Choice Morsels

Today's featured "Find" is another unique Florida State Park: Hontoon Island S.P.   It's north of Orlando and West of Highway 17.  If you were driving to Disney World and were interested in stopping a couple nights to stay in a cabin, picnic or hike, it would make a pretty stop-over & admission is free! My purpose for these State Park features is to acquaint myself with my own state's many State Parks. I peruse the road atlas and randomly pick one out. Since so many people travel to Disney World, I thought I'd look at what's close to Orlando. So that's how Hontoon Island came to be chosen! Hontoon Island State Park as seen from the ferry dock: Hontoon Island State Park is a 1650 acre island on the St. Johns River.  In the 1500's, Spanish Conquistadors built a series of missions throughout Florida and one was reputed to have been on this island. The property was acquired by a soldier after the 2nd Seminole War, who homesteaded t...

The Mama Kat challenge today is to, "List 7 things I like/love about a TV character." The Mama Kat challenge this week is to, "write 7 things I like or love about a favorite TV character." So, what TV character to pick? I watch several shows regularly, but could only think of one with a character worth listing anything about and that's Jack Garrett from Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders. First, what's this show about? It's a show about a team of FBI agents who specialize in solving crimes and rescuing Americans who find themselves in danger in other countries. Jack Garrett, played by Gary Sinise, leads the team. Gary Sinise is also a Producer on the show and he brings certain qualities to police show he produces that I like:  a sense of family fellow characters, a bit of faith and always a measure of compassion.  7 Things I Like About Jack Garrett: #1)  It's Gary Sinise playing the role. That alone is enough to make me watch, since I hold Mr. S...

Among the common trees of Florida is the Sweet Bay Magnolia. It's a cousin of the well-known Southern Magnolia, but has smaller leaves & smaller flowers. It's semi-evergreen, meaning it does lose many leaves in autumn, but not all it's leaves. It has smooth gray bark and gets to be about 35 feet tall. Besides size differences, Magnolia leaves have a red underside; Sweet Bay is silvery light green underneath. It's in bloom now and produces 2-inch red berry cluster that birds and other wild-life enjoy. I happen have one on the edge of my yard. We planted it there 25 years ago. It was a volunteer we found growing in my garden, so we moved it. It has some a low-hanging branch that's low enough for me to stand by it and get a shot of it's pretty white flower. They bloom at dusk, something I didn't realize till this year. And, like all the Magnolia family, they smell divine: a rich fragrance with a lemony touch. So today's first Garden Pic is my...

Ever had Coca-Cola Cake? It is chocolate. Of course, I've seen it on the Cracker Barrel dessert menu, but have never tried it. Then I found a Pinterest pin for a Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake I saved to give a try. First a little cake history. The earliest published Coca-Cola Cake recipe was in Charlotte, South Carolina in 1952 as part of an "unusual recipes" contest. The recipe won 3rd place and was contributed by a lady from West Virginia. Then in 1997 Cracker Barrel, a Southern chain restaurant, came across the recipe, revved up the cocoa in it and reintroduced it as Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake! It's been on their menu ever since. You can also find the classic Coca-Cola Company recipe at their website, but I noticed their recipe was more complex and includes using marshmallows . This Pinterest recipe does NOT include being tortured with marshmallows. Really, I'd prefer not to use them. What the Coke does is it is you major liquid in the cak...

I don't know about you, but I love getting free Happy Birthday stuff in my email or in the mail from either restaurants and company's ! There's a few I already knew about like Panera Bread, who has a free birthday pastry for members, & Ruby Tuesday, who emails club members a coupon for a free birthday burger. Then I found  WHOLE lists of places to sign up with for Birthday Freebies! So, today's "Find" is Birthday Freebie lists you can sign-up for:   100 Birthday Freebies   59 Birthday Freebies There is an over-lap between the above lists on some of the offers, but also some differences, so both are worth looking over. A majority are restaurant food or desserts freebies for members. Some are just for kids. A few send actual products. Do keep in mind that signing-up in any company or restaurant membership generally entails agreeing to them remaining in contact  with you via emails.  (How else will your get your email coupon for your birthday free...

Last week for the Between The Lines series featuring women bloggers over 50! You can view the interviews with all of them & the linky list,  here . My favorite was Mama's Little Treasures , which belongs to Nina, who is part of a group publishing a quarterly online Christian magazine called "Ruby For Women." They take contributions, so it could be a writing opportunity. You can view their interests & submissions guide,  here . To read my Between the Lines guest post from last week about how I got into blogging, go here . **** Today's Garden Pics: The Garden Visitor: This most beautiful neighbor cat occasionally visit to enjoy sitting among the day lilies below my bird-feeder. She (or he) is all white except for touches of orange tabby on the face, legs and tails. And  blue eyes. First blue-eyed cat I've ever personally seen. Large, too. Maybe 14-16 pounds, sleek and healthy looking. She promptly leaves if I come outside and goes back over th...

Last week I needed to come up with a quick dessert and I had a chocolate cake mix on hand, so to Pinterest I went and found this:   Death by Chocolate Dump Cake! It was pinned from a blog called, " Cooking Chicks. " It's a keeper! Super easy to make, moist & richly chocolate! It's really like an extra thick brownie. You can eat it with your fingers easily.  Photo from Cooking Chicks Just takes 4 ingredients, a 9 x 13 pan and chocolate chips to top it with. Comes out just like this picture! Death by Chocolate Dump Cake Ingredients: 1 box Chocolate Cake mix 1 small box of Instant Chocolate Pudding 1 Tablespoon Hershey's Cocoa  ( I used Special Dark ) 2 cups of milk  1 to 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips for topping Directions : Spray a 9 x 13 pan with oil spray & pre-heat oven to 350. In a medium bowl combine cake mix, instant chocolate pudding, cocoa powder, then add milk, stirring it in until just combined. Pour into ...