08-07-05

The past month has been a rough one for my health. It is up and down [on the couch] and with my breathing for me. Right now I am back into the short of breath and chocking phase with my lungs again. Of course, that leads to rapid heart beat, cold sweats and swollen legs. I feel like a blimp with the legs of an elephant now because of upped doses of steroids. Too bad I am not out there hitting balls out of the park to enjoy the perks of those sports payrolls they dish out so readily here in South Florida.

The weather here has been what one would expect for the zone 11 that my home experiences because of being only 1 mile from the Gulf Stream. The surf at our local beach is now 88 degrees and sometimes more this summer. The air is sweet with the smell of gardenia and jasmine in my garden and like stepping into a spa room when walking out the door. I keep my air conditioner set at 80 degrees during this time of the season and as hard as it is for northerners to believe; this feels refreshingly cool and comfortable to use southerners. I try to walk out into my garden at least once a day and take in its clean green beauty. This is our lush jungle time for the yard. No parched dusty patches here. We get the tropical rains that deluge for about 10 minutes every morning and night now. The only time this pattern is broken is with the approach of a hurricane. They literally suck all the moisture into them and then dump it back in one blow when they hit.

I came across, in one of these walks, a very unusual sight this week in my garden. Overnight a giant mushroom appeared in the grass under a shaded spot between my mango and my key lime trees. It is red, flat and the size of a standard dinner plate. For 3 days it has been there undisturbed and am interested in what it will do. So far nothing. Will keep you updated on this oddity of the tropics. Never anything like this have I seen in Michigan for sure.

I work daily on my socks and just received another order this week for a repeat customer. They have added an adopted daughter from china. She will find a DonnaDirect stocking stuffed with goodies this Christmas. This warms my heart.

Hope that Dennis didn't dump too much rain on you.

Love and my deepest gratitude for all the prayers. They are what sustain me.

Donna