Yes I’m still Florida Bound

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Heading to Florida In Spite of Irma

I’m Florida Bound after all. I really thought my trip would be cancelled not just postponed. I had this nightmare vision of lounging at the pool while  all around me work went on to repair the hurricane damage. I’m feeling guilty before I even get there! But several things came into play in my decision. The first thing is an all day tour to swim with Manatees.

The Manatees are still at Crystal Springs

manatee and snorkeler

I called the tour first. A very pleasant young woman assured me that the damage wasn’t that bad. They were still running the tours. She promised I would have a great time. She said around Central Florida it was just like a bad rainstorm. The winds weren’t that bad and the biggest gusts were only about 70 mph. She said getting the tourist dollar back into the state was really important too. She was very convincing. Besides I really want to see these gentle giants up close and personal.

Diamond Resort Logo

We Love To Say YES!

Next Call, the Marketing Department of my Resort

My trip was a promotional trip. I had tried to cancel it before but would have incurred huge fees to do so. I was pleasantly surprised when the marketing rep immediately agreed to reschedule. The only problem, he didn’t have anyone to do my “update” (aka sales pitch). Finally he suggested I call another department to see if I could use my points to get a resort. That call went very well. So many people were canceling that they had tons of rooms available. Once more I heard how getting the tourists back was a real necessity. He set me up with another 4 day block. I called back the marketing department and they canceled that trip and agreed to refund my $150.00!

Delta, can you help me?delta airlines

I held my breath as I called Delta Airlines but I shouldn’t have worried. I got a former “Tauntonite”. We compared notes on the changes in Southeastern MA and Logan vs T.F. Green before we tackled the reason for my call. I had a non-refundable ticket that I needed to change. To my pleasant surprise she immediately offered me a new itinerary that worked perfectly with my new dates. Even better she gave me the hurricane waiver so there were no charges or penalties for making the change.

All the little details

Now that the big things were done all of the little details began to fall into place from rental car to pet sitter.

Rocky my cat

 

To have all of this work out this easily must mean I am meant to take this trip. Can’t wait to see the Manatees!

We Cannot Forget 9/11

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We will not forget 9/11

We cannot and will not forget 9/11. 16 years ago the US experienced the worse terrorist attach on our soil in history. Today we face threats from both inside and outside our borders. We should never let this tragedy be forgotten. We should take it as a lesson. The world needs to stop these battles. We can’t go on hating because of  color,  religion, where you live or whether you are rich or poor.

Global Warming or Fake News

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Is Global Warming real?

If you ask President Trump, Global Warming isn’t real, It’s FAKE NEWS! But if global warming is fake, why are we getting so many major hurricanes? Hurricanes gain strength and grow from the warm water of the Caribbean. When they pass over cooler water they loose energy. “The U.S. has never been hit, since we started collecting records in 1851, by two Category 4 or stronger hurricanes in the same season.” Jeff Masters

It looks like that is about to change. Hurricane Harvey just left Texas and now Irma is about to make landfall in Florida.

What’s causing these “Storms of the Century”

It’s a bit confusing actually. When we have an El Nino  year extremely warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, push strong winds into the Atlantic, creating high levels of wind shear that stops hurricanes. In a La Nina year the opposite happens.  Pacific sea temperatures reverse and cool which tends to drive hurricanes. But here’s the thing (there’s always a thing), this year is neutral! It’s neither El Nino or LA Nina.

hurricane Andrew

2005 was Neutral too

In 2005 the conditions were much like they are this year. Think back. We had  hurricanes Rita (Cat 3) , Wilma (cat 4) and of course Katrina, (cat 5).  Katrina was like Harvey in that much of the damage was due to flooding. In the case of Katrina levees failed but Harvey stalled and rained and rained and rained!

Why I Believe in Global Warming

I’ve heard all of the arguments about the weather being cyclical and I agree. But I do believe that the water is warmer so storms are more extreme when they happen. Something is making the oceans warmer. Something is making the ice caps melt which is making the earth warmer. I’m not a scientist but I’m sure all of our human polution can’t be helping the situation.

And along Came Irma

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Hurricane Irma takes Aim for FloridaMickey Mouse

As Hurricane Irma heads for Florida even Disney is not immune. The World famous home of Mickey and Minnie is closing for only the 5th time since it opened in 1971. Why am I talking about this? Because it looks like I may be heading for Orlando just as Irma leaves the state.

A Mini Vacation in Jeopardy

About a year ago I had a chance to grab  a quick visit to Orlando. By quick I mean only 4 days. Fly down, spend a couple of days and fly back. The cost, just $150.00 so I jumped at the chance. The only problem was that I had to use the trip before September 30. I usually avoid vacations before October because of my work load but the price was too good to say no. So now I find  myself watching the weather channel nightly and getting updates from my friends in Orlando.

Saturday Morning Update

storm track

 

According to the weather folks, Irma’s hurricane strength winds are going to begin to reach Orlando tonight. On Sunday Orlando should be in the thick of it but as the pitchmen say-But Wait! There’s More!-. They just announced that Irma’s winds are going to hang around through Monday before the storm moves on out of the area.

So what about the trip?

I continue to monitor conditions. My resort is expected to be open for business on Tuesday. It’s been closed as of yesterday. Disney World is planning to welcome visitors again on Tuesday. Everyone is planning to bounce back quick. One can only hope the optimism is well placed. I guess it will all depend on the planes. If they are flying into Orlando I guess I’ll be going. House sitter/pet sitter is on standby so everything is in place if I get to go. I guess I’ll have a new adventure. I usually run away from disaster zones not toward them. I know my limits. In the meantime, keep your eye to the sky.

UPDATE

Just announced Irma is shifting to the West. Bad for the coast good for Orlando.

It’s Baking Season in New England

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It’s Baking Time

Fall is the time for baking in my house. Summer time is for grilling. Outdoor cooking keeps the house cool while the aroma of charcoal and grilling meat drift on the breeze. With cooler days and evenings its time to get the oven going. Homemade breads, muffins and cakes begin to appear. Fresh apples and cranberries lie in wait on the counter.

Apple MuffinsApples

The cranberries haven’t quite hit the store shelves yet. They will be here any day now but apples are beginning to come in season. As I considered my options I thought Apple Muffins might be a good breakfast choice. I’ve never made apple muffins but I didn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be just as good as blueberry or cranberry. With that in mind I began an internet search for a good day to day recipe. I found a promising one at Allrecipes.com 

Granny smith apples

Time to Refresh the Pantry

I made a quick trip to the store for flour, baking powder and apples. I had everything else on hand but I wanted to be sure the flour and baking powder were fresh. For apples I selected Granny Smith. I wanted Macintosh as that’s just what I always think of for baking but like the cranberries, there weren’t any on the shelves.

Breaking in a new Recipe

I’ve never tries a new recipe that didn’t need a little tweaking but this one looked pretty straight forward.

Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

  • Prep 20 m

  • Cook 25 m

  • Ready In 45 m

Recipe By:Mindy
“A really easy apple cinnamon muffin recipe.”

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 apples – peeled, cored and chopped
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, cubed
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease six muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
  2. Stir together 1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, baking powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix in oil, egg and milk. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to the top of the cup.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix together with fork and sprinkle over unbaked muffins.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2017 Allrecipes.com
Printed From Allrecipes.com 9/4/2017

The Results

Yummy, but next time I will use the jumbo baking tins and only fill 3/4 of the way. I’ll add the strudel topping to top it off. My regular sized tin was overflowing even with 8 muffin cups instead of 6 and I had to trim the strudel topping to get the muffins out. I found it easiest to eat them with a fork. But sooooo good! These are going to be very popular around here.