A quick note to let Debbie’s blog readers know that she’ll be out of town and not able to post any blogs until February 7 at the earliest. She’ll be in New York all of next week, meeting with her agent and editor, Warm Up America, etc. She promises to give you lots of interesting tidbits once she’s back at her desk in Port Orchard.

All the best for the coming weekend,
Renate

I'm back in Florida, and it's quite a switch from the Pacific NW. For one thing, it's warmer in Seattle than it is here. Seattle had a record 67 degrees on Monday. Truth be told, Wayne and I are freezing our little petunias off in sunny Florida.

Because the building boiler was damaged in the hurricanes, our condo has no heat and temperatures dipped to the mid-thirties overnight. This guarantees a lot of cuddling, and after nearly two weeks apart, Wayne and I aren't complaining!

We have family arriving this week and are headed to the Keys, so if you don't hear from me for a while, that's why. I'm just hoping its warmer there. Oh well, I could use those special hugs of Wayne's.

My family is big on recipes. In 2003 we Adler cousins decided to collect our favorite recipes and publish our own cookbook, titled ADLER FOOD. The title came from my two boys. I was born and raised in Yakima. Whenever Wayne and I made the three-hour drive from Seattle to Yakima to visit my parents, the kids would get excited and say. "Oh goodie, we get Adler food."

The reason I mention this is because my granddaughter Maddy is spending the night, and her favorite thing to do is cook with her grandma. Maddy and I are members of the Frequent Eaters Club, and you can be, too, by logging onto my website and sharing a recipe.

A heartfelt note of appreciation to those of you who wrote regarding my Mom's health. She's coming along fairly well.

Because of this latest development we decided Mom needs to remain at the nursing home a bit longer. Actually, Mom's gotten used to it and enjoys her physical therapy sessions. She calls them ‘Dancing with Phil," who's just wonderful with my Mom. I'll keep you updated on her progress.

I haven't blogged for the last few days, and there's a very good why. I'm back in Port Orchard after getting word that my mother had taken ill. After spending the night in the hospital she was taken to a nursing home. Mom is afraid of nursing homes and claims people die in these places, and so she made a run for it. Picture this if you will. My mother—all 89 pounds of her—so weak she can barely stand, heading for the door. She's adjusting better now and is being released this morning. The kids and I have moved her to a new facility, and as my daughter said as she packed up the 15 bottles of hand lotion Mom had in her cupboard, "There's no reason for anyone in this family not to have soft skin."

My husband is wearing pink underwear, and it's all my fault. Back in Port Orchard, Doris washes our clothes and does a mighty fine job of it, too. Unfortunately, here in Florida, I'm the one responsible for laundry and those red cotton panties went right into the washer with everything else. You can guess what happened. You might also guess that Wayne isn't happy about it, either. (He's probably going to be less happy if he reads this blog.) So if you're out and about today and need a smile, just remember that Wayne is gadding about town in bright pink shorts.

My walking partner is sick this week, so I forced Wayne to take a stroll on the beach with me. After he whined and put up a token fuss, we headed for the beach. It was sunny and warm, almost 93 degrees in late afternoon, and glorious. We set our sights on a fixed point and set off, laughing and joking with one another, racing into the water and splashing each other, and chasing after sand birds. I talked to a fisherman who stood on the shore casting his line into the surf. When I asked him if he caught anything, he told me, "A redhead about thirty years ago." I laughed, and then Wayne and I were off again. It was one of my most pleasant experiences in Florida – a simple stroll on the beach, seeking shells and joking with my husband.

Wayne and I had a glorious weekend. We stopped off at the Ft. Pierce Farmers' Market Saturday morning – you wouldn't believe the huge beefsteak tomatoes. The strawberries were fresh, too. Although we're supposedly starting a new diet, we bought the strawberries for shortcake and strolled through the stands for more fresh veggies and inspiration.

My cousin Shirley (the former nun) lives two condos down from mine, and we met at ten to attend the antiques fair in Vero Beach. Both my mother and mother-in-law gave me money for Christmas, which they do every year. For the last three years I've purchased antique jewelry with their gifts. Last year and the year before I purchased miniatures, which are paintings done on porcelain from the 1800s. This year, however, I purchased a lovely cameo; my weakness. Any weekend that includes shopping for a special gift has got to be exceptional.

Martha and I found "our" tree this morning. It's this lovely live oak that is humungous. The limbs stretch out in every which direction, thick arms full of leaves and life. If you've never seen a live oak, then you're missing something wonderful. I like to consider this particular live oak special because it's the one Martha and I stand under when a cloud burst passes by. The generous limbs have been our shelter. I wondered about that tree after the two hurricanes made a direct hit here on North Hutchinson Island. There are several like it along the two mile path we walk, but to me this tree is special. I'm happy to report that it survived and is healthy. Unfortunately, others didn't fare as well. Several of the live oaks are being nursed along, supported and nurtured by other tree lovers. Sadly, some have had to be cut down.

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back on Monday.

I'm back from my two mile walk and it's already in the mid-seventies. You gotta love a state with this much sunshine. I saw another bumper sticker on my drive to meet Martha this morning. It said: SNOWBIRDS TASTE A LOT LIKE CHICKEN. This state is full of them, Wayne and me included.

I can only stay until the first of March this year, unfortunately. Mom needs me, and I hate being away from her for any length of time. That means I've got to squeeze in as much as I can in my short time in our winter home. Have a great day and I'll check in once more before the weekend.