WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014

Good morning. It seems our days of cooler weather and rain are behind us. It's forecast to be back to 90 by Thursday! Yikes. And it's the night of Yaya's, outside. :-(.  By Sunday, we're supposed to have bonfire weather!!! Yeah!

Greg and Sue Bergner are members of the Elks Club in Pompano Beach. As you can see, they had a brick made in Linda's honor. 

Apparently there's quite a story that goes with "road captain". What a lovely tribute from good friends. 

This morning, Mark was up early to go hunting in the Ocala Forest. It's a cooler morning, about 72°. My fun this morn is clearing my too big, too full curio cabinets. LOL. Mark's mom once told me "You spent the first 40 years of your life collecting stuff, and you'll be the next 40 trying to give it away!!!"  Haha. She was a real hoot. 

My "fall cleaning" motivation is ... Christmas ... 85 days away. Time to get the decorating ideas flowing!  It's a bit sad though ... fewer at our table (again).  You know you're gettin' old when more friends are on the other side! 

This afternoon, we took a ride and priced truck tires at Goodyear. Our Pep Boys were given a second chance and beat the GY price by $65. So ... 6 tires are ordered. Mark wanted to wait until spring but we felt a "bump" in a tire today, so it's time at 75,000 miles. 

Do you enjoy looking at the night sky?

The yellow circle seems rather insignificant, doesn't it? LOL

Ta ta. Enjoy your evening!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Happy birthday to our friend Bonnie in T-Town. We hope it's extra-special with plenty of Scottie and Westie kisses!

This morning, Mark and I drove to the vet's in Sorrento for Maggie's laser treatment. (Robbie came along for the ride, too!)  She continues to do very well and is starting to "be herself" again. Yesterday, she came looking for me and peeked around the shower curtain. LOL. This morning, she ran a lap around the house. :-)))

On the way home from Sorrento we saw a peacock cross the road in front of us. 

Last time we had a peacock cross our path we were driving in a residential area in Oklahoma City! Really!

This afternoon, we're meeting Randy and Dawn for a game of bowling. It's a little exercise, cheap and fun. 

Mark and I are happy Randy found a fun friend. It's good to see.

Randy, "strategizing" with Mark. Dawn turned out to be a good bowler; but we managed to throw her off a bit. LOL. 

Mark bowled a 170! Pretty darn good in this group. 

Tonight, Mark and I are catching up on our recorded TV shows. Haha. We already burned a calorie today. LOL

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

It's a moody morning with misty rain but we're off to Sorrento for Maggie's cold laser therapy. She's doing well ... no sign of nausea from four days of chemo. 

Home by eleven, Mark took the Buick to Pep Boys for a brake check and tire rotation with me following in our truck. There's a vibration at 65 MPH and the start of brake noise plaguing the car. ^$$$^

Enough of that. Here's my cousin Alex, back to the camera, in medieval garb in Bonny Scotland. 

Alex made his leather shoes! Cool, huh?

Meantime, at the opposite end of the world, cousin James and fiancé Anita attended The Lion King. 

Bob and Jill K are coming to Florida in November for a 10 day visit. It'll be great to see them. (Randy would like to have Linda's celebration of life while they're here.)

Maggie is patiently waiting for Uncle Randy to arrive ... 

and he's 28 minutes late. LOL To be fair, it's pouring with no let up in sight. 

After a couple of drinks, Randy drove and away we went for a fantastic smorgasbord at Ichi Ban. It was lots of fun. 

Toodles. Hope your MONDAY was a "funday"!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Sunrise in Central Florida ... 

Maybe a boat ride later?

Oh how my sister Sue and I dreaded Sunday mornings! Dear Nan let us hide behind the curved part of the sectional sofa until it was "too late" for us to walk to SS. LOL. Mom wasn't able to see us when she straggled out of the bedroom to 'put the coffee on' for dad. LOL. 

This Sunday morning isn't much kinder. Haha. It's 4:30 am and Mark and I are getting ready to drive Mags to her 8 o'clock chemo. Tomorrow, we can sleep in as we're back to 10 o'clock appointments. Mark noticed Maggie's lymph nodes under her jaw were considerbly shrunk. Hooray!

We arrived at 7:45, after picking up some coffee at the local McDonald's. We woke the dogs that overnighted in the vet's kennel. It's a good thing there are no neighbors nearby. 

Dr Greer and his lovely wife, Annie, arrived at 8 and immediately took Maggie for treatment. At 8:45 we were on our way home!  Maggie is handling the chemo exceptionally well. :-)))

For a treat today, I bought the Orlando Sentinel newspaper! What a dreadful waste of paper; Mark and I are used to getting our news minute by minute on Facebook. Really. LOL. ABC, NBC, FOX, MSNBC and others post breaking news as it happens. When the daily news comes on TV at 6 every evening it's already hours old. If you're not a FB fan for keeping up with friends you might be for the news! Our local cities have their events and news on Facebook too. 

If a FB post is of interest to you, the entire story is available by clicking on the title. (No trees harmed.) LOL

The '2 hours ago' on this post means this came online while I was napping. Haha. 

And, of course, up to date info on things that matter to you. (Gee, you'd think I invented FB!) LOL

Tonight, we're going to relax with a little Scotch on the rocks, compliment of Carol and Jack. Ta ta. 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

Good day, eh! 

Mark and I were off to the vet's at 8:45 for Maggie's 10 o'clock treatment. She is having two cold laser therapy sessions an hour apart plus two chemotherapy IV drips. So far, Maggie seems to be handling it all in stride. Thank goodness!

Mark thought the ginger snap was hilarious ... there you have it. LOL

Yesterday, while idling some time away during "the wait", we picked up RV info at a park. Here are the wild turkeys we saw at Wekiwa Springs State Park. The turkeys weren't too hard to spot as they came for their water dish! LOL

This afternoon, Randy is coming over to watch his favorite TV shows. Mark has gone to get groceries, and I am keeping an eye on the chemo pup. 

Our appointment tomorrow morning is at 8 AM, so there won't be any Saturday night partying done at this house! We will have to be on the road by 6:45. Yikes. At least there won't be any traffic tomorrow!

On our way to the vet's today Mark noticed this sign and I snapped a picture.

The sign says "Free toilet paper with each room. Have a great day." LOL

Well I was talking to Sue on the phone this evening, I slipped my earrings off.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this dissimilar pair! I guess I've been a little hurried lately! LOL

Randy just left, having watched his shows plus had a salad and corn with us. 

Hope your Saturday was grand!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

Good morning! Mark and I are off to Longwood for Maggie's 2nd chemo treatment. She slept well (we think) and ate her breakfast. We the people, didn't sleep well. LOL. That's life; people worry. 

We drove to Winter Park today to pick up Maggie's compounded prescription at Taylor Pharmacy. It was a lovely area, reminded us of Los Olas in Fort Lauderdale, but with 10 times the traffic. After two hours of driving about, we went back and picked up Maggie. She did great! Finally we're on our way home, an hour's drive.

Randy phoned that he was doing paperwork and running errands. Maybe tomorrow he'll visit and catch up on his favorite shows. (Mark recorded Sons of Anarchy and Blacklist.) This weekend, Mark and I are tied up with vet visits and will be happy to relax too. 

Sue and Wayne are meeting Carol and Jack at The Elks for dancing tonight. All was fine at their home. 

Hope your Friday was fabulous! 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Good morning! It's ...

And here's my pick ...

Introducing Mark ... at Dad's birthday party in 1993. Woot woot. 

Today, Randy returns from his two week trip to Canada. We're looking forward to seeing him. He had to be up at 3:30 this morning and is going to be very tired! I hope he will feel happy to be home again. 

This afternoon, Maggie is going for an injectable chemotherapy treatment. We're not sure if the Clorambucil is working fast enough; the lymph nodes under her neck have grown huge. It's time to start the CHOP treatment. Fortunately, Maggie is still eating well but yesterday yelped with pain when Mark picked her up. 

It's now 615 and we're heading home from the vet's in Longwood. Maggie had her first chemotherapy treatment today, with another one on Friday, Saturday and Sunday scheduled. She also had a cold laser therapy treatment to stimulate her immune system. She was happy to see us and jumped into the car! 

Randy called and he and Dawn are coming over for a visit around 730. We know that will cheer Maggie up. 

4 1/2 weeks ago, Kris had a hip replacement surgery! 

Just look at him now, just like Fred Astaire dancing with his cane! Great job, Kris. 

It's now 10:45 and time for bed. Randy had a very good trip ... we yakked and got all the news out of him. LOL. 

Hope your Thursday was good. Night night. 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

What is "Wacky Wednesday"? Well, I'm not sure; but we're going to have some (weekly) fun with it by unfolding a family story from "the olden days".  Haha. 

September 1992 ... Anytime two redheads travel together things are going to get crazy! Now make it two of "The Tawns girls" and you've got mega-mischief. Hahaha. 

Bottom step, Sue ... 2nd step Julie and Linda, 3rd step Diane. 

Diane and I booked airline tickets to Canada to visit our sister Linda and brother-in-law Randy in Canada. 

I had been on a crazy date the night before our trip and hadn't gone to bed until 3 A.M.  I shouldn't have gone to bed at all!!! Of course, as poor planning dictated, my alarm didn't go off ... and I wasn't ready when Diane arrived at the door. (That's the first wacky part of the story ... I'm always waiting for Diane!) Well, we made it to the airport in the nick of time. Diane was enjoying taunting me that I was about to fly with a hangover! (Never a good idea!)

Once airborne, breakfast service began. Diane went to the washroom ... her seat now empty. The flight attendant asked did I want bacon and eggs or pancakes? I was really hungry, and had a brilliant booze-addled idea! I flipped down the vacant center seat that was between Diane's and mine and said, "I'll have bacon & eggs, George here (pointing to the vacant center seat/table) would like pancakes!"

Diane was caught in 'no man's land' between the meal cart and the washroom. (She couldn't get back to her seat but witnessed me scarfing down two breakfasts.) LOL. I was feeling a lot better with a full stomach. Haha. 

Fifteen minutes later, Diane made it back to her seat. "Where's MY breakfast?" she asked the flight attendant. 

"There isn't a breakfast for you, your friend "George" ate it!!!" retorted the flight attendant. 

Well, you can imagine the indignant look on Diane's face. She looked at me; I was happily replete. (The attendant never brought her a breakfast so Diane spent the next five hours pretty hungry.) LOL. 

For the rest of our 10 day trip, Diane asked "What's George having to eat?"  Heehee. It was quite the trip. 

So, good morning! It's a lovely cool start to our day. Mark left home early for his happy hunting ground. Gun season hasn't started yet, it's strictly archery. I thought I'd sleep in but the weather radio sounded shortly after Mark left the house. The warning was not to do with our particular area; but Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach would experience more rain. They've now had 7 inches overnight ... a new 24 hour record for that area! It's been a year of "records" with weather events across the  globe. It seems that Al Gore's "An Inconvient Truth" is upon us. For a few years we could pass off these extremes as "100 year" weather events. But now, I think we have to say these "new records" point to the new "normal".

Mark and I like to travel by RV and therefore consume our fair share of fossil fuel. To help offset this, we limit our weekly around town trips to 3. We'll fuel up, stop at the post office and grocery store during one outing. It's not a perfect solution, but every bit counts. We haven't flown since 2009 ... RVing instead. By keeping our vehicles tuned up and tires properly inflated we're using less fuel. Our Dodge averages 15.8 MPG ... including towing our 5th wheel. 

At home, light bulbs are EnergyStar  curly-cues, LOL. They are cool to the touch, so our home doesn't heat up with lamps in use. We unplugged unnecessary equipment and donated our desk top computer and laptop, opting to use our iPhones instead. Older appliances have been replaced with EnergyStar ones; helping the environment, bit by bit.

Four EnergyStar windows are currently on order for our modest home. All other windows have been replaced already. 

We recycle and choose recycled products when available. Another easy way to cut our carbon footprint is to support local businesses and buy locally grown produce.

We wash larger laundry loads and save big ... less water ... less electricity than washing several small loads. Gee, what started that? Oh yeah, Daytona's flooding rains! LOL

Mark arrived home by eleven, made some chicken sandwiches in the panini and got ready for bowling. Then, we fell asleep and didn't wake up until 2 o'clock! What a life. LOL. Mark is a pretty consistent bowler now although today wasn't his day. I beat him in the first game with a 109. Haha. My problem is that I can throw a strike this time, and a gutter ball next time. In the 109, I threw five strikes ... but not much else!

Happy Hour today was spent aboard the boat. Mark picked up a new fuel filter and installed it while I put together wine and cheese. While we were sitting enjoying our wine, a tiny tick crawled across my hand! Right away Mark said, "I told you the dogs shouldn't be allowed in the backyard!!!" Well, the next thing he found was a tick on him; then another and another!!! Twenty or so tiny ticks later he had to admit HE brought the ticks home from hunting! Yes, it was funny until we had to get the tweezers out and pull them off ... then wash everything we were wearing in hot water! What a day!

Tonight, we're going to relax in front of a few favorite TV shows ... Modern Family, The Big Bang, Sons of Anarchy and NCIS. Ta ta. 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

Good morning and welcome fall !!!  It actually felt cooler when we walked Carol and Jack to their car. No, really!  haha. 

Summer heat does a number on Florida month after month with a brute force of heat and humidity. Fall, by contrast, slips in almost without notice. Mornings and evenings feel a little cooler. A fresh breeze picks up in the late afternoon. By the end of September, and into the first couple of weeks of October, you'll see the real change in Florida. No, the leaves don't change much, but the license plates on the cars sure do! LOL

Our big Sumack tree is deciduous ... and we get a golden glow from it. 

Crystal posted an adorable pic of Avery, all gussied up for a visit to Baba's and Gegi's (Darlene and Gregg) place. 

Avery sure is a tiny sweetie!

Our friends Timichael and Cayann drove from Oklahoma to Key West Florida last weekend to pick up their boat and haul it home. 

The trailer had been sitting on Pine Key for the past two years. They picked it up and continued on to Key West where the boat was at a marina, in storage. After some cussing, the boat was on the trailer and they started for home. Timichael phoned about 4 o'clock Monday to say they were on highway 91 crossing from I 95 to Florida's TurnPike in light rain. 

I asked, "Did you check the wheelbearings?" 

T replied that he did not think of that. Their plan was to drive straight through, 28 hours to Oklahoma. 

At 2:30 THIS afternoon, a series of text messages from Tim ... " (My texts are blue.)

We have good friends from every walk of life ... and love them all. What a hoot these two are. LOL

It's now 320, and we're on our way to Randy's to check the house. The Scotties needed a ride anyways. LOL he will be home on Thursday. 

Home by 5 to feed the doggies and pour some vino. Enjoy your evening ... ta ta. 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Ooh ... is it nearly autumn?

Carol and Jack were ready for breakfast by 9:30 so away we went to Cracker Barrel for a hearty breakfast. Carol, the little sneak, grabbed the bill. Today's special was "Apple Fritter French Toast"!

Mark took us on a tour along Lake Dora's waterfront area of Tavares and Mount Dora. We walked and shopped and bought a few things! It was a lovely morning. 

Jack, making a face, while Mark took a picture of an item he liked. LOL. 

We came home for the Scotties about 1 and to regroup for a boat ride. Carol was a big hit with Maggie and Robbie for buying them special treats at "Piglets Pantry". 

About 2 we decided to "beat the rain" and enjoy a Dora Canal cruise. 

Jack and Carol aboard "Mrs R B" in the Dora Canal. 

Captain Mark, holding us under the bridge on 19 as a thunderstorm rages. 

After the lightning passed ... enjoying a cool breeze on Lake Eustis, heading home. 

Maggie loved the cool air but not the thunder. LOL

Robbie justs wants to cuddle. 

The Oakwood Smokehouse had their $11.99 special for a rack of ribs ... and we all ordered that! Little Carol ate more than anyone else. Haha. Afterward, we came home, got comfy and watched "Dancing with the Cigars" (as Mark says!) Tommy Chong gets my vote. LOL

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

We're so excited!  Carol and Jack are coming to visit ... our first guests in the revamped Guest Room. Hah!

Mark has roasted chicken in the crockpot, teriyaki chicken on the stove and I've made an (experimental) Blueberry Pineapple Cobbler that we'll serve with vanilla ice cream. Yesterday, Mark prepared Randy's recipe of broccoli cheesy rice! Hope we don't screw up. LOL

Broccoli-Cheesy Rice - Delicious!

Carol and Jack arrived with a bottle of scotch, and a bag of goodies! We had some wine and chatted away the afternoon. Lew and Lynn arrived about 5 and the dinner party began. After a couple of bottles of champagne the evening turned into a "partay"!  LOL

About midnight we all retired ... 

20TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2014

Good day, eh? We awoke to light rain and 70 degree temperatures. Lovely. 

Our friend Rick sent a few funnies ... 

Hahaha. 

More giggles. 

Teehee. 

Mark prepped for tomorrow's dinner party. The Broccoli Cheesy Rice is ready for the oven, Chicken Teryiaki marinating and tomatoes ripening on the windowsill. It's going to be a feast!

This afternoon, we went tire shopping for the Dodge dually. At this time, we have 75,000 miles on our General Ameritrac tires. The wear bars are not yet showing but because we tow our 5th wheel RV, we'd rather err on the side of caution and replace them sooner rather than later. Some people have run their Generals to 90,000 miles ... but then there's the issue of Florida's hot roads. Pep Boys will special order them but prefer to sell us Korean made Hankook tires for slightly less money. The Hankooks are well thought of in the RV Forums online, but we'd like to stick with a known ... original equipment. 

The Florida Gators played Alabama's Crimson Tide this afternoon and Mark was glued to the Telly. To break the monotony (mine, not his) we went to Stavros for Italian. It wasn't crowded! I guess many were home watching the washout game. The CT have a strong team thanks to Coach Sabin. (Mark doesn't like him!). LOL

Robbie wants to play tonight BUT won't bring me his toy! His idea is that I should fetch ... he has an identity crisis. Ha. 

Randy is attending Kyle's wedding tonight in Winnipeg. We hope he's able to relax and have fun tonight. Bob and Jill have pulled out all the stops on this one and we know it'll be fantastic. 

Sue and Wayne went to the Elks tonight with Eileen from Wayne's office. They lost a good friend and volunteer from the Sea Turtles. Life is fragile, a lesson we know too well. 

The hot tub is calling my name ... Mark has the NASCAR race on ... ta ta. Hope your Saturday was exactly what you needed. 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Happy birthday Diane! (My big sis turned 49 today!)  ;-)

Hope it's a great birthday ... enjoy!

And, good morning. It looks like we'll have a day of light rain and cooler temps. Yay! (I really do enjoy "the rain".)

Today's "job" is making a cushion seat for a favorite rocking chair. So, we're off to Hobby Lobby for foam. We have enough fabric from last year's recovering of our Sunroom's wicker dining chairs!

So it's now 1130 and we're just leaving to pick up the foam for the chair cushions. Where does the day go? 

Hobby Lobby had exactly what I needed ... a 4" thick 24x24 piece of foam ... 30% off. Great! So with my savings, I bought a black lampshade and transformed a drab lamp to fabulous. Haha. Mark found a mosaic glass candle holder for his patio bar. 

Officially finished our Guest Room redo ... here are the pics Mark took ...

The color is "Summer Sun" ... and the sheer curtains are "Old Gold" as is the bedspread fringe. The French doors to the Sunroom are behind me. 

By putting the bed in the length of the room (13'8" wide), there's ample space for a sitting area with lamp. 

Mark hung the mirrored closet doors ... I cleaned up a comfortable recliner and ottoman for the sitting area. 

Guest Room door to hall and bathroom. 

Well I finished the rocking chair cushion, and it turned out pretty good. 

Mark began marinating the chicken for Sunday's dinner; he's making teriyaki chicken and sage chicken ... plus Randy's famous cheesy broccoli rice ... crowd pleaser! 

I took the dogs outside so they could lizard hunt although it was lightly raining. Of course no lizards were out, but they didn't know that. Mark joined us after he finished prepping the chicken, and we sat outside for an hour enjoying wine under the umbrella! Life is good, very good. 

It's Friday night, and we're content to be home, relaxing. It just doesn't get any better than this! 

Hope you're feeling content too!