FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014

It's a brand-new month! The dog days of August are upon us. 

Speaking of dogs, ha ha, Maggie and Robbie are mooching a piece of banana from Mark.

The "Mosquito Barrier" that Mark sprayed yesterday was very effective against blind mosquitoes! 

Look at the garage door screen track! The white screen attracted them. Those bugs won't be flitting around the yard!

Today, we resumed our puttering about with washing Sunroom curtains. Mark got all ambitious and mopped the tile, too. I love the smell of Fabulosa! (Our cleaning-man, Carlos, always used it.) Too bad he's still in Boca Raton ... He's an excellent worker and good with the doggies. 

What's in the bird bath? 

There's a partier in every crowd ... LOL. 

Mark heard a familiar noise ... stepped out the front door and saw "The Blimp".

"The Blimp" is a common sight in South Florida, but not often in Central Florida. 

Meanwhile, in Canada ... 

Sue and Wayne spotted this deer resting in downtown Kenora yesterday. She had a rope around her neck! 

Tom, Monty's and Mary Beth's Shizzle went for a grooming along with Shorty-Hot-Pants. 

Tom looks so cute. He got along very well with the K's Shizzles. Julius wanted to play ... but Tom is too cool for that. :-)

Randy hired Pedro for a few hours and we met him to listen to music at The Hideaway. 

Friday night at The Highway ... great music, fan misters and buckets of beer! LOL

It was a sultry night in Central Florida. Yeehaw. The misters worked well until one of them had a blowout and doused a waitress. LOL. 

THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2014

It's the last day of July ... don't be sad or ...

LOL. 

Good morning. Mark and I slept in this morning ... could it have been the moonshine?  It sure was smooth!

Mark sprayed our yard today with "Mosquito Barrier" ... garlic! We haven't had mosquitoes, but he's hoping it works on these annoying pests.

This is a blind mosquito. They don't bite but swarm outdoor lighting and fly around when we walk on the lawn. Annoying pests. Take that!!! Ha. 

This cool leaf bug has been traveling with us today.

Thus far, we've gone to the Home Depot, Lowes, Winn-Dixie and the liquor store. And he still on the mirror! We arrived home with our bug still attached! He certainly has sticky feet. 

This very cute stinkbug lives on the Dodge truck cover. Really, he's there all the time. 

On 441 in Leesburg, I spotted this sign while stopped at a traffic light. 

I suspect a "special kid" put the letters on the sign. Hahaha. 

So we bought a new GE dehumidifier for the RV! The rebate check's in the mail; so the good news is that GE honored their warranty. Nice. Tonight, when it's cooler Mark will put it in the RV and plug it in. We run the drain hose into the shower drain. 

Mark ran into the liquor store today and came out with a new type of rum. 

We were having quite a laugh taking this picture for Rick M ... Oh no! Now Mark is hooked. LOL. 

So it's a quiet evening, watching movies and relaxing. Ta ta. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2014

Congratulations to our cousin Connie Tawns on her graduation from Leeds. She had plenty of family in attendance!

Connie, looking gorgeous, on her graduation day. 

Proud parents, Mel and Alastair with Connie. 

Alex, Mel, Connie, Alastair, Flo, Mel's mom and Miles in front. 

This morning, Mark had a massage to relieve a triple layer of knots in his mid back. Ice and alternating heat is his "job" today! 

Last night, Sue and Wayne had a lasagna dinner party. It looks like the lake crowd had a great time. 

It sure would be nice if this cold front dipped just a little further south. LOL ... it's 91 here today. 

Tonight is Mexican Dominoes with Randy. Mark is making cabbage roll casserole to take with us. Maggie and Robbie are happy to come along and visit. 

Randy made a dish tonight too. Cheesy broccoli casserole with cheese. It was good. We had quite a feast! 

Mark wanted to smoke a cigar on the deck before we began Dominos. Here he is in a puff of smoke!!! LOL Randy says Scott will love this one!

Randy's garden is looking great. 

He has the entire yard landscaped beautifully. Maggie enjoyed seeing Linda tonight and gave her a big kiss. LOL Unfortunately, Linda was not too happy with the smooch. Haha. 

Robbie-dog, as Linda calls him, on the patio looking for lounge lizards. LOL. 

The Hideaway moonshine was a big hit. Many goofy mistakes were made in Mexican Dominoes after the moonshine hit the table. It's certainly a smooth drink with a strawberry finish. 

Mark says, "Hiccup and Yeehaw for now!

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

Gosh, we're nearly at the end of July! Sue and Wayne are looking forward to having Ron, Penny, Kyle and Gavin for the long weekend. The "Gator" and Mexican Dominoes will be busy! LOL. Sorry we won't see the boys this time. 

This morning, Mark was full of vim and vigor (or as Dad would say "Piss and vinegar") LOL, and scrubbed the outside Sun Room windows. It's a huge job, as there are many windows and of course, screens. Every year, I take all the curtains down and wash them. First though, we have to buy a new dehumidifier for the RV. What does that have to do with washing the Sun Room curtains? The RV cord is plugged in to my dryer's 220 outlet as we have to run one air-conditioner in the RV until we buy said dehumidifier. So, I can't wash the curtains without my dryer. Whew! 

The Sunroom is brighter with just the outside windows washed! Thanks, Mark!

Last night, Monty, MaryBeth, Rose, Wayne and Sue had dinner at 901 Westside in Keewatin. 

How was dinner???

It was a busy day for me too! The house needed a good going-through ... dusting, vacuuming; y'all know the routine. LOL. When I finished about 2 o'clock I discovered Mark being a downright over-achiever!

Mark, cleaning Mrs R B's carpeting! Who's the man? Mark is. Haha. Gee, could we be getting caught up after being away? Maybe. 

Maggie jumped up to sit with me during a thunderstorm this afternoon. That's unusual. The storm didn't last long; then we were back to 90°. Fortunately, the AC in the house is working beautifully ... fingers crossed, hope I didn't jinx it. LOL 

This evening, Mark was too tired to cook. So I made my specialty, pizzas. My idea was to take him to Sonic, and Robbie certainly approved of that. Robbie was raised in Oklahoma with Sonic as a treat. LOL. Maggie likes the french fries, but Robbie will only eat grilled chicken. That boy has expensive taste. Haha. Anyway, we'll save Sonic for another night. Tomorrow, we're going to Randy's for Mexican Dominoes! That's our Wednesday night entertainment. Mark is making cabbage roll casserole for dinner tomorrow ... wrapped up and delivered hot. 

This evening, we're going to find a movie and just chill out. I hear thunder. That means a snuggly night with the doggies!

MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014

It was a busy morning of laundry and appointment scheduling. Mark's back pain moved to his shoulder ... so it's time to book a massage with Alicia. She's a tough gal who knows how to get the knots out. Ouch!!! She's the best!!! Maggie's vet appointment took time to book. Sue faxed Maggie's medical records to them as they don't have an email address for the clinic. There's always a snag; right? After that, I booked dermatologist appointments for both of us. 

Sue sent a picture of "our" loons with two little fluff balls!

The lake water rose quickly to flood stage early this summer and washed away their first nest. Sue said they would try again; and they obviously did!!!

The first annual KOA rally will be held in Okeechobee Florida October 17-20 and we're booked to attend. Sue and Wayne have booked too! It's going to be a lot of fun.

Speaking of fun, Randy called this morning to say he had had a great time at The Hideaway yesterday. The band partook of some moonshine, and put on quite a show! He said there was a breeze, so not too hot. We will be seeing him Wednesday, for our Mexican Dominoes night. Mark will cook cabbage roll casserole for the dinner. We hope Linda will enjoy eating it, too. We know Randy is a fan!

Hahaha. Too bad the author used "your" instead of "you're". That's a pet peeve of mine that's bound to get worse. 

Sue's been baking! Is it blueberry crumble???

Or Matrimonial Cake?

Mark has been dealing with a defective dehumidifier. It sounds like no big deal, but it runs in our RV to keep it fresh and mildew-free. This GE unit is less than 10 months old and used for 6 of those months! That's a crappy product! So, Mark called for warranty service ... and we can get a refund if we buy another. That works!

Last night, Maggie got a bath. Tonight is Robbie's turn. Everything's been fine today with the dogs romping around and playing. Tonight, when Mark got up from the recliner and said he was going to the shower, Robbie ran under the coffee table and hid. What a memory he has. LOL. 

Sue, Wayne, Rose, Mary Beth and Monty have gone for dinner tonight in Keewatin. Here's a picture of Rose arriving for a visit!!! 

We love the new look, Rose!

SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2014

Mark recorded the NASCAR race yesterday to watch in the evening. I happened to browse Facebook and saw who the winner was. I mentioned it to Mark but said "I won't tell you." I went for a shower and to wash my hair and he started to watch the race. When I walked into the living room 20 minutes later, Mark was just waking from a brief nap, finger on the remote's fast-forward, and was at the end of the race with the winner doing a victory lap. Ha ha Ha.

Today, Mark and I went to fuel up the boat at Palm Gardens. There wasn't a breeze in the Dead River so we crossed Lake Eustis and enjoyed lunch in A/C at Crazy Gators. There were showers all around us ... but nothing in our area. After lunch, the air was cooler and we had a good ride home!  

Lunch at Crazy Gators. A cool glass of Chardonnay on a hot day! Perfect. 

Captain Mark fearlessly outrunning the storm. 

We're steadily catching up on jobs around the house after being away 3 months. 

This is an interesting bug casting a big shadow on our walkway. 

Randy is enjoying an afternoon of music at The Hideaway while nurse Pedro watches Linda. Hope it's a fun time there. (I wanted to go but can't handle sitting outside in the afternoon heat. Mark and I are "half-Canadian" and not climatized here yet!)

Sue and Wayne went dancing in Kenora last night! A new place opened about the time we left for Minneapolis. 

Have you seen the movie ...

We watched it last night. It's rated Action/Black Comedy ... I'm not sure we thought it "comedy" but it was good. 

That's all for now. Ta ta. 

SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014

Good morning, it's another bright beautiful day in Florida! I slept in until 9 o'clock!!! Mark, already up, had walked and fed the Scotties. Wasn't I lucky! I was up late last night watching the new "Ancient Aliens".  It's not Mark's favorite show; he had gone to bed earlier.

Hahaha. YES! We're THAT happy today. Dr. Hensen called with his report on Maggie. It's all good. Basically, Maggie has B-cell Lymphoma that looks frightening in the lab results BUT since she has no physical symptoms other than swollen lymph nodes the doctor says "just keep an eye on it."  No chemo is required at this time. We'll take her to the local vet every 4-6 weeks for blood work and lymph node measurements. :-)

Meanwhile, in Canada's lake country, Monty and Wayne worked on the new shed Thursday and Friday.

The flower baskets are doing very well, too! 

Friday it was ready for the roof. The shed that Mark and Wayne built last year collapsed under the weight of the snow! I hope either the new shed's roof is stronger, or there's a lot less snow this coming winter!

Sue kept busy taking the Shizzles to the groomer. LOL

Dear little Macy was quite a lot to handle so was confined in the big tub. LOL.  It's not easy being Macy!

Ta Daaa! The new shed looks great! Good job!

This evening, Mark and I had happy hour on the boat. Miss Maggie posed for a picture!

MagPie, happy aboard Mrs R B. 

FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014

Good morning world! It's going to be hot here today ... 93F. To avoid the great outdoors I began riding my recumbent stationary bike in the sun room ... with the A/C blasting. LOL. Mark is tougher, he got his exercise by washing the front of the Grand Junction. The Scotties enjoyed watching him!

Thanks to cousin Hugh Tawns, I have some great pics to share. Mother Nature is awesome. Enjoy these beautiful and unusual flowers! 

This one resembles a tiger's face!

Glorious, aren't they? 

This evening, we met Randy at the Ichy Ban for Chinese food. Randy and Mark certainly got their money's worth. Ha ha ha. He has Pedro taking care of Linda this evening, and he's gone to the hideaway for a couple of hours. 

Mark finally decided what he wanted for his birthday present. Guess what he bought?

An electric pole saw!  Well I certainly wouldn't have bought him that so it's a good thing he chose it for himself!

Tomorrow, we'll catch up with what's going on at K cottage and the shed project. Ta ta for now.