THE MAGIC OF THE MAGNOLIA

Spring here in Florida is one of my favorite times of year. The evenings are still cool, and it is a perfect time to take a stroll in the neighborhood shortly after it dusk. Somehow the fragrances in the neighborhood are more heightened in the twilight. Walking around the neighborhood, I encounter a scent somehow reminiscent of lemons. It is a scent that always stops me in my tracks for a moment so that I may pause to enjoy the magical fragrance before continuing my walk. This is the magical and unmistakable scent of the Southern Magnolia, which usually blooms from April to June. I am fortunate enough to have one of these beautiful trees which permeates my own backyard with such a sweet-smelling scent while I relax by the pool.

Not only is the scent of the Southern Magnolia magical, but the blooms, which can be eight to ten inches across are equally impressive. The elliptical foliage is dark and evergreen with smooth edges and a rust-colored underside. The tree grows strong and tall and can be approximately eighty feet tall at maturity. The girth of the Magnolia tree is equally impressive, as it can grow to be forty feet in diameter. These trees can live an average of eighty to one-hundred and twenty years.

“I’ve always loved Magnolia trees and their blooms. There is something so beautiful about a Magnolia blossom. It demands attention, and you can’t help but love those big, creamy, petals and that fragrant smell.”

-Chip Gaines, star of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper”

Former President Barak Obama presented a Magnolia tree propagated from a Magnolia on the grounds of the White House to South Korea to remember and honor those that lost their lives in a ferry accident there, saying the Magnolia tree “represents beauty, and, with every spring, renewal.” Former President Obama also gave a Magnolia tree to Israel as a symbol of strength, perseverance, and dignity. This Magnolia tree was grown from a seedling from the tree President Andrew Jackson planted at the White House about one-hundred and eighty years ago as a memorial to his deceased wife. Former First Lady Michelle Obama also gave two Magnolia seedlings to Cuba as a gesture of reciprocation to Cuba for sharing the beauty of their culture with the United States.

While I walk around my neighborhood, I am reminded of a dream that Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung had in which he described a certain place:

“….In the center was a round pool, and in the middle of it a small island. While everything round about was obscured by rain, fog, smoke and dimly lit darkness, the little island blazed with sunlight. On it stood a single tree, a magnolia, in a shower of reddish blossoms. It was as though the tree stood in the sunlight and were at the same time the source of light.”

-“Memories, Dreams and Reflections” by Carl Jung

The magnolia is such an important plant that some people use magnolia bark supplement to help reduce anxiety and promote sleep. Others claim the supplements are good antioxidants in the body and brain, and it lowers inflammation and oxidative stress in the body and boosts immunity. Some people chew gum or use toothpaste with magnolia in it to help fight gingivitis and bleeding gums.

I’m not sure about the efficacy or safety of Magnolia supplements, but I do know the Southern Magnolia is a magical plant to stumble upon when walking in the cool Florida spring evenings. It serves as a symbol of light, renewal, strength, and perseverance to me when I think of our current pandemic situation. The magic and beauty of the Magnolia will prevail.

“Life is simply a magic of mayhem and magnolias, so embrace this gentle riot and gather flowers along the way. “

-Kat Savage

Life is good. Look to the beauty of the Magnolia tree this spring and the lessons we can learn from it. Don’t forget to “gather flowers along the way” in your journey today and every day through life. While every day may not be beautiful during this pandemic, there is beauty and magic moments in every day.

Carpe diem, friends………..

OF CHOCOLATE, THE PANDEMIC, AND LIFE

“We all know that you can’t go wrong with the original Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe, right? I’m always tempted to switch out the semi sweet morsels for milk chocolate morsels but it never tastes the same. The reason semi sweet chocolate morsels are a better versatile chocolate to use are because they have a good balance of chocolate and sweetness while milk chocolate can be too sweet and dark chocolate can be overwhelming. Hence, the name semi sweet.”

-Whitney Saller-Prieto, Former Director of Operations, Burger 21, Orlando and Viera, FL

While eating oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that my husband and daughter made last evening, I couldn’t help but remember the quote above by the late, beautiful Whitney Saller-Prieto and how it applies to our life right now. We may have milk chocolate kind of days, sweet days with being home together with all those blessings, or we may have semi-sweet chocolate kind of days where we feel fortunate that we don’t have the virus but long to get society back rolling the way it was before the pandemic. We are tempted to metaphorically switch the semi-sweet chocolate of our lives for the milk chocolate time and time again in our day-to-day lives. However, enjoying the moments we have together, playing games as a family, spending time on a project or two, experimenting with a new home-made ice cream recipe (or THREE) are all moments I will treasure long after this pandemic lifts. THAT is the semi-sweet chocolate which is the balance of good, the times together with the memories we’ve created and bad, or the effects that the pandemic has created in our world right now. The beauty, then, is truly in the semi-sweet chocolate morsel after all. I have come to that realization time and time again. It’s not what happens in any given situation, it is truly our perspective. This last month has truly been a gift in very many ways, despite the bad situation we’re all in right now. Yet, the day before yesterday, I used the wrong type of chocolate in my chocolate chip ice cream, as it was the only chocolate chips I had in the house at the time. Such is life.

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”

-Forrest Gump

I would suggest that maybe life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re going to get, but you do get to choose which chocolate you want to try. You get to spit it out, half-eaten, and try another. You get to close the box when you don’t want to try a piece, or you get to eat the whole box of chocolates. You get to share the chocolates or eat them all by yourself. You get to take the pieces of chocolate out of the box to display them on a pretty dish before eating them, or you get to eat them straight out of the box. You can eat them all at once over a few days or you get to freeze them for later. You get to experience all the different fillings, from creams to caramels, from crunchy fillings to nutty fillings, if you want as well. Or, you can eat only the cream chocolates, the caramels, or the nut-filled chocolates, too.

Life is about choices and finding the right application for the the milk chocolate or the semi-sweet. Life is about knowing when to use the right chocolate. Some days will bring about the bitter chocolate, or unsweetened chocolate, but other days it all comes together with that perfect chocolate chip cookie, made with the perfect chocolate chosen for the recipe, baked with a little bit of love, and shared with laughter with those you love. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Life is good; carpe diem, friends……………..

photos:Dreamstime

COPING WITH CORONA WITH AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

It has been said that a good practice is to keep in mind the things for which one is thankful. To that end, I start each day whenever I think about it with an “attitude of gratitude”. Some days I forget, but most days I start the day thinking of all the wonderful things in my life for which I am thankful. I task myself to think of ten, just ten. Most times, I find myself listing many more than ten in my mind or even on a piece of paper some days.

Amidst the uncertainty that the novel coronavirus has brought to our lives individually as well as within our society, it helps to think about what is going RIGHT in our lives right now. Stop, look, and listen to all that is good in your life at this very moment. The distraction this exercise brings you might help you seize the day.

“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.”
Mary Davis

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.”
Amy Collette

Life is good. Rest for a moment and be thankful. Develop an attitude of gratitude today if you don’t already have one. It helps us to see that that glass really IS half full.

Carpe diem, friends……….

ID 176822696 © Karen Koch | Dreamstime.com

COPING WITH CORONA….ARMCHAIR TRAVEL TO ASSATEAGUE ISLAND

I had always dreamed of visiting Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia since I heard all about it from some people I met many years ago. Another “bucket list” item. Assateague Island is the place where the children’s story, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, takes place. In the story, a family tries to raise a pony that was born to a wild pony on this island. During the summer, usually in July, wild ponies on the Southern tip of the island are rounded up and swim to Assateaugue Island. Here the ponies are auctioned off to control the size of the herd and to raise funds for the veterinary care of the ponies. This week-long event is a BIG deal, with over fifty thousand visitors from all around the United States and Canada. A short youtube clip below, by National Geographic, captures the excitements of the annual pony swim:

Of course I had to make the journey with my family to this special place, where you can camp among wild ponies, a few years back. What makes Assateague Island so wonderful, in part, is the availability of some campsites right on the beach. Imagine looking out your RV or tent only to find wild ponies walking through your campsite. It is magical and like nothing else I’ve experienced before. Part of the Island is managed by the National Park System, and part of the island is managed by the state park system. Camping is only available in the Maryland district of the island. Campsite reservations are required from March 15 until November 15, and the site below takes for reservations six months before then. Most weekends sell out quickly. From November 16 through March 14, campsites are first-come first-served . This is an experience for which you should plan ahead, as even the firewood needs to be purchased within fifty miles of the park.

National Park information can be found below:

https://www.recreation.gov/search?q=Assateague%20Island%20National%20Seashore&entity_id=2576&entity_type=recarea

Maryland State Park information can be found below:

https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/eastern/assateague.aspx

There seems to be some difference of opinion as to how these wild ponies got to the island, but most say a Spanish Galleon with these ponies aboard sunk off the coast, and the ponies swam to shore.

If you are traveling with children, a stop to Ocean City Maryland, might be a good place for the kids to burn off some energy after being in the car. Ocean City, Maryland, has a lot of beaches and a wooden boardwalk with shops, restaurants, and hotels. There is also an amusement park there, at the Southern tip, called Trimper’s Rides. This is a historic themepark, which originally was opened in the 1890’s. It is under new management now, and there were plans to add at least nine more rides in 2020. I’m not sure what the status of this new expansion is, however, with the current Covid-19 situation. Normally, the park opens from Memorial Day until October, and there are both indoor and outdoor rides.

https://www.trimperrides.com/home

For a unique camping experience, consider camping on Assateague Island. For those of you who don’t wish to camp, you can drive through to see the wild legendary ponies that live there. Keep in mind, however, that both Assateague Island parks and Trimper Rides are currently closed because of the pandemic.

Enjoy a little unique travel to Assateague Island when the travel restrictions are lifted. This would be a great road trip when that happens and something for which to look forward.

Life is good; carpe diem, friends…….

You can read all about the annual “pony swim” week here:

https://www.chincoteague.com/pony_swim_guide.html

LIFE THROUGH A LENS….”SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND”

Saturn photo, courtesy of Dreamstime.com

It always amazes what I don’t know that I don’t know. With both a whole wide world and a world wide web around me and with access to a barrage of information at any given point in the day, I am always amazed at what I have missed. When I was in elementary school, we were told that Saturn’s rings were comprised of rock. I’m not sure if we even knew there is a great deal of ice in the rings of Saturn at that time. Evidently a whole lot has happened since then. I knew we had sent several probes to Saturn over the last years, but I somehow missed how much information was gathered during the last exploration of Saturn.

It was in 1979 that we first saw Saturn and just a few of its moons in a series of flyby shots from the Pioneer 11 spacecraft. The images were blurry and not good enough to get information about Saturn’s surface.

In 1980 Voyager I did another flyby of Saturn and some of its moons, giving us much better images. We saw the surface features of some moons and atmosphere.

In 1981, Voyager 2 again showed us some more photos and temperature findings as well. We saw that the rings of Saturn had changed as well.

In was in 1997 that the Titan spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral and carried the Cassini craft that was tasked to find out new information about Saturn, the ringed planet that is the seventh planet away from the sun. In 2002, twenty months from reaching Saturn, the probe captured its first image of Saturn. In 2004, Cassini discovered two new moons around Saturn (Methone and Pallene) to total sixty moons around Saturn. Also in 2004, on June 30, Cassini became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, a breathtaking example of technology in action. On January 13, 2005, the unthinkable happened. The Cassini launched a probe, the Huygens probe, which actually landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, for seventy-two minutes, which represented the first time, and only time so far, that anything landed on any outer solar system world. Scientists realized that Titan contains large clouds of water vapor above it. Scientists also discovered that there are geysers of liquid water and organic material that burst from another moon, Enceladus, and decided that they are from pockets of water near the surface of that moon. Fascinating discovery. Scientist also discovered (in 2013) that it rains DIAMONDS on Saturn (and Jupiter, too), as the element carbon is present. Evidently when there are lightening storms there, methane is turned into soot which hardens into graphite and finally into diamonds as they fall to the planet. According to the BBC, there are theorized to be about 1000 tons of diamonds created per year on Saturn. Some sources (Nova series, “The Planets: Saturn”, season 46, episode 15) say the size of the diamonds can range from a small speck of dust to the size of a small apartment! This is absolutely amazing to me. On Earth, diamonds form naturally when carbon is buried about one hundred miles below the surface. After being heated to approximately 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and being compacted under pressure of around 725,000 pounds per square inch, it needs to quickly move to the Earth’s surface with magma in order to cool down. What is rare here on Earth is ubiquitous on Saturn.

If you are interested, Saturn is visible in the early morning sky in April, along with Jupiter and Mars, approximately one hour prior to sunrise or just before dawn in the Eastern Sky. You will be able to see Saturn with the naked eye but will need a high powered telescope to see its rings. Today, on April 15, Saturn and our moon will appear close together in the sky from Earth. Normally, Saturn is visible in the evening sky from July to December, which is something to look forward to after our stay at home orders likely will be lifted.

April 15 Saturn and Moon picture courtesy of Space.com (Via Starry Night software)

“Shine bright like a diamond
Shine bright like a diamond

Find light in the beautiful sea, I choose to be happy
You and I, you and I, we’re like diamonds in the sky...”

-“Diamonds” by Rhianna

Try something different. Why not get up early tomorrow to see this wonderful sight in the morning. Find “light in the beautiful sea” and “choose to be happy” during this uncertain pandemic. “Shine bright like a diamond” by helping others, checking in on family and friends, and staying positive during this tough time. Attitude is everything, they say.

Life is good; carpe diem, friends…….

COPING WITH CORONA WITH A LITTLE DIY PINEAPPLE DOLE WHIP

Stuck inside from self-isolation or stay at home orders? Wondering when you might return to a normal life again? Why not try some diversionary Dole Whip, or “Food of the Gods”?

Several years ago when I was in Hawaii, I went to the Dole plantation in Oahu, Hawaii. Dole Plantation in Oahu is a wonderful place to visit, as they have a twenty-minute train ride around the plantation with several different gardens to meander through as well as a pineapple maze to walk through, too. It was there that I first ate the “Food of the Gods” and thought it was a little bit of heaven in the first bite. The plantation is normally open daily from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM (except Christmas Day), although it is currently closed temporarily because of the pandemic.

When I arrived back home to the northeast United states immediately after my trip to Hawaii, I searched high and low for Dole Whip, which wasn’t at that time readily available. When I flew to Walt Disney World a few years later, I was delighted to see the delicious Dole Whip available at the Magic Kingdom. Pineapple Dole Whip is a creamy blend of pineapple in a soft-serve ice cream base. It is refreshing and as close to perfection that I’ve ever experienced.

Now that we live in Florida we go to Walt Disney World as often as we can, and one of the first things we do in the Magic Kingdom is to head straight for the Dole Whip, which can be ordered with a slice of fresh pineapple and pineapple juice to make a “float.” I prefer my pineapple Dole Whip pure and simple, without any pineapple or pineapple juice, though.

There have been many “copycat” recipes on the net in the years that followed but NONE are as satisfyingly sapid as the original pineapple Dole Whip. This week, however, the Disney app released the coveted compound, and I swear I heard angels sing the moment I heard the good news! Maybe I even heard a horn play. The recipe is so easy that it lends itself to a spontaneous splurge for something sweet.

Disney Dole Whip Recipe (individual portion): Combine one scoop of vanilla ice cream, four ounces of pineapple juice, and two cups of frozen pineapple in a blender until you can’t wait any longer……

While you are at it, or another day you decide on a delicious diversion, you might try the recipe for pineapple Dole Whip that Dole has released:

Pineapple Dole Whip Recipe from Dole: Combine 1 cup of pineapple (frozen), one banana (peeled and frozen), 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of powdered sugar, and 1/4 to 1/2 cups of unsweetened coconut milk, one teaspoon lime juice in a blender until you can’t wait any longer……….(then put into your ice cream maker as you normally would).

While coping with the pandemic, why not try a little recipe for one for pineapple Dole Whip? It might just give you the daily diversion you need right now for a little sweet spontaneity.

Life is good; carpe diem, friends………….which recipe is YOUR favorite? Let me know if you try them and consider visiting Hawaii when the pandemic is over if you can. Life is short.

Click here for more information about visiting the Dole Plantation in Hawaii:

https://www.doleplantation.com/

Note: 5/18/20….after trying both recipes for Dole Whip, I just couldn’t make the Dole one work. It tasted too much like banana to me. We LOVED the Disney recipe for DIY Dole Whip, although it didn’t taste EXACTLY like Dole Whip in the park. It was very close, though. Plan on eating it right after you make it, however, as it does NOT freeze well at all. Also the taste somehow changes after freezing as well and isn’t nearly as good.

COPING WITH CORONA, PART 9…….A GOOD DAY FOR A DAYDREAM

Closets could be cleaned. Chicken could be cooked. Soup could be simmered. There are myriads of things to do when self-isolating. Today, I prefer the good ol’ fashioned daydream…….

Day dream : noun – a pleasant visionary usually wishful creation of the imagination (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Day dream: noun – a series of pleasant thoughts that distract one’s attention from the present (Google)

Day dream: – noun – pleasant thoughts that make you forget about the present (Oxford Dictionary)

Day dream: – noun – a series of pleasant thoughts about something you would prefer to be doing or something you would like to achieve in the future…………… (Cambridge.org)

Today, I’m thinking of all the places I would love to travel to in my lifetime…..Egypt, China (The Great Wall for certain), The Ice Hotel in Quebec, Antarctia, Venice (AGAIN!)………the list goes on and on in my mind while I accomplish the mundane tasks of cooking and freezing food in case we have a “shelter in place” in the near future here in Florida. The art of the armchair travel keeps me sane while the travel restrictions are in place for the time being.

“What a day for a daydream
What a day for a daydreamin’ boy……..

And even if time ain’t really on my side
It’s one of those days for taking a walk outside
I’m blowing the day to take a walk in the sun
And fall on my face in somebody’s new mowed lawn

I’ve been havin’ a sweet dream
I’ve been dreamin’ since I woke up today
It’s starring me in my sweet dream….”

-“Daydream” by Lovin’ Spoonfuls

Life Is Good. Live while you are living. Go outside; get some fresh air…..OR…. maybe it’s time for a daydream today instead. Time to think about all the wonderful things you want to do when the virus clears the air. Keep dreaming. Keep sane.

Carpe Diem, friends….

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