Monday, May 7, 2018

Yes! The sun’s shining and a perfect day unfolds in our wee slice of paradise. 

It’s 72F now, going to 87 by 5 o’clock. Mark plans a trip to Home Depot, then O’Reilley’s for shocks (Randy’s truck.) 

Me? I’ll be at Deenna’s by 1 o’clock for stained glass fun. 

Cheers 🍻 it’s Happy Hour on Calla. Mark accomplished Randy’s truck shocks and it’s sitting higher now (and nearly level.) Afterward he puttered about across the street with pool filter cleaning and such. I finished the fine grinding on the stained glass and began the copper foil adhesion and burnishing. But now ... a drink for us and homemade frosty paws for the Scotties. 

RanDawn called and invited us for kebabs on the BBQ at 6:30 ... Robbie and BeeZee are included. 

Marky-Mark sent a couple of pics he took of us. 

Dancing at Crossroads on Friday night ...

Mark in downtown Eustis last Friday. 

So dinner tonight at RanDawn’s was great. 

Randy prepped skewers for the BBQ ... ribeye steak, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and onions plus chicken, potatoes, shrimp and pineapple! What a feast it was! Robs and Bee wished for a tidbit. 🐾

It was great sitting on their porch listening to the frogs croaking while Randy barbecued our dinner. There was a huge thrashing in the water behind the house ... something got dinner! Gator? We ALWAYS have a great time with RanDawn ❤️❤️❤️.

Robs and Beez were well behaved as always. 💕🐾 They are easy-peasy and like to be with their family doing whatever we do. 😇

Sue and Wayne met Pat and Derek at Bella Roma tonight. We said “hey” from Central Florida. 😘 It’s been 3 years since we’ve seen them at Sue & Wayne’s. 

Tony and Aurelia reported it got to nearly 90F in Winnipeg today! I guess that means the snow is finally gone and the grass is making a comeback. Sweet. Chessy will be happy 🐾.

So that’s it for tonight. Mark is watching (snoring) the end of the hockey game between Washington and Pittsburgh. 

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Good morning. It’s a cloudy start with a little more rain forecast before skies clearing later today. I am good with that. It’s been a busy few weeks around here and I’m ready to just chill out. Mark is outside puttering around on Randy’s truck. He says it needs shocks and an oil change. (Not my circus, not my monkeys.) 😂 So, Mark is going to O’Reiley’s (Sp?) for rear shocks and will put them on for him. Sweet eh?

I found a saying on Pinterest today that fits ...

but, instead of “older” I would say “busier.” Of course when you browse Pinterest you find other cool stuff.

Heeheehee ... this reminded me of Freddie Farkle escaping from my fenced yard in Transcona when I left for work on summer mornings. Of course I didn’t know it until a neighbor told me. Freddie was an English Springer spaniel too. 

At noon, the rain let up so I took the dogs for a long ride on the golf cart. The air was saturated with a mix of Florida springtime flowers. We stopped at Pat’s ... her Jasmine is so fragrant (we smelled it going into her party yesterday) ... and her huge gardenia bush is covered in thick waxy flowers; a very heady scent.

Jasmine              Gardenia.                   Magnolia

There are many magnolia trees in our neighborhood, a delicate fragrance. They are fast growing trees ... hmm.

After lunch, Mark went outside to wash Randy’s truck. He was laughing because there is mold growing on it! Mark has more energy than me today! (I had a 1 1/2 hour nap.) 

Randy phoned (Dawn was at work) excited about Winnipeg Jets game on TV. They planned a quiet evening too. (Usually we have supper with them at Stavros on Sunday night.) Dawn loves leftovers for her work lunch. 

Well Marky-Mark arrived home safely ... kissed Lani, walked the dogs, ate and fell asleep. He sure worked hard on his week’s “holiday!” The house is going to take shape nicely now that landscaping is mostly under control. We’ll be around and keep an eye on things for them. 

Mark was chopping veggies when I awoke so I fed the kids. We’re having teriyaki chicken and curry veggies. 😋 (It’s a Betty Ford night here (well, for me) so I’m having a diet Sunkist orange!) Yup, that’s my bad habit. 🙄

Mark spotted this neat idea on Facebook. Maybe another cute project for me; hey, I like plants. 😎

That’s it for tonight. 

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Good morning! We were both awake before sunrise. After breakfast, Mark cooked chicken for dog meals while I baked a cake for today’s derby party at Pat ‘n Ken’s. It’ll be a bit of a reveal as they have redecorated their living room and family room. 

Marky-Mark tidied up across the street, put in some solar lights and left for Canada about 5 pm. He’ll drive straight through! Mark has a list of jobs for the next few weeks ... like loads to the dump and recycling. 

At 3 we took The Caddy to Pat & Ken’s along with Wine and my super-duper chocolate cake. At the party ... Mike and Alice, Linda and Jack, Lew and Lynn, Elaine and Roger, Nancy, Mary, Rose and Jim, Martha, Deena and Ed, Sharon and Art, Annette and Tim and us. There were several vets on races starting with the ninth up to the big derby race. Mark and I did not win anything. Wha wa. 

Mark looked smashing in Lynn’s derby hat ...

... plus a mint julep in hand!

Sharon put the most effort into a hat ... 

OMG she’s hilarious! 

Pat served the mint julep’s in time for the big race! 

Rose looked pretty with her black and white facinator. She was a big help to Pat. Art (with walker) was happy to make it to the party. He and Sharon arrived in a downpour. 🌧 

Mark came home and fed the dogs at five, and then we were both were home by 8 o’clock. There had been a big rainstorm and it cooled down to the low 70s. We sat on the front porch watching the solar lights come on across the street while Mark enjoyed a cigar.

It’s been a very busy week or so. Hopefully tomorrow will just be a lazy day around the house.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Good afternoon. My chores were finished with  so the doggies and I sat on the front porch for an hour and watched Mark hauling brush around from the back yard project house with Randy’s truck. That truck sure makes a weird humming noise ... but, Randy says that’s normal. 

This afternoon I am going to Deenna‘s to work on my stained glass project for a few hours.

Although this needs a lot of work, you can see the glass pieces cut and (sort of ) in formation. There is much work to be done yet. Hey, it’ll look better with lead finished. 😜

This evening, we went to crazy gator‘s for fish dinner, and then to the Eustis street party, and then to Crossroads for drinks and to watch our friend Meridyth sing.

First, we met Rose and Jim, and sat with them until they left. We were lucky enough to inherit their table.

We walked around downtown, got a drink at the wine bar and wandered around some more.


Finally, we ended up at the crossroads where our friend Meridyth was singing. We had a couple rounds there and a few laughs. Marky-Mark liked that Meridyth lives in our hood. 

We were home by 10 o’clock. Mark and I came in to watch the news and unwind, and Marky-Mark went to vacuum his green pool. 🙄

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Good morning. It’s simply a gorgeous day outside. The front door is open and I had to laugh to hear Mark walking the dogs down the street. Miss BZ was mad at something, probably a squirrel. (No, it was Jack & Linda on their bikes!) Scotties hate wheels for some reason. 

Last night at the steak dinner, we were all entertained by the bird eating steak.

I may have been talking to the bird when Mark took this picture. Ha ha Ha, it takes one to know one. 

Here’s a picture of the 9 x 12 carpet now in the sunroom. As I told you yesterday, the pool table went to Marky Mark‘s house and we brought our spare dining table into the sunroom.

Yesterday Marky Mark began tearing out the kitchen cabinets ...

and today Mark was loading the old cabinets into Randy’s truck for a dump run when ...

a nail caught him as he tossed it. Ouch! So we’re at LRUC for stitches and a tetanus shot. Double ouch. 😢 He’s not the only injury from the project house ...

Marky Mark is sporting 9 bandaids in this picture. 😂 The one on his shin should have been stitched! 

Tonight, I am going to Yaya‘s at Anita‘s house. Mark is staying home and relaxing so we can go for fish fry tomorrow at the Crazy Gator. It’s street party night in  downtown Eustis. 🎼 

YaYa’s was fun! Anita let little puppy Finn out to play with us ...

he’s just a fluff ball! Corrine held him for a picture ... then Rose tried ...

Love 🐾💕

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Good morning. Yes, it’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day here in Central Florida. It was 66° this morning going to a high of 82 by 4 o’clock. Mark is working across the street this morning for a few hours bringing items to the curb for a bulk pick up. Although the house appeared to be mostly empty, there was a lot that needed to be rid of. The fridge, stove, and dishwasher are all going from the kitchen of course, plus a sofa and a bed for starters. After everything is hauled out for bulk pick up, Mark is going to load up Randy’s truck and take landscape debris to the dump. Before the change of contractors for trash pick up, they would’ve taken everything. The last two years we’ve had new trash bins, been reduced from two pick ups a week to one ... and no more bulk landscape debris. What the heck, we did not get a reduction in price! Who at Lake County made this crappy deal? 🤬

Off to the dump with the 1st load! 

Meanwhile, I was making food for the dogs. Although Mark cooks meat for them in a big batch weekly I did potatoes, vegetables and made their happy hour treats. We sure do hope that they will be much healthier without the commercial pet food. 

So, I got a big reward from Overstock after buying the 9x12 carpet in March. I looked through their site but couldn’t find what I wanted for the Sunroom. After some deep thinking (sleeping on it) I ordered the same carpet in a different size! Perfect. It just arrived! Damn these are heavy carpets! The first was 85 lbs and this one is 70 lbs. I’ll drag it through the house and attempt to put it in place before Mark gets back from the dump. 😜 (well, Mark came home, had lunch and then he dragged it into the bedroom for me. It’s perfect.) 

WE gave our new neighbor our pool table. We weren’t using it and he has a perfect space for it. So, we dragged the French Country dining table (I had been using it as a jewelry craft table. It was our beautiful dining room table before we bought the one from the restaurant about three years ago! Anyway, it moved to the sunroom and with the new carpet it looks great. I can’t wait to play Mexican Dominoes. 

Dawn phoned about 1 o’clock and they are going to join Mark, me and Marky Mark for dinner at Palm Gardens tonight. It’s steak night! We hope to go by boat, but so far it is pretty windy out of the Northeast. So we will likely have to go by car. Drat. 

I know the steaks are good ... I hope the chicken is delicious for Randy. 😋 

The wind died down so we took Mrs R B and had a great ride to the restaurant, very good dinner with good service. On the way home it was a bit choppy, but no big problem. We arrived home, enjoyed drinks at the bar and had more laughs.

A beautiful evening with entertainment from the steak eating bird!



Now, the captain is sawing logs in his recliner and I am watching TV. Ta Ta TIL tomorrow. 😘

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

It’s 4:30 am ... and I just couldn’t stay asleep. Lynn arrived home at 7:30 last night and I ran over with flowers for her. She looks great, even well-rested! It was a massive stroke with a blood clot the size of a BB in her brain. New technology operates through the thigh! She has a sore leg and a bruised arm from her fall ... but that’s it. Amazing! Follow-up treatment is a low-dose aspirin daily. Although the specialists aren’t certain they think Lynn’s DHEA hormone therapy may have played a roll in this event. We’re thrilled Lynn’s home! Lew looks worn to a nub ... it’ll take him longer to recover from this. 

Mark had government stuff to handle today with photos and ID for his drivers license. Now you need a passport, social security and 2 other forms of ID! What the heck? When did your passport and your former license become inadequate? 

At 1 o’clock, I had a wine tasting party at Nancy‘s house. A company I have never heard of offered a wine tasting party and home delivery service . It wouldn’t normally be something I’d be interested in, but it’s all the girls around the ‘hood. The wines were lovely blends from different areas. We sampled some from South Africa, France, Italy and California. In all, there were nine bottles sampled. Of course afterwards, you felt obligated to order one or two. I was a sport and ordered a special bottle for Mark which I will put aside for his birthday. I’m not generally a red wine drinker, but felt he would enjoy this particular one. We had a good fun. When the wine pro was gone, Nancy opened a bottle of high crimes and we drank that as well. We had tons of laughs and plenty of silliness to go around. Deenna had walked over but couldn’t walk home so I had to drive her on the golf cart. Ditto for Rose. When I arrived home, Mark had sauce cooking, the pool table delivered to Marky Mark‘s family room and he was sipping a glass of wine himself. What an awesome guy I married. ❤️

We popped over to visit Lynn and Lew for a few minutes. She continues to recover and just has a very sore leg. 

So that was our day in a nutshell. Ta ta til tomorrow.