Icy Day

When we got up this morning, it was to a crystal wonderland! Ice is on the trees and on top of the snow - everything is sparkly! I'm not saying I like the ice, mind you, but it really was beautiful! I took some pictures, but so far I can't find my card reader so I can't upload them! I thought the card reader was in my purse, but it doesn't seem to be there...I will have to do some searching!!

Tonight I had a Disciples meeting which lasted 2.5 hours! Very interesting conversations...we're being challenged to spread the Word of God throughout our community! This is a very scary thought for me - I don't especially enjoy talking to people I don't know. Most everyone I know has a Christian background, so this will be getting people who do not know about Jesus to hear His story...more later...

Sunday, February 27th

I don't know about you, but I'm having a hard time believing that February is already over! Boy, did that month go fast!! We went to church this morning...Pastor David preached about the Theology of Announcements! It was a very interesting sermon and I'm sure we'll all look at the announcements in a different way now!

For those of you who are reading this from the sunny south, stay as long as you can!! Today we had drizzle all day - some of it freezing. This evening it started thundering and now it's raining! Of course, it's only 30 degrees, so I guess you know what that means...tomorrow morning we'll wake up to a crystal world! I don't believe the sun has shone since we've been home...so stay in Florida!!

This was a great day for Jeff Gordon fans! He finally won a NASCAR race after 66 straight races without a win! I was so excited I shouted!!! His win was long overdue! Tonight I'm watching the Oscars. The dresses are phenomenal tonight - glamour has really hit Hollywood!! Dave's asleep in his chair - surprise, surprise!! More later...

I'm Sick of Snow!

Why, oh why, did we come home so early???? I wish I was back in Florida where it's 72 in Ft Lauderdale or 66 in Clearwater! Since it's only 21 here, I'm sure you can understand!!

Dave worked at the Habitat house all day today so I just puttered around here. I got to watch the Cyclones on TV today! They beat Nebraska in overtime - what a game!! It was one of those games that make you want to chew your nails!! Way to go, Cyclones!

I actually stayed awake until about 4:00 when the codeine finally got me! I slept for a couple of hours, but I'm still tired, so I'm pretty sure I'll sleep tonight! Tomorrow I'm going to get out of the house! I'm going to church and I'm pretty excited to see our church family! More later...d

Friday, Feb. 25th

We woke up this morning to about 5" of new snow. It's sad, because all of the old snow was gone. I'm sure others, like me, were wishing for green grass instead of snow! Some of my friends' daffodils are up, so they won't like this white stuff either! Right now, as I look out my window to the world, there are three deer lying down in the big yard just west of our house. They don't seem to mind the snow at all!

I am pretty boring these days. When I take antibiotics I sleep, and that's exactly what I did all day today! I sure hope I can sleep tonight! I suppose I could take some more cough syrup (with codeine!!) - I'm sure that would put me out!!

More later...

Welcome home!

It's snowing again. Welcome home!!! I really didn't need to see or experience any more snow to be happy! It is pretty outside, though! The snowplows keep going by, but when I turn on the porch light, I can't see but about 2" of snow. Maybe I should look out another door!!

I went to the doctor today for my cough and wheezing. He said I had the crud that was going around. Again, I didn't need the crud to be happy!! He gave me some high powered antibiotic to break this up before it turns into bronchitis...and he gave me cough syrup with codeine! I'll bet I sleep well tonight.

Tonight, I got everything ready to go to stamp club...just to find out that they cancelled it because of the snow! Darn, I was really looking forward to that.

Dave worked at church a bunch of the day today. I guess after we were cooped up in the car together for two long days, he was glad to get away...I also enjoyed my time alone!! :)

More later...

Home Sweet Home

We got up at 4:30 this morning - on the road since 5:20 AM!! Left from Clanton, Alabama and got home around 6:30 this evening. Most of the "stuff" is put away. The mail is at least opened...and my email is checked. I'm going to bed!! More later...

Beautiful Beach Day Again

We went to the beach today - St. Petersburg Beach. We were invited by Bob and Maggie Morrissey. There were several couples there, most of whom had worked at Indian Hills at some time or another. Besides us, there was Bob & Ann, Keith & Barb, Sam & Barb, Dick & Doris and Maggie's brother and his wife, Dick & Jane, as well as Jane's college roommate and her husband, Vicky & Rick. Bob & Maggie's condo is right on the beach, so it was a wonderful setting and a great group of people!!

Tomorrow we're going back to Clearwater to our place. Dave is going to put another coat on the roof and do some more caulking and some winterizing stuff! Plus we're planning to leave some of our clothing here and we've bought some towels, etc., to leave here. Tomorrow at the Ranch is Can-Am day so there is a big co-op dinner at the park. More later...

Sarasota

We got here about 3:00 today and decided to go to St Armand's Island for supper. What a huge mistake!! They were having a car show of exotic cars and we got in bumper-to-bumper traffic that was just crawling. We ended up skipping St Armand's and going the back way into Bradenton...another HUGE mistake. They were having a fishing festival in Cortez and this line of traffic didn't even move! It's a good thing it was me driving! We decided we'd stop in Cortez and eat at the Seafood Shack, mainly to get out of the traffic. After supper we got back in line again...the traffic didn't clear out while we were in there. It was still lined up!! We didn't get back home until 7:30. What should have taken us 2 hours took us 4 and a half hours!!

Tomorrow we're going to Clearwater for a while. More later...

Our last day in Ft Lauderdale

Today was our last day in Fort Lauderdale, so we enjoyed it to its fullest! We went shopping where I was able to get some new clothes. We also went to Shooters and ate outside on the water, in the sun, with good friends! Plus, we had free key lime pie for dessert!! Tonight we fixed dinner for Jami, Tom and the kids. Sudi and Howard were going to dinner with other friends tonight. I don't know about them, but I was still so full from lunch that I only ate a 2" square of ham! I hope they got to eat more than I did!!

Tomorrow night we'll stay at Dave's dad's. Then Sunday we're going to Clearwater and Sunday afternoon we're invited to a beach party with Morrisseys, Swaims, Allisons, Sasseens, and another couple from O-town. Should be fun! We'll get a motel room when we get there because Sasseens are staying with Bob & Ann. Monday we have some work to do at our place and Tuesday we'll take off for home...providing we get our work done! More later...

Sights in S Florida - Enjoy!!

Beautiful Beach Day

This was such a beautiful day! We went up to Hillsboro today to see the beautiful beaches and houses up there. We saw a fish that is pretty rarely seen - a bat fish. In fact, we saw at least 3 of them. Here is a picture of one of them, trying to get something to eat from the debris in the water. They are really fascinating to watch. The news media have been talking about the bat fish the last few days, according to some guys who were fishing where we were standing.
The last couple of days, we've just been out taking pictures and enjoying the scenery and beauty of S. Florida. The flowers and trees are all blooming right now - it must be the beginning of spring! I wish we could bring some of this wonderful weather and beauty with us when we go home next week! Enjoy!

Fun Day

We had a fun day today and didn't really do anything much! We went down to the Pier on Commercial and spent about 1.5 hours out there taking pictures and watching people fish. We were even able to see stingrays down in the water under the pier. As fun things go, this one ranked pretty high with both of us. It was a beautiful day and we both took pictures while we were out there. It only cost us $2 in parking and $2 each to go out on the Pier, so it was really cheap by Ft Lauderdale standards!! I actually was disappointed when we had to leave - our parking meter had run out, and we didn't want to get a ticket!! I could have stayed out there for a couple more hours - it was just beautiful!

Here are two comparison pictures I wanted to share with you. This building is a long ways away from where we are staying, so both cameras are incredible to bring the windows so close! However, you can see the difference in 20x zoom and 35x zoom. Actually, the last picture is closer to 100x zoom because I was in the digital zoom area when I took the picture.

Unfortunately when you take a picture using digital zoom instead of optical zoom, you lose clarity and that's also obvious.

This afternoon we worked on our tans and read. Tonight Dave wanted popcorn and ice cream for supper so we went to Razzleberry's for our last visit until November, then came home and made popcorn...we ate our dessert first!! We're also working on what we're going to leave in Clearwater so we've got Iowa clothes and Florida clothes! Dave brought far more clothes with him than I did, so he'll be leaving more. I've only got about 6 pairs of shorts, so I'll probably leave a couple of them here and bring the rest home with me. We've still got 2 more days to decide!! More later...

Tuesday, Feb. 15

I slept in today!! In fact, I didn't get up until 10:00. Dave didn't even get up until 9:00! Then he was very quiet so he wouldn't wake me!! After we got around we went out looking for flowers to take pictures of..we found lots of hibiscus which I really love! As soon as I locate my card reader, I'll get some on here! Dave also surprised me by telling me that I could get that new camera that I'd been wanting!!! So, we went to Best Buy where it was the same price as online!! I'm excited about taking it to Alaska with us. It's got 35x optical zoom and goes to 140x digital zoom. I tried some comparison shots today, but until I find my card reader, I can't even upload them to my computer!!

This afternoon we sat outside reading and working on our tans! Then tonight we went over to Jami's just as the kids got home. Megan wanted to ride her bike, so we got all 3 kids out in the street riding!! Megan has gotten very good at starting herself and she can even do small corners too! We're really proud of her!!

Tomorrow we're planning to clean out the trunk of the car and start packing one suitcase that will stay in Clearwater! Can't believe that we'll be on the way home in one week! More later...

A beautiful Valentine's Day

Today was another gorgeous day in S Florida! We sat out by the pool this morning and then sat out on our balcony this afternoon. I feel like I got a lot of sun!! How many times in my life have I gotten to sit outside in the sun on Valentine's Day?!!

Tonight we had Sudi and Howard over for dinner and to play cards. Howard told Sudi she was going to have to walk home...I sure hope he let her ride! H says he won't ever play that game again - I hope he was kidding, cause it's a fun way to spend an evening!

Tomorrow we're going over to Jami's. It's supposed to be beautiful all week!! More later...

Another Great Sunday

I love Sundays!! I especially like Sundays like this one! We went to church this morning. Pastor Tullian is doing a series on the book of James and today's sermon focused on James 1:19-27. He's really a good speaker and even the praise music is starting to grow on us!

After church, we went to Bru's with Sudi and Howard. Then we went to Jami's and watched the kids while Tom, Jami and Tom's mom went to see the special showing of artifacts, etc., from the Vatican. We took the kids outside to ride their bikes. Megan finally figured out how to start riding all by herself without us having to hold the bike for her. She thought I was holding on to the back of her bike, but I was just pretending! She was really surprised when I told her!! Danny told us he'd had enough when we asked him to ride one more time. He told Dave he was tired!

The weather today was beautiful. It was very sunny and about 71 degrees. Just perfect in my opinion! I'm really going to hate leaving this weather!!! More later...

It's Baaaccckkkk!!

It's NASCAR time again! I'm sitting here anxiously awaiting the race in Daytona - I'll be watching it on TV and can hardly wait. I hate it when the last race of the season is over and can hardly wait for mid February!! "Let's go racin' boys!"

Sorry I didn't post anything last night. I didn't have Wifi in the room so I elected not to go out to the lobby to connect. I read instead. I read a whole book yesterday - Lisa Gardner's Gone. It was billed as a page-turner and boy, were they ever right. I didn't want to put it down! It was very exciting and I never would have guessed whodunit!! Now I'm reading another of her books - Hide. I hope this one is as good!

Today we went over to Jami's to pick her, Danny, and Toni up to go to Michael's with us. I wasn't very successful. I only found a couple of things I needed and only one was related to stamping! Then this afternoon, Jami, Danny, Dave and I went to The Festival Mall. That place is really something. If you wanted clothes with "bling" or jewelry or cosmetics - that is the place to go. I don't know how many booths the mall has, but we saw every one of them. Danny was so good - he let Dave push him around in his stroller and never once made a peep of discontent. In fact, he was singing Old MacDonald and even saying his prayer, "God is great...". If we'd have had the girls with us, they would have been crying because they would have wanted something every 5 minutes!!

We moved to our last condo today and this one is beautiful! It's newly remodeled and BIG! Tomorrow we're going to church, then to lunch with Sudi and Howard. We're going to baby sit the 3 kids tomorrow afternoon while Tom, Jami, and Toni to go the Vatican exhibit here. Then we're going over there for the evening. Jami has been so busy working and trying to get her month closed that she hasn't been around us much...so this week we're hoping to see Jami a little more.

That's it for now - it's time for NASCAR!! More later...

Beautiful Again

It was 83 this morning at 10:00 - wow! Dave's sister said it was -14 in Indiana where they live...I'm sure glad I can be down here! It was so lovely that we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the pretty beaches! We sat out there for about 2 hours, then came home and took a nap! The fresh salt air makes you tired! This evening we decided to find a Mexican restaurant and we found a good one. We had a GIANT margarita, chips and salsa, 2 meals - all for $27.00. We got a coupon at the desk for 10% off our order, so it was really around $29! It was very good - the margarita was wonderful and HUGE!!

Tomorrow we move to Sea Gardens! More later...

Broken Record

I know I sound a lot like a broken record! It sure was a beautiful day today! We went over to Jami's for most of the day - we had laundry to do. It is really nice having a daughter here. Jami always has laundry to do, so we just throw ours in with hers and fold hers so she doesn't have to deal with it. Today was no exception! We ate leftovers for lunch and about 1:30 or so, Tom's mom and her little dog arrived. So we sat around and chatted and when the girls got home, I helped them with their homework while Dave sat outside away from the dogs. Tom had to take Kelly to soccer practice so we stayed to take care of Megan and Danny. We left about 7:30 and neither Jami nor Tom/Kelly were home yet! Mary Ellen came over about 6:30 and she was starting to get Danny's bath going. Then Toni, Tom and Mary Ellen were going to have a ceremony honoring Tom Sr. He died 4 years ago today and each year they do a little ceremony for him.

More later...

Beautiful Day

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood!! We went to Boca today - had lunch with Jami and went to Bealls! They really had lots of bargains today - about 10 clearance racks! We really hadn't planned to do that...I was just wanting to go to Macy's, but when we got in the car, I suggested we call Jami and see if we could take her to lunch. It all worked out because it was a beautiful day - we just drove up A1A and saw the beautiful scenery in Hillsboro. The ocean was like glass today - very smooth! Tomorrow we have to get up and get around a little earlier than usual. They are flushing the water hydrants at 9:00 and we've been told that the fire alarm bells will go off too.

Tomorrow we're planning to go to Macy's and to a used book store because I'm out of books! I read my last one yesterday...I started it yesterday morning and finished it last night! I've got a puzzle book, but puzzles aren't nearly as relaxing as reading. More later...

Someday

Someday I'm going to have super fast internet, instead of these crappy connections we get in hotels! You'd think that we'd get better speed since we're in Ft Lauderdale, but this makes Ottumwa's look like the Daytona 500!!! We had a good day today. We went to the beach and sat outside for about 2 hours. I even got burned!! It was just gorgeous outside.

We got neighbors this afternoon and let me tell you, these walls are super thin!! In fact, they may as well be in our room...I sure hope he doesn't snore! Right now we know that they don't have hot water in their shower!! More later...

Super Sunday

Not only was this a gorgeous day, but so far the Super Bowl has been a good football game! We went to Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church this morning - good service, great sermon on James 1:1-18. After church we met Sudi & Howard at Bru's for lunch. It was a very warm day here, so it was wonderful sitting outside. Dave and I both read this afternoon and then took a nap. This evening we went to Jami's to watch the Super Bowl and be with the family. Dave got the oil changed in the car and got a free car wash! My car is beautiful again. A great day, all around! More later...

Beautiful Day

It was another gorgeous day in the neighborhood! It was about 80 with abundant sunshine! We ate at the US Steakhouse at their little tiki hut - great food...beautiful view! Tonight we went to Jami's to see the family - we hadn't been there since we got here yesterday. The only other thing we did today was go shopping. We bought some towels for the ranch, along with some silverware...the flatware we have in the drawer there has ceramic handles with little pink flowers. We splurged and got some cheap stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond! We'll put the ceramic stuff in the park garage sale!! The renters told us we didn't have very good towels or washcloths, so we've got some now - we'll keep them until after the renters are gone so they'll be new for us!

Gotta run - my bed and book are calling my name! More later...

Feb. 4th

We had a wonderful 5 days with Dad, Roberta, Bob and Ann and now we're back in sunny Ft Lauderdale. It was 85 today when we drove into town. I know those of you who are in white, white Iowa are probably cussing me now! I talked to my neighbor today and found out that our driveway still hasn't been cleared. It seems we have 30+ inches all the way up our driveway. Yuck! Julie said that the snow is waist deep and she can't get to our house yet! We called our driveway guy who told us that he couldn't get it with his pickup. Tomorrow they're bringing in a skid loader!! It's really hard to comprehend when it's 85 here!!

We had a great week working around our place at The Ranch. We talked about renting a place for the month of March, just so we could stay down here. I think, however, we'll be going home...leaving here around the 20th of Feb...depending on the weather!! We're officially old codgers now...we bought a 3-wheeled bicycle to get around the park. It's got a basket, so Dave will be able to use it to carry tools from our place to Bob's. I rode every street in the park this morning before breakfast! We've got to raise the seat though, because right now it's set for a short old codger!!! More later...