LABOR DAY, 9/7, 2015

Happy Labor Day!!! We've earned it. Let's enjoy!

Good morning. We were up and got our chores done by 1130 leaving the rest of the day for play. We've been invited to Sharon and Art's for a Labor Day dinner party. Randy and Dawn have been included in the invitation, along with friends Cindy, Paul, Rose, Jim, Lynn & Lew, Pat, Ken, Carin, Jim, Sandra & Jim. Unfortunately, Dawn works until 6 o'clock. But, she will join us after work! 

We arrived at Sharon & Art's right at 4:30, along with the rest of the invitees. It was a lively group, and Sharon had lots of hors d'oeuvres. At 5:45, she put dinner out which consisted of ham, baked chicken, roast beef, ribs, two types of potatoes and beans plus a variety of desserts. Everything was delicious, and we had a wonderful time. One person had to go home to walk their dog, and everyone else started to filter out behind them. WTF ... Sharon had been cooking for days! We stayed another hour and chatted and drank wine with them; had lots of laughs. Art entertained us with golfing stories. We left for home about 8 o'clock. 

Haha. When Randy and Dawn arrived home (early enough) to put the last load of laundry into the dryer, Randy opened the laundry closet doors and Dawn said ... "What a lovely color blue the walls are!!!"  They both had such a laugh and Randy suggested maybe she'd like to spend a little more time in the laundry area!!! LOL

Sue and Wayne sent a text that they crossed the border in one minute flat. Hooray! You never know your luck. LOL. They're spending their first night in Sherwood Forest, Minnesota. We are looking forward to seeing them next week in Nashville!

So that's it for this evening. It was a wonderful Labor Day. How was yours? Ta ta. 

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

It's a sunny start to our Sunday. There's still packing and loading to be finished ... but, Mr. Robbie dog created quite the mess overnight. I heard him during the night racing around the house. In hindsight, I should have fully woken up and taken him outside. But you know about hindsight, it's always 20/20. LOL 

The front and back door carpets had to be cleaned. Yuck. (They needed it anyway!)

Congratulations to our Florida Gators!

They played well last night against New Mexico! (Cousin Alex Tawns is in New Mexico this week visiting girlfriend Courtney's family!)

Alex, hiking in NM. 

Last night, Randy and Dawn went home in Randy's truck and left her car here. It was a good idea as it was quite late and they were both tired after the baby shower festivities. So, we shall be getting together with them later. Mark predicted they would get up late, go to the Hideaway for a couple of drinks, and pick up Dawn's car about the time of an afternoon rainstorm ... with Randy on the motorcycle. 

Robbie gettin' lovin's last night. 

This afternoon, Mark and I had a little more shopping for our big trip ... plus two bottles of wine for a party tomorrow night. Sharon and Art have invited us to their Labor Day dinner. 

When we finished our chores, Mark put lunch on the Pizzazz ...

Hahaha. Yes, we ATE pizza. 

Randy and Dawn arrived about 8 o'clock, having had a fun day at the Hideaway. Mark gave him a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and noticed that he was wearing a T-shirt to match.

They stayed for a glass of wine and then headed home as Dawn has to work tomorrow. Darn, work does interfere with a good social schedule. LOL 

Well, it's time to watch Ray Donovan.  Ta ta. 

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2015

Good morning. It looks like a lovely hot day coming up! Whew! 

This afternoon, we are going to Mary and Brandon's baby shower in Umatilla. It's going to be hot hot hot as there is no electricity at the pavilion. Mark suggested a cooler of ice with a cold towels that we can wrap around our necks. I think that's a great idea! 

Fortunately, a thunderstorm blew through just as we were going to the shower. It cooled things down to 88° with a lovely breeze! Randy had the charcoal piled up and lit. 

Why are those hotdogs underneath the grill Randy? Oh, I see a burger patty too! LOL. 

The wee ones had a great time with all the wonderful park play equipment. It was difficult to get them to sit down and eat something. Speaking of eating…Brittany had a baby food tasting contest. Five different samples of baby food was handed out and the guests wrote what they thought it was. The one that smelled like grass, turned out to be green beans. Randy thought another one was mango, but Mark was quite sure that mango isn't to baby food due to allergies. It was however mango! No wonder you can't get babies to eat. That stuff was awful.  OMG! What is that on the floor behind Randy???

Oops! It's a darn good thing there's another baby on the way! LOL 

RanDawn arrived about 730 in need of a good glass of wine. Of course we didn't have a good glass of wine but we had a box of wine. We had a lot of laughs about the day. It was fun, as always. 

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

Good morning! We were both up early, anxious to get the day behind us. At 11:20 Mark will have laser surgery to open clogged drainage holes in the back of his left eye that is causing high pressure. Three weeks later, his right eye will have the same surgery. It's amazing what can be done with lasers! Years ago, Mark's mom had two drains inserted into her eyes to reduce pressure. Twenty some years has changed the eye industry tremendously.  

Every week, on Facebook, there is a Florida photo contest. No photo retouching is allowed. Look at the gorgeous colors in this Islamorada Florida picture!

News from the Tawns family downunder finds Katie working at Steve Irwin's ...

and handling all types of critters!

That's Katie in the brimmed hat. You go girl!

Mark's eye surgery was finished in 5 minutes ... zap, click, zap and repeat. He had to sit in the waiting room half an hour afterwards then his eye pressure retested. Voila! Pressure down about 12 points ... and he drove home!  

On our way home from the eye doctors, we stopped at a Shell shop. There aren't many around this area now. The owner's grandmother opened it 69 years ago! Some of the shells in the shop are now illegal to harvest! I'd say it's just a little hole in the wall, but it's actually a large three room hole in the wall. LOL. Unfortunately, the family has not taken care of the buildings. There was still a very good selection of unique seashells. 

I bought a bagful for a gift I'm working on. They had some beautiful corals which I am considering for the house. 

Ramshackle café was on our way home, on 441. We've seen it several times and always wanted to go in. 

So, today we did! Mark ordered a taco salad and said it was the best he's ever had! I had a classic bacon cheese burger with french fries, also very good. I predict we will be back there in the cooler weather and enjoy the roadside patio. 

Randy and Dawn had a busy day getting last minute things together for tomorrow's baby shower. 

Busted! I recognize those feet! 

Haha! (I wish Mark would go once in awhile!)

Well, it was a busy enough day. So Tata till tomorrow!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

Good afternoon! Another morning got away on us. LOL. We were up early puttering around the house and mentally doing RV packing. I gathered my outfits, jewelry to match, naturally. Do you remember when "we" said "natch"? Ha! 

I have always found the RV smells stale when I first walk in. Maybe it's super dry air as our dehumidifier runs daily. Mark never notices an odor. (Is that a "man-thing"? Anyway, about three weeks ago, I  gave Mark a Glade air freshener plug-in to put in the RV kitchen. (I showed him how to insert the fragrance bottle.) Well, when I walked in today, it smelled like French whorehouse!!! LOL. 

Mark had plugged in the Glade freshener upside down and all the oil had drained out onto the RV kitchen countertop. LOL. As I was wiping up the oily mess and inserting a new refill scent bottle, Mark popped his head in the door with a handful of clothes for the closet. I mentioned his error, subtly. Mark's reply was ... "Well, how was I supposed to know which way it went in??? They should put directions on it!!!" 

I N S T R U C T I O N S ... ;-)

So, I continued in the RV while Mark took an eBay package to the post office and went onto Winn Dixie for RVing supplies. (He's a GREAT shopper ... saved $51 on a $191 order with a coupon and buy one get one deals!) Plus we get .30 cents a gallon off on Shell gas or diesel. Bonus!

Robbie enjoyed being in the RV again ... it was HIS puppy home for a year and a half. A small thunderstorm moved through about 6 o'clock and sent us inside for dinner. Mark is cooking lemon chicken, black beans & rice. :-)

Sue and Wayne's cottage continues to be a hub of activity. The new siding on the boat house looks great!

And the Windsorcraft is going (somewhere) for an overhaul. 

We plan to be on site next summer ... 

So that's it for today. We are going to get prepared for Mark's eyes surgery tomorrow at 11:20 in Summerfield Florida. Ta ta. 

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Good afternoon. It seems the morning got away on us. LOL. 

We decided to pull the RV out of it's port today to prepare for next week's adventure. It might seem a little early, but Mark has eye surgery Friday and there's no telling how he'll feel over the weekend. Best to get a few things done ahead of time. 

We had two surprise eBay sales first thing this morning! It's funny ... almost no sales over the weekend but 2 on a Wednesday morning! Both sales involved several items so it took me a little while to get them wrapped and packed. Mark took a ride in Da Mountie to our post office. There's a little drama going on there! Our favorite clerk Sheri has been assigned back room duty while a new gal, Michelle, learns the ropes at the front counter. The atmosphere is quite changed with a learning curve! Oh boy! 

Sue and Wayne sent pictures of the boathouse and dock repair project that Ron and crew are working on. 

Mark and Wayne thought they would have done this job last summer, but due to high water, the job had to be delayed. 

I'm sure Ron and the fellows are enjoying the lake atmosphere! Summer is winding down in Canada, although they have some 90° days this week! Whew. (That's hotter then our week which is in the 80s!)

This afternoon, we have planned to meet Randy for a few games of bowling. Dawn is at work today! Darn, work does get in the way of a good social schedule. LOL 

We certainly burned some calories today, plus it was warm in the bowling center. I was SO hot ... haha. Randy's third game was quite amazing. His first frame was a strike and then he had five spares!!! After that, he pretty much fell apart. But still amazing! LOL. Mark had 3 strikes in a row ... a turkey! Randy had 3 spares in a row ... "Winner winner chicken dinner"! Haha. 

Tonight, we are are pulling the RV onto the driveway. Yay!

Job done.  Tomorrow, more fun. Ta ta. 

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Good day! Wow, we both slept and no coughing! The cure? Could it be laughing and drinking wine? 

We are planning a laid-back, putter around the house type of day. Mark started the boat and wiped it down. It needs a total cleaning after a rainy summer. 

Sawgrass Nature Center has requested donations for their November fundraiser. It's time for me to sit down with pen and paper and design items to make. That should keep me out of mischief today. 

I see Tony & Aurelia had a late summer visit to K's cottage. Chessie looks happy and content to see his pals Julius & Shorty again. 

Boathouse repairs and rebuilding have begun. Ron and his crew arrived yesterday!  Sue and Wayne are cooking for the crew! 

This afternoon, we watched "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon & Angelina Jolie. It was 3 hours long, very good but we had to pay attention as it goes from the 1920 to 1960's. Oh boy. 

During the movie, Mark dished up bowls of ice cream ... and 5 hours later I'm coughing. You'd think I'd remember not to eat dairy when I'm congested. 

Tomorrow, we'll begin packing the RV for our trip to Olivia's wedding! 

Ta ta.