Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Good afternoon. It’s about 230 and the house is quiet except for Christmas music. Mark is at the chiropractor ... Alex and Jordan left for Crystal River to visit with her aunt and uncle. From there, they are going to Homosassa Springs to see more family. We had a good time with them here, it was so nice they visited us! 


Jordan & Alex ... off to visit more family! They live in Edinburgh Scotland and have an apartment in a Victorian building built in 1803! Of course they had some giggles when we showed them around the old part of Mount Dora. Ha ha ha. 

Randy and Dawn have had a couple of really bad days at their house. They had problems with the septic which needed pumping and then the pipe which needed jetting! Holy shhhiiitttt πŸ’©. Everything is fixed now and Dawn is cleaning the house while Randy is golfing today. 

Tonight Mark cooked us Omaha burgers πŸ” ... thanks again Pam! 😍  It’s TV and relaxation time. Tomorrow’s our Christmas luncheon with the ‘hood. πŸŽ„


Monday, December 16, 2019

Monday, December 16, 2019

We were up and out to the Highland Cafe in Mt. Dora for breakfast with Alex and Jordan! It was a huge meal. The restaurant is full of Scottie dog memorabilia! Mark was tour guide and took them around Mount Dora, Eustis and around a few of the lakes. It is an absolutely beautiful day.

Speaking of Scottie dogs, it is Robbie‘s ninth birthday today. He got a new wobble ball and a squeaky toy plus birthday cake biscuits. Everything had to be shared with Mz BeeZee of course! They seem to be enjoying the extra attention from Jordan and Alex.

Good birthday cake cookies! 

This afternoon, while Jordan had a nap, Alex and I took the dogs for a ride around the entire neighborhood on the Caddy. Mark had a rescue with Randy. Yesterday, Randy was pressure washing when a GFI on the front of his house started smoking! They remove the damaged outlet and add a later date will replace with a new GFI with the proper wiring! Meanwhile, they are waiting to get their septic pumped. Nothing happens spaced out, usually in 3’s. πŸ˜’


Alex and Jordan relaxed and caught up on their messages. They left at 3:30 for Orlando. I hope they enjoy the action packed Medieval Times dinner and show!  They’ll be back here to spend the night.

Mark and I went grocery shopping and got many of the items we need for our party and Christmas dinner. It’s a fast and furious party season this year as Thanksgiving was late November. 

Now it’s time to relax with wine and a cigar on the front porch. Ta ta. 






Sunday, December 15, 2019

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Good morning! Around noon, my cousin Alex and his wife Jordan arrive for a visit! They live in Scotland and are staying with her family in the Sarasota area this month. 

It’s 5:20 in the morning and Mark has just left for a the woods. Neighbor Bob is going with him! Usually Lew goes with them, but he has had knee injections and is limping. 

Speaking of neighbors, Marky-Mark is here already and is unloading his car! I don’t know how he manages the drive from Toronto, Canada in one swoop! 

When we got back from the Christmas party last night, there was a white Styrofoam cooler sitting at our screen door. It’s a yummy Christmas gift from Pam ... Omaha steaks. We brought it in and happily unpacked it right away. There are some delicious meals coming up. Thank you Pam! ❤️ Merry Christmas πŸŽ„ indeed!


We took a boat ride to Hurricane’s for lunch ... and drinks. It was a great day!




Saturday, December 14, 2019

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Good afternoon. Well, it’s been quite a day around here. First call of the day was from Marky-Mark saying he had crossed the border and would be here for Christmas. Well that’s cool. Mark gulped his cereal and coffee then ran across the street to vacuum the pool and charge Marky-Mark’s boat batteries. Yes, when you come to Florida from Canada, you will jump in the pool first thing. It doesn’t matter if the water is 60° or not. πŸ˜‚

I spent my morning getting the guest room ready for Alex and Jordan‘s arrival tomorrow at noon. It’s going to be great to see them! 😍 Plans are to take them by boat for lunch and a putt putt through the Dora Canal. Randy and Dawn will pop over later for a visit. Alex played a swordsman in a recent movie, The Outlaw King, shot in Scotland. (We saw it on Netflix!) They plan to spend Monday in Orlando and go to Medieval Times for the dinner show. It’ll be a blast. 

Continuing with our streak of things falling apart at the house, our lazy lights front yard decoration took a crap. Darn it, Mark had tossed out all the clips that went on the gutters and all the Christmas lights for the front of the house a couple of years ago. So, I had to order a projector light set through Amazon. There were many much less expensive, but getting them after Christmas was not going to be helpful at all. Actually, thank goodness for Amazon and prime delivery! 😘 The new set will be here tomorrow! Now that’s service! 

Tonight, our neighborhood Christmas dinner party is on ... and we have our favorite, Alan Darcy, entertaining. It’ll be an evening of food, drink and dancing. The best part of this party for me is going to be no cleanup. Egad, after the YaYa’s night on Thursday, I’m still vacuuming up glitter. I suspect I will be well into March. Ha ha ha. But, a grand time was had by all ... ✨ .  Rather than taking toys for tots (which we have done every year) our ‘hood is supporting “Open Door.” It’s a local place that offers free laundry facilities, showers, and support for homeless people. So we have been asked to bring shampoo, conditioner, toiletries, socks etc.  I think it’s a great idea ... and we have a bag full that we will donate tonight. 


Party party πŸŽ„πŸ·πŸŽΆπŸŽ‚

A cold front roared through last night, south of us. There actually was a 19 mile long, half mile wide tornado! (EF1) All we heard was thunder way in the distance! By 8 this morning all was calm and sunny ... and a high of 72 here today. 😜 

Monday will be Robbie’s 9th birthday. My sweet Scottie boy has presents and birthday cake cookies coming for the celebration! Mz Bee will be happy to share the fun just like Robs does on her April birthday. πŸΎπŸ’•

Nice party ... very good food; chicken marsala, roast beef, baked potato, salad, veggies and cake!

Alan was great ... here he is jumping from the chair during a song! 




Friday, December 13, 2019

Friday, December 13, 2019

Hey, it’s two o’clock and we’re finally sitting down after a major cleanup of spilt wine 🍷 and dustings of glitter! πŸ₯³ But ... it was a great night; the biggest YaYa’s of all. πŸ™‡‍♀️ 


Lost and found division ... a glass cookie jar ... 4 hats ... 1 purse ... a YaYa wine bag ... and a Christmas gift! 


Inside the bar fridge from Pat’s major spill ... up the walls and well into the dining room; plus broken glass. Ugh! There’s always something like that but WHY red wine? 

We loaded up the kids and leftover items on The Caddy and went cruising the ‘hood returning things! Haha. It was a perfect afternoon (70F) for a long ride. 

Meridyth’s gift is waiting at her door! 🎢 Let it snow ⛄️ 🎢 Let it snow ❄️ Let it snow πŸ˜‚

The two houses on our street are in the finishing stages!

The builder is moving into this one ... did a seawall too. 


This beauty’s a spec home just 2 doors from us on our canal. The driveway was poured 2 days ago. Nice. 

This afternoon, we baked cheddar beef dog cookies for Christmas presents! That was a job. Mark helped me. πŸ₯°

That was our day in paradise. 🌝 







Thursday, December 12, 2019

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Good morning moonlight ... we’re both up too early. 🀷‍♀️ Mark’s working on the big batch of chili 🌢 while I bake a cake. What a cool household. 😜

It’s YaYa’s Christmas πŸŽ„ today ... 

Cookie exchange ... A surplus of cookies are in the freezer ... 23-25 gals were here; OMG, lots of singing and fun. 

Hat contest ... winner winner chicken dinner, Sharon was first prize, Kim second and Dawn third! Well done! A few didn’t participate; oh well. Those of us who did, spectacular! 🎩 

Dinner ... Excellent chili with mac ‘n cheese. Everyone liked Mark’s style with Dorito’s and Oyster crackers.  

Chinese auction gift exchange fun ... no one ‘stole’ til the 7th round ... then it was fun! I wound up with a beautiful hurricane glass and candle in my colors! 


A frw of the gals ...


Sharon and Dawn


Karen, Meridyth, Corinne, Rose and Kim


Lynn and Nancy S.


Randy got glittered for being first man back.

It was a blast. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Good morning. Well, we had a good chat with Rick in Mexico. I just love that FaceTime calling ... I should use it more often. Today I got a couple of items for Mark’s Christmas! (I feel better about it now.) Our minds have been on setting up for parties. πŸ€ͺ

During the night, I heard very heavy rain as the first of two fronts moved passed by us. I always sleep great when it’s raining. Also, game day was a big success so I was relaxed. 

Today’s fun involves a trip to the post office to pick up a letter for Marky-Mark, lunch at Arby’s and a trip to ABC liquors for party booze. 🍹 We’re wishing for a nice evening with doors open! 🀞 

Back at home, Mark strung Christmas lights around the back patio while I set up the house for YaYa’s Christmas. 20 are coming! There’s a Chinese gift auction ... Christmas hat contest with prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd ... Chili and Fixin’s plus Mac ‘n Cheese for dinner and my triple chocolate cake. And wine; plenty of wine! πŸ˜… 


Tomorrow, Mark’s making the Chili for me. πŸ₯° 

Tonight we watched The Irishman ... good Netflix movie about Jimmy Hoffa. πŸ‘πŸ»