Wordless Wednesday | Archery

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:
 
1 - I think archery may possibly be the coolest sport in the world.

2 - I'd only be successful at it if they made the target a whole lot bigger. Hitting that tiny bullseye seems tricky.

3 - We were biking when we saw this taking place. We made sure to go the other way. I think it would hurt if a stray arrow hit you.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it? 
 
For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here and here.

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This prequel novella is set around twelve years before Murder at the Marina and tells the story of Mollie's roller derby days and how she and Scooter met. Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Eating Our Way Through A (Non-) Hurricane

When Hurricane Dorian was forecast to be on a collision course with Indiantown, we freaked out a little. What do you do when you freak out? Us? We make hotel reservations and skip town.

Fortunately for us, Dorian didn't come within spitting distance of Indiantown. Unfortunately for us, our reservations were non-refundable. So we ended up spending three nights on the Gulf coast of Florida.

To be honest, we were a bit bored. We didn't really want to leave the room, no doubt in part due to the fact that there was a large bed (yay - no need to squeeze two people onto a small boat-size bed) and a bathroom with a shower! and a toilet! attached directly to our room! Yes, when you live on a boat in a boatyard and have to use communal facilities, these little things are like winning the lottery.

It was hot outside and we've seen most of the Gulf coast before during other travels so we ended up watching a lot of TV, taking naps, and pretty much only leaving the room to go in search of food.

Want to see what we ate? Of course you do. Why wouldn't you? This will be the perfect distraction for your Monday morning. Just make sure you eat breakfast first or else you'll end up with some serious hunger pangs.

Isn't this adorable? I might have screamed a little when I saw it and made Scott turn around to go check it out. We actually didn't buy any ice cream. Are you impressed? Are you in awe of our will power? Don't be. They weren't open. We did drive-through McDonalds later for hot fudge sundaes. So all was not lost.

We love Greek food. We rarely get to have Greek food. This makes us sad. So when we saw a Greek restaurant at Fort Meyers Beach, we felt an overwhelming sense of joy. The beer was super cheap too. That helped to our happiness level.

It was pretty cute inside. Almost like we were back in Greece if you ignored the fact that they had American beer on tap.

I could use a manicure. That's what I think when I look at this picture. I also think about how delicious the gyros was.

One night we went out to dinner at the Big Hickory Fishing Nook Marina in Bonita Springs. It was a super cute place.

We barely beat the dinner rush. Turns out it was fish taco night. Very popular with the senior set. I decided to be a contrarian and ordered a cheeseburger instead of fish.

Is there anyone who doesn't like pizza? I don't understand people like that. It's like folks who say they don't like cookies. I'm immediately suspicious of them. We like pizza so much we had it twice at Leoni's in Bonita Springs. Pretty darn tasty. The fact that they give you a free glass or wine or beer doesn't hurt either.

What's your favorite food? When's the last time you ate out? What did you have?

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Get a FREE copy of Robbery at the Roller Derby by signing up for my newsletter HERE.

Or you can buy a copy for 99c/99p at your favorite retailer HERE. 

Also available in paperback and large print.

This prequel novella is set around twelve years before Murder at the Marina and tells the story of Mollie's roller derby days and how she and Scooter met. Find out more at ellenjacobsonauthor.com

Wordless Wednesday | No Words

How To Jazz Up Your Life With Zeke {Or Biking The El Rio Trail}

Remember that blog post about sweat? No? Don't worry, here's a recap:

"We went biking. It was hot. There was a lot of sweat. And some lizards."

Ah, but there's more to the story than that. Despite the sweat dripping off my face and my frizzy hair, we had a great time. Here's how it all went down.

We drove to the train station in West Palm. Or, I should say, my hubby drove. I don't like to drive. Except to get ice cream. Then I don't mind driving cause, you know, ice cream.

Neither of us likes to drive in Florida. People are insane here. Double yellow lines? Why let that stop you passing with another car barreling down toward you in the other lane. Speed limit? Totally optional. Bonus points if you tailgate the person in front of you who is driving the speed limit. Turn signals? Those are for sissies. And then there's the traffic. Far more relaxing to take the train then drive.

Speaking of, here's the Tri-Rail train. It runs from West Palm to Miami. It's a pretty boring picture, wouldn't you agree? That's where Zeke comes in. Let's see what magic he can work on it.

This one's so much better. Who knew that they had filters you could put on pictures to change how they look. Okay, everyone knew except me. I'm a little late to the party. Did you know they give filters names, like Zeke? What I want to know is what you have to do to have a filter named after you. When is there going to be an "Ellen" filter? I'm trying to imagine what it would look like. I think there would be sparkles.

Tri-Rail is bike friendly. There are racks in each compartment to stow your ride. I put a filter on this one too, but I can't remember its name. So, I'm going to call it the Gertrude filter. My bike is the one in front. You might recall that I plastered it with Star Wars stickers. They've faded in the sun. That makes me sad.

After a pleasant ride (made even more pleasant by the fact that an all-day ticket on the weekend only costs $5) we got off at Boca Raton and onto the El Rio Trail. Yes, that's another filter. It's called Burlesque. Honestly, I expected more. Like tassels or something.

It's a great trail. Paved and flat. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised by the flatness cause this is Florida after all. No filter this time. I wouldn't want you to become too accustomed to them.

There were some honking huge lizards. If you squint really hard, you can make one out in this photo.

Nah, I was kidding. There's no lizard there. Man, those things can scurry away fast. You'll just have to trust me on the fact that it was there just a few seconds prior.

Okay, time for one more Zeke-enhanced photo. I'll tell you more about this dude next time.

Do you use filters on your photos? What's your favorite one? If there was a filter named after you, what would it look like?

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Cuteness Overload! KinDoo Family Center Celebration

Scott and I have been volunteering as English teachers at this wonderful place in Indiantown, Florida over the past several months - the KinDoo Family Center. It's been such a joy and delight working with this organization. Honestly, I think we've gotten more out of the experience than we've put in.

There was a celebration of the students' achievements last month and I've got a bucketload of pictures to share with you. Hang in there to the end when you'll see photos of some super adorable kids. Total cuteness overload!

KinDoo offers free classes in English, sewing, art, nutrition, exercise, computer skills, and math, as well as a citizenship course. At the celebration, students made presentations in English and showed off their sewing talents during a red carpet fashion show.

This is Sister Mary Dooley, one of the two nuns who founded KinDoo. She, along with Sister Kate Kinnally, worked for years as administrators at Hope Rural School which serves children of immigrants in the Indiantown community. In April 2015, they were moved to open a family center focused on offering life skills to parents.

You can read more about these remarkable women here. {BTW, I don't know why we didn't get a picture of Sister Kate. Such a shame. She's a real sweetheart.}

One of the things I love about Indiantown is its diverse community. Families from Guatemala, Mexico, and Haiti have settled here and made this small town their home.

The celebration kicked off with a welcome from two of the ladies who attend classes at the center. So nerve-wracking to speak in English in front of a crowd!

Then this lovely couple led a prayer.

Sister JoAnn and another volunteer led a group of students in reading a book about baby animals and what they grow up to be. During the presentation, they taught the audience the Spanish translations for the various animals.

Other students shared stories they had written about their families, while others presented bi-lingual books that had been donated to the center, sharing what they had learned from them.

After the English presentation, it was time for the fashion show. Cuteness overload! The students and their families modeled the clothes, pillow covers, and bags that they had made. Look at this cutie in her new pink dress.

This is an adorable skirt. By the way, it isn't just ladies who take sewing classes. This little girl's father made pajama bottoms. A lot of talent in this family!

I love the pattern on this dress - so sweet!

Who doesn't love an adorable little romper?

See how Scott caught a picture of someone taking a picture on her phone of this cutie-pie? Another adorable dress.

Squee! An adorable baby wearing an adorable bib! It's possible I've overused "adorable" and "cute" in this blog post, but there was a serious amount of adorableness and cuteness going on.

Have you done volunteer work? What kind? What did you enjoy about it?

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Musings On Patriotism

"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."

~George William Curtis~

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and on an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

~Harry S. Truman~

"Patriotism consists of not waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

~James Bryce~

 

"My fellow American, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

~John F. Kennedy~

"Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism when hate for people other than your own comes first."

~Charles de Gaulle~

"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

~Martin Luther King~

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The latest Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery is coming soon! Pre-order >>Poisoned by the Pier<< on Amazon.

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Spring Training With The Minnesota Twins | Go Twins!

My husband and I eloped to Denmark a gazillion years ago (27 to be precise). Not being a Danish speaker, I had no idea what was going on. Having studied a little Norwegian in college, my hubby swore that he understood what the guy was saying during our wedding vows because the languages are similar. Apparently, I agreed to honor and follow the Minnesota Twins until death do us part.

Hmm. I probably should have brought a Danish-English phrase book with me.

Many years later, my hubby is still crazy about the Twins. I'm more of a fair weather fan. If you give me a hot dog and a beer, I'll shout out "Go Twins!" like nobody's business. Otherwise, I couldn't tell you what the latest box scores were.

Back in March, we went to a spring training game in Ft. Meyers. While, I didn't get a hot dog, I did get a thirst-quenching overpriced beer. It was a fun outing. And now you get to see a million pictures of the game because, hey, that's one way of living up to my marriage vows.

So here we go. Grab yourself a hot dog and beer before you start scrolling down.

When you get to Hammond Stadium, you're in little doubt that you're in Twins Territory. It's a nice little stadium. It's got a Florida vibe going on.

I may or may not be in the picture below. Those of you who know me, know that I'm camera shy. I'll give you a hint. I'm wearing a Twins t-shirt.

I guess that's not a great hint. Everyone was wearing Twins gear.

We watched the Colorado Rockies' batting practice. That netting is a good reminder of how fast these balls go flying.

I wonder how many balls they go through in batting practice. More importantly, why are the balls always white? Why don't they jazz them up with different colors?

It was overcast for a while. Overcast is a great thing in Florida. When the sun is shining it can get super hot. Then I get sweaty. Then I get cranky. Then I get thirsty. Then I ask Scott to buy me a beer.

They were selling Leinenkugel beer. Scott got really excited. Then he got disappointed cause it was their summer shandy, not the original. We had Yeungling instead.

Here's the Twins' dugout. It looks clean and tidy now, but after the game I bet you'll find sunflower seeds all over the place. Some of these guys are like little hamsters, cramming tons of seeds into their mouths.

These are some of the more expensive seats. We didn't sit here. We got the cheapest seats you could get. They were $9 each, which isn't too bad. Of course, there are other fees for "convenience" and "processing" which get added on top for a grand total of $25.50. It was a nice day out away from the boatyard, so worth it.

I thought it would be cool if Scott took a picture of a baseball. So he did.

Just in case you forgot, this is Twins Territory.

We watched the Twins doing warm-up over at the Tom Kelley field.

Fans watching the game from the grassy areas. Looks more comfortable to stretch out on a blanket than sit in a plastic chair.

Here's where we sat - in the outfield. While we were waiting for the game to start, we called Scott's aunt and uncle in North Dakota. They're big Twins fans. I think it's a requirement if you live in North Dakota. You also have to like lefse and cold weather. I like lefse, but I don't like the cold. This is one of the many reasons why we don't live in North Dakota.

A lot of work goes into getting the field ready for the game.

The game was televised. Scott's uncle watched. Not sure about his aunt. I wonder if we made it on screen.

The game is about to start!

Please don't ask me for a recap of the game. I didn't pay that close of attention. Plus, we don't want to talk about the fact that the Twins tied. They should have won, right?

Scott just reminded me of something weird that happened during the game which just goes to show how little attention I did pay to the game. When the ninth inning started, there was a guy on second base. For a few minutes, we both thought that aliens had abducted us and we had lost time cause you don't start an inning with someone already on base.

Turns out you do in spring training. I guess they experiment with new rules before rolling them out into the regular season.

Anyhoo, here are some action shots of Byron Buxton. Scott wanted to make sure that I added these. Apparently, he's awesome.

Not so much action in this one. They're waiting for a pitching change.

Back to some action.

I wonder if they're talking about sunflower seeds?

When you mention sunflower seeds for the second time, that seems like a good place to stop.

Do you like baseball? If so, who's your favorite team? What other sports do you like?

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