THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Good morning. After a good soak in the hot tub last night and a sound sleep, we both felt great this morning and were up at 5 AM!  Mark went hunting, and I began my house cleaning!

Tree man ... upset that he missed the buck! His arrow tipped a twig and went end over end. The buck trotted away!

Sue and Wayne saw Sue and Greg at the Elks last night! It was prime rib night, and we know from past experience, it's good!

Lakeridge Winery has their "buy one get one" sale on cases right now! So, after lunch, we're off to the winery for some tasting and shopping! It's a great time to stock up with the holidays approaching. 

Vineyard in the background ... a warm 89F. 

I just heard from Timichael and Cayann they are on their way to Key West to pick up their boat. They have found a good place to keep it in Oklahoma, on a lake, close to home! (Thus far they are in Louisiana having stopped at 3 casinos!) LOL. 

We made a quick stop at the Humane Society to drop some things off, and then went to Walgreens to get our flu shots.

On the way home, we saw a BIG dust devil just off Highway 19!!! It was as big as the ones we saw in Arizona last year! In Florida!

It turned into a beautiful evening, and we sat outside for a while. Mark washed the truck and covered it. It may rain! We hear thunder around us, in the distance.

Our former neighbor, Bonnie, came by looking for her cat. She moved from here at the end of June. Her cat disappeared from the new home ... she hoped he may have traveled to his old home. No luck! We haven't seen any cats!

That's it for tonight!  Ta daaa. :-)

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Good morning. Rain was predicted today, so Mark didn't go hunting, and I didn't go to my ladies luncheon. Instead, we decided to drive to Randy's house and do a little work for him while he's in Canada. 

Mark gathered the brush on the new lot and burned it and then proceeded to cut the lawn. I did three loads of laundry and made the bed, moved a few things around in the bedroom and bathroom to freshen them up, and started cleaning the living room curio cabinets. 

It's now 4:45 ... Mark is putting out the fire in the lot next-door. The brush is all consumed and the lot looks tidy. The Mardy is in the back of Randy's truck, still draining. (Randy has been under a tremendous amount of pressure, so I hope these chores help a little!)

Mark wished he brought a change of clothes as he came in soaked with sweat. A couple of cold beer helped!

Isn't this the cutest picture? His mom, "Supper's ready!!!"

Me ...  "I'm coming mom!"  LOL

Is this cartoon Sylvester ... 

In the flesh?  I think so! Haha. 

That's it for today! Mark is napping after consuming my awesome pizza ... and I'm going in the spa. Ta ta. 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Good morning sunshine! Er, where are you today Ol' Sol? 

I was up at 5 to take the Scotties for a quick walk. With Maggie on Prednisone, she's drinking a lot of water! Next week, we'll begin decreasing her dosage, to every other day for two weeks, then done. She seems to be taking her chemotherapy pills in stride. Those pills continue indefinitely. 

Mark finished the guest room project this morning by securing the bookcase headboard to the wall. He utilized two long brackets so as to leave 5" of space for the curtains to hang freely behind the headboard! The room looks very good; we're both pleased with the results! Tomorrow I'll take pics and post them!

This afternoon, we decided on lunch at the bowling alley. We had a good lunch and bowled two games! With just the two of us, it was a chance to try a few different techniques. I bowled 106 and Mark bowled 135 in the last game. Slowly we're improving. It's been 10 years since we bowled with any regularity! (And I wasn't too good then!!!) LOL. It's a challenge with two mechanical knees and two ruptured disks ... but, like I said, I wasn't a bowler before all this. Haha. It's just fun to get out and move! 

Diane phoned this morning to chat. Kris is doing well with his new hip ... therapy continues! She is starting to feel a little relief at dear Linda's passing. It was a tough illness for all the family to bear. 

Randy is still in Canada ... visited Gregg yesterday ... and saw Kerry, Angie and niece Taylor. (I bet they watched football last night! Kerry is a big fan of the Saskatchewan Roughriders!)

Sue and Wayne brought in a new "Sea Turtles" yacht ... a 123'. They also have a 103' sailboat for sale. We yakked on the phone today, too. They are going to Carol and Jack's for dinner tonight. Nice! (Mark and I remember the Orange Dreamsicle cake Carol made one year at Easter! Obviously it was memorable!)

The Tawns family in Oz said "adieu" to Patrick who is away to the UK and Oxford University.

Elliott, Melanie, Patrick, Alaister and, in front, Miles ... saying goodbye at the airport. Patrick is off on a new adventure! Another one leaves the nest!  

With Patrick's good looks I don't think he'll be lonely at University. ;-)

Meanwhile, on Mark's side of the tree, the Asheville gang went whitewater rafting at Natahala. 

Jon and girlfriend, Olivia (screaming) and Jeremy ... Mark's nephews and niece. 

Jonathan and Jeremy ... brothers and best friends! 

As you see, I got the Blog pics loading again! After several changes to "cookies" and freeing up space deleting Facebook groups, the Blog is loading. 

Hope your Tuesday was great!

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

It's been another trying day of getting the blog to post! I guess it's time to phone Verizon and complain about their service! Photos won't post, and even text sometimes won't post! 

This morning, we got up and discovered that Robbie has an eye infection. So I called the vet and we got an appointment for 2:30. $116 later we were on our way home with medication! Our vet didn't think it was anything too serious, but sold us an antibiotic to clear it up. He was so good at the vet's that he got a treat when we got home. Maggie was a little mad at him that he went out and she didn't! LOL. (I'm pretty sure he would've rather stayed home than go to the vets!)

Carol & Jack phoned to say they were going to St. Pete for two baseball games. They're coming for a visit on Sunday and will stay over a couple of nights! We just finished the guestroom remodel ... they will be the first to test it. Haha. For Sunday night, Mark is planning to make Baked Ziti ... yum.  It'll be good fun to take them in the boat around our area!

This afternoon, we suffered through the Walmart shopping drama! The aisle blockers were out in full force! Then, we waited in line to check out. The cashier was quite fast, but the customers couldn't seem to get their credit cards to work. Oh boy!

Tonight is Dancing with the Stars. We're going to pour some wine and sit and watch ... plus switching back-and-forth with football, of course.

Ta ta. Hope you had a good Monday 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

Solar flares may be responsible for my Blog problem! Pictures refuse to post ... Walgreens couldn't give flu shots (?) as their "system" was down. (And I thought I was "out of commission with pics not posting!")  LOL

This morning, Mark and I went to Billy's  Café for omelettes and then on to Randy's to pick up his mail. There we discovered just what pressure he's been under. Haha. The hose was left on, the patio umbrella open, tools left in the vacant lot, and "The Mardy" sunk by soaked moving blankets. Oh boy!  Mark tidied up but smelled pretty foul on the ride home. Ha! Good thing we ate before hand. 

This afternoon we continued with our Guest Room project by putting up the rod brackets and hanging the fairy lights. 

Lew and Lynn phoned and suggested an afternoon swim and volleyball ... so that was "The End" of decorating! The water was 85F and felt great!  

Hopefully, communication will be improved tomorrow and the %*#£* Blog will print pics. Ta ta. 

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Good morning! It's archery season ... oh boy! Mark left at 5:30 to drive to Lake Panosofkee to hunt deer. 

I couldn't get back to sleep so started on the Guest Room again. 

Here I am confessing to removing tags from the new quilt!!! (Sue will be horrified!) LOL. If you remember from July's picture on the blog, Wayne had the tag on his rubber boots from 15 years ago. Hahaha.   As you can see, I added 7+ yards of lush fringe to give it some oomph. 

Mark arrived home at noon having heard turkeys and having seen a large deer. (Well, big for a Florida deer!)

Randy sent a text today ... he forgot to ask the neighbor to take his mail in ... so, we have a job to do. He suggested we might like to shoot pool and drink his beer. Well okay then! We're in. On a more somber note, Randy spread Linda's ashes at the grave sites of their two dogs and his mom's and grandmother's sites. Later today he will attend his aunt Stephanie's celebration of life. There, he will see family and friends from years ago.

Sue just called; she and Wayne are meeting Carol & Jack at the Elks for dinner and dancing. I reminded her to watch for Sue and Greg there! 

Tonight, Mark and I are hanging curtains. Oh fun!

FREAKY FRIDAY

Good morning! I was up early and ready to putter at tidying my art room. Beads packed away, a few items gathered for the humane society store, a couple loads of laundry and the easel readied for a 64" x 64" oil painting. (I need a huge "window with a view" for the Guest Room.) Haha. 

Mark went grocery shopping this morning ... a list of 20+ which resulted in 30 items bought. LOL. It's amazing how well these stores market to us, eh? He's a good shopper, though ... actually comes home with "meals"!  

This afternoon, we took a ride to the Leesburg Humane Society Thrift Store and dropped off two bags of donations. There was bedding, DVD movies and 4 sets of lace drapes. On the drive there, Mark spotted a good quality wheelchair in a neighbor's trash, loaded it into our truck and we delivered it to the shop, too. LOL. Someone will want it! What a find!

At Home Depot, Mark found everything necessary to make me a 13'8" curtain rod from electrical pipe and fittings. Where there's a will (mine), there's a way (his)!  LOL. We bought mirrored closet doors, too! I bet Robbie is going to sit in the Guest Room and admire himself!  Ha. 

On our drive home, I needed a quick stop at Joann's Fabric for some fringe. (The new quilt needs some extra pizzazz.) So, I "ran" into the shop, chose the fringe and waited and waited for the fabric clerk to measure and cut it. (A couple ahead of me wanted information from the clerk about "how difficult" is it to sew seat covers. Neither had sewed before and wanted advice about buying a 40-year-old sewing machine from the newspaper!) Get the "H" out of my way morons! Heehee. Anyway, 15 minutes later the fabric clerk measured and snipped my purchase. My sister Sue has taught me to ask if there might be a discount or coupon! "Yeah, text 6656 and enter Coupons, you'll get 20% off." she said. 

Well, 20 minutes later, no coupon! I went to the cashier after waiting in her queue ... "Sometimes the text doesn't work ... do it again." I was asked. I walked to the truck and sent another text from Mark's phone. No luck. The manager was pointed out ... I approached her. "Well, it should come through ... ". Finally, after 55 minutes and my persistence the dumb manager said, "Well, it's on sale isn't it?" I said no, regular price. "Oh, well I have a 40% coupon right here that you can use."  Duh. Yes, that works. So, I paid, walked out the door from Joann's Fabric into a friggin' monsoon of wind and rain and an angry husband. Thumbs down for Joann's ... Hobby Lobby next time!

On a fun note, one of the lovely animals saved from slaughter and ultimately adopted to a wee princess is "Lucky Chip". 

ere is sweet "Chipster" getting breakfast served by his Fairy Princess. Life is good. 

This evening, Mark prepared pickerel fillets in the Fry Daddy ... in the boathouse! Every raccoon within 10 miles  will be in our yard tonight.  Haha.