​These flowers are so beautiful. Some looks like if someone painted them on canvas, however, they are all real. They give me so much pleasure when I walked by and see them, so I have to take a shot.
 
I am so grateful to Mother Nature and all of her shows are FREE! Smile.

​I don’t know about you, however, I am pretty sure that you love Mother Nature perhaps more than I do. The best part is that I can’t blame you for it, instead, I feel happy that so many people enjoy the natural landscapes that Mother Nature bring us FREE each time that we walk outside our homes. And if we travel through mountains, that’s it, roll your car windows down and let it all sink in! BOOM!

Yes, them again, because “I can’t help Myself” to get tickets to go to see them when they are in town.

The last time I saw them, few years ago, was at the Theater MGM National Harbor, in Maryland. This time though, they were at the Van Wessel in Sarasota Florida. As expected, they delivered a great show.

Unfortunately, the original members of the two groups passed away but for one who is still performing in one of the groups. Either way, it was an awesome show.
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The only drawback was that when we finally became aware that they were in town, it was days before the event, almost all tickets were sold for this sold-out show, and the few tickets available were so far away from the stage. Needless to say, the music was what I wanted to hear again and it worked out well.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if they are natural, manmade, small or large, deep or shallow, the minute that I come across one, my brain tells me to stop, look at it, take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.

I love them all, my favorite, the beach; however, when I see any other, I stop for a moment to appreciate it and never take it for granted.
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Friends, time to look for your nearest pond, river, lake, slough, swamp or anything like it for that matter and enjoy the moment.

SO ADORABLE! LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE ALL IN A HURRY and HEADING TO THE NEXT CONVENTION CENTER…, SOMEWHERE. HOPING THAT THEY ALL GET THERE ON TIME. SMILE!

(Warning, my shots were taken from far away distance, using my iPhone. If I had move closer, they would have run away.)
 
As I go on my daily walks, I am rewarded by Nature for being a good girl, smile.
 
First, I woke up the other day, opened my windows and saw one of the sweetest thing ever. Near my bird bath having a productive meeting were a rabbit, a cardinal female bird and a squirrel were eating bird seeds and drinking water. What a beautiful thing to watch.
 
Then on my day walks, I walked by a pond and saw this stunning bird posing for me, and further down on another pond, capture a "turtles meeting", smile. Yet on an even further pond I saw these other turtles before they  sped to hide in the water.
 
They all made my day, don't you think?
That’s all I needed that day to be a happy girl!

Isn’t Mother Nature Spectacular?
 
What a Day! Then at night, it was getting dark, so I walked out of my block and BOOM, ended my day with an amazingly spectacular sunset.

It feels like hurricane Milton went through Florida a long time ago. Technically, it was last year, however, the devastation it caused takes a long time to repair. I will be addressing Sarasota as well as the Ana Maria Island located in the Bradenton area, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour south of Tampa and St. Pete.

The hurricane entered through Sarasota, causing a huge destruction in some areas more than others. For instance, the barrier islands (Keys) such as Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Lido Key, etc. sustained great deals of destruction. Tons of sand covered the streets/roads and numerous plant material such as trees and palms were down in numerous quantities.
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Furthermore, businesses, restaurants and million dollar properties were also significantly affected. Downtown areas, although didn’t get to see the tons of sand inundating the roads/streets, suffered the loss of a significant number of trees and palms. To this day, there are still a lot of businesses repairing the damage caused by Milton. That affects the economy.

In summary, the good news is that the restoration, in progress shortly after the hurricane, continues and shows the positive part of the effort that takes to bring things back to where they were. THANK YOU, TO ALL THE WORKERS INVOLVED IN THE RESTORATION PROCESS!

I took some photos for you to see how sometimes Mother Nature hit us with some intensity.

Traveling is one of the most relaxing things if you will. Sometimes, you do not need to make big plans, or take time from work, book a cruise, purchase plane tickets or anything else. Just plan to go somewhere where you can hit the road in the morning, enjoy the place and head back home at night.

This is exactly what happened here. The trip to Ft. Myers, FL was as smooth as you can get. The day was a bit cloudy, however that didn’t spoil my fun. The only drawback to me was that I was planning to go to the beach, however, I took the wrong exit and ended up in the bay. Problem? Not at all.
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I discover that downtown in North Ft. Myers is as hip as any other, just like Georgetown in Washington, south Beach, Miami, Ocean City, Maryland and many more. There are tons of modern restaurants, lots of modern high rises with amazing architecture, the people are super friendly, walking tours, arts and music everywhere and my goal to enjoy the day somewhere relaxing was met. Boom.

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There are  many versions of this famous pie, created of course in Kentucky years ago by a man who I assume loved the famous horse race. Because of him, we can eat it today.
 
The original versions include walnuts or pecans, however, I prefer not to add either because most of my grandkids do not like them. Today, instead of Kentucky Bourbon I used Vanilla and Amaretto Disaronno. My version is very simple and the recipe is enough to fill 2- 9” pie crusts.
 
You can eat this pie with fresh fruits, or with whipped cream on top, or a big scoop of your favorite ice cream. So, get your ingredients ready and make this pie tomorrow.
 
Category:  Dessert
Approximate Prep and Cooking: 35 to 40 Minutes
Approximate Cost: $8.17 (or $1.02 per serving).
Difficulty Level:  Easy
Allergens, Other:  USE GLUTEN FREE FLOUR FOR A GLUTEN FREE PIE 
Servings: 8
 
Ingredients
2 whisked eggs at room temperature (.50)
1 stick of melted butter (Land o’ Lake at Walmart $1.31)
1 cup of sugar (.30)
½ cup of self-rising flour (.65)
1 cup of chocolate chips ($2.71/bag) (1 cup = $1.36)
1 tbsp. of vanilla ($1.45)
1 tbsp. Amaretto Disaronno (.50)
2 9-inch pie crust partially baked (I used the frozen type or you can make your own) ($2.10)
 
Directions
Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees.
Bake the pie crust briefly, about 5-8 minutes, remove from oven let is cool.
In a medium size bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and add the melted butter that is at room temperature and beat.
Add the sugar to the bowl and beat until you see the batter is real smooth.
Add the vanilla and Amaretto Disaronno.
Add the flour until it is all incorporated.
Bring the pie crust back and add the chocolate chips, that is your chocolate bottom layer. (Or you can add it to the dough before pouring it into the pie crust.)
Pour your batter into the pie crust.
Bake for approx. 35 minutes, (depending on your oven) the top should be golden yummy and when a toothpick is inserted into the center, it come out clean.
You can eat this pie cool or warm, either way it will blow your mind!