Monday, May 31, 2021

Good morning. I was up early, coughing. What the heck brought that on? Everything‘s been good since we quit eating carbs!  Anyway, I worked on the large cottage painting ... doing it in stages. Yes, I am still involved with the art course but the last couple of weeks have been oddball lessons with a lot of cutting and pasting. 🤔 We’ve been too busy with eBay for me to bother with nonsense. I know it’s meant to stir your creative juices, but really? Next week will be two main lessons, so I will participate in those! 

Sue and Wayne are crossing the border today and heading to their cottage for the summer. I hope everything goes well for them. It’ll be another Covid test, and quarantine for two weeks. But, they’ll have a lot to organize when they get there. There’s always a truckload going up!!  

This morning on TV, karate was demonstrated as it will appear in the Olympics this year. When I was in karate all those years ago Nishiyama Sensei, from Japan, was working very hard with the Olympic committee. I was lucky enough to sit in on many breakfast meetings with him over the years. Judo and kickboxing were approved but points scoring was a problem for the Olympic board. Anyway, I will be delighted to watch both the kata and  kumite events now that the scoring has been decided! 🥋 

A very memorable memorial day weekend was spent in the United States (Circa 1984-85) with Marr and Fusaro sensei. 

 

Wayne and LaDonna popped over at 5o’clock for a quick visit and just left at 10 o’clock. We always have so much fun, just sitting around having a drink and gabbing. Here’s a picture of Robbie, as soon as Wayne stood up he grabbed his chair.

Hahaha! 

Mz Bee sat with her Daddy

Fun times! 🐾💕

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Good afternoon. It’s been quite a nice day around here, Mark was trimming the palm trees and I had a chance to paint. I also finished up the eBay listings for Markymark and tidied the garage and put away the photo studio. ✅

It’s memorial day weekend here in the United States. We have no plans for tomorrow, a bit unusual for us. Sue and Wayne are in Minnesota tonight, and eating at their favorite little restaurant. 

Before dinner we took the dogs for a golf cart ride. There’s a chance we could get rain later on today so we got them out for a ride plus a walk.

Mark made us meatloaf for dinner, which was very good. We don’t use our oven anymore, just the Nuwave infrared. 😋 

We walked over to see Markymark and Lani‘s pool before they begin working on Tuesday putting on the Gemcoat. It’s one big ass pool ...

That’s MM way down there 💦

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Good afternoon 🌞 ... it’s been another busy day with no time for art! 😬 We tried to finish up all the eBay listings today, but have three items to list tomorrow. That won’t take too much time, I hope.

We took a ride this morning and dropped off a box of items at the resale shop for the Humane Society. We had to look around, but have too much to sell ourselves. Ha ha.

We tried to visit aunt Jane at the Cove, assisted-living. Unfortunately it is still under lockdown due to COVID-19. The only way to get in is to be a mediate family and have an appointment. And that is only for compassionate care. It must be very hard for Jane not seeing anyone.

Sue and Wayne had their COVID-19 test which came back negative. Now they are able to cross the border. It’ll be about a 450 mile day to the cottage. That’s a very big travel day on those particular roads. 

The rain came down in buckets last night just as we were ready to go out to dinner. Pat and Ken picked us up at 5:30 and we went to Puddle Jumpers on Lake Dora for dinner. The service was great, and the food delicious. Nancy joined us, so there were the five of us. Afterwords Nancy invited us back for a nightcap, sitting out back by the lake. It was beautiful, the rain gone.

This was the rain just before we left for the restaurant. Noticed how the storms wraparound our house, missing us with the worst of it. 😇🤣

Friday, May 28, 2021

Good evening. It’s been a nice day around here, but now probably close to 90°. We are expecting some rain to move in by Monday. This morning I went grocery shopping with Mark for the first time in a long while. He had a coupon for $40 off $160. That was a heck of a deal so we went and stocked up on some items we needed. Between that and his Winn-Dixie points, we saved $86. Tonight is steak and mushrooms for dinner. We’ve already had our salads.

Sue and Wayne are in a small campground near Chippewa Falls. They will be there for two nights before crossing the border. It was cold and windy today! 

We had a message from granddaughter Izzy that she received her graduation card and money. The kids always know exactly what they’re going to buy with it. I guess we were the same. 

After our steak dinner we sat on the front porch listening to music and had a short visit from Markymark. He’s working on the pool, getting it ready for the final finish on Tuesday. Then the water is put in but we can’t swim for about two weeks. Drat. Anyway, we sat outside till about 1030, was beautiful and breezy.

That’s it for today. Now it’s TV time and relaxing.

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Good morning y’all ... it’s a busy day coming up! Mark is helping MM launch an old Ranger boat. It hasn’t been in the water for years! 😬🤞💦 I’m pretty certain there will be some stories to come. 

Me? Cheri is hosting game day, complete with champagne 🥂 🍾 ... a sort of toast to finally getting back to ‘normality.’ 😊

Sue and Wayne are in Clarksville Tennessee heading to the great white north, and quarantine. 

Game day at Cheri’s was fun. She had a big turnout with  tons of food. I played Mexican dominoes with Mary, Nancy Donna and Karen. For the first six hands I didn’t have any points. After that they racked up. Here I was thinking I might get a new record. Ha. 

Randy and Dawn phoned and we chatted for about a half hour. We have got to get over to see their place. The dock is done and new furniture for the backyard. We also have to find time to visit aunt Jane and see how she is doing. 😅

Wednesday May 26, 2021

Good afternoon sunshine! It’s a warm one here ... the A/C is cranking and we’re doing mostly inside jobs today. How did we ever have time for real jobs? 😜

I was up early today repairing and cleaning jewelry that’s listed ... and needed improvement. It turned out some of the cardboard jewelry boxes I’ve been using were causing corrosion on silver, brass and pewter! Yikes. They’re in the trash now! 

Four packages went to the post office today, eBay sales. While Mark was installing our new under eave attic vents I listed a few more items on eBay. We have 275 items now for sale. Whew 😅. 

Tonight we’re having a date night and meeting the L’s for dinner. Fun! 

Dinner was great. And, the restaurant was very full. Mark and I shared a double order of steak fajitas, absolutely delicious. Afterwards, we for came home, played with the dogs and then sat on the front porch until 11 o’clock. It was a beautiful evening and the time just goes so fast with Wayne and LaDonna. They are a good company.

Sue and Wayne left Nashville today for Clarkesville Tennessee where they will spend tonight. We heard there was snow in Kenora today. Yikes, maybe they’re heading north a bit too soon. 🤔 

That’s it for tonight. It was a great day, and really nice weather.

Monday, May 24, 2021

Good evening y’all from sunny Central Florida where it’s 86 tonight. 

Yesterday, we went to Eaton beach for lunch. It was good, and lots of fun. The view there is gorgeous. Bob and Kim are going to rent a seaplane and fly in to spend the day at the beach. They plan to do this with their four-year-old grandson for a fun adventure. After our lunch we popped in to see Diane and Chris. She’s doing very well considering the major surgery that she had. We checked up on the doggies and saw that everyone was doing well. 

Last night we went to Lani and Markymark‘s for ice cream cake to celebrate his birthday. Here we are in the outside room off the screened pool and bar area. He has tongue and groove wood for the ceiling above. 

Happy birthday buddy. 

Sue and Wayne arrived in Nashville yesterday and are having 2 nights rest before carrying on on the trip north.

First thing this morning I was off to the doctors to check out the reason for my leg cramps that I had last Wednesday and Thursday. The doctor sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound just to be sure, but it seems like it was probably caused by medication that I take. 

Back home, I worked on eBay listings while Mark went to Lowe’s and picked up some wood and brackets for some more shelves in the garage. We have a lot of items that are on consignment I need a place to store them.

The forecast is for a very hot week so I imagine it will be a good time to get things sorted out and a few more things online.

That’s it for today. Everything is fine here.  WEEEELLLL .   We took the dogs for a golf cart ride after our evening walk. Then, while we were sitting on the front porch, Markymark and Lani came over for a visit. It’s now 11 o’clock and we’re just watching the news. LOL. That’s how we roll in this neighborhood. 

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Good morning. It’s 8:45 and we are just packing up getting ready to drive home from the Crystal River area. This has been a decent campground, but would be horrible in the rain as there is a lot of sand and dirt around. Also, we had three power outages well crews were working on the lines on the highway. It is not a spot for summertime camping. Fortunately, we had a lot of wind so no bugs. The only bug we had was the alligator that kept hanging around. 

Tomorrow we are going to Eaton Beach with Lani, Markymark, Kim and Bob to celebrate Markymark‘s birthday. It would have been nice to have a party at their place but, their pool is being resurfaced and is empty at the moment.

That is one huge residential swimming pool.

We’re back home after a short 64 mile drive; unloaded and I have second wash load in already. Luckily, we caught the mailman with a few of our eBay packages. The other two will have to wait until Monday.

It’s 12 years since Marcy died ... 

she was too young; left two boys, a daughter and a husband. Sad. 

Friday, May 21, 2021

Good evening. Mark and I both slept in until 9 o’clock this morning. It was kind of nice to just relax and at the leisurely morning. We took the dogs for a golf cart ride before the company came to pick it up at 4 o’clock. LaDonna came over and painted with me for a couple of hours this afternoon Wallmark watch some TV and Waynoe was doing some packing up. We had for home tomorrow after having had a fun time.

It was fun last night at the beach, and as you can see it was pretty windy. We got some nice pictures for future art references.

Tonight, we’re having steaks on the Barbie complements of the L’s and Mark is making a fantastic salad. Afterwords we’re going to the pool for a couple of hours.

Saw this sign and thought I could make one for someone’s birthday coming up. Ha ha Ha.

Randy phoned last night and we heard that Jan took off off home to Michigan with $350 in bingo winnings. She had a great trip and enjoyed herself. Dawn was at work and Randy had had his stitches out and his hand and was OK to golf on Tuesday.

Sue and Wayne are in the villages area tonight and will have a chance to visit with Diane and Kris. After that, they are on their way to Canada. 

I may take a picture of the pool, but if not that’s it for today. I hope you had a wonderful Friday.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Good morning sunshine! It’s going to be a warm day, so the pool is in our afternoon plans! 

Last night we sat out till 1030, I lovely breeze keeping it cool and bug free. There was a little bird poking out of a dead palm tree trunk, or at least we think it’s a bird. On the other side, there was this big fella ... 

Barred Owl ... gorgeous fluffy looking owl. I’m going to paint this! 

Here’s the wee face in the dead palm ... 

Is it a dove? 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Good evening. We’ve had a very nice day puttering around the campground, and then going to Crumps for dinner tonight. It’s in Homosassa Springs, and comprises of Tiki Hats sitting along the waterfront. It’s barfood, but pretty darn good. It was so windy there, about 18 miles an hour. It was hard to hang onto the napkins and the plastic plates, but all in all we had a good time.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Good afternoon. We were up and out at 9o’clock to Grannies restaurant just a couple of miles away. The place was hopping, and for good reason. The food was great and plentiful. I had Philly cheesesteak omelette, just delicious. Mark had a vegetable omelette. Afterwards, we came home and spent a few hours with the doggies in the rig. Mark chopped some wood for tonight as we hope to have a bonfire. Maybe. 

At 1 o’clock we went over to the pool and spent a couple of hours swimming around ... it was lovely. There weren’t many people there at all. Now tonight Wayno is doing a lobster and shrimp boil; they call it a Lowcountry boil. LaDonna doesn’t eat seafood but she will enjoy the sausage that is cooked with it.

While Wayne is doing the Lowcountry boil, LaDonna is catching some rays.

I guess that sign about the alligator is spot on. 

While Waynoe was cooking the Lowcountry boil he had a visitor stick his head up over the bank.

Someone must have been feeding him. Anyway, he decided hanging out behind LaDonna and Wayne’s was a great spot. We have to be very careful going in and out the door with the dogs.

We played a couple rounds of chasing marbles after dinner and had a nice evening. Now we are back home with the dogs to watch skin walker ranch on the history channel.

That’s it for today. Tomorrow is painting and perhaps fishing.

Monday, May 17, 2021

Good morning y’all ... we’re going to Crystal River for a few nights R ‘n R with LaDonna & Wayno. (We need a change of pace for a few days ... it’s been busy at home! 

What a nice ride through the countryside! Inverness looks worthy of a visit ... lots of boats and lakes. It felt like cottage country. Here at Crystal Isles RV “resort?” ... grassy sites backing to a pond. They’re called “Elite” sites. 😂 Anyway, we’re here to relax! 

Today we sat outside for happy hour at 4 o’clock. It was beautiful and breezy and we really enjoyed sitting under the awning. It’s just 81°, absolutely gorgeous.

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Good Sunday sunshiny morning from Central Florida. Sue and Wayne are at Galuppis with the dogs for breakfast. Here, Mark cooked us asparagus and eggs for our breakfast. The kids have veggies and eggs. 

Well Mark shopped for groceries for our trip, I worked on a painting. This one is going to take quite some time as each part of it is quite detailed. Here’s where it is at this point.

Yup ... there is a lot of empty canvas there. But, the basics of the house, sky, water and sand is there. Now to fill it in. Check back in a couple of weeks. Ha ha.

After grocery shopping for our little RV  R ‘n R with LaDonna & Wayno to Crystal Isles we loaded the rig. All the eBay sales that were to close did close and paid. That makes our trip all that much easier. There is only one item that Markymark Hass to handle while we are away. 

This evening, we watched American idol with Markymark and Lani. It’s a great show, good entertainment. Of course we all had differing opinions, but that’s part of the fun.

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Good morning. We were up and had our chores done early so we could enjoy our day is boating with our neighborhood pals.  This is an annual event where we cruise Lake Eustis and go to lunch. We missed last year due to COVID-19, so we hope for a good turnout this year. It’s our first function of 2021 as a group.

Those of you not in Florida may not know that our mask mandate has been lifted. Enough vaccinations have been done that we have some type of immunity here, at least for most. Some minority communities have refused vaccinations, so they are unprotected. Because of this, it is up to owners of restaurants and stores whether or not they want to mandate the mask wearing. Most grocery stores are mandating it, but not all. Anyway, in our group I know who to steer clear of. 

No complaints here. LOL.

Boating hair ... but we don’t care. 

There were 34 from our community; nice to see everyone! 

It was a beautiful ride home with the wind at our back‘s. There were a few whitecaps, but a darn nice ride. We both had a little nap before regrouping for Wayne and LaDonna‘s evening visit. They wanted us to go for dinner, but we were too full from our afternoon outing. So, it’ll be cigars on the front porch.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Good afternoon! It’s a lovely cool day for working outside, which is what Mark has been doing since breakfast. The old hot water tank is on the curb ready for the scrapper. Next week we will have the propane tank hauled away. It just became too expensive compared to electric. We will still have the gas stove, but with our own smaller tank.

The second part of this week’s lessons I started bright and early! It’s a sea turtle done with watercolor. I’ll post a picture in a day or two when it’s finished.

The wee turtle swimming over coral beds.  It was a fun lesson ... of course mine looks nothing like the example given. 😂

Meanwhile, it is Randy’s brother and sister-in-law’s wedding anniversary. They posted a picture of their wedding day and I know you will get a laugh.

Kerry is still a huge Saskatchewan Rough Riders football fan. Angie took him as is. LOL Happy Anniversary 🎂❤️  I sent the picture to Randy and Dawn. Randy had forgotten about it and Dawn said he was laughing very hard. They are off to bingo today with Jan and Brittany. Good luck to them.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Good morning y’all. We’re up early, hauling the rig out today. Mark’s installing the on demand hot water gizmo today! Hopefully, easy-peasy! 

Me? Housekeeping duties then finish a few paintings hanging about before starting a new one. 😉

Mark got our new hot water up and running, took a shower and tested it out. All is good. What a guy, he can accomplish anything.

We met Randy, Dawn and Jan at Stavros for dinner. We had fun and lots of laughs. They came over afterwards just for a visit. Jan is not a dog person, but Miss B tried to win her over by staring at her for 45 minutes. LOL ... we all laughed and said it’s like when someone isn’t a cat person, the cat is right there on their lap.

Now tonight, we’re catching up on deadliest catch.

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

It’s now 1030 and I’m just starting the blog. It’s been a fun day, and another busy one. This morning, both Mark and I worked on eBay listings for Lani and Markymark. A few things have sold and that’s another job, getting them packed up and off to the post office.

At 11:30 we took a break and the dogs and went to Palm Gardens for lunch. It was so nice sitting there watching the boats go by. We fueled up, and that will get us through the summer.

Robbie is waiting for his french fries to arrive. He also had a piece of my chicken.

Mz BeeZee was well behaved. The people sitting next to us had a seven-month-old schnauzer. I’m sure they found our dogs to be very spoiled. Ha ha.

Earlier this week I said that Dawn had won $1000 at Friday night bingo. Well now Sue has had some very good luck too. She won $50, but look at the ticket. Have you ever seen anything like it?

Well it’s going on 11 o’clock now, so it’s bedtime. Tata till tomorrow. 

Monday, May 10, 2021

Good evening. It’s been a busy day here at our house (again.)  
Ha! Perfect. 

Today’s art lesson was a watercolor study in skin colors. It was fun ... just a rough sketch of 4 different women ... from different ethnicities. 

Eh ..  it’s tougher than I thought.  

After I finish the painting today, I listed some eBay items that Mark had spent the morning taking photos of. Many of the items had to be cleaned first. It’s fun to see lots of the old vintage items that I remember from childhood. Yup, we’re all vintage now. 🤣

After dinner we took the dogs for a golf cart ride before going for a walk. It was a beautiful day, nice and breezy.

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Good afternoon. It’s been a little bit busy around here lately. Hectic even. Yesterday afternoon we went boating with Wayne and LaDonna on their new fiesta family fish pontoon boat. They are really enjoying it and had Wayne‘s brother out with them the day before. Anyway, they picked us up at our dock and we went to the crazy gator for late lunch.

Lake Eustis was nearly flat, and a beautiful afternoon ride. Back home, we sat on the front porch with wine and the guys smoke cigars. It was a great evening.

Randy and Dawn have been entertaining family this weekend for Mother’s Day. Dawn‘s mom Jan is in town until the end of May. Today, they have all the family over for dinner.

Sue and Wayne had a couple of nights RVing locally. They are back home now, having had a chance to visit with a friend in the area. BTW, there’ll be no more fun times wesring Alan’s hat! 

Wayne modeling ... Sue sold it and donated the proceeds to “the cat lady.” Nice! 

Today, Mark and I are working on eBay listings for Markymark and Lani and then seeing Karen and Pete this evening.

Friday, May 7, 2021

Good morning. We are back to our usual lovely weather pattern; the terrific heat of the past 2 days has dissipated. It’s going to be a busy day around here. There’s eBay listings, Bowling, and happy hour/dinner with Karen & Pete. (Karen is buying two of my paintings! Ca-ching.) 😊

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Good morning. It’s another brutally hot start to our day. Yesterday set a record for heat on that date. Some areas of Florida were mid 90s and beyond. We went to swim yesterday and for a 530 happy hour with Lani and Markymark. Lani wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They had some nice snacks out and we drink wine and swim in the pool. Their pool is so cool, they have bubblers at the bottom that create a feeling of being in a spring. It was a great evening.

Today, I am hosting the first game day in 14 months. I think I will have a good turn out, but everyone must’ve had their COVID19 vaccine. There are a couple that usually attend that will not be for that reason. 

Now going on 7 o’clock, and the girls have all gone and everything is tidied up and sanitized again. We had a wonderful time, attendees were Nancy, Mary, Cheri, Carin, Suzanne, Anita, Pat, Rose, Deenna, Elaine and me. It was like old times. Having had the vaccine really makes a difference. 

After we finished playing games Nancy asked me to show Mary one of the big paintings I had done over her mom’s old artwork. She loved it, and took it home with her. 👍🏻 

That was our day! 

Randy phoned. He’s at home as ordered by the doctor just to take it easy and let his hand heal. Jan was doing some knitting and Dawn is at work. Tomorrow Dawn and her mom go for bingo but Randy Hass to miss all the fun and stay home, Dr.‘s orders. Ta tactil tomorrow. 

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Good morning! I’m painting ... this week is an almond tree. It’s fun and relaxing at the same time ... another thing I’d never have thought to paint. 

Mark’s been patching/fixing a stucco bit on our house by the hose bib. The next step is to stucco the patch and paint it. 

Tonight we’re picking up ribs at Oakwood and having dinner at the L’s. Playing marbles is planned too. 

It’s now going on 11 o’clock and we are home from a fun evening. We picked up the ribs for dinner, ate, had drinks, played two games of marbles and smoke cigars on their front porch. It was a beautiful evening, lots of sheet lightning after a very hot day.

The Scotty’s had a good time and made themselves quite at home at Wayne and LaDonna ‘s.

Mz Bee made herself at home on LaDonna’s bean bag. 

Robbie played humpy several times, as he has toys at their house.

My poor boy, he’s missing his mustache and beard, and his skirt. Well, it will all eventually grow back.

That’s it for this evening, Tata till tomorrow.

Monday, May 3, 2021

Good morning. The sun is just coming up over the trees and it’s going to be a hot May day. Oklahoma and many of the Midwest states had tornadoes overnight, 33 of them. We are lucky that we only deal with excessive heat from time to time. The humidity is building, so today will feel very hot to us. Never mind spring, hello summer. Ha ha.

This morning I am going for routine bloodwork, and then we are both going for breakfast. That’s something we don’t usually do, at least not in the last year. COVID19 really changed a lot of habits, didn’t it. 

I was up early this morning and listened to my art course and I’m now ready to begin painting. This one looks like a lot of fun, a take on a Van Gogh. 

At 4 o’clock we took a break and went to Markymark‘s for a swim in his pool. He was busy, so it was just Mark and I and his two dogs. It was a hot day, and the pool was 83°. It will be drained soon and refinished. That’s one of the last big jobs to be done there.

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day here in Central Florida. We are getting a bit later start than usual after having had fun at Pat and Ken’s derby party yesterday. We didn’t win any of the pots, but certainly had some fun.

I saw the following on Google today ... 

Unbelievable eh? Well, unfortunately it’s not unique. 

My artsy fartsy course starts 2nd term today! I’m ready!