Savory Pumpkin Soup

I recently attended a Wine Tasting Dinner (event post coming soon!) at the Adora Inn where the 1st course served was an autumn inspired savory pumpkin soup. Pumpkin soups I've tried in the past are usually sweet and dessert-like. This one was smokey and savory. Perfect for warming up your hands and your soul. I've decided it's going to top my comfort food list ... well above homemade mac & cheese, hot tea, and chocolate. Okay, maybe not chocolate. But definitely up there at the top for comfort cravings.

To my surprise, it is actually pretty simple and easy to make. Although, I don't know that I can quite saute sage like Arthur, but I'll have to give it a whirl! Here's the recipe ...

SAVORY PUMPKIN SOUP

Ingredients

1 Can Pumpkin Puree (make sure it is not "pie filling")
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Onion
2 Carrots (Peeled and Diced)
1 Apple (Peeled and Diced)
1 Tablespoon Sage Leaves
3 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Cup Cream
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

1) In a large frying pan, saute the onion, carrot, apple and sage until all are tender.

2) Add the sauteed ingredients to food processor or blender and puree the mixture.

3) In a stockpot over medium heat, add the puree, chicken stock and pumpkin. (If you'd like to try fresh pumpkin instead of canned, The Pioneer Woman has a great example for making pumpkin puree). Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

4) Next, add the cream and simmer for 5 more minutes. Lower the heat so it does not boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5) Divide the soup into 4 soup bowls and garnish with sour cream and sage leaves fried in butter.


Chef's Note: I tried the recipe with fresh pumpkin but it always imparted a somewhat bitter flavor. I feel a little guilty, since I usually make all my recipes from scratch. The canned pumpkin purée is easier and better. -- Arthur

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Tea and House-pitality

I love it when we receive guest comments. This one below happens to have a "Tea" habit. I've got one of those too. It's funny, I seem to go back and forth between tea and coffee. Right now, I'm a tea drinker. Specifically green tea with a big squirt of orange blossom honey sweetening up the bottom of the cup. Next week ... I'll probably be a hot cocoa drinker ... with a shot of espresso. Okay, enough with my drinking habits. Here's a great comment from Tamara at the Captain's Inn ...

Dear Captain and Tamara,

I wanted to thank both of you for your "housepitility" this past weekend. All the little extras like: chauffeur, making early breakfast both mornings, putting up with my Tea habit, parking, sharing our love of arts and crafts of many kinds, and just knowing you guys were there if we needed you.......... Thank you again, Darlene

ps: we signed up for next year so, hopefully we will see you again unless you both decide to become one with the waves again!

Chelly's Chili

We had a bunch of hot humid rain last week that felt more like June instead of October. But, on the other side of the rain was that perfect, breezy, blue sky, 70 degree weather. At night, it even got a little chillier ... so I thought it would be a great time to make some chili!

This recipe never ceases to "wow" anyone that I make it for, especially my boyfriend. It kind of makes me blush in embarrassment because it's so simple. I'm a big fan of easy recipes where you can just throw all the ingredients into a pot to make dinner. Stews. Crock Pot Recipes. Chili. It's perfect for when you've had a long day and you just want something easy to put together to fill your tummy and warm you up. After a day of cleaning and entertaining, this is exactly what I want to plop down on my couch with.

Here are the key ingredients. A little pre-packaged and a little fresh.

You'll need ...

1 lb of ground meat. (Here I used beef, but you could go leaner with turkey or pork. I've even gone vegetarian with this recipe once and used frozen ground soy bits that were pretty tasty)

1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Can of Tomato Paste
1 Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Onion
1 Can of Red Kidney Beans
Chili Powder or 1 Packet of Chili Spices
(Not pictured: Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning.
I sprinkle this on top for a little extra spicy kick)

First, I take my bell pepper and onion, chop 'em up and saute them in a little olive oil. EVOO as Rachel Ray would say. I like to carve out the top of a bell pepper and pull out the seeds all at once. Then I can rinse out the shell to get rid of the last remaining few seeds.

I cry my eyes out when chopping onions. While I was doing this I thought ...
"hey, they've got pre-chopped onions now! Why am I doing this to myself!?"
I even tried the old trick of sucking on a piece of bread. Yeah, that didn't work. All I got was the taste of stale bread in my mouth while I was crying the blues over an onion. Do you have an onion chopping trick? If so, let me know!!!

This is just a matter of preference, but I usually rinse all the syrup from the canned beans. Unless you like the syrup in your chili, then by all means ... skip this step.

After I've sauteed the onions and bell peppers for about 5 minutes, I then add the ground beef and spices. Mmm. Starting to tease my nose with the scent of chili! Now, I know that there are all sorts of chili contests out there where the main result desired would require the involvement of your local fire department putting out the blaze in your mouth. But not me. Nuh uh. I like it mild. With a little sprinkle of Chachere's. That's all the kick I need.






Sprinkle on some cheese or a dollop of sour cream and you've got dinner in under 15 minutes! A couple of things I "forgot" but usually like to add on the side are some chopped avocado and blue corn chips. Mmm.

--Rachelle

Kettle Corn & Lemonade

This weekend was the 25th Annual Craft Festival here in Mount Dora. I remember driving here from Orlando every year to see this event. For me, it was the quintessential mark that Fall was officially here. It's gorgeous outside and there is no point-n-shoot picture I could take that would do it any justice. You can take a look at some photos on WhatToDoInMountDora.com to get an idea.

Living in Florida, we don't see much as far as leaves changing colors or temperatures cool enough to wear a jacket, but that being said, this is the time of year we all live for! The store fronts are decked out in all holiday decor -- from the orange and purples of Halloween, reds and golds of Thanksgiving, and sparkly reminders of the upcoming hopeful New Year. Over 200,000 people are driving around, looking for the best parking spot to walk or shuttle-in to this popular event. And the best part about being an Innkeeper is that we've got a front row seat to all the action.

I walked out our front door this morning, cash in pocket, picked up a bag of kettle corn and a lemonade and walked the streets of our familiar town for some people watching and getting a head start on my holiday shopping. There is something about the cooler weather that I think brings out the best in people. Maybe it's the refreshing break after the oppressive summer heat ... or perhaps because it's close enough to the holiday's to feel the "warm & fuzzy" of the season without being in the middle of the stress of it all. I would say this is the most perfect time of year in Central Florida! Life is good.

--Rachelle

Crazy Easy Cranberry Sauce

It is really crazy how simple homemade cranberry sauce is to make. I have a couple of variations of it for you below, including one for those of you addicted to the canned jellied cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce ... simplified.
So, here's the basic recipe. Don't blink, because it's quick. Two ingredients ... one bag of fresh cranberries ... one cup of sugar ... one large pot over medium heat. That's it ... I swear!

Cranberry Sauce ... fancified.
Now you can add all sorts of other goodies in 1/4 cup increments. Here's a short list: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, raisins, blueberries, orange juice, or even bourbon (for those with a wild streak). A pinch of orange zest will give it more of a cranberry citrus flair.

Cranberry Sauce ... beautified.
When serving, add a little sprig of rosemary or mint to finish off your fancy homemade cranberry sauce.

For those of you that like to keep it quick and simple, here are the easy steps illustrated for you.

The Ingredients ... just two.

Cranberries & Sugar. The pumpkin was just for fun. :o)

Add your ingredients to a large pot and set at a medium heat.

As the cranberries heat up, they will start to pop. (Major stainage, so wear an apron or crummy shirt). As they pop, the juice will mix with the sugar creating the jelly-like sauce. For a "saucier" sauce, add 1/4 cup of water.

Now, as much as I love homemade and going au' naturale ... sometimes it's hard to beat a flavor you grew up with around the holidays. Even if it comes in a can. I picked up some leaf-shaped cookie cutters that work great to help mask the "can" shape and creates a little more fun. It might also be a great activity for kids to help out in the kitchen.

See! How fun are they!?

Got any other great cranberry recipes or ideas? Let us know!

--Rachelle

Tremain Street Cottages

Inn The Kitchen: Making Tourtiere

I recently posted a recipe for Tourtiere, a French-Canadian meat pie recipe that my Grandmother makes around the holidays. I invited her over to my home so we could have a little family time in my kitchen while she helped me create a visual to the recipe. I learned a couple more tips and also some things to do differently next time.

La Ingredients ...

Before you begin ... peel, cut and chop your potatoes. We used 3 pounds of potatoes, but when it was all said and done, we realized we could have added another pound. You could also use "instant" mashed potatoes if you need to save time, but taking this extra step makes for a better texture.

Here is the filling starting to simmer ...

Without adding any of the spices, this already smells delish!
I strained the broth into a glass bowl for later use ...

With the meat pie filling set aside, we added the potatoes and onions back into the same pot with some fresh cold water and a tinsy bit of the broth left over from the meat to add flavor.

The spices ... I only had whole cloves, so I used my mortar and pestle to grind them up. Mixing the dry spices together before adding to the meat pie filling helps make the flavor more even throughout the pie.

After adding all ingredients back to the pot, instead of using a large spoon (which required more bicep strength than I or my grandmother have) we used a hand mixer.

Almost done! Here are the naked pies ... before we covered them with their next crust.

Here we used a dish of fresh cold water and blotted it onto the edge of the crust with our fingers to moisten it and get it ready to seal on the top crust.

Normally my Grandmother just slices a cross in the center for ventilation, however, I found these fantastic mini cookie cutters last year that I thought would add a cute little touch. Unfortunately, my "leaves" ended up looking like stars instead. So we'll have a patriotic-looking Thanksgiving dish. What the heck?! I also went a little overboard in my excitement with the cookie cutter. When I turned the pie around, I realized I inadvertently made a Christmas tree shape. Oops! No ... wait ... I meant to do that! For Thanksgiving, I would probably just cut three leaves (stars) in the center.

Here she is ... all warm and toasty out of the oven. Mmm.

The cookie cutter shapes worked better with the jellied cranberry sauce.

Voila! Homemade Tourtiere with sliced jellied cranberry sauce. I'll be adding another recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. You will not believe how easy it is!

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

One Bowl Blueberry Citrus Bread

When the holidays get hectic and your house is full of family, friends and overnight guests, here's a little home baked recipe that will help you save some time and piece of mind. If you're NOT an Innkeeper, then I would recommend baking this fabulous bread before your weekend guests arrive. Then after a day of play, set your coffee pot timer on auto-brew, display the bread in a lovely covered cake stand with some fancy paper napkins ... and then sleep-in and get some much needed holiday R & R as your weekend guests help themselves in your kitchen the next morning. If you ARE an Innkeeper ... still make the following recipe the night before, but you better set your alarm and join your guests in the morning!!! -- Rachelle

One Bowl Blueberry Citrus Bread
by Chef Jim, Mount Dora Historic Inn

I love to bake, however, I do not love to wash dishes; so, in an effort to do as little clean up as possible and be a little lazy, I evolved my cooking methods to creatively become more efficient.

This is just one, of my many time saving (lazy) techniques; although, I do try to find ways to reduce the time I spend washing dishes, I never skimp on the quality of ingredients or the freshness of my dishes.


Ingredients

· 8 ounces of cream cheese—softened
· 1, stick of butter
· 1, cup of sugar
· 3, tsp of Vanilla extract
· 2, Hen’s Eggs (Chicken eggs will not work ... Just kidding. Kitchen joke.)
· 1/3 to ½ cup of orange juice
· 2 ¼, cups of all purpose flour
· 1 tbsp of toasted orange zest—you may also use grated orange peel, which you can find at your local grocery store
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ½ tsp baking soda
· ¼ tsp salt
· 1, cup of fresh Blueberries—you may use frozen if Blueberries are out of season

Technique

· Use a hand whisk, preferably a ½ whisk, to do all your blending (Do not use an electric blender).

· By layering in the ingredients as directed below (cream mix, dry, then eggs and juice), you will only need one bowl for the mixing process. (If, however, you are unsure of this technique, blend dry ingredients first in a separate bowl, then progress as directed.)

· Folding is a process by which you bring ingredients from the bottom of a bowl and gently combine or mash together, and repeating until just blended. This technique will prevents you from over mixing, which causes bread to become tough. (If you are folding fruit or nuts into a mixture, then you do not mash. If you are folding a wet or cream mixture with a dry mix (like flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder) then you mash to combine evenly—if using this process, give a final three or four quick and vigorous rotations with your whisk to completely blend.)


Technique For Toasting Zest

· Preheat oven to 325
· Zest two oranges—as this is a process, do extra and store in fridge
· Place on lightly greased cookie sheet—Baker’s Secret are my favorite for baking
· Bake for about 10 minutes (every oven is different)

Preparation

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees

· Use a non-stick cooking spray and coat a loaf pan; or, five mini-loaf pans

· In a large mixing bowl (non-reactive, glass, plastic, or stainless) combine cream cheese, melted butter, vanilla and sugar and mix together—mix until consistency of frosting.

· Add dry ingredients on top without combining with cream mixture

· Blend dry ingredients above the cream mix with a dry whisk—do not combine with cream mixture yet—Dry ingredients must be well blended before combining with anything wet (if this process is not followed your bread will either, cave or balloon)

· Add eggs, and juice on top of flour mixture and fold together. Repeat the folding process until mostly blended

· Now, whisk briskly until total mixture is just blended (about three to four full rotations with whisk) and blend until just wet—Do Not over mix, or your bread will be tough

· Gently fold in Blueberries until well dispersed in to the batter

· Pour batter into well greased loaf pan

· Cook for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes if you are using a regular loaf pan—cooking times vary from oven to oven—the bread is finished when a cake tester or toothpick is inserted in to the center of the bread and comes out clean, allow to cool for two to three hours before slicing; otherwise the bread will crumble. (If you are using five (5) mini-loaf pans, then cook for approximately 45 to 50 minutes.)

· It is important to let bread cool before slicing or bread will crumble. Allow bread to cool on wire rack for:

Large single loaf – 1 ½ hours
5, mini-loaves of bread –1 hour

Leander Pancake Wraps

Here's another pancake recipe to add to my Grand Pancake Bake-off! This recipe comes to us courtesy of the Farnsworth House Bed & Breakfast. I actually tried these first hand while visiting them last week and I have never had anything like it!

Basically, take all your favorite breakfast foods and make one heck of a stuffed pancake creation! A little sweet, a little savory, and absolutely no calories ... I swear!


Leander Pancake Wraps

1. Mix Homemade pancake batter slightly on the thin side ( but NOT as thin as for crepes) add extracts to the batter such as Orange, Banana, Vanilla, Almond to enhance . A little extract goes a long way!

2. Spread out batter unto a hot griddle (around 375 degrees) until you have one large, flat pancake. Turn over as you would a regular pancake, though you may need to use two spatulas.

3. Lightly coat each pancake with melted butter (Pam Butter flavor spray works well) then store cooked pancakes in a warm oven (at least 200 degrees) with a container of water nearby to keep everything moist.

.................................MEANWHILE........................................

4. Scramble eggs, hash browns, (peppers and/or onions should you desire) cheeses (your call on flavors!) cooked meats making sure to dice all ingredients to at least 1/2" in size.

5. Remove the pancakes from the oven and carefully spread out each of the ingredients into the center of the pancake, then CAREFULLY wrap the ingredients unto each pancake securing all the flaps with one or two slices of American Cheese. (if the pancake becomes too brittle during folding, lightly coat the pancake with a little more melted butter)

6. Return all the "assembled" pancakes to a warm oven ( least 200 degrees) until the American Cheese has melted.

7. Serve with Warm Maple Syrup, a little Powdered Sugar, some Cinnamon and ENJOY!

Tourtiere

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, my Grandmother makes a French-Canadian recipe that has been in her family for generations. Tourtiere ... or "meat pie" in English. Over time it's been tweaked with little tips and personal preferences until it evolved into the textures and flavors I grew up with over the holidays. It takes simple, common ingredients and turns them into a savory holiday dish. This recipe makes 2 pies ... one to enjoy immediately and one to share.

Ingredients

2 Pounds Ground Beef
2 Pounds Ground Pork
1 Medium White Onion
3 Pounds White Potatoes, Peeled and Chopped.
1/2 Teaspoon Allspice
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Salt
4 Pie Uncooked Pie Crusts

1) In a large pan, layer the pork on the bottom and then the ground beef on top. Set at a medium heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

2) After meat is thoroughly cooked, strain the meat over a large bowl, keeping the broth for later use. Set aside.

3) In same large pan, add potatoes and onions. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are soft. Strain the water from the cooked potatoes and onions and add them back to the pan along with the meat and 1/2 of the broth from the meat.

4) Add all dry spices to a bowl and mix together thoroughly. Sprinkle over the meat, potatoes and onions. Mix all ingredients together with a wide spoon. Set oven to 450 to pre-heat.

5) Spoon meat pie filling into pie crusts in a deep dish pie pan. (You can make your own pie crusts, but to save time I generally use the pre-made crusts found in your local grocer's refrigerated dairy section). Brush water on edges of pie crust and then place second pie crust on top, pinching the edges together to seal. Cut slits into top of pie for ventilation. Or, I like to use a mini-cookie cutter to create leaf shapes on top.

6) Crack egg and separate yolk from egg white. Whisk egg white until frothy and then brush onto top crust with pastry brush.

7) Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes. Depending on your oven, you may need to cover the pie with tin foil to prevent the top crust from burning.

Voila! French-Canadian Tourtiere, or Meat Pie! Traditionally, meat pie is served with ketchup or cranberry sauce. I'll be adding some Inn The Kitchen photos of making Tourtiere soon!

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages

Apple-Puffed Pancake

I think I'm going to have a pancake baking spree. Last month we posted a great recipe for Sweet Potato Pancakes. Another one of my favorite fall flavors is apples and cinnamon. Nothing warms up the house and fills the air with the scent of the season more than those two ingredients. The pancake recipe below is a great combination for a fall breakfast. Provided compliments of the Captain's Inn. This sounds fantastic! I can't wait to try it.

Apple-Puffed Pancake

6 eggs

1 1/2 Cups milk

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 butter

3 apples, peeled, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a blender mix eggs, milk, flour, sugar vanilla salt and cinnamon, until well blended.

In a 12-inch fluted glass dish, add butter and place in oven until melted.

Remove from oven; add in single layer apple slices; then pour batter over apples, sprinkle top with brown sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup. Serves 6
I like to accompany this with a slice of grilled ham steak and fresh fruit.

"My sister-in-law Marsha gave me this recipe, and every time I serve it the comment is, 'wonderful!'" -- Tamara at the Captain's Inn.

Grandview Hotel

Ever wonder what it was like 100 years ago? People were certainly not worried about the price of gas since the main form of transportation was by horse or train. Eggs were 14 cents a dozen. Sugar was 4 cents a pound. Coffee was 14 cents a pound. And the cost to spend a night at an Inn in Mount Dora was $2.50 if you wanted a bath. Finding this information ... priceless!

Somethings just have perfect timing. During a month where we have our first historical ghost tour of Mount Dora planned for Halloween, giving people a holiday thrill while also teaching the history of the town, guests at Tremain Street Cottages brought a little bit of history and nostalgia with them on their trip here to Mount Dora.

As the child of the former owner of the Grand View Hotel, Cindy and her husband had a lot of stories to share along with postcards and memorabilia from the beginning of tourism in Mount Dora. I love history, so for me it felt like we had a celebrity staying with us. I enjoyed hearing the stories about people stepping off the train and walking up to the front desk to check in and reading about a time when Mount Dora was described as being a "daylight motortrip to any important community in Central Florida" and instead of using the internet or phone to make a reservation, the preferred method asked interested travelers to "write now for winter rates."

One of the brochures described Mount Dora as:

"One of the healthiest communities in the United States. Located amidst lakes and hills, deep well water with no trace of sulphur, 265 feet above sea level, 35 miles of paved streets and no malaria."

Thank goodness we're no longer concerned about malaria! And as the mode of transportation and prices may have changed, there are a lot of things that have remained the same. Such as, the fantastic weather, golf, boating, fishing and shopping and dining that have attracted travelers here now for over 100 years.

Where will the next 100 years take us?

--Rachelle

Heron Cay's Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Okay, we could have a pumpkin bake-off this month with all the different pumpkin recipes we have to share.

Below I have Heron Cay's Spiced Pumpkin Bread recipe. This is a special treat they serve at breakfast year round, and it tastes fabulous!

Ingredients

3 1/2 Cups of Flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 Cups of Sugar
2 Cups of Canned Pumpkin
4 Eggs
1 Cup Salad Oil
1 Cup of Nuts
1 1/2 Cups of White Raisins

Sift dry ingredients together. Then mix all ingredients with mixer. Pour batter into greased and floured individual loaf pans or bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool before turning out.

This recipe was shared by Margie's dear friend, Michelle, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Recipe is courtesy of Heron Cay Lakeview Bed & Breakfast!

Serendipity

This week I received a heart-warming story of a serendipitous moment in downtown Mount Dora. It is unbelievable how we are all connected in some way. A relative of one of our local Innkeepers is an inventor of card games, and unbeknownst to everyone involved, that same card game was available for sale by one of our downtown merchants. One of the guests at their Inn discovered it and made the connection. Here's the Innside scoop I got from Tamara at the Captain's Inn ...

"This weekend we entertained Barry's sister from Arizona, Marsha. She was in town for a games-show convention in Orlando and she spent five days with us at the Inn. She is the manufacturer and designer of fun and educational award winning games which are marketed on her website www.setgame.com. Saturday morning, she taught one of her games to our weekend guests. That afternoon, one of our weekend guests was in town shopping and noticed the game for sale at the store, Whispering Winds. They purchased the game and told the store owners that the inventor of the game was visiting her brother at the Captains' Inn. They came over & met Marsha, and we all got together & instituted game night now at Captains' Inn. This is a great example of lodging & merchants working hand-in-hand. It was a great weekend for us and all our guests." Sincerely, Tamara

It's 5 o'clock somewhere!

A Day In The Life Of An Innkeeper ...

5 loads of laundry ... 2 hours

Running errands in Orlando ... 4 hours

Finishing a marketing meeting early and having drinks by the lake ... Priceless!

Enjoy The View

I'm going to propose a new tradition. In addition to "wine" down Wednesdays, we're also gonna do Thirsty Thursdays, Speed Boat Saturdays and Sailing Sundays ... pretty much any day of the week with an excuse to get out on the water and have some wine with Captain's Barry, Tamara and Bailey.

We had fun on our little sunset cruise, sipping wine ... spilling wine ... snacking and laughing while we counted baby gators and watched the sun set over Lake Dora. It was a great way to release the stress of the day and a simple reminder of one of the many reasons we moved to Mount Dora.

Something I didn't know ... there is a "wedding tree" in the Dora Canal. Barry explained that there were two trees that grew together as one, connecting at the root and several times again as they grew together over the years. He's married several people on his boat in front of this tree, so we went on a mission to find it. We searched and looked all through the canal and I almost thought this was going to be another one of Barry's "stories" that prove how I'm so gullible ... but then we found it. An unique natural anomaly.

Barry and Tamara also told us a great story about one of their experiences at The Captain's Inn this week. They has several "musical" guests, including Captain Harry. Now ... Captain Barry and Harry in the same room? I almost spewed my wine in laughter. Can you really get two Captain's in the room with rhyming names? But it's no nursery rhyme, it is fact. Captain Harry is a real person and entertained all the guests with his acoustic guitar and quick wit. He even strummed a little song about Barry and Tamara that went a little something like this ...

Take a picture it'll last longer
I think I could make those colors even stronger
The things that you can capture with your camera
The life that could live with your Tamara
A boy's imagination becomes a young man's dream
You can be who you want to be
Let the sails, unfurl,
Travel around the world
Searching for a cultured pearl
Just go for it
Life too short
Travel to a distant port
Plot your course and then navigate
You don't have time to wait
Once you get the picture you are on your way
Carpe Diem
Seize the day
Gather up a table crew
Okay their not so stable, but they'll do
Mother nature will thrill us all
Like a Polynesian waterfall
Greater than your greatest wish
Like when an eagle takes your fish
Because I can color deep and true
And this is what I'll do for you
Many people call it folly
They don't have time to Dali
A boys imagination becomes a young man's dream
You can be who you want to be
Let the sails unfurl
Searching for a cultured pearl
Just go for it
Life too short
Travel to a distant port
Plot your course and then navigate
You don't have time to wait

What a great reminder to live in the moment and enjoy the day! Sometimes I get so caught up in "plotting the course" that I forget to look up and enjoy the view.

--Rachelle