My husband had a business trip he needed to attend in Naples, and when we arrived at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, I was surprised & delighted that the ceramic fish plaques by James Rice of The Clay Place were so prominent.   I visited The Clay Place several years ago, but couldnt make it this trip for time restraints.   In the hotel gift shop, a 5 inch size fish plaque, for maybe a spoonrest or paper weight, was $17.  I lean toward cutting my own out of clay because I know how inexpensive clay is, but remember the Naples economy.  Mark asked for change for valet from the front desk and they said “all we have are twenties”.    Funny.

So Saturday night I get a text from my mom, who is in town for my dad’s graduation (he’s a prof at Southeastern University), asking if i want to pick blueberries Monday.  I had only heard we grow blueberries here in Lakeland maybe 2-3 years ago, but had never realized we had “u pick” places here.  Mom got a tip from another SEU prof who had picked some recently when they were chatting over a luncheon.  This is such a “Mimi” (we call her) thing to want to do.  Local gem Shady Oak Farm, in Northwest Lakeland was where we landed.  My gallon bucket was not quite full and cost around $15, but a full bucket (6-6 1/2 lbs) can cost $20-25.  They were delicious, easy to pick (no bending over!) and we made a memory.  Only 2-3 weeks left of the picking season there, so I will be taking my 7 year old, who has eaten most of them, to pick some more.