FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2014

Good morning. It's another lovely day in sunny Florida. Mark began his tree removal. I just heard a big "THUNK", so I think the first limb is down! I really hate to take down a healthy tree. It just goes against everything I believe in. My hubbs, however, is tired of cleaning the truck from bird droppings. We plan to replace the one tree with three along the driveway. I guess that's a fair trade-off. Er, wrong tree! Mark thought it better to take down the tree in our back yard that is affecting our Sun Room floor! Well, it's still a shame to take down a healthy tree but this one IS a problem. Our Sun Room  sits on an 8" concrete slab ... and the Camphor tree sent big roots under it. 

Me, I'm starting to think "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" It's time to start looking at the flatware, and see what I need to replace. Haha. I know the gold plated silverware should not go in the dishwasher, but it does. So from time to time, I need to order replacement pieces. So there. Also, it's time to move the furniture about and ready a space for the Christmas tree! Yay! "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" OK, it's official, I'm a Christmas nut job. ;-)

Mark wore himself out playing lumberjack  while I did 4 loads of laundry. That done, we decided to meet Randy at The Hideaway for cocktails. Mark phoned and found Randy was ready for a break from sorting treasures and old paperwork. LOL. 

As you can see, it was a beautiful afternoon sitting by Lake Harris. Mark ordered a bucket of beer and fries while I had a glass of wine. Randy arrived about 10 minutes later. His friend Dan arrived just as we were leaving ... told him we'd be back Sunday for the live music. Hopefully, we can take Mark's cousins, Donnie, Kathie and Barb with us! We think they would have a good time at The Hideaway. Tomorrow, we're going to have dinner with them. 

So we arrived home at five, fed the kids and Mark put porkchops on the barbecue. I made a salad and it was enough for dinner. This evening, we're just going to relax and stay home! 

Ta ta ... hope you've enjoyed this lovely day!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014

Good morning mate! We are up early for our weekly trip to Longwood ... for Maggie's chemo and CLT at 10 o'clock. 

Maggie and Robbie at River Oaks in Longwood. (She was a bit anemic today!)

Randy and Dawn invited us for a lunch of comfort food after our vet visit. We enjoyed seeing the work they did in the third bedroom. The bedding ensemble is lovely; new pictures and a coral lamp. Randy made HOMEMADE macaroni and cheese plus chicken sandwiches in the panini. Yum!

Later, Mark puttered about getting his chainsaw ready for the next project; removing a "dirty" tree from our driveway area. It has drops berries that stain everything. :-(

Tonight was YaYa's ... 15 "gals" yakking it up. Pat made Spanish Rice and a salad ... and we had plenty of wine. It was good fun and I caught up on neighborhood news. 

LOL ... what was this about?

Sue, Carol and Jack went bowling ...

Pretty good score, Sue! It's time to treat yourself to some bowling gear. 

Tonight is "The Beaver Moon" ... no, I don't make this shit up. Haha. Step outside and enjoy it. 

Ta ta ... sleep well. 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014

Good (early) morning. 

LOL. Well, I woke up at 4:30 ... it was my morning to take sweet Miss Maggie outside for a piddle. Prednisone is part of her lymphoma treatment; and it's my lack of sleep culprit. Why hasn't an indoor (flushing) potty been developed for pets? 

Anyhow, I lit a cozy fire, poured a Diet Sunkist Orange soda over ice and began my day. (Robbie is snuggled in his bed and Maggie is on Mark's leather recliner!) Life is good. ;-)

Don't you just love Google?!!! I Googled dog toilets and found various low tech ideas for small dogs ... but then this video! 

This smart pup flips down his own toilet seat ...

Carefully aims ... does his business ...

and flushes the toilet! WOW! What a cool dog. (If I was building a new home, I'd design a pet bathroom!) LOL

Congratulations to the elected winners ... the people spoke ...  now, get to work on your agendas. LOL (The campaign ads were getting old, weren't they?)

A prominent local attorney was behind legalization of medical marijuana. It needed 61% to pass. 

I'm not a user, but apparently it's quite a good pain reliever! Anything that would relieve chronic pain would make a believer out of me. The popular vote ended up at 58% / 42% ... maybe with a rewrite, it'll happen next election. Whatever. 

Mark did a Walmart grocery run; I wasn't up to it today. Instead, I paid the bills and sat outside while the Scotties had a half hour's lizard hunt. Robbie races from place to place ... Maggie carefully chooses a place and waits. Haha. It's a perfect day; I know you're sick of hearing this if you live "up north"! LOL. So sorry. 

Eustis and Pompano are 250 miles apart ... sunset is 4 minutes later in Eustis. Cool eh?

We met Randy and Dawn at 5 o'clock for bowling.  Dawn beat everybody in the first game and Mark the big winner in the second game! As usual, plenty of gutter balls and laughs!

(We're thinking the beer may not be a good bowling night partner!) LOL. When Randy and Dawn went to the parking lot after bowling, they couldn't get her remote control to open the car doors! WTF? They pushed buttons, pulled on the door handles ... then Dawn realized it wasn't her car. LOL. 

Tonight, Mark is cooking some stirfry for dinner for the four of us. Ta ta. 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2014

Good morning hangover! Yikes. All was well until Mark brought out Sambuca and Fireball ... add a dose of old stories, mix with lots of laughs and VOILA = hangover. }:< LOL

While Mark and I took the Scotties for a ride to Sorrento for Maggie's cold laser therapy Rick and Ruth washed their RV. 

It looks spiffy ... good job!  Ruth made tortilla avocado soup for lunch, then they headed to Stuart to get their boat launched. It was a wonderful visit; lots of fun. They plan to be back for Linda's "Celebration of Life" November 29th. We also made plans to meet in Tampa for the RV show in mid-January!

On a very sad note, Sue and Wayne had little Macy put to sleep today. She suffered two major seizures and possibly a stroke during the night. We believe Macy was about 18. 

R.I.P. dear Macy. You were loved, little one. 

OR ... 

Randy painted the 2nd coat and ordered furniture today. A special lamp haunted him ... he saw it Sunday ... drove to The Villages shop called "Picture This" and, luckily, it was still there! Monday the furniture will be delivered! 

Otherwise, a relaxing afternoon. Ta ta. 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Good day! As you can see, the sun is shining on our fresh paint job. 

Pale Sagebrush doesn't photograph very well. LOL. In reality, it looks fresh and clean against the Icy Tundra trim. 

The under eaves and fascia are Deep Fern which ties in with the roof color. Anyway, the front and back are finished! Yay. Obviously, both sides of the house will be another couple of days work, but that'll be later on. Because ...

Rick and Ruth are visiting today in their brand-spanking new Mercedes RV ...

and Mark's cousins arrive from "up north"!  It's going to be a fun (busy) week. Plus, Maggie has two appointments ... and I have YaYa's on Thursday. 

Rick and Ruth arrived in their beautiful motor home about 3 o'clock. We had cocktails, and Ruth began to cook!!! We are so lucky to have guests who enjoy cooking!!! WOW! Ruth made homemade french fries, chili and coleslaw. It was excellent!!!  Randy joined us about 6 o'clock, and had dinner and cocktails. We had a lot of laughs!

Randy's arm was sore from having shoveled gravel earlier in the week and now painting. Here he has a wine bottle ice sleeve on his arm! We wished Dawn was here with us to meet Rick and Ruth. 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Brrr ...

it's snuggle weather here, too! Did you remember to change your clocks back? 

(I haven't, yet)!  

Good morning. We were up and out working on the house by 9. It's only 54°, but no wind today! Today I'll finish the front and the back of the house and add a picture to this blog. I love painting, it's such a rewarding activity!

Randy is meeting Dawn and her friends at The Hideaway this afternoon. It will be downright chilly there. We're only expecting a high of 65 today! 

With the chilly weather, Iguanas will be seeking warm shelter. They will crawl into dryer vents ... under car hoods ... electrical boxes ... to keep warm. 

Many South Floridians do not like the Iguanas. They are not a native species here but dumped or escaped from the pet trade.

Mark and I enjoyed our Iggy, as we called him, a 5 foot Iguana. He sunned himself on our seawall, and sometimes pooped on the back deck of the boat. Our dog, Shiloh, was on a Iggy patrol. LOL. 

Iggy is on the left side of the picture, at the edge of our boat dock ... Shiloh is stalking him ...

Success! 

Hahaha ... Are you lookin' at me?!!!

It's 430, and we finished painting the front and the back of the house! We are both exhausted! LOL. Tomorrow morning, I'll post a picture after we hang the address and tree!

Sue called tonight ... Carol, Jack, Sue, Emile are having a steak barbecue tonight at Sue and Wayne's house! It smells good from here!  (We were so tired, I put a pizza in the oven!) And poured wine! 

Ta ta. 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Last night, Sue and Wayne went to the Elks Club for a Halloween party. About 100 were dressed in costumes ... they had a great party!

Sue looks like the St. Pauli Girl in her outfit ... 

and Wayne wore his lederhosen well !

Those are great costumes. You two should've worn them to the Oktoberfest Rally last weekend; you'd have been a shoe-in for prizes at that party! 

Jack C was a perfect pirate ... 

and Carol was Queen for a Day. Nice tiara. 

Today, for Sue's birthday, Wayne is taking her by boat to Houston's for lunch. 

Shorty Hot-Pants and Julius were onboard too. (I see Capt. Wayne was not allowing shoes on the teak deck. LOL)

Although it's our usual bright sunny day, a cold front moved through last night. Today is breezy and much cooler! So ... I decided to begin painting the house. Mark painted the fascia board and under eaves with "Fern" green ... I cut in the trim on the stucco with "Pale Sagebrush". That took us all day ... just on the front! Oh well, tomorrow's another day!

Tonight, we're meeting Randy and Dawn at Stavros. They've been shopping most of the day with Dawn's granddaughter in tow, age 5. (Randy said he's exhausted, had no idea how busy a five-year-old could be!) LOL. 

Brrr ... 

It's cooled down to 51 at 9:45 (still 74 in the house)!  We had fun at Stavros with a waitress who called Dawn (then me) Ma'am !  Afterwards, they came home to visit the doggies and have a drink. We enjoyed a lot of laughs with old (dysfunctional) family stories. Haha. 

Ta ta. Hope your day was great! (Can you believe it's NOVEMBER?)