Friday, January 31, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s nearly 4 o’clock and we’re just back from a boat cruise with 11 on board to the Fish Camp on Lake Eustis. Although it was a wintery afternoon, we had fun and the rain held off til 4ish!

Cruising Lake Eustis (on the Harris-Chain-of-Lakes) to the Fish Camp for lunch. 

L-R Rose, Larry, Heather, Mark, Bruce, Denis, Jim, Donna and me. 

We called ahead and they had a great table set up for us inside. The food was good and we all had liquid refreshments too. Ha ha.

Randy, Dawn and Scott joined us for lunch. It was a fun day! 

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Good morning. Mark and Bob have gone to the woods to tidy up more of their tree stands. It’s a nice morning for that, cloudy and cool. I know they will enjoy it.

As for me, it’s game day at Elaine‘s house. She has had her kitchen redone and this is the unveiling. Woo hoo, can’t wait to see it! 

Facebook reminded me that this is a gotcha day for BeeZee joining our family 4 years ago! She sure fit into this family perfectly. She and Robbie have so much fun together! And, she is a real snuggle bug. ❤️

Yesterday, while Dawn was at work, Randy and Scott took a motorcycle ride to Nelsons on the Ocklawaha River. They had a good day, a few drops of rain on the way back but nothing much. Today is grass cutting day at their place. 

Well, game day was a blast at Elaine‘s. We all played Rummicube ... even though they were too many for that one game! 

Cheri, Anita, Lynn, Pat, Elaine, Flo, Deenna and Evie ... and the instigator. 🤪

Heeheehee ... we drove Lynn crazy; she came late, and didn’t have as much wine as the rest of us. Oh boy  🙃

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Good morning! We’ve had a busy few days and are planning an at home day to finish up some projects. So far, we’re watching the news and drinking coffee. 😜

Yesterday’s Caribbean Sea earthquake was apparently a huge one that surprised the experts! Look how far tremors were felt ...

We didn’t feel anything but apparently many Floridians did. Several high rises in Miami were evacuated. 😳 1787 was The last time they had an earthquake in that area. (Mark wants to know who reported it in 1787!) 🙃

This afternoon Mark went to help Wayno with trimming their palm trees. I finished up the housework, baked a cake and suggested a game of Mexican Dominoes to LaDonna. So, we’ll have some fun tonight! 

Sue and Wayne have their Canadian dog sitter in town and are taking her out to Rips tonight. (Yes, there’s a dog sitter coming in for the 3 dogs.) 😂

It’s nearly midnight and time to wrap up the blog. Long Wayno was the big winner tonight. Actually, he had five rounds of zero points in the beginning of the game. We thought he was going to break a record, till he got stuck with the 50 point tile and started racking up points. 😜 It was a fun evening.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day, but a little bit cooler at the moment. We’ve been invited aboard The RanDawn for a cruise to Mount Dora! By noon it will be nice and warm. (With any luck, the wind will die down. Right now it’s out of the north at 10 miles an hour!)  

We started our day with cheesy potatoes fried up with eggs. Thank you Dawn for sending us home a care package. Those cheesy potatoes are so delicious! 

I talked to Karen & Pete. They had a great camping weekend and are now home working on their house. The new countertops were delivered yesterday and a new pendant light is being installed today! I don’t know how they can keep up with this rapid pace. Ha ha, but they do it well. we will plan to see them soon. 

Meanwhile, the bar fridge that LaDonna and Wayne gave us is getting a bit of a facelift. Yesterday, I painted the front sign area ... 

Maybe today we’ll get it filled up. 🍺 

We arrived at Randy & Dawn‘s at 1 o’clock and the boat was uncovered and ready to go. We left Robbie and BeeZee at RanDawn’s house as we weren’t sure what restaurants were dog friendly in Mount Dora. 

Dawn took a good selfie! Apopka/Beauclair Canal

Beautiful day 69F and sunny

Scott’s glamor shot for “Match” 😁

Lots to see ... 

Randy expertly pulled in at the public docks near the Mount Dora yacht club. We walked up to Pisces Rising for lunch. 

After lunch, we walked down to the boat and discovered a little bird sitting on the doorway. He was real cute and had something in it in his beak. I had to chase him away and Dawn started looking around the boat for bird poop. Yes, he had pooped, but only after he had found the bag of chips that Dawn had hastily tossed into the corner of the boat. This is Randy showing Dawn that you need to put things like that into the cooler. We had a good laugh. I tossed a few more chips out for the bird before we left.

It was a great afternoon. We are headed home with the dogs about 5 o’clock. 

Monday, January 27, 2020

Good morning. I woke up to Mark rolling the new bar fridge through the house. It’s now located in the Sunroom with big plans for updating it. Schweeet. My job is to revise the front panel. 🤔 

So we arrived at Randy & Dawn‘s about 6 o’clock, and the table was beautifully set for dinner.  Dawn had lotto tickets for the five of us and the party began with hot crab dip and crackers. It was delicious! We sat on the back porch and enjoyed the cool evening while Randy and Dawn prepared the meal. The menu was mahi-mahi, cheesy potatoes, baked brussels sprouts and broccoli. Everything was very good.

OMG  F U N  T I M E S 

Dawn loves to give Robbie and BeeZee treats. But, she’s a little afraid to give it to them directly. Here she is dropping the treats and the dogs are leaping for them. Ha ha.  

It was a fabulously fun night, and we sat on the back porch until midnight. Scott had his music playing and we teased him about a dating app. 😂 Scott, don’t take advice from us. LOL

Cheers to fun, food ‘n family. 

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Hey there, it’s evening and we’re home from a fun dinner at Jeremiah’s with RanDawn and family. 

Happy Birthday Brandon ❤️ 

L-R ... Scott, Mark, Julie, Allan, Brittany, Charlotte, MaKenna, Brandon Junior, Brandon, Dawn and Randy. 

Fun times!

Earlier in the day, Mark and I picked up a new outdoor cast iron fireplace at LaDonna & Wayne’s. They had bought it for their daughter, and she had it two years and never even unwrapped it! Yeah, we can give it a good home at our canal front patio. 😜 

After that, we stopped in at Joanne fabrics as I had a 20% off coupon ... and it covered sale and regular merchandise. Schweeet. 

More tomorrow. Ta ta. 

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Good morning. Mark is across the street helping Marky-Mark blow insulation into the lodge attic. To me, it looks like an all day job! The temperature is right for it, just a high of 70° today. 

I have the usual chores to handle today and then hope to do a little painting. I actually have three paintings I’m working on, two that just need finishing up. 

Today is Mark’s great-nephew’s 2nd birthday. Here’s Austin celebrating with family. 

Actually, it appears Austin is playing on his tablet. 😜

Marshall, Austin, Fallon & Savannah. ❤️

Jeremy and his girlfriend Kim ... Jonathan is standing in back. (Yeah, it’s winter in North Carolina!)

Friday, January 24, 2020

Good afternoon. Mark and I begin our day with a couple of cups of coffee then cleaning house. Oh what fun, not. Our sunroom has been in disarray for three weeks during the boat seat project. After some tidy up and vacuuming, he began installing the boat seats again. It wasn’t long before Lew and Lynne dropped over to see what was going on. I’m betting they want to paint their boat seats too! It’s a real problem with mildew in Florida, as we never get temperatures cold enough to kill off the mold cells. Oh well, our high humidity keeps us young. 😜

Don’t worry, it’s not a total work and no play day! We are meeting Wayne and LaDonna for dinner tonight.

Well we had a fun time at dinner with the L’s ... followed by banana bread, ala Karen, at our place. Delicious!!! It’s too bad, but Karen and Pete are at a camp out this weekend and missing the fun. 

Back at our house, we had cocktails and lots of conversation and laughs.

LaDonna cuddled with BeeZee ... two sweet cuties 💕

It’s now 1030, and jammer:30 time ❤️ (After Mark went to bed, the doggies and I sat on the front porch listening to the owls calling each other.) 

Thursday January 23, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s nearly 2 o’clock and the newly Christened RanDawn is at it’s home dock. 🥂 🍾  

Randy and Dawn sharing champagne with their new boat. 😍

Here’s how the day unfolded. We arrived about 1030, hooked up the boat then Mark and Randy went over towing prep details and we 5 were off! 

Scott had arrived at Randy & Dawn‘s last night, so he came along on the excursion. We launched at Buzzard Beach on Lake Eustis.

Mark, Dawn, Scott and Randy

Randy, Dawn, Mark and Scott took the boat over to Palm Gardens to fuel up. (I took our Dodge and their boat trailer back to RanDawn’s place.) After fueling up, they went through the mile long Dora Canal to Lake Dora.

The Dora Canal on a nice afternoon! 

They put the boat up on step down Lake Dora, but it was pretty chilly with the wind. 

Here they are at the home dock. NOW the dock looks complete! 

Mark and I had brought a bottle of Proceccio to toast to the new boat. Randy had the same idea and had a bottle of champagne in the fridge. so, the five of us managed to drink two bottles of champagne and we were all a bit tipsy. Randy suggested lunch at Mary’s, just down the end of their street. The food was good ... fried pickles, fried cheese curds and burgers! we were all stuffed after that lunch.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Good afternoon all y’all ... it’s a tad cold here today with a 15 MPH north wind ... just 55 chilly degrees!

Mark had planned to blow insulation into the lodge with Marky Mark today. However, the equipment that they rented at Lowe’s was out for service. 🤷‍♀️ Marky Mark raised hell about it and more equipment was to be sent to the lodge by 10 o’clock this morning from the Lady Lake store. well, it turns out that during the time all this paperwork was being done a customer came in and rented it and took it. Ha ha ha, it just wasn’t meant to be today. The next available date for Mark helping him is Friday morning. It’s too bad, because they wanted to do it on a cool day. By Friday we’re back to 80°  🙃.

This morning, I finished painting the boat seats and they are curing in the sunroom with the heater on. Meanwhile, I’m making batches of potatoes and sweet potatoes for the dogs. Mark cooked up 3 pounds of lean turkey for them and I drained that and put it all away too. So, it’s a busy day in the kitchen.

Randy and Dawn are coming over at 4:30 for happy hour and then out to dinner with us. As soon as I mentioned their names, Robbie’s head swiveled around. I guess he has missed seeing them lately. 😍

Randy, Dawn and Marky Mark arrived about 430 for happy hour. We had such fun we didn’t leave for the restaurant until 630 ... and, Wowza! Dinner was great. They finally had to toss us out of Stavros at closing time. We had such fun! Tomorrow is boat launching day for River Haven. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Good afternoon. Mark and Bob enjoyed a morning in the woods taking down a couple of tree stands. It’s a cold day, by Florida standards, with a wind out of the north. 

I began painting the last set of boat seats at 9 o’clock. Hopefully, I will be finished by tomorrow morning as this whole set up is blocking my desk! Yikes ...  I’m sure there are things that need handling. 😜

It was a very sad day at K’s house as Julius went to the rainbow bridge at 11 o’clock. Sue and Wayne are the finest pet parents who have dedicated themselves to the utmost care and respect for their doggies. Sweet old Julius had many critical health issues that they handled over the years. Today was their final act of love for him. 

Julius, earlier in the morning. 💕  Hugs for all involved. 

Monday, January 20, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s been a very busy morning. Mark started by reinstalling the boat seats that I had ready, and pulling out the other section that I have yet to refinish. Here is a before and after picture ... 

Better eh? The secret seems to be, a good scrub, dry it thoroughly, two coats of Behr acrylic sealer, followed by two coats of your color choice of Behr acrylic paint. Let it dry thoroughly, and then coat with 3O3 Aerospace Protectant. 

Friends Wayne & LaDonna have been helping their daughter redo her home. They asked if we wanted ... 

a bar fridge (hell yeah!), a tabletop propane fireplace (sure), and a propane patio heater (you bet!).  So we took a ride over and picked up the goods. Schweeet. Thank you dear pals. 

It’s going to be chilly tonight, possibility of down to 39°. It’s not enough for frost on the birdbath, but darn chilly. Yes, it is winter in Florida. We have days in the 80s and nights in the 40s and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Tomorrow, I will continue my painting project while Mark enjoys a day in the forest with his friend Bob. They have tree stands to remove. 😜

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Good morning! It’s supposed to be a rainy day so we’ll be heading home; Karen & Pete, Wayne & LaDonna, Larry & Susan plus Bobby & Donna are staying another night. Bet they watch the football games at the clubhouse and pool their food for a fun dinner tonight.

As we were hooking up, Waynoe was over watching everything Mark was doing. He and LaDonna are seriously thinking of getting a truck and fifth wheel and selling their 2017 Mirada Class A. While he was watching Mark, his two dogs broke off their lead! They were pegged out by the RV door. OMG they sure went on a crazy dog run. Wayne was able to call Briscoe who came back to him, but jumping Jack flash was having way too much fun. it was like a scene out of the Keystone cops, trying to grab that little skinny  Corgi! I managed to grab his tail and pin him down while LaDonna came and grabbed his head. Between us we got him into the crate with Briscoe. 🤣 

The Briscoe Kid

Jumpin’ Jack Flash

BOTH dogs had broken the clasp on their puppy collars. 

It was an easy drive home, but we did see one brown pick up truck had gone off the road and deep into the forest. There was crime scene tape around it and a sheriff car sitting roadside. Hopefully it wasn’t a fatality. A few people passed us dangerously although Mark was going over the speed limit. There’s no shortage of crazies around! We got home about 1230, emptied the rig, I did the laundry, while Mark vacuumed and mopped the floors. It was parked in its RV port by 4:30. I think that’s a record. For us.  

Robbie was sacked out on the ride home. 💕

It was a great weekend, and we really enjoyed ourselves. As far as the KOA park, the sites need leveling; and more staff to keep up with maintenance. A better Wi-Fi system is a necessity! Even our Verizon service was sporadic in that area. Karen & Pete worked really hard to bring that all together. There are no restaurants or grocery stores within 40 miles. Everything had to be brought in and cooked. What a job. They tried to hire music, but couldn’t get anyone so Pete served as DJ, and he did a fine job.

Now, back home, we are into the boat seats project. It’ll be all finished and put back together by Wednesday, I’m sure.

This week, we will help Randy & Dawn launch their boat and get it over to their dock safely. I know they can’t wait to have it. Today they are at the Hideaway enjoying music and drinks. Fortunately, Randy is feeling better already.

Sue shared a picture of their front entrance garden looking all freshened up with new flowers. 

Beautiful ... we hope to get down south for a visit this winter. 

That’s it for the day! Football’s on the Telly. 

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Good morning. The doggies and I were awake about seven, but Mark is having a sleep in. Today’s fun is terrarium crafting ... Karen brought everything we need; plants and all. 

Small ‘plant’ group ... LaDonna, me, Trish and Karen with our creations. 

Mark and Wayno enjoyed a hike along the river! 

Cool ‘bunny’ driftwood’ Mark found. 

We sat outside all afternoon with the 4 doggies ... it was beautiful. A shared lunch of LaDonna’s potato and ham soup plus Mark’s baked ziti went down nicely with cold beer. 

At 6 we had dinner at the clubhouse prepared by Pete ... BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, baked beans and coleslaw. Due to the isolated campground, Pete changed hats and became DJ Pete Diddy. 

(Yeah, the Christmas decorations are still up at KOA Oklawaha!) 

It was a fun evening with music and dancing. 

And, we got our 25th Campout flag!

Friday, January 17, 2020

Wifi is nonexistent in this Campground and our Verizon service is spotty at best. Definitely no pictures in the blog for a few days. 

LaDonna and I set up our painting on the picnic table. Then the wind came up ... hahaha, it was like one of Sue’s barbecues! Paper plates (used for paint) were flying! My canvas was caught by the wind and whacked me in the forehead. Next, a 3’ long branch blew out of the hickory tree and got me on the head! We were having fun ... but our “plein air” painting experience wasn’t like we see on TV. 🤣

At 3 o’clock, we helped Karen and Pete set up the community center for our dinner! It was potluck night and the selection was terrific. Mark made Baked Ziti and LaDonna made Potato Ham soup. Delish. Afterward we sat outside by the Oklawaha River with a big bonfire. It turned cold, in the 50’s so the fire was appreciated!

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Good morning! We’re hoping for clear skies over the forest tonight for some stargazing 🔭 with friends! Pete has his own version of the Hubble ... we’ll see what we can spy! 

We may not have internet service there ... the Blog might be late! 🙄

19 through the forest 🌳 

We’re parked between Karen & Pete ... and Wayne & LaDonna. Tonight we had a shared dinner at the clubhouse then relaxed. 

Tomorrow, LaDonna and I are puttering on painting at the picnic table ... then a potluck dinner at the clubhouse. It’s a nice relaxed campground ... decent sized sites and lots of shade. 

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

How’re those new year resolutions coming along? We’re a work in progress ... 1 step forward, er, you know. 😂

Last night’s dinner was great but I didn’t sleep for coughing which means acid reflux. Yuck. So, I cancelled going to lunch with the neighborhood luncheon group. There were 20 going to our Eustis Mexican restaurant. 

Mark ran the errands and got the food for our RV trip. I loaded things up and went back to painting the boat seats! Quite the huge task. I don’t mind ... just hope it lasts! 

Randy’s down with a cold today ... and we hope he gets better soon! Sue and Wayne are out to the yacht club tonight ... and a pet sitter is home with the kids. Now that’s classy. 😀

It’s Scottie snuggle time ... hope y’all had a good day!

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Good morning y’all. Mark’s been up since 4 o’clock but fell asleep in his chair with BeeZee on his lap. Robs and I woke at 6 ... still early! 

It’s a foggy start which may have caused the fatalities at 44 and Apiary Road near us earlier. The highway is closed in both directions right now. Sad. That stretch needs speed monitoring; it’s too fast for a 2 lane road. 

We got the RV out then Mark went grocery shopping for our “forest” camping weekend. Meanwhile, I put the second coat onto the backside of the starboard side forward seats. cool! Tomorrow morning, I’ll put a coat on the fronts and finish those up tomorrow. 

Mark is taking the Kia in for service this afternoon and Lew’s going along to help Mark eat his money’s worth of free hot dogs. Ha ha ha. 😋 

It’s game day for me at Toni’s ... and I haven’t been to her home! 

Tonight, we met Randy & Dawn at CJ‘s seafood in downtown Eustis. We had lots of laughs, and had a great waitress that sounded like their friend Mary. Dinner was great.

Fab fun with RanDawn. ❤️

Monday, January 13, 2020

Good morning. Yes, it’s another bright beautiful sunshiny day here in Central Florida. After breakfast, Mark took a load of tree limbs to the dump and then will do a few errands on his way home. Me? I began with another coat of stain blocker on the boat seats and then gessoed three canvases for future art projects. 😜

There’s plenty to be done today, but just pace ourselves. After all, retirement is supposed to be a bit lazy isn’t it?

We had a fun time last night. We met LaDonna and Wayne at Stavros for dinner and then went back to their place for drinks. They’re two corgis are so playful and fun. Why didn’t I get a picture of the pups? Duh. 

Wayne, LaDonna and us at Stavros! 

This afternoon I took the Scotties for a ride on The Caddy ... such a lovely day?  Lew popped over for happy hour and we sat on the front porch yakking for an hour. 

Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day ... pulling the RV out, KIA in for service and game day! Holy moly. 😳

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Happy anniversary to Susan and Wayne. They are celebrating with friends tonight having dinner at Carrabba’s ! Here’s to another year of wedded bliss. 🥂🍾

It was 40° below zero that day, and Sue’s flowers had to be wrapped in plastic just to walk from the car to the church, about 50 feet.  

So today’s mission, at our house, was to get another branch or two off the sick sycamore tree.

Yup, that’s my monkey er, Man up the tree! Three branches a week he says is the goal.  

This evening, we met LaDonna and Wayne at Stavros for dinner and then went to their house for drinks afterwards. It was a great evening. On the way home, it was still 74°  

Saturday, January 11, 2020

What the heck ... we’re both up getting things done at 5 a.m. Mark is replacing the well pressure tank this morning, finally. (He’s been planning the project for a week!) So, in case there’s a problem, I showered and washed my hair then did laundry! 😜

Robs and Bee are disapproving of these early days. 🐾💕. 😂

It’s now going on 1 o’clock and we’re ready to turn the water 💦 on ... 

Who’s the MAN? Mark is! We have water ... saved the $380 service bill. 😅

It’s springtime warm this week ... mid-80’s starting tomorrow. 👍🏻

While Mark watched football, I ‘finished’ my big painting ... the first in twenty years. Yeah, I’m rusty; but so nice to get back into it. ☺️

You can see it’s a gallery canvas and I painted the sides ... challenging.