Mexican ... 4/15/16

Good morning. How can it be the middle of April, already? Belize and I were up during the night and watched Join or Die (Craig Ferguson) and Vikings, quite glory. I went back to bed at six and slept until nearly 9. It's not sunny today, that's my excuse. 

Mark decided to finish cleaning the boat house gutters as we had no plans today until 6 o'clock. Then we're meeting Randy, Dawn and Dawn's mom, Jan, at Guadalajara for dinner. It has become somewhat of a favorite.

Dawn and Jan ... Notice the matching sweaters. They both liked the same thing at Beall's! Jan said they had a wonderful day of shopping.

I've been shopping for a new thatched umbrella for our back (outdoor) patio bar. Our original green market umbrella has been terrific, but now faded to grey! (We bought it May 2002!! Although it's still serviceable with NO rips, it doesn't look very nice. At least three years ago Randy bought thatch umbrellas that have stood up to our Florida sunshine amazingly well. I'd like to buy one ... but he can't remember the manufacturer name. I found several online ... but haven't ordered yet. Maybe I should just paint our old umbrella with a thinned-out latex paint. What do you think?

Too bad it wasn't sunny when I took this pic of our big blooming Bougainvillea. 

Gorgeous, isn't it? Clouds stuck around all day. Both north and south areas had thunderstorms. But as usual, Lake Eustis protected us; we got nothing. It's a strange weather pattern around here!

Dinner at Guadalajara was very good. That restaurant is becoming very busy. The food is consistently good, and the service excellent. Randy had shrimp and scallop fajitas that looked excellent. I may try that next time! Both Mark and I had Burrito supreme's, his chicken, mine beef. Dawn and Jan had combination plates. Everyone enjoyed their meals. 

Back home, the temperature had dropped to 72° so we sat on the front porch with the doggies and enjoyed the evening breeze.

Flasher Alert!!! Lew fit into his Marines coat from 50 years ago! Happy 69th buddy. Now why the heck was an old coat hanging around your closet for 50 years? Also, we love the socks with it. LOL

So that's it for our day! Sue and Wayne went dancing at the Elks. Randy and Dawn are prepping for tomorrow's family dinner party.

Ta Ta. 

Belize's 3rd Birthday ... 4/14/16

Happy Birthday to our sweet BeeZee! Today's fun includes riding in her new Snoozer car seat ... and lunch ... car ride errands ... buying cookies ... Happy Hour by the water and special supper! Arooo. 

First treat of the day ... a peanut butter jar! Yummy. 

Robbie, to the right, had peanut butter in the Kong! (But clearly he's taking in all the fine details of cleaning out the actual jar!) Good job BeeZee!

Next "treat?" ... grooming (haircuts!) and baths!

Robbie 5 ... Belize 3 ... Just chillin' on the back patio bench and sporting fresh haircuts! Thanks Dad!

Birthday bath time! Rub-a-dub-dub ... grub's in the tub, er, kitchen sink!

And a car-ride for treats ...

Yummy! We come in from our lizard hunt for these treats!

Rockin' her Snoozer car seat and watchin' for cats 'n rats 'n elephants!

Ridin' double ... Robbie's seat is better! (Nope, same brand!)

Happy Hour on the canal patio ...

Cheddar 'n Ritz ... It's a dog's life!

Gettin' brave ... maybe too brave!

Mom tossed a rock in and spooked me! I'm never going near the edge again!!! (Now I know why Rob sits up high.) Aroooo!

After our supper of chicken, rice, broccoli and peas, we sat outside with our mom and dad, and more wine. Aroooo. LOL

I think it was a pretty good doggie birthday! Uncle Randy went to pick up aunt Dawn's mom, Jan, for a week's visit. (Aunt Dawn was at work ... but daddy was thinking about him and wrote uncle Randy ... "Had the eagle landed?"  LOL

It was a good day. Mom and I sat on the front porch after dinner and listened to thunder in the distance. Now, I have my head on her knee; snuggled up watching TV. Life is comfortable ... 

 

Paint paint paint 4/13/16

Good morning. It was a front door open kind of day although rain is forecast about happy hour! Randy made a run to the dump today and then came to pick up Mark about 930. Last night, Mark had read about "night eating syndrome" ... yes, it's a real thing and Randy has it!!! (Last night, Randy was up four times eating in the night!) The syndrome can cause high blood pressure, diabetes, stress and heart disease! Mark told Randy an intervention was needed. LOL. Randy swore he would stop eating at night. He said "it stops right now!" Put the padlock on the fridge door Dawn! LOL

A package arrived from Collections Etc.  with a picture I bought to hang in the RV. The dogs had fun with the box! 

Robbie was first in the box!

Then Belize! What is it about a cardboard box that is so fascinating to cats, dogs and kids? LOL

Bonnie and I had a good chat this afternoon. Unfortunately, she was down with a terrible flu this past week. Today was the first day out of bed for several. Other than that, she is enjoying the retired life. Too bad that Roger still works!  This weekend they have a dog show where Cabbie is entered. If he wins, it might be the last time he has to be shown. Yay Cabbie! Bonnie sent a cute video of her pups playing on the back porch with a cardboard box too! 

This sweet picture was taken last night ... Belize was asleep on Mark's shoulder until she heard me taking a picture. LOL

Mark is calling her his wee Billie Goat. 

Today, Mark and Randy painted again at Dawn's house. The shower is now finished and crown molding installed in the bathroom.

The shower looks great. Randy's friend Tim did a quality job!

Randy ... gettin' it done! 

At home, Mark noticed the tortoise in Lew's front yard. By the time I grabbed my camera, he had wandered over to our house!

Is this the first tortoise selfie you've ever seen? 

After happy hour, Mark suggested we go to Stavros for dinner. It sounded like a great plan so off we went. I had eggplant Parmigiana and Mark had mushrooms over spaghetti. Stavros has delicious food. Of course we had a Greek salad and garlic toast ... and wine! Hey, it was date night! 

On the way home, I phoned Diane. She had lost her phone in the canal at Georgia Boys couple of weeks ago. We caught up on the news and yakked awhile. They had a very busy spring season with bass tournament fisherman.

Tomorrow, Randy picks up Dawn's mom at the airport for a week's visit. So, no painting tomorrow for Mark.

That's it for our day. I hope your Wednesday was good.  Toodles!

Game Day ... 4/12/16

Oh it's a lovely "cool" morning for us but climbing to 88° this afternoon. After breakfast, Mark went to Dawn's house to begin painting the exterior. Apparently, there is much to do to get it ready for sale. Randy, and his friend Tim, are choosing the grout color for the shower stall this morning. I wish I could paint too but my hand is still sore from my fall 10 days ago. Whatever! It (and my ankle) will  heal in their own time. 

Randy painting soffits. 

Coral is the new color ... half the house is painted now. 

For me, this afternoon was game day at Carol's in Scottish Highlands. She outdid herself with plenty of food ... Deviled eggs, seafood salad, cheese 'n crackers We played Farkle, Sequence, and Balderdash. It was a noisy, fun time. 

Back home, the dogs were happy to have us both in again. 

Belize, aka Billie Goat is climbing her daddy. 

Haha. The grass must be greener on the other side of Mark's recliner. 

Robbie prefers Mark's lap! 

He's very "laid back!" LOL

We enjoyed a pizza and wine for our dinner. Of course the pizza was cooked on the Pizzazz! We love it ... no hot oven to cool down.

That's it for today!

Monday 4/11/16

It's a nice start to our day here in Central Florida. Mark started his day with a trip to the doctor for bloodwork results, and then to meet Randy and Dawn at her Fruitland Park house to finish some drywall work.

Me? My hand is still too sore to do any painting. So, I am doing laundry and household chores. My other job is to paint an RV ID sign and to list a few more things on eBay. 

It's time to begin plotting our trip north. (While I was writing this, Steve Harvey was on the air with two beautiful women. who are vintners. Awesome! What disturbs me is why THEY Single themselves out as "black women" vintners. Why?) 

We had a bit of a laugh last night with Bonnie. Mark was wondering if he should ever clip Belize's (heavy) coat. When I sent her a text, she indicated she does both stripping and clipping. We knew to use the clipper around her neck but didn't think to scissor-cut her coat to lessen bulk. Mark thought it would be hilarious to tell Bonnie he'd use a "FlowBee!" LOL

Mark was joking, but when I looked it up to send a pic to Bonnie, I found a dog FlowBee! Who knew? I watched a couple of video demonstrations online and saw it works well for Shi Tzus, Lhasa Apsos  and Poodles.

Well I got the calendar and road atlas out of the truck ... an RV trip is in planning stages. 

 

Cruising ... 4/10/16

Good morning! It's a perfect day for lake boating ... after our chores are done!

Well, I did list 44 Ebay items while Mark puttered in the yard. At 2 o'clock we took Mrs R B on a pic-a-nik cruise to nowhere (a 3 hour cruise!) 

Adorbs! Robs & Beez enjoyed happy hour. We bobbed along Lake Eustis and down canals in Grand Island. It was nice. 

Siblings from another daddy! Haha. 

Egad. We had fun! 

Robbie is such a happy boy now with his Belize pal. (Us too!) We stopped by Kurt & MaryAnn's brand new dock for a visit before pulling in at home a few lots down. 

After dinner we watched a 2 star movie ... which was pretty crummy. Haha. It was one that you think will get better. It didn't. 

As you see, we had a lazy kind of Sunday   . Tomorrow, Mark is working with Randy at Dawn's house again. That's it for now. Ta ta. 

Hurricane's ... 4/9/16

What a perfect day for our community luncheon boat cruise to Hurricane's. Lew and Lynn are joining us on the ride! Of course the dogs will be very annoyed that they have to stay home! 

The boat ride was beautiful and we had a big turnout. 

We got to know a "new" couple from Connecticut who moved in last fall. They like similar things ... maybe we'll introduce them to our Mexican Train night. 

It's really dry here today; humidity 17% ... I think it's a first in my Florida experience! Mark ran our sprinklers for 45 minutes just to liven things up! The weather's lovely though!

Tonight ... we're relaxing with the Scotties. Mark did 20 minutes stripping on each dog while watching golf. That should help as Beez coat was looking heavy. Robbie's coat is looking much nicer nowadays! 

We heard Rick & Ruth bought a 2/2 condo near their daughter Carrie's in Kelowna. It seems a great way to go when they like winters away from Canads.  Congratulations you two!  

That's it for our day. Randy worked at Dawn's house (she was at work) doing curb appeal stuff. 

Ta Ta til tomorrow.