Sometimes I wonder

why I have folks who read this blog. When we don't travel I don't write about anything.

I am basically a boring person! :^)

Our day to day lives are filled with the same chores that everyone else has. I do dishes, laundry, cleaning. And meal preparations......I do like to cook and I spend time reading cookbooks and collecting recipes. I buy cook books and trade them with friends and relatives. Books aren't a good thing to have a lot of when driving around towing your house.

I have two cookbooks on my Nook (which I can access from my iPad) but it's not the same as holding the book or setting it on the counter when you're cooking. I used to have a program on my other laptop for storing recipes but I lost all the recipes. The program is to old for this laptop so I guess I'll have to get another one....

Meanwhile I'm printing some recipes and handwriting others that I want to try. Fact is we eat to much now! My recipes have to be on a list and I keep them with my iPad because it has a shopping list for groceries.

We will be leaving Tampa after Labor Day.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

we've found our vacation home!


there is a beach here for everyone to enjoy

Lazy Days

Our days are filled with mostly relaxing and minimal activities. Mornings I take care of my daily chores. Jim may tend to something outside before lunch.

The other day we went to the International Plaza, a mall near the Tampa International Airport. We popped into Crate and Barrel first (a stand alone store), what a cool store! I could see me shopping there a lot if I had room for all the doo dads and dishes. We then drove over to the mall, very nice with some high end stores and eateries we've never seen before. We had lunch at Brio Tuscan Grille and enjoyed every bite! Started with a quatro bruschetta which was enough to fill us, eight slices with four different toppings. Jim had lasagna with salad and I had crab and shrimp cakes which came with roasted veggies and crisp potatoes. We ended by sharing a tira misu and espresso.

Afterwards we walked around the mall, we needed to work off some of that lunch!

This tree is awesome! It's over in the area for tenters and I'm sure it offers good shade and coverage during storms. I don't know what kind it is but it but the trunk is massive
Our sunsets are usually colorful as there are a lot of clouds for the sun to filter through and bounce off of as it sets.
here are a couple shots from last night
Most of my views have power lines and it's difficult to get pictures without them. These shots we taken looking up!

I made some Spicy Pepitas last night that are so yummy! The recipe is from Mesa Americano by Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds

1 t ground black pepper

1 t cayenne pepper

1 t cumin

1 t ancho chili or chili powder

1 t salt

2 t lime juice

Mix all this together and spread on a cookie sheet , bake for 5-8 minutes in a 350 oven.

YUM

Raccoon Creek

For the most part it's way to hot and humid to do anything here. I suppose if you're accustomed to the area and weather you'd take it in stride. We've been staying inside where it's cool!

we read, play games on the computers and iPads and watch TV!

I went for a walk at sundown and these pictures are looking east as the sun set

this Osprey was calling the whole time I was out

catching up

We're enjoying our time on MacDill Air Force Base. They play tunes all day long! Starting around 0630 we have reveille, at noon a whistle of some sort blows, at 1630 they end their day with the Star Spangled Banner and at 2200 we hear Taps. Depending on the weather we hear a dis-embodied voice telling us severe weather is upon us. We're close to the shooting range and we've heard them practicing. Boo doesn't like it!

The other day we went to Camping World at Lazy Days in Seffner. I saw this flag and just had to take a picture!

We had to replace the dryer vent cover and I must say it sure cost a lot for such a little piece of plastic. Speaking of the dryer, we often clean the vent so the dryer will work better and to prevent fires. Jim used the air compressor to clean it and boy did it work well! It broke up the lint and along with the vacuum cleaner and turning on the dryer, the lint just flew out!

We've had rain almost daily, but it's the rainy season in Florida and we expected it. Yesterday we spent some time at Barnes & Nobles. It's a dangerous place for me because I always find something to buy!

A few days ago we spent some time at Whole Foods Market! It's my favorite grocery store. The store here is not as large as some I've been too. But I still managed to find some goodies, as did Jim. He likes the snacks in the bins.

37 years together!

Yesterday Jim and I celebrated our 37th anniversary! We played tourist and drove over to St Petersburg. After parking the truck we walked out to The Pier

It's five levels of shops, eateries, an aquarium and event center. http://www.stpetepier.com/

We strolled some shops and went outside to see the view
This pelican ignored me while I waited for the perfect picture.

We had lunch at Coconuts on the top level. We sat outside overlooking water, an airport and the marina
We both checked our mail while waiting for our meal to arrive
Jim had coconut shrimp with fries and cole slaw
I had grilled fish, black beans over yellow rice and fried plantains
We did see three or four airplanes land and takeoff
Walking back to the parking lot I thought the buildings looked pretty against the white clouds



After leaving the Pier we headed for the coast and drove north on Beach Blvd. Unfortunately we didn't see much of the beach due to all the high rises. We stopped at a coffee shop and had iced black forest coffee, very tasty but boy was it sweet! We both suffered with sugar headaches for awhile.

Once we reached Clearwater we crossed back over to the mainland and headed home.

It was a fun afternoon and we always enjoy being together.

We just chilled the rest of the evening watching tv and using our computers. For some reason during the day the internet can be tricky. We think the Air Force is stealing our signal! :)

One drawback to camping on a military installation is Reveille which around here happens at about 0630! I'm not sure why we have to hear it down here at the tip of the base near the marina....

After checking the surrounding area for other campgrounds we've decided to hang in there and stay here. It's cheaper than the ones we checked into and we do want to see more of the area

Mundane chores

That's what we did yesterday. Our first stop was the laundry, they have commercial size washer and dryers so we popped the mattress pad in the washer. Then we headed to the office so we could register and pay. Filled out all the paperwork except the one for our guns, had to bring it home for the numbers. Who knows what the numbers are on their guns?

Then it was off to the Visitor Center to register our ID cards. I guess it's a new rule for military bases. They take your fingerprints and viola you're in the system. From there we went to the shopping center on base. First stop was the exchange and while walking in I noticed the hair salon had an opening at noon and it was almost noon! So I finally got my hair cut. I look and feel ever so much better!

We then headed to the food court and had lunch at the Manchu Wok. It was pretty good, we both had fried rice. Jim had orange chicken and I had mixed veggies. We then drove down to the other end and shopped the commissary. Normally I love to shop for groceries but everyone was there! The military get paid on the 15th and 30th. Retirees get paid on the first....

Back home I put the groceries away while Jim went to the laundry to put the mattress cover in the dryer and take the paperwork on the guns back to the office. All total it cost $2.50 to clean it! A lot better than the 40 bucks at the dry cleaners. I think I'll do the quilt and the duvet.

I continued doing the sheets and spent the afternoon just waiting on the dryer. Dinner was leftovers. Jim had the last of his Island Pizzeria Pizza from Cedar Key and I had a salad.