De Leon Springs Daycation

Every so often a gal needs a day off....not to hang around the house and do laundry, shopping, cleaning...no, that's work....a "get in the car and go somewhere with the hubby for fun" day off. April 16 was our anniversary and we planned a little trip to Daytona but as luck would have it, I got sick and the furthest I got from the house was Walmart to pick up something for my cough. Awww.....
A couple of days later I heard about this fabulous restaurant in an old sugar mill that was first built in the 1800's....pre Civil War. The more they spoke about the history of the place the more I had to see it. The sugar mill is part of a state park...a springs....and that was all I had to go on. After a little investigating I found it...De Leon Springs on the east part of Florida near Ormond Beach, about 120 miles from home.

 Surprisingly, when I told the hubby about it he said he heard of it, too. The trip was on. A little bit of a ride but it was a beautiful day.....perfect for getting away from the everyday things at home.
The restaurant is built in the old sugar mill. The tables are long tables with a griddle in the middle so a person can cook their own All-You-Can-Eat pancakes...their special recipe. In fact, you get 2 pitchers of pancake batter....an Early American and a more modern recipe, both with oatmeal and I forget what else....both made amazing pancakes. They even have gluten free batter, too.

Sugar Mill History

Florida was inhabited by these tribes before the arrival of the Spanish. 

The Fountain of Youth Springs Tour was docked and ready.We missed the boat tour (they only schedule until 1PM) so we rented a paddle boat to work off a little bit of those pancakes. 

The hubby doing the old man thing....relaxing under one of our beautiful live oak trees. 

Ruins of the original Sugar Mill. This area was where the cane was boiled down for syrup.

Check out the big pot. 

The park rangers had a special turtle program for the kids. 

Here's a few pictures of our trip down the river.

Blue heron. Florida is a great place for bird watching.

Bee and Butterfly Garden....I had to check this out to see what I could grow in mine. They have beautiful fennel growing....big bulbs with huge feathery soft fern-like leaves. I planted fennel seeds as soon as I got home. 

A great day taking the road less traveled. There is so much to do in Florida....much more than the Mouse House or Universal....and not too far from those places. Costs a lot less and less crowded. Very worth the trip. 

Post by Eileen Patterson....GoofingOff

Trenton Quilt Festival

March is a busy month around here. Winter is over for the most part and everyone is out enjoying the sunshine. Up my way, in North Central Florida, there are two big things that happen every year....the Tri-County 4 H Animal Show and the Trenton Quilt Festival. I love animals but I love quilts more so I drove over to Downtown Trenton, Florida, home of the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shop.

 Quilts on the bank at one end of town.

Rag rugs for sale, crocheted by hand using hand made crochet hooks....The folks at the Dudley Farm between Newberry and Gainesville make these...and teach the process....Handmade owl pincushions...

Quilts hanging everywhere.

Adorable quilt made for a quilter's grandson. 

The guild had some of the prettiest quilts. 

               

Tea, anyone? All pieced...no applique.

I had the winning ticket for this but they picked the wrong one....I hate when that happens. 

Handmade bags from blue jeans.

Mason Jar Quilt. 

This scrappy beauty was made for a guild's civic service....All scraps and nothing but scraps...

More scrappy lovelies.

Gorgeous quilts flying high and proud...

The one on the left has  Japanese print fabrics. 

Wonderful handmade dolls ....Look at those faces!

I love the goldfish quilt.

Handmade Sketch Books.....I have to try this....

Love the eggs. 

OK, so I like old cars...but who doesn't love this? It's fabulous!

The Antique Tractor Club showed off some of their sweet rides, too. Did I tell you Trenton is a farming community? It is.....

Love this! I can see a quilt from this...in Redwork, what else?

Paying homage to our Florida heritage....Seminole Quilting....

As you can see, the festival is a quilter's paradise. Many of the quilt guilds from the region had quilts and wares to show off. I just wanted to wrap myself up in one...or two...or...hmmmm...

Mark your calendar for next year's show...middle of March. Good food, good music, and beautiful quilts....can't do better than that. 

Well, thanks for stopping by....

Post by Eileen Pattern....also known as GoofingOff. 

Estate Sale Finds from Cross Creek, FL

Cross Creek, FL? Sounds familiar? Cross Creek was the home to Marjorie Rawlings, the woman who wrote The Yearling. 







A movie of the same name was made in the 50s and starred Gregory Peck. Later, in 1983, Mary Steenburgen played Rawlings in the movie “Cross Creek.”

Historic place, very famous amongst Floridians…..especially Floridians from the Gainesville area.
Well, I have a friend who lives in Cross Creek whose neighbor was having an estate sale. I just had to go. I tried to talk myself out of going but I couldn’t do it. I just had to. So, here’s a few of the goodies I found.
This is a beer mug that was made in Germany. Stout little guy, looks like he had one beer too many. He’d look anatomically correct if his nose and cheeks were red.

A beautiful tray with rimmed in silver with pheasants on the actual tray. The pheasants look lovely.

Hand crocheted pinwheel design bedspread. Beautiful. Full size but looks good on the queen size bed.
Gorgeous yellow chenille bedspread. Check out the flowers! Stunning! Another full size (quite common from years ago). The spread is in excellent condition.

White chenille bedspread. No stains but not in as good condition. Tufts are worn. Could be useful for other things. Also in full size.
Found some other things but I felt like I won the lottery with the bedspread. Now comes the hard part, letting go and listing them in my MissEileen Etsy shop. I will have the consolation of knowing they went to good homes…..when I am ready to let them go.
post by Eileen of GoofingOff.etsy.com, GoofingOff.artfire.com, MissEileen.etsy.com and MetalWoodsnWater.