Thursday, September 29, 2022

Good afternoon. All’s well at our home following Hurricane Ian’s path across Florida. Areas of southwest Florida have been hit badly. Reports and pictures show major devastation. Build back will be smarter and stronger as storms become more intense. 

Meanwhile, Florida memes 🌪

The wind and rain left by 3:30 and we put our yard art and plants back in place. Tonight it’ll be cigars on the porch … wearing jackets! 

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Good evening. This is going to be a rather quick blog, as we are both worn out tonight.

Mark‘s ectropion surgery on his left eye went very very well today. He did not need a skin graft as initially thought. He will have a 10 day recovery time with an eyepatch. 

It was a rainy drive home with feeder bands from the hurricane Ian. There is no follow up appointment until next week, so we can just hunker down and relax for the next two days.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Good evening. Mark and I are just on our way home from Applebee’s where we enjoyed burger night. We were at our local one, Sue and Wayne and Diane and Kris are having dinner at their Applebee’s in the villages. 

Tomorrow is Mark’s surgery! His left eye, a 2 1/2 hour surgery, begins at 1:30. Our friend Nancy will be coming in for the dogs a few times during the day. She sure does love them! (We know she really misses her Kachina.) 

All our weather stations are on hurricane Ian The spaghetti models have it going all over, so it is too early to get overly concerned about it. In any event, we live in the middle of the state, on fairly high ground. You just can’t get safer than that in Florida. Anyway, we have our bottled water and extra food supplies plus a generator and fuel for it if needed. This is not our first rodeo, and hopefully not our last. Ha ha. if it comes a Shore where they expect, we could get 5 to 8 inches of rain. Even if it was 12 inches of rain, in our immediate area, that’s not a big deal. We will put an extra line on the boat and remove the sun cover from the truck. Then, I have to bring in my potted plants. They won’t come in the house, but just be on the floor in the front porch.

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Good afternoon. It’s actually a cloudy day here, so we got up and decided to go bowling, just the 2 of us. There was a big tournament going on, but we were given lane six and played three games before ordering lunch. It was a lot of fun, but my average is not improving. Ha ha. I think the goal of this is to improve … so I am working on one thing at a time. This time was to be consistent with my starting point. Mark felt that the lane six has a crest in the middle of it. It’s very possible as the balls tended to roll toward the side. 

When we got home, we had an invitation from Nancy that she had put the pool heater on and we could go swimming. Mark prefers working in the yard so I will take the dogs and go over for a couple of hours. 

We had fun! The Scotties got dipped and paddled a few feet … then ran around the pool deck playing! Nancy, Mary and I swam and yakked. It was 88 degrees and 82 in her pool. Perfect afternoon. 

It was nonstop football when the kids and I got home. 

Ha! Robbie and Mark ‘watching’ a game. Zzz

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Good morning. It is a bright beautiful breezy start to our Saturday. Mark and Bob are off archery hunting in the Ocala forest. They are going to enjoy it as the weather is cooler. 

So, Mark and I had planned to pull the RV out and stay in Ocala near the surgery center for Tuesday’s operation. Well … 

It’s looking like we’ll have a bit of a blow on Wednesday/Thursday according to the storm track. Five years ago we had Irma passed right over our house! It could well be that Ian passes over us too! Time will tell, but I have canceled our RV reservations and we will leave it safely tucked into its port for the duration. Hopefully, Mark‘s eye surgery will not be postponed. The next available date was January 19! 🥺

Sue and Wayne have arrived back home safely! Yay! 

Tonight Nancy is coming over for wine and to watch Skinwalker with us. 

Friday, September 23, 2022

Good afternoon. Yesterday, the day just flew past. Mark and I went to a homeowners association meeting at 2 o’clock. It was good, a lot of talk about the upcoming adjacent neighborhood. Tonight, we are going to a meeting with the developer along with folks from five adjoining neighborhoods. I bet it gets a little rowdy. 

Today, Mark‘s hunting partner Bob went to the woods to set up a stand. He’s a bit late, but it has been busy at his place lately. (Archery season starts tomorrow.) Anyway, he called Mark within the hour that his truck was stuck, and stuck badly.

Mark and Da Mounty worked an hour with Bob before a couple in a Jeep pulled up. Their fun is helping out in the forest. 

The rescuers! It was a big job! Bob’s truck was sitting on the frame with the front wheels sucked into the clay. (I told Bob he’s not allowed to go to the woods by himself again.) 😂

It’s been a sad week for all who knew Chessy and devastating for Aurelia and Tony. 💔 The wee guy was failing quickly. They tried everything with their vet to ease his suffering, but in the end, the decision was made. 🐾 Run free Chessy at the Rainbow 🌈 Bridge. 

2011 Oklahoma City … the K’s delivering Chessy (Sue’s holding him) to Tony & Aurelia in Winnipeg. It’s a poignant picture as the only dog still with us in this picture is Robbie (now nearly 12) on my lap. 💔 

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

It’s evening already and we’re just home from LaPalma in Leesburg for friends night out. Tonight, 4 are missing … Pat and Ken have company, and Elaine and Roger stayed home with her recovering from Covid.

The group started off with three for one margaritas! There are different flavors, and you can mix and match with your order. 

Nancy had passion fruit, mango, and lime margaritas. There was a mix of flavors available. At the end of a very good dinner, Mary ordered flan which we shared around the table. It was delicious.

Sue and Wayne are in Nashville tonight and had their dinner at Outback. They will take a break and stay there another night before heading home.

Chiki Wee Monkey was Wayne’s co-pilot today 🐾🥰

Nice campground! 

Well, the dogs are looking at me and telling me it’s bedtime. So often I go to tuck everyone in. Ta ta. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Good morning. It’s just another day in paradise, with the lawn service working outside, and Mark taking a load of tree debris to the dump. That’s how we roll around here. While he is out I am washing the floors and getting ready to run some errands myself.

Last night, Nancy went with us to Applebee’s went for our standing planned burger night. Robbie and BeeZee treated from their allowance!  (They enjoyed her looking after them Friday night.) After dinner, Nancy came over and we watched two episodes of “the secret of Skinwalker Ranch“ … fabulous program. We are in two season three, actually watching it for the second time.

So today we took a ride to the villages and finished everything up on Sue and Wayne‘s house. There were just a few bits here and there to do … touch up paint around the shower … caulking a door sweep … sweeping the driveway and things like that. I hope they will be delighted when they get home with all the improvements.

After that, we went to Publix and got our flu shots. They never bother me, but wow, this one hit a nerve. I even winced and tonight my arm is sore. Dawn always describes her flu shots like this. Now I know what she’s talking about. Ouch. 

Back home, we had an easy dinner and then Mark went outside and cut another limb on the big camphor tree! Bit by bit, it’s coming down. We didn’t plant this one, but it’s a shame to lose a tree that must be 50 some years old. Unfortunately, its roots are right where we are putting the septic field.

That’s it for tonight. 

Monday, September 19, 2022

Today we celebrated Diane‘s birthday at Eaton’s Beach on Lake Weir. 

Thanks Kris! It was a fun lunch and good food!🥳

It’s a neat place!

Just havin’ fun! 

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Good afternoon. It’s been a day and a half of catching up around the house. We had the soil test done Friday for the new septic system. There were a few surprises such as where our current field is located. It turns out it is under the gravel patio. Who knew? Our water table is 36 inches, so there will have to be a lift station from the septic tank to the field. More money invested. 💩 

The soil scientist hit a few tree roots when looking for a new area for the field. The big camphor tree by the shed needs to come down! 

See the blue dot? That’s my fearless elevator guy up there with masses of rigging set up! 

Who’s the MAN! 

Tonight … dinner at the lanes! 

Friday, September 16, 2022

Good afternoon y’all … our friend Nancy offered to dog sit tonight so we could party it up in the city beautiful. 

Well, that was fun. Kim was totally surprised and her daughter Heather had the penthouse decorated fabulously.

As you can see, it was a disco era bash. 🕺 

Plenty of high energy dancing 😂

There were 12 partiers … down to 11 by 10 o’clock. 🤪 We carried on until just after midnight, then headed to our hotel room.

It was a nice place to stay, and then we went for a “insiders breakfast” with Kim and Bob!

Kim Bob rode home with us, haven’t gone to the party in a limo. It was a bit of a letdown to come home in our Kia 😂 

Nancy did a great job keeping the Scotties busy! They had walked her street and watered every mailbox! They slept so well, she had to wake them Saturday morning.  

 

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Good morning sunshine! I woke to Mark cooking a batch of veggies for the kids. They’re enjoying the Crockpet Diet …

Cleaning the crockpot bowl after the batch of chicken and veggies cooked. 😋 

The K’s are on the way to Winnipeg for vet follow-up appointments today. The weather’s turned cold and rainy so it’s time to make like the snowbirds and start south. 

Things are happening next door! Flooring was ripped out and trash hauled away 2 days ago … yesterday lawn care arrived and somehow managed to cut the backyard’s 18” grass! Today, a crew of 5 arrived with multiple pressure washers! Yay! 

Mark decided to try out his new chainsaw that arrived a couple of days ago. The old one broke after about 15 years. Hopefully this new one will hold up well. 

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Good evening! It was a good day all in all. Nancy offered to check in on our kids while Mark and I went to the K’s to hang the shower curtain. 

That’ll work! If they want a fancy glass door … later … 😉 they’ll order it 

Then, Mark and I were off to Ocala Eye center for his appointment. It’s a beautiful office, within a shopping mall area. Pretty unique. Anyway, the doctor specialist will be able to do Mark’s specialty surgery he needs, and had a surgery cancellation for late September … Yay! On the hour’s drive home, we ran into heavy rain on I 75. Other than that, all was well and the doggies were very happy to see us when we got home. (Apparently Nancy set off the alarm, thought she shut it off but had to run back again to the keypad! Pretty comical.)

Tonight, we walked the doggos and talked to Pat for a few minutes. After, we sat on the front porch for an hour and had a drink and cigar. It was a very nice evening. 

Tuesday September 13, 2022

Good evening! We planned a big golf cart ride tonight right after our dog walk … but thunder was rumbling nearby. The rain never came … and the storm evaporated. 🤷‍♀️

So, we’re having a quiet evening in front of the Telly. I had a fun afternoon though! Carol hosted game day at her Scottish Highlands home. She goes all out with food for us. 😍 I played Phase 10 with Lynn, Pat, Sharon and Carol. It’s a long game … so we’ve decided to make the Skip cards also Wild cards. That’ll  speed it up. 😂  The rest of the girls, Nancy, Suzanne, Cheri and Rose played Mexican dominoes. They must have had fun as they were sure loud. 😂

Monday, September 12, 2022

Geez, this month of September is zipping by! 

Hey Wiley! 😂

So this evening, our friend Nancy picked us up and we met Randy and Dawn at Applebee’s for Monday burgers. It was great. When we came back home, Mark and I sat out front while he enjoyed a cigar. It was 77° and just lovely. Fall has arrived. 

Mark‘s new chainsaw arrive today, so I know what there will be some more backyard trimming in his future.  

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Good morning. It’s Patriots’ Day here in the United States. It’s a day when we will remember the attacks of 911 and our response.

Mark left early for the woods today, alone, but wanted to get some hiking in. It is a beautiful morning in the mid 70s. I saw one friend posted pictures from the forest with migrating birds. St. Germain, as I don’t think they’ve had any cold temperatures up north yet. Anyway, the birds know something and they are migrating.

Sue and Wayne should be migrating south soon too. Ha ha. Shorty Hot Pants wasn’t well yesterday and Wayne had to take him into a Winnipeg vet. I hope he is on the mend. Sue said he slept well. 

KimBob invited us to the pool for the inauguration swim! We had champagne … and brought Kim a birthday present. It was a fun afternoon. 

Tonight the K’s are at Rose’s for dinner. RanDawn called … they were sitting on the dock watching the lightning. We’ll see them tomorrow for dinner. 

That’s it for tonight. 

Friday, September 9, 2022

Good morning. I spent an hour on the phone with Good Sam insurance. We have our RV and all our vehicles insured with them. This year it went up $600. That is a whole lot of money on our budget. After talking and changing coverage from stacked to unstacked, we saved about $300 off the increase. 🤔 

See evening, we met LaDonna and Wayne at Applebee’s for dinner. Afterwords, they came back here and we enjoyed the front porch with the doggies and cigars. It was a really nice evening.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Good morning clouds! It’s a great day on our street … some ne’er do wells left last night! 

Open the champagne 🥂 🍾 and 🥳 … 😂 (I’ll give a brief explanation … husband, wife and cute dog buy house in 2014 … husband is terminally ill and allowed ne’er do well son and wife to move in (just til they get on their feet) … owner dies in 2016 with useless, nasty son/wife still mooching off them. The ne’er do wells ‘control’ Shelby’s life … take her car away but treat themselves to a new car … use her husband’s life insurance money to buy brand new work truck and trailer … but never goes to work. The house goes into disrepair and the hoarders line up old broken down junkers on the driveway.) 

Regardless of the stories ne’er do well told, he lost his mom’s house to foreclosure. It’s sad. Shelby and her little dog will be in an old 5th wheel stuck with them. 🥲

So, I happened 😂 to be outside trimming plants when the investor, Scott, stopped to talk. He was looking to flip the house and sell it to a rental company, but after having a look around the property and talking with us he thinks he will sell it to a family. That would be wonderful for the hood. 

By the way, bingo last night at the Tavares Dog House was so much fun. Anna and Steve set it up, and new neighbors Christine and Mike joined in the fun. Yeah yeah yeah, I forgot to take pictures. So, there was Anna, Steve, Mike, Christine, Kim, Bob, Lynn, and us. Lynn won one of the raffles. 🥰

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Good evening y’all. We were off to K’s today and finished the shower plumbing.

Mark did a good job getting everything hooked up while I went for missing parts. Hey, the showerhead didn’t come with a flange. Why? 🤷‍♀️ Lowes had a choice of one that was brushed nickel. Sold. Then, Mark needed screws 1/4” longer … so that was a trip to Ace. It’s done! 

Wayne had ordered a box of HVAC filters which the neighbor put in the garage. Nice. Mark replaced the filter. ✅ Another wee job done. We were happy to see all the new plants doing well. 

Back home, it was catch up on the regular chores. I bought the nicest planter for Kim’s birthday and filled it with colorful succulent plants. Hope she likes it for her patio table. Her birthday is on the 16th I think. 

Tony and Aurelia have arrived at Sue & Wayne’s in their motorhome for a few days visit. They all went to 901 for dinner. Glad that restaurant survived the pandemic shutdown. 

Tomorrow morning I’m going with a couple of folks from our neighborhood to hearing about a new 164 planned unit development adjacent to our ‘hood. You can’t stop progress, but you can certainly ask for a traffic light and improved roads. We shall see what happens.

That’s it for today. Ta ta til tomorrow. 🥰

Monday, September 5, 2022

Good morning! Happy Labor Day! Up north this is the unofficial end of summer. Being a transplant, I put my autumn decorations on display. 🍁 Here in Central Florida there is a slight change in our weather pattern. 

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Good morning sunshine! It’s a great day for bowling! We puttered about getting our daily jobs done between peering out the windows at our neighbors moving. They’ve been here 8 years and ruined that house! Not a stitch of maintenance has been done. It needs a roof, stucco repair, septic field, windows, exterior paint, water treatment system … and that’s without walking inside! 

This afternoon Mark and I went to the bowling alley for lunch and to bowl two games. I am starting to get used to my new ball and enjoying it a lot more. We were on Lane number #13, and it was almost impossible to get a Strike. It was rather funny! 

This evening, after dinner, we walked the dogs and got invited in at KimBob‘s for a beer and to see how they’re cool project is turning out. It looks great. The screens are up and the pavers all down where they need to be. 

Sue and Wayne are having some work done on their cottage porch. The weather has turned cooler, so it’s a good time to get it done. 

Ya gotta break some eggs to make an omelette as LaDonna says. 😂

Saturday September 3rd, 2022

Good afternoon y’all. Congratulations to Aurelia and Tony on the purchase of their big-ass MOTORHOME!

Hope we’ll see you in Florida this winter! Cheers to safe and happy travels! 

Mark had some fun today! He used Bob’s target 🎯 for his bow and arrows. It’s a nice day here … mid 80’s. ARTEMIS is scheduled to launch 🚀 in an hour … so going to watch it if our clouds go away! 

Ru roh

Nancy was walking by tonight when we called her in for a glass of wine. That was about 7 o’clock, and we extended our front porch evening until 10 o’clock. We had so much fun! 🤪

Friday, September 2, 2022

Happy birthday Aurelia. We are celebrating for you at Applebee’s tonight. Lol

So glad Chessy is feeling better. 🐾🥰

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Good morning. I’m actually writing this on Friday morning as Thursday just got away on me.

Mark and Wayne spent their morning tracking around the woods. It was quite a nice morning, weatherwise. They have been seeing a lot of bear, and not many deer. 

Last night I went to Cheri’s for a very small Yaya’s group. We are used to having 20 or 22, but since Covid, we are lucky to get 9 together! Is it just another thing that COVID19 has changed? Anyway, last night‘s theme was to come dressed as what your dream job would be. So, I went dressed as a pirate. 😂🏴‍☠️ Hey, I always liked boating so it’s a natural. 😂 Most of the girls participated. Pat always wanted to be a dancer and was dressed to the nines including a belly dancer style belt. Trina, a very tiny woman, wanted to be a jockey and came appropriately dressed along with the whip.😂 We had some fun with that I can tell you. Cheri played a 60’s hippie and had the music 🎶 going. Lynn was a tennis player, Rose a dog groomer, Nancy a suffragette and Donna … ???  Cheri had lasagna, a big garden salad, and a Publix raspberry cream cake. it was a fun evening, and eventually conversation lead to the rezoning variance signs posted near our community entrance.

The variance, if passed, would change zoning on the redlined area from agricultural to residential allowing 264 new homes abutting one of our neighborhood streets. Our HOA will attend the zoning meeting. I outlined our ‘hood in purple. 

So, that was our day! Welcome September!  🍁