Our Dream is Coming True!

There are two things to aim at in life:  first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it.  Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.  ~Logan Pearsall Smith

Hubby and I first went to Sanibel Island on our honeymoon in 1997. We absolutely fell in love with it and have talked about retiring on or near Sanibel ever since.  Hubby began looking at property many years ago and we constantly talk to people who have made that move....people we run into on the Auto train, in Motels, on the beach, shopping....they always finish the conversation with 'the best thing we ever did'! We always wanted a place on the island, but thought that a place nearby would be the most reasonable idea, maybe someplace we could go to to get away once in a while.  A place to eventually call home, and retire one day.....

Well, our dream has come true!! Hubby continually looked on the internet, and had become very familiar with the areas, and knew what was available and going prices, and there it was!! A townhouse, mostly furnished....10 minutes from Sanibel Island!!!!! We absolutely fell in love with the pictures, and just had to at least look! I called Clark Rambo (ILOVESHELLING, Pam Rambo's hubby) and he made arrangements for us to see it!! We drove all the way down there and knew right away that it was home! We were only there long enough to look at it twice, get a home inspection done, and turned around and came back home....contract submitted!! I was sick, and never even went to Sanibel in the 2 days we were there!! Can you believe it??? But we did it!!! We got 'Wild and Crazy' and it has paid off!!! We close April 30th!! So we will be down for closing and begin 'settling in' our new home!! Of course we will stay in Virginia and look after our Mom's mostly, but we can grab our Lily and take her with us down to Ft. Myers and Sanibel whenever the urge strikes us!! I am so excited!!! This is our dream come true!!! Clark has been an amazing help to us, and I recommend you contact him if you want to do the same, he knows the area well, is great to deal with and is just a fun person!!!

Here are some pics of our new home!!

All this furniture stays...even the TV!

All stays except dining room table! 

Everything here except for the dining room table stays!!

Guest room with Queen and all furniture!

Master bedroom (King) with Florida room sitting area

Only the leather couch here stays...look at that view!!!

Shell cleaning sink in the laundry room!! :)

The back of the house...upstairs Master bedroom and florida room downstairs (green awning)

I have a palm tree!! :)

I have been going through all my stuff here at the house to gather things together so we can supply the kitchen, etc there for our trip down the end of this month!! This is such a dream come true!!! I'm sure I will be sending you some wonderful stories of our adventures!!!

::Hugs::

Cheri

**I just noticed this is my 100th post!! How Lucky is that?!

Happy Easter!!

Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.  ~Floyd W. Tomkins


It is that time of year to dust off the old, and begin again. For me, this means more this year than it ever has. I've weeded the gardens and made room for the new blooms to grow and flourish. Now we watch as life begins anew.

Happy Easter to all of you and your families!!

::Hugs::

Cheri

Aunt Jan's Birthday....The cake!

"Ugly cakes are fine. Mama made some of the ugliest cakes there were, but they always were the best cakes I ever ate!" ~Klu Hoggard (My Daddy)

I just had to post the continuation of Aunt Jan's Birthday....the cake! It was something I agonized over prior to the day because it was something I had never done and I was trying to replicate a cake my Grandmother made often, which was always beautiful and tasted wonderful...pretty big shoes to fill!

Angel food cake, with 7 minute frosting. I spent quite some time on the internet to find the recipes for both and I opted to go with the Angel food cake from a box and concentrate on the frosting.  The original recipe was from the Betty Crocker recipe book from the 60s and I had to get my mom's Angel cake pan which seemed complicated enough!  I started at 6am on the big day, I remembered that 7 minute frosting hardened rather quickly and I wanted it to be fresh. Mixing the cake and 'pouring' it into the pan was no problem.  To cool it recommended putting it on a bottle upside down....that even went well!

It had to sit like this until completely cool...about 1-1/2 hours.  Unfortunately, the bottle got stuck! As you can see, I would need to pull the bottle through the cake to get it off!! Apparently putting a hot cake pan on a bottle makes a pretty good seal!! After a lot of pulling and tugging and cussing it finally broke free!! Phew!

Of course I had to use the traditional Birthday plate to make it extra special...

Now the frosting.... It requires that you mix only 2 egg whites, cream of tartar, water and sugar in a stainless steel bowl for one minute, then place on a double boiler with boiling water for 7 minutes, add vanilla, then continue to mix until stiff peaks form....easy, right?? Well I don't have a hand held mixer, so I opted to use my immersible blender with the whisk attachment....

I added blue food coloring since it's Aunt Jan's favorite color!

Talk about a mess!!! Apparently my bowl was too shallow, though I picked the big bowl as I understand the frosting amount would quadruple in size.....the pan got really hot, which required mits and the frosting splattered everywhere, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop it!!

....I apparently whipped it for too long, it hardened so quickly I couldn't spread it!! Talk about an UGLY cake!!! By now it's time to take it to Aunt Jan, so this was going to have to do!!

It ended up tasting very good, and even tasted like my Grandmother's cake, but boy was it ugly! I believe Jan appreciated it very much though so it was all good! This is obviously something that takes practice!




I made homemade pizza for lunch and Lily wanted badly to participate in all of that....she just quietly kept an eye on the food as Aunt Jan ate!

  

Lily then enjoyed seeing Aunt Jan again and they quickly got reacquainted!!....remember it's always 'All about Lily!'

My Mom seemed to enjoy the day as well!

We then went and got them both pedicures with foot massages and then to a nice steak dinner! We had a great time!! I think that Aunt Jan felt special on her birthday, and we felt special to be able to share it with her!!  

Aunt Jan is back home in Colorado now, but this is a birthday we won't soon forget!! <3


::Hugs::

Cheri

Aunt Jan's Birthday!!

Only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, keep secrets like a sister and share love like a friend. ~Author Unknown

Today is my Mom's youngest Sister, Jan's Birthday!! We are privileged enough to have her here with us today to help her celebrate.  She flew here to see us from her beautiful home in Colorado Springs, Colorado last Tuesday!! Hopefully we can make her feel very special on her special day! I was fortunate enough to get a lot of her physical traits, specifically the nose :) The choices I had in the family of noses was not good....but my daughter Jess and I got my Aunt Jan's nose! Nothing special, just a normal nose! 

Jan is a very special person to me and has been so supportive, especially lately.  She has always been there at the other end of the phone whenever I needed her....either to just work as a place to vent or to help with decisions and offer advice. I don't know what I would do without her to talk to! Thank You so much Aunt Jan you are one special lady, and especially special to me!!

Jan's Wedding....I'm the flower girl!!!! My Mom is next to her on the right!!

Here we are at Easter!! (Yep, the little one is me!)

Aunt Jan is standing, Her mother, my grandmother on the couch, and I'm on the right!

Aunt Jan at my Mother's Wedding (Far left) My mom is the bride (Jacquie), Their Mom beside her and their oldest sister Bette Jo on the right

Aunt Jan and My Mom on the Chesapeake bay! (a few years ago!)

My Grandfather (Their Dad) with Jan, My Mom, and Kay their other older sister

Jan (Center) with her parents (My Grandparents) in front of one of their beautiful gardens in Wichita Kansas

Jan's Bridal picture

From Left: My Grandfather, Jan, Their brother Hal, My Grandmother and My Mom

My Dad, Grandfather, Jan and Grandmother

The Thinker Jan

Sisters! My Mom, Kay, and Jan taken just 2 days before Jess' wedding

Jan a couple of years ago! :)

My Mom, Jan, and Sister Kay through the vase!

Jan in Colorado, who knew she would be living there one day!?

Lee, Jan's Bestest friend, Jan, My Mom and Me on a trip to Maine

My Mother in law, Ruth; My Mom, Jacquie; Kay and Jan at Jess' Bridal Shower

Jan and Hal at MY Wedding!

Jan, Me and Mom (Jacquie) in Maine

All the Kids, we all Love this picture!  From Left: Bette Jo, Jan, Hal, Kay and Jacquie in my Grandmother's pink house!!

I Love You Aunt Jan, Happy Happy Birthday!!

::Hugs::

Cheri