Sunday, February 9, 2020

Good evening, as Alfred Hitchcock would say. Heeheehee. Sue and I would be allowed to stay up till 10 o’clock and watch Thriller, or Chiller,which were Alfred Hitchcock movies. OMG they were scary! 

Anyway, we had a reasonably quiet day. Mark worked on the cabinet for the new refrigerator, and I puttered around making dog food for the next camp out. About 3 I went to visit Lynn for an hour. She was so busy making flight arrangements for the kids to come to Lew’s funeral she wasn’t weepy. She did have an answer from Lew’s autopsy; a burst aorta from falling on the pool pump in the side yard. The impact perforated the artery to his liver and kidneys. Unfortunately, he bled out before getting to the hospital. 😳 There was no hope. Lynn has her brother and daughter and son staying at the house with her. It’s going to be a long road to recovery and some sort of normalcy for her.

Randy was golfing today with a few of the fellows and popped in afterwards. Mark had a turkey burger ready  for him and he stayed for a visit. This evening, we met Randy, Dawn, LaDonna and Wayne at Stavros for dinner. Mark and I got there at 5:10 and the place was packed. We waited half an hour for a table for six of us. 

Regardless of being packed, the food came out hot and excellent. We had a fun time. Randy & Dawn are getting on the plane tomorrow to Las Vegas, so they headed straight home. Wayne & LaDonna came over for drinks afterwards.

Did you know tonight is the snow moon, full moon? It looked beautiful while we drove into the neighborhood. 

So, hang a moon at the moon tonight. 😁

Saturday, February 8, 2020

When I took the kids outback at 6 o’clock the moon was low on the horizon and peering through the bare trees at me. It was chilly and felt like anywhere but Florida. Tomorrow is the full moon. 

I couldn’t sleep for thinking about Lew’s sudden passing. Facebook is full of tributes to him and gives new insight to what made him tick. He will be missed by his sons and 9 grandsons. Today we will be here for Lynn and her family. 

We went over to Lynn’s with flowers, a card plus pastries about 10 o’clock. Benn, Carin and Jim, Skip  and Sandy were already there. Pat and Sharon arrived an hour later. Needless to say Lynn is devastated. She expected they’d have 20 more years together. Lew was not coherent after his fall but was on his hands and knees when Lynn found him seconds afterward. She called the ambulance thinking a stroke but he was fine a minute later. The EMT’s immediately said Lew should be airlifted out but he thought going by ground would be fine. After discussions, he went by helicopter but was gone before Lynn could get to the hospital. The thinking at this time is a rib perforating his lung(s) which then filled with fluid. At 5 o’clock Lynn’s daughter and brother arrive to stay and help with arrangements. Our neighborhood group is making food and delivering to them. We’re all wondering what things will be like without Lew’s scrutiny. Once a Marine, always a Marine. He kept us feeling safe. 

That’s Lew on the left. 

Lew and Lynn last year. 

BIRTHDAY MEMORIES

It’s my birthday today! Mark made me eggs and veggies for breakfast then took me out birthday shopping! I decided on a sturdier art easel so off to Michael’s in Lady Lake we went. We had planned on Texas Roadhouse for lunch but it was quickly Plan B when they weren’t open! Longhorn Steakhouse was nearby so we went there. 

Sometimes Plan B turns out to be the best! Lunch was great ... filet mignon and a baked potato for me. Mark had blackened salmon and a Caesar salad. Of course wine and beer were involved. Our waiter took the picture ... it was a grand day ...

then we got the phone call. Our friend and neighbor Lew had fallen off his roof. First reports were a broken rib and wrist but as the afternoon wore on the news became grim. I went out back to tell Mark and spotted a white feather by our back door. Lew died at the hospital. We’re devastated and shocked. He was just out with the guys last night. 😭 Poor Lynn. 

Lew’s 70th birthday 3 years ago

A Vietnam Vet out for drinks at Crazy Gator with the guys

Cigars on the patio together 

Lew was the guy we called on for everything ... and who popped in often for happy hour. RIP Lew. We’ll be here for Lynn. 💔

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Good morning. We were both up very early for some unknown reason. Anyway, with all our chores done Mark has gone to Home Depot to pick up some wood to make a cabinet for our refrigerator in the sunroom. 

One of my paintings is kind of finished, I noticed a couple of things but hey that’s life in the painting world.

This evening is YaYa’s and Guy-Ya’s ... so there’s more fun to be had today. 😜

Mark built a box to put the Sunroom refrigerator on ...

he’ll paint it and mount the fridge on top! There’s dry storage underneath that will have a door on it. 👍🏻

YaYa’s was tons of fun at Carin’s. She redecorated, cooked a pork roast, baked beans and potato salad plus Valentine desserts. What a blast playing Head’s Up after hours of wine. 🤪

My fellow redhead Evie is adorable ... in her 80’s, fortunately widowed and feisty! I adore her. 

Evie bought me 48 liquor chocolates as a birthday pressie. She’s so sweet. ❤️

Meanwhile, Mark went with Lew, Bob and Ken to Tillie’s for a pub dinner. They had a good dinner and lots of fun.

Back home, we’re waiting for the ugly weather to move through our area. It’s now 1130, and the leading edge of the storm is here. We’re sitting up just watching some TV as the weather radio goes off in the bedroom. Another half hour and we can safely go to bed.

.. 

Wednesday February 5, 2020

Good afternoon y’all. It’s a fabulous day here in Central Florida. Mark took a load of tree debris to the dump for Marky-Mark then stopped at RanDawn’s to replace an outlet. They weren’t home, so he couldn’t finish the job. 

Meanwhile, Sue and Wayne came for a visit and coffee. They weren’t fans of Almond Milk in their coffee. Haha. Wayne suggested we go somewhere for lunch, so we did!  When I phoned Mark, he was just heading home and met us for lunch. Schweet. Tillie’s was packed at the front but there was room for us in the bar area. 

Selfie mode ... not too bad. 

Sue and Wayne are heading back to South Florida tomorrow, ahead of a storm front. They don’t want to travel in heavy rain. Our forecast is not showing any rain for this area, so I guess it is moving in from the southwest. 🤷‍♀️

Mark gave the Mountie its annual washing now that hunting season is over. 

It still looks pretty good!

Tonight is date night, and a pre-birthday dinner. We’re meeting up with Randy and Dawn, Marky Mark, LaDonna and Wayne, and Karen & Pete. Oss. We went to Kiku‘s in Eustis for a Japanese steakhouse dinner. It’s always lots of fun, and the chef is entertaining! Last year, for my birthday, we had Alberto and we had him again this year. I asked if he remembered us and he even remembered where we sat. OMG it was fun! Randy was enjoying getting the crispy bits that were left over on the grill. LOL. I told the chef it reminded him of his grandma’s cooking. 🤣

We waited about 1/2 an hour for our chef Alberto ... but he’s worth the wait.  It was fun. 

Meanwhile, the Villages gang went to RedSauce tonight.

We hope they enjoyed it. 

Update ... yes, they apparently all enjoyed their food and had a good evening. And, we are going to get rain in our area in the way of wind and thunderstorms late this evening. Tomorrow will be a clear day with highs in the 60s. 

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Good afternoon. It’s a bright beautiful sunshiny day, just in the low 70s. Mark has decided to work with Marky Mark today taking down a couple of big tree limbs off a Camphor that are hanging over his greenhouse. it’s a delicate process as they don’t want to damage the beautiful greenhouse. 

No greenhouse was harmed by tree trimming. 😜

Me? Well I made plans to celebrate my birthday tomorrow ... Randy, Dawn, Karen, Pete, LaDonna, Wayne and Marky-Mark will join Mark and me for dinner. It’ll be a rousing good time. 

After getting bills paid and paperwork done today I began another small painting. My goal is to put several of them on eBay for sale around Christmas time. They take a lot longer to create than jewelry, but I’m enjoying it.

Monday February 3rd, 2020

Hey there Mr. Sunshine! It’s nice to see you again. Put a glow on the lakes today as it’s been altogether too wintery this past week. Mid-70’s today and by Thursday the mid-80’s. Schweeet. 

At 12:30 we met Sue, Wayne, Jim, Bruce, Heather, Rose, Larry, Donna and Dennis at Eaton‘s Beach on Lake Weir for lunch. It wasn’t crowded, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Thanks Wayne for taking our picture. (It wasn’t easy, trying to get the entire group looking one way. Apparently, Bruce didn’t quite get the message. Ha ha.) This is a fun place and busy on the weekend! 

Back home, we walked the Scotties then went to Walmart to exchange our SodaStream machine. At 4-5 weeks, it stopped working. 😯 Anyway, Walmart gave us money back and we bought another one! 

Tonight we invited Mark and Mark to join us for a couple of drinks. He’s been working hard at the house across the street and needed a bit of a break.