Woohoo!!

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!!

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!

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...

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??

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

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!!

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...

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

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!

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!

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!!!!

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!

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!

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...

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!!

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!

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!

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...

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!!

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...

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

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

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!

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

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....

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!

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

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

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!

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!!!!

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...