Santa came early to my house this year! How did he know that I have been jonesing for the bivalve book Seashells of Southern Florida by Mikkelsen & Bieler for an entire year? It’s a very expensive book so I could never pull the trigger on buying it for myself. Well Santa must have known my dilemma and whispered the idea in the ear of thoughtful friends……. MurexKen and MurexAlice!
OMG! I still can’t believe it! Really, I can’t thank yall enough! They invited Clark and me over to their lovely gulf front condo (check it out! They rent it out throughout the year when they aren’t here- CLICK HERE) to present this incredibly thoughtful gift. I’ve already put the book to good use! And thanks to my brother Doug, for the beautiful Christmas flower arrangement we’ve gotten so much enjoyment already too- it makes for a gorgeous backdrop for photos, right?
Here’s a sneak peak of some of the shells I’ve collected but not identified…until now. I’ll post photos of the shells I learned tomorrow along with another special treat I received! It makes me so happy because now I will be able to share more information with you. It makes it so much more enjoyable to learn together. Merry Christmas!
Can you please post their URL? I clicked on the click here and it wouldn’t work. Thanks and Merry Christmas!
MurexKen’s URL? I just checked it and it works on my computer but just in case that’s what you were asking for… here is MK and MA’s URL info… http://SanibelSanddollarC201.com/
Hope this works for you! ;)
Very nice, Pam!! I bought a really great shelling book when I was there last time – absolutely love it! It helped me identify some shells, too…..enjoy your book! What a tremendously great gift!
Merry Christmas to you both!! :)
What a sweet gift. Wouldn’t expect anything less from those two….they are like the angel wing pairs they are always digging up :- ) Merry Christmas to all from Denise (HotforSanibel).
How nice a gift!! I hope you enjoy it and thank you for sharing it and all the pictures that you share with everyone!! Merry Christmas!!
Pam, Alice and I are pleased that you are enjoying the bivalve book. It is (by far) the best bivalve ID book that I have found for southern Florida, including Sanibel Island. Dr. Mikkelsen is now working on a gastropod book to cover the same area, but that will have many times the number of shell species and is most likely many years away from publication. I especially like the information in the book concerning the habitat of the living bivalves and how common they are. Amazon.com now has this book for $75, http://www.amazon.com/Seashells-Southern-Florida-Mollusks-Adjacent/dp/0691116067 With second day delivery, anyone could have it for their “special” shell collector before Christmas.
In retrospect, I wish I had been a little more creative with the inscription. However, after the glass of wine, I was fortunate just to be able to write legibly. Thanks also for your comments about our condo. Although there are many nice condos on Sanibel Island, we purchased the one at Sanddollar because we really like the small complex and its location on a really good shelling beach. The condo reflects our interest in shells with plenty of books on shells and other wildlife on Sanibel. In addition, we have tried to make our condo as wheelchair friendly as possible. Although we did that for others, one never knows when it may help us.
Pam, like all your other “fans”, I sure enjoy your blog. I hope that you and Clark have a Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year. I hope that you find all the shells that are in that book and then some. Blessings to you.
Very nice book! What sweet friends. BTW — I could open the URL for Sandollar but could not view any photos, if there were any. You must have a pretty jazzy computer!
Marcia, thanks for your comment. Our condo website has a home page that has two picture frames, each with pictures of our condo that change every 5-10 seconds. Although the rotating pictures is a nice feature, viewing them requires some additional software that usually comes with newer computers. The friend that helped us set up the website (he did all the computer techy work and I paid for it) did some nice design work. Unfortunately, the fancy stuff may limit some people from viewing our website or at least its pictures. Many of the pictures on our individual condo website are also on our condo’s VRBO website.
Here is our VRBO website link, http://www.vrbo.com/234601 which has pictures of our condo, but not the pictures of its wheelchair friendly features, which are on our individual condo website. Hope this explains the situation. Happy Shelling.
unexpected gifts are the best….just like being on the beach and finding something unexpected is the best! you can tell some thought went into that gift…merry christmas and happy reading!
What a lovely gift! And its one that will get a lot of use!!
Merry Christmas & Happy Shell Identifying in the New Year!!! Ken & Alice sound like wonderful friends and wonderful people!!
Hi Pam,
Mitch and I , and family of course, will be arriving at Pointe Santo New Year’s Eve. Kaitlyn has her I love shelling shirt packed (as do I). Her 4 year old sister Karley has announced her plans to find an angel wing !! I guess I’ll have to get her a shirt this year. Looking forward to seeing you. Are you still at the Mucky Duck?
Enjoy your new shell book. Best wishes for a happy healthy new year.
Happy Holidays, Sue Bunkin
NICE! CONGRATS!!! :) I’ll have to add that to my list! I just found this book at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary gift shop last weekend: http://www.amazon.com/Floridas-Living-Beaches-Curious-Beachcomber/dp/1561643866 Can’t wait ’til I have time to read through it! :D
What a lovely gift! We rented from Ken and Alice in November – their condo is absolutely perfect and they went above and beyond in every way to ensure our wonderful, memorable week on beautiful Sanibel Island. We can’t wait to return to this amazing place as soon as possible.
Beautiful, thoughtful gift! We had the good fortune of renting from Ken and Alice in November – they went above and beyond to ensure our week was memorable and perfect in their fabulous condo. Can’t wait to come back!
Wow – Ken & Alice are so generous – what a great gift! It sounds like a great book to have. Enjoy it! I always love reading your blog and MurexKen’s posts on TA!
Although I have already said too much, I just have to say “Thanks” for the kind comments. Shellers are a very friendly and fun loving bunch of folks. Hope to meet some of you out on the Sanibel beaches.
Ken- that was such a thoughtful gift.
Merry Christmas Pam and Clark, and to all the Sanibel Lovers!
O this looks like such a good book!! I need a more recent book like this with better pictures. The one I have is from all the way back when I was in middle school.ha
What a wonderful gift! I love collecting and identifying shells, too! I hope I can get to the beach soon…you’re making me yearn to be there! Happy holidays to you and your family! ♥