Turkey Lurky 2/16/16

It's a loverly sunny start to our day here in Central Florida and forecast to be 79F this afternoon. Perfect. 

We had a strong front move across the Florida peninsula last night. It crossed here very rapidly, beginning about midnight and finishing by two in the morning. I didn't hear any thunder at all, just some heavy rain periodically. At 2 o'clock I checked my iPhone weather app and found BeeZee by the front door. The troll had taken her bed! I called her into our bedroom and put her in Robbie's bed. She settled in, and Robbie just opened his eyes and gave me 'the look.' LOL. 

Mark has a hectic day in store. He's cooking the 18 lb. turkey bought before Christmas for $5 ... plus has an eye doctor appointment this morning and family doctor this afternoon. I am to baste the bird and prep the red potatoes. 

I'm going to work on eBay listings today and perhaps make a necklace or two. Being so nice outside, I opened the overhead door and the kids had a good time watching chickadees scoping out a nest. Last year, they were in the ceramic birdhouse that hangs in our crêpe myrtle tree just off the front porch. We'll see if they choose it again. Both birds popped inside to have a look.  

Speaking of popped in, Lew came over to show Mark his find from Renninger's. He mounted his deer antlers on a piece of Cypress. They look quite nice, but I know Lynn won't let him hang them inside their house. Ha! 

Aunt Jane phoned today. Sammy had a bad bout of pancreatitis and was put down. We think she was around 14-15. She certainly had a good quality of life with uncle Don and Jane. She adapted to life without Don when he passed away in 2010 and again in 2013 when Jane and finance Cliff bought a new home. RIP Sammy, you were a great girl. 

Our babes had a good day of bird watching, lizard chasing and squirrel yip-yipping. 

Ta ta til tomorrow!

Wash Day 2/15/16

Oh we were a little late getting out of bed this morning! It was nice to let the doggies out back for a few minutes...then we all went back to bed for 2 hours! It's cloudy this morning...whaaaat? 

So chores done, Mark was making chicken soup and had 2 helpers in the kitchen accepting chicken pieces. Haha. Me? Laundry day ... washy-Monday - 4 loads finished when RanDawn called to invite us for dinner tonight. Nice! Of course the Scotties are invited too! Very nice. This will be BeeZee's first visit to their home. I wonder what she'll be looking at there! Robbie will be happy to show her around!

Mark brushed the kids today and Bee thought it an unusual way to be groomed. 

No complaints ... she enjoyed her spa day. LOL 

We're having chicken kebabs at RanDawn's plus cheesy potato casserole. (It's delicioso!) We're bringing a Marie Callender's Key Lime pie for dessert. 

Sue and Wayne had a good night with Rose and Jim over for steaks on the BBQ. Tonight, the K's are going to Bella Roma with Pat and Derek. (We haven't seen them for awhile!) 

Where's Scott? Well, he hasn't made it to his Pompano house yet. LOL. After a 16 day stay with RanDawn, he's near Tampa  now visiting his mom. 

Host 'n hostess ... great fun! We love you two!

Dinner was great! We played Mexican Dominoes until 11:15 ... Dawn was the big winner! Robbie and Belize enjoyed their back porch and mooching chicken. They all had lots of lap time and hugs. 

Belize and uncle Randy. 

It's time to go home ... the pups are ready for bed! 

They were both perfect little house guests! Ta ta til tomorrow!

Valentine's Day 2016

Good morning from sunny Central Florida. Mark was up at 4 AM with sore knees from yesterday's project. Nevertheless, he went to buy 15 more fence panels and 17 posts at Lowe's. We hope to finish the job today. Some of the panels will need cutting/fabricating. 

Downtown Eustis was beautiful last night with the palm trees lit on Magnolia. Big changes are coming to the area this year. Ferran Park (waterfront) is getting a splash pad and vendors at the public docks. Cool. 

Me and my valentine outside 1884. Dinner was excellent, and our waitress terrific! 

Mark arrived home about 11 o'clock with the panels. I cut the wrappings off them and prepared the posts by removing the stake portion. By noon, we had installed 15 panels. Damn, we're getting good at this! Mark realized he had picked up the wrong nuts and bolts for finishing the job. The package he picked up was in the wrong slot at Home Depot. Drat. Anyway, we need two more panels to finish. So, after lunch, he went to Home Depot while I relaxed on the front porch with the doggies. Belize was fascinated by the flock of white Ibis in our front lawn. (They come by once or twice a week to eat grubs.) I washed the two birdbaths and refill them and then put out fresh seed and mealworms for the birds. Our friend and neighbor down the street, Carol and Roger, have been feeding meal worms to our bluebirds. Well, the bluebirds have been hanging out at their house, so we had to step it up by offering meal worms here to get our birds back. LOL. I guess were keeping up with the Joneses as mom used to say. But, since we had a Jones family for relatives, I used to say to her, but aren't they poor mom? Haha. 

As you can see, we had plenty of help putting up our fence panels. 

Everyone loves to help their daddy. Sweet. 

Finished! Fantastic! Fun!

Lots of space to enjoy! 

Randy and Dawn arrived about 530. We had Stavros Pizza, watched Long Island Medium then played Mexican dominoes until 1030. For the first time ever, we had a tie between Randy and Mark. We played a rubber match, and Mark won ... Randy was stuck with the double blank, 50 points! LOL. 

Wha-wa-waaa. 

Hahaha. It was great fun!  Afterwards, we played Kings in the corner. Randy and Dawn I just learned how to play it. It was a fun game. At 11:45, they headed home and we tidied up. The Scotties were exhausted, having had a busy day and lots of company. Ta ta til tomorrow. 

Iron Curtain 2/13/16

Good day! All's well. Finally, I put all the suitcases away from our Tulsa trip. It sounds simple, right? Of course one suitcase fits into another and another and so on and so forth. While I was in the guestroom doing this, Belize came in to snoop around the "new" room in the house. She sniffed at the French doors, so I opened them and let her into the Sunroom. I closed the French doors behind her. She stood for a second, looking around; then dartedtoward the  sunroom/dining room entrance, through the dining room, down the hall and into the guestroom. What a smart girl she is! Really! 

At Bonnie & Roger's, it's bath day for their kiddos ... all 5 of 'em.

Bonnie's been doing their grooming today although Mark and I thought they looked perfect. We had some laughs when Bonnie chided Mark for chopping Robbie's eyebrows too short. She threatened she'd get ahold of Mark and chop his ...

and I said, "Please do!" LOL. We had so much fun with her and Roger. 

Speaking of pals, Rick and Ruth sold "In Tune" and must vacate their boat by the 16th. I invited them to come here and think what they would like to do next. 

When they listed their yacht for sale, they thought it may take 2-3 years to sell. It didn't. Ha! They had 6 days to vacate! I can only imagine the furious packing going on at this moment in Stuart, Florida. Fortunately, they have an RV but it's going to be stuffed! 

Two days ago, BeeZee outsmarted Robbie, aka "The Troll." 

She took Robbie's favorite squeak toy under HIS spot; the Livingroom coffee table. Oh, Robbie! Your world has changed! It's ruff, huh?

Do you see the bird atop my table lamp? Belize does! And she wants it! LOL

Today's project is to install Empire ornamental iron fencing around our Chattahoochee raised patio. This will give Robbie and Belize a safe place to play outside when we're entertaining at the outdoor bar area. (Yes, we do have an indoor bar too!) 

Installation is mostly easy-peasy. We removed the spike bottom on the posts because we're installing the fence atop the pressure treated timbers. Mark drilled the holes while I unwrapped and prepped the pieces. We had 12 sections installed in 2 hours. Tomorrow, we'll buy 15 more, plus 17 posts and finish the job. It'll be about $550 finished but priceless for the last piddle before bedtime for the Scotties. 

Tonight, Mark and I are going to 1884 for our Valentine's dinner. Yes, we're a day early! We plan it that way and don't care to go out on the 14th. (He bought me a lovely orchid for the garden ... and last year's is now reblooming!)

Dinner at 1884 was a 4.5 tonight. That's pretty darn good for a local-yokel restaurant. Taylor was a good waitress ... rib-eye very good; pork chop excellent. Well done for VD. ;-)

The pups were happy to see us and def had a dog-run!!  The underpad was missing a strip! BeeZee? lol. 

Ta ta. It was a great evening. 

2/12/16

It's a lovely start to the morning in Central Florida. Our Scotties enjoyed a sunny front porch and 70F. 

BeeZee continues to be inquisitive about everything! She spotted a Celtic cross hanging above the guest bath door and stood on her hind legs to see it better. She's so funny! Robbie continues to herd and otherwise try to control her. Right now though, he's napping and she's playing with the Starmark dispenser! 

Today we left the two in charge while Mark and I went on errands ... for 2+ hours! Our regular gal, Cheri, at Grand Island post office was out and Michele on duty. Ho hum, you've got to have patience with her. Poor girl tries but the job seems to be over her grasp. I had a registered letter going to Canada. Finally, the postmaster stepped in and handled it. Alas, not all jobs are for all people. Other stops were Pet Supermarket for tiny dog treats (Rob's diet!) and Walmart, for food, just because we were nearby. All was 100% when we came home. You see, Bonnie wasn't sure how Belize might behave when trusted at home alone. So far, so good; even great! 

Mark measured our chatahochee stone patio for fencing. It's a flea-free zone being 8" above the grass and would be safer (and easier) to let the Scotties have some backyard freedom. We'll see if it's affordable, but that's tomorrow's job. It was enough catching up on laundry and grocery today. 

Bonnie sent me this funny ...

and said "You!"  Sweet.  Bonnie began training the wee pups to walk on a lead. Chief caught on quickly; Hana preferred stalking the sidewalk by keeping her center of gravity low. Haha. Mark and I saw her do that before "surprise" attacking Chief. There's a Scottie dog show in early March so we know it's going to be busy at their house! Roger shows the dogs, too. Fun stuff!

Happy to report that both Sue and Wayne are feeling much better! Tonight, they're off to the Briny in Pompano Beach with Rose for pub dinner. 

Us? Happy hour on the front porch with Belize & Robbie. 

It was just 74F ... cheese 'n crackers with wine. The kids had a few almonds before their dinner of broccoli, kibble and chicken. Yum!

Randy was busy laying a pallet of sod, green side up. Ha! He sounded very worn out when I called. Dawn works all weekend! Darn. 

Tomorrow, will be going to the Home Depot to price some fencing and then tomorrow evening, out for Valentine's Day. For the past 15 years, we've been celebrating the day before, to beat the crowds. LOL. 

So that's it for today. Ta ta. 

2/11/16

Good morning sunshine! It's all what you get used to, but we sure do feel better in the Sunshine State. LOL. Finally, we can both breathe without nasal congestion. Mark's skin was so dry in Oklahoma, I thought he was going to flake away in the wind. Really. Have you ever seen dandruff on black socks? Well, Mark had it. LOL

Our friends Rick and Ruth sold their boat in south Florida. I wonder what lies ahead for them. For Ruth's birthday (10th), Rick cooked dinner for her at Benihana. 

Ruth bought this cooking class for Rick's Christmas gift. 

Rick already enjoys cooking ... and you're a natural at this my friend!  

Yesterday, we made plans to bowl with Randy and Dawn. My bad ... I'd forgotten Ya Ya's was Thursday night and that my RSVP was already in. Darn. I really wanted to bowl; we always have a great time. 

Mark cooked venison meatloaf for he and Lew while Lynn and I went to Ya Ya's. It was great fun tonight. We had salad, pizza and 3 desserts then played charades. Pat did not fail to put us all in stitches as she tried "The Lion King". She flitted about like a bird flapping her arms. What??? LOL. She was upset no one guessed her charade. 

Robbie and Belize continue to get along well. They have fun digging through the toy box. Robs allows he some toys and tonight gave her a rawhide. Once shed softened it up, he took half for himself. Cute. 

That's it for tonight. 

Home! 2/10/16

Good morning y'all. I awoke to find TWO Scotties ... BeeZee in her bed and Robbie sitting alongside it. I took them out back for a pee ... to Robbie it was ho-hum; but to Bee, it was a great big adventure worthy of jackrabbit leaps across the lawn. LOL. She has an eye for artwork! I saw her looking at my Egret painting; then stand straight up for a closer look ... then a couple of barks! I guess it's a pretty good likeness of a bird in her eyes! 

Today would have been my nephew Gregg's birthday. He passed away last December ... gone too soon. You are missed Gregg. I talked to Darlene after dinner. She's having a tough time and still has no appetite. So sad. 

Egad! Welcome home, to two weeks of mail. Ha! Clearly 90% was junk, but 10% was a pain in the butt. There wasn't one item that could just be opened and handled. Everything required phone calls. You know that kind of mail, right? I was down to the last piece that was going to require an hour or two's work when Dawn phoned to say she and Randy were on their way over. Perfect. Tomorrow's another day! 

Mark took Robbie to the vet to get the packing out of his ear. He came home looking a little out of sorts, Robbie, not Mark. I guess they had to flush his ear out after that, and he was clearly annoyed. Mz B met him at the door, and he acted as if she was a strange dog. Ha ha. Actually, he may have been feeling a little dizzy. Ms. B on the other hand, has been romping through the house with glee. She loves all the low windows ... Scottie dog height. ;-)

Mz BeeZee sat with Mark and napped this morning. 

Randy and Dawn arrived for happy hour and to meet our new family member, Belize, or BeeZee as we say. 

BeeZee on uncle Randy's lap. Dawn brought dog cookies! They were accepted! LOL

Meanwhile, back in Tulsa, Bonnie and Roger set up a larger pen for puppies Chief & Hana.

Excellent! Room to romp and they'll be potty trained in no time now! 

It was 70F in T-Town tonight! 

Bonnie is getting some slurpy kisses tonight. We miss you all. 

We're worn out again tonight so Ta ta til tomorrow!