April's End ... 4/30/16

Good morning. Yes, it was a front door open kind of day until 930 when we left for the post office and Bowling. Once again, eBay came through with a sale, a $12 brooch. 

Sue and Wayne are in Stuart Florida for an RV weekend getaway. It would have been nice to meet them, but we have so many things in the air right now. Mark is getting very antsy to have the boathouse repairs done already. Next month, tomorrow, we began a month long siege of doctor appointments. Yuck. 

Randy is painting at Dawn's house today. He's working on fiddly shutters; the kind with plenty of angled louvers. He plans to cook a turkey breast tonight, and invite us over. Well, that's the tentative plan.

We know our pal Scott is working on his driveway project. We are hoping that he will be able to sell that home shortly and move up to our Central Florida area.

Last night, after I finished the blog, Robbie and BeeZee went into such a fun dog run, they had us laughing for 10 minutes! The carpets were flying. LOL. 

Mark had two good games of bowling today although he was upset with himself for open frames. Alas, that's why it's a challenging game. Ha ha. I was able to manage a 8 pound ball, not well, but I did exercise my hand.

Of course when I was ready to get a picture of Mark's turkey, it didn't happen!

Darn. Sorry, I jinxed ya. LOL

Oops, double jinx!

Dawn and Randy had an offer of dinner out with Dan to P F Chang's ... so we're going to take ourselves out to Red Lobster. So there! 

Jim phoned around 3:30 and chatted with us both. His treatment (the same as President Jimmy Carter's) is going very well with tolerable side affects. (Very good news!) We're looking forward to visiting with him in June and seeing "the Lodge!" Thanks for the pick me up call Jim ... and good luck Thursday!

Red Lobster got it right tonight. Dinner was very good! Mark had salmon and shrimp with calabrese salad ... I had a lobster tail, scallops and shrimp with a Caesar salad. And, we shared a brownie with ice cream! Delicious! Our waitress asked what we were celebrating ... and we said "Life!"  Haha. And, it's Saturday!

Back home, we played with the doggies and then watched President Obama at the Correspondent Dinner. He apologized for being late and said he was running on CPT. LOL. Ya gotta love his humor! I'm going to miss this President. 

How was your Saturday?

Backing In ... 4/29/16

Good morning! What's with this foggy start to our day? We enjoyed the front door open until 930 ... then it was time to back the RV into it's port. Ha ha. Easier said than done! Mark had lined up the RV absolutely perfectly when he backed into the driveway earlier in the week. Somehow, we got a little bit crooked and clipped the edge of the RV awning with the edge of the roof about 30 feet into the port. Crap. 

One job leads to another. Hopefully, it's not going to be too big a deal to fix. But for now, it's in the port and put away, mostly ready for the next RV trip ... hopefully in June sometime. 

Speaking of June, Bonnie and Roger are coming to visit the first part of the month. Yay! They have a family reunion in North Carolina on June 5th. It's going to be so much fun to see them. Mrs. R. B. will be back in the boathouse by then!

We are not impressed with St. John's Insurance thus far! Our household claim is now 12 days old, and we don't have approval for the fire repair as yet. When it happened, they said 7 to 10 days. It seems the adjuster, Stephanie, hasn't gotten the quote into them yet. 

Mark hung the (new) mermaid at the Sunroom bar today ... right at happy hour! LOL

Yes honey, I'm done with the sunroom redecorating. LOL. Ha ha. We sat at the bar and admired our decorating work.

Robbie had been digging in the sand under the patio bar so Mark cut a plywood base for it. Voila. The little digger will be much cleaner now. Haha. 

Well that was our day. How was yours?

Lodge Border & Game Day ... 4/28/16

It's a great day in the neighborhood! Yes, it's a front door open kind of morning, but predicted to be very hot by 4 o'clock! The calendar says spring, but with a hint of summer in the air. Mark cooked us some kielbasa and eggs for breakfast ... and an egg for Belize and Robbie to share! After some doggy kisses and snuggles, they wanted their walk.

Jill sent an email last night with a photo of Sadie sporting her summer haircut. 

Lookin' good Miss Sadie! Jill and Bob have their November travel scheduled. (I bet Sadie doesn't know!) LOL. They're flying into South Carolina for Randy & Dawn's marriage, then joining them on the honeymoon cruise. (We'll have a few nights with all 4 of them before the ship leaves!) That'll be a booze cruise!

Our plans today include wallpapering ... which might include cussing ... and game day for me at Rose's house. 

First, off with the old !!!

Yank it. LOL

The fun part, right Marky?

The RV is surprisingly square!

My happy camper loves the lodge border!

We finished in time for me to attend game day at 1 o'clock. Yay!

Anita made a great Rummikube play ...

We were all laughing and cheering. Rose, across the table, was hostess. She had great snacks! (And no bake peanut butter pretzel chocolate bars!) It was so much fun! I wasn't drinking wine ... and won 4 rounds! They're insisting I drink with them next game day. Ha ha. 

I arrived home at 4:30 ... Mark had cleaned up our RV muddle and hauled the boathouse fire trash out. Nice! Randy phoned and had just finished up at Dawn's house for the day so I suggested he pop in for a cold beer. He did and had a Clamato and beer with Mark. 

Tonight, Alone and Blacklist are on the Telly. So, it's snuggle buggle time with the pups. Ta Ta!

Mrs R B ... 4/27/16

Good morning. It's a beautiful front door open kind of day. First on the agenda is to drop Mrs R. B. at Paul's Marine in Tavares. Rain is expected later today, so better to get it there early. Right?

Although there was damage in the Midwest from tornadoes, it wasn't the widespread devastation expected. Thank heaven for the mercies. Bonnie had 50 to 90 mile per hour straight-line winds but nothing personally damaged. She said it was a very creepy night with the tornado sirens going off almost constantly! (Been there, heard that, and agree. It's very eerie!) Friday, Oklahoma is expected to be hit with more severe storms.

The owner, Paul, met us when we dropped off our boat at his shop. He seems very knowledgeable. Our poor boat will be exposed to the weather for the next two or three weeks while repairs are done. Paul assured us it would be completely detailed after work was completed. 

Next, Mark and I stopped in at Simplex to sign the work order. Tom had already sent his men over to begin the work. Great service! Of course roof pans must be ordered, so that will take a few days. All in all, I expect we will be busy with this repair project for about a month. (When we arrived home Belize was raising hell, barking at the back door. Not Robbie though he was calm ... just lettin' his girl do the tough work!) 

Since the RV was out on the driveway, we worked on our projects. I had purchased new bedding, and made new curtains for the RV bedroom.

The new picture hanging above the bed box lights up. (Ambience, as Randy says.) Yep! Mood lights. Actually, it's pretty difficult to find horizontal, small artwork. Anyway, it was the right size, and color. I was able to find coordinating bathmats, so have a complete ensemble. Lovely. LOL. 

Three mats are stacked, so it looks a little weird right now. Ha. 

Mark began working on the kitchen drawer. One of the slides had broken. He bought a replacement slide at Home Depot. But, when he attempted to install it, there was another piece that he should have purchased. Clearly, they should be sold in a package! So, I'm taking a break with an ice pack on my ankle while he went to Home Depot for the necessary part. 

The RV fiddling continues. I hung new mercury glass lights along the kitchen slide cornice. 

They have a lovely soft glow. 

Rick phoned while I was drilling pilot holes for hooks for the light strings. He's missing our warm weather ... and still hoping to buy the "project house!" I needed an (easy) appetizer recipe and he gave me one that Ruth made last week. Sounds delicious! hopefully we can hook up while he's at the lake in July. 

Meanwhile, Bonnie, Roger and their 4 "pups" might be coming for a visit about the end of May or early June. We're hoping the boat will be back by then so we can do a little pontooning! Fun!

Tonight's dinner was BBQ'd pork loin and broccoli potatoes. (I had 2 helpings!) Yes, it was good. While I cleaned up the dishes, Mark went back to the RV to wrestle with the drawer tracks. I guess tomorrow we will attempt the new wallpaper border! Here's hoping it sticks! (Years ago I installed wallpaper only to find it curled up on the floor in the morning.) I hadn't sized the wall. I plan to do a test piece and check it later.

It's now 6:45 and I'm sitting on the front porch with the Scotties enjoying a diet Sunkist orange over ice. Although it's still 80°, it's lovely. Well that's it for today. Tata. I hope you had a very good Wednesday.

Movin' Toys ... 4/26/16

Good morning y'all. It's a lovely day in the Central Florida area. Our thoughts are with our friends in Oklahoma and family in the Midwest as powerful storms develop. 18 million folks are in the pathway ... and nature. 

Randy arrived at 9 o'clock to help Mark shimmy the boat trailer through the RV Port. Of course nothing goes exactly to plan, but they got it done! By 1 o'clock, the boat was on the trailer and Randy assisted Mark in wrapping up the canvas for the ride back home. The plan is to pressure clean the pontoons before she goes in for insurance repairs and service.

Randy and Dawn are making their elopement plans for November. Since it's not a secret NATO crypto elopement, I can mention it. They thought they had better get jiggy with it as Bob and Jill have already booked their flight into Charleston, South Carolina for the event. LOL. Folly Island beach will be the site of the nuptials. Of course, Mark and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I called a couple of campgrounds in the area and found one about 15-20 minutes away. That'll be perfect for us.

This afternoon, a package is arriving with decor for my sunroom refresh project. It'll be nice to get that finished, and then tomorrow, start on my RV refresh project. Hey, if you're not redoing things, you're not living! LOL. Mark and I have a new lodge-style wall border to paste in the kitchen and eating area; string lights on the kitchen slide wall, a new picture to hang plus a new clock. YEEHAW. 

I love the ombré glass vases! Too bad the mermaid's tail is broken. I'll phone Hobby Lobby.com tomorrow. 

Otherwise, I'm delighted with what I bought for the Sunroom. 

We're sitting with the doggies tonight, watching Telly. Meteorologists are tracking volatile storms in tornado alley. Prayers for those in the region Ta Ta TIL tomorrow. 

Monday ... 4/25/16

Good day, eh? It's phone call mania for moi. Fairbanks Construction built our Temo Sunroom about 10 years ago. It came with a lifetime warranty and it's ready for tune-up repairs. 

Since we haven't had an insurance claim before, we were unsure as to the schedule of work. Does the insurance company send us a check? Do they pay the repair companies directly? Tom from Simplex will be here tomorrow with a contract to repair the boathouse structure. New bracing will be done tomorrow and 13 roof pans ordered. Once Simplex is finished (a week?), a restoration company will repair the concrete and boathouse fence and landscaping. 

While I finished with the sunroom decor,  Mark readied the boat trailer for hauling tomorrow. We decided on Paul's Boat and RV Repair in Mount Dora; highly recommended by Progressive Insurance. Apparently, the boat will be there 2 to 3 weeks. Everything will be done in that one location ... convenient.

Our new Tiki umbrella arrived today! It's nice! 

As you see, Mark had two helpers. Haha. 

Sue and Wayne had some excitement in their Pompano Beach neighborhood today. A small Beechcraft airplane with three on board crashed into several homes in the Harbor Village area! 

All three are in critical condition with severe burns. I'm sure that shook up the entire neighborhood. The small plane had taken off from Pompano Beach airport just moments before!

My thought was interrupted by Mark jogging through the house with the dogs. LOL. It's a fun game they play several times a week. 

Randy will be over early tomorrow to help Mark move the boat trailer from the backyard. We have to move the RV out, and then push the boat trailer through the RV port. Fun huh? 

That's it for today. I hope your Monday was good! Ta Ta. 

Projects ... 4/24/16

Good morning! Yep, it's a gorgeous day, again! It's a fine day for puttering with projects and just letting the day unfold. 

Well, it's now 11:30 PM and the day unfolded. LOL. We puttered on projects, Mark repainted the desk and mirror and put a first coat on the coffee table. We really like the color in that room. At 3 o'clock, we made a run to home depot for new knobs and a few other things. Randy called about 530, suggesting we meet at Stavros for dinner. That sounded perfect. 

At 6:30, we met for dinner. Randy and Dawn shared a pizza, while Mark and I had Shrimp Alfredo and Chicken Parmesan. Their food is very delicious! Randy and Dawn came back for a visit with the dogs and drinks. The final hockey game between the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers resulted in an Islanders win. Whaa waa waaaa! 

Meanwhile, Mz BeeZee had a big snuggle with her sweet uncle Randy. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Robs snuggled with his daddy.

It's a ruff life! LOL

Well, it's too bad the Panthers lost. But that means the Islanders won. Yeehaw! As  Mark says, now it's time to root for the Tampa Bay Lightning. What the H happened to our Canadian hockey teams?  Well that's it for tonight. I hope your Sunday was terrific.

Bowling? ... 4/23/16

We had a quenching rain overnight ... now the front door is open to the freshest air possible. 100% paradise (not 99% like yesterday!) Ha. No appointments today; nothing scheduled. It's a perfect Saturday waiting to unfold. (Of course Mz BeeZee's on my lap.)

I see from K's morning's text that Shorty Hot Pants enjoyed breakfast out ... and a ride in his Kandy Ko Ko. Lucky boy!

Two eggs, extra bacon and a rawhide please. LOL

By 1 o'clock, Mark and I had bowled a game, bought paint for my Sunroom project, and shopped for knickknacks. It's the 20th annual Leesburg bike fest weekend and there are motorcycles everywhere! With this perfect weather, they are assured a great turnout. We noticed a lot of boats on Lake Eustis! 

At the bowling alley, we ordered a nacho supreme platter. (Next time, I will ask for the chips separately.) It was delicious, but difficult to eat. When I threw my bowling ball right handed, I felt a searing pain go through my hand and wrist. Rather than not bowl, I decided to use my left hand. Of course that meant a mirror image of everything I usually do. Generally, that's not much of a problem for me. But I did have a crazy hook with my left hand. It will definitely need some practice if I'm to be a left-handed bowler. LOL. Mark had a very good game, in the 170s. Not too shabby for three weeks off from bowling! 

And so the project begins! Hey! That's not a nice face Marky!

After the first coat on the desk, we decided to take Mrs. R B to Crazy Gators for an early supper. Downtown Eustis has music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend at Ferran Park for bike week. It seemed like a good time to enjoy the park and see the sights! However, the boat didn't start. At first, Mark thought it was a sterndrive issue as it wouldn't tilt. After playing with that for a few minutes, he discovered the battery was dead. Hmmm, did we leave something turned on last time we used the boat? Of course he'd still like to go by boat, but I think it should charge up fully before we head out on the lake. 

First coat ... I love it!!!

Yes, well I lost that round. Ha. Here we are cruising about Lake Eustis with the doggies. 

Captain Bee ... Dad's snoozing. LOL. It's just great that the Scotties enjoy boating too. 

Robs and I had fun too! It was a great ride. 

We came home to our fav appliance ... Pizzazz! I put fries on ... then Mark put shrimp on. Delicious with a bottle of wine!  Later we played rummy. It was a good day. 

Sue and Wayne went dancing at the Elks ... I called them "Elkaholics" and Sue agreed. Heehee. Hey, it's great they have a place to enjoy that's close to home. We passed our local Elks today ... 3 RV's parked overlooking Lake Saunders ... and a full parking lot! Nice to see them doing well. 

Mark had a text from Randy. He and Dawn were heading to Leesburg on the bike to see Bret Michaels. Cool. 

We had a message from Jim ... happy to hear his treatment is going very well ... and he's enjoying that gorgeous lodge he built. 

That's our news for today. Ta Ta til the morrow. 

Adjuster ... 4/22/16

Hello from 99% paradise! I'm withholding 1% for some (unknown) reason. LOL

Our boat insurance adjuster arrived right on time ... $4,400 for carpet and canvas ... waiting on the upholstery estimate. Ka-Ching! We'll make arrangements to haul "Mrs R B" next week and get on with making things right. 

Afterward, Mark and I shopped ... I needed a few things for the Sunroom like new rope lights and potpourri ... it's spring cleaning and fluffing decor. Surprisingly, except for a couple of lizard poops, all was very clean!

Mark puttered on a few jobs and prepped my (old?) computer desk for paint. It's part of the Sunroom refresh ... 

Everything old is new again. My family room in Boca Raton was seafoam in the 90's. Haha. 

Randy and Dawn rode the Harley to Leesburg's bikefest (20th anniversary) this afternoon. Tomorrow, they're helping out at The Hideaway ... Randy's flipping burgers ... and Dawn's helping Patty. A friend and his nephew from Tarpon Springs are staying at their house this weekend. 

Mark and I plan on bowling tomorrow, barring any new aches and pains. (Gettin' old ain't for sissies!)

LOL. 

It's Telly time ... Mz BeeZee is on Dad's shoulder (like a 19.2 lb birdy!)

Ta Ta. Aroooo!

Giordano Wine ... 4/21/16

Buongiorno! Yes, it's a lovely day in the neighborhood. We are expecting 14 bottles of wine today ... A regular wine fest!!! 

Here's a Florida fix for our pals "up north!" It's called "The Crack" ... a zigzag fissure off Baird's Creek. 

I wonder if there's an RV park nearby? Nice eh? The Chassahowitzka River is 1 1/2 hours from us. 

My projects on the go include refreshing the Sunroom's decor. I've decided to refinish the desk in perhaps, a pale sea green (and the dark wood mirror), replace the "poker dogs" framed poster with a mermaid wall hanging, and some new nautical knickknacks. Ho ho ... that's my kind of fun! 

Of course, the RV project continues. Mark and I have 15' of wallpaper border to install, a rustic clock to hang, 2 new copper burnished globe light strings to hang and new wall art for the bedroom. We had planned to use the RV in the next two weeks, but with the recent boat house fire and subsequent rebuilding, RVing is on hold! Drat. 

Mark's project this morning was to install an actuator door in the Mountaineer. So, he went to O'Reillys for a Freon charge. Cool. 

Ms. Belize has decided that walkers and bike riders are "the enemy." Mark has been carrying a water bottle on his walks with her. The feisty wee girl was squirted today! 

Mark was disappointed the Freon charge didn't produce cold air in Da Mountie. Back to YouTube for more troubleshooting! 

I was picking up my iPhone to text Sue ... "What's up?" when this text came through to my phone ... 

Haha. Darn near the same! Wayne had just BBQ'd chicken (bricks) Sue said. Heehee. 

Tonight is good TV with Scotties on our laps! Do you watch James Cordon? Funny. He had the following on his Late Late Show ...

Bernie Sanders having lunch with his friend Killer Mike. 

It's totally like "unlikely animal friends" pictures. 

Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

X-rays ... 4/20/16

Good morning ... another day in paradise! The insurance adjuster arrived early for the 9 o'clock appointment. All went well until she tried to leave and discovered her keys and phone were locked in her Ford Fusion. After several calls on my phone, she found a locksmith! By 10:15 she was on the way! Let's hope her bad mood doesn't affect our estimates!

Mark stayed home with the doggies while I went for exrays on my ankle and hand. 

L.R. Urgent Care was terrific. Within an hour, I had three x-rays on my ankle, three on my hand and met the doctor. Apparently, I have sprains on both joints, but no fractures. Yahoo!

Back home, Mark and I puttered around until happy hour. Lew and Lynn suggested we join them for 99 cent taco night. We took a rain check as Mark had dinner on the stove already. After happy hour, Randy phoned ... they were popping in after using their Beall's Bucks! (We teased them ... Dawn's mom shopped there ... and RanDawn got the bonus bucks! What a racket.) LOL

We had some wine; yakked and had some laughs over Robbie "Humperdink" with his new toy ... a squeaky snake. LOL. That boy uses his dew claws! Belize grabbed the squeaky snake a few times and dashed around the house. LOL. Randy and Dawn left before dark (on the bike) for Tiki West and shrimp. 

Marshall (Mark's nephew) and Savannah announced they're expecting their first child in October. 

We love their sense of humor!  Oh, what fun! 

So that's our day in a nutshell. Tomorrow, we're expecting a wine delivery. How posh, eh! Ta Ta. 

Estimates ... 4/19/16

Good morning. It certainly is beautiful living in Central Florida. The front door is open and 60°F right now! Gorgeous. I was up early enough to have my chores done before we're busy with insurance people. 

Tuesday mornings we (try to) visit our humane society resale shop ... today we donated a rocking chair, a few brooches, 2 rear-view mirror car charms and some household odds 'n sods. We didn't buy anything! 

By 1 o'clock there were 3 men swarming our boathouse taking pictures of the damage. They discovered burn holes on our boat's canvas top, scorch marks on the upholstery and burn holes on the carpeting.  Poor "Mrs R B."

She needs recarpeting!

And, new canvas! (One of numerous holes.)

Tomorrow, the adjuster arrives at 9 ... and  we should have an estimate on the aluminum replacement from Simplex. 

Meanwhile, Randy worked at Dawn's cutting in around the front of her house. He's trying to get the exterior finished before hot weather begins.

In Pompano, Scott bowled with the "south" gang and won ... the gutter ball trophy! (Well at least it didn't cost him $$$!) LOL

Actually, he had a pretty good game! With a little effort, and practice, Scott could be pretty good.

Today, my ankle and my hand were both aching. So, it's time to get an x-ray, 18 days after my big fall. I really thought everything would be healed by now. I have an appointment with doc in the box at 11 o'clock tomorrow. 

The Scotties have been kept very busy the last few days with all the strangers about our yard. I think they are exhausted. Right now, they're having a dog run through the house. LOL. They sure give us a lot of pleasure ... just don't be in the way when they go thundering down the hall. I forgot to put in yesterday's blog how Lew came to the front door while I was in the shower. Both Belize and Robbie sounded the alarm by howling! It was hilarious. What a lively chorus. Haha. 

Lew came for happy hour and an update on the goings-on while we were sitting on the front patio. He heard that our neighbor Frank (blue house across the canal) died last night. Coincidentally, it was Frank's house that burned to the ground in 2012. 

Tonight, we're going to relax with the pups in front of the TV.

Stressed? 4/18/16

It was a night of whacky dreams that wouldn't quit. Finally I got up for water and to watch 60 Minutes. Lucky for me, BeeZee woke and came to sleep on my recliner. 

At 9 o'clock, Randy came to pick up Mark painting at Dawn's house. Randy thought our boat house damage looked pretty bad and we need to replace the roof pans. So, they left for work while I was left to pull our insurance policy and start the phone calls.

Tomorrow, a mitigation company is coming at 1 o'clock, plus Tom from Simplex. (His company constructed our boat house, about three years ago, our RV port and our front porch.) Tom is our aluminum structure specialist.

When I looked today, I discovered more damage than I saw yesterday. It's obviously not a job for Mark and Lew. Randy is right!

Our smoker got toasted!

As the controls are at the bottom, it's finished.

As we said yesterday, it's a good thing we were home. Can you see the firewood stacked along side the boathouse wall?

Our poor Angel's Trumpet was badly damaged ... but we hope with a good trimming, it will come back.

The firemen put up a board that Mark had on hand to help support the roof.

The structure was hot enough that leaves on top of the boat house were on fire! 

Wednesday morning at 9 o'clock, the insurance adjuster is coming over. So, we will have to put up with the bad smell that is permeating our backyard. Yuck. 

We opened a claim on our boat insurance. The boat carpet has several burns in it, and it is smoke damaged. We'll see what that entails. 

At 5:30, we met Randy, Dawn and Jan at Stavros for dinner. It was our treat after they fed us over the weekend. Our plan was to play Mexican Dominoes, but it got to be a little too late. You see, Jan's flight leaves at 7 AM tomorrow. 

Well that's it for today. It was a telephone day ... Hope tomorrow is smoother. Ta Ta. 

Sunday Fire Drill ... 4/17/16

Good morning y'all. It's another front door open kind of day! (Dawn's mom will be sitting on their deck catching some rays right now!)

Poor Belize had an upset tummy this morning. She ate all the food in her spinning toy during the night! Perhaps, a little too much excitement yesterday! Never mind, we have no plans away from the house today.

Mark decided to work on da Mounty's  air conditioning system. We'll see what he can accomplish. Finding informational videos on Google = amazing. 

Me? Well, there's laundry, and I'm going to hang a string of shell lights in our front porch. Also, I ordered a new thatched umbrella for our back patio!

Overstock.com had the large size I've been looking for. 

Our neighborhood friends Pat and Ken went to see Meredith at Hurricanes last night. Eustis Station is the band she sings with. (G, are you amazed at what comes out of Siri when you dictate sentences? Certain words I say, like, for instance, during come out as jeering! What's with that? Is my Canadian accent throwing her off? Good Lord. I've been an American for 30 years, there can't be much Canadian left. LOL)

My British cousin Caz posted this on Facebook today. I had such a laugh I wanted to share it. 

I heard them all ... it seems our mothers read the same parenting book!

So it was a lovely quiet afternoon and we were watching NASCAR on TV. Mark said to me, what's that noise? I said, it sounds like a jet or maybe a rocket. We continued watching TV. Then Mark said do you have something running in the house? I said no. He said, well I better have a look. I saw him open the front door and look, then go to the back door. Then I heard a muffled yell as the door slammed. 

I got up and looked out the front door too; then went to the back door. There, I saw what he was yelling about. The boathouse was in flames and the roaring sound was coming from a propane tank. I tried calling 911, but Siri had already heard Mark yell and was trying to intercept to see what was happening. Well, my next thought was to take a picture for the blog. LOL. Well, I couldn't do that either. Finally, I got the phone app and dialed 911!!! Meanwhile, Mark jumped into action, grabbed the hose, laid on the lawn spraying the fire.

Well it was a 2 tanker fire with paramedics! We got our money's worth out of taxes this year! 

When I went out onto the road to watch for the firetruck, Lew heard there was a fire on our street and came out. He ran around back to help Mark. 

(I wonder what Lew is looking at?)

Mark had used the leaf blower two hours before. We think the leaf blower shorted, caused a fire, started the smoker cover on fire and eventually blew the propane tank. That must have been the noise we heard! Duh! 

It was a darn good thing we were home, as it was windy, and we could've started half the neighborhood on fire!

Well, now Mark has a project. He was looking for something to do. LOL

That's all the excitement here today. Tata. 

RanDawn's ... 4/16/16

Good morning! It's an open door kind of day. We're going to RanDawn's today for a fun family event. (I'm taking my game "left right center" to play!) PLUS quarters! Haha. 

Mark decided on a ride to Walmart for a few things, but mainly to check our front door camera card. 

He found this muddy footprint on our driveway in front of our vehicles this morning! Now Mark wears a 10 1/2, so we think this must be about a size 12! Do we now have Bigfoot in our neighborhood? LOL. (No pic on the card ... Bigfoot didn't come to our doorway!)

Next week, the show Alone starts again on the History Channel. We both enjoyed it last year. It took place on Vancouver Island with 10 contestants. I'm just mentioning it ... interesting show. 

RanDawn's was a busy house today! 

Randy has a way with the girls ... as usual. LOL

Brandon 6 months and Brandon. 

Belize wasn't happy ... the older kids were okay; the baby frightened her. Robbie took it all in stride. No problem, man. 

Robbie kept a watch on the chicken kebabs. (They were too spicy for the Scotties.) 

Dawn had made so many delicious snacks ... Deviled eggs, bean dip 'n chips, and veggies ... we were still full at dinner hours later.

We all played the dice game for several rounds and Makenna was the big winner ... followed by Brittany! It was the perfect game ... and the kids participated! 

Makenna, Dawn with Brandon & Charlotte ... Nana's a magnet with the little ones. 

As usual, Randy provided lots of laughs! 

There he goes "I'm outta here!" when hauling out the kitchen trash. LOL

Randy cooked chicken kebobs on the Barbie, Dawn made Cheesy Potato Casserole, Coleslaw and corn on the cob. (Great granddaughter Charlotte wanted to be just like Jan ... two plates, in the same order with corn on the left one!) LOL 

It was a fun afternoon! Jan bought us all two scratch off lotto tickets each! Makenna, baby Brandon & Brandon won a few dollars. 

We were home about 8 o'clock, worn out from the day. Randy and Dawn were still expecting Alan, (Brittany's) and Mary, (Brandon's) to arrive for dinner after they finished working.

After a soak in the hot tub and some Arnica on my sore ankle, it was time to relax in front of TV! Ta ta!