemen wrote on earthen walls back in the day. The Blogger, of today, writes on a website. And just as much as governments, and those in positions of high power, try to censor human communication. There will always be those who fight the censor. Always those on the side of freedom of human expression. Writing is an art. Not a science. Writing is a freedom of expression. Writing is freedom of speech. And I write this….. I write this as America burns. I write this to say ~ Goodbye. 80 posts. I never knew where 80 posts would take me. I never knew what would be coming. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t fathom writing this 80th post for publication. Or, even moreso, I could never imagine the subject of the content that I am sharing with you today in this post. Looking back, I never knew what I could and would be posting about on this date into my blogging future. I never could even imagine or wrap my head around it. Because, you see, each and every day, each and every post, I merely let the writing itself drive me. I was in the passenger seat half the time as my other half drove the car. Maybe it was God who was in the driver's seat. Yes, that’s who it was. And we took my car to many, many places. 80 stories. Boat rides. Air planes in the sky. Southern Living House. The Keys. Christmas. Baking. Recipes and lots of cooking. Markets and shops and fairs and fests and parties. And now, a global plague... A Civil War. 80 intentions to spread inspiration, hope, love, and something else. Tough love. True Grit. Self-Determination. Motivation. Movement. Momentum. Massive Action. In that exact order. To inspire YOU - to give yourself a kick in the behind, and get yourself out there. To Live. Why? Because tough love and true grit makes one stronger. And we need strength in this world. Resiliency. With what and how was I going to do this? By showing up for myself. With: Poetry. Art. Paintings. Many of which were gifted to loved ones. Painted from my heart. Specifically swiping every stroke for the person I gifted the piece to. And many others were painted equally from the heart, passion onto canvas, and placed up for sale on my Etsy Shop. Stories. Truth. Fiction. Challenges. Debates. Dining reviews. Breakfasts. Lunches. Dinners and Diners. Coffee Shops. And donuts. Ohhh, all those gosh darn donuts... I certainly ate a whole heck of a lot of calories - especially carbs - purely for the benefits of my readers. For the sake of the written word - but of course. And… Adventure. Because, I guess I was trying to tell you, that the ADVENTURE of visiting a donut shop, is the Adventure of life itself. The adventure of waking every day, and you deciding what to make of the day, is life itself. The small things are the important things. And there’s just no way to say that to you in words. Sitting with the best of friends, poolside, having a laugh. Meeting others for dinner. Talking to loved ones on the phone. Ladies exchanging little trinkets and jewelry and candles for birthdays and Christmas. Men sharing a beer and talking ‘shop’ by the barbecue grill, while all the women gossip about other stuff. Spending the Fourth of July celebrating the birth of pure freedom. Independence. Liberty. Watching your nieces and nephews and God children grow up. Photos. A simple text exchange with forever friends and kindred spirits, on the hardest days of your life. And, yes, even being Facebook friends with your friends and family. I could go on all night. I could pull out creative wording and imagery to convey what I want to say. But I don’t want to. And I don’t want to spend the time on it. Because, this week, I’m still out there living. I’m still out there showing up for myself. And, I’m still not letting anything stop me. And this post is... what it is. It’s the middle of the night. We are in a Civil War. My heart is broken in half. And I’m crying. The “Goodbye” in the title of this post is… what it is. But it’s also something else. The “Goodbye” is the real thing. And the “Goodbye” is the creative wording and imagery I’m trying to convey. Specifically, the “Goodbye” is aimed directly at my Subscribers. If you are a Subscriber, you, and only you, have received emails from me, twice a week. In those emails I have greeted you with a great, big - “Hello, My Bright & Shiny Sunshine Friends!” Happy Monday, I’d say. Happy Friday, I’d say. Ohhhh, the secrets of the CFD Subscription is out of the bag now - the benefits of being a Subscriber of Christine’s Floridian Dreams! I tried. I really did my part to help inspire you with those words, didn’t I? Did I inspire you to love your brothers and sisters? Did I inspire you to love those brothers and sisters back, who don’t even love you? In return? No, probably not. I suppose. But, maybe, just maybe, I inspired you to get out there, and live your life… Maybe, I inspired you to visit a Krispy Kreme, and try a hot-off-the-fryer donut. Or to go to Dunkin and get some munchkins. Or drive through Starbucks… and get a puppuccino for your own furry angel. Or to go out to dinner, and order some fries. And, if I did inspire any of that? Great….. If I made you cry a tear. Great. If I made you laugh. Great. If I inspired you with a post that you loved so much that you actually passed it along to someone who you thought may benefit from it in some way. Great. I suppose that I, then, at that point, technically speaking, really did my job as a Blogger well - if you shared even one of my posts in some way with someone else. For someone else to benefit from, who you thought could use the words. My words. My writing. My telegram - of today. And for that, you’ll never know how much that action means to me, and I am eternally grateful. Cause, I did my job well. As a Blogger. If for that reason alone. And - basically, what else I’m trying to say, is that, if you have consumed even one donut in the last year because I have written about them, then I have done my job successfully. And today, my job - is to say Goodbye. The good news of this Goodbye… and yes, there is good news… is that the Goodbye is only to my Subscribers. You know, those bright and shiny Sunshine Friends? The ones I mentioned above. Who maybe don’t love me or think I am bright and shiny - but, maybe - they received an email from me twice a week. To those Subscribers, and to those Subscribers who love me… this Goodbye is for you: And here’s the meat of it - I am saying Goodbye because I intend to stop emailing you. Twice a week. Once a week. Whatever it is. Whatever it was. I will not be sending emails on behalf of Christines’s Floridian Dreams out any longer. Your inbox will not arrive with a stamped letter. You will not be receiving a telegram from me any longer. But - and here’s the good news…. That’s the only gosh darn thing that’s changing. You will still be able to reach out to me - any time - at: Christinesfloridiandreams@gmail.com And www.christinesfloridiandreams.com Plus, @beansfldreams on Instagram and Twitter. As well as a Pinterest board and a Facebook page at Christine’s Floridian Dreams. And now a YouTube at Christine Pieper. Christine’s Floridian Dreams is still alive. Christine’s Floridian Dreams is still breathing. Christine’s Floridian Dreams is bright and shining in the sun? Who in the H E double hockey sticks knows. Other than God. But, either way, my point is that my website is not dying. My website is my home. My website is my property. My (only) little piece of property, that I and I alone - own - on the Internet, is alive. I just won’t be emailing you any more. Why? I don’t want “Christine” flooding your inbox twice a week anymore. For many reasons. And for all the oh-so-experienced Bloggers out there... if you’re reading this... you’re probably gasping from that one sentence in this article that ultimately destroys my online business. You’ve probably spit out the drink you’ve just swallowed. You’re probably laughing your donkeys off at me. She’s making the biggest mistake out there, I KNOW you are thinking. What a rookie - you’re thinking? How pathetic can she be?! Hahaha. Stop taking subscribers? Stop emailing those subscribers? That’s less clicks. That’s less page read through. That’s less communication. That’s less engagement. Less ways to know what content your subscribers love and what they hate… That’s less time on her site. Ha haaaa. She’s over. Going out of business sale is on. Come and get the clearance items. There’s a great deal going on in the purse department. Yeah, well, call it whatever you will. Call it just another small business failing you say. Call it being a victim of the plague, or this mess of the hate in the aftermath. Call it a soldier down in this War. Of the anything, and everything, going on out there. This moment. Today. Did I mention we are in a Civil War? - Call it all what you will. I know why I am making this decision for my business. And that’s the plain art of this paragraph. I do know that this post will probably be shared around the Internet on Blogging Tutorials… As the prime and number one example of What Not To Do To Grow Your Blog. A Blogger searches out Subscribers, right? A Blogger lives and dies by Subscribers, right? Well, I’ve never been your typical Blogger... and I don’t ever intend to be, either. And I say “Intend” because I mean to intend. I mean to continue. I’m merely not emailing out the content anymore. But, I still will be creating content. And I still will be publishing content. You see, the great thing about property ownership - is that I can do it all. You know, it’s sorta like how if you’re renting a house - you can live in the space, and breathe in the space, but you can’t really remodel the place? You can’t paint the walls pink without checking with the landlord first. Or, ya know, like, let’s say - take a jackhammer to a wall, and blow it out. Or, ohhhh - What the heck. Add a second bathroom, why don’t we? Take the bathtub and move it to the other side of the house? Sure, good luck with all that - if you’re renting. But when you own it, you actually CAN take that bathtub and move it from the bathroom to the living room and place it directly in front of the fireplace, why don’t we? Sure. Whatever, who cares. My decision. I own the house, I can decorate the living room any way I choose. Heck, I have the power to hire a plumber and redirect the pipes. If I wanna take a bath next to the television. My choice. So, as with my domain, my website - I own it. I decide on the content. I can be the writer. I can be the editor. I can be the publisher…. And in the end, I can be the moderator of my site, too. And - I can decide if I want to continue putting a stamp on the next envelope, lick the flap, and drop it in the blue box, or not. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m still doing my investigative research, I’m still writing my reports, I’m just not broadcasting the resulting content out over the AP any longer. I’m not visiting the Telegram Office. And on a side, but related note, that I’m slapping atop this envelope with a yellow post-it - I have decided to terminate my Etsy Shop today, and effective today, also. All art, craft, and creation, may be going up for sale under my own website domain that you are already familiar with, at some point in the future. Some paintings will not go back up for sale at all though. And this decision regarding Etsy is already final, and already in effect. And - If you know me at all, you know how stubbornly and fiercely independent I am as a human. I know what I want. And what I don’t. And I am assured in my decisions. So I can tell you this was not a decision I made lightly. Each and every decision I am announcing today came from my heart and soul. And I can tell you with great and sincere confidence, that God directed me toward this path today. He, and He alone, is guiding me down my journey in this life. Since the day He saved my life, the rest of my life has been, and will forever be, devoted to Him. It is with His help, that I just, moments ago, closed my Etsy Shop. And it is with his footsteps in the sand, carrying me, right now, as I send this letter to post. And then, I’ll hop back down to solid ground, and keep going myself, after you receive my last and final email. So, to sum it all up in some creative or word-flowy and imagery kind of way… basically, if you like Christine’s Floridian Dreams, and if you enjoy checking out my strangely arranged living room, it’s still there for you to see. You’ll just have to drive on by yourself, pull up into the driveway, get on out of the car, and ring the doorbell. And, after you ring, it is then that you will see if I’m home, or not. And even if I’m not home, even if you missed me, even if I happen to be at Dunkin having some Munchkins and a large Iced Latte while you stopped over, just by visiting, you'll be able to enjoy the garden that’s on display in my front yard. So, if you want to see my dreams, you can simply type in the letters w w w . c h r i s t i n e s f l o r i d i a n d r e a m s . c o m …. Into your browser, and you can find me there. After 79 posts, and then and now this, my 80th, I’ll reiterate right here that there will be a post 81 - probably. - At some point. For any of you who are looking forward to it. Because that’s where I live. And that’s where I’ll be dreaming. I don’t know if I’ll be bright and shiny. I don’t even know if the sun will be shining. But I do know one thing, and one thing only, Goodbye. Oh yeah - and Happy Wednesday! To all my bright and shiny Sunshine Friends! Don’t forget to get out there and make today the best day of your life. And then, do it all over again tomorrow. Hashtag God Bless America. Stop. ~ 
5/27/2020 0 Comments #79) At A Crossroads... When you come to your next fork in the road, what way will you go? There’s a favorite Seinfeld episode of mine - where George Costanza does the complete opposite of what he usually does throughout the entire show’s running. For example, if George would normally be shy in front of a woman, he does the opposite. So, in this episode, he would go right up to her and ask her out on a date. He says that he always orders tuna on toast at the diner. But, he ponders, nothing exciting ever came from tuna on toast, for him. So he’s going to go ahead and order the exact opposite of tuna on toast…. And see what happens. And, if he normally does absolutely and literally nothing, all day long, then he now would do the opposite - meaning he would do SOMETHING! Whatever it is in his entire life that is his usual REACTION - he decides he will now go ahead and do the absolute opposite reaction. And in turn, he gets a whole heck of a lot done, accomplished. It may not have all turned out the way he wanted, but he was acting, living, and most importantly, trying. I tend to think that George considered himself a failure in life, most of the time. But in this episode, as is usually the case in sitcoms, everything changes, for a single show. And Jerry tells him, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” With this realization, George gets out there and kicks some major behind. And for 22 minutes - George is living his best life. He is successful. He is alive. Because doing something, he realized, was better than doing nothing. And making that hard choice was better overall, than making the easy choice. The usual choice. So, maybe go ahead and watch that episode, or even just some hilarious clips from it, online, if you have a few moments to spare. Or even if you have a pending decision to make. Because there’s a Seinfeld episode out there about every single decision in life. And this one is a Hallmark Classic. Bringing me to the question I have for you today… When you are at a crossroads - which way will you go? Which way have you gone when reaching crossroads in your past? When you reach the very next junction in your life… Do you know which direction you will be choosing? I’m here to remind you of that tiny, little voice inside your own head… directing you… to…. The Opposite. If you do the absolute opposite of which you have always done, won’t you theoretically get the opposite results from which you have always received? Thus, leading your life in a completely new, and foreign, and challenging, direction? Stimulating growth, new ideas, and therefore, completely new results, in your life. And it is with that question in mind, that I hope you enjoy this week’s vlog of Christine’s Floridian Dreams... My newest YouTube video that I’ll be sharing with you later this week. In it, I’m merely taking you along on a little, minor, daily adventure. For some small, and simple, choices in daily life. Where do I go that day… where will we eat… what do we order? What dessert location should we go to? And - how will we get there?... Because - There are multiple bridges to cross along the way too. And sometimes, it’s the actual bridge that becomes the best part of the day. Not where you have gone, or where you are headed to next, but simply stopping along the journey, and enjoying the junction itself. So, what direction will you choose - at your next fork in the road? What way will you turn, and therefore, which route, will you take, at your next crossroads of life? When that fateful question begs inside your own head - Maybe it’s time to consider the absolute opposite of tuna on toast - to you - and choose that. ~ 
*What’s your favorite Seinfeld episode? Do you always order tuna on toast, like George does? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, if you’re enjoying my Floridian Dreams, adventures, writings, ramblings, poetry, challenges, and reviews, you can go ahead and check out some more, right here: 77] The Lost Art of the Phone Call 75] The First Supper @ Palm Valley Outdoors Bar & Grill 73] What I’m Missing Right Now 71] My 69 Week Break From Social Media ~ Why I Left & Why I Came Back 68] A Sunday Stroll 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 57] First Watch on the First Coast 56] Shell World ~ Key Largo 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe *Part of - Bean’s Kitchen - series 46] Key Largo, Montego, Baby Why Don’t We Go? 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 36] The End Of A Decade & My New Year’s Wish To You 5/25/2020 0 Comments #78) The Best Part Of Waking Up... The best part of waking up... Is Folgers in your cup… Sorry, I had to. If merely because I love coffee so very gosh darn much. But right now I’m actually literally stuck on Folgers. It’s cheap. It’s basic. It’s good. Buying at least one pound worth a week, and making it every single morning. In my trusty ol’ Mr. Coffee coffee maker. Just like the one my grandparents used to use every day. And all those massive amounts of coffee beans got me thinking... about mornings. And how important they are to how one’s entire day will eventually turn out to be. If you are literally rolling out of bed every morning, strolling over to the bathroom and getting right in the shower, then heading directly off to work, hair barely dry from being shampooed and conditioned - I’m here to put a thought bubble above your head, and let it pop... You may be doing mornings wrong - in my opinion, that is. For the past few years I’ve been taking my mornings quite seriously. Meaning, I devote a huge chunk of time to myself - at the start of every single day. Whether it’s exercise, reading, or a bit of both and then some, I am absolutely certain to do something just for me each and every morning. This simple act sets the path for a better day forward. I talk to you a lot about momentum - And mornings mean momentum, my friends. I take my mornings so seriously that I rise well before I need to - a good chunk of hours ahead of time actually. And the morning activity I partake in may differ as much as the day itself does. But the one act remains the very same and true each day. It’s the activity of time for self that is imperative. So, if rising early is something that you haven’t been doing, but are interested in getting started with, I’ve got a few ideas and examples to help you begin, right here: 1-Grab a book: Read. Even if it’s just five pages. Or ten. That’s how a book gets read, doesn’t it? One page at a time? 5 pages at a time? Just pick up a copy of the latest book you’ve been dying to read, put it by your bedside table, and when that alarm goes off the following morning, grab Grishman’s latest novel, Camino Winds, and read the first few pages. [Spoiler-not-spoiler - it takes place in a fictional town based on an island exactly where I live here in the Jacksonville, Florida area. And - It’s a sequel to Camino Island.]  My current read.  Just finished this one. 2-Exercise: There is nothing better to kick your day into high gear than to get your body moving. Even if moving simply means stretching. If you haven’t been doing a whole lot of exercise lately, I’d highly recommend you start with some simple stretches. Add onto that routine a bit at a time, and then start walking. Days, weeks, and months later, you’ll have a solid walking routine down. And - if you miss a day, you may actually really be missing it!   “March Before You Feel Like It” - apparel for sale on my Spreadshirt shop! Click on the above image to take you right on over there, my friends. 3-Gain Mental Strength: I believe that mornings to myself help my mentality, my overall mental state. By doing what I mentioned up at the beginning… rolling out of bed, hopping in the shower, and driving off to work… that doesn’t allow much time for the mind to wander. Freely. So set your alarm early - far before you have to be in the shower… and simply light a candle, if that’s the best you can do at the moment. And maybe breathe. Or journal. Meditate. Make a cup of hot coffee. Sit in a hot bath - maybe, with a podcast. Chill… just…. hang out… with yourself. Your mindset will lighten. Your shoulders will become unburdened. It may take some time. And repetitiveness. But that load will lighten, I promise. Just keep at it. And let these minor, daily actions build into momentum, which will build movement, and massive action will then follow.    4-Creativity: If you are a creative person, mornings are a phenomenal time to get it all out and onto the medium you may be working with at the time. Don’t wait till the end of the night, after work, after dinner, and after dessert and night-time television, to open up your creative side. Because your best work might actually be done in the mornings. When you can rise early, to devote the time just to yourself, without any of the upcoming day’s distractions to block your outlet. If you paint, get on over to your studio. If you write, pull open your laptop, and get typing. If you are merely planning ideas and brainstorming, open up your bullet journal and get those ideas onto paper. Draw. Sketch. Apply for art shows. The list is endless. Whatever it is that you don’t have time for during the day - the time is now, to work on that. Which brings me to my own latest announcement I’d like to share with you today:  Christine’s Floridian Dreams now has a YouTube Channel! It’s out there, public, and with one whole solid freaking subscriber to date… plus, one whole, whopping 49 second video, just sitting out there, waiting for you to go ahead and watch it. Wahoo! :) You can access my channel by clicking on the link below: Why YouTube? For myself, personally, It’s part of what I mention in bullet number four above - creativity. There’s a creative outlet there for me that I want to brainstorm. Explore. And paint a new picture with - so to speak. The app is the easel. The mind is the creator of the artistic content, and the video is the canvas. I see it. I envision it. And now, I’m just going ahead and doing it. YouTube has been something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a very long while now. And why have I finally decided to start it? Because I’m here to take my own gosh darn advice, y’all. The only one stopping me - is me! I have no excuse not to do something I really want to do. It’s free. I already have a smartphone. And I have a whole heck of a lot of ideas that I’m currently filming for y’all. Again - did I mention... it’s free? And this brings me back to my own creativity and how to get started with your own creative ideas... Christine’s Floridian Dreams is alive as my creative outlet. And my ultimate goal, by sharing all of my writings, paintings, Etsy shop, inspirational tee-shirts, blogs… my entire website, and now - my videos, with you - is to help you get out there and live your own dream. I’m living my dream, and I want you to know that you can live your own dreams, too. There is nothing stopping you. You are the one who has to make your own dreams come true. And once you truly understand and comprehend that fact, there will be nothing stopping you from living out your wildest and happiest dreams and goals in life. Dreams just don’t miraculously come true with the waving of a magic wand. They come true through hard work. Visualization. Planning. Plotting. Sweating. And maybe even by lighting a candle, sitting in the bathtub, and listening to a podcast... instead of sleeping in…. They come true because you took the action of getting out of bed - well before you may have been ready to. So go ahead and get started on yourself. Give yourself that momentum to a better day ahead. Give yourself the gift of your morning. When you hear that alarm go off, jump out of bed, and begin your day. Whether you want to or not... March before you feel like it. And while the best part of waking up, may very well indeed be Folgers in your cup…. it’s really the best part of the day by simply just doing whatever you want to do most in your life. You merely need to get up, dust off that big and heavy thought bubble that’s just hovering around patiently above your head like a cloud, pop it, and get started. ~ 
*How do you spend your early mornings? Do you allocate a good chunk of your day entirely on yourself? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, I’ve got some more of my ramblings and writings and adventures for y'all to check out, right here: 77] The Lost Art of the Phone Call 73] What I’m Missing Right Now 71] My 69 Week Break From Social Media ~ Why I Left & Why I Came Back 68] A Sunday Stroll 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 55] The Shamrock 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe *Part of - Bean’s Kitchen - series 49] A Picture Worth A Thousand Words ~ Happy Valentine’s Day, World 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia *Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series 46] Key Largo, Montego, Baby Who Don’t We Go? 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 *Part of - Bean’s Kitchen - series 24] In Real Life ~ My First Visit To A Southern Living Idea House  Go ahead and admit it - with great pride and your head held high… you’ve been spending more time on the phone lately, haven’t you? It may be one of the single greatest positive acts that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. People have definitely been talking to one another on the phone, more than they had been in any of the recent past. And all this talking, it got me thinking... about Lucy Ricardo... Because Lucy always spent massive amounts of time on the phone. I’m a huge ‘I Love Lucy’ fan. I have been, my whole life. My grandparents turned me onto it, and when I think of Lucy, I think of them. I have memories of being with my Papa and Grandma - in person - in their house, with Lucy playing in the background. While we visited, and talked, and laughed, and cooked, and baked, and played games, and read, and celebrated holidays, as well as a whole heck of a lot of regular days, Lucy tended to be there right alongside us. And whether you’re a fan or not, my point about Lucy is this: She spent a lot of time at home. Inside her house. She wasn’t quarantined. There was no active plague. But she was at home, a lot. But home, or not, she always seemed to get herself into some sort of trouble. Big or small. There was always a crisis, many times of her own making, that needed solving. And with problem solving comes communication. And so she was always on the phone. Trying to solve one problem - while creating many others in her wake. Lucy talked so much on the phone that it might have well been her speciality... Her art. Her unique talent in life. But I also tend to think she used the phone simply to help pass some of her time - in between and amongst those many problems, of course. And Ricky was always making fun of her for that time spent. He’d be reading the paper, and she’d be on the phone - for hours at a time. Ricky couldn’t understand it! He couldn’t fathom how a person could spend so much of their time talking into that odd-shaped device? And most of the time it was all just chit-chat. Lucy gossiping with her friends. Rumors spreading, and lots of laughing. And always getting herself into scrapes - of varying degrees of that trouble I mentioned. And a lot of those phone calls were between her and Ethel Mertz. Her best friend, landlord, and close neighbor. They lived one floor apart in the same apartment building - directly above and below one another - for years. And even though they lived so very, very close, they spent hours on that telephone, with each other. After hours - of gabbing away - as Ricky might say, one of them would come to the realization that they needed to borrow a cup of sugar from the other. They’d then hang up the phone, and go up or down the single flight of stairs, to get the cup of sugar from the other, in person. And Ricky would then be even further confused… thinking - why couldn’t they have talked in person that whole time? So today, while people are keeping some seriously major distance from one another - they have been seeking new ways of communication. And it’s almost like people have re-discovered the phone, and what it’s original intended use was for. Cause it certainly wasn’t originally intended to get your news, your emails, your social media notifications, or to play video games. It was to talk, using voice. Maybe a lost art? Because people just don’t really do it anymore. Instead, people rely almost solely on the following: Tweets. Texts. Telegrams - oh wait, we don’t have that one anymore, do we? Snaps. Tagging. Email. Private Message. Facebook. Insta. Video. Zoom. Stories. Etc, etc. etc. Digital communication - and a lot of written digital communication - rules. But on the worst days of the plague, when I was still out and about and working, I noticed something I hadn’t seen in a very long time… And I heard something I hadn’t heard in a very long time either. And that was the act of people talking to another over the phone. And this is what I heard them saying into those devices... “I love you.” “How are you?” “Is everything ok?” “How are you feeling?” “Where are you right now?” “I’ll be there soon.” “I’m scared.” “What can I bring you?” “Hang in there.” “I love you.” - I mentioned that one already. But you know what? I heard that one so many times, it was most definitely significant. And if I wasn’t out of the house during the plague, I might not have believed what I heard myself. As now many articles have been written regarding how phone calls have made a real and significant comeback during the pandemic… Stats, numbers, and charts giving authoritative proof to that numerical statistical change - I only needed to see it first-hand, in my own little corner of the world, to know how true it really was. With people’s necks constantly bent down, eyeballs looking at their phone screens, for years upon years now, then quickly adapted into actually seeing their heads up, and talking from their mouths, and listening from their ears, the change was real. Maybe talking on the phone has become so rare that the act of doing so has become an actual gift - to another. A gift of time… Especially today, in this ever-innovative, fast-paced, and digital age. Tweeting… and texting... it’s all so very fast, so instant, and so non-commital of a person’s time, that a quick bubble of letters and numbers and symbols and emojis has seemingly replaced real, verbal communication, enmasse. But a phone call means commitment too. In a way the digitally written word does not. A phone call means really taking that time and sitting down - to chat - with another - one-on-one. Devoting one’s personal time and voice and ear to another human, for a specified chunk of one’s time. While the written word, and the internet, is, as they say - permanent, or cannot be taken back after it’s out there in a sense, the phone call remains something permanent as well. Because it means you gave that time away to another person in a way that cannot ever be taken back. You cannot recall it. You cannot hit the Delete button. You cannot erase it. You cannot unpin it. You cannot wipe it. So the phone call has, in a pandemicy kind of way, become a valuable, and non-regiftable, present. And not to say that there are numerous societal benefits to texting and instant messaging, but the phone call is now special in its own way. With entire generations currently growing up on social media and digital communication being the norm, the phone call is seemingly less and less important to society as a whole. But, just like war, plagues have a way of changing things... Of amending the trajectory of society. And, thus, the way people communicate. For better and for worse. And while most all of the plague lies in the worse category, for obvious reasons, there are most definitely some good aspects of global change that have developed out of this crisis... And that is the clear and present fact that people the world over have started talking to another once again. And I got in on the act myself, too. Talking on the phone is actually one of the things I had been praticing myself these past few years of living far away from friends and family. I knew that, with moving away from everything and everyone I knew, I would need to rely on the phone more so than I had in the past, to stay in touch with those I love. So over these past few years, after my move to The Sunshine State from Illinois, I had already been trying to be in better, one-on-one communication, with many, many people. But the coronavirus ended up only strengthening that resolve further. During the course of this virus, it sometimes feels as if I spoke with more friends and family from afar on the phone than I had in the whole time since I moved away. And I think maybe that feeling is actually true. I have reached out to loved ones, and they have also reached out to me. All, over the phone. No, it wasn’t email. It wasn’t Facebook. It wasn’t Instagram. And it certainly wasn’t TikTok or SnapChat. Crisis does bring people closer together. And sometimes a text just doesn’t count. Sometimes hearing another’s voice is all the more important, and valuable, in a time of fear, loneliness, crisis, confusion, and loss. And whether we lost someone we know personally, or not, during these past months of crisis, we all lost a whole heck of a lot…. of a whole heck of a lot. Life is changed. Forever. And it’s up to us to Adapt to those changes. Modify. And Proceed. And it is now my call to action - to you, fellow humans out there in InternetLand - to pick up that cellular phone. Today. And call someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Flip through your digital Rolodex. Choose some digits. And talk. Use this long, holiday weekend… And maybe spend a long while on the phone with that person. And maybe even if that person lives just around the corner from you. Maybe even if they are your Ethel, and you are their Lucy. Even if they live so close to you that you can reach out your arm, maybe by standing on your own balcony, stretching less than six feet apart, and swap with them a cup of sugar - in exchange for a stick of butter, or a cup of flour. Even if you are that close. Pick up the phone. And give them a call. Let that cup of sugar be your excuse if need be. Because while the entire world keeps on changing, and keeps on spinning, some things just never change… Plague or no plague… There’s still more problems that need solving… And Lucy and Ethel still need to gossip… And there’s still another celebration on the way - another cake to bake - and yet still another cup of sugar to borrow. ~  ‘Welcome To Florida’
*Have you picked up the phone more so lately, during the coronavirus? Who have you called recently that you haven’t talked to in a very long time? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also - if you’re enjoying my ramblings, my writings, and my Floridian adventures, there’s some more for ya, right here: 75] The First Supper @ Palm Valley Outdoors Bar & Grill 73] What I’m Missing Right Now 71] My 69 Week Break From Social Media ~ Why I Left & Why I Came Back 68] A Sunday Stroll 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 55] The Shamrock 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe *Part of - Bean’s Kitchen - series 49] A Picture Worth A Thousand Words ~ Happy Valentine’s Day, World 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia *Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series 42] Where Does The Chicken Cross The Road? 41] Minnie The Daschund Mouse & Her Birthday Wish 24] In Real Life ~ My First Visit To A Southern Living Idea House 21] Cinotti’s ~ And Why Life Is Too Short To Not Eat Donuts 18] Sea & Sky Jax Weekend ~ Fun In The Florida Sun, Sea, Sky & Sand  *Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series I’m always trying to do something I’ve never done before - to try something new. Whether it be a new recipe in the kitchen, read a book I never thought of reading, drive a different route to get where I’m going, expand my taste buds with a new brand of coffee, or visit somewhere I’ve never been… Well, in the spirit of that continued search, we finally made it to The Grom… Angie’s Grom, that is.     We had visited Angie’s Subs for the first time a while back - before the plague - and had intentions to then get ourselves on over to The Grom as well, but then everything shut down. And it only took us some freaking years to finally make it to the most local of local establishments in town here at the beach. Located at 204 3rd Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach, The Grom describes itself online as a colorful and quirky sandwich joint. They serve breakfast and lunch and coffee and sodas. And on weekends they also have a Sunday Brunch menu.  With a Facebook page and an Instagram, social media is the way to stay connected with the Grom online. So if you’re looking for an online menu before going in, check them out on social for the latest and their daily specials. The Grom is a daytime cafe - of which there are a lot in town. Their hours are normally 7am-4pm on Monday through Friday, plus 7am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday’s, with dine-in, takeout, and delivery having some limitations right now during the coronavirus situation we all find ourselves in.   Described as a local dive, or the beaches dive, I knew I wouldn’t need to be dressed in my Sunday finest to visit. A tank top, shorts, and some flip flops are more than dressy enough, and most people get their food while going or coming to the beach for the day. And with the early morning start, it’s a great, quick stop to get coffee on the way to work for the day. Angie’s also sells reusable drink mugs too for hot coffee refills to go. On this day, we were once again out on a morning walk with the pooch. And decided it was finally time to pay them a visit.  The vibe is fun and most definitely beachy. Silly, and most certainly colorful. There isn’t a dry or boring space on any wall. Service is fast-casual, paying at the counter, then waiting for one’s order to be called. Out the front door and around to the side, there’s a cute little outdoor seating alcove that we found ourselves situated at, enjoying the beautiful morning. I’ve been in love with the tall palm tree being hugged by a table and chairs forever and glad to finally sit at it.  For purposes of this visit, we ordered two hot coffee’s, to go. Plus hubby ordered the breakfast burrito/wrap meal - which comes with home fries. They also offer iced coffee - already premade and sweetened. We opted for the hot coffee, adding cream and no sweetner.     Our total for two coffee’s at $2.50 each, plus the single breakfast meal at $5.99, was $11.76, plus tip. The price for a cup of coffee is certainly one of the cheapest around, and the cup a generous size as well. Actually, word of mouth has it that Angie’s offers generous portions and remains extremely inexpensive. I would say that rumor is true. With our cups of coffee being quite large - comparable to a Starbucks venti size hot drink, and the portion of food in the to-go box, we definitely got our money’s worth. In fact, my coffee was so large I didn’t finish and put the rest in the fridge, to reheat the next morning. Fast, simple, and in and out. We took our order home to eat on the balcony. Another Sunday at home. Another week on the way. And another place I’d never been checked off my imaginary list… What something new did you do this weekend? And what something new will you be trying this week? ~ 
*Have you been to Angie’s Grom? What’s your favorite item on their menu? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Hey - you there - If you’re looking for the rest of Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge, check out the links below: 72] Breezing Through Life @ Breezy’s Coffee Shop 69] Chaunie’s Coffee Truck 67] Delicious & Delightful Days @ The Delicomb 60] Welcome To Muffin Land ~ The Ugly Cupcake & Muffinry 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 9] Sago Coffee: A Cup Of Friendly & Flavorful Florida Also - you may wanna browse through some more of my ponderings, and poems, here: 73] What I’m Missing Right Now 71] My 69 Week Break From Social Media ~ Why I Left & Why I Came Back 68] A Sunday Stroll 65] The Sea Life ~ Happy Easter 64] Stay-At-Home Sunday ~ Palm Sunday 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 57] First Watch on the First Coast 55] The Shamrock 54] Um, Open @ Angie’s Subs 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe *Part of - Bean’s Kitchen - series  When The Last Supper took place - no one, except Jesus, knew what was to come. Because, sometimes, you just don’t really know that it’s actually The Last Supper, until The Last Supper is completely over with. Done. Finished... Time, and actions, have both passed. Jesus hung on the cross… and then it hits you - that was the last time you were able to dine with Him. Would you have done something differently? Had you known it would be the final time? The final meal? Would you have asked Him a different set of questions? Would you have had a different sort of conversation? Had a second helping of bread and butter? Would you have ordered every dessert on the menu? Because - what the heck - it IS The Last Supper, of course. Of all the meals in all the world, now is the time to order the chocolate lava cake, with vanilla ice cream on top, draped in chocolate syrup, and then topped with sprinkles and a cherry on top.  Over the last few months, #lastsupper might have well been trending every single day. Because with every conversation I have had with another human being - this meal - this act - was a topic of conversation… Where was your last dinner out? What did you order? Who were you with? And even - what did you talk about? Ahh, who were you with??? Before quarantine took us all over. Were you with the ones you are with right now? Were you with loved ones you now have not seen in eight weeks? Separated by an invisible plague. A plague that is wreaking havoc on civilization itself. Were you celebrating a special occasion during that final meal? Or was the dinner out nothing special at all?... Just another day, just another outing. Not really having given it a passing thought.       Yes, everyone has their own Last Supper right now. We all dined out one last time before shut-down orders took over the globe. And restaurants shut their doors. Some for a short time. And sadly, some forever more. And at-home cooking and dining became the new way of life. Either that, or a whole heck of a lot of take-out, delivery, and curbside service, which started enmasse, in the wake of the pandemic.       There are lots of meaningful moments in a person’s life. Many moments that, when they are taking place, the person does not know it’s the last time. That’s why the old adage… Live each day as if it were your last. OR You don’t know what you’ve got, till it’s gone. So, maybe now is the time to ask yourself: Are you living each day? Yes, even during quarantine. Are you fully alive? Each and every single day. Regardless of place? Circumstance? Location? Setting? Situation? Finances? Limitations? Roadblocks? Mystery? Scarcity? Hope? Fear? I am. And I have been, living, each day. For three years. I am fully ALIVE. Pandemic… Or no pandemic. I am alive. And I am living my very best life. I was fully alive before the world changed, and I am extremely grateful to be fully alive during it. And I’m still completely and 100% alive, as the world awakens, opens up their front doors, and steps off their front porches… many, for the first time, in a very long time. You see, I was already out there… standing in the street… looking inward, toward humanity, inside their houses. Just waiting for y'all to come on out again. And join me. In life. Because life - in Florida - means fresh air. While it was winter, and a cold and rainy spring, in many areas of the country, during this horrific shutdown, living in Florida during this plague was an extra special blessing to be from God Himself.  I was able to still walk outside, and get fresh, warm air, every single day. I was able to sit on my balcony, outside, every single day. I was able to literally soak in my vitamin D. The vitamin they keep discussing in the news as being imperative to fight CoVid19. So, I’m happy to FINALLY see and hear of many other people starting their own venture outward. Yes, even New York is seeing signs of hope and life again. So, as the weather turns warmer, and brighter, in other parts of the world, many others can now also soak in their daily vitamin D. Have their coffee on their balconies. And get outside. I’m happy to be joined with the sea of humanity as they open their front doors. Many are afraid. Many are terrified. Many are following guidelines, plans, and executive, gubernatorial orders, or newly enacted city ordinances. And, yes, many are stepping off their front porch steps at the very same time. So, I’m out here to say to those who are starting out right now... Hello. Welcome back. And - There’s a life to live out there. Life is happening - whether we know it or not - whether we like it or not - and whether we want it to or not. And life is, merely and once again, your reaction, to other actions. I am showing you my reaction.  As the national guidelines, and statewide safer-at-home orders were slowly and gradually lifted in The Sunshine State… businesses started opening back up. Over these last many weeks, signs of optimism grew by the day. Little by little. They opened their doors. Many, very many in fact, are still shuttered, didn’t make it. But just as many, have once again opened. With limited indoor seating, and tables spaced safely apart from one another, and nearly unlimited outdoor seating in the fresh air, lots of outdoor patios are having the times of their lives right now.      People are craving normalcy. People want to socialize. And people want to go out to eat. Well, we, in Florida, were able to finally do just that. For the first time in over two months. We dined out. We sat outside. We were far away from other humans. And we had a great meal. As we gazed at a gorgeous, waterfront setting. We traveled down the winding Palm Valley Road toward the bridge. Nestled and tucked under that large expanse of a hovering bridge is the Palm Valley Outdoors Bar & Grill. Located at 377 South Roscoe Boulevard in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, the location really is perfect as well. On a bright and shiny and blue sky day, we arrived at the Grill for a lovely lunch outing. We planned our outing to go earlier in the day, rather than later. My work schedule has me going to bed early, so we usually end up with a lot of lunches out - instead of dinners. But considering this was a first meal of sorts, and it was a birthday celebration, both hubby and I were extra excited to arrive - no matter what the time was. We knew it would take a while. We knew they had just recently opened to the public once again for dine-in service. We were prepared to wait, long. And all their signage around the building told me another story… That they were open during the worst. That they were doing curbside pick up - and even dock side pick up, for boaters. I was extra grateful to be a dine-in patron that day. We had about a one and a half hour wait… They had told us about 35 minutes, it ended up being a lot longer, obviously. No problem. We knew what we were getting into by dining at a restaurant just after an official re-opening to the public. In my mind, I treated this outing as the equivalent of visiting a restaurant on their first day of operation - a new business. A restaurant’s first day is always a huge mountain to climb. Always a challenge. And yet, no one seemed to be bothered by the wait. But it’s kinda hard to be bothered with anything at all when this is the setting:  Besides, what can one expect during a global plague, with food supply chains completely disrupted… We went more so for the experience, and what food we got - we got, in our book. And the wait - was the wait. During that extended wait, I ordered two lemonades from the bar, and hubby ordered a birthday margarita, and then a beer on tap. The lemonade was very, very small, and I drank it in about three gulps. Hubby’s alcohol lasted much longer than both my drinks.     We sat, in the partial shade on the wooden dock, feet hanging over the water, for a long time. After a while of watching boats go past, quite peacefully, we found some wooden adirondack chairs and decided to move. The entire wait was pleasant and calm and very enjoyable to watch all the activity going past. In that time period, we saw countless boats arrive and depart the dock. I’d say as many boats as cars coming and going from the parking lot. So this is definitely a popular spot for boaters to stop enroute. The sun was at its hottest and brightest part of the day overhead. After seeing the dining area patio baking in the afternoon sun, we then asked for a table in the shade. They told us the wait would be much longer. All the tables had spaces for umbrellas but there were no umbrellas to be had. When we finally sat at our shaded table we were quite hungry and very much ready to order. Our hostess had gloves on. Our server had gloves on. We ordered two side salads with a balsamic dressing. A delicious salad that, for the first time in two months, we didn’t have to prepare and cut all the fresh ingredients ourselves.  For our main course, we then each ordered two burgers with fries. Um, because, no fried food at home for two months - need I say more? Hubby had the bacon and cheese burger, and I had the original burger. It was served hot and fresh, straight off the grill. Medium well, and perfectly done. Fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion. It was superb.   I cut my burger in half, and had the other half for dinner that night - my way of watching calorie intake during that outing.  The steak French fries were from Heaven. Because - again - key word being - fried. We chose not to have dessert there, as I had special-ordered a few cupcakes from Cinotti’s Bakery to act as the birthday cake dessert, that we would eat at home later that evening. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. But the setting was what we especially enjoyed. And it was the action itself of dining out. Leaving the house, driving to a restaurant, reading a menu, and dining amongst others, that was most important to us on that date. Overall, the Palm Valley Outdoors Bar & Grill was a lovely experience. A great birthday outing. And a fabulous place to try if it happens to be your First Supper as well. The tables are spaced plenty distance apart, and the restaurant is following all the cleaning protocols in place. With employees wearing gloves, and lots of santitzing tables between customers. The setting is more than ideal, with the Intracoastal as a backdrop, and tucked just under and off to the side of the Palm Valley Bridge. You’ll enjoy the boats coming and going. Paddleboarders going north and south. And you may especially enjoy the countless doggies - sitting on the edge of their owner’s boats. Also taking in all the sights and sounds… and smells… of the salt life, and good food. It is my sincere hope that for those of you in states where restaurants have also been approved to reopen, just like in Florida, that you use the experience of my First Supper, as a push to get out there yourself. For those still anxiously waiting for your own First Supper. Go ahead and get ready now. Your time is coming. To start your own venture outside. To open your own front door. To step off that front porch. Find yourself an open restaurant. Wait All The Minutes. Get seated. And have a lovely meal. Have your very own First Supper. And, what the heck, maybe even order dessert while you’re at it. It’s ok to be scared. And by all means, it’s also mostly certainly ok - to be very uncertain. And, just like The Last Supper, it’s ok if you don’t yet know when your First Supper will be. Just keep it in mind. Plan for it. Get it in your head. Because one day, and maybe when you least expect it, it will come to you. And you can ask yourself - will you be fully alive on that fateful day? Will you be living that day like it’s your last on this Earth? Will you remember the moment - so you know what you’ve got, when it’s gone? And then, finally, who will you be with when that date arrives? ~ 
And for many more dining out opportunities in The Sunshine State - check out the variety of my restaurant reviews, right here: 57] First Watch on the First Coast 53] Totally Terrific & Tasty Thai @ Blue Orchid Thai Cuisine 45] Dessert First, My Friends ~ Cantina Louie 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 35] Happiest Of Holidays @ Hawkers Asian Street Fare 29] Dinner & A Show ~ The 26th Annual St. Augustine Nights of Lights 15] V Pizza ~ The Very Best Pizza In Jax Beach! *Part of ~ Bean’s Best ~ Award Winner 2019 11] Eleven South Bistro & Bar ~~ Supper Club Of The South 5] The Reef On SR A1A: Worth Pulling Over For 4] The Boathouse @ Disney Springs ~ Disney Dining At Its Best Plus, you may be interested in some of my other pandemic related thoughts, theories, activities, and other such ponderings - down below: 73] What I’m Missing Right Now 69] Chaunie’s Coffee Truck *Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series 68] A Sunday Stroll 65] The Sea Life ~ Happy Easter 64] Stay-At-Home Sunday ~ Palm Sunday 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 5/11/2020 0 Comments #74) Rita’s vs. Whit’s ~ Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches ~ Ice Cream Edition 2020 Always and forever in the search of the best dessert on the planet - today, I’m bringing you two more ice cream adventures: Rita’s vs. Whit’s In a battle of wits… for Bean’s Best @ The Beaches 2020 ~ Ice Cream Edition ~       As of May, 2020 - you can now dine outside in Florida at restaurants.  For the purposes of today’s competition, I went to both Rita’s and Whit’s, almost back-to-back. Two ice cream outings in less than one week’s time. I might at well become a formal dessert critic - because my tummy knows a good dessert when it meets one, that’s for sure. We started out at Rita’s. And by we, I mean hubby and I. We planned our visit for directly after he picked me up at work back on Monday, April 18. Keeping in mind, this challenge took place during the worst of the worst of the economic shut down. So as you may be able to tell, we were in desperate search of a food outing. With a whole ton of businesses and restaurants completely shut at that time, I was determined to patronize as many local businesses as possible that were still open. And I’m happy to report that both Rita’s and Whit’s made it through, intact. And both are still open today. The only offering not available to us at that time back in April, was not being able to dine inside - but - Florida - we don’t really need dining inside here in The Sunshine State. Plus, Rita’s is strictly outdoor grab-and-go counter service anyway - no dine-in option available - with a drive-thru around the side of the building. Also, note that if you are interested in drive-thu at Rita’s, you’ll want to make note that the transaction window is on the passenger side of the car.  Rita’s: Drive-thru on the left, view from the back of the parking lot.  Rita’s: Drive-thru view from the front of the building.  We opted to skip the drive-thru, parked and walked up for the counter service option, for purposes of my review. I ordered one large soft-serve chocolate/vanilla swirl with extra sprinkles for myself, and one large cherry Italian ice for the hubby. He is a huge fan of Italian ice, in any flavor, and I am a big fan of chocolate - anything.   Both of our treats were delicious. Our total came to $11.64, plus tip. My large was not “large” - to me - I would say more like a size medium at the biggest. But for the Italian ice, Bryan received a huge, generous cup of cherry flavored ice. Either way though, I was simply happy to have something cold, because is there anything better than something cold after a long and sweaty shift? We love Rita’s and go there semi-frequently. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to find the $2.00 off coupons in the monthly coupon mailer, but we haven’t had any lately. Always extra creamy, and always delicious. Rita’s remains a fabulous and inexpensive dessert outing, and the location can’t be beat. Three blocks from the beach, and directly on A1A, Rita’s location is directly in the heart of Jax Beach. You can easily grab a cone, and head straight out onto the sandy shores a few minutes later. Moving onward to Whit’s, we ventured over there, on Beach Boulevard, on the evening of April 20th. Once again, after hubby picked me up from work. Our second ice cream location of the week. And after another long, hot shift at work. Whit’s also usually has $2.00 off coupons in the Jax monthly mailers, but, of course I am always without my coupon clippings and am forever ill-prepared to save a buck. Yet, always prepared to spend... Why is that, by the way?   Back entrance of Whit’s.          And while Whit’s does not have a drive-thru, or window service, their dining room remained open for to-go service. So, there we were at Whit’s, for our second ice cream adventure of the week. We ordered a large chocolate Whitsper (their version of a Blizzard) for $7.00, and a medium Butterfinger Whitsper for $6.00, for a total of $13.91, plus tip.     While both of these outings took place smack in the middle of the Presidential Guidelines of 30 Days To Stop The Spread of the Coronavirus, in my opinion, it was fabulous that so many dining establishments remained open and available for take-out. Especially for everybody still working… long, hard hours outside the home. Restaurants and coffee shops and treats have been imperative and a literal lifeline to making it through an extra-long, extra-stressful shift. I love Rita’s and always have. We continue to go there on a regular basis. But, in my dessert foodie opinion, Whit’s win’s the award here. Their portions remain solidly larger than Rita’s. Large - to - Large comparison, you get way, way more ice cream at Whit’s than at Rita’s. Even if you ask for more at Rita’s, their largest does not compare to Whit’s. And when I go out for ice cream, give me the largest size please. Whit’s is also very pet-friendly, and even has a doggie menu. My furry baby has had their ice cream/dog bone sundae, and she very much approves. And now that the 30 Days to slow the spread are complete, and businesses are resuming operations, here in Florida we are at 25% dine-in occupancy. And outdoor dining feels fairly normal. Meaning, if you grab ice cream at either of these locations, right now, you can once again grab a bench, grab a chair, pull open the umbrella, and eat under the sun. Or inside - if you need the air conditioning. Ahh the little things in life… 25% occupancy. Overall, Whit’s definitely wins the day for me, simply on their sizing. I love ice cream, maybe as much as donuts… and coffee, oh jeaz. I think I just love a lot of things. But when I pay for a large, and then get a really generous helping, they win. Hands down. Plus - doggie menu. Any place that keeps some dog bones on hand, is a winner in my book. So, congratulations to Whit’s Jax Beach for being the very Official Winner of Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches - Ice Cream Edition ~ 2020. And an amazing and huge and heartfelt thank you to both locations, for being open during the worst of days, and feeding us good and conforming treats to brighten our saddest of very sad days. ~ 
*Have you been to Rita’s or Whit’s? Which do you like better? Are you more of an Italian ice person, or an ice cream swirl sorta person? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, for more dueling dessert/debates around Jacksonville, check out some more of my flavorful Floridian adventures, below: 70] Peterbrooke Chocolatier ~ Bean’s Battle for Best @ The Beaches *Bean’s Best Award Winner! ~ Chocolate ~ 2020 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 And, if you’re searching for a fabulous diner while in town, you can check out a variety of my local Jacksonville area diner reviews, right here: 57] First Watch on the First Coast 54] Um, Open @ Angie’s Subs 50] Sundays Are For Diners ~ Super Diners 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 19] Another Broken Egg Cafe ~ A Taste Of NOLA @ The Beach 16] Beach Diner ~ If You Feed Them They Will Come  ‘Sea Green’ Remember when it was somebody’s birthday? Ohhhh, so very, very long ago… Candles would be lit. A song would be sung. And the birthday boy, or birthday girl, would take in a big breath - with their lungs - and blow out all the candles. And then everybody would clap. The cake would be sliced. Every piece passed around - a plate of deliciousness for all at the party. Everybody sharing, in an act of celebration. Another person a year older - another piece of cake to commemorate the occasion. A fork in one hand. A plate of frosted, sugary goodness in the other. And without giving it a second thought, everyone would bite into their slice of dessert, even though somebody had just previously breathed upon said cake? Sacrilege! Those moments are now gone. But a girl can dream - right? No one will look at a birthday cake the same way again now. Because, while we all still may eat the cake, the sentiment just isn’t the same. And while we all still may sing a song… and candles can still be blown out… the world has once again changed. And I miss that corresponding sentiment. I miss a whole lot more than just that though. I miss it all... I miss coffee shops. I miss restaurants. I miss saying, “Table for two.” - Instead of “Two dinners to go, please.” I miss smiles on unhidden faces. I miss laughter. I miss jokes. I miss friends. I miss family. I miss parties. I miss the library. I miss fairs, carnivals, rides, cotton candy, and sno cones. I miss Art Shows, Art Walks, Art Festivals, craft shows, and concerts. And I still don’t miss nfl football. I miss my once a year and very boring visit to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Department. Otherwise known as the FLHSMV. In fact, I miss that a whole heck of a lot more than football. And I missed out on the opportunity to see Hamilton - right here in Jacksonville, back in March. My tickets - sadly, refunded to my credit card. I miss the smell of a book, just picked up from the library, as I crack open the spine. I miss handshakes. I miss milk shakes. I miss hugs. I miss kisses on the cheek. I miss the darn dentist. I miss joy and good cheer. I miss good will to all people. I miss Christmas. I miss Walt Disney World. I miss All-You-Can-Eat Buffets. I miss unlimited scoops of ice cream, from large tubs, on the dessert line of the above-mentioned buffet. Where I can pick up my own cup, take the cold steel scoop, push it with my own hands into the milky cream, releasing chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry into my own cup. My very own ice cream mountain - as high as I want to make it. I miss simple get togethers - large and small. I miss people’s faces when I communicate with them. I miss the act of meeting up with those fellow humans - in person. In real life. I miss being able to hear that fellow human being, clearly, when they speak to me - their unmuffled voice carrying into my ears, and the sound of it not being blocked by a cloth mask. I miss people treating one another as fellow human beings - and not treating others as the walking plague. I miss closeness. I miss happiness all around us. I miss people leaving their house like it was just another day. I miss life… I miss seeing other people living their lives. I miss faith over fear. But just because I miss all these very simple things, doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing them, and living them, myself. In fact, I’ve been the busiest in my entire life - during the long and drawn out and quite dramatic duration of this entire, never-ending plague. Regardless of life outside my own front door. I am breathing. I am communicating. I am celebrating. I am being responsible for myself. I am making my own life decisions. I am sucking it up. I am dealing. I am not only surviving. I am proud and happy to be fully alive. I am living. I am reading. I am planning. I am dreaming. I am pursuing. I am working hard. I am exercising. I am writing. I am painting. I am utilizing this time to become stronger. To learn. To grow. To try new things. And most importantly, I am persevering. And I am coming home from work - and I’m stepping right in the shower, washing the invisible and mysterious and confusing plague off me each night. And, I’ve learned a lot. And I’ve learned what I already always knew - how imperative each breath we take really is. So let’s all inhale. Breathe in - In the face of fear. Exhale - and keep going, my friends. Exhale and continue onward. Exhale and push forward. Exhale and persevere. And if it happens to be your birthday, go ahead and exhale a big breath straight onto your very own birthday cake candles... Yes, I know that’s exactly what we will be doing this weekend. As we celebrate my hubby’s birthday, we will dine out, along the water’s edge, for our First Supper since the plague began. We will sit at tables, amongst other human beings. All partaking in the common and essential act of breathing, and eating. And I will pick up the special cupcake creations I ordered from Cinotti’s Bakery. And I will slap some candles on top of the frosted red velvety goodness. I will light the flame. And I will sing “Happy Birthday!” And my furry baby will probably sing a lot louder than me. And most importantly, my hubby will then inhale with his own set of two lungs, and exhale hard on top of all the frosting, extinguishing that flame. And then we will eat all the darn sugar. ~  ‘All-You-Can-Eat’
*How have you been living through this plague? Are you persevering? Are you experimenting with new ideas? Are you at home brewing up new talents? Are you getting fresh air? I’d so love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, if you’re enjoying my Floridian daydreams, then check out some of my others, right here: 71] My 69 Week Break From Social Media ~ Why I Left & Why I Came Back 68] A Sunday Stroll 65] The Sea Life ~ Happy Easter 64] Stay-At-Home Sunday ~ Palm Sunday 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 55] The Shamrock 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe 49] A Picture Worth A Thousand Words ~ Happy Valentine’s Day, World 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe 42] Where Does The Chicken Cross The Road? 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 18] Sea & Sky Jax Weekend ~ Fun In The Florida Sun, Sea, Sky & Sand  *Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series If you’ve been patiently waiting for Starbucks to reopen their doors, you may want to consider checking out Breezy’s while you’re in Jax Beach. As the coffee giant closed their doors at the beach a few weeks back, those long days might have well been eternity. But a lot of the local shops, the small businesses trying to survive, having been doing their best to remain open - for to-go service. So as Starbucks remained closed, and in my infinite search to find every coffee shop around, I was reminded of Breezy’s. Located directly on A1A and 237 8th Avenue South, and less than three blocks from the sandy and breezy beach, Breezy’s Coffee Shop is the ideal cafe if you’re looking for a quick, yet relaxing, outing. It’s small, alright. And it’s quaint, and charming. And while Starbucks is my usual go-to coffee shop, I was extremely glad to find myself at Breezy’s doorstep on a sunny and cheerful day along the coast.      Situated in a bright yellow old beach cottage, the cafe is on the first floor of the home. There is plenty of outdoor seating around back on the outside patio. Although, for purposes of this visit, there was no on-site dining allowed due to the coronavirus - which was just fine for hubby and I. We were on a morning walk with our furry baby when we stopped in.      I had been to Breezy’s only once before. It was about a year ago. And it was right around two o’clock in the afternoon. We walked in and were informed they were closing for the day. We made a quick purchase, and hadn’t been back since. I figured, no time like the present to head on back for a second outing. So if you are headed to Breezy’s you’ll want to make note of the somewhat limited business hours. They close at 2pm five days a week, and are open until 9pm for wine on Friday and Saturday evenings. So while it is definitely a local cafe, and an alternative to Starbucks, there’s nothing like the dependency of Starbucks’ hours of operation if you are a busy person like I am. Also due to the coronavirus, there was one copy of their menu outside the building. It was sitting on a bench. It was suggested that we look at the menu outside, then come on inside once we were ready to place our order - all to-go, obviously. So I went inside to order. And I was reminded of how much I cannot wait until dine-in is once again allowed. Such a cute little shop, with cozy seating, and newspapers ready and waiting to be read, all set out. Even if just chilling out for a few minutes to soak in some air conditioning, coffee shops remain a wonderful place, in my book, to cool off.     We both ordered two frozen lattes. To go along nicely with the hot weather on our early morning walk. And hubby ordered the sausage breakfast sandwich, which comes on sliced pita bread - he was given the ham sandwich instead - but enjoyed it just fine. I ordered a slice of the homemade banana bread - the infamous bread of the moment - during the pandemic. I highly recommend the banana bread. Our total was $19.80 for the two cold drinks and the two breakfast items.      And if you are a fan of seeking out and photographing all the local wall murals in town, Breezy’s is the place to be for that as well. The surrounding area buildings and alleyways are painted, so if you’re sitting outside at the cafe, you’ll have a fun time gazing at all the art while you’re soaking in the sun. Yes, it was definitely a gorgeous spring morning at the beach. And I was so grateful to be outside, walking, and with my doggy. We walked home the rest of the way with our cold and refreshing drinks. Passing Starbucks up, enroute home and merely two blocks away from Breezy’s… I immediately noted their first day of operation since the coronavirus had them closing their doors! Exclamation point well deserved. The drive-thru line might have well been a mile long according to my eyes. I was not the only one happy to see them open and alive once again. Arriving home, and grateful for my breezy and beachy outing… feeling all the calming coastal winds while out exploring... I made note of plans for the following day - I will most definitely be at Starbucks tomorrow. ~ 
*Have you been to Breezy’s? Have you missed Starbucks as much as I have during this crazy pandemic? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, for the rest of Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - check out the links below: 69] Chaunie’s Coffee Truck 67] Delicious & Delightful Days @ The Delicomb 60] Welcome To Muffin Land ~ The Ugly Cupcake & Muffinry 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 9] Sago Coffee: A Cup Of Friendly & Flavorful Florida Plus, if there’s a diner in town - I’ve been there! And if there’s one you think I need to visit - PLEASE - let me know! You can check out my visits to many local area diners, right here: 57] First Watch on the First Coast 50] Sundays Are For Diners ~ Super Diners 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 19] Another Broken Egg Cafe ~ A Taste Of NOLA @ The Beach 16] Beach Diner ~ If You Feed Them They Will Come  I grew up without social media. I consider myself blessed for being able to say that. While every generation has their “thing” - I firmly believe my generation's thing is the fact that we grew up entirely without social media, but we are now living our adult lives with social media present in the world. And because of those circumstances, we have a great ability to easily and fluidly shift between old-world applications, and the more new-age digital apps - making us uniquely qualified for certain tasks in this world. We shift seamlessly and adapt easily. I call us the Floating Generation. And regardless if we partake in this modern day medium, or not, it’s there. It has an extremely large presence in the world. For better and for worse. An all almost too-powerful of a presence. And, sadly, in my opinion, many people revolve nearly their entire lives around this medium. I graduated college in 2003. I survived four years of college entirely without social media. The only “Facebook” we had was the literal and actual paper face-book that was distributed each year on campus. All incoming students were given a light and thin paperback book with the names, faces, and phone numbers of each of their classmates. That was our official Facebook at the time. And we used it - religiously. That book was part of our daily life. We would scroll through it to find somebody’s name, browsed to see what everyone looked like, searched to find out where a person was from, and scan to find their four digit campus extension to call them on the phone… a phone with a cord - that was plugged into the wall. But in 2004, and after I was done with school, Mark Zuckerburg went ahead and invented Facebook. And the world has never been the same since. It was my first full year after school. I was living in the real world. I didn’t need Facebook, and nor did I want it. Besides, at the time, Zuckerberg’s Facebook was geared more toward being a digital supplement to that old-fashioned face book I described above. Still utilized, on college campuses, to connect with one another. But over the years, Facebook grew. It grew fast. And it grew big. It grew to be something that is now an integral part of most people's lives. I personally think Facebook is too big. And too powerful. I think it is hovering on the verge of being a monopoly and in dire need of being broken up. And I’ve never, ever, had a desire to be a part of it. Even still. But then, after many, many years of living and going through life, without Facebook, and still not wanting any part of it, I was on the verge of making a big change in my personal life. It was 2016, and I was planning my big move from the state of Illinois, on down to Florida. That move would eventually occur in early 2017. Every single person I knew, and loved, lived in Illinois - or a variety of other states throughout the country. But I knew ZERO people in The Sunshine State at the time. I wanted a way to stay connected to all those I knew I would be missing… a thousand miles away from everything I knew. I deliberated long and hard with myself about potentially signing up for a Facebook account. And eventually, at the end of 2016, I went ahead and registered - for the first time in my life. Knowing that I would be easily connected in a free and easy and modern manner. I immediately discovered that “the whole world” is on Facebook. I found all my old classmates, neighbors, relatives who live near and far, friends from grade school, people I haven't seen in 20 years, and all my current friends. And I even made new friends. All through Facebook. But, I did all this right before the 2016 Presidential Election. And unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past many years, and haven’t paid attention to the news, you know very well that the political side of Facebook, and all social media, is NASTY. No other way to put it. It was through Facebook that I discovered people I know and love say things online that I never heard them say in person. When people are behind a digital screen, they have a lot to say, and they say it loud and proud. Fine. Whatever. Everyone in America deserves their free speech. I can very easily block out mentally and physically that which I do not want to hear. But it does get a little old. I came for social connectivity. I didn’t come for the constant electioneering, and to learn who voted for who - all day long. So I tried to ignore the politics, and zone in on the photos. And it turns out my absolute favorite part of Facebook was, and is still, those photos. I also realized that social media is the single best way to find out all the latest social news, gossip, and any and all information about life changes involving people you know. The stuff I was looking for all along. I found myself completely up to date on the latest pregnancy announcements, gender reveals, baby showers, births, deaths, obituaries, accidents, injuries, illnesses, new home purchases, engagements, Say-Yes-To-The-Dress days, wedding showers, marriages, anniversaries, birthdays, pet adoption days, Gotcha Days, National Cheesecake Day, International MisMatching Sock Day, Taco Tuesday, Touch-A-Truck Days, Nurses Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, Star Wars Day, Bird Day, Hoagie Day, National Roast Leg Of Lamb Day - May 7th, in case you were wondering. The list is endless. May 8th - National Coconut Cream Pie Day. June 26th - National Take Your Dog To Work Day. And, just so they can give themselves yet another plug, while you’re already on their applications all day long... We have June 30th - National Social Media Day. Every day is something. And guess what else? EVERY PERSON IS OFFENDED BY SOMETHING ELSE. That’s one of the most valuable things l learned by joining social media. Why don’t we have: International-World-Renowned-I-Take-Offense-To-That-Statement Day? I learned that everyone cares what everyone else thinks. I learned that people are very sensitive. I learned that when people write something online - they think it is pure gold. And I learned that if any single person disagrees with another, in any way - it’s the actual end of the world for that relationship. DISAGREEMENT = NUCLEAR BOMBS GOING OFF EVERYWHERE. Hence all the hate, the back-and-forth, the petty comments, the blocking, the unblocking, the following, the unfollowing. That all - also - never ends. And since I really don’t care what other people think, I am, once again, able to function with or without social media in my life, just fine. I joined to see photos of my friends and family and their babies and their wedding showers. But instead, it’s more about why this person hates whoever the current president happens to be. So, after about a year and a half of being digitally social, and being sick of it all, I gave it all up. When I left Facebook, I also gave up my Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. I had initially joined the mothership, but I had then joined the other big three soon after. And while I nearly despise and almost hate Facebook, I absolutely LOVE Instagram. I am a very visual person though, and as I said before, I enjoy the photos. Instagram is all imagery. A great place to post all my travel photos and latest artwork, and to see those actual photos that I was seeking out when I joined Facebook initially. I had used Pinterest just for fun. And I found that the best benefit of Twitter was for hurricanes. Yes, you read me right - hurricanes. No sooner than I moved down to Florida, Hurricane Irma blew through later that year. She was a big one. And caused the whole state to be in an uproar. We were evacuated. Twitter was VITAL to me during the hurricane. And while lots of apps and websites didn’t work under bad internet service at the time, Twitter stayed on strong. So did Facebook. You’ve heard about how if you have bad cell service during an emergency - when all the lines are tied up - that it may be easier to send a text for help instead of trying to get through on the phone, right? Think that for Twitter in this modern day... I found that utilizing social media during the worst of the hurricane, to get my news, was the very best way, to get the actual news. We live on an island, with not even a handful of bridges to cross over during a hurricane evacuation. The bridges do close down when the winds reach a certain mile per hour - sustained. I quickly started “following” the local news channels plus the three local beach towns, their mayors, the City of Jacksonville, and the Jax mayor, all on Twitter. They all provided a wealth of factual information to me all throughout the duration of the storm. It brought some level of certainty - communication - to me, during a time of great uncertainty. I also followed the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service, Publix, Winn Dixie, our governor and two senators, Beaches Energy Services, Jacksonville Electric Authority - JEA, all the local area fire and police departments, JSO - Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns River Ferry, the National Hurricane Center, JaxReady, the Jacksonville Public Library, oh yeah, and Dunkin Donuts… Because you can’t survive a hurricane without donuts, right? But after I went ahead and quit social media, I then went through the following storm seasons entirely without social media. Which led to a much more “manual” and old-fashioned form of finding out the news, when the internet was overloaded and the next storms were nearing us. When the next hurricanes blew through and around us, and I was on my zero social media experiment of 69 weeks, I literally dug through the closet and pulled out an old-fashioned radio. I was ready, just in case the power went out, to listen to the news that way. But nothing I did was in any way a comparison to Twitter. And social media would have been almost priceless to me during those next storms. But willing to stick it out, I made it through alive and well. No social media. No damage. Ultimately, I quit all social media after about a year and a half of being on. I did NOT miss it. I was focused solely on my own personal well being and sanity. I left for my own mental health. A completely selfish decision. But very grateful that I did. When I signed back up after 69 weeks of being away from The Zuck, I had to start my accounts from scratch. I had completely deleted all of them. So it was an official starting over process. Sort of like being a toddler and learning to walk again. I had to re-find all of my friends and family there. It took a while, but I found most of them. During those 69 weeks without social media, I focused strictly and selfishly on my own well being and daily productivity. And now that I have social media back in my life, after that extended absence, I am able to have a fabulous life balance of living with social media applications in complete confidence. And today, having Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, back in my life, I am even more productive than I ever have been. I run my life. I don’t let social media run my life. I never did. But some people do. I think if people can find that balance, they will feel a lot better and at peace with the existence of social media in their worlds. No, I don’t think social media is going anywhere. I think and see it remaining a huge part of people’s lives into the future. And that’s also one of the reasons I came back. In that time away, I set up my own website, a lifestyle blog, an Etsy shop, a place to showcase all my art and writing. But if I want to actually reach people with the things I write and show my paintings to the world, social media remains one of the best ways to do it. I might write a blog twice a week, but my utilization of social media to help it get out there and maybe reach that one, singular person who may benefit from a specific article in some way, is the point of me sharing it all, on social media. So while I do despise Facebook, and did have a near love/hate relationship with it in the past… I have now turned that relationship into merely a like/dislike relationship. I can live peacefully with Zuckerberg in my life now, and I know the exact purposes of my visits to each of the other mediums as well. I still go back to Pinterest simply as a brain teaser, for creative solutions to new ideas. I go to Twitter for hurricane and rough surf and coastal storm news. Or in today’s new world, pandemic and apocalyptic plague news… charts and graphs and statistics that change by the day. Announcements, once again, by our leaders and representatives on important matters. I go to Instagram to share all my favorite photos. And see everyone else’s. And I go back to the now old and trusty and reliable Facebook for those wedding announcements. Babies being born. And yes, in my 69 weeks away, I had friends who had babies, that I never even knew about because I was away from Facebook. When I joined back up I discovered that an old friend endured an entire pregnancy, birth, and had a new baby in her life. Her second child, I never even knew about, in this world. So yeah - Facebook is THE way to communicate with friends and family in this digital era. And, since I’ve been back, I haven’t missed out on one birth announcement, I know who is pregnant, who is getting married, who died, and I read all the obituaries shared that way. I see in real time who made a roast in their crock pot for dinner, plus which sides they cooked with it. Then, I get the recipe. I get to see friends travel to Hawaii, and Iceland, and Costa Rica. I see family travel to Disney. I see Dollywood and weekends at a cabin in Michigan. I see special Friday night date nights and fancy dinners out. I see birthday parties and special cakes. I see first haircuts, first baby steps, and first days of school. I see my nephews' latest milestones as they age from infants, to toddlers, to little boys. School age children who make their first communions and have their grade school graduations. Those pictures, to me, a thousand miles away from all my relatives, are priceless. And all free to share back and forth with these social mediums. And - I see politics. Yes, politics is still there. And as you may guess, it’s worse than ever. I see Civil War. I call it Civil War 2.0. I see and know who hates President Trump, and I know who loves President Trump. I know who is conservative and who is liberal. And I mostly try to ignore it all - and just laugh at it. I am glad I left social media for 69 weeks. I am extremely happy with and 100% confident in my decision to ultimately come back to social media. Especially considering how very far away I live from all my family and most of my friends. And I am still, and forever grateful, that I grew up in a world without social media in it. #BLESSED ~ P.S. - No, I am NOT on TikTok. ~~ 
*Did you ever go on a social media break? Do you have a Facebook account? Do you live on social media or do you live entirely without social media? I’d so love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, check out these other adventures in The Sunshine State, right here: 68] A Sunday Stroll 65] The Sea Life ~ Happy Easter 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 59] REACTION ~ To World War 19 56] Shell World ~ Key Largo 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe 49] A Picture Worth A Thousand Words ~ Happy Valentine’s Day, World 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe  **Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches ~ Award Winner 2020!** It’s a hard job - but somebody’s gotta eat all the chocolate. And for the sake of the written word - that’s exactly what I’ve done.  Besides, with hard work, comes great reward… And chocolate may be the ultimate reward, my dear friends. I’ve been popping into Peterbrooke Chocolatier since I discovered it a few years back. Located at 363 Atlantic Boulevard in Atlantic Beach, Florida, Peterbrooke is situated directly in the heart of Beaches Town Center. As soon as I discovered Peterbrooke, I absolutely had to go inside. So I did, and I ate the best chocolate - ever.          Fast forward to today, in 2020, and Peterbrooke STILL has the best chocolate I ever ate. I’m just grateful I live so close to their shop so that I can visit whenever I want. And recently, with all this stay-at-home madness upending civil society… and with World War 19 causing Civil War 2.0 - chocolate was subtly calling my name. It may have been just a whisper, but it was calling, nonetheless. Then, with all restaurants still being closed - and take-out, curbside, and delivery being the only way to dine “out” - a chocolatier, to-go sort of shop was out loud screaming my name. So after work the other day, I decided it was time to take action on the chocolate front of this global war… I’ll call it - Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches. Either that, or… The Battle Of The Bulge. Stepping back into this heavenly chocolate shop after a long parting of at least a year or so, I was simply excited that the OPEN sign flashing in the upper right corner window, actually meant that they were really open. Because as more businesses close by the day, that sign doesn’t usually mean much any more. Walking in, we were met with another sign - the power was out. But, yes, they were open. Come on in. We were then met with another sign, and a basket of gloves for us to use, per their request. We both put on the gloves.   I knew just what I wanted. Eyes right on my target. The Jag Paws - the Jax version of Turtles.  And like I said, for the sake of the written word, I simply had to buy a few more things. I couldn’t buy just a bag of Jag Paws, that’s simply not enough chocolate for a girl! So, I figured since I always purchase a darker chocolate, that my other purchases would be in the white chocolate family. I then grabbed a bag of white chocolate covered pretzels, and a white chocolate lollipop.           I spoke with the cashier as we paid. I had just missed Peterbrooke’s biggest holiday of the year: Easter. Because chocolate and bunnies go together perfectly, of course. I mentioned how glad I was that they were open. She mentioned that they were not even certain how much longer they would be. I hoped to see them again. ‘Tis the way of today. I suppose. I would not be telling you the truth if I said there was a better chocolate shop in Jax. They absolutely are the winner. Peterbrooke is more than deserving of Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches - Chocolate - 2020. The cost is high. And I’m not gonna lie about that either. But there’s a reason. You just can’t buy the best chocolate of your life and not pay the most you’ve ever spent on chocolate. So, while $27.02 looks high, sounds high, and is - very - high, it was all worth it, my dear friends. And if you go, you’ll probably agree. You’ll take one bite of the best of the best, and the next thought out of your brain will be - When are we coming back for more?   As we said goodbye, we sat in the little blue chairs and table set up outside the front door, for a mere moment. Our last stop and duty before heading home for the night. It was Saturday night at the beach. The traditional “Opening Of The Beaches” Weekend in Jacksonville. A yearly celebration, a weekend parade - a tradition in town going back 73 years. Even though normally, the beaches are open year round here in Jax, the town comes together each spring to officiate a ceremonial opening of the beaches. Think - Gilmore Girls - town square style event - only a bit more wild. And more ceremonial in nature than anything else, the Beaches opening parade is as much of a party here in Jax as Pete’s Bar is on Thanksgiving morning. Just another reason to party. To celebrate life. Life at the beach. On an island. Living next to the sea. And 2020 would have been year 74 of the parade - before it was canceled due to the coronavirus. Yes, we were sitting outside, and it was Saturday night at the beach. 2020. Hubby picking me up from work. Off early on a Saturday. The sun still out. A normal Saturday night in town would have meant the entire area would be hopping. Endless parties. Endless fun. Bike riders everywhere. Music. Talking. Laughter. But instead, we sat down in front of the chocolatier, and stared at a visibly and noticeably vacant parking lot. A lot that is usually never empty. Diners from Poe’s. From other restaurants. Shops. And on a Saturday, the lot would be even more packed. Cars waiting for spots to open up. But not on this Saturday night. Empty. Looking around. Soaking in the quiet surroundings. It was just sooo sad. When will Poe’s open back up? When will the other restaurants open for dine in? Shops? When will people not be scared to leave their houses? When will life return to this little corner of Beaches Town Center? I don’t know. And I do care. In the interim, however, there is always chocolate. And the world still keeps on turning. And awards still must be handed out. So, plague or no plague… civil war or no civil war, life as we know it, or life as we know it not, the chocolate must be eaten. And Peterbrooke Chocolatier is hereby officially awarded Bean’s Battle For Best @ The Beaches 2020. Congratulations, my dear and chocolatey friends. You’ve won The Battle Of The Bulge. Thank you for the sunshine you add to the sky.  In a vast sea - of open parking spots… Thank you for being open. Thank you for still fighting to survive, and sticking it out this long. And mostly, thank you for the best chocolate I ever feasted upon. ~ 
*Have you been to Peterbrooke Chocolatier? Where did you eat the best chocolate you ever had? I’d so love to know. Drop me a comment down below: Also, for Bean’s Best Award Winner of 2019, be sure to check out V Pizza, below: 15] V Pizza ~ The Very Best Pizza In Jax Beach! Plus - for some further fun in the Florida sun, and lots of sweet treats in Jax and beyond, check out the links below: 52] Keeping Cool - And Creamy - In Key West 45] Dessert First, My Friends ~ Cantina Louie 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 31] Tuesday’s On First Street ~ The Jax Beach Art Walk ~ 21] Cinotti’s ~ And Why Life Is Too Short To Not Eat Donuts 14] Finding Trinkets & Treasures @ The Jax Beach Vintage Flea Market 11] Eleven South Bistro & Bar ~~ Supper Club Of The South 3] The Dog Days Of Endless Summer 2] 3 Wows Plus 1 Piece Of Magic I Experienced At Jacksonville, Florida’s Cummer Museum Of Art & Gardens 1] Happy Birthday America ~ 4 Simple Steps To Help You Have An Easy Americana 4th: 4/24/2020 0 Comments #69) Chaunie’s Coffee Truck Part of - Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge - series Well I never thought I’d live to see the day that Starbucks is closed. I mean - like - really closed. Not closed early; not closed for a holiday; not closed for training. Just - closed. With no predetermined opening date either. In the Jax Beaches area, at least. Sigh. The CoVid19 crisis is certainly upending all types of area businesses at this point. Large and small, local and chain. There is nothing remaining that is unaffected in some way by the coronavirus at this point. And Starbucks has been closed for many days now - a few weeks actually. The place that I have relied upon for outings of all kinds, remains shuttered. I’ve been there on vacation, I’ve been there on the funnest days of my life. On Thanksgiving Day... On Christmas Day... I’ve been there in New Orleans, sitting inside the window, watching the electric street car go past on the outside. I’ve been there on the hardest days of my life. I’ve been there in Rochester, Minnesota, on days with the coldest sub-zero temperatures I’ve ever felt in my life. I’ve shared iced frappuccinos with my dearest friends, while standing on Main Street USA. I’ve been there for meetings. For friendship. For chatting. For reading. And, oh yeah, for some coffee, too.     So, with Starbucks literally being closed, and me still leaving the house every single day for work and life, I’ve been seeking out all the small coffee shops in town. Anyplace - and anywhere - that still has their doors open. Just like my recent outings to the Ugly Cupcake & Muffinry, and The Delicomb. If it’s open, I’ll be trying it. I’ve always been a fan of all the chain shops and equally all the small shops. Which is why I started Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge to begin with. Basically, if it’s coffee - I tend to be a fan. In fact, I may like coffee just as much as I like donuts. Yeah, I guess those bold beans are basically up there at the top of the list for me. So today I’m extremely happy to showcase another exciting and very unique coffee adventure in the greater Jax area: Chaunie’s Coffee Truck! And all it took was a virus, a global plague, and complete and total economic destruction, to finally lead me there! And to the absolute cutest truck in town, by the way. I have actually been searching out Chaunie and her truck for a couple of years. A few years back I had my first iced latte from Chaunie’s while they were parked at an Art Walk in Jax Beach. But considering the entire business concept of a food truck is on wheels, and moving around, my schedule has simply never matched that of her truck, since my initial introduction to it back in the day at that fest. But then, just recently, I happened to find her Instagram page. So I followed, and started watching where she was going to be each day. Noticing a day scheduled in Ponte Vedra Beach, on my day off, and it was finally a date. We drove around the town of Ponte Vedra Beach - the small coastal town just south of Jax Beach, and found Chaunie’s black and minimalist and very cool truck, parked in the Ponte Vedra Lakes neighborhood, next to a small pond at the very end of a cul de sac.   As we parked and walked up, we noticed people from the neighborhood, walking away with hot cups of coffee, and some walking up to make their purchases. Word was definitely out that there was a coffee truck sitting in the neighborhood. There were friends and neighbors, standing around the curled street, chatting and sipping. Chaunie said that she has been taking her truck all over Jax through the pandemic. Knowing how entire neighborhoods of people were simply - at home - she wanted to bring coffee - to them. A superb idea! She had just recently traveled out to Julington Creek. And was then in Ponte Vedra Beach. And the next day - onward to another residential area in the Jacksonville greater community. And continuing. I mentioned that I had my last cup of coffee from her truck at a local fest in Jax Beach. And I was super excited to finally get another cup. I ordered a hot latte, and hubby ordered an iced latte. All one size - no option for a small or large.   Chaunie then mentioned that she was serving breakfast that particular day. That even though she didn’t have her menu out, she was serving hot breakfast sandwiches and cinnamon rolls with iced frosting. We basically said - what the heck... We were already there, how’s about breakfast with our coffees? So I ordered one of her homemade cinnamon rolls, and hubby tried the breakfast sandwich - which came with bacon, eggs, and cheese. Both were delicious, and we could definitely taste that everything we ate was very much homemade.     Our total for two breakfasts and two hand-crafted espresso drinks - to go - was $21.70, plus tip. Chaunie’s Truck does take credit card, so you do not need to have cash on you at the time of your visit. I thanked Chaunie for being out there. And mentioned we would definitely be seeing her again. We walked back to our car and drove on toward home. I wondered when Starbucks would open its doors, once again? When will I be able to sit inside a coffee shop, listening to relaxing and calming cafe music, while reading a book and sipping a steamy latte? I pondered how certain businesses may be thriving right now, and how many, many others, are on the absolute verge of dying. And while I don’t ever have my sights on planning to visit any cafe in Rochester, Minnesota, ever again, even if someone paid me a million dollars, I also thought to myself - when will I once again stand on any ol’ Main Street in the USA? Sharing a laugh, and clinking our cups in cheer, with friends? As we stand closer than six feet from one another - to cheers, of course. Ohh, sigh. A simple outing, during another “stay-at-home” sort of day. We had been on a lovely walk. We had soaked in the fresh Floridian air. We supported a local area small business - during the absolute worst time of my life on this Earth I have ever witnessed, for any small business. And maybe, most importantly, we drank some bold and delicious coffee. ~ 
*Have you visited Chaunie’s Coffee Truck? Do you have a favorite coffee truck driving around your town? I’d love to know. Drop me a comment down below. Also - here’s more coffee, and more beans! Bean’s Coffee Shop Challenge: 67] Delicious & Delightful Days @ The Delicomb 60] Welcome To Muffin Land ~ The Ugly Cupcake & Muffinry 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 9] Sago Coffee: A Cup Of Friendly & Flavorful Florida Plus, you can check out some more dining reviews of many local area diners all around Jax, right here: 57] First Watch on the First Coast 54] Um, Open @ Angie’s Subs 50] Sundays Are For Diners ~ Super Diners 40] Visiting The Florida Cracker Kitchen ~ Jacksonville 19] Another Broken Egg Cafe ~ A Taste Of NOLA @ The Beach 16] Beach Diner ~ If You Feed Them They Will Come 4/19/2020 0 Comments #68) A Sunday Stroll Sunday morning in Jax Beach. So we went for a walk this Sunday - as we normally do. But there was one minor change to our morning routine. And… yeahhhh… I’ve officially become - that person. You know, the one who pushes a doggy stroller around town... Not ashamed. Not embarrassed. Not sad. Not mocking. And not making fun. Quite the opposite in fact. I’m soooooo happy. Very happy. Overjoyed.  I actually know quite a few people who have a doggie stroller in their life, and all who do are sincerely happy with their purchase. They are the ones who gave me the idea in the first place, long ago. This amazing contraption and piece of complete and utter materialism was one of the best purchases I have ever made for the life and health and welfare of my precious little angel pooch... My dog is - sadly - getting older. Whether I like to admit it or not. This purchase has been a long time coming. A very long time. My little sugar plum fairy has had arthritis for many years. She limps, and tries, to keep going. Continually moving. Little things hurt her and if she jumps up a chair or down the stairs wrong she’s in a lot of pain for days. And then she limps more. Thus, her walks are increasingly shorter and shorter. But she loves her daily adventures and loves being outside. As is the life of a dog.   Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Resort - under construction.  Going to check out the Hampton Inn.  ‘A Sunday Stroll’ 8x10x0.75 acrylic on canvas      And really, this whole pandemic “thing” going on in the world is what made me decide to go ahead and just buy the darn thing already. Cause there’s nothing like a pandemic surrounding a respiratory virus to prove how important fresh air really is. And our walks must go on. So the first day of this whole crisis that our little creature started limping, once again... was the very day I went ahead and placed the order. I refuse to have her “stuck” at home just because she couldn’t walk very far. Especially with her humans still out there exercising and walking and getting their fresh air - and the world in crisis… It just didn’t seem right to have to cut the walk short for her, or leave her at home altogether, just so we could go on a very long walk without her. So I made the executive decision to visit Chewy.com. And I quickly bought what I’m calling her buggy - her new ride.  Folds, locks, and fits perfectly in the back of a Ford Explorer. Now Miss Madeline can ride around town in style. And not miss out. On FRESH AIR. That we all need in this life. Plague - or no plague. Because fresh air can do wonders. For doggies too! So I purchased the Paws & Pals Deluxe Folding Dog & Cat Stroller, in black. The cost was $129.99, plus $9.10 in tax, for a total of $139.09. And yes, you can zip a cat in the netting, allowing them to sit, safely, so they can’t escape! How cool! Free shipping goes along with any purchase through Chewy costing $49.00 or more. And I set up a free Chewy account while I was at it - so now we can order dog food and medicine and other supplies if needed as well. I don’t anticipate needing to buy much from the site, as most all of her purchases are made at Petsmart, in person, and not online. But then again, I’m always happy to try out new or different pet suppliers. And mostly I’m just happy we finally made this purchase for our little angel. Then the day came when our stroller “finally” arrived to us - with impressively fast shipping actually. And we went on a lovely Sunday morning stroll. And I’m so happy that Madeline absolutely loved her buggy! She walked shorter than her usual route - and slower - and I could tell she was done, tired, in pain. This was when we normally would have gone immediately home. But noooo - not today! Prepared for everything - we finally were! We plopped our little ball of fluff into her new and comfy seat. We gave her some ice water. And then we continued onward. We walked for a much longer time period. Like - a lot longer. We walked a length that Madeline never would have been able to do and something I usually do all by myself. But this Sunday we were able to do it as a family of three! For the very first time. So it was a very good Sunday indeed. And we even made it to The Delicomb - once again. Enroute home on our walk, we just so happened to walk past the coffee shop, and quickly ordered two large lattes to go. You know I didn’t happen to plan things that way, right? And then, as our lovely Sunday morning stroll was reaching its conclusion, we were headed toward home and sipping our coffee, I saw something blue on the ground. I can’t see for anything, and from a distance I thought it was a piece of trash. But we got closer and I let out a gasp.  If there is any reason to love Jax Beach that does not include the ocean - it is for all the little things. Yes, these little things. Like rocks! I found another scavenger hunt rock! People all over town paint rocks in their spare time and hide them - some hidden very, very well - camouflaged and tucked away - and some hidden more so in plain site, sitting out front-and-center - so people like me can actually find them. And I have never met a painted rock I didn’t like. And today’s rock was no exception.   On the front is usually the artistic and painted design. And on the back is usually written who made the rock and/or how to tag it online to acknowledge the find. #jaxbeachrocks on Facebook is the usual group that I tend to find from. But I’ve found some from much farther away too. After you tag online you can then rehide it - so someone else who may just need a rock in their life at this very moment - can also get in on the fun. And some rocks do not come with a tag and you can keep them for your rock collection if you like. I have a small rock collection going right now sitting in my art studio. They bring me joy every time I look at them. And that is exactly the whole gosh darn point. Joy. There is joy in all the little things in life. And whether we like it or not, life is still going on. And we have to keep going. And we have to keep walking too. I learned a long time ago a very simple equation: MOVEMENT = LIFE So even though my little doggie is getting older. I have found a way for her to keep moving. I’ve found a way for her to still get her fresh air. For her to see the world around her. As I breathed in the delicious and heavenly scent of all the flowers blooming around me. I have found a way for Madeline to do the very same. For her to still keep moving and breathing and living. And soaking up all that surrounds her. And while this societal and economic crisis is affecting the pocketbook to the extreme right now, there isn’t a penny I wouldn’t spend on my little baby to help allow her to have her very best life possible while she is on this Earth. And if buying a doggie stroller allows her to have some more time with us during our day, seeing new things, and going farther on a walk than her four little paws could ever take her, then $139.09 is sincerely worth it to me right now… Plague or no plague. Since this entire crisis began it has been food and rent. Food and rent. Nothing extra. Nothing extravagant. But that doesn’t count for Madeline. I would happily even go into deep and severe credit card debt if it meant even the chance of saving her life somehow. So this cost was so worth it to me, and really not even a significant investment in comparison to the absolute joy it brought her - instantly. If you have a dog. And your dog is older or hurting and in some sort of pain, or injured or disabled. And if you have been on the fence about buying a dog stroller. Or if you have a cat - and always dreamed of bringing them along on a walk. I am here to tell you to go ahead and make that silly and ridiculous and oh-so-funny of a purchase. Yes - it might just be the most comical purchase of your life. And - It may make a lot of people laugh at you along your walking route while you’re on your Sunday morning stroll. But guess what - they’re not actually laughing at you - they’re really just laughing with you. Because it also may just bring your whole family together. And it may even bring you rocks. And mostly, it may just bring you some very needed JOY. ~ 
*Do you have a doggy stroller? Have you ever considered purchasing one but are on the fence? I’d so love to know your thoughts. Drop me a comment down below: Also, if you’re enjoying my stories - straight and freshly squeezed from The Sunshine State, check out some more of my other adventures right here: 67] Delicious & Delightful Days @ The Delicomb 65] The Sea Life ~ Happy Easter 64] Stay-At-Home Sunday ~ Palm Sunday 63] Mercy & Comfort 62] PERSPECTIVE @ Seaside Sculpture Park 61] Bean’s Idea List ~ 15 Daily Activities For Well Beyond 15 Days 60] Welcome To Muffin Land ~ The Ugly Cupcake & Muffinry 55] The Shamrock 52] Keeping Cool - And Creamy ~ In Key West 51] Life Is Full Of Pasta-Bilities ~ Bean’s Red Sauce Recipe 50] Sundays Are For Diners ~ Super Diners 49] A Picture Worth A Thousand Words ~ Happy Valentine’s Day, World 48] Love & Donuts In The Air @ Beaches For Australia 46] Key Largo, Montego, Baby Why Don’t We Go? 44] Nothing Finer Than Coffee In The Keys ~ The Coffee Plantation Cafe 42] Where Does The Chicken Cross The Road? 41] Minnie The Daschund Mouse & Her Birthday Wish 39] The Very Official & Quite Serious Donut Debate Of 2020 38] The Year Of The Sweater ~ Bean’s Minestrone Soup Recipe 32] Jolly Holiday In Jarboe Park ~ The Beaches Green Market 31] Tuesday’s On First Street ~ The Jax Beach Art Walk ~ 22] Saturday On San Pablo Island 3] The Dog Days Of Endless Summer |
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