No internet...

Actually I have internet access right this minute..  We didn't have any yesterday evening and today.  I didn't have any access just a few minutes ago, but when Dave tried he got on right away..  So, I'll try to say something really fast before it goes again!

Yesterday was a rainy, gray day here in Ft Lauderdale.  We didn't do much until it was time to pick up the girls.  Then we had to fix supper and get Kelly ready to go to soccer practice.  Homework was hard - Megan is trying to do fractions and she doesn't like them!  I tried to explain them to her, but she got that glazed-eye look like I do, so Grandpa took over.  It took about an hour, but she finally got her homework done - yay!!

Last night while she was at practice, we hung around Jami's and watched one of the DVD's of Planet Earth.  That was very interesting until it got to the bugs and spiders...then I stopped watching!!

Today we paid the admission price and went into Hugh Birch Park.  It's a nice place - 2 miles of hiking, picnic tables, etc., right on the intercoastal.  Then we went to Hillsborough and Deerfield Beach.  That's like a different world!  Beautiful place!!   Took some pictures, but won't get them uploaded tonight.  Even though it was mostly cloudy today, the water was beautiful!

After we picked up the girls, we took Kelly to get her braces put on.  That was a new experience for this grandma!  She was very brave!  She will have the top ones only until her top teeth get in line with her bottom teeth, then she'll get the bottoms put on.  Next appointment isn't for 6 weeks.

Since tonight is our last night here, we all went to Razzleberry's for ice cream!

More later...

Gray Day

Today was a gray day most of the day.  It only rained a few sprinkles, but it was gray and ugly all day.  Now, however, the moon is shining bright over the water and it's gorgeous out!  It's 79 here and 32 and snowing in O-town...oh my!

Dave and I had a lazy day today.  We went to see the blimp but the hangar is being renovated, so we couldn't get in.  It won't be open again until fall.  We went shopping for just a little bit - found a rug for our entryway in Largo.  We went to Bru's for a salad at lunch, then came home to read and perhaps nap.  Dave napped and I read!!

Tonight was "date night" with Jami.  We took her to Nick's for Italian food.  I could hardly wait for lasagna!! Nick's has the best I've ever eaten!  So I ordered lasagna, Dave ordered linguine and sausage, and Jami ordered tillapia piccata.  The waiter came back to our table several minutes later to tell us they were out of lasagna.  How in the world does an Italian restaurant run OUT of lasagna!!!  I was really bummed!  So I ordered chicken marsala and it wasn't nearly as good as their lasagna.  At least I didn't cause a scene!!

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Busy Monday

Oh, my!  What a busy, busy, hot day!  We went to Jami's this morning to do some more of her daddy-do list.  I think Dave got most of her projects finished up today.  Then at 2:00 he went to pick up the girls at school.  We also got Tom's secretary's girls.  So we had 4 girls 11, 10, 9 & 9 in the house, along with Danny (5).  I fixed goulash for supper.  The kids needed to eat early because Kelly had soccer practice and had to leave at 5:00.  The goulash was a big hit!  While Tom took Kelly to practice, we stayed with Megan, Danny, Aiyana and Naolani.  It was a very noisy evening!!  Jami finally got home about 7:00 and we ate with her.  By 8:00 Tom & Kelly were back and Aiyana & Naolani were leaving.  So we left and went to Razzleberry's for our ice cream fix!  I had sugar-free oatmeal, walnut, raisin - yummy!  Dave had rum raisin!!

Tomorrow we're not going over there.  We'll see Jami at dinner tomorrow night.

Right now I'm watching my Cyclones play Kansas on ESPN.

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Sunday in S Florida

This morning we actually slept in - we didn't get up until about 9:30!!  Consequently we missed church.  We went to the beach to enjoy God's beauty instead.  We have a beautiful view out of the window of our resort. This morning everything was kind of hazy, but by the time we got out to our car, the sun was out and it was hot, hot, hot!!  In fact, it's still 76 out at 9:30 PM!!

We ate lunch at Bru's Room today.  We got to sit outside and watch the pre-race stuff.  Then we went to Jami's, did laundry for all of us, did some daddy-do's and watched the race!  I even got to go to Beall's Outlet for a few minutes.  Supper was at Jami's and then we came back here.  Tomorrow we start picking up kids as car-riders and fixing supper, etc.  Dave's still got a couple of daddy-do's left!!

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Saturday in Ft Lauderdale

We had to be at Danny's soccer game at 8:30 this morning, so it was an early one for all of us.  We got up to the aroma of frying bacon.  Jami started the bacon, pancakes and eggs and I finished the eggs and bacon.  It was a very good way to start our day.  Danny's soccer game was a hoot.  The final score was 6-3.  Danny scored 4 of the 6 goals, plus he scored one for the other team by accident.  His little buddy, Jackson, scored the other 2 goals.  It was a beautiful morning for sitting outside!  After Danny got done, we went across town to Kelly's soccer game.  Kelly's team got creamed!  The score was something like 9-1!  Ugly!!  At the end of Kelly's game we went back home for lunch and to pick up Tom...then off to watch Kelly play again.

Her second game was to start at 2:15 and then we had to leave immediately after (3:15) to go to Miami for Cirque du Soleil.  Well, it didn't work that way unfortunately.  The referees were late for Kelly's game so it didn't even start until 3:00!  So at halftime, Kelly had to leave her game.  We'd paid over $500 for these tickets and we weren't about to miss the show.  What a fantastic show it was!!  It was Totem and it was wonderful!  If you ever have a chance to see one of the Cirque du Soleil, do so.  Very entertaining!!

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Ft Lauderdale

We're in Ft Lauderdale.  Our drive over was very uneventful.  We only saw one sandhill crane.  We DID see some baby wild boar pigs...unfortunately, Dave wouldn't turn around and go back so I could get a picture of them!!  Other than that, we didn't see anything fun!

We got here about 3:30 and went to the beach.  The water was beautiful today!  I took some pix, but I don't have my cord so I can't download them tonight.

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All packed & ready...

We're all packed and ready to go first thing in the morning.  We're heading to Ft Lauderdale to see Jami and her family.  We'll stay with them tomorrow night and then get our condo for Saturday thru Friday.  This time we're down by the pretty beaches at the Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort.  It's an okay place, but not as nice as Sea Gardens.  This weekend is going to be hectic as both Danny and Kelly have soccer games AND we have tickets to see Cirque du Soleil.  Those tickets were our Christmas presents to each other.  Should be fun.

Today we went to Sarasota to see Dad & Roberta.  Dave needed to put some trim in the bathroom and I had $10 in Bealls bucks I needed to spend!  Roberta and I did water aerobics and after lunch made a quick trip to Bealls.  Unfortunately I spent more than $10!!!

We got home about 3:30 and went for our bike ride.  Then we started getting ready for our trip.  I'm hoping the weather is nice while we're there.  It's sure not nice at home.  O-town is supposed to get 9" of snow.  A friend of ours headed to Texas today.  He left a little before noon and didn't get to St Louis until about 9:15 tonight.  I would have turned around and gone home!!  I hope everyone is safe.

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Wednesday!

This whole day was rather uneventful.  Dave worked down at 441 and I just hung out.  Tonight 6 of us played 7s from Hell here at our place.  My team didn't win - bummer!

Tomorrow we're going to Sarasota.

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I am NOT a loser!

What a beautiful day today was!  The cold spell didn't last long - warmth was back today!!  It was a gorgeous day!

We bowled this morning - a skeleton group!  There were only 14 or 15 of us!  Women ruled again!  I just bowled so-so.  I had a 130, a 125, and a 144.  I just couldn't pick up my spares.  Dave had a decent day, too.  He bowled a 102, 92, and a 104.  That's pretty good for him!

Tonight I won two games at bingo!!  Yay!  I won $46!!  I felt pretty good about that.  I came close on several other games, too.

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Fun Day

We had company from Sigourney today.  Two couples that we know are in New Port Richey for the next month, so they came down here today and we showed them the sights.  They loved our place and loved the beaches...plus we took them to the Post Corner for pizza and they loved it, too!  After we ate our lunch we went across the street to the beach for a few minutes.  There was a dolphin watching boat out in front of us, as were 2-3 dolphins.  The day is always considered a success when we see dolphins!!  Both couples were really fun and Dave and I love showing off this area of Florida!

Tonight we ladies played 7s from Hell.  Of course, I didn't win, but it was a good game regardless!

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Sunday

Today is the first Sunday in Lent.  We went to church this morning...I had to wear long pants - it was cold this morning!  After church, we came home, changed into blue jeans, ate our lunch, and then I made cookies just to warm up the house a bit!  It felt good to have the extra heat!  About 5:00 I put a casserole in the oven, again just to heat up the  house!  Just after I put the casserole in the oven, Bob came down and asked if we wanted to go to Five Guys with them.  We love Five Guys, so we finished the casserole and then took it out to cool.  It's now in the refrigerator, waiting for another day!

This weekend was a Bond weekend on TV, so Dave's been watching James Bond movies.  Right now it's To Russia With Love - Sean Connery looks very, very young!  Pretty funny!!

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Saturday

This was the Saturday for our monthly breakfast at the clubhouse.  It was really good, as usual!  The guys do a great job!!  We decided to check out the sailboat races at St Pete at the Pier.  We get there and get a phone call that Dave's sister had emergency surgery this morning in Valdosta, Georgia.  We're glad that all went well and that she's on the road to recovery.  We tried to find a parking place near the Pier, but had no luck.  So we called Sudi & Howard and picked them up for lunch.  We went to a place called RBar.  Good food!  

As we were eating lunch a cold front came through along with some rain and wind.  What started out as a beautiful day, soon turned crappy!  It's only to be in the high 50's tomorrow...yuck!

Tonight we had a fun card night up at the clubhouse.  Each hand was something different.  We play this at home - but I can't remember what it's called.  It's amazing that some people have no idea how to play cards or what "hearts are trumps" means.  

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Boring Day

Dave and I were bored today...and tired!  We changed the sheets on the bed and did 3 loads of laundry.  I vacuumed the whole house, and cleaned up the kitchen.  Then we took naps - and this was all in the morning!!  When we woke up, we went for a bike ride because the sun finally came out.

This afternoon, it got nice out...it was chilly this morning.  By this afternoon, I had windows open even.  Unfortunately this weekend it's supposed to be cold.  Hopefully, they're wrong about their forecast.

We're watching a movie tonight.  I think it's called a Knight's Tale - with Heath Ledger.  He was a wonderful actor...and very handsome.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Dave and I had to be in St Pete by 7:30 this morning for his urology tests.  He passed everything with pretty much flying colors - no tumors, no stones, no cancer.  He just has an enlarged prostate, which is pretty normal.  Yay!  It was worth getting up super early!!

Tonight we went up to the clubhouse for dinner and dancing.  It was a potluck dinner and at 7:00, a DJ came in to spin some tunes...great music.  Everyone had a wonderful time dancing and singing to the songs the DJ played.  It's pretty fun when everyone knows the words!

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Short Night tonight

It's going to be a short night tonight.  Dave's got a 7:30 AM doctor's appointment and I will go with him.  I'm heading to bed now...he's already asleep.

Coffee this morning was uneventful.  We had a man come wash our mobiles - both Bob & Ann's and ours.  So we were in some chaos for a while around noon.  Our place looks really nice - or did, anyway.  It rained tonight so I hope it still looks nice tomorrow.

Tonight Ann & I played 7s from Hell...and we won!  I was actually getting pretty good cards tonight so it was fun!

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B&B Tuesday

Time sure flies when you're having fun - and that's what we have here at The Ranch!!  This morning, Dave & 8 other guys from here left to go fishing out in the Gulf.  They caught a bunch of fish!!  Dave caught 11.  They were mostly grunts.  He had to throw back 6 groupers, though.  They're not in season right now.  He left at 6:30 AM and didn't get back until about 5:15.  I didn't know fish were awake that early!!  He had lots of fun!  Bob, Ann & I went bowling.  I bowled a 433 series - same as last week!  My high game was a 160.  There was a older gentleman at bowling today who's been there before, but today he was right beside my lanes.  I got to talking to him.  He had been a professional in his younger years - tried to make it on the circuit, but others were so much better (his words, not mine).  He had the smoothest approach and delivery - he was fascinating to watch.  He bowled a 205, a 212, and a 227.  Wow!

Tonight at bingo I actually won a game all by myself!  So tomorrow I won't be called a loser!!

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Sarasota

Dave and I went to Sarasota today.  We got there at 10:15 and at 10:30, Roberta and I were in the pool doing water aerobics.  There were 81 of us doing the hour-long workout!  It was really fun.  The first half  hour was spent stretching every muscle in our bodies and the last half hour was aerobic exercise to 60's music!  Fun!!!

Before we got done, Suzy and Greg arrived so we sat at the pool until about 4:30.  Dave's dad had vertigo for the last 3-4 days and got back from the doctor's office so that he and Dave could come join us at the pool.  He's having sinus issues, so the doctor put him on a decongestant and he's feeling better.  This evening we all went to Phillipe Creek, a restaurant in Sarasota.  We didn't get home until about 8:30 or so!

We had a beautiful, fun day...filled with family and friends.  Chris & Deb Davis from Fairfield stopped at Sun'n'Fun to see us!

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Sunday

After church today (which took a looonnnngggg time to get done), we came home and changed clothes for our adventure.  Church was so long because we had a long sermon, lots of joys & concerns, plus communion!  I don't begrudge the time I spend in church, normally; however, today I wanted to get on the road.  We left The Ranch about 11:50 on our way to Tarpon Springs, the "Sponge Capital of the World".  I don't know what we have adventures on Sundays, because EVERYONE goes on adventures on Sundays and today was no exception.  The sponge docks were packed!

Besides Tarpon Springs, we went to Howard Park, which is a little island with a 1 mile "bridge" out to it.  It was beautiful out there.  I think, though, that all of the teenagers in the area were there today - lots of bikinis and six-packs!!

 This guy was diving for sponges - exhibition boat.

 Sponge docks with sponge boats.

 View at Howard Park.

 Howard Park beach.

Kids parked along the "bridge" and sunbathed on the concrete....hmmm?  Wouldn't the sand be more comfortable?

As adventures go, it was a little touristy, but nice anyway.  Lunch was wonderful.  We ate at Mama's - a Greek restaurant with homemade bread and Baklava!

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Lazy Day

We got up early this morning because we have shuffleboard on Friday mornings.  Not today, however.  The rain last night messed up the courts...they were too wet to shuffle!  Darn.  I really like shuffleboard.  :(

Since we couldn't shuffle, we stuck some pork chops in the slow cooker thinking we could have them for lunch.  But instead we just snacked for lunch and then went with Bob & Ann to the Legion to sit out in the sun for a while.  It was pretty breezy, but it was a beautiful day anyway!  We invited HB to meet us there, but we missed Sudi! Two dolphins blessed us with their presence just before we were ready to leave, so it was a successful trip.  There must have been 20 of us from the park at the Legion.  It's a very popular place to go on Fridays.

This evening, we've just been lazy.  Nothing scheduled except for happy hour and we were happy enough, so didn't go!!

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MY Day

Dave went to Sarasota today to change some hinges on his dad's bathroom cabinets, so I had a day to myself!  I enjoyed my day...I even made some cards today!

All three of these cards use Stampin' Up supplies.  I think they turned out really good.  I embossed on each of them and added hearts that were either punched out or where I used embosslits.  I love the fact that SU is making so many items to cut out their stamped images.  I have a terrible time using scissors any more, so this makes things much easier!

I also took 3 bike rides today.  It wasn't easy riding south - the wind was really, really strong.  I had quite a workout!  When Dave got home, we went up to 104 to see their home.  They're selling, but it's not what we want.  It had 2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths, plus a big porch on the front.  It wasn't as big a unit as we're used to.  It was very nice and the price is great - $4,500, but we haven't sold ours yet, so no go.

This evening it's been raining here and that's wonderful.  I hope it rains all night - we are really dry in this area.

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Wednesday

I don't have much to say today, so this is going to be short.  We went to coffee this morning - again lots of people.   After coffee, Dave and I went to do some shopping.  He needed to go to Home Depot and Walmart, so I went along.  I don't usually go when he needs to go shopping...I'm not into shopping!!  We got done about 11:30 and came home to rest a little before lunch, since we weren't hungry any way.  In the meantime, Sue & Penny asked us to go to dinner with them to celebrate Penny's birthday.  They were going early so we went with them and skipped lunch.  We were able to get in on the early bird specials at JD's!  Good food again!!

When we got home, I went up to see if they were playing 7s.  Since I was the last one there and they already had 8 players, I came home.  Dave and I've spent a quiet evening in our chairs!!

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B&B Tuesday

Tuesdays are bowling and bingo.  One is getting more tolerable, but the other isn't!  Bowling this morning was much better!  I bowled a 119, a 148, and a 168!  Yay!  I even had a turkey!!  I struck out in the 10th frame to get my 168!  I felt very good about it.  That's 2 weeks in a row that I've had a 160 game!

For lunch we went to PJ's on Gulf Blvd.  There were 24 of us at lunch.  I had a Caesar salad with blackened chicken!  It was huge so I brought over half of it home for tomorrow.  Very good!

As for bingo tonight, I did the same as usual - I didn't win!  Again this week, I came close but no cigar!

I'm looking forward to this next week.  We're supposed to have warmer temps!  Yay!!

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X marks the spot!

We saw this X in the sky this afternoon on our way home from St Pete.  I thought it was appropriate since it appeared to be over our park!

We had a good day.  Dave had a urologist's appointment so I went along.  He goes back for some tests on Valentine's Day, but the doc felt that there was no cancer - yay!!

We ate lunch at Fresco's near The Pier.  We got to sit in the sun on the water, looking at the wonderful reflections of the boats and the moorings.  It was truly a beautiful day!

Tonight at 7s my team lost again...I'm starting to get a complex!

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Super Sunday

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood!  It's a little chilly tonight, though.  We went to church today and then came home to get ready for the big Super Bowl party at The Ranch!  It was fun - lots of food, lots of noise, and no one really cared about the outcome.  Although it's finally becoming a game now in the 4th quarter.  I'm cheering for Baltimore just because Osemele and Stephens are former Cyclones!  Other than that, I would probably have cheered for San Francisco because I like their uniforms!!

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Saturday

Today was another beautiful day.  Dave and I were a little slow getting out of bed this morning!  It was just a good day to sleep in!!  Once we got up, however, we started in cleaning the house!  Together we got everything done except the bathroom counter...and I'll do that tomorrow!  We vacuumed, ran the WetJet, dusted, and Dave even took the shower doors out and cleaned them.

About lunchtime, we went up to the middle area of the park where they were holding a bean bag toss tournament.  They were serving hot dogs for $1.00, so that was our lunch.  I didn't want to participate in the tourney, but while we were up there they asked me to play in place of someone who had to cancel.  So I did!  Nancy and I won our first game but we got absolutely clobbered our second game!!  Regardless, it was a beautiful day out and a fun time was had by all!

Dave washed the car this after and power-washed the driveway and porch, too.  He even had time for a nap.

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Friday on the water!

This morning we picked up our neighbor, Bill, and went to pick up Sudi & Howard for a casino boat ride.  And what a ride it was!!  It was cold with a brisk wind, so that made for a very rough ride over choppy waters.  They said it would be a moderate chop, but I think it might have been a little worse than moderate.  It was 5 hours of not-so-fun boating!  We went to the casino part of the boat for just a little bit, but I needed fresh air.  So, I only lost $4.00.  Not too bad considering!  When I went out into the fresh air, there were sick Ranchers everywhere!  A lot of people on that boat got sick - some worse than others.  I did pretty well as long as I stayed out on the open deck.  However, there was one problem with that - it was downright cold out there!!  I'm sure glad I had a scarf and a hoodie on!  Lunch was relatively good on the boat, but some didn't think so when they got sick.  On a positive note, we saw lots of dolphins as we were sitting in dock, plus I was able to get some good pictures.

The end!!  Thank God we made it back to land!!

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