A week ago, we were "recuperating" from our cruise. That's kind of an odd way of putting it. Perhaps, I could say we were having mental adjustment time.
It took a few days. When you're away, time always is strange, isn't it. It seems either much longer, or much shorter. I always begin with - Oh, I have all week to do this. Isn't it grand! Then as the week progresses, the days become shorter. Maybe we get used to the routines that are on the ship. Anyway, we had a marvelous time.
Plus, being here in Florida is like being on vacation all the time. As some T-shirts say "Another ho-
hum day in Paradise." Very apt.
However, the weather this week hasn't been ideal. Very unusual weather for March in Florida. We have had cool, cloudy, rainy, windy days. Don't see those very often in March, or the winter months.
Rainy season is in the summer. In the afternoon it clouds up between 3:00- 4:00, pours for ten minutes and then the sun comes out and it's as humid as ever. So . . . No place is perfect. I'm glad we can enjoy these months down here and then go up north and enjoy their beautiful Spring and Summer months. We know how lucky we are.
Paul's 18-yr old grandson, Lee, from Odessa, NY, visited Noi and Greg and his cousins, Brenan and Nee Nee from Gainesville this past week. They had an overnight visit with us over Thursday night.
As I said, the weather wasn't ideal, but Lee pointed out - there's no snow! They also stayed overnight at St. Augustine, and the weather was better there. The kids are all grown up now and so tall. When I give hugs, they have to bend over.
We had a big dinner here Thursday night, with Bill, Epril, Bob and my nephew Paul. We had a chicken breast casserole, roasted veggies, and fruit salad. I made a marble cake for dessert. It was almost all gone. Praise the Lord. . . . then on Friday we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Farlow's on the Water, for lunch before they headed back to Gainesville. We sat outside under a covered pavilion. So pretty.
Friday night Carol O. and Bob came for cocktails, and then we met our friends from Bath - Bob and Sue at the Moose Club. We were sufficiently stuffed and rolled out the door. It's been a rough week for watching calories.
Cousin Alice has been out of commission since after Bible Study on Wednesday. She "took herself to the doctor" because she had a temperature that was rising, a cough, and she felt awful. It seems she had the beginning stages of pneumonia. Poor thing.
I've been talking with her each day, and Bob sent me to her house Saturday with some home-made chicken soup. . .(He hadn't had his pneumonia shot, but I had). She has some medicine and all the other items needed, to begin feeling better. Plus she has a million friends and her sister, Carol.
She sounds better each day . . . which is good because her birthday is April 1, and "us ladies" are going to take her out for lunch. Get well, Alice. We need you so we can celebrate your birthday! It'll be no fun without you.
********
Just had a surprise visit from Bob, nephew Jon, (Bob's son), and Jon's father-in-law, John. It was so nice to see them. We sat in our new room and chatted for a while. Jon and the family are visiting his in-laws in Sarasota. They're here for their Spring Break in Alpharetta, GA.
I have a bone to pick with school district, universities. Why don't they get together and plan their breaks so that they're the same??? People can't plan vacations because they're not the same!
For example: Jon's wife, Nicole, has her Spring Break from school this week. Her daughter, Brooke, has hers next week. They pulled Brooke out of school for three days so they could visit with John and Carol. They leave on Wednesday to go back to Alpharetta. Luckily, Brooke is an honor student, so they felt she could miss a couple of days.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Books, Books, and more Books. . . and some movies.
We've had unusual weather here in Florida. It's been cloudy, cool, and rainy. Not good pool weather or beach weather at all. I've been inside today, just reading.
A couple of days ago, or a week ago (?) I posted the 100 books people should read before they pass on to the Great Beyond. I guess I won't die because I only read 67 of them. Therefore, I have dutifully kept a list of several that I HAD wanted to read, but hadn't - just forgot, or found others that seemed to be to my liking.
So - anyway - from my list I've added that I've read so far, in order: To Kill a Mockingbird, A Town Like Alice - by Neville Schutt, The Stand - by Stephen King.
Paul and I saw a TV program about Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. I'd seen the movie. We tried to locate it on Kindle. No luck. There's a lot of books about it - study guides, etc. but not a single copy to be found. So, Paul, who had read it before when he was on a work-trip, years, and years and years ago, ordered a paperback copy of it.
As he was reading, all he could say was: "Wow." "This is greater than I thought." "I keep reading parts that I've forgotten." "You have to read this book. " This kind of made me kinda sorta interested. I needed to scratch that itch. So I read it. And . . . . I couldn't put it down.
Now, they, meaning the knowledgable ones, always say - and I agree - I've never found a movie better than a book. Ever. So. . . a book is better than a movie. ( I knew that.)
An Aside: The series on Harper Lee said that she and Truman Capote grew up in the same home town and he's one of the important characters in the book. It has been said that when she won the Pulitzer prize for TKAMB, he became very jealous because he thought he his In Cold Blood should win. He left their friendship and never talked to her again.
"A Town Like Alice" was a PBS Masterpiece Theatre special a lot of years ago. I hadn't seen the whole show, but I remembered it, and after reading about it on Kindle - found that I wanted to complete the story. This was another time where I could picture the people. It helps. This was also a good read also.
Now, I'm on "The Stand". Well. This is another book I wanted to read. I got it on Kindle. Stephen King has written a Forward, saying he added 400 pages to the original 1200. So, I don't feel badly when I start skipping words, lines, paragraphs that don't have anything to do with what appears to be the original story. So far, I'm enjoying it. Also, when I can, I skip the gore that he puts in. The book is basically the fight between Good and Evil at the end of the world as we know it. His characters change according to the part they are, which are one of his gifts of writing. This was another TV mini-series, a long time ago. I think I'd like to see that again, when I finish reading it.
************
So - I just see a correlation between all the books I've listed, which you probably have already noticed. . . . See the movie. Read the book. You'll like it better. Most great books are made into movies. (It's not the other way around. Don't read a book that's made from a movie.) If only people would read, how much more enjoyment they'd get from a story. There's no way to put on an actor's face what they're thinking, or things an author adds to his story to keep you engaged. A picture is not worth a thousand words. Sometimes. Most of the time.
Bill keeps trying to interest me in watching Game of Thrones. I keep telling him - I read three of the books and lost interest. I kept forgetting who all the characters were - even though I started to write them down. He's right though. He said. . . If I watch the series, I can keep the characters straight. Perhaps that'll be a new journey for me. Game of Thrones. That's a long series.
An added pleasure - Guess What! I got a letter from Amazon saying that they added $17.00 to my account because they won the lawsuit against the publishers. They paid me back for books that were over-priced!
Do you remember that? The evil publishers tried to price-fix e-books and they were becoming as expensive as regular books. Amazon sued them and won! Yea - for the Good Guys! So, now it's like having a gift certificate to Amazon and I'll be able to buy 3,4 or 5 books, or more.
I'm so excited - can't you tell how much. I haven't bought any since I'm reading The Stand. I'm about 60% done. It'll be a while.
A couple of days ago, or a week ago (?) I posted the 100 books people should read before they pass on to the Great Beyond. I guess I won't die because I only read 67 of them. Therefore, I have dutifully kept a list of several that I HAD wanted to read, but hadn't - just forgot, or found others that seemed to be to my liking.
So - anyway - from my list I've added that I've read so far, in order: To Kill a Mockingbird, A Town Like Alice - by Neville Schutt, The Stand - by Stephen King.
Paul and I saw a TV program about Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird. I'd seen the movie. We tried to locate it on Kindle. No luck. There's a lot of books about it - study guides, etc. but not a single copy to be found. So, Paul, who had read it before when he was on a work-trip, years, and years and years ago, ordered a paperback copy of it.
As he was reading, all he could say was: "Wow." "This is greater than I thought." "I keep reading parts that I've forgotten." "You have to read this book. " This kind of made me kinda sorta interested. I needed to scratch that itch. So I read it. And . . . . I couldn't put it down.
Now, they, meaning the knowledgable ones, always say - and I agree - I've never found a movie better than a book. Ever. So. . . a book is better than a movie. ( I knew that.)
An Aside: The series on Harper Lee said that she and Truman Capote grew up in the same home town and he's one of the important characters in the book. It has been said that when she won the Pulitzer prize for TKAMB, he became very jealous because he thought he his In Cold Blood should win. He left their friendship and never talked to her again.
"A Town Like Alice" was a PBS Masterpiece Theatre special a lot of years ago. I hadn't seen the whole show, but I remembered it, and after reading about it on Kindle - found that I wanted to complete the story. This was another time where I could picture the people. It helps. This was also a good read also.
Now, I'm on "The Stand". Well. This is another book I wanted to read. I got it on Kindle. Stephen King has written a Forward, saying he added 400 pages to the original 1200. So, I don't feel badly when I start skipping words, lines, paragraphs that don't have anything to do with what appears to be the original story. So far, I'm enjoying it. Also, when I can, I skip the gore that he puts in. The book is basically the fight between Good and Evil at the end of the world as we know it. His characters change according to the part they are, which are one of his gifts of writing. This was another TV mini-series, a long time ago. I think I'd like to see that again, when I finish reading it.
************
So - I just see a correlation between all the books I've listed, which you probably have already noticed. . . . See the movie. Read the book. You'll like it better. Most great books are made into movies. (It's not the other way around. Don't read a book that's made from a movie.) If only people would read, how much more enjoyment they'd get from a story. There's no way to put on an actor's face what they're thinking, or things an author adds to his story to keep you engaged. A picture is not worth a thousand words. Sometimes. Most of the time.
Bill keeps trying to interest me in watching Game of Thrones. I keep telling him - I read three of the books and lost interest. I kept forgetting who all the characters were - even though I started to write them down. He's right though. He said. . . If I watch the series, I can keep the characters straight. Perhaps that'll be a new journey for me. Game of Thrones. That's a long series.
An added pleasure - Guess What! I got a letter from Amazon saying that they added $17.00 to my account because they won the lawsuit against the publishers. They paid me back for books that were over-priced!
Do you remember that? The evil publishers tried to price-fix e-books and they were becoming as expensive as regular books. Amazon sued them and won! Yea - for the Good Guys! So, now it's like having a gift certificate to Amazon and I'll be able to buy 3,4 or 5 books, or more.
I'm so excited - can't you tell how much. I haven't bought any since I'm reading The Stand. I'm about 60% done. It'll be a while.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Today's my birthday.
Yes. It's my birthday today. I'm 74. I can remember when my mother was 74. She was old. I don't feel old. Actually I don't feel young, but I don't feel old. All my friends are 74 (or more or less). We seem to be content with our lives. We're very lucky - compared with others around the world, in the USA.
I could go on and on about this, but I got to admit, to everyone - that I had the grandest of birthdays.
My husband took me on a cruise.
That's right. We went on a 5 night cruise from Miami, on the Norwegian Pearl to Key West and Cozumel. We had a balcony - that's something that we've never done before, and I have to admit, it made our time very nice.
One thing we hadn't counted on was:
SPRING BREAK
That's right. I had forgotten that. . . . somewhere a long time ago . . . . I'd heard that quite a few colleges close up shop when, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, is upon us, so that they don't have to deal with the student body. And of course, we left on Sunday, the 16th and came in on Friday, yesterday. There were hundreds of college kids all over.
But, wouldn't you know - the kids made it extra special. It was such fun to look at the beautiful girls and the handsome guys (with all the bare-chested testosterone showing). The girls had magnificent outfits - long, short, some - practically nothing at all (bathing suits, sort of, under lacy cover-ups).
We had a group of 3 or 4 guys in the cabin next to ours, and we would talk back and forth over the railing usually during cocktail hour. They were most polite. "Are you having a good time?" "Where are you from?" "Did you have a good day in Key West? Cozumel?" After a while, we thought of them as Our Guys. As in. . . I hope Our Guys made it back to the ship. Or . . . It sounds as if Our Guys are having a good time. They did get rambunctious, but nothing we couldn't handle. And besides. . .
The restaurants weren't crowded at all because the kids all went to the buffets for all their meals - and then to the nightclubs later on. And out at the pool sunning themselves.
********
Getting back to our cabin - the cabins with balconies are larger than the inside ones we had before.
They have a little loveseat in the cabin, and a sliding glass door to the balcony - with two deck chairs and a little table. - There was a glass screen that didn't obstruct the view in front of the chairs and a privacy wall between the cabins on either side. It was nice to come back to the cabin and know there always was a chair for us to sit down on, or we could sit on the loveseat, or lie on the bed. The bathroom was a little larger also. It was a really nice spot to spend time. Oops. I don't mean bathroom. . . I meant stateroom.
We didn't do much touring when we got off the boat. We did go on a bus tour of Key West and we could have gotten off the bus at several places, but we didn't. We took the full tour of an hour and a half and when we completed "the circle" we ended up where we started and had a cool drink, and then we took another bus and went back to the ship.
I was glad that Paul got to see Key West. He'd never been there, but I'd been there at least 20 years ago with Bob, Sue (his late wife), and my mother. I wanted Paul to see it. It's changed a lot - I remember other things when we first went, 20 years ago. But it was fun. He said it reminded him of Savannah. I could see that. We'd both been to Cozumel before. There's not much there, but a lot of stores. I did a little shopping. Not much.
We docked across the way from Disney's Fantasia ship. My friends from college, Carol and John, had taken their children and grandchildren on a Disney ship, so I had something to think about.
We noticed a couple, about our age, waving at us, and she had an infant in her arms, so I surmised that the little girl's parents were somewhere nearby. We waved back. Low and behold . . . . whom do we see down in Cozumel? But the same couple with the little girl and her parents. They wanted to know all about our trip, and said they'd also sailed on the Norwegian Pearl and loved it.
We were really tired when we got home yesterday, but it certainly was a grand time. I have such a wonderful husband. He cooked a steak dinner for me today and we invited Bill and Epril. They'd taken care of Gracie for us again. This time . . . . they "painted" her green for St. Patrick's day. (Not really . . . they photo-shopped (?) an image of her and made her green.) Remember. . . . last time, Bill put her in a pot, and said "we're having Gracie for dinner."
When we got home yesterday, I got a nice e-mail from my friend Barbara wishing me a Happy Birthday and saying how much she's enjoying my blog. I do hear from Barbara every so often.
Barbara and her husband Dick were friends of my former husband and me when we lived on Long Island. They retired and have been living in Vermont for several years. It's been a cold winter for everyone and they're looking forward to Spring. It was so good to hear from her. Dick has a birthday soon - so Happy Birthday, Dick!
Thanks for stopping by, Carol O. and Alice. That was so nice. I appreciate all the love and support and birthday hugs. And Bob is on the east coast for his grandson, Bert's, wedding. Yes. He's being married on my birthday. All of Bob's family that can, will be there - Jon, Paul, Bob's grandchildren - Nicole, Elizabeth and Bert, of course.
Bob called me to wish me a Happy Birthday, and said he should be home tomorrow or Monday. As you know, he's been in Alpharetta visiting his son Jon's family for three weeks. We miss him. It'll be good to have him back here with us.
I could go on and on about this, but I got to admit, to everyone - that I had the grandest of birthdays.
My husband took me on a cruise.
That's right. We went on a 5 night cruise from Miami, on the Norwegian Pearl to Key West and Cozumel. We had a balcony - that's something that we've never done before, and I have to admit, it made our time very nice.
One thing we hadn't counted on was:
SPRING BREAK
That's right. I had forgotten that. . . . somewhere a long time ago . . . . I'd heard that quite a few colleges close up shop when, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, is upon us, so that they don't have to deal with the student body. And of course, we left on Sunday, the 16th and came in on Friday, yesterday. There were hundreds of college kids all over.
But, wouldn't you know - the kids made it extra special. It was such fun to look at the beautiful girls and the handsome guys (with all the bare-chested testosterone showing). The girls had magnificent outfits - long, short, some - practically nothing at all (bathing suits, sort of, under lacy cover-ups).
We had a group of 3 or 4 guys in the cabin next to ours, and we would talk back and forth over the railing usually during cocktail hour. They were most polite. "Are you having a good time?" "Where are you from?" "Did you have a good day in Key West? Cozumel?" After a while, we thought of them as Our Guys. As in. . . I hope Our Guys made it back to the ship. Or . . . It sounds as if Our Guys are having a good time. They did get rambunctious, but nothing we couldn't handle. And besides. . .
The restaurants weren't crowded at all because the kids all went to the buffets for all their meals - and then to the nightclubs later on. And out at the pool sunning themselves.
********
Getting back to our cabin - the cabins with balconies are larger than the inside ones we had before.
They have a little loveseat in the cabin, and a sliding glass door to the balcony - with two deck chairs and a little table. - There was a glass screen that didn't obstruct the view in front of the chairs and a privacy wall between the cabins on either side. It was nice to come back to the cabin and know there always was a chair for us to sit down on, or we could sit on the loveseat, or lie on the bed. The bathroom was a little larger also. It was a really nice spot to spend time. Oops. I don't mean bathroom. . . I meant stateroom.
We didn't do much touring when we got off the boat. We did go on a bus tour of Key West and we could have gotten off the bus at several places, but we didn't. We took the full tour of an hour and a half and when we completed "the circle" we ended up where we started and had a cool drink, and then we took another bus and went back to the ship.
I was glad that Paul got to see Key West. He'd never been there, but I'd been there at least 20 years ago with Bob, Sue (his late wife), and my mother. I wanted Paul to see it. It's changed a lot - I remember other things when we first went, 20 years ago. But it was fun. He said it reminded him of Savannah. I could see that. We'd both been to Cozumel before. There's not much there, but a lot of stores. I did a little shopping. Not much.
We docked across the way from Disney's Fantasia ship. My friends from college, Carol and John, had taken their children and grandchildren on a Disney ship, so I had something to think about.
We noticed a couple, about our age, waving at us, and she had an infant in her arms, so I surmised that the little girl's parents were somewhere nearby. We waved back. Low and behold . . . . whom do we see down in Cozumel? But the same couple with the little girl and her parents. They wanted to know all about our trip, and said they'd also sailed on the Norwegian Pearl and loved it.
We were really tired when we got home yesterday, but it certainly was a grand time. I have such a wonderful husband. He cooked a steak dinner for me today and we invited Bill and Epril. They'd taken care of Gracie for us again. This time . . . . they "painted" her green for St. Patrick's day. (Not really . . . they photo-shopped (?) an image of her and made her green.) Remember. . . . last time, Bill put her in a pot, and said "we're having Gracie for dinner."
When we got home yesterday, I got a nice e-mail from my friend Barbara wishing me a Happy Birthday and saying how much she's enjoying my blog. I do hear from Barbara every so often.
Barbara and her husband Dick were friends of my former husband and me when we lived on Long Island. They retired and have been living in Vermont for several years. It's been a cold winter for everyone and they're looking forward to Spring. It was so good to hear from her. Dick has a birthday soon - so Happy Birthday, Dick!
Thanks for stopping by, Carol O. and Alice. That was so nice. I appreciate all the love and support and birthday hugs. And Bob is on the east coast for his grandson, Bert's, wedding. Yes. He's being married on my birthday. All of Bob's family that can, will be there - Jon, Paul, Bob's grandchildren - Nicole, Elizabeth and Bert, of course.
Bob called me to wish me a Happy Birthday, and said he should be home tomorrow or Monday. As you know, he's been in Alpharetta visiting his son Jon's family for three weeks. We miss him. It'll be good to have him back here with us.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Continuing on with my message. . .
Continuing on with my message that things have been busy down here in the sunny southlands:
We had a mini-vacation at Sanibel Island . Lue was visiting her daughter and son-in-law Gayle and Arthur who bought a house on Sanibel this past year' They were down for a week's vacation and invited us to come down to visit. So we went down Sunday morning and stayed until Monday morning. What a nice time we had! And it was especially great to see Lue. They'd all gotten away from the awful weather they've been having up north. (It's hard to believe all that is going on when we have such sunshine and warmth.) Lue flew down from Elmira, and Gayle and Art from the Boston area.
We also went to see Lue's two-year old great grandson, Rob, who was visiting with his parents, Eric and Jennifer. Jennifer is pregnant with a daughter - due in August, and Jen is allergic to dogs. So. . .
Bill and Epril offered to take Gracie overnight for us because of Jen's allergy. We got to Punta Gorda early. . . remember it was the weekend for daylight savings. Instead of 8 AM it was really 7 AM. Yuck. Then from there it was an hour and fifteen minutes.
Eric and Jen were on their way back to Tampa on Sunday, but we managed to see them for a short time before they had to leave. Gayle fixed a lovely brunch to welcome us, and say good-by to them.
Lue had made little Rob a beautiful twin-size quilt made up of crayons. It was adorable. Not sure of the correct wording for quilting, but I think I could safely say it was a patch-work quilt made up of a design of crayons.
Lue had said it was complicated and I could see why! Beautiful however. Quite a keep-sake. It had Lue's initials and then a heart and then Rob's initials on one side edge. Then his second birthdate on another, some hugs and kisses on another and I don't remember what the last side had. He's a lucky little guy.
After they left, we took our car, Art drove, which was nice so Paul could see everything, and went for a ride around the island and to Captiva which is on the end of Sanibel. What a beautiful spot. What homes! Some looked like hotels, but were private homes.
We thought it was a spot mostly for vacationers. Lots of young people riding rental bicycles on riding paths that following most of the roads. Lots of walkers too. There's a lot of traffic because there aren't many roads. There's only one way off and on the island, but I guess that doesn't bother a lot of people because there were a lot of people there! It was a beautiful spot and I'm glad Paul and I had the opportunity to go.
On our jaunt around the island we stopped at a restaurant that overlooked the water and had a drink and some hor doerves. It was so pretty. We also stopped at a park overlooking mangroves before that. Truly beautiful.
Their home is three stories. (Paul says it's two story because the bottom is the garage and the swimming pool. Everyone on the island has their homes built that way for hurricane protection.)
They did have an elevator so that we could use it if we wanted. I don't do stairs very well, so I did use it most of the time, although I did do the stairs more than once. Lue has the opposite problem. She has trouble walking, but can do stairs very well! We should combine bodies and then we'd have a perfect person.
The first (second) floor was the living area, an open area with kitchen, dining area, and living room and - which had three lanais - one in the front, one on the side, and one off Lue's bedroom which was opposite ours, with a bathroom in the middle. The second (third) floor included just Art and Gayle's bedroom and bathroom. You could see down into the living area from the third floor hallway.
They bought the house completely furnished from dishes to garden tools to bikes to exercise equipment. Amazing. We marveled at how lucky they were.
Sunday morning we took a ride after breakfast at the most popular place in town. We had to wait a while for breakfast, but it was worth it! Art drove again. We went to (get this name - I love it) Dink Darling Nature Preserve. There were miles of roads on this area.
Paul and Lue's families are birders. And I've grown to have a respectful awe of their knowledge. This place was a birders' paradise. Thousands of large herons, sandpipers, white pelicans, ibises. We only wish we had brought our binocs. Oh, well. My good deed for the day will be to put a pair in the car for future use.
We got back to Punta Gorda mid-afternoon. When we parked the car outside their apartment, we saw Gracie peering over the windowsill in their living room ground floor apartment. I guess she had a very good time because Bill said he allowed her to lick all she wanted. She has trouble controlling her licker. Bill was busy at work so we didn't stay long, but had a glass of water with him.
Also - when we got home, and I checked on Facebook, there was a picture of Gracie in a large pot on the stove with the caption "We're pet-sitting Gracie. We're having her for dinner." I found it quite amusing and told him so. Then he added - she was a little alarmed when he first tried to put her in the pot - he thinks she thought she was having a bath. Her little heart was going thump thump thump. But when she saw there wasn't any water in the pot, she relaxed. I thought you could almost see her smile.
We talked to Lue last night and she got home fine on Tuesday afternoon. As did Arthur and Gayle on Wednesday. Gayle went swimming Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf and there was a school of manta rays right by her. So everyone's home safe. Good!
We had a mini-vacation at Sanibel Island . Lue was visiting her daughter and son-in-law Gayle and Arthur who bought a house on Sanibel this past year' They were down for a week's vacation and invited us to come down to visit. So we went down Sunday morning and stayed until Monday morning. What a nice time we had! And it was especially great to see Lue. They'd all gotten away from the awful weather they've been having up north. (It's hard to believe all that is going on when we have such sunshine and warmth.) Lue flew down from Elmira, and Gayle and Art from the Boston area.
We also went to see Lue's two-year old great grandson, Rob, who was visiting with his parents, Eric and Jennifer. Jennifer is pregnant with a daughter - due in August, and Jen is allergic to dogs. So. . .
Bill and Epril offered to take Gracie overnight for us because of Jen's allergy. We got to Punta Gorda early. . . remember it was the weekend for daylight savings. Instead of 8 AM it was really 7 AM. Yuck. Then from there it was an hour and fifteen minutes.
Eric and Jen were on their way back to Tampa on Sunday, but we managed to see them for a short time before they had to leave. Gayle fixed a lovely brunch to welcome us, and say good-by to them.
Lue had made little Rob a beautiful twin-size quilt made up of crayons. It was adorable. Not sure of the correct wording for quilting, but I think I could safely say it was a patch-work quilt made up of a design of crayons.
Lue had said it was complicated and I could see why! Beautiful however. Quite a keep-sake. It had Lue's initials and then a heart and then Rob's initials on one side edge. Then his second birthdate on another, some hugs and kisses on another and I don't remember what the last side had. He's a lucky little guy.
After they left, we took our car, Art drove, which was nice so Paul could see everything, and went for a ride around the island and to Captiva which is on the end of Sanibel. What a beautiful spot. What homes! Some looked like hotels, but were private homes.
We thought it was a spot mostly for vacationers. Lots of young people riding rental bicycles on riding paths that following most of the roads. Lots of walkers too. There's a lot of traffic because there aren't many roads. There's only one way off and on the island, but I guess that doesn't bother a lot of people because there were a lot of people there! It was a beautiful spot and I'm glad Paul and I had the opportunity to go.
On our jaunt around the island we stopped at a restaurant that overlooked the water and had a drink and some hor doerves. It was so pretty. We also stopped at a park overlooking mangroves before that. Truly beautiful.
Their home is three stories. (Paul says it's two story because the bottom is the garage and the swimming pool. Everyone on the island has their homes built that way for hurricane protection.)
They did have an elevator so that we could use it if we wanted. I don't do stairs very well, so I did use it most of the time, although I did do the stairs more than once. Lue has the opposite problem. She has trouble walking, but can do stairs very well! We should combine bodies and then we'd have a perfect person.
The first (second) floor was the living area, an open area with kitchen, dining area, and living room and - which had three lanais - one in the front, one on the side, and one off Lue's bedroom which was opposite ours, with a bathroom in the middle. The second (third) floor included just Art and Gayle's bedroom and bathroom. You could see down into the living area from the third floor hallway.
They bought the house completely furnished from dishes to garden tools to bikes to exercise equipment. Amazing. We marveled at how lucky they were.
Sunday morning we took a ride after breakfast at the most popular place in town. We had to wait a while for breakfast, but it was worth it! Art drove again. We went to (get this name - I love it) Dink Darling Nature Preserve. There were miles of roads on this area.
Paul and Lue's families are birders. And I've grown to have a respectful awe of their knowledge. This place was a birders' paradise. Thousands of large herons, sandpipers, white pelicans, ibises. We only wish we had brought our binocs. Oh, well. My good deed for the day will be to put a pair in the car for future use.
We got back to Punta Gorda mid-afternoon. When we parked the car outside their apartment, we saw Gracie peering over the windowsill in their living room ground floor apartment. I guess she had a very good time because Bill said he allowed her to lick all she wanted. She has trouble controlling her licker. Bill was busy at work so we didn't stay long, but had a glass of water with him.
Also - when we got home, and I checked on Facebook, there was a picture of Gracie in a large pot on the stove with the caption "We're pet-sitting Gracie. We're having her for dinner." I found it quite amusing and told him so. Then he added - she was a little alarmed when he first tried to put her in the pot - he thinks she thought she was having a bath. Her little heart was going thump thump thump. But when she saw there wasn't any water in the pot, she relaxed. I thought you could almost see her smile.
We talked to Lue last night and she got home fine on Tuesday afternoon. As did Arthur and Gayle on Wednesday. Gayle went swimming Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf and there was a school of manta rays right by her. So everyone's home safe. Good!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp. . . And a little chicken
I guess it's a good sign that I haven't written in a while.
Yes. We've been busy and we're going to be busy for the next couple of weeks. It seems that towards the end of our time here in Florida everyone feels the need to get together and see each other. Especially if we haven't had the chance to. There are guests that arrive that we want to see, and people who are here who we haven't had the chance to spend time with.
Friday night we had a group of friends, who are connected by their "roots" to the Bath School District: Bob and Sue, who own a mobile-home in Northport, and Carol O and her sister and brother in law, Patti and Joe, who are visiting from Rochester, NY. We had cocktails here (We're very careful about how much we drink, knowing that we're going out for dinner. We only have one drink.) Then went on to the Venice Moose for a fish fry. We prepared loads of food for the cocktail hour, so much so that we only made a dent.
We set all the food out on the cocktail table in the new room - imagining that everyone would sit around the food. Nope. The men came in and sat immediately at the Island. The women sat in the new room. Interesting. The women helped themselves to the two pounds of shrimp cocktail and soft cheese spread that I make with a recipe from my former mother-in-law. (It's so good!) So I put the food on the Island, and the men helped themselves. This made only a dent.
When you go to a club like the Moose Club, you're limited to the number of guests you can have. So we were glad that Bob also had a Moose membership. It helped with our guests - Carol, Joe and Patti.
I don't know why, but lately we've been able to get a table immediately when we get there. Bob and I spied it and immediately commandeered it. And - it was one empty table right in the middle of things that had seven chairs around it. Just the right number. That's unheard of. To get seated right away. This is kind of a miracle to us, as we've been known to wait quite a while. Logically, I think it's because we're waiting for a while to go. All the old people have early dinners 4:30 - 6:00.
Afterwards we all came back to our house for dessert - I made two pies: chocolate and key lime. Everyone had some and proclaimed it delicious. (both diet, but I didn't tell them. ) and there was a lot left over. Dang it. Again. I hate so many leftovers, but I had a great suggestion to myself:
Saturday Circlewoods had their chicken barbecue in the clubhouse. We were going with two sets of neighbors. See - this is another group we wanted to see before we or they leave. Actually they'll leave before us because they have a Greenhouse up in their northern home in Massachusetts. They have to get the plants started.
So - on the spur of the moment, we invited them here for a drink and some hor d'oerves beforehand.
They came at noon, ate some, but not enough, shrimp, and had a soft drink before we left for the BBQ at 1:00. We chose the 1:00 rather than 12:00 seating because we thought the chicken would be more done. Well. . .
Paul thought the BBQ stank. It's true - they didn't use any BBQ sauce, and the skin wasn't cooked crispy, but I thought it was a reasonable facsimile of a BBQ chicken.
My thoughts are: Paul just has to go there and offer his expertise and his Cornell BBQ recipe and they'll just love it and hire him and he'll be responsible for the BBQ forever. But a more reasonable imagined response is to have the neighbors over for a chicken BBQ next year and use the Cornell recipe.
Which reminds me of some other chicken. I'll explain later or in another post if I don't have the time or this is getting to be too long.
Last Monday I had made a ten-serving shrimp and sausage gumbo. It's still in the fridge after four left-over events. It'll be thrown out. It was good, but it's been in the fridge too long. I missed its freezer deadline.
Instead of dinner Saturday night, we had shrimp cocktail and crackers and cheese spread in front of the TV. That finished it up. Don't think I want more shrimp for a while.
Yes. We've been busy and we're going to be busy for the next couple of weeks. It seems that towards the end of our time here in Florida everyone feels the need to get together and see each other. Especially if we haven't had the chance to. There are guests that arrive that we want to see, and people who are here who we haven't had the chance to spend time with.
Friday night we had a group of friends, who are connected by their "roots" to the Bath School District: Bob and Sue, who own a mobile-home in Northport, and Carol O and her sister and brother in law, Patti and Joe, who are visiting from Rochester, NY. We had cocktails here (We're very careful about how much we drink, knowing that we're going out for dinner. We only have one drink.) Then went on to the Venice Moose for a fish fry. We prepared loads of food for the cocktail hour, so much so that we only made a dent.
We set all the food out on the cocktail table in the new room - imagining that everyone would sit around the food. Nope. The men came in and sat immediately at the Island. The women sat in the new room. Interesting. The women helped themselves to the two pounds of shrimp cocktail and soft cheese spread that I make with a recipe from my former mother-in-law. (It's so good!) So I put the food on the Island, and the men helped themselves. This made only a dent.
When you go to a club like the Moose Club, you're limited to the number of guests you can have. So we were glad that Bob also had a Moose membership. It helped with our guests - Carol, Joe and Patti.
I don't know why, but lately we've been able to get a table immediately when we get there. Bob and I spied it and immediately commandeered it. And - it was one empty table right in the middle of things that had seven chairs around it. Just the right number. That's unheard of. To get seated right away. This is kind of a miracle to us, as we've been known to wait quite a while. Logically, I think it's because we're waiting for a while to go. All the old people have early dinners 4:30 - 6:00.
Afterwards we all came back to our house for dessert - I made two pies: chocolate and key lime. Everyone had some and proclaimed it delicious. (both diet, but I didn't tell them. ) and there was a lot left over. Dang it. Again. I hate so many leftovers, but I had a great suggestion to myself:
Saturday Circlewoods had their chicken barbecue in the clubhouse. We were going with two sets of neighbors. See - this is another group we wanted to see before we or they leave. Actually they'll leave before us because they have a Greenhouse up in their northern home in Massachusetts. They have to get the plants started.
So - on the spur of the moment, we invited them here for a drink and some hor d'oerves beforehand.
They came at noon, ate some, but not enough, shrimp, and had a soft drink before we left for the BBQ at 1:00. We chose the 1:00 rather than 12:00 seating because we thought the chicken would be more done. Well. . .
Paul thought the BBQ stank. It's true - they didn't use any BBQ sauce, and the skin wasn't cooked crispy, but I thought it was a reasonable facsimile of a BBQ chicken.
My thoughts are: Paul just has to go there and offer his expertise and his Cornell BBQ recipe and they'll just love it and hire him and he'll be responsible for the BBQ forever. But a more reasonable imagined response is to have the neighbors over for a chicken BBQ next year and use the Cornell recipe.
Which reminds me of some other chicken. I'll explain later or in another post if I don't have the time or this is getting to be too long.
Last Monday I had made a ten-serving shrimp and sausage gumbo. It's still in the fridge after four left-over events. It'll be thrown out. It was good, but it's been in the fridge too long. I missed its freezer deadline.
Instead of dinner Saturday night, we had shrimp cocktail and crackers and cheese spread in front of the TV. That finished it up. Don't think I want more shrimp for a while.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Did you miss me?
I'm back. Did you miss me? I'm sure most of you thought I was just busy with Showtime, which I was. So you were correct. The last time I wrote was February 18th - Walter's birthday. But - thank you, Lue, for writing and wondering if I was sick. It was very nice of you to worry. Your thoughts were appreciated.
One thing that I appreciated this year, and there's always something each year that crops up unexpectedly, were the two new friendships that I have made.
So much has been going on, but not much more than practicing with people on the piano. I had a steady flow of singers coming to the house this past week. I was able to "fix" "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood." because one of the musicians in Circlewoods, Rich, knew someone who had a computer program that could get me a copy of the music changed from key of F to the key of C. Rich has been in Showtime for many years and was just an advisor this year.
You see, the problem was, I know a computer site where I can get all kinds of sheet music. It's been marvelous. I've never had a problem getting any, but THIS one piece of music - forget it. It was not to be seen anywhere I looked. Rich was so pleased to be able to help me. He was very busy playing in a band all that weekend, but he found the time to locate this man and see that I got a copy. It did my heart good. I got it the Sunday evening before the show, which was two days before the first full rehearsal.
There are so many related people here at Circlewoods. (Bob, Alice, myself, my next door neighbor and her sister and brother in law two doors down) Rich is the brother-in-law of the lady whom I accompanied. "Waiting at the Church" Pat could never remember the lines and sang them differently each time. She even had the lines written in front of her behind her bridal bouquet. At least she remembered the punch line each time - which was (I can't marry you. My wife . . .won't let me.) Playing for her was a challenge, but still fun. Not sure if she'll agree about that.
So - anyway - I got to know Rich and I appreciated his help getting me music.
Then there was Martha. Martha had been the accompanist for Showtime before I took over. Martha and her husband moved to Englewood, the town next to Venice, a couple of years ago. Martha had played a particular song for two singers and our director wanted her to come back and do it again with them. Martha and I sat together and talked and talked about being organists, things going on in the family, music sites on the net and other things. It was delightful.
My friend, Carol O., was my page-turner and usher for each performance. She's done this for several years and enjoys being part of Showtime.
And of course, there was the chance for me to play for my cousins - Alice and Carol - as they sang "It's Raining on Prom Night" from Grease. Clever and well done. They also practiced and practiced with me and it really showed.
Bill and Epril came on Saturday to go out to dinner with us at Applebee's and then to the show Saturday night along with Bob. They got here during the matinee performance. We had a show Friday night, one Saturday at 2 and again at 7. After the Saturday show we had a pizza party and I was able to bring one friend (oops. I mentioned that the last post.). We had enough people that I could also invite Bill, Bob and Epril.
I had originally bought Bob a ticket, but he had made plans to visit his daughter Christine for the weekend and then to go on to Alpharetta to his son Jon's home for a couple of weeks. Christine has a full-size poodle and just got another one a couple of weeks ago. They both were sick. So Bob didn't want to infect Martini, so I managed to get his ticket back and he was able to go to the show. He stayed around until Sunday when he left for Alpharetta. He planned to stay in Valdosta, GA, which is halfway that night and continue on 6 hours to Alpharetta on Monday morning.
We had a scare Monday morning - our phone rang around 7:15. It rang once, then stopped, and then rang several times. I was awake and just lying in bed. It was Bob and he was not speaking coherently. Not full sentences. Didn't make sense. I had his cell phone number, so I called him right back. He answered. He'd butt-dialed my number. He'd been talking to Martini outside (while she did her business.) What a relief. (ha. For us. and Martini, I guess) I suppose its not important to make sense when you're talking to a dog and no one's around. He sounded fine the second time.
Paul and I went to the Venice Art Show Sunday afternoon with Gracie. There were tons of people and lots of dogs. They have all the exhibits in tents on Venice Ave. and it's quite a show to go to.
I even saw the person who made the little metal trees. (They look like little metal winter wind-swept bonsai trees on rocks.) I had gotten one a couple of years ago and wanted to get one for Nancy. I lost their card, but found it and was able to order one for her a year ago.) I talked with them and said how much I loved their work. They were from Indiana. I got another card.
Lots of people-watching opportunities. It appears that Gracie loves to do this. When I went inside the shell store, they sat outside on two imitation pilings. That took the place of seating outside. Paul said she sat there like a little Princess. . . just watching the people walk by. Very quiet and serene. She's so good. People are drawn to her. He said one lady came up to them with a serious look. She quietly stared and stared at Gracie. Then she said "beautiful." and walked away.
Now I'm just getting used to having some free time. Or I should be after I get caught up with what I haven't had time to do. I made a list of to-do things yesterday and have completed half of it so far.
I did make a good dinner last night - Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo. The recipe was in Parade Magazine on Sunday. It took a lot of preparation time, but tasted delicious. Paul liked it so much he wanted it for lunch today. That's almost unheard of. I guess it was a hit. Good thing the recipe made 10 servings. I had planned to freeze it, but it may not get to the freezer.
The weather is outstanding. Mid 70's. Sunny. I should have gone to the heated pool. Flowers are beautiful that Paul planted. No humidity. Slight breeze. Perfect. Sorry folks. It's the truth. Alice and I were together this morning and I told her how lucky we were to be here and how at our age how lucky we were to be able to enjoy such a life. I think when you come from the North you realize more and more how lucky you are. It's such a pleasure to wake up to the birds and see the sun all day. Almost every day.
Don't forget to change your clocks on Saturday night. They go forward. Spring is coming! And our little granddaughter, Ida, will be having a birthday this next week. Happy Birthday my dear girl. We'll be thinking of you. There's a card in the mail.
One thing that I appreciated this year, and there's always something each year that crops up unexpectedly, were the two new friendships that I have made.
So much has been going on, but not much more than practicing with people on the piano. I had a steady flow of singers coming to the house this past week. I was able to "fix" "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood." because one of the musicians in Circlewoods, Rich, knew someone who had a computer program that could get me a copy of the music changed from key of F to the key of C. Rich has been in Showtime for many years and was just an advisor this year.
You see, the problem was, I know a computer site where I can get all kinds of sheet music. It's been marvelous. I've never had a problem getting any, but THIS one piece of music - forget it. It was not to be seen anywhere I looked. Rich was so pleased to be able to help me. He was very busy playing in a band all that weekend, but he found the time to locate this man and see that I got a copy. It did my heart good. I got it the Sunday evening before the show, which was two days before the first full rehearsal.
There are so many related people here at Circlewoods. (Bob, Alice, myself, my next door neighbor and her sister and brother in law two doors down) Rich is the brother-in-law of the lady whom I accompanied. "Waiting at the Church" Pat could never remember the lines and sang them differently each time. She even had the lines written in front of her behind her bridal bouquet. At least she remembered the punch line each time - which was (I can't marry you. My wife . . .won't let me.) Playing for her was a challenge, but still fun. Not sure if she'll agree about that.
So - anyway - I got to know Rich and I appreciated his help getting me music.
Then there was Martha. Martha had been the accompanist for Showtime before I took over. Martha and her husband moved to Englewood, the town next to Venice, a couple of years ago. Martha had played a particular song for two singers and our director wanted her to come back and do it again with them. Martha and I sat together and talked and talked about being organists, things going on in the family, music sites on the net and other things. It was delightful.
My friend, Carol O., was my page-turner and usher for each performance. She's done this for several years and enjoys being part of Showtime.
And of course, there was the chance for me to play for my cousins - Alice and Carol - as they sang "It's Raining on Prom Night" from Grease. Clever and well done. They also practiced and practiced with me and it really showed.
Bill and Epril came on Saturday to go out to dinner with us at Applebee's and then to the show Saturday night along with Bob. They got here during the matinee performance. We had a show Friday night, one Saturday at 2 and again at 7. After the Saturday show we had a pizza party and I was able to bring one friend (oops. I mentioned that the last post.). We had enough people that I could also invite Bill, Bob and Epril.
I had originally bought Bob a ticket, but he had made plans to visit his daughter Christine for the weekend and then to go on to Alpharetta to his son Jon's home for a couple of weeks. Christine has a full-size poodle and just got another one a couple of weeks ago. They both were sick. So Bob didn't want to infect Martini, so I managed to get his ticket back and he was able to go to the show. He stayed around until Sunday when he left for Alpharetta. He planned to stay in Valdosta, GA, which is halfway that night and continue on 6 hours to Alpharetta on Monday morning.
We had a scare Monday morning - our phone rang around 7:15. It rang once, then stopped, and then rang several times. I was awake and just lying in bed. It was Bob and he was not speaking coherently. Not full sentences. Didn't make sense. I had his cell phone number, so I called him right back. He answered. He'd butt-dialed my number. He'd been talking to Martini outside (while she did her business.) What a relief. (ha. For us. and Martini, I guess) I suppose its not important to make sense when you're talking to a dog and no one's around. He sounded fine the second time.
Paul and I went to the Venice Art Show Sunday afternoon with Gracie. There were tons of people and lots of dogs. They have all the exhibits in tents on Venice Ave. and it's quite a show to go to.
I even saw the person who made the little metal trees. (They look like little metal winter wind-swept bonsai trees on rocks.) I had gotten one a couple of years ago and wanted to get one for Nancy. I lost their card, but found it and was able to order one for her a year ago.) I talked with them and said how much I loved their work. They were from Indiana. I got another card.
Lots of people-watching opportunities. It appears that Gracie loves to do this. When I went inside the shell store, they sat outside on two imitation pilings. That took the place of seating outside. Paul said she sat there like a little Princess. . . just watching the people walk by. Very quiet and serene. She's so good. People are drawn to her. He said one lady came up to them with a serious look. She quietly stared and stared at Gracie. Then she said "beautiful." and walked away.
Now I'm just getting used to having some free time. Or I should be after I get caught up with what I haven't had time to do. I made a list of to-do things yesterday and have completed half of it so far.
I did make a good dinner last night - Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo. The recipe was in Parade Magazine on Sunday. It took a lot of preparation time, but tasted delicious. Paul liked it so much he wanted it for lunch today. That's almost unheard of. I guess it was a hit. Good thing the recipe made 10 servings. I had planned to freeze it, but it may not get to the freezer.
The weather is outstanding. Mid 70's. Sunny. I should have gone to the heated pool. Flowers are beautiful that Paul planted. No humidity. Slight breeze. Perfect. Sorry folks. It's the truth. Alice and I were together this morning and I told her how lucky we were to be here and how at our age how lucky we were to be able to enjoy such a life. I think when you come from the North you realize more and more how lucky you are. It's such a pleasure to wake up to the birds and see the sun all day. Almost every day.
Don't forget to change your clocks on Saturday night. They go forward. Spring is coming! And our little granddaughter, Ida, will be having a birthday this next week. Happy Birthday my dear girl. We'll be thinking of you. There's a card in the mail.
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