Saturday, September 30, 2023

Well this month flew by for us! September started off with summer temps but gave us nice autumn 🍂 days from the middle on. We’ve just come in from walking the dogs and it was misty rain.  Nice. 

Today is our friend Bonnie‘s birthday! 

Happy birthday Bonnie from your Scottie niece and nephew.  Thursday night we had Perfect Paws 🐾 pet sitter Ciji visit the kids while we had a date night with friends Kim and Bob. Ciji took these cute pics! 

After a ride in da Mounty to the Depot for mulch and stone, Mark worked on the front yard improvement. There’s another stack of stones to be added but hey, it looks nice already! 

Lowes in The Villages is the only place that carries them now! (They’re Napoli wall blocks.) 

After that, we took the kids for a ride on The Caddy to clean Nancy’s pool filter and replace the screen door latch. 

It was so nice there with the big wind chime’s making music 🎶. 

There are half a dozen sailboats on the far side. We’d brought a couple MicUltras and chilled out for an hour. 

The kids saw a rabbit run between the houses. 

Sue and Wayne are in Georgia tonight having a cookout with friends Amy and Raymond. They met up in Nashville on Friday in the motorhomes. It makes for a nice break in a long trip home.

 We’re sure looking forward to seeing them after 3 1/2 months. 

That’s it. It’s telly time for us. 

Friday, September 29, 2023

Good Friday afternoon. It’s been a busy week around here with meeting the movers at.the K’s house on Tuesday and then unpacking and putting things away on Wednesday. The house is now ready for them arriving home shortly. They are currently visiting with friends in Nashville.

Today was our “fun bowling.” Lynn‘s husband, Steve was able to bowl today. That was good news for them, He has recovered quickly from his surgery. The lanes were so dry today, we all had trouble getting our bowling balls to cooperate. Ha ha. In any event, it was a good afternoon. Nancy and Linda are still away on their mega yrip and will be home on Monday. Our friend Dan was away with family visiting; Paul was up north visiting his family so it was a very small group. Mark had a chance at $30, but missed it by one pin! Wa waa waaaa. 😂

Back home, we are going in the pool for an hour just to relax. 

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Good morning 🌞 sunshine! It’s been a tough week for us.

Last Monday, Mark found our sweet squirrel Woody splayed on a tree branch at 7 am. He quickly got a ladder and retrieved the wee guy. 

When I woke up half an hour later Mark had already discovered what had transpired. His game camera showed the neighborhood feral cat at 5 in the morning stalking Woody. Ten minutes later the camera showed a blurry photo of it going up the tree. Woody’s nest was askew. The chase went on in the dark for 45 minutes. We can only guess that Woody escaped the cat but fell from a higher branch. 

Mark had Woody in a small cage in the garage. He had  paralyzed back legs and tail. Woody was calm and took a little water and tried to eat a peanut. I began calling veterinary offices and found Dr. Budd in Tavares. As the hours progressed Woody was twitching his tail a bit and had a some movement in his toes. Both of us were hopeful he’d recover.

At 4 o’clock we had Woody in for exrays. Sadly, the spinal injury was pretty severe and he had a full bladder. I asked about the possibility of surgery … but he was too small. It was a teary 🥹 farewell to the sweetest little guy as he was euthanized. It’s taken us several days to weed through our emotions of what ifs and regrets. In the end, we did the best we knew for a baby eastern gray squirrel. He’s buried under our big oak tree.  

Rest in peace little Woody. 

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Good afternoon. It’s a bright, beautiful sunshiny Thursday afternoon with 88F. 

Last evening was our monthly friends night out, and someone had chosen Tony’s Pizza in Eustis. It’s really just a little hole in the wall with good food. It was a really nice evening, but a little shorter, and tamer than some of them. 😂 it was a good thing that we got home early as the rain began and a distant thunderstorm. The rain went on and on and at 9 o’clock. I asked Mark in my most sincere voice if he would go outside and get Woody and bring him in for the night. Well, I was met with silence. 🤣 I guess the thought of climbing, a slippery ladder in the rain wasn’t his idea of fun. Poor Woody I imagined him sodden wet. Of course I was out looking for him first thing this morning. It wasn’t until 2 o’clock this afternoon that I caught him peeking out from his condo.

Woody was quite busy chewing on the wood. I held up a peanut and he scurried about on the branch 10 feet above me. 

He seems to be keeping weight on, and looks quite healthy for his fourth day of freedom.

It was a quick visit before he retreated back into his secure nest. Mark had seen another squirrel nosing around his cage that is sitting on a couple of sawhorses at the base of the tree. Mark ran out and chased that squirrel away as we think Woody is too young yet to defend himself if he needed to. We really couldn’t keep him in the house any longer without him becoming too tame. Living in our house with two Scottish terriers was not ever in the plan.  

My job today is decorating the new living room Christmas tree. Yes yes, it’s way early but I can get it all ready and put it in the closet until it’s time. Everyone should have a dedicated Christmas tree closet. Ha ha. At the moment there are two 8’ fully decorated trees and one 6’ decorated tree, a 3’ tree and all the outdoor lights and houseful of miscellaneous holiday decor. Ha! Yes, there’s space for this 6’ tree. 

Mark and Wayne all had gone to the woods this morning, hiking about enjoying themselves. No Mark is off doing grocery shopping. That’s our day. In between, we have been in the swim spot for a dip as is our daily routine. What a great investment that was for us.  

That’s it for today so far.  

Tuesday, September 19, 2020

Good evening! It’s Diane’s birthday!🥳🎂❤️

Happy birthday Diane ❤️🥳🎂

We met Di and Kris at Leesburg’s Ski Beach for lunch! The restaurant had 100 reservations for lunch so it was lucky we arrived at 11:30. We were seated at a nice, big booth and had a good lunch! Thanks Kris for the treat! We were yakking so much we forgot to get a picture!

Our wee squirrel 🐿️ update! Woody spent his first day climbing up and down the tree. We watched and sure enough he came down to his cage at sunset. Mark closed the door to keep him safe from predators overnight. Early this morning we opened it up. Woody was eating and in no apparent hurry to get out. I remembered a seagrass plant pot in my gardening cabinet and gave it to Mark. Next thing I knew was the big ladder was out and Mark had put together a cute “nest” for the crook of the tree. (We don’t know if he knows how to build a nest … what’s instinct and what would he have learned from momma squirrel?) Later today Mark spotted Woody chilling out in his private treehouse. Cute isn’t he?!!!

In other ‘news’ the K’s are getting packed up for heading south. Here’s a beautiful sunrise Sue caught at the perfect moment! 

The old screened porch is so nicely renovated with windows. It’s extended the season for enjoying the porch. 

Late breakfast with Marlene’s crew. ❤️

Monday, September 18, 2023

Good evening from Central Florida! It’s a gorgeous 85F so we took the kids for a golf cart ride. Our first stop was to check Nancy’s house and deliver the carpet she’d ordered. 

This morning we transferred Woody’s 🐿️ cage to the backyard and opened the door. It took a few hours for him to venture out but eventually the wee guy climbed the cypress tree and seemed happy. He didn’t eat much today so we gave him some milk to hold him over. If he’s in his cage this evening we plan to bring him inside for the night. 

Woody’s outdoor abode … until he builds his own nest. 

This afternoon Mark and I bowled against our friends Mike and Dan. Oddly enough two of their teammates were away and on our team Nancy and Linda are away. Anyway, Mark and I bowled over our averages and won all 4 games! 🥳 We were in third place and might have moved up the ranks. 

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Good morning. Mark was up and left home before 5 AM to meet Wayno. When I took the dogs out at seven, I heard boom, bang, boom. Duck hunting season has arrived in Lake County.  Mark and Wayno have gone in search of pigs. Oh my. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, we still have Woody in residence. He isn’t weaned yet, although he is able to eat seeds and crack peanuts at this point. I’m hoping by October 1 he can be truly released to live his life as a well nourished Squirrel   🐿️ 

Woody is very sweet but he must be a wild guy soon. 😂

Up North, Sue and Wayne had friends Rose and Jim over for dinner. 

 Looks like a cozy evening. 🥰

Today Wayne had help getting the boats put away for winter. It’s a big job! 

That’s about it for today. Tomorrow we’re off to The Villages to check the houses and do a few things. Ta ta. 

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Geez, does anyone else wonder where this month has gone? It’s nearly mid-September, already! 

The truth is, we’ve been busy around the house, the K’s, and bowling! 

Today’s bowling 🎳 with Dan, Mike, Herb and Mary was good. Mark and I both did better than our averages. It was practice for Monday’s big positioning round. As it turns out we’ll be playing Mike, Dan, Penny & Dennis. For us, it’ll be weird as Nancy & Linda will be away on a cruise to Italy. Enough of that. 

We haven’t seen RanDawn since they’re back from Canada! I know they had fun, but no details. 

Mark’s been combing the woods with Bob & Wayno prior to archery season. Our weather has been nice most mornings in the low 70’s. Tomorrow’s forecast to be 67! Fall is on its way. 

Lynn’s hubby Steve is home from lung cancer surgery today. He’s in pain … but glad to be home. 

Our friend Rick has booked a few days R & R fishing in Ontario via the grapevine. (He has a medical issue in progress so this is a welcome respite.) 

That’s it. All’s well with us. 

Monday, September 11, 2023

Good afternoon on this September 11th, twenty-two years after the attacks on America. We remember.

Our friend Lynn is sitting bedside with Steve after his cancer surgery. Mark and I fed and walked their dogs after our bowling this afternoon. (It was slow bowling today taking an hour to play each game!) Our opponents had some physical issues to work with but were good competition! In the end we won 3 1/2 games. (A tie goes half and half to each team.)

Lovely news on my cousin Adam … he and Sam are expecting a baby boy in January. Monty (in Adam’s arms won’t be an only child!) 😂

🐾❤️

Friday, September 8, 2023

Good evening! It’s Friday; hope you’ve had a good week. 

Mark and I are finishing up a few details at the K’s in The Villages before they arrive home. Insulating the garage door was next on our list. 

One row done … we did 3/5th’s yesterday and plan to finish it tomorrow morning. 

Last night was YaYa’s and it was tons of fun at Mary’s house. 

Mary made Summer Minestrone soup for us and served it with delicious bread! Delicious! Nikki, slightly pregnant, mentioned that they were thinking about a girls name starting with H. Well, that started a contest of sorts to come up with names for her baby.  We had so much fun!  It was great! 

Today was bowling and we killed it. 😂 Actually it was fun bowl day and we won over $50. Mark’s 3 game average was 191 and mine was 168. (There are plenty of better bowlers, but we’re doing okay for a couple of relative newbies.) 

Kris had a procedure today and was home when we called at 3 o’clock. All’s well … Diane will be cooking for the next few days. (Kris is expecting lots of “takeout” food. 😂)

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Good evening! It’s been a beautiful sunny Sunday with a high of 90F. Our afternoon was spent floating around with cold beer and in Mark’s case, a ceegar. Robs & Bee had Frosty Paws in the tiki hut. Nice afternoon. 

Happy Birthday to Aurelia! Our best wishes for a wonderful year ahead! 

We hope Tony baked a beautiful birthday cake for you. 🥳🎂🥰

Mark’s cousin Ryan from Newburyport married yesterday! Congratulations to the beautiful couple. 

Our tiny houseguest is getting stronger by the day. Mark set up a safe area for Woody to explore and stretch his legs. (Two days ago we let him loose in the front porch and the poor fella shook all over.) This method of freedom in the cage should allow him to feel secure and gradually become comfortable with his outdoor surroundings. We think he may be 5-6 weeks old. 

Woody’s able to climb now … he could scarcely crawl a week ago. 

This coming week is a big one for brother in law Kris with catheterization and a possible stent. Our friend Steve is having a mass removed from his lung. We’re hoping for successful procedures for them both. 

That’s our world 🌎 … happy Labor Day tomorrow! 

Friday, September, 1, 2023

Well, it’s officially the Labor Day weekend and the close of summer in many regions of North America. Today brings us thoughts of pumpkin spice, everything, ha ha, and fall weather to come. It’s one of my favorite seasons. Enjoy!

We had a very cutest surprise in the mail. We have been members of Barkbox for a long, long time recently. They asked for a picture of Robbie and today we got this adorable card and hand drawn portrait of our wee boy.  🐾❤️ It’s charming!!! 

This is our new TV area with our “old” recliner furniture from the living room. It’s giving us a new spot in the sunroom. The curtains are a underwater scene that blend with the starfish area rug. It’s all very comfortable.  We’re loving it! 

Mark worked on a project in our backyard. Where we had the septic redone last year, we had taken out three trees. Now we have gone with a garden area along the fence. 

I don’t know how Mark managed to get this done, it was in the heat of the Summer. He would go out and work for a couple of hours in the morning. I bought $300 and it looks much, much better. He wanted to do the same on the opposite side of the yard, but it’s much shadier there and we would need different plants. We shall see. 

Meanwhile, up in the Kenora area, the K’s are enjoying a summer vacation. This dinner party was at the R’s … 

It looks like a beautiful evening and a lovely gathering. 

Here’s Rose making friends with Bruce & Heather’s new member of the family. 🐾🥰

Today was fun bowl with our friends at the Alley. We bowled with Lynn, Steve, Nancy, Dan, Charlie, Mark, and me. We had a few chances to win big and Mark got $35 for bowling  “21” with 3 throws! It was a good outing.