Friday, January 24, 2025

Fly On The Wall Freezing In Florida (Yes, Florida!)

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, there are three of us bloggers inviting you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear).

Our Florida fly is FREEZING this month! Why? Because it SNOWED in Florida the other day! Mother Nature has really been throwing some weather zingers at the U.S. lately. Luckily, I love the cold (that is, if the heat in my house works and I don't have to go outside, haha). We've had more campfires this year than any year I can recall, so I have eaten my weight in smores. However, it's a shame we didn't have super cold temps here during the holidays--I still dream of a white Christmas!

Speaking of the holidays, for the first time in almost 20 years, I didn't have to host the family gathering on Christmas day! We had our traditional dinner with the neighbors on Christmas Eve and then the next morning, we all met at my daughter's house for the big celebration. It was the easiest and probably best Christmas ever because it was zero stress for me. Even better, a few of us got treated later that night to an awesome Italian dinner at a cozy restaurant (no cooking, no dishes!!). I've decided this will be my new holiday tradition (as long as my daughter is willing to do all the work again next year). 

We are back on the RV camping trail now that the holidays are over. I have 9 state park trips planned and just finished a return trip to one of our fave spots called Lion Country Safari. What made this trip exceptional was hearing the lions roar all day (yes, we were that close, but it was still safe). My daughter's family lives nearby so they hung out with us during the weekend there---lots of cornhole, bocci ball, cards, and delicious BBQ. The sunsets were stunning during our evening walks! Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time while making these beautiful memories. 

While enjoying all the family fun this past month, I did remember to jot down some weird snippets of conversation that I'm sure burned my freezing fly's ears (wait, do flies have ears??): 

"We have way too much food in this refrigerator. I guess we don't ever have to worry about running out."
"Unless there's a nuclear war, then everybody would come to our house because they know how much food the Doyles hoard."
"I do not hoard food!"
"Ha! You've heard of halfway houses---well, we are a Fatway house!"




"Why are you still in the bathroom?"
"Because I ate too much cabbage last night! I think I just pooped out a Cabbage Patch doll"


"My poor friend--her little kids have pinworms."
"You mean butt worms?"
"Yeah, and you thought it was bad when our kids got lice."
"Whether it's pinworms or head lice, NOBODY wants to go to the pharmacy and walk down that aisle of shame."



"I'm writing an anonymous sex-health essay for AARP about your penis."
"That will be a short essay...."
"I'm also writing about tantric sex for this essay."
"Why would someone want to have tantrum sex? That doesn't sound fun." 
"No, I didn't say 'tantrum sex',  I said.....oh never mind."
 

"Is there a crow cawing in the tree behind me?
"Yes, why?"
"Oh good---I thought I had a sudden bout of tinnitus."



"Oh man, what is that awful smell??"
"Sorry about that. You just walked into my crop dust cloud."
"Crop dust? That was more like a fart bomb cyclone."


"One thing I hate about these road trips is that I have to make a restroom pee stop every hour!"
"So do I! I guess that means we are sym-potty-co."
"Do you have an off switch for your mouth?"



I guess it's a good thing my husband doesn't have an off switch for his mouth. Who else would I gather weird conversation bits from? I suppose if my dog could talk, that would be a REAL game changer in these Fly On The Wall blog posts......

***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? It has been a hot minute since I wrote any humor, but I have a good one about my journey with lifelong dieting for AARP/The Ethel that you can read HERE   And for a more serious essay on mental health and my struggle with depression/anxiety, please check out this personal health piece I wrote for AARP/The Girlfriend HERE  Lastly, I published another foodie article for AARP on healthy recipes if you're trying to trim up for the New Year that you can HERE

Now check out Karen and Diane's houses to see what that pesky fly has been up to!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 20, 2024

Fly On The Wall With A Christmas Quiz

Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, there are three of us bloggers inviting you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear).


The fly is excited because Christmas is only a few days away! I've got all my decorating and baking done---the only thing left is to wrap the last of the gifts. Yesterday I came across this cute Christmas question-and-answer page and thought it might be fun to share with you. Feel free to copy the questions and share them with your own family! ***If you don't celebrate Christmas, you can adapt the list for Hanukkah or Kwanzaa as well!

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS:

  • What is your favorite Christmas food? Cornflake potato casserole
  • What is your favorite Christmas Eve tradition? Dinner, cocktails, and gift exchange with our neighbors, THEN.... alone time with my husband in the front yard by our Christmas light display as we celebrate with champagne and Christmas music until midnight--cozy and romantic! 
  • What is your go-to Christmas movie? Home Alone

  • What's your favorite ornament? And your oldest ornament? Too many favorites to name--my memorial ornaments, my sexy "merman" ornaments, and my Radkos. Oldest ornament is over 100 years old---it was on my grandmother's tree. There are also a few others from the late 1920s that were my mother's. 
  • What is your favorite Christmas carol to sing? Silent Night, Jingle Bell Rock, and Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming


CHILDHOOD CHRISTMAS MEMORIES:
  • What was your favorite Christmas gift as a child? An Easy-Bake Oven
  • What is your most memorable Christmas family tradition? Frosting cookies with mom and my siblings at the kitchen table.
  • Do you remember a funny Christmas story from your childhood? Yes, when our family went with close friends to Tennessee to see snow and celebrate Christmas. There was a dead mouse in the oven!
  • What did you always ask Santa for when you were little? The latest Kiddle dolls. I collected them.
  • What was your favorite part about Christmas as a kid? The anticipation and the magic. My parents always made it a magical day. 

CHRISTMAS PLANNING:
  • What is your favorite way to decorate your Christmas tree? With tons of ornaments and Christmas music playing while I do it. The spiked eggnog also helps! It takes me 5 hours because there are so many, many ornaments.....


  • Do you prefer a real or artificial Christmas tree? Nowadays I use a fake tree---so much easier and cheaper! Real ones are messy and fall over. But I get a real spruce tree wreath so the house still smells good!
  • What is your ideal Christmas day activity? Our tradition is an early breakfast with all the kids and grandkids, then we open gifts one at a time (which takes hours because there are 13 of us!). The mimosas are flowing along with the cookies, music, and loud laughter. We also pass out lotto tickets to see who the big winner is each year. 
  • Do you like to bake Christmas cookies? If so, what's your favorite recipe? I bake hundreds of them! I also carry on my mom's tradition of making baskets and giving them to all my neighbors. Favorite cookies are the old recipes handed down---pecan puffs, Swedish butter cookies, and frosted spice cookies.
  • What is your favorite Christmas color scheme?  Traditional red and green but really anything glittery!


GIFT GIVING:

  • What is the best Christmas gift you've ever given someone? Tickets to Disney World. 
  • Do you prefer to give practical or thoughtful gifts? I only do practical ones if they ask for it. Otherwise, I try to get something personal and thoughtful that they would never buy themselves.


  • What is your favorite way to wrap presents? Again, the music and the spiked eggnog.....
  • What is the worst Christmas gift you've ever received? A big screen television---many years ago. My husband basically bought it for himself. I got back at him the following year by gifting him a fancy Renaisssance frock coat. He hated it but we still laugh about it. 
  • Do you have a tradition with your gift-giving? My husband and I do funny name tags on each other's gifts---names that have special and private meanings just for us. The kids try to steal them and figure out what they mean.   

FUNNIEST CHRISTMAS MEMORY?

Many years ago when I was baking cookies with my kids and their friends---we got into a massive powdered sugar fight (like a snowball fight) throughout the entire house while my husband was out shopping. We ended up coated in confectioner's sugar as well as all the furniture, the floors, and even the dog. needless to say, Hubs was not happy about the mess---our house looked like a snow globe exploded. It took MONTHS to get all of that sugar out...but I still laugh about it just thinking of that day.

FAVORITE HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES:

1. Parties! We go to several and I really enjoy catching up with our friends and neighbors. It's always fun to see Santa and eat so much food (guilt-free because holiday calories don't count) that I feel like I'm going to burst!


2. Christmas Caroling. Well, we don't actually do the singing--we attend a community gathering at a historical mansion where carolers walk around singing. There is plenty of food, wine, music, games, fake snow, and sometimes fireworks!

3. Old Town Untapped. This is a monthly greeting event in the historic district of my town. Live bands, food trucks, bars, vendors. The Christmas gathering is amazing and hundreds of people show up to celebrate the season together! 


4. Driving or walking around town to see all the Christmas lights. There are also several parks we go to at night with a thermos of hot cocoa while viewing the holiday decorations. 

5. Being With My Grown Kids and Grandkids: There is NOTHING better than family, and watching the awe and wonder on the faces of my grandchildren is the most beautiful gift I could ever receive. 

Despite all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, always remember the TRUE meaning of the holiday---the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

God Bless you all and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Heri za Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year!

***Want more Meno Mama? Check out my latest for AARP/The Girlfriend with my crockpot appetizer recipes HERE and easy weeknight casseroles HERE

Stop by Karen and Diane's house to see what the fly has been up to this holiday season!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                             

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/



Friday, November 22, 2024

Fly On The Wall During The Month Of Appreciation


Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, there are three of us bloggers inviting you into our homes to see what a fly might see (or overhear).

Fall is my favorite season--even though I live in Florida where the palm trees stay green all year 'round. I love that we celebrate numerous family birthdays during these months and I really enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving! But mostly, I like this time of year because it speaks FAMILY to me and everything I appreciate about the people in my life. 

I recently worked on an article about older people who live alone and why they prefer to skip the holidays. It really saddened me to hear their stories; I cannot fathom a life without my family and friends. For this reason, I feel extra blessed during the holidays to be surrounded by them. This is especially true during Thanksgiving when we gather and take turns sharing with one another what we are most grateful for. Of course, I always have to throw in the bit about being grateful for turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes (I CAN'T WAIT!!) and a big helping of pumkin pie. 



My gratitude list is a long one---I'm grateful for the obvious (family and friends) but also my faith in the Good Lord, my health, my pup Yoda (who always makes me laugh), my home and gorgeous backyard garden, my awesome neighbors, my Zumba peeps, my editors (who keep me busy and well fed), our monthly RV trips, the multitude of entertaining squirrels and birds who visit us daily for food, the ocean I live near, fruity martinis, decadent pasta, and chocolate.....LOTS of chocolate (I'm still working on a leftover bag of Halloween candy but don't tell Hubs--I keep it hidden in my closet drawer because yes, this girl hoards fun-size candy bars).

I'm sure there are a TON more that I forgot to mention, but you can get the gist of what I'm appreciative of from these photos! 







HALLOWEEN 2024 FUN!






                                   RV LIFE IS THE BEST LIFE! 










Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear readers. Now tell me in the comments below what YOU are grateful for this season!



***WANT MORE MENO MAMA? Let's talk Thanksgiving! Here are a few of my recipe essays that were featured in AARP this week.... On The Ethel, "3 Ways to Cook The Perfect Bird" that you can check out HERE  Over at The Girlfriend, I have an article on "4 Twists On Thanksgiving Side Dishes" that you can read HERE  And then another Holiday piece on Experience Counts about "Ingenious Ways To Use Up Thanksgiving Leftovers" that you can read HERE Lastly, I wrote a self-help article on getting more sleep (because I'm getting GREAT sleep, and you deserve some as well!!) which was recently featured on The Girlfriend. You can read it HERE

Now go visit Karen and Diane's blog to see what they've been up to this month!

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

                               

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/



Shareaholic

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...