Brrr!

Our cold and shivering bodies gathered around the fire trying to absorb its warmth. We did not know if we were going to make it through the night, but by God we were going to try. I looked around our group, we were too cold to talk, too cold to move, we just sat and stared into the flames silently wondering if this was our last night on earth. How could it be this cold? We came down to Florida to escape the cold, glancing at the thermometer on the window, I see the dial was dipping down to the 40°, this was definitely life threatening.

I am sure most of you reading this are wondering if we all survived. I am happy to report we did. 

What a crazy week across the country. Back home in South Dakota, we saw a low of -25 below (is using the - sign and the word "below" a double negative?) The high that day was -4. Two days later the high was 48. Talk about a roller coaster. At the farm in North Dakota, they saw a low of -33, now that is cold! But that does not stop them from working, life carries on at the farm regardless of the weather. Here are a couple of screenshots I took when the temperature when I thought to do it. 

Speaking of The Farm, we talked to Farmer Bob this week in Kenya. He is getting along well. He and the priest are pretty much the only two in the area (at least in his circle) that speak English. Even the masses are in Swahili. Bob has learned a few words and phrases, so far, his favorite is "Hakuna matata" which means "No worries".

Before the bottom fell out of the thermometer (by Florida standards) we were able to get out for a few adventures. Dan and I fished Lochloosa Lake, a beautiful day on the lake, but our worst day fishing so far. I am happy to report, we saw no spiders or snakes, but the wasps were out there!

Like Noonan, the cormorants were waiting in the trees for us to go under them so they would practice their aim. 

While we were doing that, Jeannie and Barb were having a sushi party for the women in the neighborhood. Many of them had never made sushi before and came prepared with sake, fans and geisha hair pins. 

Not wanting to get home too soon (The women were still making sushi), Dan and I stopped at a bar along the way home. Upon entering the bar, it was like we stepped back in time. A blue smokey haze hovered over the entire place. As we took our bar stools, no less than 3 of the 6 patrons were smoking. What the?!?! We ordered our beer, and I googled, "Is smoking legal in Florida bars?". I was shocked to read that yes; it is under specific condition. Apparently (I am going from memory) in 2017, 5 states changed their laws to allow smoking in bars, Florida being one of them. 

While I am not a smoker, I don't disagree with this law, businesses should be able to cater to who they want and survive if there is a market for it.  But I will never go there again. After a quick beer, it was still too early to risk going home, so we stopped by the Clubhouse in their subdivision and met some of the other "sushi husbands" for a few games of pool. 

The next day Barb and I headed to Yalaha, an hour and a half SE to meet up with blogger friends Marlene and Benno. Barb and I have wanted to meet these two for several years. Married almost 60 years, they have lived in a sailboat, a diesel boat, an RV and are in the process of rebuilding another boat. Such and interesting and inspirational couple!

We met them at Yalaha Bakery, an authentic German restaurant. Barb and I had a giant pretzel and a couple of hefeweizens while we sat outside and visited. Before we knew it, two hours had past, and it was time to head home. We all went back inside to get a dessert to go. They have an incredible selection for sweets!

We even got to meet Elsa and Reggie!

  

Oh, I forgot to tell you about last Sunday when we went over to Dan and Jeannie's for our 3rd annual crab claw/oyster feed. Here is Barb and Dan shucking the oysters. They were then flavored with various toppings; garlic/parm, hot sauce, truffle oil.... Delicious!

The four-legged girls just hung out and watched us. Dakota and Sally in the sunroom, Zoey was quite board with everything. 

Friday, we went back out to the World Equestrian Center for a dual-purpose visit. First up was the boat show which was taking place in one of the buildings. While we are in the market for a fishing boat, they did not have any boats that we were interested in. The fishing boats in Florida and so different than the fishing boats we use up north. Talk about some crazy boats though, the most expensive one we saw was over $700,000! 

Then we walked a short distance to watch a jumping event. Hard to beat this venue with the arena in the foreground and the hotel in the background. 

Finally, Saturday was again our Mike and Liz day, no distilleries this week, instead we went over to their house for a smoked brisket feast! Mike had put the brisket in the day before and smoked it overnight. We were joined by Rachel (Mike and Liz's daughter) and John and Karen (Mike's brother). 

John and Karen (and Zoey and Tux)

We had not seen John and Karen since 2019, so it was really nice to catch up with them. They own a couple of shrimping boats and brought a bucket of shrimp to go along the meal. It was still cold (like in the 50's), so Mike started a fire in their outdoor fireplace to keep us warm. 

The brisket was to die for! So tender and juicy. John and Karen also brought a box of Girl Scout Cookies. When I say a box, I mean like a case. Earlier that day they had stopped by Walmart where their granddaughter was selling them. They bought 167 boxes, yup everything she had, at $6.00 per box! Do you think their granddaughter will ever forget that sale?

What a great night. Good food and good friends are hard to beat. We went home with a bag of brisket, a bag of shrimp and 8 boxes of Girl Scout cookies! 

The week did end on a sad note however, when we got a call from back home informing us that our friend Janet (Kevin and Cheryl's neighbor) had passed away. You may remember her from the hay ride we had to Greg and Janet's house late last year. I will never understand why God takes the good ones first, you would be hard-pressed to find a kinder person than Jan. Our hearts go out to Greg and his family.