Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Good morning. It’s mostly overcast today, a brisk wind and about 74°. That makes it a gorgeous day in Central Florida for the end of September.

Sue and Wayne are leaving Canada today heading to Duluth and parts south on their way home to Florida. Tony and Arelia are heading west, to their home near Lockport Manitoba. We wish them happy trails.

Lake Superior Against the backdrop of colorful autumn trees. Thank you Sue for the photo.

Bob picked up Mark today to go hunting. He has a big four-wheel-drive truck that won’t get stuck in the mud hole after heavy rains. And yesterday, we had some good rains. I know they are enjoying the weather, a bit cool for this time of year. But hey, we will take it.

Me? The house has gotten away on us having been away on two trips RVing recently. Things had to be moved around and vacuumed under. The kitchen got done quite well today and now I am working in the Sunroom. Plants needed moving about and watering and in general things put to order. Right now, it’s time to drink some water with Miss BeeZee on my lap. 

Surprise surprise. Randy & Dawn popped in on the motorcycle and had a little visit. Dawn had dental work done today so Randy was taking her somewhere for dinner. It was a surprise, but I hope it’s easy for her to eat. 

Sue and Wayne made it to Two Harbors for the night. Apparently it’s pretty hard to find campsites right now, hikers and leafers are out and about. 

Our plans for tonight are to visit with Rose & Jim and our neighborhood group.

Happy 20th anniversary to our friends LaDonna and Wayne. That’s it for tonight. That’s all the news we have.

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Good morning. Mark was up at 4 AM, just unable to sleep. I think the chirping air conditioner woke him up, but he won’t fess to that! 🐿 Chipmunks are sweet ... and I enjoy being reminded of them ... but not by my air conditioner every few minutes! 😂🐿🐿🐿😬. Soooo, we’re going shopping today! Now of course we have central air conditioning here in the South ... but why cool the entire house to 75 degrees when we only need our bedroom at that temperature? Also, the white noise is dandy! 😴  (By the way, we bought this A/C in 2005 for our Pompano Beach home after Hurricane Wilma knocked the power out for 16 days!) 

Here we go! Ha! Mark had to make the opening a tad larger for the new 8,000 BTU unit. Wow he sought, I held the vacuum nozzle up to keep the dust and sawdust down. Maybe it worked, but I was sure sneezing afterwards. The new AC is in and running. We are pretty impressed how quiet it is. Mark still has trim work to do around the face plate, but that’s for tomorrow. At least we can get a good nights sleep at our usual 75°F.

This is actually pretty funny, because IF you get caught and you get 10 years you’ve got free room and board! What a  retirement plan eh? 🤔 

The pre-holiday season health plan is in full effect ... I’ve given up wine for lower calorie Scotch, rocks and seltzer water. Cheers!



AND ... it’s a HEALTH drink! Who knew?  🥃 

The K’s are having their last camping night in Canada with the L’s. It’s happy hour at one RV and dinner at the other. Tonight they plan to play Mexican dominoes. Tomorrow, they go their separate ways. Tony & Aurelia are off to Dryden, Sue and Wayne to Duluth. Safe travels! 

Tonight’s the Pres debate ... I don’t know if I’ll watch 🤷‍♀️ ... we’ve already voted! 

🍻 😂

Monday, September 28, 2020

Good evening. We started out with a beautiful sunny day, high of 84 then rain moved in and cooled us down. Later in the week we are going to be in the 60s in the evening. Fall has arrived very early this year in our region.

Sue and Wayne are in Kekabecca Falls, 16 miles outside of Thunder Bay.They had a drive around TBay today with Tony and Aurelia and all 4 doggies. From personal experience, there isn’t too much to see there except the waterfront. In it’s early days, Thunder Bay was Fort William and Port Arthur. I wonder if it was clear enough to spot the sleeping giant in the bay?

There he is ... still sleeping. 😂

Later in the afternoon when it warmed up there, the four of them went to see the falls.

Quite beautiful! 

On the homefront, Mark and pal Bob went archery hunting early this morning. Apparently the big bucks heard archery season had started! All they saw were a couple of doe ... but they enjoyed the cooler day. 

While Mark was out hunting I did the morning chores and then painted a little bit. There’s always plenty to do around the house. Our (extra) bedroom air conditioner has been making a noise like chipmunks squeaking, on and off. Yesterday we had a power brownout and the ding dang dong thing wouldn’t start last night! A bit of fussing and cussing and we got it started. Whew! When we pulled the manual out of storage it turned out to be a 2005 A/C. Mark wants to buy another, the same. Not many appliances last 15 years! It’s a Wintair. 

Just before the storm clouds moved through we took the Scotties for a ride on The Caddy! It’s running great with new brushes in the motor. This social distancing is getting boring; driving past our friends homes and seeing no one. 

Robbie and Mark were playing humpy with the toy snake when BeeZee grabbed it, shook it and inadvertently pulled Robbie’s hind leg. Poor guy needed a baby aspirin as he was limping! Never a dull moment with kids. 🐾💕 Hopefully he’ll be fine by morning. 

Tonight, after pizza on the Pizzazz, we drank a wine on the front porch and Mark smoked a cigar. Nice evening! Now it’s telly time! Ta ta til tomorrow. 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Hey, it’s evening already; where does the time go? Mark worked around today washing the Dodge before covering ... then trimmed a few palm fronds for tomorrow’s bulk landscape pickup. Me? Well after my chores were completed I completed a painting of my favorite cottage called Bougainvillea on Captiva Island. Tomorrow I will take a picture of it and post.

Sue and Wayne had sad news today. Wayne’s nephew Vince passed away on Friday of unknown causes at his country home.  He was just shy of age 50. We’re thinking of the family today. 

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Good afternoon y’all. It’s a gorgeous day here in Central Florida. Mark and Bob went to the forest for opening day of archery season. Have you seen a fox climb a tree? 

You haven’t? Well now you have. 😂 The fox’s partner is close behind ... probably thinking 💭 what the heck?

Lynn and I went to the Hamilton’s home for a Spotlight article for the upcoming Harbor Shores newsletter. It was the  nicest lake setting ... plus a large pool. It’s a bit large for just the two of them to manage. (Boy, would I like to own it!)

Mark and I finish cleaning the rig, and we are going to get it back to him tonight before bedtime. Wayne and LaDonna have just gone to clean their rake. There rig has indoor storage about 45 minutes from their home. 

Sue and Wayne are camping in Vermilion Bay Ontario. We have never stop there, so I hope they’re having a good time. Aurelia, Tony and Chessie are there with them. 

Nice picture of Tony, Chessie and Aurelia. It looks like it might be a little bit chilly there.

Chiki, Mimi and Shorty are enjoying themselves! Shorty looks like he just came out of a tent, not a Prevost. 😂 

It’s 7 o’clock and the RV is spic ‘n span, loaded for the next adventure and tucked into its port. Whew. Now it’s Wine:30. 

Friday, September 25, 2020

Good afternoon. It was a beautiful day at the beach, 81° when we left at 10 this morning. We just had a 68 mile drive so we’re now home, had lunch and have mostly unloaded and rinsed down the rig, well, the first rinse! 

Sue and Wayne have just left their cottage to spend a night at  Anicinabe in Kenora. We wish them safe travels home where they’ll find a DeSantis disaster. (Better plan to avoid restaurants!)

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s been a busy enough day. Mark and Wayne went fishing at the pier at 8:30 and then came back and surf fish from 1030 until 130. Those two are going to be worn out. They did catch a couple fish which Wayne cleaned. LaDonna and I had our fun morning painting at our kitchen table. Of course we thought we would be able to paint outside but it is still quite breezy. We’re going to have a lot of cleanup to do when we get back home.

Tonight we are going to TheGarlic in New Smyrna Beach for dinner. It’s quite a long way to go but it is LaDonna and Wayne‘s anniversary and their choice of restaurant. 

What a cool restaurant that is. You can’t tell the difference between being inside or outside. The rooms meander around and there are little fireplaces and crazy decor everywhere. We loved it.




Ha ha. Mark and I are always talking during picture taking and it makes for the most interesting (silly) pictures ever! 

When we got home at 7:30, the dogs were ready for a walk and sat outside with us. It was 81° and breezy. It’s been a fun time, tomorrow, it’s time to go back home and clean up all the mess. Living at the beach it’s a lot of work.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Good morning. The wind has a feel of autumn is in the air ... and it’s awesome! 

We’re still RVing at the beach, and Mark is going fishing this morning, on the intercoastal with Wayne. LaDonna and I are going to work on our paintings that we started yesterday. The wind is down under 10 miles an hour so we are planning happy hour on the beach today. 😎

The guys went fishing this morning, came home around 2 o’clock. They had a fun time, but no fish to clean. LaDonna and I had lunch together and painted. She finished hers today, a beautiful painting for a friend who recently sold his home in Bahia Honda.

LaDonna is a great artist! It’s gorgeous! 

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s still windy here, 18 miles an hour, better than the 25 we had yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, we had a pretty busy day. We went and checked out an area for the fellows to fish being at the surf fishing at the ocean was not going to happen for a few days. It is just too wild and rough. Anyway, there’s a beautiful pier underneath the huge bridge that goes across the Halifax River. The boardwalk extended all the way under the bridge which gave plenty of shade and around on the opposite side as well. There was a bait shop there and several people trying their luck fishing.

The boardwalk extended all the way under the bridge which gave plenty of shade and around on the opposite side as well. There was a bait shop there and several people trying their luck fishing. After that, we had lunch at Arby’s and then stopped at a beach shop where I bought myself a sun hat. No, I can’t wear it right now because it would just be lost in the wind. 

Wayne & Mark on the boardwalk pier



The pigeons were snuggling together until I went to take their picture. So cute.

Mark and I had a walk on the beach, a nap and then cooked a dinner of brats, baked potatoes and green beans for a joint dinner. That was all yesterday.

Today, Tuesday, Wayne and Mark headed over to the Halifax River, also the intercoastal waterway to fish from the boardwalk. LaDonna came over and we painted! The Rick next to us left this morning and we were totally exposed to the ocean. BeeZee enjoyed looking out ... Robbie preferred standing and watching for dogs. 

The Atlantic is churning again today ... Still weather produced by the hurricane hundreds of miles to the Northeast! 

When we were in North Carolina, Mark was crying the blues about not having a big pot. I called it a big friggin pot which he is now proudly modeling. He went to the Goodwill store and paid seven dollars for it. What a bargain. 

Tonight, we are going to try and cook outside, doing rainbow trout that was caught in Jonathan Creek in Maggie Valley. 

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Good afternoon. We left home about 9:30 and got to the beach and we’re all set up by 11:30. It’s really windy today, a 25 mile an hour sustained wind and probably gusting to 30. It’s cloudy a little bit of misty rain or salt, not sure which. Our site was empty so we were able to get in early. It’s a really neat place and the beach is like right there. Wayne and LaDonna should be here in the next half hour. 

Ha! This hairdo created by Ormand-by-the Sea ... Mermaid hair (already!) 

🧜‍♀️

Wayne & LaDonna will be here ... with the ‘art room’ right beside. There’s not much beach today! The waves are crashing in. 

We popped by to see Wayne and LaDonna who were just hooking up then we walked down the beach. It’s a wild one with the hurricane some hundred miles out to sea. 

LaDonna and Wayne cooked a taco casserole and served it with a Caesar salad tonight. We ate at their rig tonight. Wayne had made up a new table for their rig that allowed the four of us to sit there comfortably. The dogs were invited too!

The wind has increased to 30 miles an hour sustained, and we are rocking and rolling down here by the beach. To me, it feels like nights at Gimli Harbor when the boat was rolling. Hope we get some sleep tonight.

That’s it for tonight, or tomorrow.

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Good morning. I started the day with a phone call to Diane to wish her a happy birthday. She and Kris  are planning a trip, but don’t know where they are going yet. 🤔 

Apparently it’s a little cold at Susan & Wayne‘s cottage. This is Wayne ready for his morning walk. It was 0°C 

Sue said it looked like he was ready to go skiing. LOL

We are getting ready for a few nights at the beach, not too far away. The RV park itself doesn’t look very fancy, but it is Ocean front at Ormond by the Sea, and we can use the condo’s  pool next-door. Mark and Wayne are going to surf fish! 

Friday, September 18, 2020

Good morning y’all. My annual nightmare returned ... I invited 9 ‘strangers’ to join our family Christmas ... and they arrived, and I wasn’t ready! The house was decorated but I couldn’t get the Christmas lights on ... couldn’t find extension cords 😱 ... and the wrapping wasn’t finished. I’d laugh but this apparently is why I decorate so early! 🙄

Mark went to Randy’s to help load their huge coffee table and take it to a glass cutter. They are having some custom glass cut for their tables. After that, Mark hooked up the truck and got the RV pulled out, ready for a little beach vacation.

We met Wayne and LaDonna at Del Sol Mexico for dinner. It was terrific, we were in the back room, all by ourselves. Afterwards, they brought toys over for the dogs and we played with them in the living room for an hour. Then, it was cigar:30 on the front porch til 11ish. 

Sue and Wayne had some excitement at their place. Marlene and Harry arrived by seaplane for a weekend visit. How classy is that!!! 

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Good evening. I am finally getting a chance to start on the blog. Early this morning we went to the vet with Robbie. He had to get some blood work done to test him for Cushing’s disease. Hopefully, we will get an answer tomorrow or perhaps by Saturday. The only symptom we seem to have with him is extreme hunger, and occasional panting for no reason.

Rather than just drop him off for two hours, we all went, he got blood drawn and the shot and then we drove around for an hour before he had to go in for the next blood draw. It’s saved him from getting into a panic mode and sitting at the vets. Fingers crossed for good news.

This afternoon, Mark pulled out his garden and tidied up and I did a little painting. When it rained, we had a good afternoon nap. 😴 

Sue and Wayne are still at the cottage waiting for better news on COVID-19 in Florida. I think we just have to wear a mask whenever we leave the house and go into public for the next year. It’s got to be a way of life.

At a target store in Fort Lauderdale there was a protest against wearing masks, actually demanding patrons in the store to remove them. What kind of craziness is going around? 

Randy & Dawn had been out shopping and bought a new bedside table. Dawn sent a picture of it and it looks very nice.

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Good afternoon y’all. It’s been a run around day for us. Mark was out to a medical appointment at 8 o’clock ... then the post office ... and we both had dental cleanings at 11:30. 

On the way home we popped into Peddlers Wagon for a bit of shopping. We found what we needed and headed home. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Good morning y’all. We have clouds! Can you believe it’s mid-September already? It’s the time of year in Florida that we really really enjoy. The sun isn’t quite as hot as during summertime, and the breeze is drier, usually. The Hurricane that went through the Gulf of Mexico is dragging moisture across our area ... a feeder band. 

It’s flu shot day for us. Australia just finished winter and flu season. Thanks to strong mandates for mask wearing and social distancing, it was not as bad as usual! Let’s hope for the same in North America! 

Robbie had his checkup last week but must go back for a check on his adrenal system. It’s a blood test taken 2 hours apart ... poor guy will have to be there without us. We’re hoping this is a treatable condition. 🤞🐾💕

We got our flu shots! Yay! Now off shopping for a few things ... then lunch at Stavros! (Delicious ... Mark had spaghetti and meatballs ... Me, Carbonara Mediterranean!) We brought home enough food for another meal. What a take, as Wayne’s friend always said. 

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Good morning partly cloudy 🌤 skies ... ginormous storms in south Florida may be sending some to Central Florida. It’s very muggy here today! 

It’s a busy one around here today. I finished the 3rd coat on the cabinet doors ... just let ‘em dry and install some fancy knobs! Woohoo ... now to put things on the desk and in the drawers! Schweeet. 

I love my updated space! It’s perfect. 

Mark is busy too. It’s dog grooming day ... haircuts and baths ... and more laundry for me. 

Robbie was such a good boy ... nice haircut! 🐾💕

Mz Bee is giving me stink eye. Haha. 🥰

Between the rain showers we took the dogs for a ride on the Caddy ... then it was TV night, watching Dexter on Netflix.

Saturday September 12, 2020

Good afternoon sunshine! I’ve been busy painting the cabinet doors today and loading up the jewelry making items into the freshly painted storage! Yay! 

Mark took some time for archery practice ... 

and he’s right on target! 

Meanwhile ... at the Lazy K the boys are visiting ...

Kyle and Gavin looking good ...

Cody looks on as Kyle gives Shorty, Chiki and Mimi treats. 

Friday, September 11, 2020

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sultry start to our day here in Central Florida. Today is the 19th anniversary of 911. We will never forget. The babies born without knowing a father are turning 19. We said we would not let it change America, but it certainly has.

At 8 o’clock, Mark, Wayne and Bob went for a hike in the woods and to check their game cameras. It’s too hot and sticky for me, but they enjoy it. 

I have started the project of painting my art curio cabinets. The first coat of the first color is now done and it’s just 10 o’clock, time for coffee. It’s kind of a fun job, and I hope it turns out as well as I think it will. My new desk will be arriving today and it would sure be nice to have this all tidied up so we could assemble the desk on Sunday.

ONE box arrived, precisely half the desk ... anyway, the Scotties loved the box! 

Just like human kids! 😂

 

Dr. Fauci has sounded the alarm for winter time COVID-19 cases and is urging us to not dine out at restaurants. We should do pick up only. I sure hope our community businesses can survive this. 

Thursday, September 10, 2020

Hi y’all ... it’s evening already, been a busy day here. My new desk arrives tomorrow ... so I took everything out of the two art cabinets and Mark helped me  prep them for painting! 

Robbie had an appointment at the vet for his annual

Bloodwork and checkup. He wasn’t too happy with us ... so we took both doggies to Home Depot for a shopping cart ride while we shopped. 

The curios are going to be seafoam green inside and black exteriors. We bought crystal knobs for the doors ... a bit of bling! We also bought two nice boards for an extra shelf in each cabinet. There’s much painting to be done ... I’ll be busy! 

Randy popped in for a visit and we had a good gab. He was on the bike, running errands. It was a fun time. 

Sue and Wayne spent their day making lasagna, a detailed and time consuming dish. Sue said her helper had “dis-dapeared” ... Mark recalled making lasagna with her and having to re-chop the peppers. Haha. 

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Good morning sunshine and 75F. Autumn 🍂 arrived early in Central Florida? Maybe! 

Tonight we’re the hosts for our small group of neighborhood pals. We’ve missed seeing them ... and according to Lani; the 2 that we missed were very quiet. Marky-Mark said the Viking and the German (him) are THE party. Well, we are LOUD. 😂

Turns out there’s another Tawns painter ... Miles (15) was featured in Australian Young Originals ... 

Very cool !!!