Fun Times

I just spent a fun hour (really) sitting in line to get tickets for Paul and Carol O. for our Showtime event - scheduled for next Friday and Saturday evenings. I got great Saturday tickets - second row center of the stage on the left side. I was 12th (?) I think. Got there at 9:00 but obviously not the first, and the ticket counter "opened up" at 10:00. I hear that each year it gets easier and fairer (the ticket sales). But, I enjoyed going early, sitting and talking with people near me. It's a festive mood. They opened up the ticket sales early, too. . . when all the "waiting" seats were filled. And besides, if you get there at 10:00, you have to sit and wait practically the same length of time anyway. I was out by 10:15.
It's rainy this morning. Started in while I was at the Clubhouse.
The Vet left a message on our answering machine yesterday. Ella's ashes were there and we could pick them up today. So we did. We'll bury her - perhaps just outside the screened lanai area that she loved.
This afternoon Marian, Bob and we were to go to AAA Travel to see if they could give us a good deal on an April cruise. Unfortunately it was closed. Strange for a Saturday. So we went furniture/window-shopping. We love to window-shop.

Now the sun is out.
I almost forgot to talk about yesterday. . .
Yesterday we had a great day! We went up to the Tampa area.
Background: Because of the very cold weather we've had this winter, the manatees needed a place where they could be warm.
There is a power plant at Apollo Beach, near Tampa, which has a shallow cove that attracts manatees every winter, because of the warm water the power plant expells into the cove. This year, because of the long, constant cold, they had a record number of manatees and stingrays spending their time. Hundreds. So, we went with our friends Rosemarie and Ron (from Corning) who are renting down here in Venice. It was cold! Lots of people with cameras there. Parking lot was full. The manatees didn't move much, and they reminded us of big, fat floating logs. Occasionally, a stingray jumped out of the water and the back flap of a manatee splashed the surface.
That was in the morning.
In the afternoon we continued on into Tampa, to the Museum of Science.
They advertised a traveling exposition of Leonardo DaVinci's works. Rosemarie is a DaVinci fan and, while we traveled in the car, she told us a lot about him, (For example, and I saw this at the museum, I didn't know he wrote his notes on his work backwards from right to left, so you needed a mirror to read them, or perhaps I did, but didn't remember)and after seeing the models of all his inventions, and the copies of his famous paintings, with explanations of these works, it certainly made an impact on me.
Using computer-generated science, they showed us more about what they learned about colors backgrounds and other things changed. He had numerous ideas/inventions in math, science, music, art. We all were trying to think. . . of anyone in all/recent history who could compare? None that we could think of. Some might be/have been good at one or more, but none were/are good at all.
So it was a fun, interesting day.
That's what's happening to us. What's happening in your neck o the woods?

a meaningful day. . . yesterday

Wow. It was supposed to be sunny today. 0% chance of rain. I guess the sky forgot. It's cloudy.
Well. Yesterday we had to put Ella down. It was such a sad sad day.
In 1997, when I had my dog put down, I made a pact with myself that would never ever get so attached to an animal again. (It was too hard to let them go. )
My apology to those who have lost husbands or wives, forgive my words. I have not known the sadness that comes with that (except for a divorce which they say mimics that feeling of loss. ). Ella was with me for 17 of my almost 70 years. Percentage-wise, that's quite a bit of my life. She was added to the little family of me and dog, Cricket, at the beginning of my time alone, because I didn't want Cricket to be alone all day when I was at work.
How silly of me to think she wouldn't have a place in my heart after all of those years. And Paul's. He was the one who took her to the vets and he said it was very very hard. (As I mentioned above. . .I knew it was hard. I did it with Cricket. ) Paul had become very attached to her too. Recently, he'd started putting Ella's cat food in the microwave for 8 seconds, so it would warm up a bit, and she'd eat more. But even with all we did, she'd stopped eating and her back legs were giving out. According to the vet yesterday, she weighed 3 pounds 3 oz. from her healthy weight of over 6 pounds (she was very small always.).
Having an animal means being responsible for that animal all of its life, and knowing, when the quality of it's life is such, that it is time. . .
To let it go.

Okay. Today is Thursday. The week is doing its usual thing - flying by. Isn't it a shame that now that I'm old enough to enjoy life to its fullest, the weeks fly by?
Just checked my blog to note when I wrote last, so I wouldn't repeat news or items of interest (?).
We had play practice Tuesday afternoon and I'm happy to report our Lizzie Borden number went much better. Our main singer became very nervous with people watching. (not a good thing). She'd forget words, skip lines. But she is beginning to overcome it. She and I walked outside and she was so relieved and much more confident in her abilities. Her whole demeanor changed. Good! Amazing what a little confidence can do. I know I would be horrible if I had to memorize anything. I'm so used to reading music, and reading reading. I would certainly need my confidence built!
Just in case you're interested: the chorus begins with... "You can't chop your poppa up in....Massachusetts."
Speaking of reading, yesterday morning late I took my kindle with me, as usual, to do some walking. I decided to walk down towards Yummies and Route 776 and walk part-ways towards Walmart. (I had no lofty plans to get as far as the store, but thought I'd walk part-way.) I was headed out of Circlewoods when I car slowed down and stopped by me. It was Mark! He had returned with his lady friend, Debbie, to show her the area. He picked her up on Sunday in Orlando, traveled back and had spent the previous night, in Sarasota, with Jon's parents-in-law, Cookie and Clarkee. And they would be back there last night too before starting back to Canada. He wanted her to meet all his friends here, and see where he'd stayed, so many times. Neat. So we sat and had coffee and talked for a while. He was disappointed that Bob wasn't home. (He's out camping for a couple of days with Marian. I knew he'd just left that morning.) Bob will be disappointed to miss him. They're such good friends. Debbie is very beautiful and sweet. She was quiet. I think she was overwhelmed by meeting us all. We're hoping something will come of this, but it remains to be seen. Mark has been single for a long time.

Paul is finishing up The Wall and it looks good! (I never thought it wouldn't.) It opens up, now that's a strange way of putting it, opened up - when it closed off the wall - LOL- all kinds of possibilities on both sides of it. Now we can re-arrange bedroom furniture, the lanaii furniture.
Looking forward to that.

Carol O. came to go sunning with us by the pool on Monday (?) and the sun went in. We have to catch it when its doing its job. We've not been that lucky lately. It's still cold. But down by the pool, if you sit near the clubhouse, the wall radiates heat and it's quite nice...most of the time.

Son Jil is back to blogging after an absence of about a week. Luckily we'd been e-mailing so I didn't worry. Seems he's been overly busy with good things. Nancy, I think, has been over busy big time. Working full time and taking care of the little one is a major task. All good things too. We talk once or more every week.

Must give the cat her medicine, which she gets twice a day. Thyroid, and pain for her teeth. Life isn't easy when you grow old, is it.

That's all the news from this neck o the woods? What's happenin in yours?

I have a good feeling about today. The pool is a possibility. The sun is out. I went out for a walk with my Kindle with my jacket on. It was off and tied around my waist about a quarter of a mile. I'm all aglow right now. You know the old victorian saying: Horses sweat, men perspire and women become all aglow.





As I was walking, a british woman pass me, and questioned my "book". Oh, yes - she said with a smile. I heard of them. - I'm sure she'll go to her abode in Circlewoods and tell them all about it.





Home alone. That's us. We enjoyed our company very much, but now it's our alone time - and that's definitely fine with us! Mark left on Saturday morning to go up to Orlando and meet his friend Debbie, who was flying in from Toronto, and will be driving back up with him. Hope the weather cooperates for them. Greg and his family arrived Friday night, before we got home, (which will be the subject a couple of paragraphs down) and spent the weekend with us. The time flew by and before we got to do much of anything, we said good-by to them yesterday after a Valentine's Day Sunday steak dinner at 1:00.



We did get to go to Lock n Key on Englewood Beach Saturday night. Bob and Marian joined us. Of course we should have been aware that it was A Saturday Night, the night before Valentine's Day...so it was a given they would be crowded. It was. We had a 7:30 reservation and didn't get seated til 8:15. Well - we had 8 people. We certainly didn't have a chance of walking right in! The dinner was delicious, though, even if we didn't finish til after 9:00.





Friday night we (the five of us...including Mark) were invited up to Sarasota to Jon's house to celebrate Marian's birthday. We took our van so everyone could be comfortable.


It was to be a coffee and cake celebration at 7:00. Nicole's parents were there also. What a lovely home they have, and it was nice to see their children, who have certainly grown since we saw them last - two years ago - Brooke, 3rd grade, Jonathan, 1st, and Talia - age 2 1/2. What nice children they are. We knew that Greg's family was due at our home later that evening, so we had to leave mid-evening. The children had to get to bed anyway. When we got home, Greg's van was in the driveway. They had just arrived. We had left the door open for them. Good timing on both our parts!





My dear husband surprised me for Valentine's Day with an HP netbook. He knew I wanted one, but I certainly didn't expect it for Valentine's Day. How wonderful it was for him to get that for me. I'm getting used to it. The keyboard is almost full-sized, but not quite. I'm using my desktop now so I can write quickly. I still make silly mistakes, but not as many as I would on it. Three valentine days ago, we went engagement ring shopping. So it's a special day for us. But he really overdid it this year.



Brenda called this morning early. We found out she's decided on the little male puppy and now she's trying to decide on a name for him. We took videos of all the puppies when we saw them last week, and he definitely stood out. It's a wonder he didn't wag his tail off. We're trying to get a way to make a CD of them and let her see it. We did send digital photos to her. If anyone has any ideas for a name, let me know and I'll pass them on to her. Her other papillion was named Sammy, after Samson, the strong man in the bible.

I am closing on my netbook as we watch the olympics. It's been fun to watch the figure-skating this year because there are two couples from Ellenton, Fla. which isn't too far from us. Actually the skating arena is right next to the outlet mall that Paul and I go to. Articles on them have been in our local paper for a couple of months.

So - what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

This is certainly not the Florida, weatherwise, we've come to know and love. But we've certainly been busy down here. The days seem to fly by. Being involved in Showtime is definitely something that takes up a lot of time. A little bit this day, a little bit that day, and before you know it, every day is filled with practices...it seems. Not that I'm complaining. It's enjoyable to be with a group of people who are so earnestly trying to put together a show for people to come and see. Of course, those involved have more fun than those who come and watch it. Did you get that, Paul? (As you can imagine, my dear one is less than enthusiastic when it comes to being on stage.) Some people are like that. . . believe it or not! Lucky for us there are those who like to be entertained.

Marian called last night and invited us to go to Tampa this morning to look at some 5 week old Papillion puppies. Brenda had gotten in touch with Marian, as she wanted a puppy. She lost her little Sammy in November. Brenda and Emma will be here at Easter and will take the puppy back to California with them. We were to go and take pictures of ones that she might like. This lady had five little puppies. One male, and four females. Cute as can be. The male was the runt of the litter, quite small, but full of vim and vigor. He had quite a black face, ears, and white body and a tail that never stopped wagging. There was a female who was considerably bigger, as all the females were, and she was quiet, docile, wagged her tail a lot too, was very loveable. A snuggler. So those were the two that Brenda will choose from. It's amazing how different they are. . .even at five weeks! They both were adorable. It'll be up to her. We took some really good pics, and even some videos that we looked at tonight here at home. Paul said he'd make a CD and send it off to her. He sent her the still photos tonight.

So...what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

Visiting Elvis

Okay. I agreed to tell you all about our visit to see the Elvis impersonator. He was characterized as an older Elvis. He said he (Elvis) was 75 years old this year. Not sure if he actually was or not.

The show was held at a campground/restaurant area out in the boondocks. We got there at dusk. It was about a mile into the jungle on a twisty dirt road, and no lights, no houses, except a couple of roads off to the right where someone probably lived. The road ended up at the campground/restaurant area. The camp was located on a winding river, with spanish moss hanging down from tree branches, canoes nearby, and a medium-sized covered touring boat with wooden seats at the dock. Sounds like a great place to go back to during the day, or to camp. However, I don't think I would like to walk around there at night. Seemed like a good place for alligators, snakes and things that go bump in the night, which is just like our next door neighbor described it to us. The parking lot was not paved and quite large. Very close to the water. We walked up to the restaurant - probably 100 people there. All this in the jungle. All packed in. We arrived late, and sat at the long cafeteria style table reserved for us: one of five couples.

Our table touched the stage. Carol was seated next to the stage, her sister, Patti, was across from her. I was next to Carol, with Paul next to me. So we were very very close to all the action. Unless Carol got up and got on the stage, and made room, it was impossible for me or anyone in our row to leave, or get in, as it was the only way we could get up to use the Ladies/Men's Room. There were skinny rows around the perimeter which made an aisle that the Elvis guy could get by and venture into the audience. Those were behind Patti, and the others. Not us. Our chairs exactly touched the people behind us. Of course, there was an intermission. . . so we weren't as disabled as it seemed, and lots of exits, windows, etc. So there wasn't a fire hazard. Interesting note: There was a real palm tree growing up through the roof. It had white lights strung around it for effect. Wonder what happened when it rained?

The Elvis guy was an old Elvis. He had on a spangly white jumpsuit, with a white cape, and a black wig. He switched to a bright red outfit after the intermission that was all glittery also. You could tell he had a good time doing this. And he didn't have a bad voice. He had all the mannerisms of Elvis, but not the bump and grinds. Perhaps he was too old. His assistant was a lady he called Priscilla. . .(get it?) probably his real wife. She worked on the stage seated at a table fiddling with knobs, etc. But, as Paul said, he was not the most entertaining part. The fun was watching the audience (the ladies) pretend he was the real thing. These were old gals, not young spring chickens, getting up and being awarded one of his scarves for being sung to. Our table being so close was used several times. I didn't, nor did Carol, want to get up with him. Too shy. But Carol's sister, Patti, was awarded a scarf when Elvis serenaded her.

Remember I said the aisles were quite narrow. Also Elvis didn't stay on the stage all the time, but would take the mike and walk go around the room, and yet his voice was still being broadcast from the stage, so if you weren't watching, it seemed like Elvis was up there, on the stage, when he was actually in another part of the room. I hadn't seen Patti slip out to use the Little Girls' Room, but she did. Elvis was singing on the stage, I thought, but everyone started laughing, and looking behind us, when I looked around, there was Patti. . . who was behind an unaware singing Elvis, in the skinny aisle. She had gone to the LGR, and was trying to get back to her seat. She couldn't get past him because the aisle wasn't wide enough to pass him, so she decided to get into the act. Elvis didn't know she was there, so she quietly moved up to him, as he was singing, and slowly slipped her arms around him, and rested her head on his back, closed her eyes and had a big smile spread across her face. . .just like she was in Seventh Heaven with the real Elvis. This of course was something Elvis didn't plan on. We laughed so hard. . .the tears just came down. As I said, the audience was half the fun. And he was a good sport.

So that was our venture into the world of Elvis and the jungle. On the way out of the "jungle", we noted a traffic light, right there at the entrance to the road. So we weren't so far away from civilization as it seemed. Everyone had a good time.

A Problem Solved???

When we went to the new doctor down here a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned that the days I didn't go to Curves, I should walk. Well...it's not one of my favorite things to do. I keep thinking how much quicker I can get somewhere in a car. But then... I remembered that when I was first by myself, single, I did a lot of walking...and listened to books on tape.
That got me thinking, my new kindle, that I got for Christmas, could be voice activated. Wonderful! Could you get earphones for it? I checked the Kindle store. Yes! Plus Paul thought, in the meantime, I could maybe use the earphones from my ipod. We tried them. They fit! but didn't work. So...anyway I thought maybe I could do some walking this morning around the big Circle using the kindle with its voice activated. Would I be embarressed by the sound, meeting people walking? I know I had read a sample of Randy Pausch's book The Last Lecture. I wanted a book without a story-line plot that I had to follow...it was easier to walk that way. It was sort of an autobiography. At 10:40, I started out with my spring hoodie on (it was 57 degrees...okay laugh...northerners).
Off I went. I turned on the audio sound and started walking on the left side of the road. I finally got that rule straight. If you have wheels, you go with the traffic. If you don't, you go against traffic. I "closed" the book and began listening to it as I walked. (Last week I ordered a cover for the kindle, to protect it.) Okay. Not a good idea to just listen. Perhaps with earphones it would be better. I shall order them because I found out that when cars go past, I couldn't hear what was going on. So, I "opened" the book.
Reading and listening turned out great. There's plenty of time to get on the grass, so to speak, when cars are coming at you. Lots of visibility. No, I didn't stumble or fall. No problem there. Very level "playing field." I have to say I worried about stumbling, falling and smashing my Kindle. It was very comforting to know that it was protected by the covering.
When I got about half-way around the circle, (I believe it's a mile all the way around) I had to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist. I was sweating so...Somewhere after that, I noticed a car slowing down going my way. It was brother Bob. I'm not sure how close he was to home, but after that, the next time I noticed where I was, (I was so engrossed in the book) I was almost to the first pool by the entrance...I was on my way to Yummies! No, I didn't continue on for donuts, but found it amusing that I had gotten past our circle and hadn't noticed it.
I got home at 11:20 - I had walked for 40 minutes without realizing it. Good for you, Self!

So - how're you doin in your neck o the woods?

The sun is out today. It was cloudy in the morning, but this afternoon has gradually gotten sunnier. Paul went out for a bike ride just a while ago (it's 5:00), but he came home quickly...it was freezin! Well, of course, not literally, like some of you folks are experiencing up north, but still cold enuf. No pool today. Poor us.



We did get to church this morning. Since we had company the past two Sundays, we didn't get there til today. This is quite unusual for us. Afterwards we headed to IHOP for breakfast and then on to windowshop for bookshelves, desks, etc. for Alice's project. Paul didn't see anything that he particularly liked. We both like to windowshop, tho. On the way home, we decided to windowshop at some Open Houses. We're not interested in buying, of course, but enjoy the act of visiting places to see what they're like. We did see a beautiful one, 2600 sq. ft., but it was too much money, and besides it didn't have a hottub, so we ruled that one out. Even if it did have a pool, and a 900 sq. ft. garage. I hope you all know I'm joking. We're happy where we are. As I said, we like to windowshop.



Last night we did something rather unusual for us - we went to see an Elvis impersonator, who was at a restaurant. I will get back to that later. That's another posting-to-come. It was hysterically funny, and hope I can describe it well, so you can enjoy the description as much as the actual happenings.

All the news for now. How're things goin in your neck o the woods?

Yesterday we finally, YES...finally got to the pool...We've only been here for three weeks. We got there after a great deal of anticipation (on my part). I say, on my part, because the only hottub in Circlewoods, at the clubhouse pool, where we like to go... is not working. Paul is very disappointed that it isn't going to be available...til late in the season, so they (the Board) say. Who knows.

Kind of change of subject in the same vein: I have decided to make my own rating system for pool time. Just like the newspapers use stars to designate films - 5 being the greatest, and 1 being the most utterly impossible horrible no good time. I'll use beach towels symbols. You have to imagine the symbols. Picture this: This was a 2-beach towel day. It was not cloudy til we got there. We didn't go in the water, but the air temp was okay, and we came home with a slight glow, as the sun shone thru the clouds, somewhat, and we didn't get any sunburn. I have to admit, it was our own fault: we got there at 3:00, so it was late. We had plenty of time beforehand to go, but got involved in other things. I hope it does portend good times to come, though.

Don't we have a lot of problems down here? May we always be so lucky.

I am managing to get to Curves as many days as possible...which means 3-4 times a week. My new doctor down here has said I am to walk, on the days that I don't go to Curves. Yesterday morning Paul and I walked to the Clubhouse and back. We'll continue (I'll continue) walking on the off-days. And I intend to stretch the walk further each time. I am trying to build up stamina in my legs.

We have an entrepreneur in the family. Cousin Alice who is down here full-time, has developed a sideline business of watching over snowbirds' houses when they go up north. When we decided to use her, she asked if we would be interested in bartering - using Paul's marvelous handy-man talents, instead of paying her monthly charge. She'd watch our house. He'd help her out someway. She's thinking about some new cabinets in her third-bedroom/computer-TV room. It's in the planning stages. Paul went to Lowes, Home Depot to check out supplies. She came this morning for coffee and conversation about it. He rode his bike to her house afterwards to measured the space. As I said - this is a project in the planning stages.

Mark hasn't shown up yet. His bed is all made up and the guest towels are in the bathroom. He had thought he'd be here Wednesday, but he didn't show up then, nor yesterday. Paul and I have figured out: We think he's waiting for Bob to come back from Pennsylvania. Bob is due back tomorrow night, late. It doesn't matter to us. When he's here, he' here.

What a lot of nothing I wrote about. Lots of irons in the fire. Next time more will be happenin'.
Perhaps more pool time.

So - what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

I have high hopes that today's weather will be a turning point for us here in the sunny (?) southland known as Florida. We snowbirds hope we've brought along enough clothing to layer ourselves as the weather changes. Actually the weatherman said that today should be sunny and warm - mid 70's. I, myself, feel like wearing a sweater.

In keeping with my hopes to remember birthdays, anniversaries, I'd compiled a list of Paul's family, friends, my family, friends. I felt very good about this. I try to be organized and sometimes I do well. Well...I'm not the neatest person on the block, as anyone who knows me can attest. I looked all over for this list on February 1st, knowing that a full month was ahead full of special events in the lives of families and friends. I looked and looked. No luck. BUT - I knew that there was a copy printed out at the Woods Edge taped on the wall by my computer. No problem, I thought. I'll just ask Sharon to take it down when she came to water the plants on Tuesday (yesterday) and send it to me via snail mail. Sent her an e-mail and she agreed. Her response this morning was: "Found a copy of the list on the breakfast bar. Sent that one out. " I obviously hadn't brought the copy with me. Good job, Self, I said. And thank you, Sharon. She even wrote down the events listed for this month.

Got a phone call yesterday afternoon from Carol in Venice's Walmart. She was shopping for food. She loved the auto-train, loves her rental home, and said she was happy to be down. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs...so unlike the Florida weather we know and love. BUT there are two whole months that she has to look forward to and anticipate. Good for her! She and her sister, Patti, will be getting settled today. They intended to sleep in this morning. Good for them!
It is 10:45 right now...I wonder if it's too early to call them??? We'll see...

Bob is on his way to Pittsburgh with his son, Paul. He is looking at a gunsmithing school up there that he researched and would like to attend. It's of course, a long trip up (two days up, one day there, two days back down). I don't envy them going up to the frozen northlands. But it's a chance for them to be together alone and see what the school is like. Paul has been interested in checking it all out. They left Tuesday and should be back Saturday night, late.

Mark, a good friend of Bob and ours, is coming down from Canada this week and staying with us. He's due in today, late. (He plans on going to Orlando and playing golf. Perhaps the weather will be such, he'll decide not to...Oh, well - we'll have spaghetti and I'll just put more in the pot if he shows up.)

So...that's all the news from here. What's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

New month...

Okay maybe, just maybe, we'll get to the pool this month. We have not had good pool or beach weather yet, but we're all hopeful. No way, would I want to be up north. Speaking of up north...

My good friend, Carol, is on her way south on the auto-train with her sister, Patti, who is going to help her get settled in. They leave today, from the Washington area, around 4:00 and arrive in Sanford early tomorrow morning. I am sure she's all excited and anxious. It's a big undertaking to come down and fulfill her dream of being in Venice for a couple of months...The weather had just better get better, or else...

We had a nice visit with Marcia and Hal. When they called, they told us that we didn't have to "entertain" them, as they were going to do some things on their own. Well, they were right. They have a lot of friends down here within a forty-mile radius, and were able to touch base with them during their stay. Each day was filled with lots of planned time visiting them. We were invited along once and met up with mutual friends of theirs and ours from Horseheads and ended up at Fishermen's Village for lunch. We enjoyed that. How neat to see people in different surroundings. The week went quickly enough, and yesterday, it was time for them to leave for their next venture. They have a time-share in Palm City that they're using for this week. Friends of theirs will be staying with them, from Cypress Landing.

A couple of hours later, Paul and I left to go to my Florida (class of 1958 year) - East Rockaway High School Class Reunion held at Smoky Bones Restaurant in Lakeland just off of Route 4. It took us 1 hour and 40 minutes to get there and 2 hours getting back...not traffic problems, but we decided to go a different scenic route home. Hey - what fun to see everyone again and talk about our lives. Took some pics which I will post soon. We had about 20 people that came for lunch. We're all about the same distance from Lakeland. We reconnected with Bruce and Linda who are renting a house in Venice. We made plans to get together with them soon.

Well. That's all the news in a nutshell. How're things in your neck o' the woods?