A Sky Aflame

Just like everyone else, we're having some chilly weather here, though the degree of chill is decidedly less than most places. I think it was in the high 50s F when I walked yesterday morning. I passed a guy bundled in a jacket and said, "It's breezy this morning!" He said, "Yeah, it caught up with us."

Hardly cause for complaint, considering how many people are dealing with snow and ice and wrapping their plants to protect them from freezing temperatures.

I love the name of this little house (above) that I passed: "NO rEGRETS." That's a Florida joke for sure, with egrets painted on the shutters. And it's for sale! I wonder how much they want?

And then there's this place:

I'd be afraid to drive on that driveway!

Yes, I love some Florida whimsy. Which is probably why I had such a great time at Goodwill yesterday. Dave, his sister and I all went after breakfast at the Cortez Cafe (a waffle for me, with two eggs over hard) and I did pretty well. I got a pair of shorts and three short-sleeved shirts, which will be great for trips to warmer climes and for approximately three weeks a year in England. One shirt has tiny flamingoes on it, one by Michael Kors has a sort of random floral-ish pattern, and then there's this:

Those are barbecue grills, in case you can't tell. I initially left that shirt behind because it's a "slim fit" and it's a bit snug on my shoulders, but then I decided I could make it work so I went back. I had to have it. I loved the pattern too much.

I passed this one up:

It was a hideous lavender-and-green striped shirt, and it was $24.99 (highway robbery!), and it had a spot on it. So, no sale. But I loved that fabric inside the cuffs and collar. Can you see the tiny dog faces? As I told Dave, if the shirt had been made of that fabric with the stripes inside the cuffs, I'd have bought it in a minute. Maybe even for $24.99. Maybe even with a spot.

I also passed on the rather extensive assortment of "Gone With the Wind"-themed plates.

In the afternoon, my brother showed up, having driven down from Jacksonville. He'd proposed going to a rustic little restaurant called Tide Tables on the Intracoastal Waterway, overlooking the bridge connecting Cortez to Anna Maria Island. Well, Dave's mom vetoed that idea because she thought it would be too cold, and she wasn't wrong. Most of Tide Tables' seating is outdoors, and what's inside is pretty rustic. So JM and I went on our own, and had a fantastic seafood dinner in chilly Old Florida surroundings with a waterfront view.

When we got there, the sky looked like this. You could see the line of clouds marking the cold front that had settled over the area. It was a dramatic enough sky, but as we ate it just got better and better. I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best sunsets I've ever seen. Here's a final FloriVideo™ to inadequately convey how spectacular it was:

Watch the whole thing, because it just gets better and better! And keep an eye out for the pterodactyls pelicans plunging into the bay for fish. (Music: "Triste" by Antonio Carlos Jobim, permitted on YouTube by the copyright holder.)

After our conch fritters, my fish tacos and whatever my brother had (I can't remember), and after we'd been sufficiently awed by the waning beauty, we raced over to a nearby chain steak house to join Dave and his sister and parents. Let's just say, I think my brother and I had a superior restaurant experience. (Well, my brother experienced both of them -- he ordered a steak at the steak house, on top of his seafood from Tide Tables. Surf and turf!)

Today we're heading back to Tampa to see our stepmother, who's still in the hospital but seems to be improving, and so Dave and I can catch our flight tonight. Tomorrow, insha'allah, I'll be coming to you from chilly England, where we're about to get a "snow bomb" according to weather reports. I'll be home just in time to cover the avocado!