Rain! ... July 7, 2016

Good morning from Central Florida where it's 75 now! Lovely. Our plan was to get up early to enjoy the outdoors before it got too hot. However, Mark didn't get the memo as it's after 9 o'clock and he still sleeping! What's up with that? We went to be at 10:30! Hmm, the summer doldrums? Well, it's only a couple of weeks til we load up the RV and do a road trip! Yay!

We had one eBay sale ... two old gun magazines! It's amazing just what sells. Haha. Otherwise, it's quiet. 

Darlene phoned Mark today to wish him a happy birthday. It was so nice to hear from her. I asked about Foxy and heard she's not doing very well. The vet thought maybe bronchitis and gave Darlene medication for that but so far, it's not working. Poor Foxy ... and of course Darlene is worried she might lose her. 

Sue sent a pic of the boys with their completed picnic table! Great job guys! 

Mark and I needed a few things at Walmart today ... and found a good deal on Franzia Chardonnay & Merlot wines! Now we're well stocked! Mark checked the security camera from our boathouse fire in April. There were a few pics on the camera's card! It appears there was a lot of smoke before things got out of control. 

I've been doing some creative sewing the past few days while it's been too hot to be outside. This evening, we all sat on the front porch for 20 minutes after a cooling rain. 

Mz BeeZee ... wishing and hoping for lizards and squirrels. LOL

It was a good day ... a bit lazy ... a thunderstorm ... happy hour on the front porch ... dinner and a 4 hour movie "The Wolf on Wall Street." Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

Happy Birthday Marky ... July 6, 2016

Happy Birthday to youuu! Muah!

We were up early to enjoy the cool morning air as it's forecast to be 5 degrees hotter than our usual July heat! (Yesterday wasn't too bad as there was a stiff breeze.)

Mark had another "date" with Bealls ... we had $20 in "Beall's Bucks" plus $5  from RanDawn and a 20% off coupon! Hey, ya gotta shop on your birthday! Right? Mark got two shirts for $1.50. Haha. Awesome!

This afternoon, we both stayed inside and hid from the sun. Somehow, the Bermuda high that generally sits off Florida's east coast is sitting smack-dab over our peninsula! This generally keeps us reasonably cool with afternoon rainstorms. We are 5° over normal and expected to be until next Monday. OMG we're going to run out of indoor stuff to do. LOL!!!  We'll pick up a pool for the doggies to play in. I don't know if they'll use it, but maybe? Right now, BZ is enjoying sitting on the sofa and gazing out the living room window. It's now 86° and we came back from our evening walk ... The Scotties are hot. Of course Mz BeeZee had to chase every squirrel she saw! The poor things were laying in the grass trying to cool down. I've been putting out ice water for the birds and the squirrels today. Yes Scott I can hear you laughing. ;-)

I wanted to take Mark for dinner tonight but he felt like being home tonight and cooking chicken, baked potatoes and having a salad. So that's what we had. Will do a birthday dinner out later this week. Speaking of cooking, Rod and Shay phoned for Marky's birthday and said they are preparing meals for their visit here in August. LOL. We are certainly looking forward to seeing them and ... eating Shay's Chili Relenos! 

At my cousins home in Australia, Elliott's in charge of dog training while Mel is in the UK. 

I wonder if Monty is ruling the house by now? He sure is sweet! Mel told me that Monty thinks Elliott is his mum! LOL. Elliott calls him "pupper" ... like we used to call Shiloh. 

At Sue and Wayne's cottage, Kyle and Gavin are getting along well with Shorty Hot Pants! (Yes, Julius is there too. But everyone gets along with Julius.) 

The boys are growing up so fast and are very handsome! When Kyle was fishing on the dock, the picnic table set was wobbly. Sue heard much sawing and hammering and walked down to the dock after two hours to check the rebuilding progress. 

Ha ha ha. It looks like Wayne, Kyle and Gavin have a puzzle on the go! 

At Bonnie and Roger's house in Tulsa Oklahoma, the painting job is coming along beautifully.

I'll post more pictures later.

Well that's it for today. I'm going to play a game of FreeCell solitaire and watch Ancient Aliens. 

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

It's going to be a scorcher today ... the hottest of the year "they say!" (NOT - it got to 91 ... still, hot enough!)

Pam, (Mark's Minneapolis sister), kayaked over the weekend with a plastic bag on her foot! What a trooper! She had foot surgery about 3 weeks ago and finally this afternoon, the doctor pulled the pin out. (I swear I felt it too!) LOL

Pam kayaking with a plastic bag. Haha. (The water looks so nice and cool!)

On the water with cousin Nancy at the Bowers cottage. 

Since we're on cousins today ... here's my cousin Melanie, visiting with girlfriends in the UK this week. 

No, these are not ALL her glasses. LOL 

I spied this on Facebook and loved it ... Hope you laugh too. 

Who thinks these things up? 

Randy & Dawn had an early supper at Yalaha Bakery ... Chicken salad on fresh bread and said it was wonderful! Afterward, they popped in, on the bike, for happy hour. We were all "happy" to see them! Dawn was very daring and gave the Scotties some crackers. LOL. (She's a screamer!) 

Sue & Wayne took the grandsons to Boston Pizza tonight in Kenora for pasta Tuesday! I think the boys are enjoying themselves ... boating, fishing and dining out ... what's not to like?

Meanwhile at BonRoge's ... the little people are working on their house in the 100+ heat!!! Tomorrow, the painting begins!

Ow! $1,000 in paint ... that hurts; but it's going to look fabulous. We're looking forward to seeing the "after" picture!

Here's a before picture! Next week, maybe the after!

We're wondering what's going on in Kelowna BC ... Ruth and Rick closed on the big property; but, no pictures yet! Whhhaaattt?

Tonight, Below Deck is on ... Deadliest Catch and Botched. It's too hot to sit out so Telly it is. 

4th of July ... 2016

Happy 4th ... America's 240th birthday celebration! We're going to a private party at Carol & Richard's in the Scottish Highlands neighborhood! It's going to be 94 for a high today. 

So, good morning. I was up by 8, Mark by 9:30. It seemed not even the Scotties were in a hurry to go outside. It was lovely this morning  ... in the shade. But BeeZee does not understand the concept of shade! She chases lizzies while Robbie relaxes ... in the shade. Hence, they aren't out for more than a couple of minutes. They had their first real walk of the day at 10:30 with Mark. 

Carol and Richard had about 40 people for their Fourth of July party. Poor Richard was cooking on the barbecue in the 95° heat. Many were sitting on the porch and outdoor patio, but there were plenty of us in the (A/C) house too! We met quite a few from the Villages and Lady Lake, other friends of Carol's. There was a hot chip dip with RoTel tomatoes and probably cheese that I was attracted to. I wish I could've found the recipe. Delicioso! There were masses of food, chicken, pork, sausages and hotdogs on the barbecue. We left at five to go home and feed the dogs and get ready for dinner at Randy and Dawn's at seven. 

Robbie and BeeZee were thrilled when they got leashed for a car ride! Randy & Dawn cooked a nice birthday dinner for Mark! 

Drinking "Wayne-worthy Wine" ... and photo-bombed by Dawn. LOL. We started with Randy's homemade shrimp bisque soup ... then teriyaki chicken, rice and grilled asparagus. What a take! 

Teriyaki chicken hot off the BBQ. Yum!

Mark opened gifts of a neat rounded plastic blade salad and vegetable chopper and wick-dry white and gray shirt. Sweet. What a birthday month he's having! 

Driving home just after 10 we saw the sky lit with sheet lightening and fireworks! At home, we watched the Boston Pops with Scotties on our laps. It was a very good day. Ta Ta.  

Hot! Muggy! Yuck! ... July 3, 2016

Good morning! A "cold front" is sitting at the north end of the Sunshine State piling up our heat like a snowplow. (Well that's how I envision it!) It's 88 at 10:15 going to 90 by 4 o'clock. Mark walked the doggies while I scrubbed the bird baths. What a lazy start to Sunday, eh? 

Mark got ambitious and trimmed the wisteria and (re)hung our security camera! I'm going to use this hot weather to remodel a couple of my favorite shirts. I found a cool site on Google with instructions on changing necklines, etc. It looks like fun! If I ruin the shirt, oh well, too bad. LOL

Randy teased Mark yesterday ... "you're an old man, hurt your back picking up a folding table! Hahaha."  Well, karma got his butt. On the way to their friend's wedding yesterday, Randy sneezed and jolted his hip so badly that he couldn't get out of the car for 10 minutes! (Mark loved that!)

Mark's aunt Jane and fiancé Cliff moved (again!) into their "old" neighborhood. We stopped in to visit and brought happy hour with us. 

Jane & Cliff adopted a needy little guy by the name of Beau ... or Bo-Bo. 

As you see, Cliff loves Beau! They ride on Cliff's golf cart together. Cute. 

After our visit, we came home to feed the doggies then Randy and Dawn popped in on their new street glide for wine before going to Stavros for a late dinner. It was fun, of course! 

That was our easy Sunday. I hope yours was good too. 

Birthday Shoppin' ... June 2, 2016

Good day! Everybody slept in til 9 and birthday (month) guy til 10. (Some days the bed is more comfy than other days!) Then, breakfast done, I took Marky clothes shopping at Florida's Beall's store. (They have a great men's casual clothing selection geared for our lifestyle. The sales were good ... and we saved more than we spent. (How does that work?) LOL ... Plus we have $20 in Beall's bucks!

Back home, we all had chicken and veggie straws for lunch ... yep, Robs & Beez too! 

RanDawn went to a friend's wedding today at nearby Fisherman's Wharf ... 130 expected!

SuWane have Ron, Penny, Kyle, Gavin & Cody visiting for the long weekend. Congrats to Kyle for attaining his Pleasure WaterCraft license! (It's not an easy test!) Kyle and Gavin are staying the whole week at the cottage. Happy fishing! (We miss seeing the boys.) 

Sue took a proper picture of their updated boathouse for us to enjoy. The stained glass windows look beautiful! Next summer ... 

BonRoge are in OKC for the Summer Classic All-Breed Dog show. (I think Cabby & Ella are strutting their stuff ... and we (auntie and uncle) already know they're winners!) Muah!

In the UK, my cousin Alex graduates university this month and his long-term girlfriend Courtney heads home to New Mexico. 

I wonder how long it will take for Alex to obtain a visa? 

Mark's sister Pam is recovering from foot surgery. Here she's looking gorgeous with her two grandchildren in Chicago. 

Hunter and Grandma Pam

And with Granddaughter Avery. Sweet!

We had an at home afternoon with the Scotties ... raw hide treats and playtime. Tonight, Mark made spaghetti and (excellent) meat sauce! Yum. So that was our fun day. A NASCAR race is on tonight ... so Ta Ta. 

Canada Day ... July 1, 2016

From sea to shining sea will be parades, picnics and patriotism! 

Growing up in Canada, my parents took us for a day's boat ride down the Red River with a picnic lunch. Friends were on board and of course, flags everywhere! So to our wonderful Canadian pals ... enjoy!

This morning, after regular chores, it was dog grooming day, clippers included. Ha. Robbie runs and hides when he sees everything set up! 

Robbie & Belize ... Florida Scotties. 

Cookies were involved in this picture. LOL

Mark tweaked his back while setting up the grooming table. He used ice and Light Relief but so far his back is still sore. Unfortunately, we had to cancel seeing the fireworks with Randy and Dawn. Mark wouldn't be able to get around very well. So, it was dinner at home and it evening of TV. We did watch a good movie by the name of "The Gift" ... a bit freaky too. 

The Olympic trials are on now and good TV as well. But, for my money, Ancient  Aliens is on. So Ta Ta til tomorrow!