MONDAY AUGUST 31, 2015

I'm Wow! It's the last day of August. I officially coughed my way through the entire month. Yuck. (I noticed Randy and Mark were both coughing yesterday, too!) 

So, we have a mere 4 eBay parcels for the post office. One parcel I could have taken there myself in less time! 

It took 12 days to go 100 miles to Jacksonville! The package still hasn't arrived in Nevada 19 days later. WTH? (Mark is armed with data to ask at the post office today.) 

When I saw this on Facebook, I had to laugh ... 

This would cure a tendency to nurture a grudge! Haha. Good one. 

Laundry is piling up ... time to sort and begin a load of whites. Mark arrived home from the post office. The reply to our delivery problem was what I expected, "Oh we've had 4 other complaints on that load. I don't know where it went!" (Thanks a heap!) I thought tracking would improve things and someone would be responsible. Not so!

Watching for RanDawn. 

This evening, Mark and I went to Ichi Ban for supper. It was very good. About 630, Randy and Dawn arrived and we played a game of Mexican Dominoes. It was one of those crazy nights. Sue phoned and I bet we sounded like a bunch of crazy hoodlums. Haha.  Mark was the big winner. Dawn did not know that Randy came from a very famous Winnipeg family. He is related to Louis Riel a famous Métis. His cousin is Ray St. Germain, a country singer. Ray had a weekly TV show for many years. So, we sang quite a few songs that we thought perhaps Ray had performed. LOL. Oh boy. 

Randy and Dawn left about 1115, as Dawn has an early hair appointment.  I offered to trim it for her, and even had my pinking shears out but she ran away. LOL. 

So it's now technically tomorrow, and Mark and I are sitting finishing our drinks and eating popcorn. Life is good.  Ta ta. 

SUNDAY AUGUST 30, 2015

Good morning! We had plenty of rain overnight with more forecast today. 

Perhaps, bowling today? Right now, Mark is frying some eggs for our breakfast and Robbie is napping. 

Here's your "Awww" moment ...

Haha. My Mom LOVED donuts; I think she looked like this when I brought her some. LOL

More funny political crap ...

Hahaha. Proof that Trump's hairstyle does nothing for either sex!

We met Randy for 3 games of bowling at 3 o'clock. He was five minutes later than us and caught a heavy downpour coming in. It was so busy today ... all lanes full. Mark had 3 good games; all over the 170's ... Randy had two good games, as did I. We played 3 games mind you. LOL. Dawn was at work today so we sent her our scores. Cold beer was needed mid-way through the 3rd game!

Tonight, we're chilling out. No plans ... just some TV and getting eBay parcels ready for tomorrow. 

How was your SUNDAY?

SATURDAY AUGUST 29, 2015

Good morning! It was a restless night full of strange dreams! 

I woke up with a snake wriggling along the hem of our sheets! "Arrrgggh!!! (A leap from bed, a dive onto the covers; "I got it!!!" ... then covers janked off the bed.) "It was a damn snake!" said I.  Mark, from the other side of our king size bed ... "Ah, now we've gone from spiders to snakes."  LOL. Egad, these nightmares are exciting, aren't they??? So, I got up, poured a DSO and watched an AA show.  Whatever. I've had crazy dreams my whole life! 

Today, Mark finished waxing the RV as it was "cooler", just 84F. I was busy photographing eBay items for listing and doing inside household chores. 

About 3 o'clock we took Robs for a ride to visit Uncle Randy. (Dawn was working until 8!) He was happy to finish up his painting for the day and have a cold beer when we arrived.) The guest bedroom is coming along nicely ... just the window wall left to paint! 

Watching "The Bills" with Mark.

The hurricane officially petered out over the mountains in the Dominican Republic and Haiti ... Florida is now in the clear!

We had some heavy rain ... on and off for a couple of hours, but not associated with any particular weather pattern. (It's lovely to hear the rain!)

Tonight, we devoured a potato and chicken casserole Mark put together this morning. It was tasty! It's going to be a lazy, at home, evening ... except Robbie is ready to play! Ta ta. 

FRIDAY AUGUST 28, 2015

Bon jour. We're a little tired this morning after a marathon day of entertaining. It was FUN! Today will be much more relaxed. 

Granddaughters Hailey, 8 & Isabella, 4

Hurricane Erica will likely be a "non event" in our region of Florida but we prepared anyway. The vehicles are full of fuel, bottled water in stock, trees trimmed and canned goods in the pantry. Tomorrow's forecast will likely give us a better idea of its predicted course. 

We had two items for the post office today so we went together and stopped into the Humane Society store to browse.  Between us we spent $30. Haha. Hey, it's all good stuff and goes to a good cause!  

Mark talked with Randy this afternoon and heard he had a busy day. He went to pick up crown molding for their upcoming renovation project. 

About 4:30 Robbie started his pestering me while I was making a bracelet. I thought he was hungry so gave him supper "early". He ate, and came right back to stand and stare me down. (You know that feeling you have when someone's watching you?) I got up again, washed his water bowl and put in ice and fresh ice water. Perfect! He drank right away! Nope ... that wasn't it ... he wouldn't relax until I poured wine and went on the front porch with him. LOL. 

So, that was our day ... busy, but relaxing. Now it's telly time ... the new Ancient Aliens is on in 15 minutes. Ta ta. 

THIRSTDAY AUGUST 27, 2015

I'm awake way too early for such an action packed day! It began with a good omen, my karate book, autographed by Sensei Nishiyama, sold for $150 on eBay. Cool, eh? (We'll see if they pay.)

By 9:30 I was mostly prepared for game day ... and Mark prepped for our evening dinner party. 

Are you ready for a little humor, sort of political humor? Enjoy!

Ok, ok ... back to the day at hand. LOL. 

The game day girls arrived at 1 o'clock and got right into the spirits of the day. Everyone wanted to play 10,000, so we broke into two groups and played dice. Several snacks and bottles of wine later, we had winners. It was a fun time!

Robbie jumped onto Dawn's lap for a snuggle! He sure likes her. My friend Nancy bent over to scratch Robbie at one point today. Robbie was happy and enjoying himself until he looked up and discovered it was Nancy, not Dawn! He panicked, and ran and hid behind the recliner in the living room. LOL 

Randy & Mark arrived at 4:05 ... then 5:05 and finally just came in to join the party. LOL. We prepared for dinner just in time for Lew & Lynn's arrival. It was a fun evening and Mark's cooking was a big great hit ... followed by Lemon Meringue pie. 

We tidied up and sat to watch TV for a few minutes before BED. We're worn out. Ta ta. 

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26, 2015

Good morning world, it's a brand-new day! I have the sunroom to clean this morning, in preparation for tomorrow's game day. I'd better get jiggy with it. Mark has the folding table set up to groom Robbie so there's no sense vacuuming until that's finished! The little guy's hair is so thick and our summer so hot!!! Today the region is forecast to be 96, an all time record! (We haven't reached these temperatures, being surrounded by lakes, but it's been up as high as 93, yesterday!) Are you feeling hot hot hot? Er, yeah. 

Mark left for the post office with three eBay sale packages. It makes me laugh when things like a cow skull car charm is mailed to South Florida, and a flip-flops and sun umbrella car charm is mailed to Montana! What's with that? LOL. He also has a stop to make at Walgreens to pick up eyedrops and a prescription for his high cholesterol. Like I said before, getting old ain't for sissies! 

Yesterday, Randy mentioned Dawn had a sore throat but went to work! We hope she's feeling better today as plans include bowling this afternoon! Mark and I are still coughing from our July bouts of whatever! It takes a while to get over this bug. 

Did I tell you Randy began painting the guest bedroom? He got antsy, LOL, and couldn't wait for paint to go on sale over Labor Day. He did three coats on the feature wall already! It wasn't easy covering purple! The new color is coral. 

I saw this idea on Facebook yesterday for table decorating for an event. Just choose the colors you want. 

You know we've got wine bottles in this house. Ha ha. (Actually, ginormous wine bottles!) 

This next photo is for Sue who began watching "Ancient Aliens" ...

and had a sleepless night!  LOL

Well, bowling was a hoot, as usual. We think Mark upped his average to 165 as three games were over 170 today!

Dawn packed socks for Randy ...

hahaha ... there's always a laugh. 

Tonight, Mark is prepping a meal of feta stuffed chicken for tomorrow's Extravaganza. Randy, Dawn, Lew and Lynn are coming for dinner after the game day gals leave. It'll be a fun, busy day. While we ladies are playing cards, our guys are going to the gun shop! 

Here's my hard working chef prepping the chicken! (Gone are the days of me opening a box of oven ready stuffed chicken breasts!) 

So that was our day! How was yours? Ta ta. 

TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2015

It's four months today until Christmas! (Thank you, Randy, for pointing that out!) That's great news for me as I love Christmas! Actually, two days ago, I bought six stocking stuffers! Ha! Randy was shaken up because it's just three months until Thanksgiving! WAIT!!! Is that my iPhone ringing? Could it be a call from Diane? YES, it is! LOL 

Well, I THINK it was my sister, Diane. She wanted to say SHE'S doing Thanksgiving! Okay, what alien entity has taken over my sister??? Hahaha. So, I had to break the news to Randy when he popped in for a visit an hour later. Do you know what Randy said? "Really? Diane wants to do Thanksgiving again? Are YOU sure? You better call her again!" 

So, I did call Diane again! And, she said yes, they would like to host Thanksgiving dinner. I told her there are now 15 of us going to be in attendance, including Bob and Jill, Rose, Jim G, Scott E, Rick and Ruth, and our base family of eight. She said, "No problem!"  So, y'all, Thanksgiving dinner will be hosted by Diane & Kris, at The Villages, Central Florida, just bring what you'd like to drink (wine?)

For those away from Florida ...

Sunday could be interesting! 

Our pals from Boca Raton, Roddy and Shay, are soon leaving on their annual trip north to Lake Michigan. They enjoy crisp fall air at the cottage, and visiting Roddy's aunt, age 99! (She now has "Meals on Wheels" but lives independently otherwise.) We wish them a fun journey and a good visit with family and friends. 

Mark cooked a delicious Bolognese sauce for pasta tonight. I had two bowls! Yum. Robbie is still on chicken and rice for another day, but seems to be feeling much better thanks to the antibiotics and medication from the vet! Dr. Sue phone tonight to check on him ... and he loves hearing her voice! I told Sue a funny story that happened today. There was a song on an ad on TV tonight. I started imitating it ... "Watch me ... Watch me ... Waaatttccchhh meee!!!"  Well, I was surprised to see Robbie sitting perfectly at my feet waiting for a serious command. LOL. That was a training phrase he learned in puppy school when he was less than six months old. Amazing, eh? 

Well, I guess that's the main news for today. We're going to get our jammies on and watch a little TV. Ta ta. 

MONDAY AUGUST 24, 2015

Good morning! I was up early (6ish) and turned my phone on. Our Oklahoma friend "Timichael" hit a rough patch in life and sent me documents to read. His wife of 1 1/2 years, who Mark and I met and liked, is a master of manipulation and deceit. Sadly, she chose him as easy prey and now left him homeless and dead broke. She has three aliases, one of which "dates" on the "Ashley Madison" website. What a nightmare. The poor guy is so mad at himself for having fallen under her spell. 

You just never know what you're getting ... 

Too soon? LOL

Meanwhile, at home, Robbie had a vet appointment. Something has been upsetting his digestive tract every few days. 

Robbie the Bruce, licking his lips while watching a lizard. Haha. Well, we are now armed with de wormer, and a digestive tract antibiotic for Robbie. He needed fluids today and came out of the vet's with "a camel back"! He's on a chicken and rice diet for a few more days. The vet thinks he picked up something from a stray cat or raccoon. Hope this works for our wee boy. 

We dropped Robs at home and did our rounds of shopping. I needed "supplies" for game day which I'm hosting on Thursday. I've invited Dawn to play with us gals. Afterward, Randy will join us for a new chicken dish to cook Mark offered to cook! Nice. 

True. Some days you just want to stay in your jammies. Haha. 

Well, I'm going to call it a night and put my jammies on now. Our neighbor took this gorgeous sunset photo over Lake Eustis. 

SUNDAY AUGUST 23, 2015

Good afternoon. We've had a busy start to our day! Mark and I went to Billy's Café for a breakfast of omelettes! After that, we went for two rounds of bowling.

Mark, working on his 7th strike in a row!

Tsk, tsk ... no balance arm out. 

But, balance arm out or not, Mark's score was 242, previous game 158! Nice going! (My previous game was 114 just in case you're wondering how badly I sucked! LOL)

On our drive home, we spotted a tortoise on the side of the road. Mark went to pick him up and move him out of danger, but first, a photo!

He'd like to keep a tortoise as a pet. No! Haha. 

Randy and Dawn had a ride to Winter Garden on the bike, then to the Hideaway for drinks and music. They popped in about 4:30 for drinks and then to Stavros with us for dinner. We always have plenty of laughs! A big thunderstorm was brewing so they headed home and arrived safely.

It's been a super hot day of 94F ... but we enjoyed it anyhow! Tina Turner is on TV now ... gotta go. ;-)

SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2015

Good morning. It's housekeeping day here. Yuck. Actually, it's even worse than that! It's nook and cranny cleaning day. LOL. You know what I'm talking about. The tops of lights, the tops of cabinets, the tops of draperies and the glass doors! Well, I guess Mark had enough of me as he went with a package to the post office and on to Home Depot. Haha. 

Last night, we did ourselves in by having a bowl of ice cream about 9 o'clock. Although we didn't go to bed until midnight, we both had a fit of allergies and coughing all night long. I guess yesterday was too much dairy. Drat ... that was some good ice cream. ;-)

Randy and Dawn have an 8 foot alligator living under their dock. It's a bit unnerving, as when he hears someone walk on the dock, he swims out from underneath and stares them down. They think someone on their canal must be feeding gators! We are having the same problem on our canal. The difference is ours is a 5 to 6 foot alligator ... and we're pretty sure we know which neighbor is feeding it. Yes, I did have a talk with her and said it's illegal, blah blah blah and a fine involved. You just can't fix stupid. 

OK, enough of that, here's a giggle ...

OMG, can you just imagine what the background scene looks like? Haha. Somehow, this reminded me of coming home from work in the 70s, (it's a flashback 70s day here with the oldies on the cable channel. Great music!) Anyway, I arrived home from work to find my sweet English Springer Spaniel puppy Freddie IN his puppy playpen with dirty face and feet! WTF? Well, I walked through the house discovering palm fronds in each room! Whaattt? Then I walked into the living room ... my lovely new white shag carpeting was sporting a big brown muddy stain! Darling Freddie had clambered out of his playpen ... tipped the big plant pot over and entertained himself by digging in the dirt and eventually pulling the entire palm tree from the pot! LOL. (Yes, I can laugh about it now, all these years later!) There was my wee boy, BACK in his pen, looking as innocent as could be! The puppy playpen soon got a lid! Haha. He was one cool dog his entire life! 

Well, this dog is very cool!

But so is this pair!

Baby hitches a ride on Momma moose. 

Sue and Wayne are having a rainy day with thunderstorms at the cottage. Tonight, they're going for dinner and dancing in Keewatin. Nice! I hope it's a good time ... they enjoy dancing!

Jim sent photos of his cottage project. It's coming along nicely! Next April, it might be finished! 

I chose this photo to show you the size of these logs! Wow!

Hopefully, Randy and Dawn will get to see it when they're in Canada next month! Speaking of Randy, he's back on antibiotics! This bug we've all had is brutally tough to shake!

After wine on the porch, we feasted on the second pan of pork chops and rice. Yummy! We decided to enjoy a quiet evening in ... it was a busy enough day!

How was your Saturday?

FRIDAY AUGUST 21, 2015

Good morning! We both slept all night! That's a rarity!

So, I guess Mark and I had an "all-nighter".  LOL. (Hey, are those Randy's overalls???)

Speaking of Randy (and Dawn) they both forgot about going to "the springs" today. Actually, when Mark looked into it further, it's $10 per person entry fee. That's okay for a day trip, but this was just going to be a quick drive about, so that plan's on hold ... we'll go in the winter when the Manatee are congregated there! 

Last night, we got a picture of RanDawn's house with the big tree removed. 

Eventually, there will be plenty of parking! Their first task is repainting the home inside with bright, lively colors and installing crown moulding throughout. Plantation shutters are in the works, too, instead of draperies. Nice! They want it to look extra nice for Thanksgiving ... you know, when Bob and Jill fly here from Canada to prepare the meal. LOL. 

It was a busy morning. I created a box and wrapped a big package for shipping. Mark made the trip to our post office! What teamwork. We had grand plans to bowl later but sat down at 2 o'clock and both woke up at 4 o'clock! Nice! (It was 91° outside today and that just saps your energy.)

Hahaha. Animal photographers are great, aren't they! Cute. 

Yesterday, Mark bought pork chops on a BOGO Winn Dixie special. Today, he's cooking Mom's "pork chops and rice" recipe that I found in an old tin recipe box. It sure looks good and was a favorite of mine. Good news! It's still good ... 

Other news ... I phoned Wayne this afternoon. His back is slowly recovering! Sue went to lunch with "the girls". (That's a lot of info out of Wayne!) LOL. Tonight, they might be at a dock party. 

RanDawn are out to dinner with neighbors tonight. 

Us, wine in hand, we're going to watch "Ancient Aliens" at 9 on History Channel. So, Ta ta til the morrow. 

THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2015

Hey there! We're 2/3 the way through August! It won't be long until autumn ... a favorite time of year for us both. It wasn't always a favorite ... not when we lived "up north" and autumn brought to mind bare trees, brown grass, ice-cold rain and leaden skies. Bah! I got depressed just thinking about it. LOL 

Today's photos are of a political nature. 

Talk about getting Trumped! LOL

The comb-over is over! Haha. 

Oh boy! Haha. 

So we puttered around, did our common routine then went on the boat for a cruise after lunch. It was beautiful on the lake, and we were the only boat out there.

There were clouds all around the lake. We checked our weather app several times, and eventually decided we ought to go home! 

Ha ha. We were coming down our canal when the skies opened! 

At 6 o'clock, we tidied up and headed over to Randy and Dawn's for drinks. Robbie dashed into the house and greeted Dawn, totally bypassing Randy! Uncle Randy was devastated. LOL. We sat outside with wine and yakked and watched the sheet lightning bounce from cloud to cloud! It was a great evening! Randy pulled a chair out for Robbie to sit on beside the bar. At the end of the evening, I attempted to put the chair back where it belonged. In the darkness, as I was moving the chair, I thought I saw a long snake ... and yelled!!! Randy came to look, and yelled too!!! Then we got a flashlight and laughed ... 

OMG, we were over-served!!! Hahaha. Well, you can't be too careful. 

Tomorrow, we're doing a joint venture to visit Blue Springs, south of Deland, Florida.

It's 73F water ... Brrr! LOL.