MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2014

Good morning sunshine! It's forecast to be 84 this afternoon. Nice. Very nice. 

Today's adventures include picking up paver sand for a project Mark has underway. Our canal front patio needed a "tidy-up" and we had a stack of patio stones just waiting for a use ... so there. 

Robbie's riding shotgun! LOL 

My first call of the day was to the "chemo vet" to check on the status of Maggie's new medications. The lymph nodes have swelled (again). She still seems happy ... just uncomfortable. I wanted to make sure that the vets office knew to ship the medication Federal Express Air ... but it's hard to get through to these young people at the front desk! Grrr 

Hooray! The vet's wife, Annie, called to say the medication would be in tomorrow, Tuesday. So, Mags will go in at 9 o'clock and spend the day at their clinic. We will be back to pick her up at 6 o'clock! Mark and I are a couple of nervous nuts today ... hoping for a good outcome and Maggie having good quality of life during treatment. 

Mark got sand moved to the back patio, and laid most of the patio stones. I made a shirt for my Yaya's meeting in December, it's an ugly sweater party! Since we can't wear sweaters in Florida, I made a T-shirt. It's pretty cool, I think! 

Sue and Wayne are in Stuart having dinner with Rick and Ruth tonight. We're looking forward to seeing them (all) for the biggest day of the year ... American Thanksgiving! 

Randy and Dawn are setting up their new Christmas tree, (I'm not privy to the theme!) then driving to the airport to pick up Bob and Jill at 8 o'clock. It's bound to be a very stressful night for Dawn ... meeting Randy's Canadian friends. (No problem, but I know she will be worried!) A couple of cocktails and the conversation will flow. 

Mark and I are having wine and pizza at home! He's worn-out from wheeling sand about for the patio project! I'm worn out too ... no nightmares last evening but I only slept 5 hours. 

So, that how our day passed! 

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2014

Heavy rain woke Mark at 4 o'clock ... (not me). We were both exhausted last night and asleep by ten. Haha. What a couple of old geezers. BUT, middle of the night I awoke with "that feeling" of someone staring at me. I opened my eyes and saw a shadow crouched beside the bed!

"What are you doing? I asked. 

... (no response)

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! I hollered. 

From the other side of the bed, Mark said, "Ah, sleeping???"

Hahaha. Aren't night terrors fun! You'd think I'd have outgrown them by now. 

Diane and Kris were in good spirits last night, enjoying their "Villages" activities. In addition to line dancing, they are beginning ballroom dancing. Once their fish camp is sold, they'll be permanent "Village People". 

Sue and Wayne are spending a few nights near there for Thanksgiving ... they'll love all the dance activities. (Usually S & W are parked in our driveway for TG, but Diane and Kris are hosting dinner this year!) 

Cousin Elliott in Australia created this cool art for "Pure Apparel" ... love his creativity! Apparently his community does too!

Mark had a funny story from yesterday's hunting ... here it is, in his own words ...

"Lew was climbing down his Tree Stand and thought he was on the last rung, but he wasn't. Hence, Lew took a little tumble into the bushes! MAN DOWN. He started laughing right away, so I didn't have to haul him out of the forest!"

(When we watch America's Funniest Home Videos, Mark's in hysterics.)

So, today's "fun" is finishing the Christmas wrapping, sorting and putting aside some handmade jewelry for Sue's Shih Tzu rescue website, and Mark is puttering about the yard!

Maggie enjoyed happy hour with us on the patio. It was 82F this afternoon!

We met our new neighbors today ... Shelby, Steve and Abigail, their black cocker spaniel. It's nice to have new folks next door. 

Our "little" Norfolk pines ... started from 6" Christmas plants. Things grow nicely here. 

Randy had a very busy day ... cutting the lawn and preparing for next week's gathering. Of course, he watched the Dolphins play from his favorite barstool at The Hideaway.  

That's about all for today. Ta ta. 

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Good morning. It's an early one here at our house. Mark is going hunting with Lew, so half the neighborhood's awake already. LOL (We have a very noisy western screech owl living right behind our house, and when the little guy is disturbed in the night, he hoots!)

My pal, Rick M sent me this joke. It's pretty good ... 

Three Irishman are sitting in the pub window seat, watching the front door of the brothel over the road.

The local Methodist pastor appears, and quickly goes inside.

"Would you look at that!" says the first Irishman. 

"Did I not always say what a bunch of hypocrites they are?"

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than a Rabbi appears at the door, knocks, and goes inside.

"Another one trying to fool everyone with their preaching and stupid hats!"

They continue drinking their beer roundly condemning the Vicar and the Rabbi, when they see their own Catholic priest knock on the door.

"Now dat's sad." says the third Irishman. "One of the girls must've died!"

C'mon, that's funny. Hahaha. (And, somewhere there's a lesson there!)

This morning, I wrapped Christmas presents and got glitter all over the dining room. Ha ha. Gifts are ready for Matt, Tiffany, Hailey and Isabella! Whew! Randy agreed to deliver the parcel when he goes to South Florida on the 30th. His friends live just two blocks from Matt's. 

When Mark arrived home about 1130, he washed up and went to Hobby Lobby with me to pick up more wrapping supplies. Everything Christmas is 50% off  already! 

This evening, Randy is meeting Dawn and her girlfriend Sandy at The Villages for drinks and music. Mark and I are going to Stavros for dinner! 

Kris just called and we're going to meet he and Diane at Ichy Ban for buffet. 

 

Ta ta. 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Wow! That was one busy day! Mark checked and installed the Whirlpool washer and dryer set we got from Randy. It looks great in our laundry room!

Randy dropped in about noon and had a bite to eat and coffee with us. He had tried to put up the new Christmas tree but the stand was damaged. So, he returned it to Hobby Lobby, picked up another and went home to try again, maybe. Haha. Friday night is his "Hideaway" habit. 

While Mark used Tilex on our badly mildewed boat seats, I vacuumed and clean the inside of the house. Once he was done with the stinky stuff, I put the protectant on the seats. Mrs R B is now prepped for some cruising this weekend. Our weather has warmed up again, thankfully. It's always nice to have cooler weather for a day or two, but if it continues longer than that we miss our sunny lifestyle. LOL. Florida brats!

Thanks to the International Space Station, we have this beautiful aerial view of Florida. Cool, eh. 

This afternoon, Sue had Julius at the heart vet. Although he has a slight murmur, it shouldn't be causing the symptoms he has. It makes me wonder if he isn't maybe depressed? Julius is a very sensitive dog. Next week, we will see Sue and Wayne for Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing the doggies again.  

Maggie and Robbie had a good day, I think. They were outside chasing lizards a few times and enjoyed 70° and sunshine. 

Tonight, we decided to stay home, enjoy a couple glasses of wine and have leftovers for dinner. Tomorrow morning, Mark is going deer hunting with Lew. I'm going to begin wrapping Christmas presents. Ho ho ho. LOL 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Brr ... it's a chilly-willy morning here in Central Florida ... perfect for hanging Christmas lights and cleaning the boat! That's today's plan!  

Mark's family in Buffalo, New York are still digging out from the snowstorm! 

This is what it's like to be snowed in! I experienced some crazy snowfalls living in Canada as a child, but nothing like this. I would be claustrophobic!!! 24 more inches are expected. Yikes! We're thinking about our snowed in friends and family ... 

Mark tidied the backyard and helped me hang a few Christmas lights ... a string on the boathouse, another couple strings on the Trumpet and colored lights on one of the Norfolk pines. This year, instead of hanging lights on the house, I decorated the Crepe Myrtle in the front yard! That's it. As my mother used to say, a string of lights is all you need. (Now this is tough for an over-decorator!) LOL, this year, there's no eavestrough to hang the lights from! (Gutters, to some!)

Tonight, Mark and I are driving to Randy's to pick up his old washer and dryer. According to the repair man, he couldn't see anything particularly wrong with the machine and thought perhaps it had been incorrectly loaded or overloaded. So, Randy offered it to us as his new washer and dryer set had already been installed. 

It's now 10 o'clock, and we're home, snuggled in front of the TV with our "new" washer and dryer in the back of Randy's truck. We had a glass of wine with Randy and Dawn, and of course,several laughs. Randy has done a great job getting the house sorted out and tidied up for Linda's upcoming memorial. Everything looks nice!  Friends, Bob and Jill arrive on Monday! Next week will be very busy getting ready for the event. 

Ta ta. We hope your Thursday was a good one!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Good morning. While all of the 50 states are experiencing sub zero temperatures, and many with heavy snowfall, we're feeling the cold as far south as central Florida with 36°F at 7:00 a.m. Mark has family in the Buffalo, New York area ... 

This photo was taken mid-afternoon yesterday but they now have 70 inches of snow on the ground with 24 more inches forecast for today! 

This puts it all into perspective, doesn't it? By this weekend, the snow is forecast to be melted! (Personally, I'd just hibernate until the weekend and not worry about shoveling.) Yikes!

The wildlife suffers ... they can't move, are literally buried in snow and unable to eat. (Last year, the Northeastern USA  lost many deer to heavy snowfall.) 

So, with that said, do we have global warming? Or, is it just cyclical? Whatever your belief, deer and other wildlife need to migrate south for the winter! 

Meantime, in Central Florida, Mark went deer hunting this morning! Somehow, it just doesn't seem right, does it? Yes, transport herds of whitetail here ... 

Today, I'm going to lunch in downtown Eustis with my neighborhood ladies. Ruthann sold her home, (her husband died five years ago) and is moving to Ohio to be near family. I wonder if she's ready to reconsider. Ha ha! 

Lunch at 1884 was very good. There were three large groups so service was a little slow, but the food was good. Ruthann was presented with a care package for moving north; a scarf, hat, gloves and a sweater! We all had a good time and caught up on each other's news. 

Meantime, Mark met with the boat mechanic and, after changing the plugs and installing a new fuel filter, it runs like new! $137 invested ... a bargain!

Dr. Wells called with the new protocol for Maggie's treatment. It will take a few days for the new medication to be ordered so Monday is the next treatment. This series of chemotherapy will take place over a six-month period. We are hopeful for a complete remission!

Dr. Mike Henson from the University of Minnesota spent an hour on the phone with Dr. Wells explaining the protocol, the two drug series and timeframe needed between treatment. Monday, Maggie needs to be monitored for a possible anaphylactic response to the first drug, so must be there all day!

After dinner, we met Randy and Dawn for bowling! It was lots of laughs, as it always is ... but no high scores tonight! 

Hope your hump day was good. 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Awoke to Maggie and Robbie galloping into our bedroom. Rolling thunder with lightning spooked them. LOL. 

Good morning. It's a day for a nice roaring fire! We began our Christmas shopping today. The stores were amazingly crowded! It seems the cooler weather gave everyone the same idea! 

"Oh the weather outside is frightful ... but in here it's so delightful!"

Hobby Lobby had good sales ... 50% off all Christmas trees and decor; but I'm all done with that ... 40% off crafts and jewelry making items ... and two of the kids gifts were from that department. Bonus!

Mark just walked in with an armload of firewood. I KNOW what's next!!! Indian build little fire, sit close. White man build big fire, sit far away. LOL. In a few minutes our air conditioning will be on. ☺️

This morning, a friend posted this on Facebook. I'm guessing a goofy owner tossed a stick for a border collie ... 

and being a herding dog, he rounded up something "otter" than the stick! Haha. 

Have you heard of "Elf on the Shelf"? It's a rather creepy little toy that makes mischief for 30 days before Xmas. 

Well, Elf is NOT on the shelf anymore at this house. Hahaha. And, I agree, he is creepy! 

This lovely shepherd wearing a Grinch hat appeared on the "Dog Hall of Shame". Haha. 

Oops. 

Hahaha. Labs can look so contrite. 

This afternoon, Randy helped a friend move some furniture ... yes, near the nipping donkey! I bet he keeps his distance this time. Haha. 

This evening, Kris is coming over to watch Sons of Anarchy with us! He's been working at The Villages house for the past 10 days. (Diane had a list a mile long apparently.) Haha. It'll look beautiful for Thanksgiving, I know. Hopefully, Kris will have enough energy to cook a turkey!  

So, that's all our news for today.