Ponderings by Peg

Beautiful Day!

2012-02-14T21:04:00.000-06:00

This was another beautiful day in Florida. It was 75 degrees when we came out of bowling about noon. Bowling was pretty good. I had a 137, 120 and 115. I was so close to having a great game! My first ball almost every frame was good...I just struggled picking up the spares. I also had 3 aces for the poker hand, but my neighbor had a flush...bummer! We had 26 bowlers today - 9 on 2 sets of lanes and 8 on the other two.

Thirty-four of us went to lunch at Fat Cat's. The food I had was good and so was Dave's...however, the service was horrible. We had a male waiter and I don't think he'd ever done that before! He took our drink orders and then took over 30 minutes delivering twelve drinks. Then 45-60 minutes after we got there he took our food orders...it was about 1 hr and 20 minutes before we got our food...and then Bob & Ann didn't get theres. Once they finally got it, most everyone else was done and they didn't take anything off their bill...also, Bob's order wasn't right. We were all pretty sick of sitting there and were PO'd that Bob & Ann didn't have their food. I told the waiter that there were 34 of us who'd probably never be back, and that they shouldn't have to pay for their food. He said he's send in the manager...the manager never did come in, but they did comp Bob & Ann's food. They also took $2 off of Fred's order which wasn't right...and comp'd Coreen's order which wasn't done. We'll not go there again...sorry, Fat Cat!

Bingo was the same old, same old...No bingos for me! In fact, it's pretty much the same people who win every time. I was at least close tonight. Maybe next week!

Tomorrow's going to be another busy day. Coffee in the morning and the Red Barn in the afternoon...then Coconuts at St Armond's tomorrow night with Dave's sister, dad and stepmom. Should be fun!! More later...

Lost again!

2012-02-13T20:37:00.001-06:00

I didn't go with Dave this morning. He went to bowling lessons by himself. My knee hasn't fully recovered from my dancing on Saturday night, so I just stayed home. When he got home, we had lunch and then he went under the trailer to see if he could figure out why our floor slopes in the bedroom. He ffound that there were only a couple of blocks under the trailer, but that the underflooring looked really good. So now the trick is to level the trailer...hmmm, I wonder how he's going to do that???

Tonight I went to play canasta...I lost again! I'm getting a little tired of losing! I just couldn't draw any cards tonight! Oh well...there's always next week!

Tomorrow it's supposed to be back in the mid 70's. I can hardly wait for that!! More later...

Great Day!

2012-02-12T20:56:00.001-06:00

Dave got me up at 7:15 this morning...and I wasn't very happy to get up that early! He forgot to listen to his phone messages last night, so he did early this morning. He had 3 calls from his dad...they (his dad, stepmom, sister and brother-in-law) were coming this morning to see us! So, we got up way early so that we could clean and straighten up the house for their visit. Our house looks beautiful!! They were duely impressed! They got here about 11:00 (I could have slept a little longer!). After chatting for a bit, we went to Columbia Restaurant to eat...we ate inside, though! It was cold here today. I wore shorts this afternoon, but wore a long-sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt. Greg had to be at the airport at 2:45 or so so we came back after lunch and a drive down Gulf Blvd. just to see the sights. After he left, it wasn't but about a half hour until the rest of them went back to Sarasota.

I made some crockpot peanut clusters this afternoon and then this evening we went to Bob & Ann's for ham & beans and cornbread! Great meal for a chilly day. We rode our bikes to their house...talk about chilly!!!! After supper we watched "Secretariat". What an inspiring movie about a great horse! Then we rode our bikes home...it's 46 degrees out - brrrr! It's nice and toasty in our home, though. Dave's got the furnace on! Tomorrow the warmup begins again - supposed to be in the mid 60's! Yay!! Back to reality as we now know it!

More later...

What a day/night!!

2012-02-11T21:19:00.001-06:00

Winter has come back to Florida...anyway this is whaat the natives call winter! Right now it's 55 degrees but with a brisk north wind, so it IS a little chilly. It was still a beautiful day, though. It was sunny for the most part - I was not uncomfortable in shorts. Tomorrow morning may be another story alltogether, though, as it's supposed to get down into the low 30's tonight. The sky is absolutely gorgeous tonight - I hope it is where you are!

We worked around here today. Dave painted the bedroom furniture and I worked on shortening the curtains. I got them all done and hung back up. Then this afternoon, I worked on recovering the dumpster diving chairs that Dave saved. I need to go back to JoAnn's and get some more fabric. The fabric I bought wasn't as thick as what was on the chairs originally and I'm a little concerned about the strength of a single layer of the new fabric. So I'm making everything a double thickness and therefore don't have enough fabric. Darn - I sure hope they still have some of it. There were 2 bolts when I got mine, but that's been a while ago.

This evening we had a Valentine's dance at the clubhouse, honoring those in our park who have been married over 50 years. We have one couple who have been married 62 years!! We had a wonderful dinner and a lovely evening. We were in charge of playing the music because of the fact that we have a bunch of 50's and 60's CDs. Not many people danced, but when the majority of the people went home, the rest of us had a blast!! We sang and danced and laughed!! Lots of fun. It's great exercise to dance, but it's sure a lot of work when you're not used to it! I'll probably have to ice my knee all day tomorrow!!

More later...

Shuffling Around!

2012-02-10T19:48:00.000-06:00

It's Friday and that means shuffleboard at "The Ranch"! I really like this game! The only thing I don't like about it is that you have to be mean sometimes...and I don't like being mean. I have a really hard time knocking some people out of scores - they're just so nice. This game requires you to play defense far more than offense. If someone scores, you have to knock them off their score. If someone knocks you out of a score box, you have to try to get back in which sometimes requires putting them in the kitchen (which is a -10)...I have a really hard time with that! I don't think you should put people in the kitchen just because you can...it's really mean! So, today I played my neighbor. I didn't want to be mean to her...she beat me. Then I played the sweetest lady in the park and I couldn't be mean to her, but I won any way. So I was 1-1 today. The other two games I kept score. The redbirds won 17-15!!

Ddave painted furniture. He got both of the bedside stands done. Tomorrow he'll paint the armoire. He didn't shuffle today...he wants to get everything done before his sister gets here. I plan to get my closet curtains hemmed tomorrow. I've got them pinned where I want them hemmed. When I do this, I'll also iron them and they're going to look really cool! I'm also planning to sew the chair backs and seats for our dumpster chairs. It's really hard doing things without all the tools I have at home...like a rotary cutter and cutting mat. I think I'm all set now though...I borrowed a sewing machine and straight pins and I bought thread. We'll see if I can get all of my projects done. It's not supposed to be very nice weatherwise, so it'll be good to have indoor projects!

More later...

Yay for me!

2012-02-09T20:35:00.000-06:00

I went out to run errands today and I didn't get lost or have to backtrack or anything - yay for me!! I think I'm finally figuring out my way around!! I went to KMart on Missouri, then I went to Sudi's, then I went to the Walmart on Hwy 19 and then I came home! I covered quite a few miles and got everything I was supposed to get! I'm proud of myself!

Dave got the baseboard all painted and put back up. He also painted the built-in drawers...we got his side back into their slots, but mine weren't quite dry enough. We also got the closet curtains up. Now I need to borrow some straight pins so I can pin the hems and then sew them. I've got a sewing machine from some neighbors...so sometime this weekend I've got some projects to complete! Tomorrow Dave's going to paint the armoire and the two side tables...anyway that's his goal. I'm going to shuffle if it's not raining! I'm really looking forward to it.

More later...

Good friends!

2012-02-08T20:41:00.003-06:00

Another fun day in warmth!! We hosted coffee again this morning - so glad I'm not the one who had to be there at 5:30 to get the donuts. I don't quite understand why you have to be there at 5:30 or 6:00 to get the donuts - the delivery man delivers them regardless...so, why not just come at 7:30 to set up tables, etc...the donuts should still be there unless there's a donut bandit...or some officer comes by for his coffee break! That way everyone gets a little more sleep and we're all there setting up! But then, that's just me! I like to "streamline" processes!! Anyway, the socializing is always fun! Did you know that if you add salt to coffee right in the coffeemaker, it won't be as bitter? Me either, but that's what these people all do. Hmmmm...

Then, we went to Sudi & Howard's for a "mini" Girls of '66 get-together. Here we are!! I wish Corinne could have come too.

We had a great afternoon visiting and giggling! I think the men enjoyed themselves too! We always have fun when we get together! Gotta love the "Girls of 66"!

Dave was having some allergy problems so we left early...came home and both fell asleep in our chairs! We've just been doing some laundry and hanging out this evening.

More later...

Fun Day

2012-02-07T20:47:00.002-06:00

Tuesdays are always fun days for the people living at "The Ranch" and today was no exception! We bowled this morning, which is always fun! I bowled decently, but not as well as I wanted to. I had a decent series, but I can't remember exactly what I bowled! We had 23 bowlers this morning...and I did win one of the poker hands!! For lunch we went to Mugs & Jugs (sort of a takeoff of Hooters)...food was good, atmosphere was good, but the girls were a little tackier than Hooters!! They had a Tuesday special of BOGO fajitas - they were very good! I wish they would have served salsa with them, though.

We didn't get home from lunch until about 2:00 so Dave started painting right away. He got the bedroom done and back together, so we can sleep in our regular bed tonight! Neither one of us slept well last night. It looks really nice. Now, however, we need to go shopping for some curtains and we still have to paint the furniture white.

Tonight was bingo. No one at our table won. Losers!! More later...

Great day!

2012-02-06T20:31:00.000-06:00

Dave and I went to the bowling alley this morning for more instruction. I hope that tomorrow we'll be able to do as well as we did during our instruction time this morning. Both of us improved a lot from last week! Dave started painting the bedroom this afternoon. He's got about half of it done - but everything from the room is piled HIGH on the bed, so we won't be able to sleep there tonight! It's a good thing we have a second bedroom now! I may just sleep in my chair - I seem to be able to sleep there really well.

We had a nice shower here this afternoon and evening. I don't know how much rain we got, but we needed it anyway so it was good! I rode my bike up to the rec hall to play 7s from Hell...and I held an umbrella too! So I didn't get very wet! I actually got some decent cards tonight! Coreen and I beat Ann & Betty...those two ladies clobbered Linda & I last week!

More later...

Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-05T19:57:00.001-06:00

Today was one of those hot, muggy Florida days. The sun wasn't that intense, thank Goodness, or it would really have been hot! It's 9:00 PM and it's still 70 here!!

We went to church this morning, where they were celebrating their 46th anniversary. Our church at home is over 150 years old...such a difference!

Good game (so far), good halftime (IMHO), some great commercials (America with Clint Eastwood), some good commercials, and some just so-so. Now come on Eli and company...let's get going!! We went up to the rec hall for supper - great pot luck! There was no way I wanted to watch the game up there - just way too much noise! I like to watch the game! I couldn't figure out how we'd even see the commercials! So Dave and I came home and have watched the game from here. He's on his computer and I'm on mine. Fun evening!!

More later...

Fun Fun Fun

2012-02-04T20:25:00.000-06:00

We started out pretty early this morning - at least pretty early for Florida! We were up at the rec hall by 8 this morning. We had a bake sale and a street sale this morning. We took 3 dozen cookies and came home with a lemon pie and 2 large blueberry muffins...as well as a 50 cent bag (kind of like a beach bag) and 25 cents for about 8 cereal bowls! One of the ladies here in the park is going home this spring (for good) so Dave bought some fertilizer and some trailer wash stuff for about $4. Then we took off for Sarasota where we attended a craft sale. There we got some towels to hang in our kitchen, a coin purse made with a measuring tape for the closure, a dish rag, a scuffie, and a half pint of apricot jam! Dave got the orange tree trimmed for Dad and Roberta and I supervised.

Tonight we went with Bob & Ann to Hooters in John's Pass...good food and wonderful views. We saw dolphins on the way there, too! I plan to return to John's Pass - fun little area shops!! When we got home, we served lemon pie and then made a grape salad for tomorrow's Super Bowl gathering. Now we're sitting here relaxing!! I feel a little better, but I'm coughing a little more...tomorrow's another day - hope I feel even better!!

Dave just got on the Iowa State website and found out the Cyclone men beat Oklahoma at Oklahoma - they're 17-6 and 7-3 in the Big 12!! Plus the women beat Texas! Way to go, Cyclones!!

More later...

Friday night

2012-02-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

I felt a little better this morning, but by afternoon I was fading fast! I went in to lay down for a while, but just when I got to sleep Dave came home and woke me up...:( I slept in my chair last night - I tried to sleep in bed, but I kept coughing. When I'm sitting up a little bit I don't cough as much.

This evening I baked some cookies for tomorrow's bake sale. Some of them broke, though - darn! I guess Dave and I'll just have to eat those!! I'm hoping I feel well enough to go to Sarasota with Dave tomorrow, but if not I'll stay here and take it easy. Sun'n'Fun is having their craft sale tomorrow morning and I always enjoy going to it. Plus I need to return a couple pairs of shorts to Bealls. I liked the way they fit, but they were shorter than I like them. I hope I can find some Bermuda-type shorts someplace soon...mine are starting to get a little thin!!

More later...

OK, so I'm really sick!!!

2012-02-02T20:22:00.000-06:00

I felt awful when I got up this morning, so I called my dr's office - his nurse told me that since I was wheezing and had lung congestion, I should see a dr down here...now what!!??? Dave mentioned it to the guys this morning and Ann's brother suggested I go to a Walgreens down here - they had a "dr" on site. So I went. She wasn't a doctor - she was a nurse practioner. I didn't have to wait though - I got right in. She told me I still have sinus infection - the one under my right eye is clear full. I also have bronchitis and a fever - I knew I was sick!!! Guess what - now I'm on my 3rd round of antibiotics, along with prednisone and Mucinex DM this time. I sure hope this works...if not, I'll probably be in the hospital with pneumonia.

Dave, Bob & Ron worked pulling up a floor in a ladies home today. Then they started laying new laminate. They struggled a lot with it...I guess 12 mil is a little hard to get down - there's no flex in it. They started at 8:30 this morning and are going back at 8:30 tomorrow morning, hopefully to finish. I didn't do much of anything - I actually slept a lot after I took my drugs! I'm going to take it easy tomorrow too and then maybe I'll feel like going to Maury's on Saturday. We'll see. More later...

2012-02-01T20:15:00.002-06:00

I'm SICK of this sinus issue!! I've had two rounds of antibiotics and Tuesday I felt fine...finally.
Wednesday I woke up feeling like doggy doodoo again! I just can't seem to get rid of the sinus drainage and subsequent cough!

I don't know what I didn't share this picture with you the other day. This is the cow and calf that I talked about - manatees that swam under our observation deck...you can see the shadows of the people standing on the deck, too. There's another young manatee behind the "mama" here.

Today was coffee at the rec hall. The guys went up and set up the tables and made the coffee. The bakery we get the donuts from shorted us 6 apple fritters and 4 donuts, so Ron made a quick run the Dunkin' Donuts to replace them. We had a good group of people today and it didn't take long to clean up!! Everyone pitches in - even people who don't have to!

After the meeting, Dave & Bob worked at putting either vinyl tiles or laminate in the three closets. It got hot today, so by mid-afternoon when they got done,, they needed a gin and tonic to cool down!! Poor guys! Before Bob got here, Dave started pulling off wallpaper border and baseboard in the bedroom - yay!! Since the closet doors are off, he's planning to paint in there maybe tomorrow!! It's going to be nice to get rid of that green!!

More later...

Woohoo!!

2012-01-31T20:42:00.002-06:00

My bowling lesson paid off! I bowled a 122-124-145!! I got better each game and I didn't struggle to get 100! My goal today was to get 5 cards for cribbage (in one game!!) I did in my 3rd game! You get a card every time you get a mark...and I actually got 6 marks (but you only can get 5 cards!) Not only did I bowl better, AND reach my goal of 5 cards...I beat Bob the first game, then he won the 2nd game, and I won the 3rd game...plus I won overall!! I love competing with my brother!!

After bowling we went to Rumba's for lunch. I think there were 36 of us today - 24 bowlers and 12 others who came just for the restaurant. We got to eat outside!! Good food, but inconsistent helping portions. I had Caribbean pulled pork with mango BBQ sauce and red garlic mashed potatoes. Very good!! Loved the sauce!

Bob & Dave worked on putting down quarter-round in our living room and 2nd bedroom. It really looks nice! They also got the transoms covered up! I vacuumed and Swiffered and then Dave went over the floor with the wet jet with floor polish. Looks really nice!

Tonight was bingo...I didn't win any bingos. Ann won 2, though. I did win a door prize, so I took extra speedy cards for next week!

More later...

Adventures!!

2012-01-30T20:44:00.001-06:00

We had adventures today!! This morning we went to the bowling alley to get some instruction from a teacher. As it turns out he was a little guy who looked enough like Dick Dutton to be his long lost twin. He was a pretty good instructor!! My first two balls with him helping me (?) were strikes - ha!! I used to do that with golf too...whenever Julie was around, I hit the ball perfectly - long and straight!! When she went to work with someone else, I'd lift my head or miss the ball entirely!! He worked with Dave a great deal - our instruction period was 2 hours!! He put two of us on one lane and the other two students on the next lane. They didn't get as much instruction as we did because this was our first week!! The other two people had been there before so they were old-timers! We'll see how well we do tomorrow - if we can remember everything he told us to work on!!

We came home about noon and grabbed a sandwich. Sudi & Howard came over about 1:00 and we went to Tampa to the electric power plant to see the manatees that gather there in the warm water. We saw a lot of manatees...the ones out farthest away from us were playing - they just kept coming to the surface and then going down into the water - kind of like whales. The ones that were closer to us just kind of hung out with their backs out of the water! Then a cow and calf came under the observation deck, followed by another younger manatee. Pretty cool to see them that close! We also saw snook, mullets, tarpon, and a bottle nosed shark (I didn't see it, but Dave did). Great adventure! Thanks for sharing it with us, S & H!!

Tonight I played 7s from Hell - albeit not very well. That Ann is the luckiest card player! She gets the best cards dealt to her!!

I looked at the temperature in O-town today - it was 65 there and 74 here! Pretty amazing for Jan. 30th!! Even now it's 57 there and 66 here!!

More later...

Beautiful!

2012-01-29T19:48:00.002-06:00

I love days like this! Not too hot, not too cool - no humidity - just right! We went to church this morning. This church is nice, but I'm sooooo happy that we have Pastor David! He's so very interesting!! Today Hope Presbyterian installed & ordained another deacon and another elder...they did this a couple of weeks ago too. Plus, they had their annual congregational meeting, which we didn't stay for...I wonder if ours at home was today too. Hope still has another installation and ordination coming up. They weren't able to get everyone together to have only 1 ceremony, or even 2...they had to have 3. The ceremony is kind of boring, especially when you hear it twice within a month!

After church we went to Great Clips because my hair was way too long! Stupid day to go there! There were 5 people ahead of me and all 3 chairs were already full. Dave dropped me off and he went to Target to pick up a couple of items. By the time he came back to check on me, I was still 5 away from getting into a chair! I don't know how long I waited, but I got a pretty good haircut! The lady who cut my hair was probably in her 60s and loved my curly hair! Every cut she made, my hair got curlier and she just loved it!! Hers is perfectly straight so she was jealous!

After we got home and ate a PB & pickle sandwich, Bob stopped by for a few minutes. Then I went next door where they'd been drinking rum since 10:30 AM. Needless to say, a couple of the guys were pretty well snockered!! It was funny! They were trying to watch their language but the alcohol was loosening their tongues! I came back home after about 30-45 minutes and Dave was sound asleep in his chair. He's been working so hard!!

Nothing much on TV tonight, but Dave's watching Speed channel - boring!

More later...

L is for...

2012-01-28T20:54:00.000-06:00

loser! Today we had a poker run here in the park. You "bought" a poker hand for $2.00, then you followed a series of clues to get your 5 cards. I got 2 eights and 4 hearts, but nothing else...too bad, too, because the pot was $80+ for the winner!! All the $$ was paid out - $166 - but neither Ann nor I got any of it :( - bummer!!

I came home from the poker run and watched my Cyclones beat the Kansas Jayhawks in men's basketball...that was really fun!! Dave helped Bob paint the trim on their mobile home this afternoon.

I also found pinterest.com - what a fun place!! Lots of cool stuff!

More later...

What did we do today??

2012-01-27T20:14:00.001-06:00

Why, we went to Lowe's for the 900th time since we've been here! I HATE Lowe's!!! Not really - I just get tired of being there all the time!! Since it was raining this morning, it rained out shuffleboard. So, Bob, Ann, Dave and I went to Lowe's. Then we went to Michaels and to Ross'. By the time we got through with those 3 stores, it was lunchtime, so we went to Pete & Shorty's on Gulf to Bay. Pete & Shorty's is a bar/restaurant in Clarksville, Iowa. The one down here (1,368 miles southwest of the original) started after the guys who started the Hooters chain decided to start a P&S too. The Hooters chain was started by two guys (among others) from Waverly, Iowa. The original Hooters is next door to the Pete & Shorty's we went to today. I had a Loose Meat Pete which is sort of like a Maid-Rite and fries. It was pretty good! The other three had the Friday special - fried fish & fries (plus cole slaw). The fish special was a mild white fish which reminded me of Long John Silvers fish. I think Ann said it was pollock. It was fish that even I could eat!

This afternoon I made a chipped beef dip for happy hour. There were about 26 of us at happy hour - good crowd. Everyone brings things to snack on for happy hour, so there's no need to have supper! Tonight we've just been hangin' out! More later...

Great Day

2012-01-26T21:02:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful day today. We left at 8:30 this morning for Sarasota so Dave could go fishing with his dad. As it turned out, it wasn't a great day for fishing - it got really, really windy. I have never seen white caps on the water at Lido before - sure did today, though. Dave said there were dolphins or porpoises playing in the water there. I missed them, unfortunately, because Roberta and I were shopping at Bealls!!

She and I picked up Subway sandwiches for the guys and took them out to Lido. We sat right near the water at a picnic bench, holding on to our sandwiches and napkins for dear life. If you put anything down the wind just blew it away! The sand out there is that really fine white sand - sometimes my sandwich tasted a little gritty!!

Roberta and I also picked up 10 quarts of strawberries - 2 for them, 2 for Bob & Ann, 2 for Ron & Marcia, 2 for Sudi & Howard, and 2 for us...are they ever delicious!! The strawberry beds are beautiful...perfectly straight lines, raised beds covered with black paper, and not a blade of grass anywhere near the berries!

On our way home today, Dave was driving and I was watching the water near the Sunshine bridge. Guess what I saw -- yep, I saw a dolphin!! Yay - it was a very good day!!

More later...

What a beautiful day!!

2012-01-25T20:40:00.001-06:00

Went to coffee today and, of course, the park meeting. We found out that the ladies rule at bowling...again! Next week Bob & Ann, Ron & Marcia, and Dave & I are coffee hosts. It's next MONTH, and starts next week. We have to be at the clubhouse by 5:45 or so when the rolls are delivered. Plus it takes an hour to make the coffee and get the clubhouse set up for the meeting. Now, I'm not an early riser, so I'm thinking since Bob gets up early and Dave doesn't mind getting up early, they should be there at 5:45 and I'll get there in time for coffee at 9:00...then those of us who don't get up early can be there for clean up...how does that sound???

After coffee, we went to find a Walgreens that could print and mount 16x20 photos. We had to go clear down to Indian Rocks Rd & West Bay to find one. We got this printed while we waited. Well, the lady goofed and made us a 20x30 print, which is fine - we'll hang it here. This blue heron is beautiful! I've got to get some flower and water pictures taken someplace, now that we know where we can get them printed.

Since we were already in the area, we went to Columbia Restaurant today - met Sudi and Howard there. It was a gorgeous day to sit on the water and have a leisurely lunch. Love those 1905 salads at Columbia!! After sitting in the sun so long, I was sleepy and Dave had some reports to take care of...so, I took a nap while he worked on his reports. It felt great!!

Tomorrow we're going to Sarasota so Dave and Maury can catch some more little whitings!! More later...

Well...

2012-01-24T21:05:00.001-06:00

Bowling was interesting this morning! My new ball didn't bowl any 200's!!! I did, however, average over 100 for 3 games, so the morning wasn't a total bust! I definitely need some instruction. I can't seem to keep my wrist facing the right direction but I'm sure that some practice will change that. My knee popped a little on my second practice ball, so I was a little nervous. It held up okay though. I iced it when I got home, however. My shoulder also popped, and it gets a twinge when I move it even now. I'm sure it's just because I'm not used to lifting and "throwing" that kind of weight around. It's hell getting old!!!

We went to lunch at the 60 West Diner (or something like that). Their special was a free milkshake with a burger, so most of the 24 of us had burgers. The burgers were 1/2 pound so they were big, but they weren't as good as the ones at Five Guys. The milkshakes were little and just so-so...plus they brought them long before our burgers came, so they were pretty much melted by the time our sandwiches came. I probably won't go back there.

Dave and Bob washed our trailer this afternoon. It looks really nice now. There was sooooo much dirt in our screens, it was just crazy seeing all that dirt coming off of them. Several of the windows need caulking - they leaked when the guys sprayed them...so I went from window to window blocking the water from coming in. So tomorrow Dave's going to caulk windows. I washed a bunch of the windows after the guys did their thing. I've got some more to do - maybe tomorrow!!

Tonight I went to bingo. That went a little better than bowling. I actually bingoed twice. I didn't win a lot of money, but at least I won!

More later...

Monday, Monday

2012-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

Some Mondays are bad, but today was another beautiful day in Largo! We had the windows open early this morning. In fact, we even ran the fan in the bedroom last night. At one point when I checked, it was 79 degrees!

Dave worked around the house today. He cleaned out the gutters and watered plants. He also cut back some of the branches on the tree next door that hangs over our roof...and drops these seed pods - millions of them!! I forgot to mention that the box elder bugs LOVE these seed pods!! He also went to the grocery store twice...and still forgot the bananas!! He's so funny!! This afternoon we went to the bowling alley and bought our packages...new balls, shoes, and bags. We're ready for tomorrow now. I'm hoping to bowl tomorrow!!

Tonight I went to play 7s from Hell...and tonight they were definitely from Hell! It's still a fun game, though! More later...

Darn!

2012-01-22T20:57:00.001-06:00

I'm not doing very well in the NFL. I wanted Baltimore to beat New England...they didn't. I want the Giants to win...it's tied with 3 minutes left in the game. I'm hoping they can pull this out!

We went to church this morning. They baptised a little baby girl named Sara Elizabeth...she looked so beautiful in her little ruffly white dress. She had two little brothers - probably 3 and 2 or maybe 4 & 3. They weren't interested in this whole ceremony...they were running around playing with their little motorcycles! Poor mom - she has her hands full!

After church we went to WallyWorld and bought another plant for out front. Plus, we found some cushions for our patio furniture that is almost a perfect match for the fabric I bought for our director's chairs. The color is the same, only one fabric has hibiscus on it and the other has some big fluffy flower on it. I don't think anyone would notice unless we told them. Then we went to Lowe's and bought some quarter-round for our second bedroom. Dave got the plant planted and added more marble rock to the flowerbed. Then he watered everything and sprayed for bugs. We have a ton of box elder bugs - yuck! He got a bunch today, though.

Tonight we've just been watching football!! I'd really like one of my teams to win, though. Come on, Giants!! More later...

Beautiful day!

2012-01-21T20:02:00.000-06:00

It was another gorgeous day here! I think it got up to 74 and that's about perfect. Right now it's still 64 degrees. I just love the abundant sunshine!!

We had our monthly breakfast up at the clubhouse this morning - scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, pancakes and sausage, plus juice or coffee. The men fix breakfast and some of the women serve. It was a good way to start a day. Dave squeezed some oranges last night...made us some wonderfully sweet orange juice!

Bob & Dave washed Bob & Ann's mobile home this morning, but Dave was pooped, so they only did that one. Ours will have to wait until next week. I took a nap in my chair this afternoon. I've been so stuffed up that I'm just exhausted...too hard to breathe, I guess. When I woke up I watched my Cyclones play basketball at Texas Tech...good win, especially on the road. Love the way they have been making their free throws. Now I'm watch the Indian Hills game on my computer! Isn't that something??

More later...

I won!!!!

2012-01-20T20:07:00.001-06:00

I had a goal for shuffleboard today...and that was to win a game. My first game I was paired with a pro! Dave Jardine is really, really good at shuffling. Needless to say, I didn't win that game. I did win one frame, though! Final score 45-101. Second game I was paired with Norine from Canada. I thought maybe I could beat her...wrong again! I don't remember the score - she didn't beat me by much, but she told me she'd shuffled for many years...so I felt good just being close! The third game, I was paired with Ron (Ann's brother)...he's really good too...and very competitive! I got ahead of him and I won!!! I was 6 points up going into the last frame. He put himself in the kitchen (which is a -10) so that was the game! I didn't want to beat Ron. I'd rather beat someone I don't know very well...but I'll take it!

I took an allergy pill today, hoping to get de-congested. When we got done shuffling (about 3:00) we went to Walgreens where Dr. Hill had sent a prescription for an antibiotic for sinus infection - yay! Maybe I'll finally get rid of this crap! I came home from Walgreens and fell asleep until about 5:00. I probably won't sleep tonight. I sure hope I do!

More later...

Woohoo!

2012-01-19T20:39:00.001-06:00

The bathroom is back to almost normal!! I had to get up early this morning and do all my bathroom duties, so that Dave could tear out the toilet. He got it out, finished painting behind the toilet..and then called Bob. He and Bob framed out the window and after Dave got the rest of the tile down, they put the trim around the baseboards.

We had our soup supper tonight...80 people...16 or 18 different soups, sandwiches of either chicken salad, ham salad, crab salad, or egg salad...and lots of desserts including homemade eclairs!! Quite a spread for $3.00! After supper Dave came home and seated our new toilet, so we're back functioning! He also hung up the towel racks and the toilet paper holder and even cleaned off the sawdust from the driveway. Now we've done the dishes, vacuumed the house to get all of the sawdust out of here, and done two loads of wash. We're going to bed because tomorrow we shuffle!

I'm sure glad we're here instead of in Iowa. It's 54 here and 1 in O-town!! More later...

What a day!

2012-01-18T19:37:00.000-06:00

We started our days by going to coffee at the clubhouse. You've got to understand that I don't normally drink coffee, but I do here. It's a social thing! Every Wednesday morning we have coffee and rolls or bagels...and hear about any upcoming activities, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, welcome any newcomers or returnees, and go over winners of the bowling, cribbage, euchre, golf, etc. It's fun!

Dave left after he had his coffee and roll. He went to Sarasota to help his dad clean the lint out of their dryer and do some other odd jobs. He didn't get back here until about 4:45. While he was gone, I had some paperwork to do, but mostly I played games and read. I'm reading "Water for Elephants" - it's one of those books you don't want to put down! I fell asleep in my chair and was awakened by pouring rain!! So I just sat here listening to the rain!! Very soothing!

This evening, Dave's reading a book on his Kindle Fire and I've been reading on my Kindle. We're sure glad we got them!! More later...

L stands for...

2012-01-17T20:17:00.001-06:00

loser! I didn't win at bingo tonight - :( ! Actually I won one of the door prizes, so I guess I can't say that I didn't win...but I didn't win any money! Ann won 2 games! You'd think she could share! It's always fun whether you win or not...but it's more fun to win!

Dave bowled this morning - not well, but he bowled! I took the money and helped do the books. Ann won one of the cribbage hands at bowling too...do you see a pattern here?

We went to wash our car after bowling (usually a 15 minute job at the most.) As my car was in the lineup to be washed, one of the electrical transformers at the car wash caught on fire and it took about 45 minutes to get my car back. They couldn't refund anyone's money, because the cash register/computer was down as well. What a joke! We were to meet the other bowlers for lunch, but by the time we got out of the car wash, I'm sure they were on their way home. So, we stopped at Peter's for lunch (great food) and then came home. This afternoon, Ann and I went to JoAnn's and to Home Goods. We were gone long enough that when I got home, Dave had installed about half of the floor in the bathroom. Tonight while I was at bingo, he got trim down around the part of the floor that he had done. It's going to be really pretty!

Tomorrow Dave's going to Sarasota to help Maury and Roberta. I'm going to coffee at the clubhouse and then I'm going to loaf all day!!! More later...

Busy, Busy!!

2012-01-16T21:33:00.002-06:00

This was another beautiful, but busy, day! This morning, I was picked up at 10:10 to go to a tea room for lunch...with a bunch of Red-Hatters! I wore brown! Fantastic lunch. The restaurant was called the Wildflower and it had things like soups, sandwiches, chicken salad, waldorf chicken salad, blue crab quiche, asparagus and leek quiche, etc. Big portions, too. I had the chicken salad plate, which had a mixed green salad (little green beans, carrots, cucumbers, tomato slices, radishes, purple cabbage with ranch dressing, a big helping of chicken salad, a small bowl of fresh fruit (cantaloupe, kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, fresh pineapple, bing cherry, and grapes) and a hunk of cornbread with honey butter! All of that was 9.50!! Everyone raved about the food! They also served breakfast, but by the time we ordered it was after 11:00 when they stopped serving breakfast. I hope to go back there sometime! The desserts looked scrumptious too, but we didn't have any!

After lunch, we stopped at 4-5 consignment or thrift shops. One we stopped at wasn't open, but I plan to go back there when it's open. I can't remember the name of it, but it's on Clearwater-Largo so I can find it again. It had really cool stuff in the window!

We got home about 2:00 or so. When I got home, Dave had the first coat of paint on the bathroom walls. That was a lovely surprise. I think he'll probably work on the floor tomorrow after bowling! He bought a new commode today so when he takes the potty out, he'll put the floor down. He also planted a new plant out front. What a guy!!

At 6:30 I went up to the clubhouse to play 7s from Hell. I'd never heard of this card game, but it's a version of foot canasta, which I'd played before. It's a really fun game and fun ladies. On Thursdays they play euchre and I may try that too. I played that some in college, but I can't remember much about it.

Tomorrow is bowling. I'm going to watch again. My knee is much better, but I'm going to baby it just a while longer. I'm going to help collect the money and do the payouts.

More later...

Pretty day!

2012-01-15T20:12:00.002-06:00

What a pretty day this turned out to be. It was a little cold to begin with, but it warmed up before noon. When we got ready for church, I put on a long-sleeved shirt and long pants,, but before we left, I changed into a short sleeved shirt and I'm sure glad I did! It was very warm in church. There was a good crowd at church today. It ended up lasting about 1 3/4 hours - long service!! They had installation and ordination of deacons and elders, so that's what took so long...plus one song we sang had 7 verses! Pastor Laura started a 4-week study of the middle chapters of I Corinthians. She uses no notes when she preaches, so sometimes she gets a little lost...but I enjoyed her sermon today.

After church and lunch, Dave started washing down the walls in the bathroom. He filled in holes tonight, so hopefully he's ready to paint in there tomorrow. I sure hope so, I'm tired of being torn up! Later in the afternoon, Bob came down and he and I started planting spider plants and the scheffelera and palm that I had them haul down here from Iowa. Dave came out and helped us too. I got down on my hands and knees at one point...that probably wasn't real smart...my knee hurts a little tonight!! Regardless, we got all the plants planted. Dave's going to Lowe's tomorrow for some things and he's going to buy a Croton for up front, plus some more white rock. Hopefully all of the plants live...they probably will if we remember to water them for a while!

Tomorrow, Ann, Marcia and I are going to go with the Red Hatters to a tea room for lunch. I AM NOT JOINTING THE RED HAT SOCIETY, I'm just going to lunch with them. Should be fun!

I watched football all weekend. I loved the San Francisco-New Orleans game...hated the Denver-New England game...didn't get to watch the Houston-Baltimore game...and loved the New York-Green Bay game!! All of the games were great playoff games except for the Denver game. Denver needed an offensive line - they were pretty bad. Poor Tim Tebow - I'm sure he hurts today as many times as he got sacked! More later...

Another cold day!

2012-01-14T20:31:00.001-06:00

It was another cold day here in Clearwater. It is only 48 degrees even now. I wore shorts AND a jacket all day. I was outside quite a bit because we had our Chinese auction up at the clubhouse today. So I was up there about 3 times today. The ride up there wasn't bad, but the ride home (south) was really cold! I raked some of the rocks out of the "flower garden" today. That was a warm job...I've at least got it to where we can shovel the rocks up and put them in a bucket. We'll then be able to put down the weed blocking cloth and plant some plants before we put the rock back.

Dave got the bathroom window out today and Bob helped him put the new one in. It'll be nice to be able to open the bathroom window when the weather is nicer. Tomorrow it's supposed to be warmer - in the mid 60's. Then back to the 70's on Monday...yay! We got a little spoiled! Dave is going to work on washing the bathroom walls tomorrow and get them ready to paint, now that the window is in. We'll go to church in the morning and work on the house later in the day.

I'm watching football. I'm cheering for Denver - I hope they get going! Coach Fox, their head coach, used to coach at Iowa State. His office was the office next to mine. Unfortunately New England just has too many guns! I loved the San Francisco vs New Orleans game - that was a perfect playoff game!

More later...

Brrr...

2012-01-13T19:48:00.002-06:00

OK, so now even I'm cold! Today was shuffleboard and we actually had it! I figured that since we're all "old" and it's cold AND windy, we surely won't shuffle...WRONG!! I sat out the first game, then shuffled the second game. I kept score the 3rd game and was frozen by that time! I came home for the 4th game and snuggled under a blanket!! I really think shuffling is fun! This evening we had happy hour and that was fun too. In between events Dave worked on removing the bathroom window. He was able to find a replacement one, so he's got to get this one out - not such an easy job! He's broken drill bits and tried 3 different drills. I think he's finally figured out how to get them out, so tomorrow after the Chinese auction at the clubhouse, he'll get that done...then painting comes next...then the flooring! I'm such a slave driver!!

I wish I'd taken my camera today to shuffleboard. The expressions on people's faces are priceless! I hope I remember next week!

More later...

Uh oh - Dave's not happy with me!!

2012-01-12T19:58:00.001-06:00

Dave is still working on the bathroom, trying to get the bottom layer of paper off. I hear him saying shirt-without-the-r and mumbling in there. When I ask what's wrong, he just says, "Nothing, just leave me alone." So I'm staying out of his way. He told me this evening that I should never ever start tearing off paper when he's not ready to work on the room...about an hour later, he said it wasn't my fault, that the room needed done. Unfortunately, they didn't size the walls under the paper, plus the paneling in there is only about 1/4" thick, so the walls aren't good to begin with...plus since it's a bathroom, there's lots of "issues" with moisture, etc. The window is going to have to be replaced because it's falling apart. We did buy the flooring today. I can hardly wait until it's done! Dave told me it would be a long time until he does the bedroom, so I'm not to pull off any border in there.

We went shopping with Bob & Ann today - went to Lowe's (I hate Lowe's!!!) and to Target! We needed 40 square feet of bathroom flooring which is 12" squares of vinyl that look like stone...the first Lowe's only had 9 or so, but the salesman looked up inventory and told us they had 127 of them at the Countryside location. So after going to Target, we went north to the 2nd Lowe's. We couldn't find any full boxes of tiles...just some individual tiles. Guess what, there were 40 of them exactly! When we went through the checkout, the lady told us there had been a gentleman there earlier and bought as many of that particular flooring as he could find!! We were lucky to get 40 of them!

More later...

Rain, rain...

2012-01-11T19:50:00.000-06:00

Rain came hard today. We had a river flowing in the slough just to the west of our mobile home. It poured for a while! It was nice, though, the plants needed it! We had one crack of thunder that was really close, but other than that, just rain and wind. After it finished raining, the sun came out and it turned into a lovely day. It's supposed to be cooler the next few days - darn!

We went up for coffee this morning, then came home and did some honey-do's around the house. Actually it was a pretty uneventful day. Another farmer friend from home died today in a tractor rollover. That's 6 different people we've known who have died these past few months in farming accidents. Goodness.

I think we're going shopping for bathroom flooring tomorrow, then it'll be home to strip wallpaper and paint...yuck! More later...

B & B Day

2012-01-10T21:01:00.002-06:00

I didn't bowl this morning - it's a good thing, too...Bob had a 184! I told him he was just showing off since I was there! Dave did okay and so did Ann. Dave said he almost got a 300 today...in 3 games!!! He's so funny!! Unfortunately the men ruled today. There were 22 bowlers - wow! We went to Los Mariachis #3 for lunch. Ann and I went there last spring...just fair food. The chips were good - the salsa was HOT!!

After lunch, we took our car to Cuzins to have it washed...just 7.99 for wash and vacuum (for seniors on Tuesdays). Finally we found a good deal in Florida!

I got busy tearing off wallpaper when we got home. So between the two of us, we got the first layer of wallpaper off of the bathroom. Now we've got to decide on colors! I still have the mauve counter top to deal with - yuck!

Tonight was bingo and I didn't win :( - Ann won one game. It was still fun, even though I didn''t win.

More later...

Great Day

2012-01-09T20:50:00.002-06:00

I can hardly keep my eyes open, so this is going to be short! We left for Sarasota at 9:15 this morning and just got home a little while ago. After sitting outside for the majority of the day, I'm so sleepy! Dave and Maury caught 4 whitings, and then a guy who was fishing beside them gave them 2 more, so they had to clean 6 fish. Regardless of how many fish they caught, it was a beautiful day to sit outside by a large body of water. Lido Beach is beautiful - the white sand is super fine so it gets into everything. I have to be very careful with my camera that it doesn't get sand in it!

Roberta and I went to two consignment stores...the first one was closed on Mondays. We got to the second one at 4:00 and they closed at 4:00. Bummer -- we didn't even get to look around and they had some really neat furniture. Maybe next week.

More later...

Wonderful day!

2012-01-08T20:02:00.001-06:00

This day was just about perfect. We went to church this morning, then to Jimmy Guana's for lunch with Sudi & Howard. I could have sat there all day just drinking iced tea with the sun beating down on us. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and there were lots of boats on the Intercoastal. Beautiful!! (And the food was good, too!)

When we got home, I vacuumed and worked on registering my Kindle and Dave's Kindle Fire. I had them both registered to me, but mine didn't show up anymore after I registered the Fire. So I had to deregister both and start all over. Now Dave's sitting in his chair ordering free books!! I'm reading "The Help" right now and I probably won't order another book until I'm about halfway through with it. I also worked on a spreadsheet that the "activities" ladies wanted. I think they'll like it, but just in case they don't, all I'll have to do is revise it. Aren't computers wonderful!!!

Tomorrow we're going to Sarasota to fish again. I will probably just sit on the beach and watch them. I'll take my Kindle too, plus I've got some magazines I need to read!

More later...

Wonderful Saturday

2012-01-07T19:49:00.002-06:00

We were a little slow getting up and around this morning, but once we got going, we went a long ways!! Bob & Ann and Dave & I went shopping. We needed to stop at about 3 places and we ended up at about 8 places! We went to 2 Lowe's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Target, Sam's Club, 2 liquor stores, and Five Guys. It seems like there was some place else, but I can't remember where it might be! Dave used crutches and a motorized cart in Lowe's and in Target we both used motorized carts. I didn't go into the second Lowe's. We came home and Dave's foot isn't hurting as much as it was. My knee feels pretty good - I did ice it when I got home. Lunch at Five Guys was wonderful! Great burgers and great French Fries. We had popcorn for supper, though, because we were still full from lunch! It was really a fun day!!

When we got home, the FedEx man had been here and delivered our heater. Now when it gets chilly, we can just turn it on and not have to run the furnace. We also have a real blanket now, so we shouldn't get quite so cold sleeping!!

We've been watching Planet Earth tonight. It's quite the show. Wonderful photography - lots of underwater photography with great colors! Tomorrow we're going to church and then to Jimmy Guana's with Sudi & Howard. We'll be home in the afternoon, doing some things around the house! More later...

Shuffle on down to....

2012-01-06T20:03:00.003-06:00

I never dreamed that I would play shuffleboard! That was a game for OLD people!! I played today and I thought it was really fun!! I didn't say I was very good, you'll notice, but I think I can actually play this game! It's a game of strategy once you figure out how hard to shoot the disc (or whatever it's called!) Dave enjoyed it too. He's a bluebird and I'm a redbird...Bob's a redbird and Ann's a bluebird. The bluebirds won big today! We started at 10 this morning - played 2 games (about an hour each), broke for lunch and came back at 1:00 and played 2 more games. I sat out the 3rd game, as did Bob, so I learned how to keep score. That was fun, too!

When we got done, we came home and Dave went dumpster diving for two director's chairs. He thought they would make good beach chairs or just lanai chairs. When he jumped down off the steps, he twisted his ankle and now he's using crutches and icing his ankle. We're a pair to draw to!!

It was beautiful here today and supposed to be nice again tomorrow. This morning it was quite cool. We actually had to run the furnace to take the chill off this morning. I'm feeling better, so I'm hoping to wash some windows tomorrow. I could also be talked into going to BB&B! More later...

We're here!

2012-01-05T18:17:00.001-06:00

We got into St.Petersburg/Clearwater about 2:15 this afternoon after a good flight. We hit one little batch of turbulence but it only lasted about a minute! It was a FULL plane! No empty seats at all. It's really good being back. Tomorrow we get to try shuffleboard - it's the beginning of the fun shuffleboard season. I've never done this and neither has Dave so this should be lots of fun. I hope we have understanding partners.

After getting some groceries, the four of us went to Cheddars for dinner. That's a really good place to eat. We had margaritas, which were very good. Unfortunately it's 7:15 and Dave's asleep in his chair and if I weren't typing this, I'd be asleep too!

Maybe I'll just take a little nap!!! More later...

Leavin' Eve

2012-01-04T22:24:00.000-06:00

I'm so frustrated! I am trying to print our boarding passes for tomorrow's flight and the website just keeps giving me a blank screen! So then, I sent Allegiant an email and they sent me a phone # to call. When I call that number, they say that they're experiencing a high volume of calls and can't take my call so they disconnect. If I can't print out the boarding passes, I have to stand in line which doesn't help my knee any!! Grrrrr...

I'm ready to get to Florida. I hope my sinuses feel better again tomorrow - if not, the flight might be mighty LONG! I'm going to bed now! I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and now I'm starting The Help. I also downloaded a game - don't know how I'm going to play a game on a Kindle, but I'm going to try!!

More later...

2012

2012-01-03T20:16:00.000-06:00

I need a new wall calendar! I just keep looking up at my calendar and it's still the 2011 one. For some reason I haven't bought a 2012 calendar! What is wrong with me?? I'm having a bad year so far! I went to see Dr Hill today. He scolded me for shopping all day after just having knee surgery! He told me my knee just needs some time. He gave me an anti-inflammatory that won't be so hard on my tummy as ibuprofen. So I'm taking a new medication now. I've also got the beginnings of sinus infection so I got a Z-pack. I should really sleep well tonight!

We got home from Fairfield, ate a quick bite of lunch and started calling to put all of our "stuff" on vacation. By the time we got done with that, the housekeeper had shown up - yay!! Dave hired Cathy back - that was our Christmas!! Sure saves us both a lot of time and energy!! So when we leave here on Thursday AM, we'll be leaving a clean home!! Then when we get ready to come home we'll call her and she can start soon after!! Double yay!!

I'm wondering who is going to come out of Iowa winning the Republication caucuses. With only 3% reporting, Rick Santorum is leading - hmmmm?! Should be interesting! More later...

Cold, cold, cold!

2012-01-02T21:45:00.001-06:00

It got all the way up to 23 today! But with 35-40 mph north-NW winds, it was really cold! Dave has sounded like he's getting a cold now for about 3 days and today I sound like I'm getting one! I think it's just sinus issues from the cold air, so hopefully it'll go away soon. I go to see Dr Hill tomorrow for my knee, but I'm going to have him check out my tonsils and glands in my neck too...may as well get my money's worth!!

Today I went to Bible reading. We got through about 8 verses!! I really was hoping that we were ready for Chapter 10 of Mark, because that chapter deals with divorce and I wanted to see what everyone thought about that chapter. Since PD and I are both divorced, it would have been a good discussion, I'm sure. Sometime read Mark 10 and see what Mark has to say about that issue! It's eye-opening!

I read a lot this afternoon. One thing that I don't like about reading on a Kindle as opposed to a paperback is that you can't tell how far you've got to go to finish the book. There is a percentage line which tells me I'm about 75% done, but I'd like to know how many pages I've got left. I'm sure I'll get used to that! If you haven't read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo you should - it's really a good story!

More later...

HAPPY New Year!!!!

2012-01-01T22:10:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year to you all! It's a miserable day here in SE Iowa. First of all, it's cold - 29 degrees...AND the wind is blowing HARD! I'll bet we had a 60 mph gust just a little bit ago. It's been blowing between 30 and 40 mph all day and night so far...actually it started last night. I'm ready to head out of here! When I wear a coat and I'm still cold, it's time to go south!

We had a great day, even if it was a cold one. We went to church this morning. I really miss our church while we're in Florida. Hopefully we'll find a church we really like down there too. AND the Evangelism Commission purchased a hi-def video camera to take Pastor David's sermons...so, I'll soon be able to see him on the website! Speaking of PD, tonight Dave and I went to PD & Liz's for dinner. Their house is still decorated for Christmas - it is absolutely beautiful! Green trees, white trees decorated in black and red - wow! It's a beautiful B&B! If you have someone coming to town that needs a B&B be sure to look up Plum Panache.

Tomorrow I'm going to Bible Reading Time. I've missed that too. I've continued reading Mark, but I've got some questions about what I've read. Hopefully I'll get some answers tomorrow! Since we've only got one vehicle, I guess Dave will have to stay home while I go out!

More later...

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T19:28:00.001-06:00

Yay - Bob & Ann got to the Ranch safely!! Steve & Rhonda must have gotten home safely. Linda & Al were leaving today. Dave & I watched the Cyclone men's basketball game this afternoon and now we're seeing in the new year the same way we usually do. We'll go to bed early and skip all the festivities!! Every year for the last 21 has come in regardless of whether we stayed up until midnight or not!! Sounds like we're getting old, doesn't it?!

It was 65 degrees in Des Moines today - about 57 here. Although the wind was blowing pretty hard, so it didn't exactly feel that warm. I have friends who said their daffodils and crocus are coming up! Boy, are they in for a rude awakening!! We're supposed to have a day or so of cold weather and then back into the 40s before we leave for points south!

Happy New Year to all of you! See you next year!! More later...

Bummer...

2011-12-30T20:55:00.002-06:00

I've had a good day...however, about 3:00 it got icky! I am really bummed. I thought my Cyclones could beat Rutgers, but maybe there was a Yankee curse on them or something. We just didn't play our type of football...it was really disappointing. Bad way to end a year.

It rained here today, but it was still mild. Tomorrow it is supposed to be around 56 degrees - and it's December 31st! What a nice December we've had!

Today Dave finished caulking our bathtub and he cleaned the shower doors with white vinegar. He's so good! Then he put everything back together. I get to use my own shower tomorrow morning - yay!! Tomorrow he's going to work Habitat, so I'm just hanging out. I'm hoping staying off my feet will help my knee heal!

More later...

I'm tired of this!!

2011-12-29T19:31:00.003-06:00

We had a beautiful day here!! It was in the mid 50's...hard to believe that it's Dec. 29th...in fact, it's still 43 aqt 7:30 PM!

I'm tired of my knee hurting! I talked to my surgeon the other day. He put me on ibuprofen 3x a day after meals..and it still hurts. The ONLY time it doesn't hurt is when I'm sitting in my chair with ice on it! I guess I need to pretend that I just had surgery and stay off of it for 3-4 days in a row...then maybe it would get better faster. If it doesn't get better soon, I'll probably have to have a shot in the knee - yuck! That just doesn't sound pleasant at all!!

I worked on paperwork today. I got all of it filed so I can bring everything with me for tax season. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? We took things over to Bob & Ann's today so they could pack their car for the trip back to the Ranch. They're leaving bright and early tomorrow! I'm ready to go back too...too bad we've still got another week! Next year we'll plan differently!

More later...

Ahhhhhhh...

2011-12-28T21:03:00.002-06:00

I had a massage today and did I ever need it! I haven't had one since before my surgery back in November! My shoulders were tight, my back was tight, and needless to say, my knee was tight! I'm pretty sore tonight, but it's a good sore. I hope I sleep well!

I'm reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on my Kindle. It's nothing like I thought it would be. I don't know for sure what I expected, but I didn't expect intrigue! I'm also reading Enchanted by Nora Roberts. I'd started it before I got my Kindle, so I read it at night and "The Girl" during the day!!

Rhonda and family took off today to go back to Texas. I hope they travel safely!

My mind is tired tonight. I know I had several things I was pondering, but I can't think what they are! We've got to take a little box over to Bob & Ann tomorrow, plus our plants and my Gulf photograph. I sure hope they have room for them, but if they don't it's not a big deal. I'll try to keep the plants alive until next year when we drive down again. As for the picture, I could hang it up here, but I envision it in Florida with us.

More later...

Good Day for Resting

2011-12-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

Today was a good day for resting! Dave and I both got a little nap in our chairs this afternoon. I played with my Kindle for quite a while before I fell asleep. I actually got it all set up, entered my gift cards, ordered a couple of books, and started reading one of them already! What an easy way to read. It's so lightweight!! I also got online and ordered Dave a Kindle Fire. It'll be in Florida when we get there! I think he'll really like it! He can order his own books and we cane even share them with each other (if the author/publisher allows sharing). Fun!!

Here are some pictures of my family taken yesterday at our family Christmas. The first is of my three nieces - beautiful, intelligent, wonderful young women! They are from L-R, Linda, Vicki and Rhonda.

This picture is of my "greats" - my great nephew, Kyle, his fiance (Cassie) on his right..my great nieces in front - Cheyenne, Allison and Kaylee.

And, last but not least, this is a picture of Kaylee and Vicki "snooping"...you see, all of the packages are behind the tree - so I caught them trying to find packages with their names on them. Vicki, can't you wait??

We had a really great day yesterday. Kaylee has to be in Denver tomorrow for orientation. She's a junior at Wartburg and her spring semester will be spent in Denver. She is taking two classes and will be doing an internship at the Y there. One of her classes is a required religion class and one is a writing class - based on her experiences during her stay in Colorado. She thinks they'll be going to help various churches with homeless shelters and soup kitchens, etc. Should be fun for her. Her best friend/roommate is also going, so hopefully she won't get homesick. She'll be back home about April 4th. Linda and Al were taking her to Colorado today and tomorrow, staying in Kearney, Nebraska tonight. Rhonda, Steve, and Cheyenne are leaving for Texas tomorrow I think. Keep them all in your prayers for safe travels.

More later...

Lovely Day

2011-12-26T22:06:00.002-06:00

I can't remember the last time we went to Bob's for Christmas and only wore light jackets or sweatshirts! Well, we did today! It was a beautiful day!! It was also beautiful inside. We had a lovely day with family and a wonderful Christmas!! It started out with turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, corn, relish tray, apple salad, cranberry salad, deviled eggs, and rolls. (I think I forgot something, but I can't think what!!) Then chocolate ice cream pie (or Bob's pie as we affectionately call it!), pecan pie (Dave's pie from Dear Abby's recipe), and Apple Cream pie for dessert! PLUS, there was candy and cookies to munch on!! Quite a spread!! Then we started opening packages...Oh my, that took us until it was dark outside! I'll post pictures hopefully tomorrow - I'm too tired tonight!

More later...

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:07:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful day today! Got up early and Bryan had fixed bacon and scrambled eggs - yum!! Then we all went to church where Pastor David gave a great sermon! I really miss him when we're in Florida. His sermons are so inspiring and thought-provoking! I can't wait for the Evangelism Commission to get his sermons on the website! Then I'll be able to be inspired even when I'm in Florida!

After church, Bryan and I came home early. He went to wash his car and I made a cheesy hash brown casserole that was really good, if I do say so myself! Bob & Ann came over for dinner. We had pork chops with a mushroom gravy, steamed baby green beans with slivered almonds, the hash brown casserole, garlic bread, and Bryan's cranberry salad. Then for dessert, I had made a key lime pie!! Pretty good food for Christmas. It was beautiful here. I don't know how warm it got, but we were outside helping Bryan load his car to go home and we didn't even have to have coats on! It was really a nice day!

Tomorrow is our big family day. I can hardly wait to see my nieces and my "greats"!! We're having lunch at noon and then after the dishes are done, the festivities will begin!! Actually, I think I should call it a marathon instead of festivities! Unwrapping presents takes HOURS!! It's fun though and this year we'll have another family member - Kyle's fiance, Cassie, will be joining us!

More later...

PS - Oh, I had a cute thing said to me at church today. One lady said I could sure tell that Bryan was your son...he looks just like you!! I didn't tell Bryan - I don't know how he'd feel about that!! I just thanked her and told her that I was his step-mother...she said her step son looked like her too! Funny!! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:01:00.000-06:00

Today was a beautiful day here in Iowa...about 45 and abundant sunshine The really good part is that it's supposed to be like this for another 7 days or so! I don't mind cold as long as it's not gray and icky! Bryan got here today and we decided to have our Christmas exchange this afternoon. After that we went to church for Christmas eve services.

The choir did a wonderful job with their carols. It was a beautiful service. Rhonda wanted to go with us, which was really nice. So we had 4 of us in our pew!! Then after church we went to Bob & Ann's for chili and/or oyster soup. It was a great evening.

More later...

Almost here...

2011-12-23T20:36:00.002-06:00

I can hardly believe that Christmas is almost here! Dave wrapped all the packages today and I got the tree up and lit. I also got through a ton of paperwork and got the menus all figured out with Ann. This evening I worked on a grocery list for Dave to get in the morning. He goes to HyVee for coffee with the guys early each morning, so he can get the groceries while he's there!

Bryan is coming home tomorrow and will be here to go to church with us on Christmas Eve. He said he was planning to go home on Christmas day, after lunch some time. So, we'll have our family Christmas on Christmas morning and then go to church. After church Bob & Ann are coming over here for Christmas dinner. Then Monday is our big family Christmas which will start with lunch at Bob & Ann's. Oh my gosh, I've got a lot to do between now and Sunday at noon!! I think I just panicked!!

More later...

Back in Iowa

2011-12-22T21:56:00.002-06:00

Yes, we're back home in cold, windy, gray and brown, Iowa!! Sounds awful, doesn't it? It's not all bad! It was 31 when we landed and 27 as we left Des Moines, all with a stiff wind from the north-northwest...yuck! Tonight the wind has gone down, so it's not quite as bad as it was.

After we got home and looked in the refrigerator, we determined that Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare, so Dave said, "Let's go get a tenderloin." We went to the Recovery Room and one of their wonderful tenderloins and fries!! Actually we each had 1/2 of a tenderloin, so guess what tomorrow's lunch is??? We came home from there and I took a nap...a 6 hour one!!! I was pooped. Dave was sick in the night last night, so I didn't sleep well either. It was only 45 in our house when we got home, but it warmed up nicely while we were at the Recovery Room. Our Tempurpedic bed was like a cement block, but when I laid down on it, I fell asleep almost immediately!! While I napped, Dave got groceries. Then later this afternoon, Rhonda and her family arrived from Texas. Since they were here, we all went to the Club for supper. It was good to see them and Cheyenne has gotten so tall! She's 11 and a half now, and has really shot up this past year. It was a busy night at the Club...got to see several people and wish them a Merry Christmas!

It's good to be home. Tomorrow we've got to wrap packages and put up a tree! As for now, it's bedtime again, so I'm going to get the flannels out and see you tomorrow. More later...

Going home!!

2011-12-21T20:23:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we're headed to the airport for our flight back to Des Moines. We should arrive in DSM about 10:00 AM, give or take a few minutes. I'm ready to go home, ready for Christmas, ready to see my family! I finally got my Christmas cards out this afternoon and even got a few addressed to some of our neighbors down here. I don't send out nearly as many as we used to, so if you don't get one from us, don't feel bad. Mostly we send just to friends and relatives we don't see but maybe once a year.

We had a nice surprise this morning. Affordable Aluminum called to tell us that they were coming to put the vinyl windows in our lanai. So, after coffee, we got busy cleaning up the lanai. I also cleaned and vacuumed inside too. At 11:45 I took Ron & Marsha to the airport. Dave stayed here just in case AA came early...they didn't! They showed up about 1:30 or so and were done by about 4:30. OUR LANAI LOOKS WONDERFUL!!! Love the windows, and especially like the door! Merry Christmas to us!! We took down the Christmas tree and put up the lighted palm tree, so when we get back down here we won't have but the front decorations to put away.

Tonight, we're all packed and ready to go. It's a little weird not packing any clothes. I had a couple of Christmas presents to take home, plus some paperwork and some stuff we no longer need down here, like my Christmas stamp sets. We should have some relatively empty suitcases when we return to Florida.

That's it for tonight...more later...

T-1

2011-12-20T21:01:00.002-06:00

This morning we went to bowling, but I didn't bowl. My knee is still hurting, so I decided to just watch! We all took snacks so this was kind of a Christmas party bowl! Dave got a 148 today...good job, honey! Tomorrow morning we'll find out if girls rule or if the guys won. I have a feeling the guys won today.

I had a pedicure this afternoon, so now my feet look really nice. I think he cut my nails a little short, but they will grow out! Regardless, they look nice.

This evening, we took our neighbors and went to this neighborhood off of BryanDairy Road to look at lights. It was wonderful. This is a whole neighborhood that puts out lights..then Hospice puts out maps, arrows showing which way to go, and had a spot where you can donate to Hospice. Pretty cool fundraiser and beautiful lights! Here are a few of the 50 or so pictures that Dave took while I drove.

At one house, one of Santa's helpers was passing out candy canes!

This was pretty cool - a lighted dirigible on wheels...with about 25 people on it. They were having a wonderful time looking at the lights!

Tomorrow is coffee at the Ranch. Then we'll come home and get things ready so we can leave the next morning. We've got some "must-go's" in the refrigerator that we've got to do something with and we'll batten down the hatches and head out Thursday morning bright and early. We're also taking Ann's brother and his wife to the airport tomorrow. More later...

T-2

2011-12-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

It's now T-2 and counting until we fly out to go home for Christmas. We'll sure miss this wonderful weather. We're sitting here with most of the windows open - it's just gorgeous - 66 degrees at 9:00 at night!

Today we worked around here again. I worked on Christmas cards and cleaned the shower and sinks in the bathroom. I also rode my bike quite a ways today. We had some excitement in the 'hood today. The mobile home 2 doors down is being demolished, so we had a backhoe making lots of noise. They got it half torn down...I'm sure they'll do the other half tomorrow. Dave worked outside most of the day. He moved a parlor palm, sprayed for bugs, sprayed for weeds, raked, transplanted two amaryllis and put down a bunch of mulch! Oh, he also oiled our bikes, added baskets and a rear light to his. I wonder what he'll find to do tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, we've got bowling and bingo!! Plus, I'm having a pedi at 1:00. I plan to try to bowl again... Also speaking of tomorrow, it's December 20th...that means my big brother has a birthday! Happy birthday, Bob! Hope you sell a BIG diamond on your special day!!

Something else that is very interesting happened today. Dave was talking to the lady who lives on the other side of the house being demolished. She asked him a second time what his name was...it seems her maiden name was Freshour and she's from Indiana! Strange, huh?? Maury has always said that part of the family became Freshours and part Frushours when they got to Ellis Island.

More later...

Beautiful Sunday

2011-12-18T20:30:00.002-06:00

This was another beautiful day!! A "cold front" came through last night, though, so it was a little colder than it has been! Now their cold fronts are nothing like the cold fronts that come through Iowa!! In the cold fronts down here, it drops to the 50's over night and is 69 during the day!! Actually it was 70 this afternoon, but it's been in the high 70's most of the time since we've been here!

We went to church at Hope Presbyterian again today. It was much better today...the kids had the program. It was a cute story of Christ's birth. It was from the viewpoint of the animals in the stable. Cute! Two or three of the kids had singing solos and all of them spoke. After church we went to Walmart to get a few things. Since my leg has been hurting so much, I was either going to stay in the car while Dave shopped, or try out one of those motorized shopping carts. I chose the second option! Once I figured out how to run the thing, it was a pretty good way to get around that store...plus, my knee didn't hurt from all the walking! Betty, from here at the Ranch, came up behind me and asked me if I wanted to race - she was on a cart too!

This evening, we had our baked potato dinner at the Ranch. For $4, you got a HUGE potato and you could have any of several toppings - cheese, cooked onions, mushrooms, broccoli, chili, sausage gravy, salsa, chives, bacon bits - you get the picture! Then for dessert there was chocolate - someone had put out assorted chocolates! There was also fruit cups (left over from breakfast yesterday). It was very good!

Tomorrow we've got a few more things to do around here and I've got to get my Christmas cards out. I wrote the letter today and printed the labels. I just have to put it all together tomorrow! Plus, I want to clean up the lanai a bit. It's gotten kind of messy out there! More later...

I HATE SHOPPING!!!

2011-12-17T19:48:00.003-06:00

After a great breakfast in the clubhouse, Dave and I went out searching for bedside tables and lamps. After hitting 5 consignment shops and 4 thrift shops, we still have NO bedside tables and/or lamps!! Anything we saw that we liked was way overpriced...and most everything else we didn't like at all! So after several hours of shopping, we came home, went to amazon.com and found out thaat we can order new things for about the same price we saw used today! We'll be ordering when we return after the first of the year.

I finally had a chance to upload some of my pictures. Here's Dave covering up the last of the yellow on the living room walls. The yellow was under the two layers of wallpaper that we removed.

This is a picture of the colors we used. They're so pretty and so different in the natural light and the evening artificial light.

This is the dining room/kitchen finished and the living room finished:

These last two pictures are pictures I took at Lido Beach yesterday: Dave and his first whiting and a beautiful blue heron who was waiting for throwaway fish!! More later...

I'm Pooped

2011-12-16T20:44:00.000-06:00

I am sooooo tired! We went to Sarasota today so Dave and his dad could go fishing. I went with them while Roberta went shopping with a friend. We were at the beach from about 11:30 until 3:30! That's a lot of sun and fresh air and both of those things make me really sleepy! The guys caught and brought home 11 whitings! They threw 4 other fish back - a flounder, a snake-like fish, a flying fish, and a baby whiting!! It was a good day fishing!! I had a pretty good day too. I took my camera and got some pretty decent pictures of some birds - I think! I'm too tired tonight to upload them - hopefully, I'll get them loaded sometime tomorrow.

We didn't get home until about 7:30. After the guys cleaned the fish, we decided we'd better go eat somewhere. There's a restaurant in Maury's park called Boon Docks. They have good sandwiches, and we can eat outside. That was good because I don't think the guys smelled very good after fishing and cleaning fish! It was a lovely day for being on the beach!

More later...

Yippee!!

2011-12-15T20:22:00.001-06:00

The painting is DONE in the living room - yippee!!! We've just finished moving the furniture where we want it! It looks really nice - unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for it because I didn't get any pictures uploaded! We're missing a curtain rod, so we've still got some curtains to hang in the living room. We just can't figure out where that rod went to! Gnomes! As Dave calls them - I call them gremlins! Maybe it's something about being from Indiana or Iowa!

I've figured out my way around part of Clearwater-Largo...and my way to Sarasota. Speaking of Sarasota, we're going there again tomorrow. The guys are going to fish...Roberta is going shopping with Betty...and I'm sitting on the beach with my camera!! My knee is starting to feel better, so I'm not going to jeopardize it again! Plus, I'm getting a little sick of shopping! I sure wish Ann was here, though I need to find some bedside tables and some lamps at thrift stores and Ann's the queen of knowing where the best bargains are! I've only found 1 thrift store so far!

More later...

Wacky Wednesday

2011-12-14T20:39:00.000-06:00

Wednesdays at the Ranch are pretty laid-back. However, today after coffee, we had our annual cookie walk, where you could buy cookies, fudge, brownies, etc. for $3.00 a pound. They had styrofoam containers for us to put our goodies in. We filled ours and I thought it was pretty heavy...it cost us $3.00!! Yummy goodies! I made and took about 4 dozen cookies - chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies. Good! After the cookie walk, then we had our monthly meeting. Today we had nominations for board members. One of the people nominated was my brother. Since he wasn't there, they asked me to speak for him about why he'd be a good board member. I did a good job selling his virtues, much to Bob's chagrin!! Since there were no other nominations from the floor, the 3 nominees are automatically board members. I guess the other board members got together today and decided that Bob would be President next year!!

Dave got all of the wallpaper off and half of the room painted today! Tomorrow he'll finish painting. Then I guess he's going to lay off for a while and finish up after we return in January. I tried to take the wallpaper border off in the bedroom, but it didn't come off so well. I doubt that it has sizing under it...so, it could be awful to get off! I haven't tried the bathroom wallpaper, but I'll be glad to get it off too.

It was so nice out today that we ate both our lunch and dinner out in the lanai. It was 75 degrees and just perfect out there. After dinner we went for a bike ride just to look at the Christmas lights in the park. They're judging the lights on Friday. There are some really pretty ones!

More later...

Tuesday at the Ranch

2011-12-13T21:44:00.000-06:00

Tuesdays at the Ranch are for bowling and bingo, remember?? Well, we didn't bowl because Dave is Hell-bent on getting the painting done here and I'm still limping! He got the hallway/kitchen painted and it looks really nice...very clean and bright! He's got over half of the living room ready to paint tomorrow. But tomorrow we've also got coffee and a monthly meeting, plus a cookie walk in the morning...I made about 5 dozen cookies, but I'm only taking about 3.5 dozen...the rest broke! I haven't figured out this oven yet..It's a little too hot, so I have to either turn the heat down and add time to whatever's baking, or leave the heat the way it is and shorten the baking time. Either way, I haven't got it quite right yet!

Here's a picture of the hallway and kitchen. I don't know that you can see the colors properly. After the curtains are up, I'll get another picture with the flash which should give you a better look at the color.

Here's more yellow. We think this is just sizing...the other side of the living room has white sizing, but for some reason this side is yellow.

This is what Dave has to paint tomorrow. I can't wait until this mess is done!!

By the way...I didn't win at bingo tonight...:( More later...

Double Yay!!

2011-12-12T20:57:00.001-06:00

Not only did Dave get the wallpaper backing off of the kitchen/hallway, but we also got all of the wallpaper (2 layers of it!) off of the living room. So we get a double yay!! Tomorrow, since Dave's back is so sore and my knee is so sore we're not going bowling. We'll be here working on walls. The hallway/kitchen is ready to paint. The living room has to have the paper backing removed and then it'll be ready to paint! Tomorrow night, I'm going to play bingo. Dave will probably still be painting!!

Wednesday morning we're having a cookie walk after coffee and our park meeting, so I've got to bake some cookies tomorrow too! This weekend is the park breakfast AND on Sunday they're having a baked potato bar. Busy, busy!!

I ran errands today and I also got my hair cut. Dave drew me a little map so that I could find Walmart, Lowes, Target, and Great Clips. I got in the wrong lane and turned before I got to Walmart, but I was able to get turned back and get into their parking lot with a little effort. Right now we're watchin The Closer. I hope we can stay up and watch Rizzoli & Isles too.

More later...

Before...and After!!

2011-12-11T20:02:00.001-06:00

Yay, yay, yay!! The add-on room is done except for adding quarter-round around the baseboard. Here's a picture before the floor went in.

Now the floor is in!

And this is today!! All done - this is looking north.

And this is looking south.

Here's a picture of our living room after some of the furniture is gone! Lots more room in here. I think I'm going to move the couch to the wall where Dave is sitting and move the chairs to where the couch is now...we'll see!

After Dave got the baseboard on and we got the furniture in the add-on room, then he went outside and cleaned out his shed. He even washed down the walls. He'd come in every once in a while and we cleared out closets of "stuff" that Paulie had. We put things outside and people come by and pick them up. We are having trouble getting rid of the dirty recliner, however. We may have to clean it and bring it back in :(!

I made some crockpot peanut clusters today, but they didn't turn out as good as usual. At home I have a full-sized crockpot, whereas here I have a small crockpot. So I only made a half a recipe...I think it almost burned so next time I won't leave it on for more than an hour. I had it on low, so I figured it would be 2 hours before it would be done.

While Dave was outside this evening, I decided to pull off wallpaper from the kitchen. I really wanted to keep going into the living room, but I didn't. Now I've got to decide for sure what paint I want in there because I'm sure Dave will want to get started on those walls soon!

That's all for tonight. More later...

PS - One of the couples from the Ranch went to the boat parade that we went to last night. They sat for a bunch of hours in the Legion to see only 9 boats! I guess it's a good thing we finally gave up!!

Another Woohoo!!!

2011-12-10T21:17:00.001-06:00

Woohoo! My pick for the Heisman - Robert Griffin III from Baylor - won!! I'm so happy for him AND for Baylor! That's quite an honor!! He is, in my mind, what college football is all about!!

Dave and I had a busy day again. We went shopping for a microwave - the one here kept burning our popcorn! Dave said, "Nobody or nothing messes with my popcorn and gets by with it!" Remember when microwaves cost $350 and were as big as a dorm refrigerator?? Now you can get them for $49 and they're very compact! We first went to Bed Bath & Beyond - microwaves there cost $100. Then we went to Walmart a block away from BB&B where we paid $49 for one! We also found sheers for the add-on room. Tomorrow Dave's going to get the trim on and we'll start putting the furniture back in the room - yay!! I'm tired of being in a mess!

Tonight we went over to Indian Shores to see Sudi & Howard and to watch a boat parade. The parade started at 6:00 south of them, so we figured by 7:00 or so we'd see it...NOT! Then we waited until about 7:30 - still no boats! Finally we just went to dinner!! We went to Sloppy Joe's in Treasure Island. Good place and cool t-shirts! When we left S&H's we had to go by The Pub, which is where they were giving out the prizes for the parade. We actually saw 3-4 boats there...I was beginning to believe there wasn't such a thing as a boat parade! Did I hear someone compare them to snipes?? Anyway, from what we could see, they were really lit up! Thanks S&H for a lovely evening...and for the cookies & coupon!

More later...

Woohoo!!

2011-12-09T19:24:00.001-06:00

We've got new laminate in the add-on room - and it's beautiful!! I'll download some pix tomorrow, but right now I'm trying to "hear" about the ISU-Iowa men's basketball game and the UNI football game!

Today the guys - Dave, Ron and Alan - started laying our new laminate about 9:00 AM...by 11:20 or so they were done! I can't believe how fast that stuff goes down! I went out "exploring" while they were working and on the way home I stopped to pick up pizza for the workers! Good thing I got home early, since they were basically done when I got here.

This afternoon, we had "happy hour" at the ranch! There were only about 23 of us there, but it was fun. Tonight Dave worked on painting the woodwork. Tomorrow he's going to try to get the doorsills done and put up the woodwork. Then tomorrow night we're going to Sudi & Howard's to watch the boat parade!! Should be fun!!

Woohoo!! Indian Hills BB wins!! Woohoo!! ISU beats Iowa in men's basketball! More later...

Brrrrrrr....

2011-12-08T19:49:00.001-06:00

This morning was really cold! I didn't get up very early, but it was only 45 when I got on the computer. I did wear shorts today, with a long-sleeved t-shirt. It ended up being 63 out - a beautiful day!! It was sunny all day long - in fact, it's still 63 outside!

My knee hurt really bad last night. I guess I shopped too much! When I woke up my knee still hurt very badly, so Dave made me sit down most of the day. I did go out and ride my bike around the block this evening, just to loosen my knee a bit! I'll probably take a pain pill again tonight, just to make sure I can sleep.

Tomorrow the guys are going to work on the floor of the add-on room. I can hardly wait to get that room put together. Right now the queen-sized bed is standing on end and being propped up by the dining room table. The computer desk and everything else out of that room is in the living room. It's chaotic in here! Ron thinks they'll get the floor done before happy hour tomorrow - yay!!!

More later...

Long Day!!

2011-12-07T20:24:00.001-06:00

This was a long day, but a really fun one! We left for Sarasota at 9:00 this morning. It's a really easy drive there! Dave and his dad took off right away to go fishing on Lodi Beach. They had some luck, but not enough luck - they didn't bring home enough fish for a fish fry! They each caught 2 fish and the Mennonite guy right next to them caught 8!! They must not be living right! Anyway, the important thing is that they had fun fishing! Maury said he caught a flounder and a flying fish, while Dave caught a whiting and a flying fish...a flying fish???? I guess I'll have to look that one up - I've never heard of a flying fish! Flying pigs, yes...flying fish, no!

While the guys were off fishing and eating their peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, Roberta and I went shopping. We went to Beall's and then decided we'd better have lunch. We hit a little Italian restaurant called Papa Giorgio's where we split a margharita pizza. It was really, really good!! We had to wait for a long time, but it was worth it...I love margharita pizza! For those of you who've never had one, they don't have anything whatsoever to do with margharitas - they have very little tomato sauce on a relatively thin crust. Then they have sliced tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese...wonderful! After lunch, we went shopping some more - first to Dress Barn, then to SteinMart and Bed, Bath & Beyond. We shopped until we dropped! I found a lighted palm tree for our lanai - it was originally $119 and I got it for $59.

It was a beautiful day to either shop or fish. It got up to 82 degrees. Then, about 4:15 the "cold" front came through with a misty rain and winds. It dropped to 59 degrees in about 45 minutes. We had left all the windows open in the house and we'd left the big coffee table and several silk poinsettias outside for people to pick up free. We were hoping that poinsettias weren't flying around the Ranch and we were hoping that the coffee table wasn't ruined. We didn't see any poinsettias or the table when we got back, so evidently people picked them up and took them home!! Yay - that's a few more things disposed of!!

More later...

Tuesday are busy at the Ranch

2011-12-06T21:00:00.001-06:00

Tuesdays are B days at The Ranch - bowling and bingo! Dave and I went to bowling this morning, along with about 20 other people. Bowling basically sucked, although I did feel more comfortable delivering the ball today....I think if I do this enough, I'll get my form back. However, it's going to take some time...and my OWN ball and shoes! I threw an 11 # ball today - it was too light. I then threw a 12# ball - the thumb hole was too big so I had a hard time holding onto the ball...aarrggh! So, my scores were horrible!!

We came home, measured the aqua room, and then went to Floor Decor and purchased laminate for the room. Dave and Ron moved the big couch outside and the neighbors claimed it - yay! We moved the brown chair & ottoman outside and another person claimed it - yay! We then moved the large coffee table outside - no one has claimed it yet - boo! Then Dave tore out all of the carpet and padding - there's concrete under it all. It (the concrete) really stinks! It'll air out tomorrow while we're gone. We're going to Sarasota tomorrow...didn't get to go today because Maury & Roberta had doctors appointments today.

Tonight, then, was bingo. Dave stayed here and finished up cleaning out the aqua room and took the carpet & padding up to the dumpster. I won 2 games - $48!! I'm really feeling rich - ha!! At least I can play 5 more weeks!! More later...

Big Day!

2011-12-05T19:29:00.001-06:00

This was a big day for us...we got so much done today!! I worked on cleaning out cupboards (and washing them down) while Dave painted the rest of the yellow room! It's NO LONGER YELLOW!!!!

Now it's a very pretty, cool aqua-ish blue!! Dave also started pulling up the carpet, so tomorrow after bowling, we're going to a floor store to see about picking a laminate for that room. When Dave got done painting, he came out and helped me get stuff out of the cupboards. We got all of the upper cupboards cleaned and cleaned out. We took 3 boxes full of "stuff" that we didn't want down to Sandy to put in the Chinese auction in January. There's still a bunch of stuff to take to her, but we don't have boxes to put the "stuff" into!! Hopefully we'll get more of it out of here soon!

Tomorrow we're going to go bowling...I'll see how my knee does with bowling!! More later...

Delightful Sunday

2011-12-04T20:07:00.001-06:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day...and it was Sunday too! A perfect day to worship the Lord! We weren't planning to go to church today, but Dave got up, looked at the soon-to-be-aqua room and decided we could go to church. So, we found the closest Presbyterian Church and went! It was like being in a small, old-fashioned country church, only we're in a big town and the church building itself is new. They had a woman pastor with one of those voices that is kind of like scraping fingernails on a blackboard! There were 23 people in their choir...and they were awful! There was one lady (I couldn't pick out which one) who had the strongest voice, but she was about 1/2 a step off key and all the others were somewhere else - either 1/2 step up or 1/2 step down...oh, my! The Pastor's sermon was good - it was about John the Baptist, the people were friendly, but I just didn't like it much. Dave thought it was fine - very homey! I actually missed the contemporary touches that we have - praise music and a fantastic preacher! The congregation was mostly elderly...the couple who sat behind us had been together 64 years. She asked us at least 15 times where we were from...and told us she was from Massachusetts and her husband was from Texas! He kept telling her, "Honey, you've asked that same question 10 times already...they're from Iowa!"

After church we went to lunch at the Columbia restaurant on the Intercoastal...a gorgeous day for sitting in the sun!! Then on the way home, we stopped at a yard sale just to see if they had any small end tables. It was horrible...I wouldn't have had anything they had for sale. The furniture was chewed up and falling apart.

Then we came home and Dave touched up his painting. We put ceiling tiles back in half the room, moved the furniture to the painted side of the room, cleaned out the carport, and Dave started tearing wallpaper border off the other half of the room. Tomorrow he'll paint that half and by Tuesday we should be able to put that room together. Wednesday we're planning to go to Sarasota...Dave and his dad are going fishing! I wonder what Roberta and I will do??? Bealls, watch out! More later...

Football Saturday

2011-12-03T20:07:00.001-06:00

I can't believe that I'm in Florida and actually got to watch the Cyclone football game! We played really well, I thought! K-State is ranked #11 in the nation and either they didn't play like a #11-ranked team OR we are better than our record shows! We played them pretty evenly and ended up down by 7. I wish we could have won it! Anyway, I'm proud to be a Cyclone! This football season was a lot of fun - a victory over Iowa after a triple OT game, a victory over Okie State when they were ranked #2 in the nation, a victory over Texas Tech when they were ranked #17 in the nation!! Throw in there games against Texas ranked #10, Baylor ranked #22, Oklahoma ranked #7 - what a schedule. To be able to win 6 games with a schedule like that is wonderful! Love those 'Clones and Coach Rhoads!! Fun, fun, fun!!!

Dave and I got some things done today. We got all of the ceiling blocks painted twice, plus Dave got the wallpaper off of 2 walls, got the holes filled, and is ready to paint tomorrow!! We also got the Christmas lights lit outside, cooked a wonderful supper, and just had a great day!

More later...

Back home again...

2011-12-02T18:52:00.001-06:00

We're back in Clearwater! We left Ft Lauderdale about 9:30 this morning and got back here early this afternoon. Dave went out to get groceries and some stuff for removing the border in the "yellow" room. So, tomorrow, we'll start working in there. He got the paint for the walls and for the ceiling tiles. I'll paint the ceiling tiles while he works on the walls! I can hardly wait to get rid of all that yellow!!

I bought us a bedspread in Ft Lauderdale, so our bedroom is now complete until we get all the other painting done. I washed dishes when we got here and washed down walls in the kitchen. As soon as I get a couple of big boxes, I'll start going through drawers, etc., getting rid of stuff that we're never going to use. I guess the park has a big rummage sale sometime in January, so hopefully we'll find room to store some of the things we no longer want!

More later...

Last day here for a while.

2011-12-01T20:02:00.001-06:00

Today is our last day in Fort Lauderdale for a while. It was a beautiful day here. We finished our shopping so we were able to have Christmas with the grandchildren before we leave in the morning. I hated to see Jami's face tonight. She is very sad that we're only here for a weekend...she loves having her family around. We'll miss her too!

Tomorrow we head back to Clearwater. Check out from here is 10 AM so we'll be on our way about 9:45 AM! We have to stop over at Jami's before we leave. I borrowed a plastic cup from her cupboard - it's a Thomas the Train cup - and Danny asked me about it tonight! He is so funny! He told me I couldn't keep it that he needed it!!

After that we need to fill up the car - there's $3.25 gas at the Hess station at A1A and Oakland Park, so we'll head there for gas, then go by the pretty beaches, out to 595. More later...

Beautiful, Beautiful Day!

2011-11-30T20:16:00.001-06:00

Fort Lauderdale has some of the most beautiful weather and the most beautiful scenery ever! This morning we were up very early taking Bryan to the airport. Hopefully he got home okay. Dave talked to him about an hour ago and he was about 50 miles from home. He had a really good time down here with his sister and her family - and us! He's even planning a return trip - only this time they're all coming to Clearwater!

After we dropped Bryan off, Dave and I went shopping for gifts for the kids from us and from Maury/Roberta. These 3 little kids are almost impossible to buy for - they want for nothing and don't really want anything! The girls have never been into dolls, so you can't even get them Barbies! They also have more than enough clothes...aarrrggggghhhh! Tomorrow we're going to finish up with them, even if it kills me!!

We will pick the kids up about 4:00 again tomorrow. That'll be our last time this year...bummer! More later...

Oh my...

2011-11-29T21:53:00.001-06:00

This was a very busy day for us! We had our appointment with the sales office at 9:00. This appointment isn't supposed to take more than 45 minutes - ha! That's a joke...it always takes a long time! Bryan picked us up at 11:20!! We decided even though it was cloudy, we wanted to eat at Shooters. This is Bryan's last day here so he wanted Key Lime pie. We got to Shooters and found out they no longer have Key Lime pie - they are under new management, have a new "fancy" chef, who fixes key lime broulee (not free) and their "free" dessert is now a brownie sundae. It was good, but nothing extraordinary...and not even "Florida-like"! Disappointment! The sun did come out while we were there, though!

By the time we got back to Jami's it was 15 minutes until I had to pick up the girls. The rest of the day was spent fixing supper and babysitting! We didn't get back here until 10:00. We have Bryan with us tonight. We'll take him to the airport at 8 in the morning for a 10:00 flight back to reality. We'll miss him - it's been a fun week!

More later...

Monday thoughts

2011-11-28T20:05:00.001-06:00

We had a great day today. Woke up to a cloudy sky and a nice breeze, but the clouds soon left and we were left with a beautiful, sunshine-y day!! I got to be lazy this morning. Dave went over to Jami's and left me here. He and Bryan had some honey-do's for Jami so they've been working on those. They came over to pick me up about noon. So I got to just hang out all morning!!

Here's a picture we took yesterday of the whole family. Danny was starting to get a little perturbed by the picture taking, but other than that, it's a pretty good picture! Today we picked the kids up early - the girls got to be car riders and they love that! Danny was taking a nap when Bryan and Dave got there, so he wasn't quite as happy to see us! After a little while, he got to playing Angry Birds on the IPad, which made him happier! The kids went outside and rode their bikes for a while and when Jami got home she rode with them! Kelly had soccer practice, so supper was in shifts. Since it is a school night, we came home about 8:15.

Tomorrow we go to our Wyndham update at 9:00 AM, so I've got to get up a little earlier than I like! Then back to Jami's for more honey-do's. We'll pick up the kids early again, but we'll wait a little later to get Danny so he can get his nap done before we get there! More later...

2011-11-27T20:24:00.001-06:00

Another beautiful day in Paradise! We went to church this morning with Dad, Roberta and Bryan. That was really nice to have family with us. The church wasn't as full as usual, but it's a holiday weekend so I'm sure some people were traveling. Tullian was there and gave a really good, thought-provoking sermon based on Ecclesiastes 12. After church we went to Jami's, took some family pictures, ate lunch and then took Dad & Roberta out to I-75 to go home. Dave and I were pooped so we came back to the condo and took naps. Then about 6:00 Jami, Bryan and the kids came over and we made our initial trip to Razzleberry's! The area of Atlantic where Razzleberry's is has changed. They've widened the sidewalks, planted palm trees, and are starting on a park across the street east of the Briney Pub. The rum raisin ice cream was still wonderful! Kelly and Danny ate all of their ice cream - Megan never eats all of hers.

Dave and I are just hanging out now, waiting for bedtime!! He's reading and I'm playing! Dad & Roberta got home safely and it was just a lovely day! More later...

2011-11-26T20:16:00.001-06:00

Today was a fun day! Kelly played soccer this morning early and since they won, they played again this afternoon. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky this afternoon. They got beat this afternoon 3-0. Even though they got beat, Kelly played really well and her coach told her to just keep doing what she's doing! She seems to be around the ball and can pass and dribble really well. She's also one of the top scorers but she didn't get a goal today! It was a gorgeous day to sit out at a soccer tournament! The rest of the day was spent just enjoying being with family!

Yesterday on our way here we saw something that gives new meaning to roadkill! Along the side of the road, dead, was a black bear! We went another 5 miles or so and on the other side of the road, dead, was a wild boar!! It was sure a lot different that seeing a dead raccoon or opossum like we normally see at home!

Tomorrow we're getting up to go to Coral Ridge Presbyterian to hear Pastor Tullian...anyway I hope he's in the pulpit. Every time Maury & Roberta have been with us, Tullian has been out of town. We'll pick Bryan up because he wants to go too! Then we'll eat lunch and Dad/Roberta will take off for Sarasota. We've really had a good time!

More later...

2011-11-25T22:00:00.001-06:00

Saw Jami and the kids tonight - also Bryan. Busy, busy - more later...

2011-11-24T19:46:00.001-06:00

My computer battery is low so this may really be short!! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I feel that we are truly blessed and thank God for that every day! Today was a fun day - Dave got several things done on the to-do list and this afternoon we ate Thanksgiving dinner with our new friends in the park and our old friends, Sudi & Howard!

Tomorrow we pick up Maury & Roberta and head for Jami's to see our family! Bryan got there last night so we're looking forward to seeing everyone in Ft. Lauderdale!!

More later...

2011-11-23T20:10:00.001-06:00

Finally, we have internet access!! We bought a router so that we could sit in the living room and "surf" but I didn't get it set up right for some reason. I'll work on that another day!! Today we did some shopping - we bought 2 ceiling fans, mattress pad for our new bed, the router, a new kitchen faucet because the old one was leaking big time, and, of course, some tools to use to get these different things done...oh, and a bottle of whiskey so Dave can get primed!! The sun room needs all new mini-blinds, plus paint, so that'll be next!

We took Bob & Ann to the airport. Their plane was late, but at least they got out tonight...that was doubtful there for a while. I walked probably 2-3 miles today so my leg is really hurting tonight! Ann took my stitches out before we took them to the airport...that was a relief to get the stitches out. Poor knee - another trauma!!

Tomorrow we're having Thanksgiving here at the Ranch. Sudi & Howard are coming over. The Ranch is hosting the meal for $5 and it's turkey and all the trimmings!! Should be good! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! We have so much to be thankful for. God's blessings are wonderful! More later...

Monday in Florida

2011-11-21T19:10:00.004-06:00

We made it to Perry, Florida today! We drove thru HEAVY rain and thunderstorms all the way through Tennessee, but thank God, we made it safely. There were wrecks everywhere! We're about 3 hours from our holiday home, so tomorrow should be an easy day! We're hoping to get there, get unpacked, and then have lunch with Bob & Ann.

Weds we take Bob & Ann to the airport...I wish they were staying longer! Since we're just getting here, it would be fun to have some time with them before they leave. Thursday, we're planning to have Thanksgiving dinner with Sudi & Howard...I hope they've scoped out some place to go for dinner!

More later...

Saturday, November 19th

2011-11-19T20:33:00.002-06:00

I'm so confused!! The Cyclones played football yesterday, which should have been Saturday because we ALWAYS play on Saturday! What a game!!! Then Dave was home all day, so I thought this was Sunday!

Tomorrow we're planning to leave for points South! That is, if I feel as well as I do now! I've not used my crutches much today and I've only taken 1 pain pill. Dave's got the car mostly loaded and we're not getting to take everything we wanted to take :( ! My having to have my leg up has caused a problem with loading the car!! Oh well, we'll make do without some things!!

More later...

Better Today!

2011-11-18T21:15:00.002-06:00

I typed something on my blog last evening, but for some reason it didn't save it. It's in the edits page, though...hmmmm?? I hope this one goes, cause if not I'm going to have to find a new blogger!!

I feel much better today. I took a pain pill at 10:00 this morning but haven't had one since. I even took a shower! I made it up the stairs last night and down them this morning. I've had ice on my knee for quite a bit of the day and now I'm watching my Cyclones play football. We're down by 10 to the Oklahoma State cowboys - the #2 ranked team in the nation! I just hope we stay close. I feel sorry for Okie State - they had a plane go down in Arkansas killing two of their women's basketball coaches. We had that happen while I was still at Iowa State. That crash killed 2 coaches and several cross country runners, plus the pilot who was a friend of the athletic department.

Dave packed some today. We're hoping to leave Sunday morning! I'd better go now. Dave is doing play by play of the ballgame for me!! More later...

Home!!

2011-11-17T21:42:00.005-06:00

It was sure good to get home this afternoon. I sat in the backseat with my right leg up on a pillow on the seat!! We stopped once to get gas, so I was able to get out of the car and walk around with the aid of my crutches. This evening, it's a little easier to get around without the crutches. It's good to have them - I feel a lot more confident with them than without!! Hopefully tomorrow will be even better! I'm planning to go up the steps one time tonight just before bedtime. I just took some pain pills so I'm really fading fast.

More later...

Monday, Monday

2011-11-14T21:14:00.002-06:00

Another shorts day in SE Iowa! It was in the 60's again!! Beautiful!! I had church meetings today and tonight, but got home in time to watch most of DWTS! I didn't vote tonight - I had some paperwork I was doing and wanted to finish it. Now I'm heading for bed!

We'll leave for Storm Lake about 9 in the morning, so I won't get to sleep in tomorrow!! It's about a 4.5 hour drive, but we'll want to stop for lunch and my appointment with Steve is at 2:15. Hopefully Dave remembers how to get to the hospital, because I don't! I'm sure my surgery will be early Wednesday and I'm really ready to get it over with!!

More later...

Sunday's Thoughts

2011-11-13T20:38:00.002-06:00

Today was a great day - it was in the 60's here. We had a really strong wind blowing in from the South, though, so it got a little chilly when you stood around. I didn't wear a coat to church though, and I really didn't need one. Don went home when we took off for church. Too bad - he would have enjoyed church today! It was come-as-you-are or casual Sunday. Even Pastor David had on jeans! It was also fill the pews Sunday and we had a really good crowd! I think we had 12 or 13 little kids up front for the young disciples sermon!! Our choir sang a hard song and sang it a capella and I think we stayed on pitch!!

After church Dave and I went Christmas shopping and were able to get my nieces presents, and got the men partially done. I sure would like some ideas for my brother and sister-in-law...hint, hint, hint!!! At least we've got a good start now!!

This evening Craig & Sue came in and brought pizza. It was good to sit around with them - it'd been way too long! Tomorrow I've got Bible Reading, a massage, Evangelism meeting, and Disciples! Hope I get everything else done too! More later...

Super Saturday!

2011-11-12T21:22:00.002-06:00

I enjoyed myself today! Dave and Don went to work at the Habitat house and I worked on cards. I also went shopping and got my secret sister's present. I'm going to try to deliver it tomorrow. If I get that done and get all of my items cut out for our stamp camp, then I'll be ready to go to Storm Lake for my surgery. When I get home I can get my packing done and then we'll be ready to go to C'water!! Although today was beautiful here - about 60 - it was in the 80's in C'water, so I'd rather be there!!

We went to the club tonight for dinner. Great food!! Then we came home and started watching "Open Range" with Kevin Costner and Annette Bening! Great movie!! Kevin Costner makes a great cowboy!!

While I was talking to Bob tonight, Linda called with updates on how Kaylee's team was doing in the national tournament. They won last night, but they ended up getting beat tonight in sudden death. It's too bad, when teams are that closely matched, that both teams can't advance!

Don just went up to bed, Dave's yawning and I'm about ready to crash too. Tomorrow's church and then an afternoon to get some things done while the race is on!! More later...

Friday Thoughts

2011-11-11T21:16:00.002-06:00

Another beautiful day with abundant sunshine!! How lucky we are! We could have snow or at the very least, extremely cold!

Dave helped me this morning and we cleaned this entire house! He ran the vacuum cleaner and the steamer while I cleaned the bathrooms, the kitchen, and dusted the entire house! It looked pretty good until we fixed supper. Dave and Don have been imbibing a bit and now the floor needs swept again! They're in the living room talking, talking, talking!! It's hilarious! I couldn't possibly get a word in edgewise, so I'm in here blogging!! If they get quiet, I'm sure they'll be sleeping in their chairs!

Tomorrow Dave and Don are going to get up and fix eggs and bacon for breakfast and then they are going to work at the Habitat House. That should be lots of fun! Don's a designer and he thinks things should be done a certain way...whereas at Habitat, they just get things done, regardless! I'm glad I won't be there!!

I'm going to work on some SU stuff - Juliene and I need to get our P's & Q's going for next week's stamp camp. I'm hoping we're ready, but I'll find out in the morning! More later...

Pretty Day

2011-11-10T21:38:00.002-06:00

It was another pretty day here...a little chilly, but abundant sunshine!! Can't complain about that!!

I had errands to run this morning. I got them done and then called a friend and we took off for Cantril. It was a beautiful day for a drive! I was able to get everything I wanted except for a beef roast - I didn't like the looks of theirs. I got my popcorn to take to Florida with us and, of course, some chocolate for the next few days!! Coming home, I drove Mary through Libertyville and past the house where we grew up. Then I came back to O-town through Batavia. It was just a day for a drive! For some reason the Amish kids weren't in school today...there were no boots outside on the front porch and no one inside the school. There were 3 buggy-types at the school, but no horses. I wonder why they wouldn't have school today? We only saw 1 horse/buggy on the road too...and it was driven by a young boy, probably 12-13 years old. Odd...

Tomorrow Don (Dave's twin brother) is coming from Indiana. His wife is going shopping with some of the cousins (a ladies weekend) so Don's coming here. He and Dave are going to work at the Habitat house on Saturday. Tomorrow I've got to dust and run the vacuum. I sure wish I still had my cleaning lady!! Dave is finished working at Golden Furrow (for the winter) so he will help.

I talked to Bob & Ann today. Since they're already in Florida it really made me wish I was there too. It won't be long now, hopefully! More later...

What a day!

2011-11-09T21:09:00.002-06:00

When I woke up this morning...at 6:00 AM :( - it had been snowing. The entire ground was covered in snow and they were calling for 1-3 inches of the white stuff. Thank goodness THAT didn't happen! By noon the snow was all gone and the sun was shining! It got up to 44 degrees, but the wind was really blowing, so it was pretty cold out. I didn't have to leave the house until 7:15 tonight when I went to choir. By then the wind had laid a bit and the moon was shining brightly! It's not an official full moon until tomorrow, but it sure is gorgeous!!

I was really tired today and still am! Yesterday's long day wore me out!! I'm planning to go to bed early, but right now I'm watching the CMA's. They're exceptionally good tonight!! Carrie Underwood is going to be tired of changing clothes! I have no clue how many outfits she's had on.

Tonight I'm pondering the Penn State fiasco and the Ottumwa election results...neither of which is good! I'm glad to see that Coach Paterno is resigning because I truly believe he had to know about all of this crap. I'm sorry, though, that he had to go out this way! All of those wins and good reputation for many, many years are now out the window. Too bad... As for the Ottumwa election, I can't believe we're going to have Flanders for Mayor. He's not what I think this town needs for a leader. I'd sure like someone young and ambitious and of outstanding character to lead our city...not Frank! As for Councilmen, I'm not excited about them either. I believe our city government is just going to be a laughing stock! What a joke!

More later...

City Election Day

2011-11-08T21:51:00.002-06:00

I was at work this morning at 6:00 AM!! We had 489 voters and I'm really, really tired tonight! We were hoping to get 500, but we ended up 11 short. Our last voter came in at 8:00 PM sharp! It was a fun day because people came in steadily. We had times when we had about 10 people in line, waiting for us. Sometimes it's a hindrance using computers, but most of the time they're real lifesavers! Good crew today, too!

More later...

Church Day

2011-11-07T20:50:00.003-06:00

Mondays seem to be church days for me. I always have Bible Reading Time at 10:30, and all of the commissions/committees that I'm on meet on Monday nights. So, I end up being at the church at least twice on Mondays. At least tonight I only had one commission meeting - Personnel!

We got home in time that I got to watch Dancing With The Stars. They're down to 5 couples and there's a definite division between #4 couple and #5 couple. It's Nancy Grace's turn to go home! Max and Hope did a beautiful job tonight!! So did JR & Karina. I think JR's going to win this. He's doing a great job dancing, plus he's got everyone all across America cheering for him. Ricki Lake and Derek are doing well too. Rob Kardashian isn't nearly as good as those other 3 either. So, tomorrow Nancy should go and then next week, Rob.

We had a beautiful day again today. I even had my window here by my computer open early this morning! When I came home from church at noon, I opened the sun roof on the car. You've got to be happy when it's November 7th and it's in the 60's outside!!

Tomorrow I work the polls again - so I have to be at work at 6:00 AM! More later...

Sunday, Sunday

2011-11-06T19:57:00.003-06:00

I love Sundays! It's a day when we get to see our church family and worship with them. Today's sermon was about the love of money, because it was Stewardship Sunday. Pastor David presented our church's need for money in a different way than I've ever heard...he talked about giving to bring others to Christ, not just to make our "budget". We had a new young couple at church today...he's a teacher at Evans. They have 1 little girl and another baby on the way. It's so good to have young couples in our church again...the sound of little ones talking during church is music to our ears!!

I am still re-living my weekend. After church I came home and went to bed. I am so tired and my knee is killing me!! I slept until 3-something. I sure hope I can sleep tonight!! I wanted to point out something in this picture. Look how short I am!! I never knew that Tony (far right) was so tall. I knew that Guy (behind me) and Tim (2nd from right) were really tall, but I'm still surprised at how short I am!!! I hadn't seen any of these 4 guys since about 1978 or so. Guy lives in Cape Girardeau, Dave (to my left) lives in Northern Iowa, Tim lives in Denver, and Tony lives in Atlanta! Soooo much fun!!

Today was a gorgeous day! In fact it's still 49 degrees outside - must have been 65 or so today! This week, however, they're calling for rain, colder temps, and possibly snow! Yuck! More later...

What a fun weekend!!

2011-11-05T20:56:00.002-05:00

We got back home from spending yesterday and today in Ames! We went up for the 2011 Football Letterwinners' game and reunion events. I had a blast!! We took our friend, Nan, with us so that Dave wouldn't have to just sit at the game and various events alone. As it turned out, I sat with them the entire game...most of the guys were in the same section we were. Friday night was a reception for about 3 hours, then today we had a tailgate tent and the game. It was beautiful sitting out at a game. Our seats were on the east side, so we had the sun in our faces all day...we also had a stiff wind, so my face feels windburned! We won the game - it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win!! Lots of fun!! I put about 100 pictures on my Facebook page, which seemed to take forever, but I got them done at least!

Right now I'm watch the ISU women's volleyball team play Kansas. Man, these ladies are good! They're making Kansas look horrible!

I'm exhausted; Dave's asleep in his chair! I think I'll just go to bed!! Go Clones!!

More later...

Dreary then Nice!

2011-11-03T20:49:00.002-05:00

This morning started out really, really dreary. I had to go have blood taken for my approaching surgery and when I went to the hospital, it was raining sideways!! At least it wasn't that 4-lettered "s" word!! By noon it had stopped raining and the sun was shining...it actually turned out to be a beautiful fall day! So I went from a coat this morning to just a sweatshirt this afternoon!

Tomorrow I've got PEO and a Dr. C appointment...then we're GOING TO AMES!! I can hardly wait. This is my weekend to enjoy some of my old football players! We're taking our friend, Nan too. She loves going to Cyclone games but doesn't want to go by herself...plus Dave won't have to sit alone while I'm off socializing!

More later...

Such a Change!!

2011-11-02T21:41:00.004-05:00

Wow!! What a change in weather!! Yesterday it was in the 70's and right now it's 39 degrees, raining buckets and buckets, and the wind is really howling! Unfortunately, the "S" word is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow...hopefully, little or no accumulation! I took these pictures yesterday and am I ever glad! The leaves were falling rapidly today! These are pictures of the maple tree in our front yard. It has been simply beautiful this year...usually it loses its leaves early, but not this year! Yesterday the sun was shining on it just right - the leaves looked almost transparent. While I was out taking pictures, I took a couple of shots of the last blooms of summer/fall! The mums around town are fantastic - huge mounds of delicious color!

Isn't this next one a fantastic shot - love the way the sun is shining on the leaves!!

This little bee was just working away!!

Today was a great day to stay inside. I even made autumn stew today! I'm trying to clean out the refrigerator. If I get it all used up, Dave'll have no choice but to take me out to eat, right???

More later...