To Fort Lauderdale and Back

Friday we planted the 6 plants I’d bought at Green Isle Nursery to create a hedge between us and our neighbors to the south. Two wax myrtles (Morella cerifera), 1 shiny leafed coffee (Psychotria nervosa), 1 yellow star anise (Illicium parviflorum), 1 Simpson's stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans ), 1 Florida privet (Froesteriam segregata), and 1 mountain mint (Pycnanthemum sp). Alan said they would all do well under the oak tree, except the mint, which needs more sun. Crossing my fingers.

We finished and cleaned up so we could have lunch with our MEG group at the Wandel’s in Kissimmee, then lead the session, recycling the Joy worksheet we’d used with our Zoom group. If we hadn’t had a play at Orlando Shakes that evening, we would have packed for south Florida and saved ourselves the 45 minute trip back and forth.

But we did have theater tickets to What the Constitution Means to Me since our Thursday night performance had been canceled. I was slightly dreading the show, assuming it was another of their experimental plays which have alway been well done, if a bit dreadful. I was wrong. This almost one-woman show deals with the exclusivity of our government. Fabulous. I would see it again.

Up at o’dark hundred the next morning to drive to Fort Lauderdale. When we’d gotten home from the play, I’d made a second Halloween cake to take to Patten since he admired my photo of the first. I was pretty tired with only about 5 hours sleep. There was no orange gel icing at the store, so I compensated with orange colored and flavored frosting to spread over the roof and attach the googly eyes.

The weather was fine in Windermere, but deteriorated as we drove south. We saw several areas of trees with their tops twisted off, evidence of tornados from Milton. Standing water everywhere, a small (5’) alligator run over. Even Fort Lauderdale was pretty damp. 

Pho for lunch  at Brandon Asian Cuisine, a find of Patten and Ryann after their previous favorite Vietnamese restaurant was accused of using slave labor. Several Vietnamese nail salons had been accused of the same when we lived in Lauderdale. Evidently, the employees are made promises but can never work off the money they owe to the boss. 

We spent the next hour or so driving around Broward County looking for nduja sausage for the mussels Patten was cooking. Ryann and I voted for just garlic, butter and wine, but he had a recipe. None at the Italian market, none at some places we called, finally went to a restaurant and bought some sausage that was almost what he wanted. Not exactly right, but now I know a Christmas present I can order.

We gathered strength at Invasive Species Brewery, then returned home for meal prep. The mussels over pasta were absolutely delicious, even if we didn’t have the exact sausage called for. 

Even thought Monday was Columbus/Indigenous Americans Day, the worker bees left for work before we got up. Breakfast at Little Reds with Marjorie, then return to the house to wait for the Xfinity guy to install new equipment. By the time he finished, I was ready to go home.

We talked about going to the beach or birding somewhere, but I was tired. An easy trip home, leftover pot roast for dinner, and early bedtime for me. We did have one more stop at Poverello House thrift store to drop off Christmas decorations I had culled last year, 5 t-shirts I haven’t worn and won’t ever wear, plus a couple of pairs of shoes Patten passed along. The empty shelf in the garage will only be used to stage the next items I am moving along. 

I hadn’t planned on even going in, but our need of a bathroom stop before getting on the road gave me a chance to just look around a little. Eight Corelle bowls, a turkey shaped vase, a covered candy dish to start seeds in, and an arched floor lamp for the office were too good to pass up. $70 well spent.