Friday, December 31, 2021

Friday December 31st, 2021



Tonight, Mark and I are hosting a small New Year’s Eve gathering. Everyone has been double vaccinated plus boosters. Regardless, we will have the windows open in the sunroom and chair set up in the backyard too. 

Perhaps a few photos … 


Some enjoyed the bonfire at 72F


Some visited and drank …



Some danced. It was a fun time! Everyone brought hor deourves to share. 


πŸ₯³ Happy new year πŸ₯‚πŸ₯°

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Good morning. I woke up at 5:30 and decided to unboxed the new art brushes I got for Christmas. This led to sorting some of the old brushes and deciding to donate a few. To someone who paints, this is like giving away one of your hands. Ha ha. The new arc light is working beautifully … giving even lighting around the entire art area. πŸ‘πŸ»



Are you ready for 2022 … it’s coming! This year was a mixed bag at our home. Hunkered down until our vaccinations against Covid19, we puttered about the house. By June we ventured out with masks 😷 … by July through September we felt safe enough around our vaccinated friends to socialize again. Then, booster shots … dropping anti-vaxxer friends like hot potatoes … and now December, wearing masks again. 🀷‍♀️ 

Plenty of household projects got accomplished! That was very good! Perhaps the coming year will include a big RV trip? We’ll have to see how the virus news plays out. Meanwhile, we’re happy to be living in a comfortable home with family and friends nearby. Do you know that today is two years since we learned about Covid in the USA. 

Tonight we met with Kim, Bob, Lani and Mark at Del Sol Mexico in downtown Eustis. We had dinner and then came back to our house for drinks and conversation. It was a fun evening, plenty of merriment. πŸ˜‚



Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Good morning. Mark and Wayne oh have gone after the Ocalla woods this morning. When Mark left at 5:30, he woke me up to do the dog sitting duties across the street. Those kids need to be out by 7 o’clock! 

There has been a little Ebay action during the last week, which is odd because there was nothing prior to Christmas. Oh well, glad to have some business and move some inventory that has cluttering up our garage. And, Sue has brought me boxes and boxes and boxes of more things to list. πŸ˜‚ Hey, it’s what we do! 

Lani and Markymark got home about 3:30, hauled their luggage in and then went shopping. πŸ™„ Those poor doggies. Tonight they’re snuggling on the big bed with them. πŸΎπŸ’•zzz 

Us? We poured a stiff drink after dealing with Empire’s shenanigans again. December 5th the contract was signed … TODAY I finally received an email about our “lifetime warranty” contract. I printed it out so it was readable and … guess what … it sucked. I asked Mark to read it over and give me his opinion. His was just like mine, and we had four days left to cancel the contract. They give you 30 days to read it over, but of course they don’t give it to you until the last few days. If I had delayed printing it, we have been stuck. Anyway, after a few phone calls we canceled the darn thing. The warranty wasn’t worth the paper I printed it on.  So, now we are able to get back $1600 they were charging for a lifetime warranty which, actually only covered three years of service should we damage the floors. I think our homeowners insurance covers more than that. Buyer beware! It’s unfortunate … but we will not be using Empire Today for the bedrooms reflooring. Nice product, good install but too many shady dealings and puffery. 

After sorting out that, we poured a double and sat on the front porch while Mark smoked a cigar. It was a lovely 70°  





Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Good morning. Of course both Mark and I were up early as we are still walking the dogs across the street, feeding them, etc. I think they are fed up with us by now as they are starting to poop and pee wherever the heck they want in the house. OMG. They are being walked between six times a day; the last one at 10 o’clock and the first one at seven in the morning. We certainly know Lani and Mark don’t walk them any later than that. πŸ€” Oh well, we will get through this and they are expected home Wednesday about 4 o’clock.

I put away the superfluous Christmas items but have left up the two trees and the garland on the fireplace mantle until after New Year’s Eve. We will have about 16 here for a small party. We are all double vaccinated and have boosters. Even at that, we will have doors and windows open. Hey, it’s Florida and it’s going to be 70s New Year’s Eve. 

Mark had an eye doctor appointment to check his eye pressures. He’s using an eye cream to tighten his lower eyelids (fix 1 problem, cause another) and is good til April’s checkup. He’s hoping no surgery … but whamo … this cream is pricey. 

Tonight we sat poolside with Henry and Brady for a couple of hours. It was such a lovely night. 



Pretty clouds on our walks tonight. We’ll be happy to see Lani & Mark tomorrow. 

Monday, December 27, 2021

Monday, December 27, 2021

Good afternoon y’all … we’ve had a fun Christmas! Sue and Wayne left about 8:30 … 

They made a stip at Prevost on the way … home safely by 2:30. We sure had a fun time with them here. Next year will be a bit different with them living half an hour away! 

We’re still dog sitting for Lani & Markymark … they’ll be hime in a couple of days! The pups are teDy to see them; we’ve become old hat. πŸ˜‚

Yesterday, Boxing Day, we took a boat ride down the Dead River. Being a holiday week there were plenty of boats buzxing around the water. 



Wayne with their 3 … Mimi, Shorty and Chikki. It was a nice afternoon. 



Sue and Chikki

Wayne brought pickerel for our dinner last night! It was great! What a treat. Now this afternoon I’m at the chiropractor for a snapping tendon in my neck. It’s intermittent … difficult to treat I bet. No one is wearing a mask (except me) … but they should be! Omicron is in Florida … in fact we’re the USA hotspot this week. πŸ™„

After a dinner of leftovers, Mark and I sat on the front porch for an hour just enjoying the quiet evening. Then it was time to walk the dogs again. It’s now 930 and Mark has gone over to take them out for their last walk of the evening.

Ta ta til tomorrow. 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Christmas day 2021

Merry Christmas. We started our day with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and hashbrowns. Plus, champagne.  



It’s a beautiful morning, and we eat our breakfast in the sunroom. Afterwards, we open the gifts and then sat on the front porch with a 2nd cup of coffee. The leaves were falling from the sycamore tree with a light freeze. Sue and Wayne brought their dogs into the porch and let them enjoy the morning with us. 

We are still dog sitting, so Mark and I went across and fed the dogs. At lunchtime Sue and I went over and sat with Brady and Henry for an hour outside by their pool. It was so pleasant, with the bubbling springs in the pool. 

Back home, we started preparing dinner, prime rib roast with potatoes carrots and onions cooked around it. It will be sautΓ©ed mushrooms as well as gravy and horseradish sauce.  

We had a fun time at Christmas dinner! 

Okay 

Diane got a new selfie stick for Christmas, and we were trying very hard to figure it out. There’s a bit of a learning curve with this one. Lol

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We heard from Susan Wayne that things were not going very well in Canada with the Covid virus. Our thoughts are with you all. 

Friday, December 24, 2021

Friday, December 24, 2021

Happy Christmas Eve y’all. It’s been a busy day around here, but lots of time for socializing.

Tonight we met Randy and Dawn at puddle jumpers on Lake Dora at 5:30. We hadn’t seen them for a while, and won’t be together for Christmas this year. So, it was fun to meet them for dinner and lots of laughs.



It was a beautiful evening, the lake shining in the background. 

As usual, Randy gave us plenty of laughs by accidentally flipping his spoon out of the lobster bisque and onto his shirt.



Ha!

Earlier today, LaDonna and Wayne all came over and we had a visit, sitting in the backyard.


The ceegar smoking section


Sue with Shorty Hot Pants


Wayne with Chikki and Mimi. 

It was a fine day! πŸŽ„ Merry Christmas everyone! 

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Good morning sunshine … baby it’s cold πŸ₯Ά outside! Temps dipped into the 40’s overnight … high of 70 forecast … so we’ll have a bonfire tonight! 

Mark’s cooked up a rash of bacon πŸ₯“ … scrambled eggs … fresh berries for a biggie breakfast! The K’s haven’t appeared yet … must have slept well! 

Today’s “fun” … assemble my new Sunroom spider lamp. It’ll be super over my drafting table and artsy fartsy desk. Also, it can easily be turned for super lighting over the huge table for games etc. The lighting is dimmable! Win win! 




Wayne has plans to go to The Villages this afternoon to get themselves established with services. Perhaps Sue and I will venture out … nope nope nope. Sue is afraid she’d buy something so I’m not allowed to go in either. 🀨

We had plans for LaDonna and Wayno to join us tonight … but she’s been sick this week and was still coughing. I’ll check in tomorrow and see if LaDonna is any better. With Diane and Kris joining us Christmas day we couldn’t risk any upper respiratory problems. 

So, Wayne picked up Stavros for the 4 of us … then played Mexican Dominoes afterward. It was a fun time! 

That’s it for today. 

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Good morning. I was up at 5 AM, Mark left at 5:30 to go hunting with Wayno. It was a chilly morning and I didn’t think they’d stay out so long, but they have been a good six hours already.

I was on dog duty this morning, taking the BOOST dogs out, giving them breakfast, and then out again. Back home, I started the laundry and then cooked eggs for our kids. 

Sue and Wayne left Pompano at 8:30 today, and will be up here for Christmas fun by early afternoon. The driveway is empty ready for their big coach to back in. i’m glad it will be cool this Christmas, as last year was quite warm and we were concerned when they need air conditioning going. We only have 30 A of power here at the house for the RV. We checked into upping the power, but gosh is it expensive! It’s a case of needing to add another line into the house.







Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Welcome Winter Solstice! It was a rainy morning for dog duties. After lunch things cleared up!

Sue and Wayne will be heading our way tomorrow morning! Yay … it’ll be fun to have them on our driveway for a few days!

Mark and I puttered around the house scrubbing grout lines, finishing projects and readying the house for Christmas! 

We phoned Randy and yakked for half an hour or more. Dawn was away picking up Makenna and Charlotte for a sleepover nights til Christmas Eve. (Dawn won $375 at Bingo last week!) They are saving up for their next big vacation.



Watching TV with Henry! πŸ˜‚


Monday, December 20, 2021

Monday, December 20, 2021

Good afternoon! We took a break from dog sitting to celebrate our 29th anniversary of our first date! It was actually Saturday, but we don’t go out on weekends (COVID19). 




So we duplicated our first meal together … Mexican food! The steak fajitas were fantastic! Sol de Mexico πŸ‡²πŸ‡½ has good food and a nice atmosphere. 

Back home, we lit up the house, then went over to Markymark and Lani’s and watched a TV show for an hour with their dogs. It’s definitely keeping us busy.

Sue and Wayne will be arriving on Wednesday, and then Thursday Wayne and LaDonna are coming over. It’s the start of the fun, busy time.

Ho ho ho, it’s a merry Christmas startup. 



Sunday, December 19, 2021

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Good afternoon. We’re into a routine with this dog sitting. Mark was over there at 7:30 to let them out and give them breakfast. I went over at nine with my coffee and let them run around the pool deck for a while. Now, it’s noon and Mark has just gone over to walk them before a rain shower moves over our area.




Mark went to Home Depot to pick up some cement and a few other things he needed and bought a Bono floor mopping system. I’m not sure what he spent for it, but it’s pretty cool. The washing pad is 18 inches wide which is great for our expanse of floors.  And, the floor washing pad is washable and reusable. There are no batteries involved in it, and the bottle of washing fluid is refillable. Sure beats Swiffer with the expensive liquid refill bottle and mopping pads. 

I finished my Christmas wrapping and tidied the house. Carlos takes care of all the vacuuming nowadays, and Mark just tried out his new mop. Except for the kitchen tile and hallway, we are all spiffy clean. Tomorrow’s another day as Nan always said. I’ve been missing her. 

We’re going to Pat n Ken’s for 4 o’clock cocktail hour. The kids are all fed early and walked … so it’s happy hour! 

After our visit and drinks with Pat and Ken, we came home and took the kids for a golf cart ride to look at the Christmas lights around the neighborhood. Some of them are truly spectacular.



Are you ready for Christmas? 



Saturday, December 18, 2021

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Hi there! It’s 7 pm and I finally have Blog time. It’s that busy time of year! Our neighborhood looks very festive … then there’s us. 🀨 I’m not happy about it. 

Mark and Wayno went hiking the forest this morning so it was my job to feed and walk all the doggies! I took my coffee over to the B’s house and drank it watching Telly with the kids. 

After I took the Scotties for a big golf cart ride …



The B’s dogs had their first ride on The Caddy. 



Brady tried to bite me when I sat in front of him. πŸ˜…

After the ride … 

Mark subdivided our Chattahoochee patio … 


Robbie took it in stride … BeeZee became the 
Guard immediately and wouldn’t let Brady near the border. πŸ˜‚ She got squirted with water πŸ’¦ to calm her attitude down. After a few minutes, all was quiet. We sat out with them and enjoyed a drink. 

 

Friday, December 17, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021

It’s 9:30 and all 4 dogs (in two houses) are fed and walked! 

We talked to our neighbors Tim and Iris. Her brother passed away 11 days ago from Covid19. He’d had the J & J vaccine but no booster … thought he had the flu. Iris feels bad that he was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to her asking that he get tested. Well … same ol’ story, he started to feel better for a couple of days; then he couldn’t breathe. Gone before the ambulance got him to the hospital. 

Our dishwasher arrived at nearly 1 o’clock, and by three Mark had it installed. It looks nice, and we are going to run it tonight after we get home from Nancy‘s. Nancy had a wall mural done and we were going over to see it.




In the past we’ve ordered our appliances in “bisque” at an extra price. this time, we’ve gone with the newest color, black stainless, or slate. I think it looks good. Eventually the stove, microwave and fridge will go to that color but for now, they are all working. Fingers crossed. 

It’s been a busy day dog walking and feeding so we are just taking the golf cart and going out for an hour. 😜

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Good evening y’all … we’ve helped our Robbie celebrate his 11th birthday. 


First, Robbie (and BeeZee) had eggs and mixed veggies for breakfast. Then uncle Randy stopped in for an hour’s visit and coffee. 

Mark cooked chicken breasts and we packed a cooler for a boat lunch. 


It was a beautiful 75F afternoon … we cruised about Lake Eustis and checked out the new restaurant being built on the eastern shore. 



We watched flocks of ducks moving as one … hundreds and hundreds of them. Fascinating. 


Mark had BeeZee on his lap the entire time. She likes to sit at the helm. πŸΎπŸ’•

It was a perfect afternoon for the boat lunch of chicken, sharp cheddar cheese and beer. Robs loves chicken … becomes a chomping machine. πŸ˜‚ I think he enjoyed it all. 

Back home, we napped, ate dinner then checked in with Lani & Markymark for instructions on dog feeding. We’re dog sitting their two dogs for 11 days. 












Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

It’s drizzling! That’s rare in these parts. We’re having family time on the front porch with coffee. 



Robbie is keeping an eye on big bird! 

Mark had some alone time in the woods today and took a video of boo-boo bear looking for his mom. It was kind of cute. 

I finally got back to doing a little painting, still blocking in the acrylics before I start the next layer.



It doesn’t look like much yet … 


Mark walked the kids before we went for dinner. These raincoats are great! 

Tonight we met friends at Hurricanes Dockside for dinner on the patio. Our waitress Liz was really good! It was a nice evening. 

Sue and Wayne went to the yacht club for dinner. It was rainy in south Florida today too.

Tomorrow is Robbie’s 11th birthday! We’ll make it a special day πŸ₯³πŸΎπŸ’• .




Monday, December 13, 2021

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Good evening y’all … it’s a busy time of the year! We have a mystery gift (again) this year. πŸ˜‚ A package addressed to me was delivered outside the front porch last night. Mark noticed it this morning. 

I opened it of course as it was addressed to me. It’s a lovely Life Wit soft-sided cooler. We love it … and it’ll be very useful between boating and RVing but there was no sender and no note inside. 🀷‍♀️

When I asked Tiffany and Matt if they’d sent it she reminded me that this happened last year! πŸ€” So, I asked Bonnie and Roger, nope, not them … Sue and Wayne, no … Pam? Nope. So I give up … someone will ask someday if we received it. Thank you! It’s great! 


This is what the bag looks like! Very nice! 


So, we just sold our 8x10 Milan shag carpet … and here’s the pictures of the Sunroom floor. 



No carpets needed … no echo! 


We painted one wall a pretty blue! 





Sunday, December 12, 2021

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Good morning! Our work crew was here at 8:10 and at 10 o’clock, are nearly finished the sunroom! Mark and I will be busy washing the floor and then moving furniture around. Then, all the windows need to be washed. We can’t wait to get back to normal. It’s been a big big project.

Well, it’s now bedtime and we have put the sunroom back together. Pictures tomorrow.

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Good evening y’all. It’s been a busy day! Mark was off to the woods with his buddies very early. I had to be up too. The workers were expected to finish our Sunroom floor today. They couldn’t though … the floor was still wet from their “floating.” 🀷‍♀️ Although I don’t speak Portuguese, I understood the boss Luis wasn’t happy. So, more fans are aimed at the puddle.  Hopefully tomorrow we will get it all finished. It’s been a big job. 

I wrapped Christmas presents … then, when Mark got home again, we both painted the Sunroom walls. It’s nice and fresh now! 

That’s it. We’re worn out. 

Friday, December 10, 2021

Friday, December 10, 2021

It’s four in the morning and the household is awake with a barfing BeeZee. Poor Scottie. Two possibilities … chicken livers or ??? I was already up, reading in the living room when I heard the retching … then Mark in the kitchen. Ha! 

After a quick cleanup, I asked Mark to take Bee out front for a quick pee. He did … then was staggering back to bed in his red underwear and camo hat. Hahaha. I wanted to take his picture, but … πŸ˜‚

There were no workers today so we went Christmas shopping! It was a 5 store stop! Back home, Markymark popped over with homemade cheese balls! (Very good!) 


Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Good morning. It’s a good thing we finished up last night as the work crew was here at 8:15. They are quite impressive, moved all the sunroom furniture to one end and sealed it off with plastic sheets from the ceiling down. Maybe, just maybe, it won’t be dusty in here for years. LOL



Perfect day for this!



Empire Today rocks! 

Mark has gone to UPS store, Beall’s and the lical liquor store. I am home, making sure we have everything we need for this tile removal. what a shame I had to come up, but there are some surface cracks in it and it’s time to update the house with new materials.  

When Mark got home we walked around back to see the job progression. 



The tile is coming up nicely! Misting the tile before he shovels it up keeps the dust to a minimum! I’m impressed with this company! 



Looking good! 

The next crew is here to ‘float the Sunroom floor’ πŸ₯° … it must be within 1/8” inch level to lay the planks. 🀷‍♀️ 



Apparently, that is a pour. Tomorrow, they will finish the other half of it and then once it’s dry, lay the planks.

Meanwhile, we had a couple of drinks on the front porch and enjoyed a surprise rain. It’s been dry for so long, it was just nice to see. Mark has a touch of poison ivy sure, took some Benadryl, and has now headed to bed. I hope he feels better in the morning. 

Sue and Wayne had an evening at the yacht club. Their report their house is in a muddle as they pack. Never mind, we aren’t even moving and we are in a muddle. LOL

Randy and Dawn are staying at their friend Dan’s house. He had surgery today and they are there helping out. What great friends they are.

That’s it for today. I hope you had a wonderful day and are getting into the festive spirit.  πŸŽ„





Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Good morning! It’s going to be a busy day at our lowly house today. Mark’s nailing the wainscoting and trim (behind the curio cabinets) … laying the area rug … table and chairs back into the room! THEN we prep the Sunroom for tile removal!!!

Mark and I worked at this all day, then met Wayne and LaDonna at Stavros for dinner. We brought home a pizza for tomorrow! Our pals came over and helped us finish up emptying the top shelf of the sunroom, and then taping down heavy plastic to keep the dust out of the house and covering the sofa, desks and art curios! 



Monday, December 6, 2021

Monday, December 6, 2021

Empire’s team arrived at 8:45 … assessed the job and began! There were a few minor changes but overall, good. 


The laminate is gone! 



The laying of the new super-duper flooring! Love it 😍 

Since Empire no longer does baseboards, Mark ran to Home Depot, bought scads of it and the guys are putting in on for us! 

Mark decided to move the A/C vent … 



The vent on the left will be drywalled in, and the one on the right will be expanded! Good idea Marky!




Arriving with more baseboards! The old trailer comes in handy! (Again!)

The workers … Lu, Jorge, Jorge and Philippe were terrific. They sure worked hard! They left at 4 and by 6:30 we had the living room reorganized. 



BeeZee and Robbie are happy to be out of our bedroom after being sequestered. They had a couple of walks and a golf cart ride! 

Ta ta til tomorrow. 

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Sunday, December 5, 2021

Good afternoon y’all … we’ve readied our home for new flooring … and what a muddle! 


The guest room is crammed … 


No artwork being done for a few days!


It looks like a “tor-nader” πŸŒͺ went through our place!


The curios are emptied and pulled apart … and we have a wall to complete with wainscoting and paint. 


The Sunroom is emptied! 



Plants tossed outside … 

OMG 😳