Mt. Dora

What is more fun than a barrel of monkeys?  A weekend with a guncle!  Throw in some talented crafty friends, a trip to a favorite city and nothing can compare.

Our craft day was Friday, and all day Saturday was shopping at a downtown art and antique fair.  Sadly, it didn't measure up to our expectations, but we had a blast anyway.

And our first stop was a good one.  Judy, the Birthday Girl, had a booth at Annabelle's.  This is her fairy crown and it was lovely.

We all found something we wanted to buy at Annabelle's.

Karen has a booth there and at a glance you know exactly whose spot it is.  You can see her touch on everything.

Before shopping, we checked out a fruit laden tree growing by Karen's porch.  I didn't know what it was, but it smelled and looked tasty.  I broke one open and tried it, probably not a smart thing to do, not knowing what it was.  I guessed kumquat, but Randy told us it was a loquat, so I was close. And man, was it delicious. Kind of peachy.

Before Randy let us know it was safe, I asked everyone to watch me for signs of poisoning.  But I was fine, of course, just a little sticky.

I'm very impatient for our Food Forest to start producing.  I adore all the fresh fruit growing in Florida and can't resist picking it any time I can.  At the Guncle's they have lemon and oranges too.  But there were only a few oranges left at the top of the tree and shaking it did no good. 

I was able to get some French lemons from Karen and some non French, regular lemons from Randy. I'm not sure what the diff is.  But all will soon be lemonade and pie.

We ate lunch at a tea room in Mt Dora that I thought was pretty durn good until we went for a walk and visited THIS tea room.

WOW.

(yep, my eyes are closed in the photo)

I was ready to make myself at home and stay there forever.  But of course, I was going to the Guncle's that night, so I was ok about leaving after all. They are wonderful hosts, just like Karen was.  I'll have pics of their warm, welcoming home next.