Skip to main content

January 19: Rennigers, Mt. Dora, and FARTS

Twice a year the big flea market in Mt. Dora does a really big version. The event (or location?) is called Rennigers. Today was the first day of it's first event (it's a 3-day event). Bryan invited me to go up with him, and we left around 9:45am. It was fun, even though it started raining again in the afternoon; and I bought a pair of earrings, elephant planter, and 9x9 baking pan for Oma's apple cake.

This was a table I really liked at the market. If I had a wood shop, I could make it.

The elephant planter, looking fabulous.

It's the same one we had growing up!

Then we went to Mt. Dora and got drinks at an upstairs cafe. He got a lavender latte, which he didn't like, and I got a lavender steamer, which was delicious. We wandered over to the park with the boardwalk and lighthouse.

It's the smallest lighthouse I've ever seen. Not sure if it was ever functional, but it's on a "port" where boats dock, so maybe.

We saw an anhinga eating a big fish on the boardwalk, and it was a rollercoaster to watch. We were sure there was no way it could eat the whole thing, but low and behold, it somehow managed! 

The photos on this stupid iPhone are absolute garbage, but you can see the big fish in its mouth.

Then I went straight to Epcot to meet up with Sam and Miranda at the Festival of the Arts. I wish I had had a chance to change because my feet were killing me and I ended up with bruised toes from walking ~20 miles in my hiking boots. But it was good to see them both again. The festival itself was lacking in good art this year, and I feel like there were fewer stalls, as well. Food was great, though!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Long Key Vacation

A big weight off my chest. My breath is finally coming easily.  5 days into our vacation and I finally sit with relief. There aren’t many left, but 2 is better than none. This is how I felt when I was in the car on the way down, right before I called my auto insurance and accidentally spiked it $400 by asking a question. It triggered a weeklong series of car problems, ranging from budget planning (and budget panicking) to registration renewal confusion and DMV website issues. And at the end of the day, most of it was a non-issue, so I felt like I expended all this time and energy on nothing, detracting from what I could have given to my trip. But… I learned a lot in the process. I’m more prepared than I was before, although I wish it hadn’t all happened when I was on vacation. I don’t know what it’s like to not have a stressful vacation, and I don’t know that I ever will. I need to figure out how to still be happy despite chronic unexpected frustrations. This might be time to talk ...

Stained Glass Class

  The challenging today: My new car of two months got hit by a (presumably drunk) hit-and-run last night at Bryan's house while we were out to dinner. I don't even want to include the photo we took. And Nick texted me while I was in class. My whole being dropped and my heart jump-started into panic. Also, my boss at KSC was a little sassy with me this morning over things outside my purview and control. I think she's projecting or redirecting, but it didn't feel good. The good today: The folks at Gerber Auto Collision were super helpful and friendly. So was the Adjuster I had from my auto insurance (Brandon from Connect), who was genuinely trying to make my life a little better, I felt. Those wonderful Wisconsin midwesterners. The folks at Gerber even drove me to Enterprise. And the Enterprise folks... so good to me, too. I had such a good experience, and they let me transfer my appointment from the other location over to them. And they called and followed up to make sur...

First January in Orlando

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. For some reason, Blogger (a totally dead platform at this point) gives me “Let’s Go Ride a Bike” vibes - in a good way. Which, by the way, I just Googled and they haven’t touched their blog since 2015. What a shame. I really miss the days of blogs.  Most of my writing has been done in a physical notebook, which in many ways I prefer; but in others, it doesn’t quite quench the thirst. One of the things I love about digital journaling is being able to add images and photos (like the one below). While physical journaling feels more intimate and perhaps, authentic in some ways, digital journaling feels more like a creating a story. Two different methods for two different outcomes.  So why the photo of a plant? Well, first, this is a Monstera plant. I’ve loved it’s lines and the holes in its leaves for years, but I never learned its name because it’s not a native plant to Wisconsin. They are to Florida, however, and are super easy to fin...