Bells at the Bok Tower Gardens

Yesterday we took the day to visit the Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida.  (Thank you, Christopher and Lindsay, for the Botanical Gardens membership you bought us this past year.  We were able to get into the Bok Gardens free through their reciprocal agreement with other National Historic Gardens.)

The Bok "Singing Tower" with its 60-bell carillon.

Pinewood Estates, which is known for its wonderful tile work,
peeks out from the trees as a path leads from this garden
bench to the front entrance.

The Bok Gardens are known for two things: the "Singing Tower" which plays daily carillon music, and the Pinewood Estates and Gardens, built from 1929 - 1932 by Bethlehem Steel vice president Charles Austin Buck.  (Yeah, I know.  Buck and Bok!)

We left Dunedin about 9:00 a.m., drove through very heavy traffic, and arrived in Lake Wales at approximately 11:00 a.m.  We purchased tickets for the Noon - 1:00 p.m. viewing of the Estate, so that gave us just enough time to beat the bus crowds by having an early lunch in the Garden's Blue Palmetto Cafe.

The cafe is located next to one of the special areas called the Pollinator Garden.  This area is filled with beautiful shrubs and flowers that attract those insects that keep our food chain thriving and our gardens blooming.  As we enjoyed lunch, we watched swarms of bees and an entire kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies happily dance from flower to flower doing what they do best: pollinate the neighborhood.  We were amazed at the number of butterflies present.  In addition to the colorful Monarchs, we also saw both black and white butterflies busily at work.

The entire estate was decorated for Christmas
with lots of poinsettias.

A Christmas "tree", made entirely of bromeliads set in a wire rack,
presented a festive view from the dining room.

After lunch we took a liesurly stroll through the garden to the Pinewood Estate.  We were somewhat disappointed that not more was in bloom, but we were assured that if we returned in Spring, the landscape would come alive again by that time.  What was apparent was that the garden and the estate were decked out for the holidays.

Amaryllis add a touch of color to the landscape. They bloom
from December until early March in Florida.

Some plants that we see in abundance in Florida were the poinsettias and the amaryllis.  Both flowers were used extensively to decorate the grounds and the house.  Each year the design team of the Amaryllis Club decorates the estate for the holidays, choosing a year and a theme to highlight.  This year they chose 1936, and the story line was that Mr. Buck had invited his children and grandchildren to spend the holidays at Pinewood.

The Loggia, or family room, presents a place
for the family to relax, read, and play games.

Even the dog has an elaborate bed!

Each room was extravagantly decorated with holiday decor; yet under all of the glitz and glitter, we still could see the original ornate woodwork and wonderful tiles that adorn the house year round.

Heavy woodwork and massive doors reflected
the opulence of the house and the 1920's style
of architecture.

The interior of the house with dark, massive,
ornately-carved woodwork contrasted with
intricate 1920's plaster work.

After the house tour, we walked to the Bok Tower in time for the 1:00 p.m. concert.   The Bok Tower is named for Edward W. Bok. Bok was an American author, editor of The Ladies Home Journal, philanthropist, and peace advocate.   He established Bok Gardens in 1929 as a gift to the American people.  The 50-acre garden was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

Graceful, shady paths lead to the moat around the tower.

The star of the garden is a 205-foot marble and coquina "Singing Tower," a structure designed to hold  the 60-bell carillon to provide music to the garden.  The bronze bells were manufactured in London; the smallest bell (highest tone) weighs 16 pounds, and the largest bell weighs over 11 tons.  The Tower has employed a carillonneur since 1928.  Geert D'hollander is only the fourth carillonneur (starting in 2012) since that time.  He went through extensive musical training at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, Belgium, and he studied carillon at the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen, Belgium.  He also has won numerous first place awards for his skills as a carillonneur.

We found seats in the garden in front of a video screen whose live-broadcast allowed us to watch D'hollander as he played a selection of Christmas carols.  The bells are played at an organ-like structure through a series of paddles which are pressed down to activate the clapper in each of the bells.

The music was wonderful; we also were blessed with a sunny day in the low 70's, so our time in the gardens was very pleasant.  After the concert, D'hollander came out of the Tower and answered question from the crowd.  I kept thinking of my friend Bonnie's son, Kyle, would would have loved the whole performance and probably would have enjoyed a conversation with the performer.

The original instrument is now on display.

One bell is hooked up to show how the
instrument moves the clapper in the bell.

After the concert, we made a final stop at the Hammock Hollow Children's Garden.  While the garden had some great places for children to climb (including a giant nylon "spider's web") and three different xylophones, we really thought that the Children's Garden in Green Bay is equally good.

Overall, we had an enjoyable day.  We were told that the peak bloom time is from February 1 - March 31, so we will have to consider returning there during that time.

Hobbies at last

The great draw to living in Florida is that we can take a leisurely walk outside in the middle of winter without freezing our fingers off.  We are here for the weather, and we make sure that we take advantage of it as often as possible.   Yesterday was a beautiful, mid-70's day, so we ventured out for our morning walk.  As we turned the corner from the backyard to our driveway, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Well, hello," I said.  Before Rick could ask who I was talking to, he saw the recipient of my conversation.  There, taking in the morning sun, was a 3 foot tall snowy egret, perched on the roof of our house.  This fellow is a regular in the neighborhood, but he still is a majestic reminder that we are in Florida each time I see him.

A snowy egret enjoys the morning sun on our roof.

We finally are to the point of being able to set aside our remodeling agenda and to turn to some of our hobbies.  That includes weaving.  For the past six years, we have had a small table loom to use.  While it allowed me to weave a few things, it had many challenges and limitations.  A couple of weeks ago, we sold that loom to a woman in Tampa, just in time for us to take delivery of our new, eight-shaft Baby Wolf loom.

Rick spent a couple of days putting it all together, and then I chose a pattern that I wanted to try.  We decided to weave something that we both could weave and use.  Each person weaves differently, so me weaving half a scarf and Rick weaving the other half would have been a noticeably different product from beginning to end.  We decided on one warp on which we each could weave a placemat.

We spent a couple of days counting out the yarns (called the "warp") and putting the yarns on (sleying) the loom.  Once the 270 threads were on the loom, I started the first placemat.  The pattern we chose is a series of red poinsettias on a white background. As I started to weave the first placemat, I noticed a problem.  I was only getting half-flowers instead of the whole bloom.  I discovered a problem in the way the threads were threaded through the heddles on the loom, so we had to take it all out and start over.  I redid the first half of the threading, and Rick did the last half.  Then he drew each of those 270 threads through the reed and we tried again.

Oops!  This time we discovered that one thread (of course, in the middle of the whole group) was still in the wrong place.  Out came half of the threads again, even though we had both double-checked our work.  Sigh.

The third time was a charm.  We got the threads sleyed through the proper heddles in the proper order, and I started to weave.  I love the feel of the new loom.  The pattern emerged beautifully, the weaving was fun, and the edges of my work were even and easy to maintain.  I finished the first placemat in about 1 1/2 hours.

Christmas placemats on the loom.

We chose the poinsettia pattern for a festive look.

Now it is Rick's turn to try the new loom.  He can weave the second placemat for our holiday dinners.  I wish now, after weaving the first one, that I had made the warp longer so we could have woven a set of four rather than two mats.  However, this was our "getting to know" first project on the loom, so we wanted to keep it short.

We are happy with our purchase.  I am satisfied with the results so far, and we both are delighted that we finally can relax and enjoy ourselves as we renew our interest in our hobbies.

Flush with Frustration

There is something to be said about an outhouse.  It has been used for centuries, and in all of that time, it has served its intended purpose well.  The simplicity of its design has made it ideal in several cultures and in almost any location.  And there is little, if anything, to break down... except the deposits that nature takes care of in due course.  More is the pity that modern technology has replaced the efficient operation of the outhouse.

Sadly, we now have modern conveniences that are susceptible to failure.  When we returned for the winter to Florida, we noticed that the toilet in the main bathroom was leaking.  That toilet, though a Kohler, had given us trouble since Day One.  It had a tendency to continue to run water through it at a slow trickle even after the flush was complete. Rick has replaced every internal component in the tank more than once to try to solve that problem.

Since the toilet was leaking, we had no choice but to take it up and to replace the wax ring.  This we did a couple of weeks ago, noting that the floor under the toilet was not level, and that the opening to the drain was not the standard, modern size.  A wax ring barely fit where the seal should go.

While the first install after our remodeling last year had required a shim in the back, when we replaced the ring and re-seated the toilet in November, it seemed to settle in well.  However, within the last couple of weeks, Rick had noticed that moisture seemed to be seeping into the floor around the toilet.  So yesterday, he took the toilet up again.

Rick had purchased two new wax rings since we knew we would need both an inner and an outer ring to make the seal work correctly.  Now keep in mind that Rick still has a very sore hand that is still healing after his surgery, and that the space in the bathroom is really too small for me to fit in to help him lift the toilet out.  So the job that should have taken only half an hour began.

After draining the toilet and lifting it out, cleaning up the old wax, and mopping up the wet floor, we added a small fan to the mix to try to dry out the floor.  Rick actually took a small cleaning sponge and some CermaBright ceramic stovetop cleaner to get some of the stains out of the terrazzo floor.  After the floor dried, he put the toilet back down.

It did not seal.  Crap!  (Excuse the pun.) Back to the store for more wax rings.  Up came the toilet for the second time.  Clean off the wax rings that did not work.  Open the packages, and put on the new wax rings.  Lift the toilet back into place.  Thankfully, this time, the toilet seemed to seal, but it rocked a bit.  I questioned whether it was set, so Rick got mad and pulled it up again.  It actually HAD been sealed, but now the seal was broken.  We needed more wax rings. Back to the store for more rings.

After he put the toilet down for the third time, it seemed to seal and be set.  This one was going to work.

Rick tightened down the bolts, and then he turned on the water to refill the tank.  Suddenly, he heard the sound of porcelain splitting.  As the water added weight to the toilet, the bolts in the base were too tight, and on the uneven floor,  the base split.  $#!*!  We were back to Square One.

Keep in mind that Rick has installed at least eight new toilets and has taken up and put back down those toilets four or five times more as we remodeled bathrooms.  He has never over-tightened the bolts nor cracked a toilet... until now.

This time the trip to the store was not only for  more wax rings, but also for a new Kohler toilet.  While neither of us were particularly sorry to see the toilet go, neither of us wanted to spend the money right now for a new toilet either.  Plus the new toilet was both awkwardly boxed and heavy!

We maneuvered it into the car (thank God for SUVs) and then into the house.  Then Rick had to drain the toilet once again, lift it out, transport it to the garage, and bring the new toilet in. New wax rings went down, and Rick installed the new base.  By this time, I could not bear to watch the process.  I was done with the whole thing and told Rick to just give up for the day.  We had another functioning bathroom, and I could not care less if we ever got this second toilet reinstalled.

However, Rick was not going to give up.  He finally got the new base installed and the new tank attached.  He needed shims in the back because the floor really is not level, and in the end the double wax rings seem to have everything sealed.

I don't have the heart to go and inspect it too closely, and I have to admit that I have not used the new toilet at all.  I am just done with plumbing in this house for a while.  We still have to dispose of the old toilet, and since the base is cracked, we cannot just take this one to the Magic Curb for someone else to haul away.  We'll have to dispose of this one properly.

So Rick took most of the day to fix a leaking toilet.  It took about 10 wax rings to do so, much more stress than his hand should have encountered, and enough frustration to last a lifetime.

And in the end, I think that the ancients had the right idea.  Dig a hole, do what needs to be done, and let nature biodegrade the results.  And if things do not disintegrate quickly enough, add dirt on top, and move over a few yards to dig a new hole.  There is something to be said about an outhouse.