Saturday, July 30, 2022

Good afternoon. We’ve had a lovely albeit lazy day. It’s 93° in the shade and our claim to fame today is going to Nancy’s at 6 o’clock for a swim with the dogs. 

Nancy sent us a message about 3 o’clock to come over for a swim. After dinner, we did just that. Robbie and BeeZee had a great time, plus had chicken chips for snacks. We were home about 9 o’clock and watched ancient aliens.

Friday July 29, 2022

Good morning sunshine! We were up early and off to a new eye doctor appointment. Fingers crossed! Well, after getting poked, prodded, tested etc. in his eyes, the doctor was unable, or felt the surgery was out of his skill set. He has referred us to another doctor where we now have an appointment September 14 in Ocala. And so the saga of the sagging eyelids continues.  Poor Mark. 

Meanwhile, we had to pop in to Lowe’s and I found two more yellow daisy type plants for Sue and Wayne’s berm, plus a beautiful desert rose for the stony area at their house Next we stopped at Publix as we are out of rice cakes and eggs. Then it was off to the post office to mail Hailey’s birthday package. She’ll be 15! 🥳❤️ Imagine… driving this year!

Tonight, it cooled down to 88 and we took the dogs for a nice ride on the golf cart. We popped over to return Bob‘s shirt that somehow came home with us after the pool party the other night. Ha ha. Anyway, it was returned to him washed and folded. Their new pool is going to be a fun spot. There are a lot of seats all around it. More party time! They will be off scalloping in the Crystal River with their family for a couple of days. 

Then, we sat on the front porch with the dogs while we had a drink and Mark smoked a cigar. it was a pretty good day.

Sue and Wayne went over to Donna and Dennis’s for dinner tonight. They’re fun “lake” friends. More fun. 

Our friend Rick M is on his annual fishing trip. Fishing is so good and the fish so big he’s throwing them back. Whaaatt? 

So that’s the news for today. Ta ta … stay cool 😎 

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Good morning. Mark and Wayne all went to the gun range today to test Mark‘s new rifle. The funny thing is, Wayno treated himself to the same rifle that Mark got for his birthday. Ha ha. Anyway, I had a very good time! 

I took a ride to our jeweler in downtown Eustis, but discovered they are closed until next week … just a summer holiday. That’s common in small towns. I was hoping to have dad‘s old watch done up for myself. It needs a new battery and a link or two out of the band. Anyway, next week. 

This afternoon was game day at Donna’s house. She has a lovely big dog by the name of Shannon who is part Rottweiler and part chocolate lab. She was all wet when I came in, and apparently loves the pool. there were 10 of us there today and we all played Rummicube. 

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Good afternoon! We’re just back from a golf cart ride with the kids. It’s a balmy 87F . There are 2 homes for sale in our hood … priced from $500K to $395K … we’ll see what they sell for. 

Today was housekeeping and vehicle washing. Not necessarily fun, but necessary. 

In the evening we met Kim and Bob at the pool. It was so nice, we were there for three hours. We even stayed in the pool during a rain storm. 😂 

Monday, July 25, 2022

Good afternoon. It’s 90° but my hard-working man is outside making himself a gun cleaning station. He certainly loves a project!!! Me? I am inside the air conditioning along with the Scotties. 😂

First thing this morning we took the dogs for a nice boat ride. It was just 84° and cloudy. 

As you can see, BeeZee loves the boat!

Robbie sat at the helm the entire time! 

We were home just before 11 o’clock. And, today I made lunch. Ha ha. I know, most of you think I cannot cook, and I like it that way. But, today I made my old friend Klaus’ sauerkraut and kielbasa recipe. Mark liked it! 

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Good morning. It’s not too bad a start to our day. It’s 1030 and 86°. Mark has gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things while I tidy the house and get ready for an afternoon out with friends. we are meeting up with LaDonna, Wayne, Dee and Rick.  

Well, it’s now 9:45 and I have a minute just to work on the blog. Our lunch was great, the food all good bit the place sure needs a good clean up.  It has become a real greasy-spoon hole in the wall. 🤨  it was fun catching up with everybody, and our next camp out all together is set for October. 

Back home, Mark helped Kim Bob with a freezer they had just picked up. Then, we took the dogs and went to Nancy‘s for a swim.

As you can see, the kids are wearing their HedzUp … The water was a nice 84° today. We had drinks, a cigar and a swim for about an hour. Storms were moving in around us, so we decided we best head home. However, we never got any rain. 

That’s it for today. 

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Good evening! We had a fun day with KimBob aboard Mr$ R B on smooth Lake Eustis. 

We left home at 10:30 and picked up Kim and Bob at their dock. It was a balmy 84F and calm. Here’s where we went …

We were the 2nd pontoon to arrive … Bob picked a high top on the porch with a great lake view! The hostess put the box fan our direction and we were set to partay. 

We started with fried pickles, onion rings then chicken wings … and beer! It was great. 

The cruise home was lovely … no rain today. 

Tonight we checked Nancy’s pool chemicals … all good. Maybe a swim tomorrow. 

Aurelia and Tony have sold their Lockport home, closing in September. Congratulations 🥂 on making a big lifestyle change! They’ve secured a 3/2.5 townhome with garage in The Peg. 

Friday July 22, 2022

Good morning! 🌞 The new flowers opened presciently at 9 o’clock! Strange eh? Apparently, as Mark says, they are 9 to 5ers.  😂

We had news last night from Mark’s cousins that aunt Jane passed away from congestive heart failure. Jane had been living at The Cove in Tavares. Kathie, her daughter, had just taken Jane to Melbourne for a visit with niece Sheela.  It came as a surprise to them as aunt Jane had had such a good day at the beach. 

Aunt Jane soaking up the sun in a tide pool at Melbourne beach. (Jane would have turned 91 this August 20th.) 

Kathie, Sheela and Jane just days ago. 

A memorial service will be held in September in Buffalo. 

Diane and Kris adopted Jane’s little guy Beau when she moved into the nursing home a couple of years ago. 

 

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Good evening y’all. We’ve had a couple of busier days. So this blog is a bit of this and that. ☺️

KimBob’s pool was delivered yesterday!!! 💦

Pretty exciting! They are cautioned it could be up to 90 days before everything is finished because there is a shortage of workers! 🤔  Soooo … we met them at Mc’s pool for a dip and drinks. 🥰

Yesterday morning we were up early … before the sun 🦇 to lay 10 bags of black mulch. That cleaned up the area behind our home that gets a lot of runoff. 

This morning, I went to Home Depot and picked up a few plants. What I had in mind wasn’t exactly what I ended up buying. But the purslane looked really healthy and had beautiful blossoms. I added a Zebrina to the front yard pot. 

Here’s a picture after adding hanging plants today! (They were full of blossoms and hope they’ll look happier tomorrow!) 🤞 🌺 

Last night, we went out with our neighborhood group, Rose & Jim, Elaine and Roger, Deenna and Eddie. We went to our local Applebee’s, and everyone had a good meal from the look of it. The service was good, and we had a nice time. I felt bad because I got a tickle in my throat and couldn’t stop coughing a couple of times. Fortunately, my GIN arrived and that cured it. Ha ha. We couldn’t make a decision where to go next month so left it up to Deenna to choose one of three places we had mentioned. It’s always fun to get together and catch up with everybody. Missing from the group was Pat and Ken, Mary, and Nancy. I’m not sure where Mary was, but Pat and Ken are up north and Nancy had joined them for a week.

Looking good girls! I see there is no shortage of wineries in upstate New York. Cheers 🥂. Enjoy the cooler evening air. 

This morning, Mark went with Bob and Wayne hiking in the woods. 

The colors are so vibrant because of all the rain recently. Isn’t she gorgeous! Cute fawn. 

This afternoon, we went to Nancy’s and watered her plants, put the trash out and swam in the pool. It was great. Robbie and BeeZee had their lifejackets on and swam too. The pool was 82F … nice and cool. It felt great. We all crashed and had an hour’s nap when we got home! 😂

We had a good dinner of roast beef and are going to settle in tonight and watch the January 6 hearings. That’s it for today. Hope it’s been a good one for you all. 

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Good morning. It was a lovely start to our day, and Mark was up very early to catch the best of it. When I got up at 7 o’clock, he had already done two hours work in the backyard. Anyway, right after breakfast we took a ride to Nancy’s and had a beautiful swim in her pool.

Talk about living in paradise! 

Monday, July 18, 2022

Good morning sunshine! BeeZee and I were lazy this morning, apparently.  When we surfaced at 8 o’clock Mark had spent an hour already putting tools away! (We had a lot of tools at K’s for all the jobs we’ve been working on.) Now that breakfast is over and the kitchen tidied up, we have a few eBay things to drop off at the post office and then get some grocery shopping done. We are both delighted that we are no longer spreading the omicron variant, but will be masking up at every store forever more. 😜 The warnings were on the TV this morning, maskup, very virulent strain going round this summer. 

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, Mimi is checking inventory of her toys in the coach. 🐾😂

So that was pricey! I went grocery shopping with Mark today … a clear extra $100. Wow, inflation is out of control. (I won’t be ‘invited’ to shop again any time soon. 😂 We did need some tinned goods for hurricane supplies though. 

Our afternoon rain was a bit late today; expected at 2 o’clock … just ended at 4:30. That messed up our afternoon at the pool … but maybe after dinner. 

Well, Plan B ended up drinks on the front porch while Mark enjoyed a cigar. We no sooner got our bathing suits on and the kids load it up in the golf cart when a big kaboom. The rain started almost immediately. So much for the forecast. They were totally wrong. So, we have decided to get up early, move a few stones around in the yard and do a bit of work, and then go over to Nancy‘s to let water out of her pool. It seems we have gotten a couple of inches this evening. 

We are watching a really good series called “reacher.” So that is our Plan B tonight.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Good morning sunshine! We’re still quarantined here with Covid19 … does “it” ever go away? Despite being midsummer we’re going to do a tidyup project in our backyard. 

Oh it’s lovely and cool after the rain! We went for an hour’s ride on The Caddy with the kids and stopped to talk to Nancy. We’re pool sitting for her next week. 💦

Speaking of pools … 

Digging is happening at KimBob’s with the fiberglass shell arriving next week! 

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Good morning! Our friend Rose baked cookies yesterday and sent a care package via Jim to our front porch this morning. (We made coffee and ate them all at once! 😂)  Obviously, we sure enjoyed them! 🥰 

Tomorrow we’ll test again for Covid. I may be clear but won’t leave the house until Mark is all clear too. This makes me think of the misery victims of the pandemic suffered before the vaccinations became available. Horrible. 

Otherwise … life is good. 😜 We have food in the fridge, clean clothes and much to be appreciative of. 

😂

This evening, Sue and Wayne are hosting a dinner for friends. They have decided on a theme …

Does Chiki Wee Monkee’s BABUSHKA clue you in?

Mimi participated … hope they got some special treats!

Happy times! Enjoy the Ukrainian dinner!  🇺🇦 

Hello Canadian friends … Budmo 🥂



Good to see you enjoying the first of the summer dinner parties. 

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Good morning sunshine! It’s double dose COVID19 at our house today. It sucks the energy right out of ya. Mark feels pretty bad today; I’m on the mend. 

Since we needed a grocery order and both are quarantining I ordered last night through Shipt. We’ll see … 

Meanwhile, here’s a happy picture from K’s cottage yesterday.

Watching the January 6th hearings with Mimi, Chiki Wee Monkee and Shorty Hot Pants. 🥰

The Shipt order was all good! 

After we both had a 2-3 hour nap,  I worked on incubating some Portulaca flowers for K’s rock garden stream. They were extremely hard to find, so I’m doing it via seeds. Fingers crossed please … and green thumb prayers.  if they like heat, we’ve certainly got it. It was 96° here at our house today. OMG, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen that here! (Orlando yes, but near the lakes, no.) 

Well, it’s now 10 o’clock and we’re just come in from walking the dogs. We had a wonderful thunderstorm rolling with plenty of rain and cooled us down to 74°. It was beautiful. There’s still some thunder rumbling around out there but that’s got to be expected after a day of intense heat all over Florida.  Tata till tomorrow. 

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Good morning. We are off to the villages to meet up with the tile man between 930 and 1030. Hopefully his estimate will be reasonable and we can hire him on the spot. We have already picked out tile for the job from his shop in Wildwood. 

Mark has been coughing and sniffling but tested negative last night for COVID-19. I am still positive, and am all masked up.  Respiratory wise, I’m feeling much better. If I have a cough now and again it is at least productive. Otherwise, I am just left with some incredible body aches. I’m sure that will pass with the help of some ibuprofen.

Wayno is now testing positive, so I will have to check in with he and LaDonna later today and see how they are both doing.  

Sue sent a beautiful picture last night from the full moon over the lake. 

Meanwhile, Chiki aka cheeky wee monkey was waiting for pizza at the cottage. 

🐾🥰 🍕 

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Good morning sunshine!  My Covid symptoms were  worse so off to Urgent Care it was. I do have a fever, but the doctor felt I would ride this out just fine without medication. I guess the medication has risks itself, so it’s a risk and reward that I am doing without. Ha ha.

The doc said I’d be over it in 5 days and should be okay to be out n about. That could be Tuesday night. I feel achy with a fever, raspy cough and poltergeist sneezes. 😂 This morning Mark and I got in the Kia to go to UC. I reached for my sunglasses on the top of my head … then looked in my purse! No glasses. Mark said I must have left them on the kitchen counter. I ran back inside, nope not on the counter … so I grabbed my backup sunglasses from the cabinet and attempted to put them on OVER the sunglasses I was already wearing. OMG Covid brain already. 😂 before I went to lay down for an afternoon sleep, I mentioned to Mark I wanted some potato skins for supper. But when I came out I could smell the potatoes but they looked a little different than potato skins. But then, I usually make them so what the heck. When he came inside there I was eating the dogs potatoes he’d cooked for them. 🐾😂

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Good afternoon sunshine! We started our day with a trip to a tile company near The Villages. The manager was very good and guided us to the shower tiles. Later, she sent us home with the samples! Excellent. 

At K’s house we checked the colors selected in the shower stall and against the granite countertops. Spot on. Yay. Next step is for “eyes on” the project … then an estimate. Things are progressing. 

Mark mixed a batch of mud for the durarock seams while I watered the plants and arranged the blue water stones to the stream bed. Maybe more are needed? 

We need a good rain to wash the dust and grit away to reveal truer colors. Still bigger rocks and some moss rose plants to add. 

Back home … nap time. 😂

BTW … I’ve had a dry cough for 2 days; then some raspy breathing. Mark suggested I test for Covid19 … and I’m positive. 🤕 Mark called everyone we’ve seen this week; so only LaDonna is positive. (She has auto-immune issues so it’s not good.) We saw them Wednesday night for Mark’s birthday dinner … and they were just back from 3 days in Disney. Who knows! 

Friday, July 8, 2022

Good morning. We were up and ready early for a day at the villages. The K’s are going to come home to a new front landscape. I sure hope they like it. It will be much easier care than what they had and much much cleaner. Maybe a few pictures of the progress later.

Hauling the little utility trailer … first stop, Lowe’s. 10 bags of black mulch. 

Now off to BROWNE DISTRIBUTORS in Fruitland Park to pick up a load of beach pebbles.

we got three loads of these! After a rain rinse they will look lighter in color. 

It was a hot day with no wind. 

Beds thinned out and mulched. Easier to care for we think. Best of all, the doggies can see what going on in their ‘hood.

1 1/2 cubic yards of beach pebbles … and 7 bags of white marble chips. We have some blue fire glass to tuck in and will add more ‘big’ stones. And a few low plants. Yeah, more to do yet. 

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Good afternoon. Well, I think we are both slightly hung over today after all the festivities.

There were 10 of us at Sol de Mexico for dinner!

Mark got cigars from Wayne & LaDonna

Nice bottle of Cognac to go with cigars

Having too much fun! 🥳

The lonnng table. 

RanDawn brought Mark a bottle of Crown and a long sleeve fishing shirt. Nice!

The gang came back for cheesecake and more drinks 😜

What a fun evening! 

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Happy birthday dear Mark! 🥳🥂🎂💥❤️

We started the day shopping for Mark’s birthday wish … a very 🇺🇸 stop at the gun shop. Mark’s been wanting a new rifle … traded in the old single shot and bought a Ruger 243. Nice! He has other surprises coming plus a dinner out tonight for 10. 

           

Plenty of phone calls from family and friends with birthday wishes for him. 

Monday, July 4, 2022

Good morning. It’s a hot 82°F here about 11 AM. We have just come back from a long golf cart ride with the kids. We hadn’t had the Caddy out in a while as we have been too busy or it’s been too hot or too rainy. Anyway, we decided it and the doggies needed a golf cart ride. It was nice, as long as we were moving along. 

Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇸🐾🥰🐾

Look who Mark rescued from the roadway … 

it’s a tiny green turtle! We took him for a ride and then put him in a swampy area of the canal. We were afraid he would get run over or dry up on the hot pavement.  

Happy Independence Day America 🇺🇸 #246

Saw this on FB and had to share 🇺🇸🥰🐾

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Good afternoon sunshine! We’ve certainly moved into our Florida summer pattern with 3 o’clock afternoon thunderstorms! (I love it … makes for cooler porch evenings.) 

Wayne & LaDonna stopped in on their way to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for a couple of nights fun. We told them about RanDawn’s fun trip to St. Augustine last week. Us … we’re summering at home right now. 

The K’s have a fun weekend at their cottage …

Grandson Kyle and family friend Lynne enjoying the porch. 🥰

Cody age 7 1/2 (what a cutie!) with the 3 pups 🥰

Ron looks fit and full of coffee. 😂

Here in Central Florida, we sat outside after the rain and had a couple of drinks. We had a beautiful rainbow

Tomorrow is the 4th! 

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Good evening. We are home from a day of sweaty fun at the villages. Mark worked on the shower stall. He had to cut more studs for the bathroom wall that backs onto the laundry room. Of course things had to be notched everywhere, but he is very meticulous with his measurements and it looks great.  Then, the rubber membrane had to be installed and then the Dura rock. He ran out of Dura rock, and we will have to go and get one more sheet. Darn, but you never like to buy more than you need. (Actually, I think he was going to buy four sheets and I said you’ll need six. Well, it turns out seven will be the lucky number. Ha ha.)

While Mark was working on the shower, I spent my day outside in the Florida heat. Oh I came in now and again to cool down and drink some water. There were layers upon layers of old mulch that had created a hump in the middle of the large planting area. Six bags later,  it’s starting to look level, well not level, but not as “humpy!” Two rose bushes that had been on the east side of the house were not doing well … not enough sun. So I dug holes and transplanted them! Hopefully they’ll do better. Aside from that, I planted two new yellow daisy type plants like the K’s currently have and like. 

Cute eh! They’ll take awhile to settle in but will get a couple of feet tall and fill out nicely. 

See the yellow flowers on the right > … that’s adult size. We’re moving the boulders around. 😂 The beast is hundreds of pounds. We’ve got it jacked up … going to flip it next trip then pressure wash it. Big plans to finish up the doorway garden soon. 

Back home Mark cooked up a pork loin for dinner … it was the best! I liked it. 😋 

Now it’s Advil and TV time 😂

Friday July 1st 2022

Happy Canada Day 🥰🇨🇦

We’re home from the Chowder House in Mount Dora after a tasty lunch! This New England style restaurant has great clam chowder and seafood dishes. It was KimBob’s first time eating there … and they loved it. Afterward, Kim wanted to pop into Cozy Corner then into Peddlers Wagon for a look. (I supported the retailers!) Mark and Bob had a beer next door. 🍺

We arrived home just before a nice afternoon rain started. 

We finished watching the upstairs downstairs series. It was really good, very enjoyable.