Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Good morning. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day here in Central Florida. It’s supposed to be warm, again, actually bordering on hot.at 89! What the heck, we were enjoying that cool week.

Sue and Wayne are leaving Maggie Valley this morning heading back home. We wish them a safe trip.

Mark and Bob are in the woods this morning, their last hunting day til mid week next. 

I was asked to Fact check this ... 

And there it is! 

Our neighborhood lost a friend today, Evie Miller. She joined our group about three years ago after the passing of her husband. It was fun to see her enjoying herself as we’d heard she had had a tough life and rough husband. It was Cheri who took her under wing and brought he round to YaYa’s and game day. The tiny, shy and quiet Evie eventually found her voice and became a fun part of our group always eager to host at her home.  I sat with her often at game day and helped a little here and there on some of the more intricate games. It was just over two weeks ago that she was diagnosed with in operable cancer. At that time, the doctor said perhaps six months. At her next appointment, one week later, they gave her perhaps one month. Now here we are just one week later and Evie is gone. R.I.P. Evie.

Just another Covid-19 victim ... 

Sad eh?

Tomorrow, we are leaving for a few nights RV trip to Tarpon Springs. Randy and Dawn are joining us for Friday and Saturday nights. Wayne and LaDonna will be there in their rig, plus Markymark and Lani have rented a hotel nearby. Friday night will be a potluck dinner for the eight of us at the campground. It’s going to be a blast.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Good evening! All’s well here but we’re watching two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. One is a Cat 4-5 heading for Cancun and the other for Nawlins (New Orleans.) 😉 It’s serious for those in the path. 

Our eejit leader is at it again! Tweets today are no stimulus package until after the election. Stocks tumbled. I despise that chump. Did he ever have Civid-19? Or was it a diversion? These are the things un-reported during his Walter Reed ‘illness.’

-Coronavirus is surging anew in several states and caused an NFL game cancellation.

-Kim Guilfoyle (Partner of Don Jr and advisor to POTUS) was exposed as a Sexual Predator.

- CNN is playing tapes of Melania saying "Give me a f*cking break" about children separated from parents. And “Who gives a f*ck about Christmas stuff and decoration? But I have to do it.”

- GOP leaders very concerned about Trump not condemning White supremacist on national TV.

- Brad Parscale's mental breakdown was probably caused, in part, by the impending investigation into his role in campaign fraud for Trump.

- Barrett didn't disclose that she signed onto an ad calling for Roe repeal.

- Wohl and Burkman charged (Voter suppression in Michigan).

- GOP Texas Gov limits drop boxes to one per county. Harris county is 1500+ square miles.

- 1600 DOJ Alumni send warning about Bill Barr using his influence to undermine free and fair elections.

- Daniel Cameron (KY AG) lied to the public about Breonna Taylor. A member of the grand jury is blowing the whistle.

- Forensic News can reveal, based on exclusive documents, that a small bank in Russia with deep ties to Russian intelligence quietly moved $330 million into Deutsche Bank’s New York branch during the time period that it was lending to Trump.

- Internal DHS document shows Trump officials were told to make comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse.

-Donald paid $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.

Meanwhile, a very kind 51 year old brother to our friends Bonnie and Roger died today, alone on a ventilator in OKC Mercy hospital. The lack of compassionate leadership has brought this pandemic to bear on 210,181 families. To lose a healthy 51 year old man in such a needless way is an atrocity. R.I.P. Mike. 

Shifting gears, Sue, Wayne, Amy & Raymond are having a nice dinner, creekside in Maggie Valley where it’s 70F and sunny! Enjoy! 

Monday, October 5, 2020

Good evening y’all. Last night, just before we went to bed, we discovered that our AC had frozen up and actually had produced a big hunk of ice underneath it. A couple of years ago we had to have our system recharged with Freon. We guess that was the problem, shut down the AC and went to bed. Fortunately, we have the new AC in the bedroom and it was cool enough to sleep.

This morning, Budget air conditioning and heating company came about 10 o’clock and the young man worked on it. We were low on Freon as well as the condensate line was plugged. Mark had cleaned it out a month or two ago but there it was, plugged up again. Anyway, the fellow was here about an hour and a half and the bill was just $150. I think that was pretty darn fair. Now everything is working as it should. Thanks Budget!!! 

That’s iced up alright!!!

Mark and Bob went to the woods today but were home by 11 o’clock. Three loud talking women on horseback scared all the wildlife away. 

My job today was refreshing our living room leather furniture set. After years of service Mark’s recliner was in sad shape. We bought a quart of Home Depot color match custom paint ... and I went to town painting it! Presto ... change-o! It’s looking fresh and clean! After doing the boat a year ago, we know how well it wears. I wasn’t the least bit worried painting this. 

Sue and Wayne and their friends Raymond and Amy are in Maggie Valley. It looks like the weather is cool, but nice.

K’s site ... quite big! 

Creekside sites! 

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Good evening. Both Mark and I had a mostly lazy day. There were a few funny chores to do such as the talking fire alarms that woke us up two nights in a row. We couldn’t remember which one talked, so Mark didn’t do anything about any of them. When they woke me up last night at two in the morning I took all the bloody things down and took the batteries out. He did replace them all and label them this year. It really freaked Miss BZ out who then woke me up. Well, that was the first night. Last night though she woke up Mark and he got up and took her out, not knowing what she was trying to tell him. Tonight will be a lovely peaceful sleep, we hope.

Sue and Wayne arrived safely at Maggie Valley for three nights. They have their friends Raymond and Amy who  just arrived. I’m sure they will have a good time and lovely fall weather. 

Sue seemed a little miffed that they were parked with the biker gang. 😂 I said at least the biker gang had the sense to book early. Ha ha ha.

Randy and Dawn hosted Brandon Junior‘s fifth birthday party. We love the look on Randy‘s face as Brandon Junior is about to whack the piñata.

Our weather is lovely and cool here with a slight mist in the air. It’s rather unusual for our area. Usually when it rains, it really rains. This mist is rather refreshing. I took the dogs for a long golf cart ride and hardly got the windshield wet. This evening we went for a walk and again, scarcely got wet. It was so lovely that we sat on the front porch with a drink and Mark smoked a cigar.

I worked on a painting today while Mark watched a bit of the Talladega race. As you can tell, it was mostly a lazy day.

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Good afternoon. I just got back from visiting one of our Yaya girls, Evie. She was diagnosed last week with terminal cancer and given just two weeks to live. A lot of her family is in town from Virginia and West Virginia. I went over with Rose, both of us wearing masks, and had a short visit with her. She looks pretty darn good, she said she’s very tired but has no pain whatsoever. All of the girls group are taking food over. Since they had that covered, I did a painting for her that I hope will eventually end up with her best friend Cheri. 

I really would have liked to have spent more time on tiny details, but under the circumstances, there wasn’t time. Anyway, she loved it.

It’s a bit of an overcast day, but still nice and cool. Tonight we are meeting Karen & Pete for an early dinner. We hope to avoid any possible crowds on a Saturday night. Since the restaurants are full on open, we don’t know if there will be social distancing or not. In any event, Mark and I will wear a mask 90% of the time.

When we came out of the restaurant there was a misty rain starting. Overnight we have an 80% chance, so I think we are going to get some rain. We went to CJ’s Seafood in downtown Eustis. We met up with Karen & Pete and caught up on all the goings-on with them. Their eldest son is getting married this coming weekend in Tampa. Everyone coming into the restaurant was wearing masks, but the staff was not. They took our temperature as we came in before we were seated. Karen asked our waitress why she wasn’t wearing a mask and she said that they are Covid tested every couple of days. In any event, we won’t be back there for the foreseeable future. The service was good, the food excellent and we had a nice time ... but no mask no business from us.

Sue and Wayne are having trouble finding camping sites on the way home. There seems to be heavy traffic and not enough campgrounds! Our friends at GRW are selling RV’s like cra-cra with the pandemic! Eventually they found one 10 miles off the road, but had some difficulty getting to it. They are safely there for the night now.

There are conflicting updates on Trump’s condition tonight. One report is that he’s doing fine, and the other is that the next 48 hours are critical. 🤷‍♀️

Well that’s it for tonight. Ta ta. 

Friday, October 2, 2020

Good morning. It’s a beautiful cool 70° at 10 o’clock this morning. My plans today include painting and Mark has gone hunting with his friend Bob.

Our bonfire last night was lots of fun, but both couples went home early, about 1030. Mark and I sat out another hour along with the doggies and just enjoyed the evening. It was too nice to go inside.

A gorgeous sunset from our backyard last night.

11 o’clock last night in our backyard. Look how bright it is from the moon.

Our sweet boy Robbie enjoys being outside with us.

There’s the full moon, in all it’s glory. This was taken about 11 o’clock last night.

This morning’s breaking news was that President Trump and first lady Melania have contracted the coronavirus and will be quarantined for 14 days. The White House says that he will be monitored and recover at the White House. Does that mean he has symptoms? Of course this causes a big shit storm as he has been all over the country not wearing a mask and being in close contact with the public. Oh my God, will this presidential disaster ever end?

Fortunately, Joe and Dr. Jill Biden are both fine ... their Covid tests were negative. 😅 Being the gentleman that Joe is, he has pulled all negative political ads while Trump is in recovery.

This evening, LaDonna and Wayne picked up our orders at Stavros and we ate in the dining room. It was a nice evening, playing with the dogs in the living room and then finishing with cigars on the front porch. 

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s been a busy housekeeping day around here, getting ready for a bonfire night with a few friends. Mark has been puttering around the backyard getting things ready for the bonfire, and painting two metal tables that we inherited from LaDonna and Wayne a few months ago. They just needed freshening up.

October is my favorite month! I love how the weather changes and we can certainly have the front door open in the morning. It’s going to be in the 60s this evening, so this will be the first bonfire of fall for us. Bob and Kim, and, Markymark and Lani are coming over for drinks and to sit around the fire. Mark has bought some Johnsonville cheese brats to cook on sticks. It’ll be a lot of fun, they’re a nice group of friends. we’d like to have more people but with this COVID-19, we’ve got to be spaced out. No no, I don’t mean spaced out in that way, 😂 but sitting 6 feet apart. 

Sue and Wayne are traveling today and sent a cute picture of Chiki and Mimi, the happy travelers.

Apparently the RV traveling lifestyle is just fine with them. 🐾💕

So my friend Nancy sent me an article on the goings-on in The Villages ... and it’s quite unbelievable. The hubbub is whether you support Trump or Biden. There have been golf cart parades, fist fights, nasty signs in yards and poison pen letters. It’s absolutely ludicrous. I wonder how Diane and Kris are handling being there (all the time) during this tumultuous election season? If you’re interested in reading it, copy the link that I have embedded here.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/2020-election-florida-villages.html