The Goodbye Lies - Peeper-Perfect Purity Almost

Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida 
Present Day

   Jane Marie writes:   My friend, Johanna Eversole, showed me this photo of a Great Egret she'd taken here on Amelia Island, Florida and let me share it with you. She and her son occasionally cast a net for shrimp.  This beautiful birdie, she kindly calls Freddie the Freeloader, watches for them and accepts any of the tidbits they offer. Not only is this creature pure and perfect, but smart. 

Here is a link for more info. 

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Fernandina, Florida                                         

Late 1800s

     Grandmother Peeper writes:  I seen one a them birds aflyin' the other day.  I admit to it.  It was a pretty thing, but sure as a croakin' frog can wake the dead at night, them egrets fly high up and let loose, if ya understand my meanin', and it always lands on the clean clothes ahangin' on the line.  That's the way of it.

The Goodbye Lie Diaries- What are they?
     Through the magic of electronics, the characters in my Goodbye Lie Series set on Amelia Island can talk to me from the late 1800s and I to them.  It makes for some interesting conversations.- Jane Marie

Carnival Cruise Anniversary

     My husband, Bruce, and I recently celebrated our anniversary and decided to go on a cruise. Can you say An Affair to Remember?  (See complete movie here on YouTube.) -That wonderful Cary Grant movie with several scenes set onboard a cruise ship ... I didn't want to drive to a distant port of departure because we'd have to drive home that same distance, tired and worn, from said cruise.  Happily, we have a terminal nearly in our back yard.  Actually, it's little more than half an hour south from Amelia Island, in Jacksonville, Florida. We also had the luxury of being dropped off and picked up by sweet friends. Very lucky us.  So, we hopped on board and off we sailed! 

Elation's stern passing under
Jacksonville, Florida's
Dames Point Bridge upon departure. 

     We took a 5 day sail on Carnival's Elation to the Bahamas.  It was just great. The food, the service, the maintenance,  the near-Broadway style shows, my favorite part, were all wonderful. Oh, plus 24 hours of pizza, ice cream and room service. Sigh ... Talk about pampered

Yes, Virginia, the Caribbean water is that blue.

just a cool interior shot

    

Nassau, Bahamas   

Darling towel animals greeted
us each night on our bed.

We won!  We won!!!

This little birdie fought the wind and
rode on the flagpole for miles. 
What a view he had!

smooth sailing all the way

Remember I wrote the ship was well

maintained? This greased pulley

impressed me and made me feel safe.

a full moon, too

so romantic

Jane Marie, Bruce and Queen Victoria 

And to all, a good night ...

PS - Have I mentioned, my next novel,

Amelia Island's Sand and Sin, takes place, in part, aboard a cruise ship? - Jane Marie

Goodbye Lie Diaries - Carolena Decorates with Jewelry

Late 1800s
 Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida

Carolena Dunnigan writes:  I heard  word my sister, Breelan, wrote to you, Jane Marie, sharing her perfume tip. I can't have my baby sister show me up, so this is my idea. ( See Breelan's tip here. )
     Instead of leaving my bracelets and necklaces tucked away in my drawer or jewelry box , I decorate my room with them.  I drape my favorite necklaces on lampshades and hang my bracelets from the pulls on my chest of drawers. 
     I am forever changing them out for new pieces as I wear them. And they look different when the candles are lit compared to the the light of day.
     Jane Marie, thank you for trying my style of decorating and taking photos to share with your friends.  I don't want to brag, but little creative touches of all types add to my interior designs for our family's Aqua Verdi Passenger Line grand ships and yachts.  Business is brisk, so I must dash.  Daddy promised I would have my sketches to the gentleman from Boston completed and in the post to him by week's end.

shade by night decorated with butterfly necklace

bracelets on drawer pulls

                      necklace on lamp by day

same necklace, shade turned at an angle, by night

Carolena Dunnigan is the
 featured player in
 Amelia Island 's Velvet  Undertow.

                            Carolena Dunnigan

Click here for Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow  eBooks and paperbacks.  Set on Amelia Island, Florida in 1889, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow will twist, turn and torture you with Carolena's passion for her family, her art and her lovers, all from her deep and dawning creative soul.

-Necklaces handmade by Jane Marie's sister, Nancy Kamp

-Bracelets handmade by Jane Marie's granddaughter, Ava, Nancy Kamp and Jane Marie 

Breelan's Pear Salad - Goodbye Lie Diaries

Late l800s
Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida

Breelan writes:  If you have read Jane Marie's telling of my life story in her Goodbye Lie  novel, you will understand my feelings about food preparation. Such a thing should be as simple as reading a recipe from a cookbook.  In this regard, at times, my meals have been less than palatable ... 
 

Breelan

    However, the Pear Salad from my mother, Miss Ella, is tasty and presentable enough to be served on board the ships in our Aqua Verdi Cruise Line.
    Only four ingredients are required and they are:

• one large lettuce leaf
• a square of cream cheese rolled in 
• chopped nuts and placed on
• half a pear

     I feel sure you will enjoy the sweet and soft of the pear in combination with the cheese and crunch of the nuts.
     As Jane Marie says, "Enjoy!"

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Present day

Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Jane Marie writes:  Breelan, dear. Your Pear Salad looks delightful and light.  I wanted to be sure what we call cream cheese in our time is the same cheese as you use.  So, I googled it.  Just like the way we communicate in these Goodbye Lie Diaries, through the magic of electronics, we also have the ability to find most any answer instantly on a program we call Google.  There I discovered cream cheese was invented by a Mr. William Lawrence, an American from New York, in 1872.  By 1880, his cheese was available for purchase, wrapped in foil.  That is still how we buy ours today!  Some things should never change and cream cheese is one of them.  

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The Goodbye Lie, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow and Amelia Island's Mark of a Man are all part of The Goodbye Lie series.

#Breelan, #GoodbyeLie, #recipe, #salad, #drama, #romantic, #island, #AmeliaIsland,  #series, #Fernandina, #Irish, #pear, #nut

Gone With The Wind Red Dress Discovery

Hey to all you Windies out there aka "fan-atics" about Gone With The Wind , like me. That whole romantically themed book is, in part, what inspired me to write historical novels set in the deep South. Well, whether you've seen the movie once or twenty times, I don't know if you've ever seen the back of Scarlett's famous red dress. You know, the one she wears to Ashley's party? When she enters Melanie's front door, the camera shot is only from the front.  I came across this wonderful photo of the back of the dress on Facebook. It comes from the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, in Austin Texas.  ( Click here for more on the wonderful costumes in their GWTW exhibition:  Harry Ransom Center As you study the photo on the right, notice the gathered bustle,looks to be velvet, the few scattered crystals, all the feathers and if you click on the link above for more pictures, you'll see it had a train, too!

Did I ever mention that, when I grow up,  I want to be a period costume designer?

Gracious Decorating Ideas

If you love the beauty of antiques, as I do, little touches will add color and bring the pretty past into your home.  In this case, I have framed floral wrapping paper and centered sheet music from 191l on top. Covered with glass for protection, I chose this particular image because it is romantic and delicate and simply lovely.  I had the frame, the wrapping paper and sheet music from my husband's grandmother's gramophone, so it cost me nothing to assemble.  Any sheet music, old or contemporary will work, of course.  It's all about what you like since it will be hanging in your home.