Suwannee River Valley or Some Fine Ice Tea

Tis the season for much busy-ness.  Before things get anymore frenetic I want to do a wrap up our recent trip to Florida before it is too late to write about the experience.  Because I did have some experiences in the sunshine state.  I could talk about the weather, the lack of a beach, or the insane traffic in Gainesville, but I want to discuss shopping with my nearest and dearest.

My mother is a quilter, an amazing quilter at that, she loves looking at fabric, patterns, and specialty sewing machines.  When we travel with mom, a quilt shop or more like a half dozen is on the list of places we will visit.  I can't complain, because she gets it when I mention a yarn shop I want to visit.  We tried to find a quilt shop in Gainesville, but the one there was very disappointing.  In an effort to make amends we found one outside of town.  Thirty-one miles of country road later we found ourselves in Trenton FL at the Suwannee River Valley Quilt Shoppe and Cafe http://www.suwanneeshops.com/quiltshoppe.html). 

We arrived hungry and ready to find something worth the journey and remarkably we did.  My mom acted like a 7 year old in a toy store once inside, it took a few sterns looks to get her to put a lunch order in before she was off to browse.  Our waiter brought us a round of ice tea and I am here to say southerns get ice tea.  First, unless you tell them otherwise, the tea shows up sweet and always freshly brewed.  They know better than to brew it through a coffee pot, and they clean the tea urn at least once a day to keep it from getting that nasty rancid tang.  Southern tea is rarely too strong or watered down to carmel colored swill.  So when I say this to you, understand, I know good tea and the glass they put in front of me was easily in the top 5 glasses of tea I have ever had in my life.  I was in tea heaven.

The rest of lunch was equally as sublime.  My BLT tasty, broccoli salad yummy, and my bread pudding orgasmic.  I am glad the cafe of the quilt shop was mostly empty, because I made noises that would have frightened a feral cat.  Natalie indulged my multiple exclamations of exhalations and moans of pleasure.  We were both glad we had skipped IHOP for the cafe.

The shop and cafe were in an old Coke Cola building which had been rehabbed and filled with rooms of brightly colored bolts of fabric.  I think my mom must have made 3 tours of the store before deciding on her purchases.  While she shopped I drank tea, lots of tea and started up a conversation with a lady who had bravely decided to sit at the table across from me. 

The shop was worth everyone of those country road miles to Trenton.  My mom bought fabric, Natalie got whistled at by a parrot, and I was sated with good food, so we all left the shop happy.  While we walked back to the car a 1 ton truck drove by us and blew its very loud air horn.  The lady at the table across from me smiled and waved out the truck window as she drove away.  That is me making friends and drinking some fine ice tea.

Thanksgiving In Florida

This year my wife and I went to Gainesville, Florida for Thanksgiving.  My in-laws were wanting to have a holiday family gathering at their home.  Gainesville is not the most exciting travel destination, but the opportunity to see our little nephew and have a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, made for an irresistible combination.  As I had previously posted about being thankful for the people in my life, I had a whole week to live in that thankfulness.  My traveling companions were Natalie and my mom, always delightful companions.

Last week my days were filled with much love, much food, and much knitting.  My brother-in-law, Gene,  put together an amazing menu for his family and ours.  We all kept asking what we could do to help, but he and his wife, Dora, were a well oiled machine of efficiency.  They had spent the last year searching the web and practicing recipes to present to us a perfect feast.  They were a great team in the kitchen, with his first turkey turning out to be one of the best I have eaten in a very long time.  The group of appreciative eaters around the table concurred, dinner was par excellent.

We supplemented the Florida in-laws visit with a night in Jacksonville to see our godson, Jase and his mother, diane (the little d is intentional).  Again I say irresistible!  We had another wonderful meal while catching up and laughing until our sides hurt.  Parting was so hard as we hugged each other in the kitchen, then in the garage, and finally at our cars.  Sometimes, though geography separates you, good memories and love do not. 

Last week my cup ran over with people who I wished I saw more often, and with this visit I am even more grateful for all the wonderful people in my life.

Kaelob

So I spent the last week in Florida visiting my adopted baby sis, Dora, and her new little guy, Kaelab. Kaelab was as most month old babies are, really into sleeping, eating, and filling up his diapers. He is especially fond of formula, as in he is addicted to the stuff. And the boy can hang with the best of the knitters, he went to string stores and charmed knitters through out the Gainesville area. The trip was definitely worth its weight in yarn.

Kaelab got to meet his Ankle Drew. The two of them hit it off like needles and string. They talked about knit theory and whether it was okay to buy acrylic. In the end they mostly agreed on everything with Ankle Drew only having a few fussy moments.

Kaelab was so excited by our visit he started to consider rolling over as an option for his daily routine. His parents, Dora and Gene, and his Grandparents, Poppa T and Nona, were very impressed. We were just impressed that the boy had possum toes that latched onto anything he could find. It was hard to say goodbye and know the next time we see him, he will be bigger and much more adept at charming everyone into doing his bidding.

Funny, I remember when his momma was a little girl, all arms and legs with a big smile. And now she is all grown up and raising her own family. Time flies and my knitting is always behind. Still got one more bib to knit for the boy.