Wednesday

Dave went to Sebring this morning to attend the "Friends of Galveston (Indiana)" get together.  I elected not to go.  So I went up for coffee instead.  After coffee, I stayed to put away books.  I had 2 boxes full of books, plus 2 suitcases full, a tote bag full, and a large plastic tote full to sort through and put away.  I took the opportunity to sort out 4 big boxes of books to go to the AmVets for resale.  Anita helped me, thank goodness.  We got the "library" looking really good.  The books all came from a person who bought books and didn't read them evidently.  They were in very good condition.  Lots and lots of Stephen King books!!

Tonight I went to cards, but there were too many of us, so I came home.  I didn't feel like being social!

Update on Oaklyn:  She got her breathing tube out today and seems to be getting along okay.  They'll monitor her closely, though.  If she can get along without the tube, she'll get to come home in a couple of weeks.  Anyway that's the plan!  Keep those prayers coming!!

More later...

B&B

We did our typical B&B today.  We actually had 16 bowlers this morning - that's a bunch!  Bill and Donna are here and Donna took up right where she left off.  She got the high game with a 191.  Bill won one of the poker hands and we went to their favorite restaurant too.

Bingo was about the same as always.  I did win two games, but not big paying ones.

We did have some excitement in the park.  One gentleman was found dead in his home.  I don't know how he died, but he was troubled so hopefully he's at peace now.

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They're Gone!

We had so much fun with Craig and Sue!  They let us know on Thursday night that they were coming on Friday!  We were so excited we could hardly contain ourselves! 

When they got here around noon, we talked for a while and gave them the tour of our house.  Then we wanted to take them to the water.  We went to Gators for lunch and we saw lots of dolphins, which was a thrill for us all. The weather was perfect to sit out for a leisurely lunch.  Then we took them up the beach and showed them Ryan Howard's home as well as Clearwater Beach. 

On Saturday we decided to take them to Myakka River State Park to see alligators and ride the airboat.  We saw plenty of alligators and enjoyed the scenery. 

On the way back home, we stopped at the Sarasota National Cemetery.  What an awe-inspiring place!

Both nights we talked and laughed until bedtime.

Sunday saw us heading to St Pete to meet Dave's sister Suzy and her hubby Greg for lunch. St Pete had an art festival going on so it was CROWDED!!  Dave and Greg took the cars and parked them while we waited to get a table at Fresco's.  After lunch, the six of us met Suzy & Greg's friends, Jim and MarKay at Cycle Brewery (Dave's cousin's son's brewery) for samples!  Some of the 11 beers we sampled weren't bad, but some were horrid!

Fun times with fun people!!  Sunday night saw us talking and laughing past bedtime!!

After breakfast and picture time, Craig and Sue left.  I even had tears.  We've both said several time today that the last three days were the most fun!!  We wish our friends of 18 years safe travels.  We'll see them this summer at their home!

More later...

Sunday

Craig and Sue are here.  I'll blog later!!

Weds.

Our day started at the clubhouse with coffee and donuts.  I ate my breakfast instead, but had water instead of coffee.  After coffee, I finished typing the directory and I've got the newsletter ready to be printed. 

Dave and I rode bikes this afternoon and tonight I played cards...not very well, though!!

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B&B

Beautiful day here!  Bowling wasn't so good...I reverted to bad form!  Oh well, there's always next week!  I finally won more than $1.50 at bingo tonight. 

Nothing else was going on. 

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CanAm Day at the park

For the 2018 version of CanAm day, it was 88 degrees!  A nice breeze was blowing which helped keep us cool enough to sit outside.  There were about 67 of us today - great job  by our hosts!

I  was tired enough that I chose to stay home and not play cards tonight.  So I've been a recliner potato!

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Beautiful Sunday

I know that I sound like a broken record, but it was gorgeous here again today!  We went to church, of course.  Instead of going out for breakfast, though, we came home because we had things we wanted to accomplish today!  Dave cleaned the oven up at the clubhouse while I did work for the board.  I typed the March newsletter and the calendar.  Plus I got the residents list up to date and typed all of the info into the Directory.  I'm still waiting on one street list for the directory and a couple of articles for the newsletter.  But I feel really good about my progress!  Why, I even got in a walk!!

Baby O was very alert today.  Cassie said she was following them with her eyes. 

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Saturday

Another gorgeous day in the neighborhood!  This morning started out really foggy, but when it burned off it was beautiful!!  This is why we're here!

We started our day with breakfast at the clubhouse with a bunch of our friends.  It was great as usual!  When Dave got home after washing dishes, we took off for the Wagon Wheel where we were able to get several things that we wanted from there.  I rode my cart, which was great with the big crowd that was there today. 

After naps, we watched The Post - very good movie! 

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Friday

I didn't sleep last night.  I finally conked out about 5:30 this morning...so I slept in a bit.  Then we went with Bob & Ann to the Legion.  Ann had a doctor's appointment this morning.  She got released from the wheelchair and is able to walk now.  She's walking with a walker so she's excited.

It was beautiful out there today!  Dolphins up close to the tables! 

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Thursday

No updates from Oaklyn today...The kids are going back there this weekend.  Kyle is out of vacation and he's out of family leave, so when he goes to Iowa City he takes his computer and works from there.  Poor kids.  Cassie still has a couple of weeks left on maternity leave before she has to go back to work. 

After Dave got back from lawn crew, I went to the chiropractor.  Yay.  Then this evening I went to Weight Watchers.  I'm down another 2.8#...yay again!!

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Wednesday

We have been having gorgeous weather here.  Dave helped one of his widows do some painting today while I did nothing.  When he finally got home, we went for a bike ride.  Two laps around all of the streets of the park.  Then we ate supper and finally it was time to play cards..

At cards, I've been saying to Ann that one of the ladies always has more cards than I think she should have.  Well tonight I caught her.  We're supposed to have 13 cards in our hand and 11 in our foot.  She had 16 and 13.  Not only that she tried to cover it up.  The next hand she did the right amount and the third hand Ann told her she might want to recount her cards.  No wonder she's always winning!  I don't appreciate this at all.  I could just not figure out why she has this whole stack of cards all the time!

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Tuesday

Bowling was pretty good again today, although I was getting frustrated...I was having a hard time hitting the head pin.  So, I didn't have a lot of strikes.  I still had decent scores and so did Dave!! 

I didn't get to play bingo tonight because some grade school friends of Dave's came over and we all went out to eat.  They got here at 3:00 and left about 8:00.  She is a born-again Christian who "preaches" about everything.  Some of that is fine, but a whole evening was a bit much for me.  Dave talked to her hubby most of the time, so he didn't get all of the preaching I did.  I don't want to be mean because she's doing what we all should do...

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Monday

It was a wonderful day again today.  We had a board meeting this morning and then this afternoon we went to St  Pete to see Carrissa.  Carrissa went to church with us in O-town - we've watched her grow up!  She was adopted from Russia when she was 3 years old and she's a delightful young woman.  We went out to eat at Fresco's - good food!!  Then we went to the water, just to show Carrissa some of the sights.

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Sunday

What a beautiful day we had today!!  We went to church, where Jack's sermon was about discipline...asking God to get our lives under control, so we can have wonderful relationships. and then share God's word with others.  The I, We, They idea of discipline.  Very interesting and powerful.

We decided to forego lunch to go to the Wagon Wheel to get some things that we know are cheaper there.  We got there and cars were in overflow parking lots, so we decided to make a u-turn and so it another day!!

Home we came.  Dave and I worked on cleaning house because we've got company coming this week...just to see our place and have dinner with us, not to stay with us.  In fact, we've got a full week this week!  Tomorrow morning is HOA board meeting here!!  I've still got 8 more homes to visit to get my lists done.   I did 2 more today. 

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Hot day

We went to Sawgrass today mainly to see the alligators.  It was a day for Murphy's Law..  I was going to ride my scooter...I forgot to bring my key and we couldn't find Dave's in the car.  So, I walked!  Not a single alligator!  Only 3 birds to take pix of!  I did get some cool nature shots, though.  Oh, I also have blisters on my toes...my feet were sweating so my sandals were rubbing blisters!

Tonight was our Anniversary/Valentines Party.  It was a pot luck and we all had a great time!

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Great Day

Oaklyn had a great day today.  Her surgery today was to put in a pacemaker and then close up her chest.  She is doing so well that the doctors are amazed.  They've already started weaning her off the ventilator and some of her meds.  She's a tough little girl! 

It was beautiful here today.  I went to Bob and Ann to the Legion.  We had a bunch of dolphin sightings and even got some sun!  Tonight 10 of us played cards - it was a noisy place.  I think there were 12 or so playing Texas Hold'em, too!

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Thursday

Well, this was an eventful day.  I got some more of my homes visited.  We're trying to get permission to print names and phone numbers in our directory.  The only way to do this is to visit each home individually.  I've got about 25 homes on my streets. 

Baby O is doing pretty good.  Tomorrow is another big day for her.  She gets a pacemaker and then they sew up her chest.  It's been open since her surgery - that way they could get to her heart asap if anything went wrong.  After they put the pacemaker in and close her chest, they will watch her closely to see how she does with the pacemaker and the weight of her chest on her heart.  Poor little girl.  When this is over and if all goes well, she won't have any more surgeries until she's 4-6 mo. old.

Tonight I went to Weight Watchers.  I lost another 2 pounds, so I'm at 10.6 in 4 weeks!!  Yay!!

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Weds.

Today Oaklyn had a big surgery...7 hours on a bypass machine.  She did well and her heart is beating on it's own.  She is far from out of the woods.  The next 48 hours are critical.  They worked on her artery, her valve, and even worked on the wall that is missing.  She's tough!  Even the nurses talk about her being tough (stubborn!)  Hmmm, I wonder where she would get that trait??

It was gorgeous here today.  Another beautiful day.

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Monday

The kids and grandchildren are now gone and our house is back to normal.  It may take us a while to recover, though.  We met Bryan, Erin, and Aidan at Whiskey Joe's today.  It was a great day to sit out by the water.  Once we were done with lunch, we left because we had massages.  Bryan and Erin stayed for a while so Aidan could play in the sand.  We're going to miss him!

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They're Here

The kids are here and things are crazy.  Jami, Megan and Danny, as well as Bryan, Erin, and Aidan are here.  Jami and the kids actually went home this afternoon.  So our household should be calmer tonight.  Wrong!  Aidan is having a meltdown, just like he had this morning at 4:00.  He keeps saying something about a regular cup without a lid and something red...he's so frustrated because we can't understand him.  NONE of us.  Unfortunately the more he cries, the more we can't understand him.  Poor little guy. 

We've had fun except for the two meltdown...oh, I guess there were 3 of them.  He didn't want too go to Busch Gardens either, so he didn't go.  His mom was staying home, so he did too.  Busch Gardens was good.  We got tons of pictures of animals and birds...

Bryan's family goes home tomorrow, so we'll be alone again.

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Thursday

Beautiful day here!  Felt more like the Florida we love! 

Dave went to lawn care this morning.  I had a chiropractor appointment and we also went to Office Depot to get a file printed on legal sized paper.  Now we're watching CNN...what fun!

Here's the picture I tried to upload last night.  Isn't it cute?  Blaise loves his little sister!!

More later...