Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Good afternoon. It’s been a flurry of this and that the past week, mostly getting prepared for our upcoming vacation. A slightly belated happy birthday to Aurelia. I hope it was a great day and Tony cooked your favorite foods. What’s for dinner Tony? “FOOD!” πŸ˜‚

Early this morning, Nancy came over to practice the dogs breakfast routine. Oh, you may laugh, but it is quite a job. That’s the meal where they get a little of this added, and a little of that this one gets a pill, that one doesn’t, you get the idea. I’m sure she will be onto it. Anyway, the main thing is that Belize gets 1/2 a heart bill twice a day. And, our new boy, Wyatt, will still not drink filtered water. He only likes water with either chicken broth or beef broth added. I swear, that dog would shrivel up dehydrated before he would sip water. So, Nancy will have to remember to give him “special” water three times a day. πŸ™„

This afternoon, my friend Kim and I went to August nails for a pedicure. It was so nice to relax in the massage chairs and get our piggies looked after. Ha ha. We had both neglected them over the summer.


This is Wyatt, sitting on the sofa and watching a hunting show, with Mark. 🐾❤️


Tomorrow afternoon, all five of us are going to Nancy‘s for a swim and pizza. I hope we get an afternoon without thunderstorms. We haven’t had much rain with them, but plenty of wind and rumbling thunder. 

Thursday night I am hosting Yaya‘s and Mark is cooking white chili, a.k.a. chicken chili for us girls. Aren’t we lucky? πŸ₯° I expect to have at least a dozen in attendance.

Friday, we will check Sue and Wayne’s house before we leave for our trip on Sunday. Diane and Kris will check it out for us the next two weeks and make sure everything is Tickety boo. Geez, that must be an old saying  πŸ˜‚

Sunday, we will be up with the birds getting last-minute things done before leaving at 12:30 for the airport. Nancy will be in full control after that. Wish her luck. πŸ€ 

That’s it for the day. We are off to the SwimSpa pool with a cocktail tonight.


Saturday, August 24, 2024

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Good morning from sunny Central Florida where it’s 84° at 10:30 this morning. Our weather has been beautiful the last week or 10 days. We think climate change has moved our seasons around a little. The month of May is very hot, but by the time we get to August, we have some very nice days. Yes, it can still get to 90°, but the humidity is much lower than it is during May June and July. Enough about the weather. What’s it been like in your area this summer? 

Yesterday, Mark and I went for a nice boat ride and had lunch at the Crazy Gator in downtown Eustis. They have good food, reasonable prices and great docking right outside the restaurant. The lake was flat when we crossed it at 12:30 



but was working up to a chop when we crossed at 2:30. It’s nothing that bothers a pontoon boat but in our Logic boat, we would’ve gotten splashed a bit. 



Once we were home, we tried to have an afternoon siesta but a Bark Box 🐾πŸ₯° was delivered. So, that was the end of the nap. πŸ˜‚



Our newest boy, Wyatt, has really gotten into the toys that squeak. He pounces on them, bites them, squeaks them nonstop, throws them in the air and runs around the house. He’s so comical. And, he’s gotten both Robbie and Belize, more active. He’s a real charmer and a perfect addition to our family. ❤️

So after the wake up with the toy/treats delivery, Mark watched some TV and I went to the Sunroom to work on some paintings. . As I was painting, I started to cough and sneeze! I noticed a very, very strong fragrance that was hauntingly familiar; but I couldn’t come up with a name of it. Anyway, there was no perfume around, no pokey, no scented candles nor fragrance of any kind. Mark came a half hour later to let the dogs out the back door. He said “what’s that smell?” I said whatever it is it’s making me cough and sneeze! He said “Well I smell it over here by your desk!” I was at the art table, the opposite side of the 26’ room. We both smelled it in 2 different areas! It lingered in the Sunroom for more than an hour. It was so strong, it smelled like a whole bottle of perfume had been spilled. 

Yesterday was 10 years to the day that my sister Linda passed away after an eight year battle with Alzheimer’s. She’s terribly missed, and thought of daily. I called Randy as we commiserate on that day, chat a little and sometimes laugh about an old story.. I told him about Mark’s and my experience. He said “did it smell like cheap perfume?” πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I said I don’t know about cheap, but it was certainly potent. Well, we had a good laugh and he said  I think you’ve had a visit from Linda! I indeed had!!! Within a few minutes the fragrance disappeared from the Sunroom. How strange. Randy wasn’t at home as he and Dawn had gone to the surgery clinic where he’s to have surgery September 6 for a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He said if he smelled perfume when he got home, he would call me back. I’m guessing he didn’t, as I had no return phone call. It was nice to have a visit from Linda, but I could’ve done without the coughing and sneezing fit. 😳 I had to use my inhaler and allergy nose spray. Ha ha. She got me good. 

In other news, Sue and Wayne were at a dinner party with their friends at Lake of the Woods in Ontario. 



We miss seeing everyone, but this year we are going on a 12 day cruise with five nights in London and you can’t do everything you wish on a Retirement budget. 😝

When we get home from our September trip, we will be buying a second vehicle. Our friend Nancy is selling us her late husband’s 2015 GMC Acadia. It has very low mileage, garage kept, and will be a perfect 2nd vehicle for us. 



Mark has plans to add a trailer hitch to the Kia to make it more versatile for hauling things like fuel and stuff. πŸ™„ Our Kia is very low mileage, too, and we have a lifetime engine warranty on it so it will be staying in the family forever and a day. πŸ˜‚ 

Well, I guess that’s it for today. Tata for now.


Sunday, August 11, 2024

Sunday August 11, 2024



Good morning! Have you been glued to the Olympic coverage? We have and it’s been a good way to avoid the heat. Hurricane Debby took our humidity and heat away for a few days which was welcomed.

Our summer bowling league continues with us hanging onto 1st place. Team members Nancy & Linda were away cruising and had pre-bowled so that was good. We looked after Nancy’s property while she was away. 

Granddaughter Hailey had her 17th birthday πŸ₯³ …


and posted this … but I think she’s got plenty of time! πŸ˜‚

Our new boy Wyatt is a real gem. He’s a great watchdog and continues to settle right in with Robs and Beez 🐾❤️.

A couple days ago we sold the ol’ Mounty to a young fellow nearby. He’s delighted to have it and promised to take care of it. 


Bye bye Mounty. 

We’re officially a 1 vehicle family now. The plan is to replace it after our anniversary cruise. We’ll see how it plays out. Most times 1 vehicle is enough for us. 



The YaYa’s gathering was a fun night at Trina’s which celebrated many spring and summer holidays ending with napkin folding! It was fun … yep those are bunnies! πŸ˜‚


We’re very hopeful the end of tRump is near and we are supporting Kamala’s run for the White House! 



Wyatt’s had his 1st boat ride and seemed to take it all in stride. Last Tuesday he had his first dental (no anesthesia) and did great! 

That’s what’s been going on here! Getting organized for our big trip has kept me busy enough … plus I’m painting three 18x24 canvases. 

Ta ta … 






Friday, July 19, 2024

Friday, July 19, 2024

Good morning! It’s another beautiful start to our day. Here’s our forecast this week. 



Yesterday we lined up the Scotties for a photo shoot. Auntie Bonnie sent a dress for Mz BeeZee to wear. In the excitement of putting it on her, Wyatt poked his big nose in and voila … 


Wyatt posed for his pretty picture. πŸ˜‚

Mark recognized the error πŸ™„ and we put the dress on BeeZee. It wouldn’t quite velcro together. Diet time for the wee girl. 🀣


Sweeties, all of them.  That’s Robbie, BeeZee and Wyatt. They’re all getting along great and it’s not even been a month yet since Wyatt joined us! 


Here they are on auntie Nancy’s porch the other evening. Nancy is enjoying a northern European cruise with her friend Linda at this time.

Wednesday night, we went with our neighborhood group to Longhorns steakhouse the food was delicious and the service excellent. We had planned on going to taste of Brazil, a new restaurant in downtown Eustis. But after checking the menu, it was a bit too pricey for just a run-of-the-mill night out. I hope they will do well, but for us it’s going to have to be a special event evening out!

Sue and Wayne have been enjoying good weather at their cottage. Last night, they hosted a Ukrainian food dinner for their group.



Wayne and Jim and Miss Mimi are enjoying the new sunroom/porch. It looks great. And certainly makes it much cleaner and more usable room.

Randy, after severely injuring his shoulder earlier in the month, is awaiting details on surgery. Unfortunately, it’s caused them to cancel going on the big cruise with us. Of course we were disappointed, but we certainly understand that health comes first.   

We’ve been bowling of course and are currently in 1st place in the summer league. Otherwise, it’s been housesitting at Sue and Wayne’s, and at Nancy’s, routine fun like golf cart rides but too hot to use the boat lately. 



Our garden is doing beautifully this summer! This is a plumeria that Mark has begun from sticks that a neighbor threw out. Seriously, he is a good gardener  

That seems to be the news for now. I hope you all are enjoying a fabulous summer.  

Friday, July 5, 2024

Friday, July 5th, 2024

Good afternoon from Scottieville where it’s bright, sunny and fun!


Wyatt flew in from Tulsa with Bonnie on June 21st.

We had 3 fun days with Bonnie visiting and helping to settle Wyatt into our home. 


Lunch on Saturday at Lake Eustis Waterfront Grill … scallops for lunch!


Lessons from the master groomer! Bonnie breeds and shows her Scotties.


Robbie’s showing off his new look! 


Break time in the SwimSpa … water 87F … air temp 92F. Bonnie was knocked over with the current πŸ˜‚



Sunday was a ride to The Villages and dinner at Cody’s Roadhouse. 



Wyatt wore pants for the first few days while he learned the potty schedule. He’s smart … caught onto that in 10 days! 



Robbie chilled with Bonnie … grooming was high anxiety for them both. πŸ˜‚


Monday was Bonnie’s last day … so it was off to Sanford Airport. Back home, we lined up the kids for a picture with a very happy daddy!

It’s 2 weeks today since we added Wyatt to our clan … he’s potty trained and reliable in the house with Robs and Beez. There was 1 skirmish over a blueberry that Robbie left in his lunch bowl. Wyatt thought it fair game but was caught in the act. πŸ™„ Retribution was Robbie sleeping in Wyatt’s new bed. πŸ˜‚

Last night the 4th was celebrated by neighbors with loud noises! We stayed home not knowing how Wyatt might react. After watching Robbie and BeeZee he decided it wasn’t worth getting upset over fireworks. 



Our happy trio! Life at our funny farm is good! 

Hope you’re enjoying summer in your area! 


Thursday, June 20, 2024

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

Today’s the Summer Solstice in our Northern Hemisphere! 🌞

There’s been several extended family events lately! 


Congratulations to cousin Flo and husband Peter on the birth of their baby! Hector has arrived earthside. He’s a fine looking lad. πŸ₯°

Best wishes to cousin Elliot and Chase on their Wednesday wedding! 






The Buchanan Tartan was well matched by Chase! ❤️



The Tawns family, minus Flo and Peter in the U.K. were there to celebrate with Elliot & Chase. 

Tomorrow, Bonnie arrives with 18 lb. Wyatt. We’re ready to welcome this cutie into our family. Robbie and BeeZee know … there’s a crate set up in our Sunroom for him. We have some fun planned for the weekend! 


More pics in the next few days!

Yesterday we had a fun friends night out at El Mezcal in Mt. Dora. Great food and lively conversation! 





Whatta crazy group! 

The K’s are safely in Canada for the summer and having dinner with Tony & Aurelia this evening. Have fun!

Mark’s niece Olivia is with her brothers Jackson and Marshall plus her dad, Danny in North Carolina. We’ll see them all at nephew Jeremy’s wedding in October! 





Ebay sales have been brisk benefitting animal rescue. Diane donated more items last Sunday! Thanks! 

Enjoy the upcoming weekend … and if I’m not separating Scotties next week πŸ˜‚ I’ll post pics.  

Ta ta til then. 

Monday, June 3, 2024

Monday, June 3rd, 2024

Good afternoon! It’s been a minute since Blogging hasn’t it! 

We’re doing well …. bowling, boating and swimming with summer well underway in our region. 

RanDawn have been hosting family gatherings with Jan, Dawn’s mom, in town for a month. We were lucky to see them at Lake Eustis Waterfront Grill last Tuesday evening. It was a nice night! 

EBay sales have been brisk thanks to the recent “turning out” (as mom called it) by Sue, Diane and me.  Diane has really been busy! Who knew “Patio Dresses” were a hot summertime seller? In the “olden days” they were house dresses. 

Our friends Bonnie & Roger in Oklahoma were hit with a huge tornado about 10 days ago. Bonnie’s car is totalled, their fencing and dozens of trees are down. But … their house survived whereas 3 neighboring homes were demolished. Fortunately all their animals survived too! 





We’ve BIG news! This wee boy, Wyatt, is coming with Bonnie from Tulsa on June 21st!



Wyatt is retiring from showbiz / breeding and becoming a pampered pooch at our house. Mayhem will reign for several weeks as Robbie (13 1/2) and Belize/BeeZee (11) sort out his position in the squad. πŸ˜‚ As Mark says “All hell’s going to break loose!” 🀣 Wish us luck. πŸ€ 

Wyatt is 2 years, 3 months old … a perfect age for us. And, Robbie and Bee will be crucial in his house-breaking. They’re both easygoing and trustworthy doggies. 



Next blog will be family wedding news from Australia.