Monday, October 31, 2016

Good morning! We wish you a fun Halloween! 

 

Congratulations to the Cubbies on a great win last night ... the World Series continues!

 

Could it be a shark, a mermaid and a pirate? Cuties!

 

Devilish Scottie and the Witch. ❤️

 

Hahaha ... love the smile! Minnie Mouse!

Pat & Ken came over at 4 o'clock for happy hour. We had plenty of laughs ... and, sorted out world problems. LOL. Pat and I could have continued to make it a PARTAY, but Ken dragged her off home. Ha ha. Well, it is Halloween and we could get some kids at the door. 

Mark is whipping up a meal of rotisserie chicken, sliced tomatoes and broccoli/Cauliflower. Yum yum. afterwards, we will sit on the front porch with wine and await the trick or treaters. 

Well, we went to walk the dogs at 6:30 as no kids had showed up yet. So, I donned a lampshade and went trick-or-treating myself. 

 

Lew and Lynn over-served me, so I wasn't able to get to any other neighbors. DRAT. I could have had one hell of a party. So ... happy Halloween y'all. 

💋 

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Good day, eh? Well it is perfect for all that's planned in our 🌎. 

Mark pulled the RV out and washed the other side!  Me? Well, household chores and ironing but I'm sure I can find something much more exciting than that.

Our cousin Lyn in London dug out some OLD pictures of my mom and dad, sister Linda and maternal grandmother. What a sweet surprise to see them!

 

I just love this picture. My sister Linda is coming down the steps, no doubt trying to get into the picture. My mom is obviously modeling a new fur coat. At this time, my dad would have been away during World War II. The picture was taken in front of the rooming house that my grandmother ran on Furby Street in Winnipeg! 

 

This is my mom and dad, high school sweethearts, before World War II. 

 

My dad got my mom skis for Christmas in 1937. She was expecting an engagement ring as you can tell by the look on her face! 🙄

 

This was my mom and eldest sister Linda taken about 1943. It would have been a picture sent to my dad stationed in Italy during war World War II. (Imagine being away from your family so long, that your daughter is six years old before you see her!) There was no air travel to come home for a furlough! My mom would receive telegraphs that had basic information only due to espionage fears!)

 

My grandmother, Nan, and my mother, Joyce, in front of my mom's first car! Wouldn't we love to have that car now! 

Beez and Robs had grooming and baths today ... ready for RVin' ... and a visit tonight with RanDawn. Dawn works til 5 so we're meeting at Stavros at 5:30 for dinner. 

Bonnie & Roger's pup Chief had a mishap today. Left to gnaw on a bone, he "somehow" slipped it onto his lower jaw where it became wedged!

 

You can bet there were some panicked moments at their house ...

 

but Roger came to the rescue with cutters and pliers!

 

You can bet this style bone is a no-no for the Chief! Luckily, he had no lasting damage! 

We had plenty of fun tonight talking about the upcoming nuptials. Dawn doesn't know what Randy's wearing for their marriage but said it'll be "Randy!" NO, no HD at the wedding. Now we're all wondering what he'll wear. Usually it's the bride 👰 we're watching ... haha. Dinner was great! The waitresses were in full Halloween costumes and it was packed! It seems the snowbirds are arriving earlier and earlier every year. 

So that's our news for tonight. Tomorrow is Halloween and we will be sitting on our driveway handing out candy. Stop by ... for a wine.  🎃 

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Good morning. It was so beautiful and cool that the doggies and I sat outside for our first hour of the day. Orion was overhead, in all his glory! Do you remember, when you were a kid, how many stars you could see in the heavens? This darn light pollution really irks me! 

 

Of course, I should mention that I grew up in central Canada and as you can see from the map, it's reasonably dark there! Egad, what have we done to our wondrous night sky viewing! Well, the aliens have no trouble finding their way around the globe at night now! 👽 Boo!

So, I began making my low-carb oatmeal, sort of, chocolate chip cookies 🍪 for our upcoming RV trip. We don't have to pack much food as Giant Recreation World's annual rally starts with breakfast and ends with dinner! Seriously, if you are considering buying an RV, either new or used, I highly recommend them! They're service has been outstanding, and we have now owned our Grand Junction fifth wheel for nine years! We plan on trading it in in about four years time. But, it's going to take Mark and I 4 years to agree on what we are buying next. 😂. Mama wants a big ass toy hauler and daddy wants a small class A. Stay tuned ...

Perhaps I understand why Mark may want something smaller in a few years as he is washing one side of it today ... all 40' of gelcoat. It actually stays pretty clean with our RVPORT storage. (News flash, it was less time for him to wash said RV than it was for me to make 4 dozen cookies!)

 

Haha ... notice the pic I started with. 🙄

 

See how the bedroom rises to allow our golf cart in! WOWSA. ❤️

 

Here's the rear bedroom in the garage. The queen bed rises to let you drive your cart in! 

 

Front living room with 2 queen foldout beds and theatre seating chairs! 😘

 

Island kitchen with big ass fridge (plus an outside kitchen.)

 

And it'll match our existing Dodge! Sweet. (Now I just need a lotto win!) 💰🤑

Back to reality! Maybe we can afford to go 🎳 today? 😊 Well, crap, that was pretty bad on my part. 🙄. Mark was 173/172 ... but moi, wha waaaa ... 113 and 116. What the "H" happened to my 221? Gone-zo. 

We sat outside with happy hour, then Mark cooked on the Barbie and we fed the dogs. It was a great evening just enjoying the breeze! Ya gotta love F L O R I D A !!!

 

BeeZee and Robbie having Happy Hour fun. 

Our English cousin sent this gorgeous pic of my Grandmother "Nan" and my Mom. 

 

I have no idea what year this was taken, but guess WW2 years. 

Sue and Wayne have gone to their Halloween party at the Elks. This year, Wayne is Batman, and Sue is Wonder Woman.

 

Nah nah nah nah nah NAH BATMAN! "POW. POP."

 

Wonder Woman!  Have fun at your Halloween PARTAY!

 

BonRog's Chief is having trouble getting the cat off his back! LOL

 

Dear sweet Percy-man is sporting a new sweater! ❤️

Friday, October 28, 2016

Haha! Good morning. Apparently I woke at four, stayed in bed for 45 minutes and then got up and showered at five thinking it was 6 o'clock. The early bird gets the worm. LOL. Well, in this case, a diet Sunkist orange and an extra hour to enjoy snuggles with Beez and watch Ancient Aliens. The Hidden Empire was so interesting ... pyramids in China ... a Fata Morgana floating city ... 5,000 year old mummies with Caucasian DNA ... WOWSA! The women are called "The Beauties."

 

Haha ... it's 👻Halloween week 🎃 ... 

After our run-around morning, we came home for the doggies before beginning our Christmas 🎄 shopping! Yes folks, it's ho ho ho season in the stores already! We bought 3 gifts 🎁 today! Hey, it was a decent start. 

Afterward, Mark and I went for lunch at The Crazy Gator and watched a bald eagle soar in and alight on a pole with lunch in his talons. 

 

Lake Eustis, Florida has a large family of American bald eagles. We regularly see them while we are boating. I apologize for this picture being dark, but the windows at the Crazy Gator are tinted. 

Back home, Mark is whipping up a batch of Chili Relenoes and I'm watching our President address university students.  (Another email scandal broke today involving Anthony Weiner ... what a crazy election!)

After wine on the front porch, we settled in to watch Blacklist. Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

Thursday, October 27, 2016

We were both awake and drinking water at 4 o'clock ... away too early to start this day! Haha. Eventually, we were up for the day at 8:15 when BeeZee decreed it so. Robbie is a sleeper ... he was last out of bed. 

 

We certainly enjoyed the Mumm's champagne last evening. Mark had his iPhone in a glass atop a plastic bin and atop an upturned pot. Hey, it turned out okay! Our coloring is a bit bright as he had an LED flashlight aimed at us. 

We puttered with chores, ate last night's leftover steak in an omelette for lunch and basically recovered from last night's celebration. 

 

So THAT'S why it's called The GOBLIN Market.  👻 

At 1 o'clock, Mark went shopping while I headed to Pat's for game day. Five of us played Balderdash ... and it was hilarious. Seven played Mexican Dominoes ... and we all ate goodies and drank wine. Pat's dog Sadie and dog-in-law Zelda had so much fun romping about and getting petted. Sadie makes me miss my Candy & Darby badly. They were some characters! 

At 5, Pat sent some sweet red wine home with me for Lew. I delivered it just as Lynn arrived home! We've planned wine:30 for this weekend. 

Whew! I'm worn out after too much fun at game day. Haha. Mark grocery shopped, brushed the dogs and had a big nap. It's TV time now! That's it for our day. 

Tomorrow, we're up and out early to The Villages. Ta Ta. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Good morning from beautiful Central Florida. It's our 22nd wedding anniversary and we couldn't be happier. Isn't that a wonderful thing to say after 22 years! 

 

Megan's Bay in the background on St. Thomas on the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Oddly enough, we were married on Wednesday. Now you might say, who gets married on Wednesday? Well, you see, we eloped during our seven day Caribbean cruise. It was just Mark and me, a photographer, the minister and a limo driver. 💍

 

Just married!

Once we got back to the cruise ship, with just minutes to spare before sailing, we phoned my mom and dad with our happy news. Since it was $45 a minute to call, we were intending on keeping it brief but what happened next was crazy.  Mom answered the phone and I said "hi mom. Mark and I just got married in the Virgin Islands." What I heard next was "oooh!" And, the connection was lost. We looked at each other and laughed. Well, that was brief, but the message got through. We carried on with our wedding day and went to party on the deck. We are part of many strangers cruise videos as "they?" filmed, us wherever we went. it was a great time! (Our video is on a VCR tape, that's how long ago we were wed!) 💕

My mom and dad picked us up at the cruise port with chilled champagne and flowers! They were delighted, and had spread the word to Mark's parents and all the family. Mom and dad gained a grandson in little Matt.  Six weeks later, Mark and I hosted a party at our house in Boca Raton for about 40-50 guests. It was a blast. (We have video of that too; on VCR 🙄.)

At 4:30, we cracked a bottle of champagne, (compliments of Rod and Shay) and toasted our fine fortune, then headed out to the restaurant for happy hour.

 

The Goblin Market is an interesting place with tables amongst book shelves and candles. Dinner, downstairs, was very good. Mark had Caesar salad and New York Strip which was good .. I had twin 4 Oz filets with portobello mushrooms between. Delicious!  We had a fun evening!

Back home, our doggies are happy to see us! It's snuggle-buggle time on the sofa in front of the TV. Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Mark had no idea WHAT he was getting into! Haha! But, it was MY dream and he came along for the ride. 

We arrived at Buchanan Marina on the Red River of the North, situated by the Louise Bridge in Winnipeg. There SHE was! For sale! 

 

(Photo actually taken at Chuck Abramson's in West St. Paul, Manitoba.  She was gorgeous ... varnish gleaming!) 

Dick Watt looked tougher than ever when he launched the old girl into the muddy waters and tied her to his main dock. Now that was a boat! Forty feet of Manitoba made "whitefish hull" with a World War II remnant diesel engine. (Cookies left in the cabinets used to taste like the diesel fuel smelled.) 

 

Sitting on The wheelhouse sofa ... Bert Flett (with drink in hand) and Archie Tawns (with Raid in hand.) It had been quite a RMYC Partay! 😂

Our Boca Raton pals, Rod and Shay, appeared on the dock, ready for an adventure. So, the 4 of us entered the main salon and headed down below forward to explore. There, in a cabinet I found my Dad's "tin box" full of maintenance receipts. Yes folks, I SHOULD have woken then! But noooo ... 

She looked a little in need of TLC, but Mark and I never shy away from a labor of love, and I loved that old boat. You see, childhood memories are intricately woven into each wooden plank. In fact, my first administration, Larry Flett, replaced 3-5 rotten planks a year in her hull. He'd plane and shape and sometimes steam the plank to get it into the curve of her belly. As long as the stem and keel were good, he could repair it. 

So the wind picked up as it's want to do and I thought about bringing the old girl to our home dock at 820 Kildonan Drive. Dad had built that split level dock, all 54 feet, with pilings from Bill Harris's Pile Foundation company. It stood the springtime floodwaters with only a few boards torn away by icebergs. Maintenance is key with wood, isn't it!

Reality began to creep into my dream. Mark could bring this single screw maiden to the dock, but with my 2 titanium knees, could I leap off and lash her to the dock? Be damned reality ... 

 

Magically, the old boat was afloat 2,000 miles away on Lake Eustis, Florida. Perfect! There are a few 40'ers on connecting Lake Harris, so my dream weaver was happy enough with the scenario. The old beauty could relax in the sweet water lakes. 

 

I recall this day perfectly. I was walking on the cabin roof with my bottle of Pepsi to climb atop the wheelhouse roof, my favorite place to ride. We were on Lake Winnipeg heading to Gimli Manitoba. Dad took this picture and thought it so funny. 

All was well until I realized we'd have to back her down our canal to tie up at home base. Slowly the morning light came upon our bedroom windows. Drat. The once proud 40' ArJoy sits rotting at the RMYC. 

Perhaps we NEED a project like Ruth told husband Rick Moir. Oddly enough, Rick knew the ArJoy as he had an old girl drydocked at Buchanan's too. 

As the Everly Brothers sang ... All I have to do is dream ... DREAM DREAM DREAM  😴 

So, good morning sunshine! At least I don't have to buy cases of "Git Rot" nor boxes of #8 Robertson drive brass screws ... but in reality, I'd love the journey as much as the sweet dream. Ah, gettin' old ain't for sissies ... 

It was wash day and IRONING! Yes, Sue, I did get the iron out! I'm beginning to gather things for the RV trip to Sarasota which has three nights of dinner dances and then the trip to Charleston for Randy and Dawn's marriage! Life is pretty darn good. 

Well, the afternoon got away on us. If you have lived in Florida, you know the scenario. LOL. Now, it's 630 and we have chicken on the barbecue, wine at the outside patio, a slight breeze and 78°. One could get used to life, retired. But where is that lusty old-scow? 

Dinner was great. The wine flowed and we relaxed into the evening. 😘

Monday, October 24, 2016

Good morning! It was a day of changing decor toward "winter." Well, you know, fall-ish but leaning on Christmas colors. No, not green and red but into the wine-reds. It's going to be a busy week! Tomorrow is a Doc appointment in The Villages; Wednesday we're out to dinner celebrating our anniversary, Thursday is game day and Friday, well we'll find some time for boating! 

Mark shopped today for a new doorbell. Ours crapped out after 15 years. We bought a new buzzer pad but it didn't last long! Maybe it worked for a week or so. It likely wasn't the issue! Anyway, we'll enjoy our new one. As Mark likes to say, "we get a 📦 a day!" 😂 

I sold some decorative mini shoes 👠 on eBay and made $12. Wohoo, eh? Randy likes to say it buys a box of wine! (He knows us very well!) 😬

Mark popped into the humane society shop and found a few things! One was a frisbee ...

 

and BeeZee is rarin' to play! (The lawn crew is here now so it'll be perfect for a romp and chase!)

Well, as I now know, Beez likes to play frisbee in the house, but not outside. LOL

Somehow, our day got away with several chores done but not a lot of  relax-time. So, Ta Ta til tomorrow!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

It's a chilly-willy start to our Central Florida morning. I took Beez and Robs out at 6:30 and gazed up at the stars ✨. Actually I was hoping to see ISS, now the brightest in the night sky, well next to the sun and moon 🌙. Although it would be difficult to just accidentally, spot the ISS, I looked anyway. When I came in the house a few minutes later, I googled where the ISS was. I was a clear 12 hours late looking for it in my sky! LOL. Better luck round, in about two weeks here. 

Savannah and Marshall are proud parents of baby Fallon, 6 lbs. (and some.)

 

Isn't she cute! All's well ... and she's being doted on by grandpa Danny, below. 

 

(We're so happy Danny quit smoking, more than a year ago, and looks great!) Fallon is his first grandchild. 

 

Aunt Olivia arrived at the hospital for the happy occasion too. Congratulations to all. 

Here, Mark is whipping up dinner for Randy and Dawn tonight. We have a small gift for the birthday guy ... lots of fun. 

With the front door open ALL DAY, the dogs aren't getting their naps! The new Chicken Chili recipe calls for stripping a rotisserie bird ... so the Scotties sat an hour hoping for Mark to drop something. 😂

Sue and Wayne had breakfast along the ocean at Beachcombers. It's a nice spot! It was 67 when the pic was taken. 

 

Well, it's now 530 and we are waiting on the birthday boy. Mark bets that they are spending the afternoon at the Hideaway! He's likely correct. No problem, we started happy hour already. Dinner's on the stove ... snacks ready. 

Randy and Dawn arrived a few minutes after 5:30 ... hungry and ready for snacks. We sat at the back patio, drink wine and played ring toss. Eventually, Mark being the winner, we went in and ate the chicken cilantro chili. It was delicious. Afterwards, Mark lit a fire while I tidied up. We sat outside until 11 o'clock enjoying the evening and the fire. Fortunately, Dawn is off work tomorrow and Randy is working with their friend Tim to finish the shower. They headed ome and we headed back outside to enjoy the fire for another hour. It was a great evening. We saw a shooting star at the same time! WOWSA! 

 

Enjoying the fire 🔥  'n wine 🍷 

 

All bundled up and ready to ride home in the 60° weather. LOL

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Ha ha. An Emoji label. 😊

Good morning from cool, sunny Central Florida. We are starting the day at 60° with 84 forecast later today. Perfect, methinks.

Today is brother in law Randy's second anniversary of his 32nd birthday. We will be celebrating with him at Plaza Guadalajara this evening.

 

Today is the last day of archery deer hunting season in Florida. Of course Mark is out enjoying the woods with this gorgeous weather. (He saw a buck today, finally, but let him go on his way.)

The bowling tournament was super fun! I had a good day personally! It was a No Tap and I scored a 145, 165 and 212. Yikes, I'm exhausted!  We girls drank wine, ate nachos and bowled. After 3 games, we headed home, exhilarated. LOL

Mark and Lew had spent the afternoon with Rose's husband Jim. He is in need of emergency hip surgery and is suffering with limited mobility. They had a great afternoon watching football together. When I arrived home at 5 o'clock, Mark had the dogs fed and walked and was ready for us to go and meet RanDawn and family at the restaurant. 

 

Makenna, on Randy's lap, is spending the night at Nana's & Randy's and going in the "Chacuzzi!" In this pic Dawn is doting on youngest grandchild Brandon. 

It was a great night! "Someone" put glitter in Randy's birthday card ... and it got everywhere. 😂 (Good thing he opened the card at the restaurant.) Everyone but Mark and I went back to RanDawn's for drinks. We headed home to relax with our doggies. 

Tomorrow, Mark is cooking chicken chili for Randy and Dawn. It just might be cool enough for a back patio bonfire! 

Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

Friday, October 21, 2016

Good morning! The aroma of cinnamon and vanilla wafts from my oven with 52 low-carb chocolate chip cookies baking. Yum. Mark woke just in time to put the pans in the oven while I rolled more cookies. It's a good limit switch on the "sweets" when I have to make them myself! 😇

Next on my "to do" is dried grasses and leaves arrangements. Two were done between fun yesterday but I still have 2 for today. 

We want to wish Pam a very happy birthday. She is recovering from a cold in Minnesota.

Tomorrow is Randy's birthday 🎉! We're invited for Mexican food in Mount Dora with the family. Mark did some awesomely creative shopping for his 🎁. Also tomorrow is the bowling tournament to raise money for cancer research. I'm bowling (maybe not well, but participating) along with my friends Lynn, Pat and Rose. 

 

Mark got some sudden ambition and raked leaves around the oak tree! Not me! I'm aching from the cold-front arriving this evening! Imagine how awful I'd feel living in Winnipeg where fronts roll like clockwork. (It's going to 59 overnight!) 😬

Bonnie had carpal tunnel surgery last Monday and is doing very well. She and Roger are having dinner at Chimi's in Tulsa. (We were there last February and liked it very much.) 

Sue and Wayne are dancing at The Elks in Pompano where Jack plays DJ on Friday nights. 

Us? We're sipping wine with dogs on our laps and watching TV. 😊 🍷 📺 

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Good morning. It's a gorgeous start to our day with sunshine and 69°F. Of course Mark was excited about the cooler air and headed to the forest for R 'n R. Me? I slept in til 8:30. Sweet. 

 

Mark had two Sherman Fox squirrels talking to him this morning! Aren't they different looking! He took a video of them leaping around him. Haha. 

We watched the final presidential debate last night and thought Chris Matthews did a fine job as moderator. 

This third debate was Hillary Clinton's best debate performance. She ignored Trump when necessary and engaged him when she needed to. Given her considerable edge in the electoral map, Clinton didn't need an "aha" moment in this debate, she just needed to survive it. And, survive it she did. Hillary had a great answer about Donald's comments about the  allegations against him of groping by 9 different women. We women could relate! Hillary Clinton also dropped several researched hits that goaded Trump into making mistakes. Hillary was calm and composed in the face of Trump's, at times, silly interruptions. "Such a nasty woman" was one of them. 

Although this was Donald Trump's most consistent and best debate, it wasn't good for him. The defining moment of the entire debate came down to his refusal to say he would concede if the election results showed he had lost. His arrogance took over and he responded "I'll just wait and see ... ". That answer will prove to be THE total disaster to his campaign and the only thing people will remember coming out of this third debate.

So, CNN's Van Jones said it best ...

 

After Mark came home, we took the Scotties for a boat ride and lunch at Palm Gardens. It was quite crowded so we ordered and ate onboard. Nice! We were a little bad and had a bucket of beer, onion rings and boneless wings for lunch! No, not healthy at all today. 😬 Of course the dogs had many admirers ... and were well behaved. 

 

It was a bit choppy today ... and we all loved it. 

 

Mark was crying for Randy who was working on their shower stall again. 😂 

We heard today that Les & Lynne are not coming to visit this winter! It's been a tradition for many years that they stay with us a few days on their drive to South Florida. We'll miss them ... 

That's it for today. Ta Ta.