What were you doing a year ago?

Checking back I see we were still in South Florida, staying with Sonsearae and Chris....Jim got his new iPad and we were starting a month of no spending.  Not a bad idea, perhaps we should do that now!   

Towards the middle of the month a raccoon entertained me click here to see that post.  And I made a discovery about pine cones

Summertime in south Florida is spent mostly indoors unless you're a water rat and have a boat.  Apparently cold food was on my mind as I posted a recipe for Peach Freezer Jam....still haven't made any!

Jim has been working, helping Scotty with his projects regarding the workshop and apartment.  He's still napping most days

Anne made this flag from a pallet.  She had to make a template from cardboard to paint the stars on...had it ready and all set up for the Fourth of July

She's also made some tiny doors for the fairies

And I'm pretty sure she made this gourd birdhouse that's hanging in the tree.  She's a pretty crafty lady!

These day lilies are beautiful!

All is right in our world

How was your Christmas?

I sure hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas.  Our day was quiet and we had a lovely dinner out.  

Jim was very generous!  He bought me a Pandora bracelet with two heart clips and a Fleur de Lis bead.  It's quite Lovely!

He checked my Amazon wish list and also bought me a set of mixing bowls,  two CD's, Andrea Bocelli's Sacred Arias and Kenny Chesney's Greatest Hits which will sound real good on my new iPod!  Jim is currently uploading our CD's to his computer so he can load them on the new iPod.  

I gave Jim a mustache trimmer so he had a gift to open.  You may recall that he got a new iPad Air not to long ago and that was his Christmas present.

Chris was the duty Warden and spent the day driving to all of his facilities spreading cheer and making sure all was well.  Sonsearae spent a good part of her day cleaning and doing laundry. She also baked some Snickerdoodle cookies at my request.  Jim had been wanting some and I thought this would be a nice present.

Before we went to dinner our two families exchanged gifts.  Our gift to them was food!  A pizza making kit that included the flour and dried spices for pizza.  The other was a kit for soups and bread.  Jim was gifted a knife from his Amazon wish list and I was gifted a Flamingo Charm for my new bracelet.

We went to Spoto's for dinner.  They put on a buffet  that was chock full of delicious goodies.  I believe we all enjoyed our meal!  Since the restaurant is located on the St Lucie River we were able to watch the full moon rise into the night sky.  Clouds kept it covered, off and on, but it was still lovely to see.  

After dinner we walked out onto the pier and I used my phone to take pictures of the moon but alas I didn't think they were good enough to share.  We almost made it back to the car before the rain started.  Drove home through a light, misty rain.  No matter, it didn't spoil our Christmas

On one of our walks along the river we were entertained by this Blue Heron.  He had caught a fish but was struggling with him.  While he waited for it to die he dashed it to the shore and when it moved he whacked it with his beak, then without pausing he snatched it up, head first and swallowed it.

This crab barely held still long enough for me to take a picture!  We see them all along the rocks but when you get close they scuttle into a crevice

This furry little guy needs a haircut!

There has been some scary weather the past few days and I hope you're not in it.  If you are, stay safe!

All is right in our world

Not much to blog about

We've just been doing normal things retired people do.  We have our chores.  We read and play games.

Now and then we grocery shop.  Generally when this happens we combine trips.  Like Friday, I wanted to see the decorations at Palm Gardens Mall.  It's about an hour's drive from here.  This is what I call a Posh Mall.  When was the last time you saw a store for Jimmy Choo?  A lot of designer stores along with specialty shops.

We strolled both levels admiring the hanging ornaments.  The area where Santa was set up was really ornate.  I wonder if the children notice?

We stopped and had lunch in the mall at Brio Tuscan Grille, our holiday indulgence.  It was quite tasty.  Jim had Lasagna and I had crab cakes...we both had a salad and skipped dessert.

On the drive home we found some rain which was disappointing as the truck had been detailed the day before.  Between showers we stopped in at Publix for a few items.

Saturday was a stay at home day.  A cold front managed to get this south and it was blustery and cool.  When I got up it was 56 degrees.  We didn't do much.  Jim is still futzing with his new iPad.  We played games and watched TV...Dirty Dozen and Football later.

We're still dealing with mice and yesterday Chris loaned me an electronic trap.  You bait it with peanut butter, turn it on and it's ready to kill mice and rats.  Within a few hours we had a mouse!  Just checked and nothing overnight.  But I sure slept good last night without the sound of a critter under the bed.

All is right in our world

Dreary, rainy day

Thursday was a total washout!  Literally!  It was grey and gloomy all day with intermittent bands of rain scattered about for our enjoyment.

We did see a pair of Sandhill Cranes, they always brighten my day.  Such elegant birds with their fiery red 'hair'.

Sonsearae was busy early yesterday and she brought over a piece of pound cake for Jim and I to share.  He ate it for breakfast!  Considering he had apple pie for the dinner the night before I'm not sure it was a good idea.  Shortly after he finished it he took a nap.....before noon. Said he didn't feel well...I wonder if it was the food?

Sonsearae also made some Spanish rice and shared some of it with us.  That's what I had for my lunch.  When Jim got up he ate the last of the spaghetti and meatballs.

We've seen the Great Horned Owls a lot lately.  I do wish they'd not sit in our tree overnight and hoot.  I think it's lovely but Boo thinks they're a threat and lets' us know.  During the day I can usually find them in one of the trees.  Since I saw them mating the other day I guess that's why they're so visible.  He's chasing her around waiting for his chance...

Jim read most of the afternoon, as did I.  I'm still reading the Outlander series.  I'm not sure which book I'm into but each successive book is longer than the last, as the author added characters and details. Homesteading in the North Carolina mountains before the Revolutionary War isn't easy.  I'm also rereading My Beef With Meat by Rip Esselstyn and the other day I got a new cookbook by Nava Atlas that I'm still thumbing through.  Of all the options I love about the iPad, Nook and Kindle app is the ability to have books!  We download free ones all the time, I shall never run out of reading material.

What are you reading?  I'd love to know so leave a reply and I'll get back to you, I promise!

We took Boo our for a walk and to get the mail.....by the time I got to the mailbox it started sprinkling so his walk was cut short and we hightailed it back to the house.

Around 1800 it started raining in earnest...a steady downpour this time.  Not sure what we watched on TV some reruns and HGTV.  Just background noise.  We had spring rolls and crispy, raw veggies for dinner

All is right in our world

Sunrise, Sunset

Christmas Day is almost upon us and I hope, with all the hustle and bustle that comes this time of year, that you take some time to look around and observe your world.

Look around and really see how beautiful your world is.  We're in southern Florida, so no snow for us.  We do have some gorgeous skies!

Sunrise a few days ago looking out over the cow pasture

Sunsets through the trees can be quite lovely

Thanks to my wonderful family I'm enjoying reading books on my iPad again...so far I've read three.  Most recently The Bride Price by Tracey Jane Jackson.  A romance novel so it was a quick read.  And I'm sure it was a free book as I don't normally buy romance novels.  But I love starting my day with coffee and reading.  Jim and Boo sleep in and the time is mine.

What have you been reading?

This week in Welaka

Monday was Veteran's Day and we didn't do much of anything...just stayed home and enjoyed each other's company.  Jim was still battling his mouth infection.  We watched an episode of Inspector Morse on Netflix

Tuesday started started off with fog and at 0630 the temperature was 68.  We had a list of items that we know are cheaper at Walmart so we made a run to pick them up.  We also made a stop at Dollar Tree and Publix.  Wonderful weather day and we sat outside with our afternoon coffee

Wednesday Jim had to work.  During the night a cold front started coming through and our temperature never got above 60....I had the fireplace on all day.  We also had repairmen show up at the same time to fix two different problems!  The wash machine was not agitating properly and about a week prior I discovered oil on the floor.  Apparently it needs a new transmission.  Good news, it's still under warranty and the fix will be free.  The washer still works so I'm continuing to use it.  It will get repaired the day before Thanksgiving

The other repairman was for our electric hot water heater.  It stopped working again.  This repair cost us but at least now we have hot water using the electric heater.  The wires behind the unit was the culprit.  Once he replaced those everything worked just fine!

Thursday Jim had to work and I did laundry.  It was a crisp fall day that started out at 47 degrees.

Friday started out rainy and chilly...around 0930 we made the decision to go out!  Why stay home a grumble about the weather?  We headed to Jacksonville around 1030 in the drizzly rain.  Once we arrived at St John's Town Center it was time for lunch and we stopped in at BJ's Brewhouse.  First time since we left the RGV.

Had a lovely lunch with a couple of brews.  Jim had tacos, either fish or shrimp, can't remember and I had soup and salad.

Our first stop was a mistake!  We both like the REI store and I found a few things that came home with us.  A jacket, finger-less gloves, a hooded sweat shirt and a Fitbit for me.  Jim didn't buy anything!

One of the reasons for this particular shopping center was to take my iPad to the Apple store.  For some time I've not unplugged my iPad for fear I'd never get it recharged again.  The original cord had stopped working and I was using the iPod cord which didn't fit properly. We were even looking into replacing the tablet....no need to!  All it needed was a new cord.  Cheap fix...

We stopped in at Starbucks and took advantage of the BOGO they had going on.  Jim got a peppermint mocha coffee and I tried the caramel creme brule frappachino.  My coffee was a creamy sweet treat that is good maybe once in a lifetime!  

We wandered through Williams Sonoma mostly because I love the store but also because there was a wonderful aroma wafting out of the doors.  They had turkey and stuffing to sample and it was yummy!  We could have had our lunch there.

No rainy day would be complete without stopping in at Barnes and Nobles so we spent an hour or so there before heading home.  Boo was mighty glad to see us!  It was past his dinner time...

Saturday Jim worked outside most of the morning doing various chores he had.  You know, there's always a list of little jobs 'you'll get to'.  This was that day.

After lunch he took a much deserved nap.  Boo is keeping us awake nights with scratching.  I wish we could figure out what it is that causes it.  I'm sure it's allergies but just like humans it costs to test.  During the afternoon a light rain started falling and it continued on through the evening and night.

It's now Sunday morning and it's still overcast but no rain.  And it is a lot warmer.  I think our high today will be in the low 80's.  Jim will be working but should be home in time for the Saint's Football game later this afternoon.

There you have it, the week in review!

118 days

• 10,235,400 seconds
• 170,590 minutes
• 2843 hours (rounded down)
• 118 days (rounded down)
• 16 weeks (rounded down)

Paper

The other day I bought a couple of magazines at Barnes and Nobles and did you know they offer a paperless receipt?  They just emailed it to me!  I think that's fabulous....no little piece of paper that ends up in a recycle bin or land fill or ends up floating around as a piece of litter in the parking lot. I hope more stores offer this option!

I also took the opportunity to look at the Nook tablets. So many options for hand held devices out there!  I have the original Nook reader, no bells and whistles.  Do I need another one?   Not really...I have an iPad (original, 1st edition) that I no longer carry everywhere because I'm afraid the battery will run down and I won't be able to recharge it (issues with the plug and cord). I really miss not taking it everywhere because with all the apps I can read, play games and with WiFi can get online. Do I need another one, not really.  But I can dream

Thursday I was up a 0600...for years this has been my normal rising time, but because I haven't been sleeping well getting up later has been the norm lately.  Hopefully this changing seasons will be a new beginning for me. Not that I like getting up when it's dark!  But the longer I stay in bed the more my back hurts.  And it does give me quiet time for reading and hearing the birds as the sun comes up.

Around mid morning the clouds started dissipating and the sun came out!  I wanted to make a run to Lowe's for some plants so we changed into our city clothes and headed out.  

I did managed to find a potted chrysanthemum I liked and chose a couple marigolds to flank it.  Also bought a tomato plant, a pepper plant and a dish of succulents   Our hanging pot of fuchsia looked pitiful so I bought some impatiens to replace it.  Stay tuned for pictures!

We also bought a new bird feeder, squirrel proof according to the label...we shall see.  Along with some bird seed and suet cakes we're all set to watch the birds and squirrels

Next stop was Verizon, we get a 15% discount for Jim's military service and we had to show his ID card and send in paperwork to continue getting this discount.  Not a big deal and after a few minutes we were good to go. I like saving money, how about you?

Next stop was Subway for lunch.  I had a $10 gift card and we took advantage of the $5 foot long and along with a soda and chips we indulged ourselves.  Can't recall the last time I had real soda

Our last stop was Publix for a few groceries.  Back home Jim unloaded the truck, placing bagged plants all over the patio and I took care of the groceries.  Couldn't help but notice it was only 1300....Jim took a nap

Once he was up we both headed outside to take care of the plants and I did some re-potting. I filled the new feeder and hung it out while Jim set out seed in a couple other feeders   Then it was time for cold beer....have you ever tried a fruit flavored beer? I had an Abita Strawator, Strawberry Harvest Lager.  Quite nice on a warm afternoon.

Our Thursday night Pizza/Pot Luck was quite pleasant.  This front that went through left us with a cool breeze and lower temperatures.

It was so nice that when we got back home we opened the windows and turned on the exhaust fans.  We haven't done that in the last few months!  Then we showered and settled in for an evening of TV watching.   Shortly after 2100 we had to close up the house and turn on the AC...it was nice to have the fresh air moving through the house once again

What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind.  ~Cleveland Amory

Sunsets

Wow!  It's December already and you know what?  In one week I'll be 65 years young....I don't expect gifts but give me a mention on Facebook...

Tuesday we started and ended the day with rain.  We stayed in and read books on our iPads and played games on the computers.  Don't recall what we ate but Jim did dishes for me all day...He also took a nap, not sure if he was tired or bored.  :-)
Of course Tuesday is NCIS night.  We're in the Eastern Time Zone and I went to bed at 2200 my normal bedtime.  At this rate I'll miss some late TV shows, but they'll be on again in re-runs.

Wednesday was still damp and chilly so we stayed in except for a run to pick up some groceries.  Since there wasn't much to watch on TV we watched The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movie that Sonsearae lent us.  What a good movie!  I hope I got the title right.  If you haven't seen it, check it out.
The skies cleared and we had a beautiful sunset



Don't remember the exact day, but I made some delicious vegetable soup with my home made broth.  I don't think Jim has tried any, but I do have some frozen for future use.  Thursday we decided to go for a drive.  This are is quite lovely with all the pine trees and the lake is huge! 376 miles of shoreline.  We didn't go all the way around but we did check out some of the other COE campgrounds and just enjoyed being out of the house.
Again, we had a lovely sunset

Yesterday the temperature was in the low 70's and Jim spent some time outdoors cleaning the windows on the truck and cleaning the trikes.  Apparently this wore him out so he took a nap...

For dinner I made a veggie stir-fry with onions, celery, garlic, yellow bell pepper, broccoli and button mushrooms served over white rice.  For me this is comfort food.
Friday's sunset was gorgeous!

This morning I was up at 0630....I think I may have adjusted to this time zone...time will tell

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.

Sonsearae

We took a drive on Beach Road, Panama City Beach and we got stopped several times. Road construction mostly, but we did get stopped for some repair on a catwalk from one side of the street to the other. Happened to see these window washers so I snapped a couple pictures

I sure hope they get paid well!

On Wednesday our daughter drove over from Tallahassee to see us. It's been two years and it was a treat to see her. She arrived around 0730 and she brought breakfast! A blueberry cake she had made. Quite tasty!

We visited a bit and played with our iPads. She had just gotten one so we all had a look see at her iPad 2 and compared apps....Not sure what time we left but we headed to Pier Park, (www.panamacitybeachonline.com/PierPark/) for some shopping and lunch. We mostly stayed on the south end looking in the beach shops. Had lunch at a pizza place and I was pleased they offered non-dairy cheese!

We also made a stop at Target to look at pots and pans, didn't buy any. We strolled some and found a Walking Company store where I found some sandals! Wasn't crazy about the price but I needed a pair.

Back home we sat around playing with our iPads and talked some. Sonsearae left around 1700. It sure was nice to see her.

Since Wednesday we've just enjoyed our stay here. Today we headed to the beach taking lunch. Wouldn't you know I managed to get caught in the rip tide and had a struggle getting back to shore. I really need to work on my upper body strength and stamina! I'm not as young as I think I am....Jim was super, he talked and pushed me to shore.

We leave for Tallahassee tomorrow so when we left the beach we stopped for fuel $3.97 for diesel. Once home I showered while Jim took care of some chores.

We'll be spending a week in Tallahassee visiting with Sonsearae.

Mother's Day

I had a very nice Mother's Day, thank you very much. Sonsearae sent me a gift and I waited until I got up yesterday to open it! She gave me a wireless keyboard for my iPad. It works pretty good as long as Boo isn't in my lap. :)

After lunch Jim and I went to Art in the Park in Foley. We strolled the booths and saw some crafts, jewelry, art and plants. The gnats were awful and the heat got to me so we left and headed to Gulf Shores. After driving up and down Perdido Beach Blvd. we settled on Wintzell's Oyster House for some seafood and a cold beer. I splurged and had fried shrimp! It was very tasty and I brought at least half of the shrimp home for Jim to enjoy (he did for lunch today). When we were greeted by our waiter he asked if I was a mom, of course I replied yes and he wished me a Happy Mother's Day. Just before our ticket came he brought out a piece of bread pudding for me. I've never had bread pudding before, it doesn't even sound good, but I ate some of it sharing it with Jim, who loves it. Jim said this was a good one!

We stopped at Lowe's on the way home but didn't buy anything. Once home I fed Boo, folded some laundry and took a nap! It seems the older I get my tolerance for beer becomes less. I just want to nap after one beer!

Unfortunately while I was napping Sonsearae called and I missed it....but I have saved it so I can hear her voice anytime I want

Today Jim did some outside chores and cleaned the windows inside. I did my normal chores of bedmaking, dishes and cooking. The afternoon was spent staying cool, our afternoons are heating up and with the humidity staying inside is best for me.

Dancing with the Stars is on while we both spend time on our computers.