Founded in 1942, it’s sort of a museum piece (in a good way, nothing dusty), but clothes lines are everything from Tommy Bahama to Hart, Schaffner & Marx.

Oh, and if you have a Boy Scout, they have a whole outfitting section.

Nathan’s Men’s Wear, 221 E Main St  Lakeland, FL 33801

Of course, the trees look like the Mediterranean, and olives can be of course eaten or pressed for oil.

Florida agronomists recommend self-fertile cultivars like ‘Arbequina’, ‘Mission’, or ‘Manzanilla’; planting more than one will increase production.

They need a sunny area and well-drained soil, and will produce in three years.

Find out more HERE.

Entrepreneur Eric Ducharme, who appears on TLC’s Crazy Obsession show, takes free swims in Crystal River, which is known for its clear water and manatees.

He started Mertailor LLC (photo of Mertailor at right from their Facebook) in 2006, when he was just 16 years old and performing as the prince in Weeki Wachee Springs Little Mermaid show. He has made hand-painted custom mermaid tails for places and celebrites like Lady Gaga, RuPaul, Target and Saturday Night Live.

London’s Daily Mail profiled Ducharme online; the story says he runs his own business called Mertailor that manufactures custom-made tails from silicone, urethanes, and latex.

Crystal River is just down the road from Weeki Wachee, which is Florida’s famous home of mermaids.

Visit his Facebook here.

Below, a You Tube showing the tails; you can follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Mertailor.

MIAMI – Miami Science Museum has restored its Pan American globe.

This year, American Express has granted money to restore the Museum’s Pan American Globe to its original 1934 condition, when it was originally located at the Pan American’s Dinner Key terminal.

The globe was originally in the Pan American Dinner Key terminal, which is now Miami City Hall.

Visit the Miami Science Museum here and read about the globe restoration here.

Interested in building or buying one of those eco-friendly, mortgage-free tiny houses in Florida?

Florida is an ideal state for tiny houses. The climate and growing season make it perfect too; with the 12 month sunny season an outdoors lifestyle is possible. Most expensive houses have large patios and porches, and some families live outside most weekends.

Much of the buzz about the tiny house movement is centered on the West Coast, however they suffer from a nannyish government complex that makes living in a tiny house difficult, especially in large metropolitan areas. However, in some jurisdictions in Florida, zoning laws are not carefully enforced because of the large transient population and prevalence of mobile homes. Agriculture, with its need for multiple outbuildings and staging areas, also means that a well-kept tiny house can be seen as a civic asset, not a liability.

Florida is also the birthplace of the New Urbanism movement. Architects Andres and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk have been leaders in the movement, one aspect of which is encouraging so called “mother in law” accessory dwellings that can house one-room studios that are separate from a main house.

Below, a few ideas on Tiny House living in Florida:

• Middleburg: In the Jacksonville area, Marc and Trudi Boese built a house on wheels on an acre of land in Florida that also houses several chickens and their vegetable and fruit garden. The story listed is a few years old, but it gives a vivid picture of how beautiful life can be in Florida with a small house.
• Gainesville: Internationally renowned architect Dennis Fukai has a site insitebuilders.com which has information about building small houses, including his book, Living Small.
• DeLand: Tiny Home Builders is located in DeLand. Dan Loche’s company focuses on teaching folks how to build tiny houses with two-day seminars. You can follow their Twitter here. There are also videos on his site.
• Zephyrhills: Cy Englert has started a Tiny House meetup group in Zephyrhills, which is near Tampa. Also related to the meetup is Emily Lindahl’s Facebook page group of Florida Tiny Houses.

News stories:

• SignaTour campers, small houses built on wheels in the Tampa area, also sell light travel trailers.
• The Wikipedia entry on the small house movement.

Other ideas:

• Tiny House Blog has a page of Florida related stories here.
• Excellent discussion of Florida zoning issues here.
• Gainesville tiny house source.
• Funky houses in Matlacha.
• You can search for tiny house classifieds HERE.
• Mobile home makers are following up on the tiny house trend, though its still a mobile home! For instance Jacobsen Homes sells a cool looking smaller mobile home that echoes a tiny house.
• Consider a houseboat. Many older models are quite inexpensive and marina slips can be but a few hundred a month, including utilities. However, there is no room for much gardening; you will have to learn to fish. Check out the Florida houseboat listings on boattrader.com.

Other thoughts/questions:

• Where is a good location for tiny houses? Florida is home to more trailers than any other state in the U.S., but there is a vast difference between a trailer park and a person living in a tiny house. Tiny houses are all about growing food and living sustainably and frequently attract younger residents who are seeking to downsize or live in a more authentic way.
• Are there counties or jurisdictions that are agreeable to sustainable living? Very many zoning departments say that they encourage this, but when it comes to actually building a tiny house, the reality is different. For instance, there are depressed counties and areas around Port Charlotte that have hundreds of lots that fill up unsuccessful subdivisions from earlier eras. However, deed restrictions and county zoning prevent small houses from being constructed there.
• Where are low cost manufacturers of tiny house shells? Across the state, many local contractors and companies build smaller sheds that work as offices, etc. We would love to gather up a listing of companies that sell these sheds, especially those that are larger. You can add your ideas on the comments below.

SARASOTA

The White Buffalo is a country and western bar without honky tonk. That’s good. It’s a themed restaurant that includes a giant dance floor, very long bar, and outdoor patio. Every week, they have free dance lessons; on the dance floor will be a very clean-cut gathering of all ages, learning new steps. Staff is freshly scrubbed and clean cut; no extreme piercings or tattoos will kill your appetite.

The point about being family friendly is no minor feat. Very often, such a place will either be too themed and antiseptic, or too much of a pickup spot. Or worse yet it will become a biker location filled with posing Baby Boomers. The White Buffalo seems to be able to pull this off successfully; part of reason is that it is big space and the design is well thought through. In fact, there were only a handful of bikes in the parking lot when we went.

The menu is straightforward, and inexpensive, and not fancy, with brisket dinner around $11 and burgers at $9. Families tend to come earlier in the evening for gatherings.

The only problem is parking; while they have valet if you want to park on your own you will have to go across the street.

Visit them at thewbsaloon.com.

Anna Maria south end lifeguard stand. Beaches are plentiful all up and down the coast in Manatee and Sarasota Counties.

Question: Can you recommend a place to stay in Sarasota that is inexpensive, quite and off the beaten path that feels like Old Florida? The goal is to not get caught in traffic everyday, but to relax and be able to feel Sarasota.

Visitors who come to the Sarasota area can find a thriving church scene, with dozens of churches with great preaching, spirit-filled music and welcoming congregations well-attuned to visitors from out of state. Strong denominational churches downtown are well suited to visitors, who drop in while visiting Sarasota from across the world and U.S.

But non-denominational churches thrive too. Some of them include:

• Victory at Sarasota: Services are held just off Fruitville Road on Saturday nights. Pastor Brian Gibbs and wife Bren Gibbs give a warm welcome to all comers. Notable visitors have included Bill Johnson of California’s Bethel Church and evangelist Dutch Sheets. Georgian Banov will be at the church March 9, 2013. Before and after service prayer is a key part of the worship. Before you come visit, you can check them out online.
• Harvest Tabernacle: A church with a serious sense of mission in downtown Sarasota, leading some of the most troubled to Christ. In addition to Sunday services, great worship on a weeknight night service, along with healing and intense prayer. Pastor Jim Minor leads the church.
• The Tabernacle Sarasota: One of the larger in Sarasota, this church is best known across the community for a living nativity, but the rest of the year it has dozens of ministries. This January 13, 2013, the church will sponsor a service with the Wallendas (yes those Flying ones!) called Family and Friends Day.
• Hope Church: This church is visible off I-75 as you drive through Sarasota, just north of the Fruitville Road exit. They have a heavy focus on changing lives, and a large congregation of over 2,000.
• 360 Church: A non-church looking church, 360 is led by Pastor Steve McCoy, whose sermons focus on practical applications for daily living. Their “highest goal is to glorify God by carrying out the work of Jesus Christ.” Services on Sunday morning at their building at Ashton and Macintosh roads, just north of Clark Road. Totally visitor friendly.

Ideas about places to worship while visiting Sarasota, or have thoughts on any of the above churches? Leave them below.

The chef is Bryce Balluff. A Michelin-starred chef, he’s been at dozens of great restaurants in Florida.

Find out more at TheDailyCity.com Cardboard Art Festival.

Today, there’s yet another Lester’s, namely the Lester’s at Wynwood at 2519 NW Second Ave., Miami, FL, 33127. Call (305) 456-1784. It’s much trendier with all sorts of events, a sort of idea place as put together by Daniel Milewski.

Find out more at lestersmiami.com.