Sunday, October 7, 2018

Good morning. It’s just 10 o’clock and Mark left with our friend Pete to help move furniture into their new home. I see I was so tired last night that I did not finish up yesterday‘s blog. Oops. 

So we arrived at the airport at 5:20, circled around and parked in the waiting area. It was 45 minutes before Lew and Lynn had all their baggage and we’re waiting at the curb. We circled around to pick them up and were astonished to see seven large bags stacked up. (I knew we should’ve brought the truck, but Mark didn’t want to have it in the fray of crazy drivers swerving every which way to get to the curb.) I don’t know how, but we managed to get the bags stacked into the Kia which bottomed out several times on the way home! As Mark says, they should have mentioned that they needed us to bring the truck. Ha ha. Anyway, it was great to see them and catch up on all their news from the summer. They had a wonderful time seeing the grandchildren and are very happy to get back to Florida! As they hadn’t eaten yet, we went to Texas Roadhouse for steak dinner. Our kids were not too happy with us as we were gone a long time. But, Rose and Jim came in and let them out back for a potty. We are sure lucky to have such wonderful friends close by. We had brought chilled champagne to welcome Lew & Lynn home, but everyone was too full after dinner to drink it. So, we will get together this week with them. 

BeeZee and Robbie sat at the door waiting for us. They are so sweet; made me feel guilty for being gone 5 hours. (Just how did all other my dogs manage when I worked eight hours a day?) 

So that was yesterday, now this morning, as I mentioned, Mark is helping Pete. Karen & Pete closed on their house a little over a week ago, had new flooring put in throughout, had the entire interior painted, hosted a GRW weekend camping trip and today hit the road running to get moved in by Monday/Tuesday! Whew. What fortitude. They will be so happy to get settled in! Pete is most looking forward to having their own washer and dryer again. Ha ha. Sometimes it’s the small things that make all the difference. (Pete mentioned they want to take us to dinner tomorrow night, so we will see.) I’d be exhausted on their schedule, and generally have pretty good energy. 😜

Today I am getting the house organized for Thursday’s YaYa’s party. This evening, we are going to RanDawn’s for Brandon Junior‘s 3rd birthday party. It’s going to be chicken wings and pizza for dinner followed by a Publix cake 😋, gifts and fun. Robbie n BeeZee are always invited and do very well with the children. 

Charlotte, Brandon and Makenna having fun with balloons! (Just wait 😜)

Randy, Dawn and Makenna 

Water balloon accident! It was hilarious ... Randy took the balloon away from Makenna to avoid “a mess.” Hahaha ... he was playing with the water balloon when it burst. 

Mary and Brandon (right before he bit the cake! 😂

BeeZee hid from the kids, especially their noisy toys! Robbie was right in the middle of it all. 

We had a fun evening ... so nice to be included. ❤️

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Good morning. Mark and I were making plans for happy hour on the boat when we remembered we’re picking up Lew and Lynn at the airport at 5:30. Ha ha. It wouldn’t be a good thing if we forgot to pick up the mayor! 😜

Aren’t time zones amazing?

In Australia it’s tomorrow.

In Europe it’s tonight.

And in the USA, it’s 1937 where women, minorities and gays are still under assault by old white men. 

Friday, October 5, 2018

Hey, it was a hectic Friday here at our house. Yesterday we blew off our shopping and errands but had to do it all today. 😎 It’s a beautiful day here ... in the 80’s with low humidity. 

Meanwhile, Sue and Wayne celebrated Shorty’s 10th birthday with breakfast at Galuppi’s on the patio. 

Shorty’s been in the family 7 years now! 💕🐾🎶🎂

After we got home and unpacked our goodies, I took the kids for a long ride on The Caddy. There are a lot of changes in our ‘hood with new houses going up and several landscaping projects. 👍🏻 

And then there’s this clusters-f?ck ... 

Tomorrow’s the vote on a lifetime appointment for our Supreme Court. Sad. A man who was abused by his priest waits 30, 35, 40 years to say he was sexually abused and is believed. A women who was abused and waited years to say is ridiculed by our president. Shame. The old white men are running America. Sad. 

I found the following from HuffPost ... 

Obviously, the FBI’s investigation was restricted. Sad sad sad. 

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Good morning. It was a beautiful start to our day with low humidity and temps in the lower 70s. Now begins our time of year when it is most enjoyable here in Central Florida. We actually have no plans today, just a little shopping for our Halloween costume accessories, a birthday card for Brandon‘s third birthday and a stop at Home Depot for some chicken wire.

No, we are not getting into chickens! Mark has some repairs to do on Marky Mark‘s eaves to keep critters out of the attic! We are still looking for that one elusive kitten ... maybe it found a home already? The others have been spayed or neutered and up for adoption.  

Mark worked on Marky Mark’s boathouse again today cutting up the old wood for disposal. It’s been a tough job getting it ready for a new roof. I worked on eBay and did paperwork today. We had planned to go and do shopping today, but then Dawn invited us to dinner tonight. We can always shop tomorrow. LOL

We had a blast with Randy & Dawn. Dawn cooked her cheesy potatoes and wings. Randy was bartender and we sat outside and enjoyed the cooler evening. I think we touched on most subjects, and had much fun.  Robbie and BeeZee had a good time looking for lizards on the back porch. They didn’t find any. Got back home about 11 o’clock.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Good morning. I was up before dawn as Mark left for hunting in the Ocala forest. I tossed and turned but could not get back to sleep. Oh well, perhaps a nap later on. Mark will be enjoying his time in the forest as it is 71° this morning. Perfect. 

This young bear needs some plumping up. He wandered by Mark’s hunting stand. 😱 Is that you Boo Boo ???

Well well well, look who had a dusting of snow ❄️! Tony and Aurelia did ... in Lockport! That’s at least 3 weeks early! Yikes!

Tonight, we had fun at dinner with Randy and Dawn. After happy hour at our house we went to Tillie’s in downtown Eustis. The bar wasn’t busy tonight and the food was so-so. SO, I’m going to let Tillie know. 

Back home, we’ve got good TV that we didn’t see last night. Life is pretty darn good. 

BeeZee’s getting a grooming while Robbie’s keeping a watch. Cute kids. ❤️

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Good afternoon. It’s been a bit of a crazy day as Rob is here working on the boat and I invited Rose & Jim to play dominoes tonight. Since Rose’s birthday is Thursday, and we’re busy tomorrow, I decided to bake a cake for her. The cake is out of the oven awaiting icing, Mark is out running errands and the mechanic is scratching his head; the solenoid did not fix the problem. So, it’s just another day in paradise. 😎🌴

$345 seals the deal. Ha ha. Rob kept working on it until he found the problem. It was painted connection wires at the ignition switch. It wasn’t making good contact. Anyway, we now have a new solenoid and it’s running. 👍🏻 While I was talking to Rob, he mentioned eating at Palm Gardens on the Dead River. I said we ate there Wednesdays as they have a good barbecue steak deal. Then conversation turned to a manatee that he saw there last year! (We’ve been told there are manatees in the lake, but have never seen one ourselves.) Rob said it was very odd because the manatee had a buoy tied to its tail. That was very bizarre! 

Rose and Jim came over at 6:30 to play Mexican dominoes with us. Rose was surprised that I had baked her a chocolate cake, their favorite, for her birthday. Of course we had to sing to her. 🎶 Ha ha. 

Fun with friends ... Happy Birthday Rose! Mark was the eventual winner, and at one time I thought he might have made a new record. But, he got bamboozled towards the end. We had lots of laughs, a little wine, and some cake. What a fun night.

Tomorrow night, we are meeting Randy & Dawn at the new pizza parlor in town. 

Monday, October 1, 2018

Good morning. It’s cloudy and in the 70s ... and it’s going to be a busy day around here.  

I spent my day ferrying the doggies around on The Caddy and then working on eBay listings. We’ve had a couple of sales recently. 

🤣😂

Mark dealt with our boat mechanic. A solenoid is on order so we hope that’ll be the trick. 😀 (Mark and I guessed it might be but we had no idea where it was!) 😂 Anyway it should be fixed by Thursday. Ca-Ching!

After a salad for lunch, Mark felt energetic and finished removing the boathouse roof at Marky-Mark’s. 

We had great leftovers for supper ... talked to Randy ... a message from Sue they were going to J. Mark’s for dinner. All’s well. Now it’s time for the news.