November 30, 2016

Good morning. It's a bright beautiful sunshiny day in Central Florida. There is a high predicted of 86° this afternoon. We shall take it. I'm thinking, if the chores get done in time, we will take the boat and go for lunch with the doggies!

Meanwhile, Mark was up and out early for an 8 o'clock eye doctor appointment. Now when you read my text to him, below, you will see that he indeed needs his EYES checked. 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I can hear all my readers laughing. Indeed I had to stifle a laugh ... but what must Robbie have been thinking when he saw his daddy lock the door, walk past him, out the door and drive away.  Poor guy! Right now, Robs is snuggled up on my lap and very thankful that I was home to rescue him. 

Years ago when we had the north Carolina River rock installed on our house's front, the installer said a latex gloss would make "it pop." Mark is reapplying the product today. 

 

You can see our trusty Dodge is back and ready for more adventures! 

 

Having fun in the sun Mark? 

At 1 o'clock we were off to the humane society store to make a donation, then Chili's for lunch! When we got to our local chilies, near Cracker Barrel on 441, we found it was closed! WTF? So, we began to make our way north to the Chili's in Mount Dora. Of course, on the way, we did a little Christmas shopping! Yay! Between online ordering this morning and a few things this afternoon, I am getting closer to being done. Lunch, by the way, was very good. Mark had a Szechuan chicken salad and I had steak fajitas! Being Wednesday, date day, we had a drink with lunch. They must have been two for one, but who knew? Now, back home, Mark is sound asleep in his chair with Mz BZ on his lap. Me? I'm going to wrap a few things and then relax. 

In other "news" Sue and Wayne are off to the Elks for dancing this evening. And, RanDawn must be still honeymooning as we didn't hear from them today! Never fear, they'll be around tomorrow as Dawn's coming to YaYa's tomorrow evening. Randy will join Mark, Lew and the neighborhood men for a pub dinner. Fun stuff here in the 'hood. 

That's it. We're ready to watch more of "The Crown." 

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

It's a balmy start to our morning with a cold front sitting at the top end of Florida. Both today and tomorrow will be in the mid-80s! (I'd like to go boating, but we have a busy day planned.)

 

Mark began his day with a doctor appointment in The Villages. While he was away I made low carb cookies and did laundry. Exciting, eh? It'll be more exciting for me when my Christmas present arrives!

Speaking of pressies, we took a drive to Mount Dora for a gift and poked about a few stores. It's such a unique town ... and very busy for a Tuesday afternoon!  Of course it's beautifully decorated for Friday night's Christmas Walk event ... and Saturday's parade. 

Then, we were off to Advantage Dodge to pick up our truck. Bobby Barnett had it washed and ready for us and the bill was right on the estimate. So, it looks like a big trip is in the works for us this coming summer! Yay. We packed up the turbocharger core and called UPS for a pickup. It'll be good to receive a $300 core credit! Oh yeah! 💰

Did I mention that we finally got Netflix. Last night, we began watching "the Crown" ... and liked it. The only problem arose when we tried to escape from the Netflix app on our Telly. LOL. After pushing a dozen buttons, we finally gave up, turned the TV off and went to bed. Whatever happened during the night, it fixed itself. So, tonight we will try watching another episode. 🙄

So we watched two episodes of "the Crown" and Mark found on Google how to exit Netflix. These are the instructions: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, up, up, up, up, exit Netflix! Seriously! 😳

The Scotties are enjoying their rawhides and we are going to get into another glass of wine and watch "BelowDeck" ... it's a fun show, you should try it.

 

Ta Ta. 

Monday, November 28, 2016

Good morning, and it is a beautiful one here! Ha ha I thought I got up at 8 o'clock but it's now it's 8 o'clock and I've been up for at least an hour and a half. So, it's about time that I change my clocks. All of my clocks. I've been in transition from daylight savings time to this "dark too early" time. 

 

Mz BeeZee has been snuggling on my lap while I watched ABC news. There's nothing new ... Trump is still whining about voter fraud that allowed Clinton to win a few States. Blah blah blah. When 1 person's vote equals 1 vote for a candidate, I'll be back. This electoral college business is 💩. 

We both had doctor appointments this afternoon and aced our blood tests. The low carb diet is working well for us! Our doc is buying a 5th wheel and asked a lot of questions of us. Of course we suggested Giant Recreation World as a great place to buy! 

Back home, Pat joined us for Happy Hour this evening and brought treats of Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf and funny Christmas cocktail napkins. We had some wine, ate shrimp, cashews and cheese ... too bad Ken wasn't finished his chores! 😂  And, we were invited to a dinner party at their home next Tuesday. Nice! 'Tis the season for parties! Yay!

Randy drove Jill and Bob to the Orlando airport for their flight to Winnipeg. (When we checked the weather yesterday, it wasn't too bad, hovering just around 32°.) It was sure fun to have them here for Thanksgiving and RanDawn's party. 

Our Dodge should be ready tomorrow, we hope! So that's it for our day! Ta Ta. 

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Good day, eh? Well, we feel great but I bet there are a few headaches on Lois Drive. 🍾. It was a grand party, and it was just getting started when we left at 8 o'clock! Nancy has a Shibu Inu at home, Pat and Ken have an English Springer spaniel, and of course we have our two Scotties at home. That's life! 👍🏻 And we doggie folks wouldn't have it any other way. ❤️

This afternoon, while the crew cleaned up at the Staggermen's, Mark trimmed palm trees and I made a necklace for a pal.  Dawn phoned about 3 o'clock and invited us for, leftovers!. We were happy to join them plus Robbie and Belize were invited too. 👍🏻 The menu is wine, more wine, chicken, condiments and carrots. We had so much fun tonight reliving all the party highlights and watching RanDawn open a few gifts! 

The honeymoon's supposed to be over ... 

 

"🎶Pour me a cold one and oh by the way🎶 ... haha! I see 2 photo bombers! 

 

While the  girls were slaving away setting the table and cooking the evening meal ... 

 

the boys were lazing away watching football. 🙄 (I KNOW Rick M will have a comment!) 😃

Randy and Dawn opened a few gifts they didn't get to late last night.

 

Ha! They loved Lew 'n Lynn's dinner in a basket with wine! Randy liked the hat strainer and Dawn helped Randy with the "ball" scratcher. Bwahahaha. 

 

Dawn loves lottery tickets and was thrilled with multi-tickies and Randy liked the wine! Heehee!

It was our last evening of 2016 with JillBob as they fly north tomorrow. We always have fun with those two! Safe travels kids! Muah! 💕 "🎶We'll see you in September (actually more like July) 🎶!"

Back home, Marky's 💤 and the doggies are upside down in their beds! Ta Ta til tomorrow. Muah 💋 

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Good day! We're up way too early! It's 4:45 and Mark's cooking breakfast. He had a reason ... hunting with Lew. Me? No reason; I was just unable to sleep. 

The crockpot stewed all day long with meatballs in BBQ/Grape Jelly sauce. We stirred it a time or three but otherwise it was just crockpot easy. 

Ken offered to drive and picked us all up at 3:30, right after his Louisville team lost ... wa-wa-waaa. 🙄 Of course we had so many laughs that he forgot about his misery. Nancy, Pat and I were the backseat entertainment ... awesome singers, one and all. 

 

Wayne, Mark and Sue on the deck. (The place looked beautiful!) 

Young Brandon stole the limelight by showing off his walking skills. He's a charming little guy with an easy going attitude. Did I mention he's a cute redhead. 👍🏻  Charlotte and Makenna had fun running about and climbing the deck steps. 

The wedding pictures were running on a laptop during the party and I enjoyed seeing them! 💕

About 50 or 60 people found food and drinks and before we knew it a major party erupted. 

 

Me, Pat, Nancy with Ken on the steps ... Wayne & Sue in the background. It was a gorgeous evening! (I wish I'd taken more pics, but there you have it.)

On the way home, we girls were SO entertaining that Ken took us to look at Christmas lights. At Jack & Linda Teegarden's we bummed a Bourbon. Haha. What a fun night we had. Jack and Linda were very happy (it seemed) to have drop in company. 🤗

That was it! A well organized party with great attendance! 

Friday, November 25, 2016

Good morning. Yes, Mark went to the Ocala forest for some R 'n R while BeeZee and I are watching Mars; the show, not the planet. It's a National Geographic program with a blend of fact and fiction. It's pretty good. (Robbie is sleeping in.) 

Happy 16th Anniversary to Diane & Kris! 

 

This pic was taken after a raucous family Thanksgiving Day dinner party. They look great! Cheers to the next 16! 

I'm NOT a Black Friday shopper but I certainly found a few cyber-deals today; one for Marky and one for me from Marky. (He appreciates my help!) 

Sue and Wayne had breakfast with Diane and Kris this morning before moving their coach to Fisherman's Cove. RanDawn's "The Honeymoon's Over" party is tomorrow and they wanted to be nearer. 

Lew and Lynn stopped in with a parcel for Randy and Dawn's party tomorrow! So, we poured some wine and had a chat. They are wonderful friends, who happen to be neighbors! Unfortunately, they have another party for their son's birthday tomorrow and can't make RanDawn's bash. 'Tis the season for parties! 🍾🎉🎁

Here's a funny story. Two bacon-scented dog toys arrived in a mess of four parcels left at our door from the mailman. 

 

Someone, named Robbie, is in my face as he knows it is for he and Belize! Haha. There's no fooling that schnibber! 😂

It's now 510; the kids have eaten their delicious dinner and Mark has a pork loin on the barbecue. It's 82° as the sun goes down on this lovely day. This evening, we are dropping into visit Sue and Wayne at the Prevost at Fishermen's Cove. 

 

 That's Mark, bathed in the blue light of K's rig. 

We had drinks, Lotsa laughs, more drinks, and Wayne chipping away at their icemaker. LOL

 

Sue had instructions as to how to get the ice out easily, when I needed it to work correctly. He fixed it. Ice ice ice! 

We arrived home about 930 and Mark went straight to bed as he and Lew are hunting in the morning.

The doggies and I sat down to watch a night of ancient aliens!!! 👽🤖

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Sixty million Americans have traveled more than 50 miles to spend Thanksgiving with loved ones. ENJOY IT!

 

Mark and I actually watched the Macy's TG Day parade from start to end. It was great ... what a monumental task to organize that! Wow. Then there's security to organize! Well done! But first ... the floats had to be imagined, designed and built. Kudos!

The Scotties loved having our front door open for hours. Robbie kept the Ibis from feasting on our lawn's grubs. His Scottish war cry would scare anything! Haha. 

 

Facebook Scottie pals Pudley & Nibbles dressed in their Thanksgiving finery. 😘. By the way, we were always told the dogs could not have turkey. Although, there are many varieties of turkey dog food available. This got us researching. Yes, dogs can have some turkey! No problemo! 

 

Another pair of gorgeous Scotties are ready for dinner. 

I'm certainly thankful for a multitude of blessings. Right now, two of them are sitting in the recliner with me! 

 

Lucky, aren't I!

We fed the kids at four and left at 4:30 to go to Diane and Kris's for Thanksgiving dinner. Their friends Dell and Denise were there to join in the fun.

 

Dell & Denise ... having plenty of laughs!

 

Diane and Kris ... great hosts! 

 

Sue & Wayne ... "Where's the cranberry?" ... LOL now hosting thanksgiving 2017 in Pompano Beach! 😂

 

Jill and Bob ... behaving this year since they nearly had to host it from last year's guffaw. 😃

We sure missed having Ruth and Rooster there this year. Randy had an entirely new hat for Rooster. 😇

We were home by 915 to walk the doggies, like good parents. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Muah. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Good morning. Mark was up at five to go hunting, alone, in the forest. His pals Lew and Ben are both working today. Wha-waa. So, it is up to me to tidy up after yesterday's fun and deliver the turbocharger to Advantage Dodge. Since the box weighs 51 pounds, I need "someone" at Advantage (Bobby) to accept it and deliver to their diesel mechanic. (The mechanic opened the  box to verify everything was correct, which it was.) I told him don't hurry, as tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and he said it would be ready late Monday or Tuesday. Perfect. 

Next on my busy day was shopping at Walgreens and running a few errands. I did pick up a couple of cute doggy toys for Robbie and Beez. Those two are so worn out after their boat ride and fun yesterday. Mark told me they didn't even get out of their beds this morning when he got up for hunting! Usually, as soon as the frypan comes out, they are up and ready for breakfast. Ha ha. 

This afternoon, Mark took a package to the post office, an eBay sale, and picked up my holiday stamps! It's nice to have things done early. He's also taking a load of folding chairs to RanDawn's for their party on Saturday. I think it's going to be another busy week around this place. Just what we love!

 

Diane & Kris had a busy day readying for their Thanksgiving Day feast. We'll arrive about 5 ... dinner at 5:30. Yum. 

That's it. Mark and I are relaxing tonight after our dinner of curried shrimp and vegetables. Turkey 🦃 tomorrow!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Good (chilly) morning! It's warming to 75 so we're taking RanDawn and JillBob for a putt-putt cruise aboard Mrs R B. (We Floridians may need long 👖 today!) 

Not to be a downer, but today is the anniversary of the assassination  of JFK. If you were alive 53 years ago, you remember THAT event. 

The gang arrived right at 12:30 and we began our 3 hour cruise down Haines Creek with the sun shining. (I supplied everyone with blankets, thinking it might be chilly.) well, it was so warm in the sunshine, that we were actually feeling too hot! Egad. I've become my mother. Heehee. 

 

Back home we began the Bimini ring toss game. Bob had his own system, but it wasn't working. Haha. 

 

Bob attempting Bimini ring toss .. he needed "help!"  😂

 

Apparently the honeymoon IS NOT over yet. 😳

 

Cheers to ... "whatever!"  (Love the look on Randy's face!) 

 

Randy was asked to pour more wine. It appears he had a few bags full. LOL 😂 

After all the afternoon partying, we went to Stavros for a delicious dinner. 

Meanwhile, Sue and Wayne arrived at the Equestrian park in Lady Lake! 👍🏻 

It was a fine day! More shenanigans tomorrow. 🤗

Monday, November 21, 2016

Good morning and Happy Anniversary to Shay and Roddy! 🍾 We phoned them at 10 o'clock and wished them a happy day. Tomorrow they are off to Islamorada in the Keys for Thanksgiving with Rod's brother, sister-in-law and family. Cheers! 

It's a beautiful bright sunny start to our day. I began with a soak in the Jacuzzi ... a warm shower then bacon and eggs served by Mark. I'd say that's a pretty darn good start to my day! The Scotties enjoyed an egg for breakfast this morning too. 

Mark had a doctor appointment in Lady Lake today so I thought I'd pop into the Home Goods store for a browse about. I wasn't happy about that store when it first opened last year, but I expect by now their inventory is better. We shall see. It's difficult, but I always compare it to the Fort Lauderdale store which is awesome! 

Instead of going shopping we opted for lunch at Ramshackles! It's rustic ... good food ...

 

and fun! Nice butt Marky! 😂. LOVE the boots! (I posted this pic on Facebook and gave my cousins Lyn & Tony a double take. Heehee. By 2:30 we were home and gave the kids their chicken snacks from my Cobb salad. Boy! They enjoyed it. 

Lew popped in at 4:30 for a glass of wine and sat by the fire. (They have a fireplace too.) He and Mark talked hunting spots ... blah blah blah. Boy, they get pretty crazy about it. Haha. I bet Rick Moir would enjoy tramping about the forest with them too! They sure have fun. 

After pork chops for dinner Mark and I plopped down to watch Telly and the damn cable was out! Grrr ... we're missing DWTS. Comcast service told Mark it would be back on by 7:45 ... but it was already 8 o'clock. 🙄

Sue & Wayne are in Stuart, Florida tonight and heading here for Thanksgiving! Yay! More family fun time! Since Diane & Kris are hosting in The Villages, K's are parking their coach at the Equestrian Park, which is very nice, and nearer TG dinner. 

So that was our day! I hope you're all toasty warm this cool fall evening. 💕

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Good day! It's a chilly-willy 56F but oh so sunny. All week long we've had a mocking bird fighting with his reflection and tapping at our living room window. (When I open the window he/she flies off.) Mark said it was Rocky coming to visit us. In Boca Raton we rescued a baby mockingbird that some boys were throwing stones at ... only to have him die in the night. Of course it was traumatic. (We didn't know about the Sawgrass Nature Center at that time.) 

Mark lit a fire about 2 o'clock and we watched Modern Family ... listened to Christmas music ... ate Caesar salad ... pork chops and sipped wine. It was a delightfully lazy afternoon! Yes, we do have some chores to do, but neither was in the mood. 

Did I mention yesterday that Jill is down with a cold? We hope she recovers quickly as we're planning a boating day on Tuesday. (Our cold front is only 1 day long ... back to 75F tomorrow.) 

Sue and Wayne are off to Bella Roma tonight to meet friends Pat and Derek for dinner. We haven't seen them in awhile. 

 

Tomorrow, it's appointment day, then back to a normal Monday.  Life is GOOD. 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Good morning. It's going to be a lovely 78°F today, but only a high of 67 tomorrow. Whaaattt? Yes, the cold front that's bringing snow to the north is dipping low into Central Florida. Never mind, it will be a welcome change. 

Mark and Lew went hunting this morning. Lew saw four deer, but Mark did not see anything. They sure enjoy their forest time! Lew looks 20 years younger after a forest outing. It must be the fresh air! 

I went to Hobby Lobby for wrapping supplies and wandered about looking for gift ideas. (None.) Back home, I wrapped a dozen things already bought and felt good about my afternoon's work!

Tonight we're meeting Randy, Dawn, Bob & Jill at Plaza Guadalajara for dinner at 6. It'll be fun to hear about the honeymoon cruise!

 

Jill has a bad cold ... but ALL had a fun cruise. We sure laughed when we heard both Bob and Lorne ran out of their daily liquor allowance ... 15 drinks a day. LOL those Canadian boys put a hurtin' on the Carnival Dream's bar budget. Haha ... and we KNOW Randy put a hurtin' on the kitchen budget. It sure sounded like we missed a wonderful cruise!

Dinner at Plaza Guadalajara was great. Tonight I had Fajita Texarkana ... a combo of shrimp, chicken and beef.  I loved it!  There was so much food that I brought chicken home for the Scotties. (They loved it!)

Well that was our day. Tomorrow, Mark and Lew are going hunting again. Ta Ta. 

Friday, November 18, 2016

What a gorgeous day for decking the halls! Mark worked on the house exterior lights while I decked our Christmas tree with foo-fa-rah. Fun! 

Robbie enjoyed watching Mark on the ladder, but BeeZee looked a bit wary. She doesn't like any changes in her world. All this continued until 230 when we finally took a break! 

Randy and Dawn had a good drive home from Charleston until they got mixed up in Jacksonville and took a wrong turn. Ha ha. Eventually, they arrived home, safe and sound.

Mark and I were enjoying happy hour at our outside bar with Belize in one bar chair and Robbie in another when Lew popped into our backyard to invite us over for Sambuca and a fire. 

 

It was a beautiful evening, and we sat out for a couple hours yakking. Lynn was afraid that her job of 15 years is coming to an end next week. It's sad for her, but as a neighborhood, will be happy to have her around more often. 

So that's our news for this evening. It was a busy day, all about the house! 🎄

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Good morning! It's a bright sunny start to the day with 79 forecast! (It's also bath day for the Scotties!) 

 

Robbie likes spa day! (Belize hides!) Everyone's clean and brushed, ready to greet the ladies for game day! 

Here are the requirements for a successful game day ... Chardonnay, Pino Grigio, Merlot, Pino Noir, Sangria, pizzas, snacks and dessert. Oh yeah, and games! 😂

We had a shocking message from Bonnie's husband Roger last night ... 

 

Fortunately, Bonnie understood the sign of persistent heartburn (and agitated Scotties who apparently sensed trouble) and called 911. Whew! If she had waited at all it would have meant open heart surgery! As it was, she had emergency stints and more to be done in 2 weeks. 😳.  We're praying for our Bonnie's full recovery. 💕

The girls arrived for game day at 1 o'clock ... snacking, story telling and drinking wine began right away. There were 8 of us like-minded gamers ... so we got into Crazy Rummy. 

 

Haha ... I'm not sure what was going on here ... but I'd say it was a "PARTAY!"  Rose was the big winner! 

At the end of the game, Pat tried sorting out the four decks of cards. It was quite hilarious as she did them all face up (???)

 

Well, to each her own! (That was an old saying of my mom's!) 

Mark arrived home about four and joined Pat and I with a glass of wine at the outside bar. We had more laughs before Pat headed for home to get dinner ready for  Ken. Mark watered the plants and ran the sprinklers while drinking Crown at RanDawn's place while they're away. 

 

Lagimodiere! 😂

Well, that was our crazy koo koo day in the Sunshine State. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Good morning! Mark was up early and bundled up (well, Florida style) for 49F in the woods. After the doggies were out for a quick potty, Robbie chose to snuggle with me, edging BeeZee from my lap. He must have been chilled as I covered him with a fleecy blanket and he slept for an hour!

 

All my favorites to start the day ... Ancient Aliens on TV ... Robbie cuddled up and a log in the fireplace. 🤗

Mark didn't see anything in the woods today. The supermoon has been too bright perhaps?

I went to lunch with 16 of our friends and neighbors to Tillie's in downtown Eustis. If you haven't been, the food is very good. Everyone enjoyed their lunches. Sharon had her social calendar out and was organizing  social events for each month of next year. It's a great community to live in! 

Tillie's is next door to Peddler's Wagon ... and we gals watched a 45' highway bus drop off shoppers at Peddler's door! When I was in there at 10 AM this morning, there were about 50 people in the store too! 

On a sour note, our trusty Dodge is going to cost a bundle for a new turbocharger! Ka-ching! 💰💰💰 We are having an oil change, air filter, front brakes including machining the rotors, Freon added to the air-conditioning, new wiper blades, and a new fuel filter. That's maintenance, so no complaint about that. BUT, according to the dealer, we haven't been working our truck hard enough and it's gotten gummed up. Advantage quoted $4804.80 for the new turbocharger ... whereas I researched and found it online for $1860 with free shipping. It comes with a one-year warranty! Well, the good news is ... I bought 3 Christmas gifts today!

At K's house ... Julius and Shorty hot pants were put to work. Could you say dog abuse? 

 

 Julius, male, sporting a dress. 🙄

 

And, poor Shorty Hotpants, also male, wearing a frilly pink shirt. 😂. They will do anything for Shih Tzu rescue! 

Well, we're going to drink heavily tonight and eat meatballs and souse for dinner! (That, by the way, is Wayne's favorite word.) Ta ta til tomorrow. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Good morning sunshine. How could it be the festive season already? Deck the halls 🎶 and all that stands still. At our house, that will begin on Friday! Once the tree is up, I will get serious about putting a few 🎁 beneath it. It's nearly HO HO HO time 🎅 

On the way home from hunting a couple of days ago, Mark had a flat tire on the Mountie. Today, he took a tire Lew gave him to Orange Tire and had it mounted on a spare tire rim. El-cheapo fix! If only our trusty Dodge (diesel) were like that! It's going to Advantage Chrysler for maintenance ... oil change, new brakes, air filter and find the cure for turbo charger error codes. Oh yes, and check the electrical system as an idiot light came on during our drive home from SC last week. 😳💰💰💰

The Scotties enjoyed the ride today ... 

 

Robbie ... loves the booster seat and watches everything from his side window. 

 

BeeZee likes her high seat too but strictly looks out the front window. 

Randy, Dawn, Jill, Bob, Lori and Lorne are on the fourth day of their Caribbean cruise. It would be nice to know their itinerary, but we only heard it in passing. So, we don't know where they are today. But, you can bet, the bar aboard ship is getting a workout. LOL

Thousands of people are still protesting the election results from last week. As it turned out, Hillary Rodham Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2 million voters. And yet, we have Donald J Trump as president – elect. There's a lot left to be desired in that electoral college business. Perhaps it's time to discuss that electoral college vote process. Perhaps it was necessary in the 1700s, but I think we are beyond that now.

More fun post election stuff from Facebook ...

 

😂👍🏻

Tomorrow, I am going to our ladies luncheon at Tillie's in downtown Eustis ... and then a pop in to the Peddlers Wagon, next-door. Mark is going to enjoy a morning hunt in the forest.

 

A favorite home goods store! We'll be there tomorrow! 

Well, Ancient Aliens is on ...