Saturday, February 29, 2020

Hey hey hey it’s Leap Day ... an extra day to get it right, get it done or whatever makes you smile. 

I’m up icing my right knee and zapping my right lower back with Light Relief. When I was turning the lights off by the fireplace (last night) I tripped on the brass elephant and went down on my knees. The right knee got the worst of it ... and I twisted my back. As we always say, it could have been worse. The only witnesses were BeeZee and Robbie and they both began running around poking me. Mark came in from putting the bonfire chairs away and got an ice pack for my knee. I’ll be fine, just no dancing tonight. 😉

Mark’s job today is installing a new sprinkler pump at the canal. The other one seized up and the body was totally rusted on it, so not worth fixing. Thank goodness that he is able to do these things! 😅 

Next weekend our neighborhood is having a garage sale. The homeowners association takes donations from those that aren’t having their own sale. Since Mark and I despise sitting outside negotiating, we donated a big set of dishes and another set of pasta dishes to the cause. Of course we will help with the sales! 

Tonight we’re going with Lynn, Nancy, Marky-Mark, Rose, Jim, Ken and Pat for dinner plus 2 of Pat’s family for dinner and drinks. It’s the first social outing for Lynn since Lew passed away February 7. I hope she’s up to it. (We’re going with her on Monday to his gravesite ceremony.)

Here’s my Roseate Spoonbill acrylic painting on a panel board. We saw one when we were camping and I’ve been wanting to paint it ever since! 

Done ✅. 

We had a great night at Sip in Leesburg! It was a full house for Alan Darcy.

Dinner was great! I had Lobster Ravioli ... Mark had Chicken Caesar and it as all good. 

Friday, February 28, 2020

Good morning. Well I was having quite the wonderful dream when I was awoken by a retching dog. I know there are cartoons about this and it’s true. Nothing gets you out of bed quicker! Both Mark and I sprung out of bed and ran for the paper towels. Poor BeeZee had eaten something in the backyard at bedtime last night ... and barfed up a leaf! 🤷‍♀️ Anyway, a Pepcid for her and back to bed for us. It took for Mark, but not for me. So here I am starting the blog. 😜

Boy those cookies smell good. I’m making a big batch of Pumpkin Applesauce Ginger cookies for the dogs. LaDonna and Wayne are coming over tonight so I’ll have plenty to send home for Jumpin Jack Flash and The Briscoe Kid. 🐾💕

We cooked pizzas on the Pizzazz, LaDonna brought a gorgeous salad and we sat outside and enjoyed the bonfire with temperatures in the 50s. What a fun night!

Steven Hawking visiting our seawall area.

Limpkim swamp bird visiting us. 🥰

Rocky Raccoon visiting! 

Wood duck! 

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day with the clear cold air moving in from the north. Mark has an eye doctor appointment and left at 8 o’clock. He is not bothered by the drops and drives home just fine. We both have rumbly stomach’s today after being overserved at the wine bar last night. Ha ha ha. We sure had a lot of laughs with Marky Mark.

Today is game day at Carin’s ... guess I’ll take the golf cart! 

While I was playing Phase 10 Mark washed Ol’ Silver and put the truck cover on. There were 12 girls today ... half played Phase 10 and the others 10,000. It was a great afternoon. 

Mark cooked me a nice steak tonight ... still from Pam’s gift ... Omaha Steaks. Delicious. Then he cooked up several pounds of ground sirloin and turkey for the Scotties. Lucky puppers! 

It’s going to be a busy few days ... but tonight is laid back. 

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Good afternoon sunshine! It’s housekeeping day here ... dusting and vacuuming. 😝 Meanwhile, Mark grocery shopped and made a pot of turkey soup for dinner. Marky-Mark is going to join us. (Guess I need to make a dessert!)

Our original plan for tonight was Palm Gardens by boat ... but Mother Nature has her own plans! 

There’s another front coming from the great white north. It seems we’ve had a lot of up and down weather since new year’s. Once the rain passes tonight we’ll be happy to use the fireplace! 😍

Just look who’s taken my place on the sofa! Yeah Robbie-dog likes the armrest ... and I’m left sittin’ in da middle. 🤣

And here’s my sweet boy giving me “high 5” ... it’s his way of asking that I get his meal cooked NOW.  💕🐾😂

Get cooking my eggs Mom! 

This evening, we had Marky-Mark over for turkey soup, garlic rolls and boozy chocolate. Believe it or not, he did not partake of the boozy chocolate. Ha ha.

We had lots of Smalltalk at the bar, many laughs, and lots of loud obnoxious comments. It was a fine evening. During all this, we heard the rain and the wind.

Tuesday February 25, 2020

Good evening. It’s been a busy day for us.  After being away for 8 days this month I had to catch up with dog cookies!

I made the kids 85 peanut butter cookies and 96 cheddar beef cookies. That’s about 3 weeks supply. Of course the kids sat by the kitchen waiting for their treats. 💕

While I was baking, Mark was trimming the Crepe Myrtle trees ... actually he scalped them. 😂 They will grow nice and full in about 3 months. After he finished trimming and loading the trailer he was off to the dump. 

Yup ... that’s a Crepe Myrtle and we have 3 of the white ones! 

This afternoon I worked on a painting of a Roseate Spoonbill ... it may or may not be finished, we’ll see. I like to stand it in the living room and see what comes to mind. 😜

Yeah, it needs more work. 🤔 

Sue had dental work today ... but is still waiting for the implant to heal. 🤷‍♀️ It’s a long expensive procedure. 

Randy golfed this morning, then he and Dawn went with their friends Mary and Dan for lunch. Maybe we’ll see them next weekend. 

Monday, February 24, 2020

Good morning sunshine! We’re off for home this morning after a great weekend away with the VIP group. We’ll see the RV gang next month at Yellow Jacket! 

The RV got a good inside cleaning this morning before we left for home. We pulled into the driveway at 12:30 and had it emptied, vacuumed and the clean laundry back in. Another time record. 

RanDawn had breakfast out today with Mary and Dan before they got into moving gravel around to their flower beds. 

It’s gorgeous! Well done guys! From the look of this pile, there’s more to do! 

Yeah, that’s a lot of wheelbarrow loads yet. 😜

Sue and Wayne had dinner out at J. Marks in Pompano this evening; fancier than ours ... Mac ‘ tuna. Hey we like it!

That’s it for tonight. 

Sunday, February 23, 2020

The sun’s shining and it’s going to 75F today! We’re staying another night so today is bumming around the area. There’s an At Home store nearby ... heard it’s fab. 

Well that was some store! We walked the aisles for an hour and didn’t cover the whole place! It was overwhelming ... we only spent $16. 😳 Now there wasn’t anything we needed so to entice me it would have to be spectacular. 😂

Back at the RV we had lunch then it was a perfect afternoon for sitting outside with the kids. 

The sun was so warm we moved the chairs behind the rig to get shade. 😎 They love watching the squirrels and birds! 

At 6 o’clock we met Karen, Pete and their grandson Peyton at Longhorn for dinner. They’re taking his to Star Wars tomorrow! 

Tomorrow we head for home. It’s time to get back to normal. 😊

RanDawn were at Hurricane’s with Brittany and kids tonight. 

No report on the tiki roof construction. 🤔 

I phoned Sue ... she’s suffering with a torn meniscus in her right knee. After years of suffering, I feel her pain. It’s so debilitating. 

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Good morning y’all. Here’s what’s going on today! 

Pictures later! 😂

Ray n Karen ... Us ... Karen n George champagne 🥂 c🍾 

Yeah yeah yeah 🎶 WE DID IT AGAIN ❤️ (Wine was involved!) 

OMG that was a blast! 

Friday, February 21, 2020

Brrr 🥶 ... it’s a chilly willy morning with a wind out of the north. We had a lazy morning at the RV then went to the local Walmart for our potluck dinner items tonight. Our initial grouping is bringing potato salad. That Walmart store was so busy with tourists coming to the Disney area. We would sure hate to live here as the traffic is congested. Most things in that Walmart are Disney related. 

It being a cold windy afternoon (in the 50’s) we relaxed and watched Telly with the kids. 🥰 This Campground has cable! 

At 4:30 we fed the kids, walked them then headed over to the clubhouse for the potluck dinner. Karen ran a pie eating contest for a free camping weekend. Mark flatly refused to enter so there were only 2 men. No hands could be used so none of the ladies wanted to do that. 🤷‍♀️ It was a fun evening. We sat with Karen and Ray ... and a new couple Brian and Mila. It was a crazy night of funny RV stories. 

MyHeritage has a new colorization program which works wonders on old black and white photos. Here’s a sample ...

My parents (before I was part of their lives) celebrating his homecoming from WWII. Interesting note ... before he left Canada my dad had auburn red hair. After the war ... well it was very dark! 

Mark was off to bed early because he’s helping make pancakes tomorrow morning! 

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Good morning. I woke up early with a stiff back, and decided to get light relief on it. Have y’all heard of it? We bought this in 2009 and it’s still working! It’s infrared technology. Anyway, it works well. 

We asked Lynn to join us for wine and dinner last night. She’d had a rough day at the Veteran’s office and was exhausted. The last of Lew’s family just left. (Next week we’ll try again.)

Today we’re off to find Robin Hood at Sherwood Forest RV resort in Kissimmee. 🏹😜 (The pics online look good but TripAdvisor reviews are awful!) Hope it’s a fun weekend! 🤨  Site 649 ... nicely treed. 

Karen and Pete both came over for a quick visit, well, Karen‘s visit was quick. Pete couldn’t wait to tell Mark all about the kitchen project they just finished. I can’t wait to see it, the pictures look beautiful.

Tonight we are going to rock and brews in Kissimmee for dinner with the gang. This time there are only a few RVers here a day early. Traffic is heavy around here so we are allowing a half hour to get there. It’s only 8 miles away, LOL.

Karen, me, Lou, Rose & Tom

Rock & Brews ... a cool place 

Randy & Dawn phoned to tell us about their exciting day yesterday. They met the family of LL Bean from Maine. I bet they are interested in a trip there now, and it is a beautiful State! 

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Good day y’all. It’s a nice start with a cuppa coffee and BeeZee on my lap. Life is good. We sure had fun with Lani & Marky-Mark last night ... but I overate. That meant I had to sleep in the recliner for a few hours before laying down. Back to serious food control today.  🙄

It’s eye doc day for me ... Mark is driving me as I can’t open my eyes for hours after those dang drops! Yuck. 

Well ... good news from Doc. My vision is 20/20 ... no glasses needed ... no problems and no cataracts. He said I should keep doing what I’m doing ‘cause it’s working for me. 😜 (Alright ... I’m staying at 36 for another year!) 🤣

This evening, we had happy hour on the front porch. Yesterday, when we had happy hour on the front porch, Kim and Bob walked past, kind of speedwalking. We invited them for drinks but they hollered back that they are not drinking and just working out! WTH? So tonight, Mark and I were on the front porch, he smoking a cigar and we both drinking wine, when Kim and Bob walked past the other direction ...  I hollered out ‘damn that was a long walk!!!’ Well, I scared Bob; he grabbed his chest. We all had a big laugh. 

LaDonna and Wayne came home a day early from their camp out. They said they wanted to be ahead of the bad weather moving in, but we know they missed us. Wink wink. Over the past month or so they’ve given us a few wonderful hand me downs. Yesterday, they asked if we wanted an icemaker they weren’t using. We said ‘hell yeah!’ Well today, Mark was smoking one of long Wayno’s ‘stock-rotation’ cigars.

Mark said it was the best cigar he’s ever had, so I took a picture of it with Mark wearing the cigar ring on his finger.  Here's what we sent to long Wayno ... 

These two are classy and fun ... and they Like Us. 😜 We owe them big time for all these cool regifts of late! 
I know ... we’ll get them a Pizzazz Plus! 

 

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Good morning. It’s 10 o’clock and still a little bit foggy here in Central Florida. Forecast is to be the mid-80s today! I reloaded the clean clothes into the RV while Mark vacuumed it and we’re 90% ready for the next trip. Schweeet. The upcoming campout is redneck style. It’ll be a blast. 

Mark groomed the Scotties this afternoon ... saves us $100+ 🐾💕🤩 and they look great! Mark bagged the hair and it was a couple of pounds. They certainly will feel so much better. 

Today our neighbor Lani experienced a cracked vision in one eye. Marky-Mark phoned for help and Mark recommended our eye doctor. They went there for a multitude of tests ... all for $96. Thankfully it was an optic migraine ... age related. Haha, Lani didn’t want to hear that. After the good news, they came over for drinks and we went to Del Sol Mexico in downtown Eustis for dinner. Yum yum ... delicious food. 

Monday February 17, 2020

Good morning y’all (from a wet campground!) We’re heading for home, about a 3 hour drive. Nothing but a small thing for Mark. 

It was sunny at home and 79F. Schweet. Lani & Marky-Mark were tree trimming and had used everyone’s landscape debris cans up and down the street. 😂 Poor girl is only here for 10 days and she’s worked 3 of them. 😅

Since our next RV trip is Thursday morning we’re not parking it, just cleaning and reloading. Unfortunately for us, LaDonna and Wayne are watching their granddaughter starting Thursday while her parents take work related update courses. 

We called RanDawn to get the details of their Vegas trip and it sounded fantastic! Seeing Steven Tyler! Wowsa. We hoped to get together with them Wednesday, but they have plans for a big ride with friends. 

It’s TV time now ... watching Weeds. 🤩

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Good morning y’all. Rain’s in the forecast for this afternoon ... so, we’ll have inside time. These are the days when you’re happy to have a 42 foot RV! 

At noon, LaDonna and Wayne picked us up and we went to the nearest Walmart 28 miles away. We had lunch at Moe’s southwest grill; it was very good! Afterwards, we went over to Walmart for an hours walking off the meal and shopping. When we came out of the store it was torrential rain and a slower drive back to the RV.

Look what we found for LaDonna! She’s a Corgi queen for sure! 

It was perfect! 

Meanwhile, Sue and Wayne took the dogs to Galuppi’s for breakfast. When they came out they got soaked as well. The rain had moved down to South Florida now. 

Randy & Dawn took the redeye home late Saturday night and spent Sunday catching up on their sleep. They had a great time in Las Vegas and saw Aerosmith, a Prince tribute and big Elvis. They were quite worn out from having walked a lot. 

Tonight LaDonna cooked lasagna and a Caprese salad. Mark made garlic knots and we finished the strawberry cake for dessert. It’s been a fun four days on our joint camp out. 

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Good morning. We were up and changed sites this morning. There was someone booked from last July into the site we were on. It’s OK, it was no big deal. 

Today we’re joint cooking a leftovers lunch. LaDonna’s doing Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese ... and Mark’s doing Steak ‘n Eggs.  Another feast. 😜

Afterward, LaDonna and I painted for a few hours! It was great fun ... in the 60’s and sunny. 

Dinner tonight was Brats & Sauerkraut at the L’s ... at the picnic table. After, we went to the Rendezvous bar and grille for drinks and karaoke 🎤. Both LaDonna and Wayne like to sing ... 

while Mark and I just had goofy fun ... 

VALENTINE’S DAY 2020

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! It’s a different one for us this year as we piggybacked on LaDonna and Wayne‘s camp out plans. The rain had been heavy over Thursday night and Friday morning continued with clouds and drizzle. But ... when the sun broke through about 1 o’clock it became a gorgeous day.

The campsites here at Suwannee River rendezvous Park are pretty spacious. 

Three o’clock and sunny! 

The history and revamping of this RV park is interesting. Where the RVs are is the upper park. Downhill is the old original resort with shabby chic office, dining and dance hall, a takeout order restaurant and kayak rentals. You see, it’s the Suwannee River and Convict Spring that give the area charm. 

We mostly had a relaxing afternoon and then had LaDonna and Wayne over for dinner. They brought the lobsters and we brought the filet mignon’s. LaDonna made a caprese salad which is a pasta salad, and I made baked potatoes and a strawberry cake for dessert. What a feast. Of course we started with a bottle of champagne. 😍

Dueling grills! Wayne grilled lobster tails and Mark did 4 fillet mignons and venison. In Lew’s honor are we all had a taste of the venison 

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! ❤️

The evening ended sitting by a bonfire till midnight.

Thursday February 13, 2020

Good morning y’all. This gorgeous Tiki bar is going up our Hurricane’s on the Dead River! They’ll be busy with a nice outdoor space! 

So we’re off to the Suwannee River Rendezvous RV Resort for 4 nights. We’re ready for some R & R after a rough week in the neighborhood. This is a new campground for us ... so we’ll see.  We arrived at 12:15 and a security man on a golf cart showed us to our site. We have to go down to the office to register after we get set up. It’s a pretty nice park, paved roads and large gravel site. It should be quiet, there’s nothing around here. Ha ha ha

The office is down the road 1/4 mile and covers an interesting area. That was the original campground with a few sites on the Suwannee River. The history dates back to the 1800’s. 

Tonight we made Caesar salad and pizzas for dinner after sitting on the patio sipping wine. It was a great evening and a fun time.  

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Good morning. It’s a bit of a crazy start to our day as we are loading up the RV for our weekend trip and preparing our house for four strangers to stay in it. 🤷‍♀️ Like I said, it’s a bit of a crazy day.

Lynn has family coming in from New York for Lew’s funeral and the overflow will stay here. We’ll meet them tonight and get them settled in. 

Mark finished his Sunroom bar fridge project ...

and posed for a pic. It’s a pretty nice cabinet he built for the fridge to stand on! Great to have storage for dry goods! 

Randy and Dawn are having a great time in Las Vegas. Tomorrow night they see Aerosmith. 

Here they are at the Bellagio water show! ❤️ Dawn’s pretty lucky ... wonder if she’s hauling around a bag of coins. 🍀 

Snacks ‘n drinks at Cabo Wabo ...

It looks a bit cool but sunshiny. (Dawn’s so darn cute!) 😘

Sue saw her chiropractor for the knee trouble she’s having. The knee seemed better after 2 visits until she ran down the stairs to shut off the alarm! 😅 Let’s hope the chiro can adjust it again. 

Well Lynn phoned tonight to say the family rented a hotel room. No worries ... we put things away that we had readied. We had dinner, did chores and were watching Telly when she phoned back. They didn’t like “the look” of the hotel from the road. 🤷‍♀️ Lynn borrowed our inflatable queen bed for them. ✅ 

That’s it ... time for relaxation. 

 

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Good morning. I was up at five, couldn’t sleep for thinking about Lynne and how she’s dealing with everything. Anyway, I baked 96 dog cookies, beef and cheddar cheese and two cakes. The triple chocolate cake I took over to Lynn as it’s her favorite! She had made calls to social security and Lew’s pension board already. Her son and daughter are there with her helping out. Lynn is learning to do laundry ... that was Lew’s job. It gave us all a giggle as she didn’t know where the soap was. 😂

Mark and I are looking forward to our weekend campout with LaDonna and Wayno ... part of my birthday celebration. We’re sharing dinners and the preparation of them. Fun. 

Game Day at Cheri’s was fun. There were just 9 of us ... but oh what fun! Half played Mexican Dominoes and the other 4 played Rummicube. Gunner, the big dog, loved having all the girls there. 

Back at home, I took the brats for a ride on The Caddy; more like a barkfest! Mz Bee is getting a fancy zapper collar for her birthday! She used to bark once in a while at a few things, but now it is everything that moves. 🤨 Robs gets in on the fun too but not in a rage like Bee does! Dang!

Monday, February 10, 2020

It’s a bright sunny day here in Central Florida. In Mexico Rick is taking Ruth out to celebrate her birthday. So ... 

and enjoy the gondola ride to hilltop El Faro! It looks very nice. 

It was good FaceTime with Rick yesterday, even though our reception was spotty sometimes! 

It was a day of finishing up odds and ends around the house. Mark has been working on a storage cabinet to place the refrigerator on in the sunroom. A dry storage area was badly needed in that room. While the paint dries, he has gone to buy some cigars.

I had shopping to do today with granddaughter Isabella‘s birthday later this month. The hint we got from Matt was for articulated dinosaurs. You just never know what girls are into these days. Ha ha ha. So, three dinosaurs are on the way to dear Izzy. 🥰

When the mail came today there was a package marked Royal Mail ... and we had to sign for it. My cousin Caz sent me a Scottie dog purse for my birthday! It’s so cute ... I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow. 

With all the neighborhood in a tizzy over Lew’s death I didn’t post about K’s excellent dog sitter from Canada. 

This is Chikki getting some loving from Chris. 

Chris got out on the town with Sue and Wayne when they got back from Central Florida. She’s now home again in Kenora. 👍🏻