Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. ~ Genesis 37:5-8 People back then put a lot of stock in dreams, so Joseph’s brothers knew exactly what he was saying to them – and their interpretation was that he thought he was better than them, or one day would be. And not only that, they saw it as king vs servants roles. Of course, with the privilege of looking back, we know how prophetic this dream was, but think about how his brothers would’ve felt. Think of your own family. What if we lived in an age where dreams were taken very seriously and someone in your family came to you with a dream like this? How do you think you’d react? Or what if you were the one with the dream and told it to your family? How would they react? It’s good to put ourselves into situations in scripture because it helps us to understand.
A day in our life has been pretty much the same – – – for the past four days!
We watch the rain falling, or we walk in the dense fog on the beach, or we ride our bikes to the beach and walk the beach, or we drive over and walk the beach. . . .
Get the picture?
You don’t feel a bit sorry for us though, do you? 😊
Enjoy the pictures, because there’s not much to say, other than on New Year’s Eve, we were only able to listen to fireworks, rather than watch them. The fog was so dense that even though we walked over and stood at the edge of the West Lake, where normally you’d be able to see clearly, all we could see were occasional momentary faint pink (from red ones) or barely brighter (from white ones) spots in the sky. It was really weird! Nice and loud, though! That was at 5:30pm (they moved it up “to protect the barge people” What? Turns out the fireworks people set them off from a barge in the bay. Shooting off fireworks in turbulent waters in the dark probably isn’t the best idea.)
You can tell how the fog was swirling around us in the flash picture. Fun!
Food? Pork and sauerkraut, of course! Two days ago, we cut a 6 1/3# pork roast in half and crock-potted half to make Kalua Pork for dinner on the 30th. Delicious and super easy! Recipe at the end. The other half, we used for our kraut on New Year’s Day. That recipe is also at the end.
However. . . . even though I don’t have much to share, I have been pondering something . . .
All my life I’ve heard people talk and joke about missing socks. I never really got it, because I don’t believe I’ve ever unintentionally lost a sock. My washer never ate any; my dryer never shrunk them to oblivion; never left one at the laundromat . . .
But scrunchies? Now that’s a whole different story!
I buy those skinny black ones that come in packs of a dozen or so. You can buy them anywhere, but my favorite place is Dollar Tree. Can you guess why? 😊
Anyway, I’ve bought at least two packs in the past couple of years. I’ve thrown away two or three because they lost their elasticity, but the others? I only have a couple left, and I have absolutely no idea where they’ve disappeared to.
Aren’t you glad you wasted time to read all that? Now you can enjoy the pictures. 😊
so we drove to the beach and walked for about an hour.
because we were busy looking at these strange rubber-like things strewn all over the beach.
Look how tiny some are!
This one was moving, so I carefully tried to throw it back in the water, but the waves just spit it back out again.
A well. At least I tried!
A Park Ranger told us he’d never seen them this small, and never this early in the season.
You decide which one you prefer. : )
It’s a fogbow!
No color, but you can definitely see it!
Awesome possum!
Read the Special Edition if you want to learn more. : )
You can’t see them, but inside the walls, two Man o Wars took up residence.
We continue to be in awe of these creatures!
Beautiful day!
It’s not a picture of Blaine’s legs. lol
We came across a Man o War with one tentacle stretched waaaaayyy out!
It was at least 10′ long!!! Can you see it?
It was also a bit warmer than the Gulf water.
That sand bank looked like snow, the sand was so white!
We held dinner until we went to the beach to check out the sunset. I think maybe, possibly this might be a Palmetto Bug, aka Florida cockroach. What it was doing walking around on the beach is anyone’s guess! Giant ugly thing! 
Apparently, there was a wedding on the beach today, or at the very least, pictures were taken. The bride has a Marine for a groom. You can’t see it, but he’s wearing his uniform. The lady in front of them is the photographer. What a sweet way to begin a new year!
KALUA PORK
6# pork butt or shoulder roast
1 T. kosher salt
2 ½ – 3 T. liquid smoke
Pierce pork all over with a carving fork, or other thick, round, sharp instrument. Rub salt into the meat, then Liquid Smoke.
Place in crock pot. Cook on low for 18-20 hours, turning once or twice during cooking time. Stir to shred near the end and push down into the juices. For 3# roast, use half the ingredients and cook for 10-12 hours.
PORK AND SAURKRAUT
2-3# pork roast (any kind)
1 jar Vlasik sauerkraut
1 tart apple (Granny Smith), peeled and chopped
1/8 C. brown sugar
¼ C. BBQ sauce
5-6 whole cloves (or ½ t. ground)
Place roast in the crock pot. Mix next 4 ingredients (and ground cloves if using) and pour over the roast.
Lay 5-6 whole cloves together on top in a “nest”. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.