Tuesday

Interesting day today.  First thing this morning I had an appointment with my medical oncologist.  That went well, but i didn't see him.  Instead I saw Katelyn, his PA.  All was good!  Then Dave and I both had dental appointments for cleaning our teeth.  Can you believe it, the hygienist quit or was fired or something.  Anyway they thought they had a replacement coming in, but they weren't there by our 10:00 appointments - no cleaning today! 

So we went to Largo Nature Park to walk around and get a little exercise.  We didn't have our cameras with us, but we saw both alligators, baby moorhens, and nanday parakeets!  It was already hot out at 10:00.  Very humid today!

The rest of the day was spent gathering things we don't want to forget to take home. 

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Monday

We both had a very productive day today.  Dave got most  of the outside/lanai put away for the  summer while I washed all the kitchen cabinets and appliances.  We even determined that we wouldn't need to check a bag for our flight home, so I got in touch with Allegiant for a refund of checked bag fee that we'd already paid. 

After cards tonight, I came home to watch "The Show Must Go On" with Queen and Adam Lambert.  I've always liked Queen music and I'm very impressed with Adam Lambert's talent.  What a show!!  Love Adam singing Queen songs! 

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Sunday

This was a day to say goodbyes.  We said goodbye to our friends at church.  Then we went to Redington Shores to see Sudi & Howard's new condo on the beach.  After a great lunch at Seabreeze, we said goodbye to them.  We went to Bealls to spend our $50 in Bealls Bucks so we then said  goodbye to Bealls!!  Early this evening we went to Gayle & John's to say goodbye to them because they're leaving early tomorrow morning! 

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Saturday

We went to Sawgrass Lake Park for one more  stroll around the boardwalk before we  leave for the summer.  We saw a HUGE alligator!!  Saw numerous small ones, but this one was worth seeing!

Here's a little closer shot!

We got to see the anhinga babies again.  They are soon going to be out on their own.  They look so soft!!

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Friday

We had a wonderful rain this morning.  The bad part of it was that I was out walking in it!!  I didn't get too wet, but Dave took the car with 3 umbrellas in it.  You'd think he could have left one for me to use! 

We both had massages today and then we both took naps this afternoon.  We also got our box packed up with my clothes, etc., to go home.  Dave even got it mailed out!

The new newsletters came out today.  They look really nice!

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BUSY DAY!!

Whew!  Glad we made it through this day unscathed!  This morning Dave went to lawn care and I had a meeting with the manager and the Regional Manager.  It was an interesting meeting and I feel like we were heard, but I'm sure nothing will come of anything.  ELS is a huge company and it's hard to penetrate their organization. 

This afternoon I had a mammogram and possibly an ultrasound.  But the mammogram looked great, so I didn't have to do anything further!  Yay!!  That was good news - I was scared. 

Unfortunately I didn't sleep last night.  I finally went to bed at 4:00!  Woke up promptly at 7:05!  Hope I sleep tonight.

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Wednesday

Today was a laid-back day.  We worked on labeling our electrical box - that project took both of us.  After we determined what breaker controlled what, I typed up the list and it's now taped inside the box for easy referral.  I also was able to get some things put away for the summer and I've got a box started with items going to Iowa. 

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Good Day!

We had a good day!  We went to both Sawgrass Lake Park and to Largo Nature Park.  We saw the anhinga babies at Sawgrass and BIG alligators at LNP! 

Notice this guy has only 3 legs!  He was rearing up doing his grunting...and following us around the boardwalk.  Good thing he couldn't get up there!

We've never seen that behavior before - kind of scary!!

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Safe trip

We're home again.  Thank you, Lord, for a safe trip.  There is so much recklessness on the roads!  We drove cross country again today because the interstate was packed.  We've also gotten everything unpacked and put away! 

I played cards tonight.  Kathy and I got beat on the last hand...grrr!

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Happy Easter

What a beautiful day!  We got up with the chickens this morning.  Dave wanted to get pictures of the sunrise over the ocean.  Since he was up, I decided to go with him.  I may never see another sunrise because I'm not a morning person!  This one was beautiful!!

So peaceful!  Knowing that it was Easter made it even more amazing! 

After breakfast, we went to Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church for Easter service.  Wow!  They had a full orchestra and a full choir and a full house.  Ending song was the Hallelujah Chorus!!  Awesome!

Then we went to Jami's for the day!  We sat outside gabbing for a long time.  Finally had dinner around 3:00 and ice cream for supper around 7:00.  Now we're mostly packed and ready to go home tomorrow.

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Saturday

Dave and Jami worked hard again today.  This time cleaning out the garage.  Dave also climbed up into the attic over the garage to remove all the dryer lint that had accumulated up there.  He was filthy again today! 

Early this afternoon, though, we went to Hollywood Beach for an Environmental Fair.  All of the booths were geared toward saving the wildlife in the ocean, or removing junk from the waters, etc.  Very interesting stuff.  Be sure to click on the pictures to see what these structures are made of...all of it was once in our oceans or on the beach. 

When we got home, I made meatloaf, baked beans, and mashed potatoes for 9 of us.  Danny ate 6 pieces of my meatloaf!!  It was a big hit. 

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Friday

After breakfast we went to Jami's because Dave had some daddy-do's to do!  He got a lot of them done today.  Jami and Dave were down on the ground crawling under bushes!  I went to Steinmart and to Bealls Outlet and to Ross's just to see what they had.  I found some things I liked, but nothing I loved so I didn't buy anything.

Took some cool pictures and found my "dream boat"!

The cool pix I took were of flowers and Jami's mother-in-law's little dog!

Now it's bedtime!

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Thursday

We left Clearwater about 11:30 this morning to come to Ft Lauderdale.  Around 4:00 we were in I-95 traffic...grrr.  I'm sure glad we don't have to drive in that every day!  We went right to Jami's where we were joined within minutes by Tom and his mom and her dog, Annie.  So now there are two dogs - one big and one little, a rabbit, a cat, and many, many fish!!  We got to see both girls before Kelly took off for work and Megan went to dance.  Danny's had mono, so he was sleeping!  The adults went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.  Nice evening! 

Now we're checked into Sea Gardens and getting ready to go to bed!  It was a long day!!

Great news.  Oaklyn got home today after 3 weeks in the hospital.  Cassie put on a video of the two girls giggling at seeing each other again!  It was so cute!!

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Wednesday

Coffee this morning was wonderful!!  Homemade cinnamon rolls, homemade apple Danish, and homemade blueberry muffins!  It was nice to have Gary visiting his parents!  He's a culinary arts instructor and decided to share some of his expertise.  We definitely appreciated it, Gary!

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Tuesday

Dave can see again!  He got his glasses with his new prescription and he's so excited that he can see clearly!!  It's been a long haul.  We started this journey right after my cancer treatments ended in January.

We celebrated by getting an orange ice cream cone over on Walsingham!  It was delicious!

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Sunday & Monday

Yesterday we had nothing to do!!  After  church we came home.  I wanted to finish a book I was reading, so I did that before lunch.  Dave worked on getting his stuff in the storage shed ready for us  to leave.

Today we had another appointment with the surgeon for Dave's eyes.  He declared Dave ready to get glasses!!  We went to 3 different places and got 3 different quotes.  Dave wanted his glasses in the next couple of days, so we were able to get them tomorrow at the 3rd place.  The others would take 7-10 days and they both were far more expensive! 

I sent the newsletter off to Monthly Media today and tonight I played cards - there were 12 of us!  That number will dwindle in the next couple of weeks as we snowbirds head North.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE!!

Bob and Ann got gone this morning, after their car wouldn't start at 4:45 AM!!  Dave was in his chair when he heard the car just click, click, click...dead battery!  He went out, got the battery cables and they were able to leave by 5:05 AM.  They made it to Dyersburg, TN, which was their goal...15 hours of driving with 70 miles or so in hard rain.  Tomorrow will be a shorter day since they're only 20 miles or so from Missouri.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.  Glad we're flying this time.

We had a good day.  We decided to go to Bealls first and then to Whiskey Joe's to sit by the water to eat.  Today we tried Whiskey Joe's Barefoot Beach.  We sat in a tiki hut and ate pizza.  We shared a margarita - $10...2 bottles of water and pizza...$29.  Not cheap, but it was nice.

On  the way home, we went to Sam's Club for some groceries and gas.  Then a nap was in order!!

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Friday

We had a good day today.  We went to Sawgrass where we saw turtles, a tortoise, a bullfrog, 4 alligators, anhingas, a green heron and a tri-colored heron.  Not bad for a hot, hot day.  After doing our walk, we went to Gators for lunch.  It was beautiful sitting by the water!

Since tomorrow is Dave's birthday, this was his birthday lunch! 

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Thursday

Interesting day!  I went for a walk right after I took my shower...it was really humid out.  I almost needed another shower!  A little later, six of us played Jokers.  What a fun game!!  Then this evening I've just been a slug!

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Tuesday & Wednesday

Yesterday morning, Dave and I went to West Bay Surgical again.  He has a laser treatment to his left eye.  Now he sees very well out of it.  His next appointment is Monday when they'll tell him his prescription for glasses.  Finally - this has been a long process!  Last night was bingoless bingo!  I didn't get to bingo even though I was waiting every game!  One game I even had 7 different chances to bingo, but the caller didn't call any of my 7 numbers. 

Today we had our last HOA membership meeting.  It was a good meeting even though there were only 21 households present.  After the meeting we shuffled.  I played two games and won them both. 

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Monday

This morning I had a board meeting...our last one for the season.  We won't meet again until November. 

Dave and I both had massages - felt really, really good!  Then tonight I played cards - there were 12 of us!

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Sunday

Pastor Jack delivered a wonderful sermon today and the music was very emotional.  Even the band members had tears after two of the songs!  Great experience, especially followed by communion.  We so enjoy this church!  We've made friends with those sitting around us, too.

Lunch today was at Seabreeze with Mark, Diane, Nancy and Charlie.  I had chicken marsala - yum, yum!!  We celebrated Mark's birthday which is today.  He was adopted when he was just 3 days old and just 3 weeks ago after an Ancestry.com DNA test, he "found" his birth family.  They had been looking for him for 25 years.  He has 3 half-sisters and he's meeting two of them this next week!  To say he's excited is an understatement.  We're excited for him!!

This afternoon late, my cousin and his wife arrived at Bob & Ann's.  We went over to visit with them.  They'll be here tomorrow, too. 

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Saturday

Today was our annual Chinese Auction up at the clubhouse.  We had lots of stuff for people to "win".

Then when the auction is over, we always have lots to take to AmVets for them to give to our Veterans.

Fun day - even had hot dogs for lunch!  I know we took in over $200 just for the auction.  Haven't heard how much we made on the lunch.

Now I'm watching the Cubs!!  My station keeps coming and going, but I'm still enjoying it!

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Friday

We had a good time today!  We went to Tampa Downs to the horse races.  Ann had groupons for $5 off every meal, a free $2 bet, and valet parking.  So Bob, Ann, Ron, Marcia, and us all went to the track.  It was a beautiful, but hot day.  All of us were winners in that we came home with more than we spent! 

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Thursday

We got to spend some time with some of Dave's cousins and their spouses today.  That was fun!  We went to the Daquiri Shack - good food!

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Wednesday

Dave had another appointment with his eye surgeon this morning.  After dilating both eyes and examining them, the Doctor said that they'll hit his left lens with a laser next week.  That should clear up some of the "fog" there.  He also told him he may want to have the folds in his eyelids done some time.  Other than that, everything looked good.  So back to the surgical center on Tuesday morning!!  No prep though, so that's good.  Said it would be about a 30 second procedure.  (I bet it takes longer than that...what do you think?  Then an hour later, we go to the doctor's office to again have his pressure checked.  Hope all goes well.

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B&B and Jokers

Today was our last bowling for this season.  We will begin again in November.  Now we've got a chance to let our muscles heal for a while. After bowling today we had our little banquet with pizza and salad...and any desserts we brought.  Pizza was really good!

This afternoon six of us played Jokers at the clubhouse.  Kathy introduced 3 of us to this game last week.  Today we added two more.  Very fun 4 players, but even more fun with 6! 

Tonight was bingo and we were back to being chaotic again.  I was ready to come home!!  I split the last game, so at least I won a bit of my money back!

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Monday

We had kind of a gray day here, so we took advantage of it.  We both cleaned out drawers and sheds and closets.  Anything of any value, we took up for the auction on Saturday.  We threw out some things too.  It was our "Spring cleaning" day!  Part of our cleaning out is destined to go into a box to be shipped back to Iowa since we're flying from now on.  We've got to figure out a way to stream-line this stuff.

Tonight I stayed home from cards to watch the Cubs vs the Braves on ESPN.  Can you believe they switched from that game to a basketball game...grrr!

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