Florida snowman makes appearance on Siesta Key

Floridians are dreaming of a white Christmas — one with the powdery white sand of Siesta Key. This lady, whom we'll call Sandy the sand- woman, was found near the red lifeguard stand Saturday afternoon on Siesta Key Public Beach.

Her buttons were made of shells, her arms were branches, and yes, that's a baby carrot for a nose.

Sandy basked in the sun, but we're certain her cousin, Frosty the snowman, would have melted in Florida’s winter temperatures.

Football fans gang up to collect toys

Every Sunday from noon to night, a group of 52 residents who call themselves Our Gang Football gather to watch NFL games. 

The group of neighbors who reside at Village Walk in Palmer Ranch bonded over their love of football several years ago. Tony and Tinker Britton decided to open their home to guests and make watching games a weekly tradition. Then, last year Tony Britton asked attendees to bring with them one toy to donate to Toys for Tots. The group repeated its efforts this year and collected 216 toys and 35 bicycles. 

Diane Yarrington is a regular at Our Gang Football gatherings. 

“All of our children are grown up, so we don’t have little kids to buy gifts for now so this was a special time,” Yarrington said. “I think the best part for me was I just felt good this morning when they were loading all the toys on to the truck.”