Wednesday - February 28

Another fun day...the brothers and wives arrived around 9:30.    We gals took off for Bonita and a shopping jaunt to Victoria and then Wilford and Lee.   Lots of fun and good luck!   Lunch at Dolly's Produce Patch was ok but nothing special even though we were told it was sooo good!

 

Back to the park - I showed the gals our clubhouse and then met the guys on Flo.    The guys walked around the park, had lunch at Mix Grill (theirs was much better), and then took naps.

 

We played 2 games of 6-handed euchre (guys against the gals) with each of us winning a game.   Then off to The Prawnbroker for great dinner.....packed as always and everything just perfect!

 

Bob and Linda

 Just hangin' out on Flo

Vicki, Ron, Mark

2 good games of euchre

 

Bob, Vicki, Linda, Pat, Ron, Mark

Can't believe it's the last day of February!    Bring on March and pretty sure it will come in like a lamb here in sunny Florida.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - Februaty 27

A fun day with the kin who came from Lakeland and Punta Gorda.    My brothers and wives arrived around 10:45.   We gals went downtown for lunch at the Wisteria Tea Room (sooo good) and then shopping at Wilford and Lee and Bell Tower.  

 

 Traffic was horrible coming back to the park and part of the major back-up was an accident.     Finally arrived after 4 and my cousin Denny and Deb were here from Punta Gorda.    So good to see them.   We sat on the patio with drinks and visited.   Bob's and Ron's left at 5ish for downtown to check into their hotel.    We met them (along with Deb and Denny) at Firestone Grill for excellent dinner.    Love this place.

 

Cocktails behind Flo

Bob, Ron, Linda, Deb, Mark, Vicki, Denny

Denny and Deb on the Skybar at Firestone Grill

Monday - Februarty 26

 A pretty warm, sunny day in SW Florida......after breakfast I ran some errands at The Forum Shops and Village Walk.    I bought some stamps and was shocked to hear that on January 21, the rate went from .49 to .55..........yikes!!!    That's a big increase!
 

Mark finished hooking up his Direct TV and other electronics, so we are good to go! .

 

Today was "Mini Spa Day" here at the park.    I had a wonderful facial + hand and scalp massage!
Awesome to be in La La Land for 1/2 hour!  😊

 

Pretty in PINK!

Curls, tutu and boots, this girl is ready to go.... 

 

We are seeing more and more kids in the park - apparently spring breakers visiting grandparents.    Wish ours could come here, but looking forward to seeing Liam and Connor end of March and then the other 6 for Easter!

 

Tomorrow my brothers and wives come for a few days!

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday - Febrjuary 25

What a FUNday, SUNday......we went to 9:30 Mass at St. Francis and then drove to John and Beth's new condo.    Wow....beautiful and so spacious!   After the grand tour, we enjoyed some pastries and fresh fruit.    Then off to the Red Sox/Orioles ball game at

Jet Blue Park (aka  Fenway Park South)    We stayed thru 5 1/2 innings and a foul ball came right at us, bounced off Beth and landed between our chairs!   Gave the ball to a little guy a few rows ahead of us and made his day!    Also saw back-to-back home runs and the Sox won 7-1.

It was very hot but the cloud cover gave us a much-needed reprieve.    From the park we drove to Cypress Trail and Beth and John got to meet Flo.    Visited a bit, walked around the park and then we all went to The Hut which is out in the boonies (we were here about 10 days ago with Sue, Jerry, Ruth and Gerry).    Good food and so much fun catching up with these dear friends!

On home to Flo and walked around the park on this beautiful evening chatting with Ryan!

Have a great week....

Us with the mascot 

Before the game

Beth and John

 The little guy who got my souvenir ball

John and Beth with Flo

Saturday - February 24

A breezy, warm day.    So nice to not have any schedule today!    Yeah......we both had inside and outside jobs on Flo, so got those done.   Mark worked on taxes, I did a load of laundry and caught up on e-mails, etc.

 

After lunch, I went for a walk, but that sun was blazin'.    Took a little cat nap, too

 

Did face time with Annette, Luke and Maeve this afternoon.    Ryan returned from London and Michael heads there on Monday.

 

Late afternoon the clouds rolled in, we had a few sprinkles and it cooled off.    We went for a bike ride and then had our own little happy hour on our patio!

 

It was a good productive Saturday!

 

Tomorrow we are going to the Red Sox/Orioles spring training game with friends, John and Beth.

Should be a fun time especially being with these two!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday - February 23

We had the best intention this morning of going to 8:15 Mass.....we got there and very few cars or people (about 10).   Checked the bulletin and they have daily mass at 8:15, EXCEPT on Fridays when it's 11 AM.    So we said a few prayers and left hoping God knows we tried.   Stopped at Williams Hardware for a few things and then on home.

 

Got some things done on Flo (inside) and Mark had some outside chores.    We left around 10:40 for Sue and Jerry's and spent a fun afternoon visiting, Mark fixed Sue's printer, had a delicious lunch on the patio, and then we all had fun in the pool with our noodles or rafts drinking wine!

 

After lunch, Sue and I (and the guys) enjoyed our birthday treats - chocolate eclairs

Tomorrow is Sue's birthday!

 

Said our good byes to these dear friends, stopped at the Forum shops for a few things at Bed, Bath and Beyond and Home Depot and back to Flo.

 

Sweet Pea called Grandpa yesterday and did facetime

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday-Thursday, February 20-22

I am officially in a new decade and what fun entering the '70's".     Here's how it all came about...

 

Tuesday....I am 70 (born at 7:05 AM weighing 7 lbs. 2 oz. on 2/20/1948).    

 A big Happy Birthday to my brother Bob born same day 6 years earlier.  

 

 Today was beach day so we left Flo around 9ish and took off (we and thousands of others) on this pretty warm day.    Traffic was horrendous and arrived at Fort Myers Beach to meet Doris and Rich around 11:15.    We girls walked the beach for a bit and then had lunch on Pincher's patio with Rich and Mark.   It was delicious (along with 2 for 1 margaritas).   We walked to Santini Plaza so Marilyn could get some souvenir playing cards and then left the island around 2:30 to get ahead of the traffic (not)!!!

 

Rich, Doris, Pat, Marilyn

 

Stopped at Wal Mart and then a leisurely trip to Parrot Key for the Gatlin (Darryl and Andrea) dinner show.    There were 14 of us (family and friends) and along with a great meal, the show, as always was so much fun and entertaining.   4 of us gals were celebrating birthdays and called upon stage to dance with Darryl.    Oh my......and then my friends had a birthday cake which was shared with our group!

 

Rich, Marilyn, Pat, Doris, Mark

 

It was a memorable, happy day with phone calls, e-mails, texts, cards, etc.  

I am so blessed!!!

 

Wednesday -   after breakfast, we took Marilyn to the airport (sure enjoyed her visit) for her flight back to Chicago.  

 

Bye bye Marilyn.....one final pic with big brother

 

  Mark and I ran some errands and back to Flo.    Kathy, Paul, Barb and Roger came around 3 to meet Flo and we enjoyed yummy snacks (thanks to my friends) and drinks.    At 5:30 we left for downtown and had dinner at Bella Vita.   This is a new place open 5 weeks and had been given rave reviews both by folks we talked to and online.    Part of the meal was ok and some really good entrees, but probably not going back anytime soon.

 

Still being together with these dear friends was so fun as we won't be together till October.

 

Paul, Kathy, Roger, Barb

 

Thursday - another pretty day.   Did a load of laundry and after lunch at Gretchen's Country Kitchen

 (food truck - shared a tenderloin)

 

Mark ordering our tenderloin

 

 I took off and ran several errands followed by a haircut by Jewel.    Of all the haircuts I've gotten all over the country, Jewel is my very favorite - not only a very sweet gal, but she does a great job!

 

Tonight we are having leftovers and so good to be home!

 

Nerd Day at this little guy's school

 

 

 

 

Monday - February 19

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK

Our favorite son-in-law is celebrating today! 

 

Another pretty day but breezy.   Marilyn and I were off to downtown with a stop at Bennett's for donuts

 (wanted her to have this experience)!  

Maple and bacon is a winner!

 

Then to get a mani/pedi for her and mani for myself at Profiles.

Nothing like a little pampering...

 

Mark ran some errands and we all met back on Flo.    Enjoyed a nice leisurely afternoon - nap, bike ride, and catching up on computer, I-pad, texts, etc.    We sat outside and enjoyed

this lovely day and had a good chat with Patrick!

 

It sure got cloudy later in the afternoon with the threat of rain.

 

But by the time we went to "Meet 'n Greet", the sun was shining and we enjoyed our margaritas and then some great BBQ from

Big Papa's in Naples (food truck).    Mark and Marilyn had the chicken dinner with 2 sides and I had a BBQ sundae.  

 

Layers of baked beans, cole slaw and pulled pork topped off with homemade pickles!

What a delicious combination along with a yummy margarita.

 

Marilyn and I went for a walk - what a beautiful evening!    Been a good day!

 

Tomorrow is my birthday and so.....a big day planned with a trip to Fort Myers Beach and spend time with Doris and Rich followed by dinner show at Parrot Key to enjoy Gatlin with family and friends.

 

Back to the blog on Wednesday...

 

 

 

Sunday - February 18

I haven't talked about the weather lately, but it has been gorgeous day after day - lots of sunshine and mid-upper 80's.    Love it!     Wish we could share it with folks back home and around the country where snow is still falling and just darn cold!

 

We went to 6:45 AM mass, then to Bennett's for donuts...

 

Today I tried the maple/bacon and oh my....

it's a toss-up between Jupiter Donuts in Stuart or

Bennett's in Fort Myers - both places are sooo yummy!

 

Onto Publix for a few items and then home to really organize the car and truck.    We are finally in good shape - just a few piddly things to work on in Flo, but feeling good!

 

Mark's sister Marilyn flew in this afternoon from IL.    Another sister, Doris and Rich from IL who are visiting Fort Myers for 2 weeks picked her up at the airport and they came to our park.    So fun to all be together.   We walked around the park, sat on the patio with drinks and praline pecans and then drove downtown for dinner at Ford's Garage.     Always good food and continued catching up about families, all the snow and awful winter weather back home, etc., etc.

 

Rich, Doris, Marilyn, Pat, Mark

 

Marilyn is our first overnight guest on Flo....

 

Liam and Connor won their hockey game this morning 7-6.    Connor scored 2 goals and Liam had 3  including the winning goal with 1 second on the clock!!!!

 

Ryan is in London this week for a bit of pleasure but mostly business!

 

Have a fun, healthy week!

Thursday-Saturday - February 15-17

Today we delivered Daisy and Toad to their new home in Englewood!     We sold them to first couple who came to look and we hope Scott and Kathy will enjoy Daisy as much as we have

 these past 12 years and Toad (almost 4 years).

 

 Miss Daisy

 

I had a few tears as we said good bye, but we have many wonderful memories of traveling around the country with Oregon the only state we did not get to with Daisy!

 

It's been a whirlwind past few days.....

 

Thursday - finished the emptying out of Daisy and getting Flo all set up.    Picked up a rental car which I (we) will drive for the 6 weeks we are in Fort Myers.    In the afternoon we took Daisy to storage in Cape Coral and around 5, boating friends, Paula and Glenn, Fred and Jeanne came to see Flo, have drinks and then we had dinner at Capone's in downtown.

 

 

Paula, Jeanne, Glen, Fred

 

Friday - we met Steve,  at 8:15 in Cape Coral to give some directions for detailing Daisy.    Then we were off to Venice - did a little shopping downtown including a stop at Angelo's Italian Market which is where Steve (the detailer) told us his uncle worked.    What a neat place with wine, cheeses, meats, gourmet foods and pastries.    And it's one of the top Italian restaurants in Venice!!!

 

Arrived at Carol and Bob's home around 10:40 and Mark and Barbara were just ahead of us.    We all boated in Racine on E-12 many years ago.    Fun catching up as Mark, Barbara and we are no longer there.    So we got the Racine scoop from Bob and Carol and reminisced from long ago.   We ate lunch at Café Venice which was wonderful (new place for us).    We left shortly after as we wanted to check on how Daisy "cleaned up".    We were very happy - Daisy was pristine and glowing!

 

Carol, Bob, Mark, Mark, Pat, Barbara

 

Back to Flo and got ready for next guests (Sue and Jerry, Ruth and Gerry).     We gals are all Monday Night Friends and Ruth and Gerry have been in Fort Myers this past week.    So fun to be together and after drinks on Flo, we enjoyed dinner at The Hut, about 5 miles away (another new place and very good).    Said our good byes.....we'll see Sue and Jerry next week, but not till May

for Ruth and Gerry.

 

Ruth, Pat, Gerry, Mark, Jerry, Sue

 

Saturday - this was the big day to say good bye to Daisy....

 

Scott and Kathy with their new home!

 

We spent 4.5 hours going over everything inside and outside.    Back to Flo at 5:15, gathered the laundry and tackled that job.    Had leftovers for supper (boxes and cartons were starting to accumulate) and now winding down.     This has been a productive but busy, exhausting week.  

 

Mark's shingles rash is starting to fade but still sore in his mid section.

 

And so that's the latest from 2 tired nomads!!!

Nighty night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valentine's Day - 2018

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 

After much discussion and deliberation with our kids and grandkids (+ a contest to see whose name we would choose), it's now official that we are calling

our new home...

"Flo"

as in "Go with Flo", "Roll with Flo" and

Flo was bought in FLOrida.

 

Philip came up with this and he gets the prize!!!

 

It's been a very busy day and we are tired but it's a "good" tired.    Started the day with 8:15 Mass (Ash Wednesday) at St. Francis and then to Bennett's Donuts for a yummy treat!   Off to Publix for a few things and on home to dig in with transferring our stuff from Daisy to Flo. 

 

We had fun figuring out where we were putting everything....but by early afternoon, we were both tired and the backs were hurting!

We ran some errands and then met our long-time-ago-bridge friends for our annual
Valentine's dinner at
The Prawnbroker and as always, excellent and so good to be together again.    We gals went to NYC together last fall and had fun reminiscing.

 Bill and Charmaine stepping out for Valentine's Day dinner

Harry, Sharon, Mark, Pat, Steve, Connie, Sue and Jerry

 A nice day in North Carolina and the kiddies were enjoying it all

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday - February 13

What a day.....we are both tired, but happy to be back at Cypress Trail.    We had a good 1st nights' sleep in our new home and then waited till a serviceman came to answer a few QQQ we had.   We waited and waited.    Frustrating when we thought they would be coming around 9 and it was finally noon when we got Preston who was fantastic and big help!

 

It was 12:45 when we were finally on our way.....good trip and arrived "home" at 3:05.    Bill was here to move Daisy out of the way, get Airstream settled and tah dah....let the transferring began.

 

We worked a few hours and have my kitchen organized.    Tomorrow, we'll finish emptying out Daisy (all the clothes....groan, groan...)

 

Bill and Charmaine had us for dinner - wine, champagne, dark chocolates and then brats with peppers and onions and thee most delicious green bean casserole!     What fun sitting outside on a beautiful evening recapping our day and catching up on what was going on while we were gone.    Sorry we missed the Mardi Gras parade in the park....1 corvette, 5 golf carts and a boat all decorated!

 

So sorry to hear that our sweet Maeve is hurting from a double ear infection....

 

And so, we are happy to be back here and ready to finish with the settling in!

 

Hope your tomorrow is full of flowers, chocolates and LOVE!!!

 

 

 

 

Monday - February 12

What a fun and exciting day!    We left Cypress Trail in the truck at 7 AM heading to Dover (east of Tampa) and the Tampa RV Center.    We saw our new home, did some of the financial paperwork and then had a 2 hour walk-thru with Steve going over everything inside and out!

 

Mark and I then walked to McDonalds next door for lunch while the truck took the trailer away for one final wash!    It was around 2ish when we got settled at Tampa East RV Resort (next door to RV Center) and spending the night to make sure everything is in working order!

 

We brought a few basics with us, so put things away and getting acquainted with all the features!

 

We are HAPPY CAMPERS!

 

Bob, Linda and Vicki came with wine, beer and nuts - fun to show off our new home and make a toast!     Ron was working on a project at their park.    We met up with him later and all enjoyed a great dinner at Carrabba's.   Said our good byes and looking forward to seeing them in 2 weeks in Fort Myers.   Back to spend our first night - tired and ready to call it a day!

 

Our new home

 

We girls are doing a toast

while Mark and Bob enjoy their beers and recliners

 

Bob, Linda, Vicki

Ron, Pat, Mark

 

 

 

 

Sunday - February 11

A fun day with long-time boating friends in Punta Gorda.    It was our annual mini Mid Illini gathering and what a fun day it was!    Bill and Charmaine rode up with us and we all met at the Laishley Crab House for lunch and visit.    We girls sat together and yakkety yak and the guys did the same at their end of the table.    There were 20 of us!

 

After lunch we all went to Roger and Carol's beautiful condo on the Peace River for dessert and more visiting!   

 

Back:  Pat, Paula, Pat, Carol, Charmaine, Jeanne, Viv

Front:   Carolyn, Barb, Kathy

 

Back:   Paul, Cy, Mark, Mike, Glen, Bill, Roger, Fred

Front:  Roger, Ron

 

We missed Marcia who was back in IL for her son's open-heart surgery.

 

Back to the park around 4:15, sat on the patio for our little happy hour with Bill and Charmaine till a little shower chased us inside to their RV.   At 6:30 we all walked to the club house for the Sunday Night Ice Cream (homemade) Social.    Tonight's flavors were vanilla, chocolate, black cherry and salted caramel w + all the toppings.

Very good!    Then they had the old-fashioned pop corn popper going, so we had popcorn!

And that's the way it is - ice cream and popcorn for supper after a big lunch!

 

Tomorrow is the big day - we'll be leaving in the morning for Tampa RV Center and meeting our new Airstream, learning all the ins and outs, spending the night, + my brothers and wives are coming to visit!    They are just a short jaunt away in Lakeland!

 

Till tomorrow....nighty night from 2 excited nomads!

 

 

 

 

Saturday - Februay 10

It was 89 today......Mark had a "lying low" kind of day as he recovers from the shingles.     Neither of us did too much - he's tired so good day to have nothing planned.   I went for a short bike ride.

 

Bill and Charmaine went to 4:00 Mass at St. Francis Xavier with me - left Mark home to rest.

 

Had a Southwestern salad for dinner.

 

 

Friday - February 9

What a fun day with friends celebrating my upcoming birthday.    Mark and I started the day with him driving Daisy and me in Toad and off to get new tires for Daisy.     We then drove Toad to The Sweet Bean Café (a favorite) for breakfast (their grilled cinnamon bread is WONDERFUL)!

 

Mark took me to Starbucks downtown and off he went.   I had my skinny vanilla latte, read my kindle and chatted with Patty while waiting for Kathy and Claire to arrive.     They each got their drinks, we sat a bit and visited and then off to hit the shops.     We all had good luck and then to Cabo Cantina for a glass of wine before we headed to the Wisteria Tea Room for fabulous lunch and tea.   

 

Kathy, Pat, Claire

celebrating with dear friends!

 

The girls dropped me off at Preppy in Paradise and they went on home to Fort Myers Beach.     Mark picked me up and back to Daisy and happy hour with Bill and Charmaine.

 

Too many leftover boxes in fridge, so time to tackle those for supper (only 1).....there's always tomorrow....

 

Mark took Toad back late morning to pick up Daisy with her new tires.    He has had some soreness in his mid section (thinking he bruised ribs?)    But then a rash developed 2 days ago?    This was just one side.    I was telling the girls about it and they both immediately said "shingles"!    Whoaaaa....

 

Mark went to Urgent Care and sure enough, he has shingles.   He's on pills 3x a day for 1 week.   He's really not bothered by the rash and just occasional discomfort with the soreness, so....hopefully caught it in time!    Great diagnosis girls and sure thankful they had this figured out immediately! 

 

   According to the doctor we all have this shingle virus that lies dormant (from chicken pox) and stress or other factors can cause it to come out?

 

Not sure how long he would've waited before going to doctor?   He had the shingles shot when he turned 60 and thought it was for life.....next year they are coming out with another vaccine that is supposed to be more effective!

Liam's 7th grade basketball team placed 2nd in the class 2A state tournament last night!
Way to go Corpus Christi Saints!

Yesterday he went for his 13-year check-up and cheered on his classmates last night at the game.    But today he came home from school with a sore throat and went to bed!    Arghhh

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday - February 8

The flowers and palm trees are so lush and pretty here at Cypress Trail

 

Mark helped me get the laundry over to club house (awesome laundromat) and I did 3 loads around 8ish before the crowds came.    He took Toad in to have some sort of cable installed and then rode his bike back,

 

We met Mark and Denise in May, 2015 shortly after we sold our house and were on Catrina in Annapolis for the air show.   They are from FL and currently cruising the month of February.     They had checked in with us (seeing from the blog that we would be in Fort Myers now).    And so we picked them up at the Legacy Marina and drove downtown for great lunch at The Lodge (BBQ).

It was so fun to catch up with them and hear about their adventures (we follow their blog, too).

 

Denise and Mark

 

It is such a pretty day.....especially knowing that yet another storm is heading to the Midwest (actually from Montana to Maine) - could be a doozy!

 

Beautiful sunset from Daisy tonight

Breathtaking

 

So sad to hear the news that Monsignor Greg Ketchum from Bloomington died early this morning after a 20-month battle with brain cancer (glioblastoma).    He was only 50 but what a tremendous inspiration he was to all.

 

So happy to see this big smile on Luke that he's feelin' good again!

A simple nose swab showed that Luke did not have the flu...

Fever, ear infection, etc.

Miss Maeve is now sitting in her booster chair

 

Wednesday - February 7

Another beautiful sunny 80ish day in south Florida!    We went to breakfast at The European Bakery Café with Bill and Charmaine after they took their Ty to doggie day care to play and be groomed!

 

Great breakfast and on back home for a bit till time to leave for Punta Gorda and meet friends, Lee and Tamara (Bloomington and winter on Anna Maria Island).    We sat and visited (almost 3 hours) over another great lunch at River City Grill and got caught up on what's been going on since last May 17th when we went to lunch in Bloomington!  

 

Tamara and Lee

 

Said our good byes and then stopped at Target for a few things and on home.    By now, it's happy hour time so sat with Bill and Charmaine - they toured the Edison Ford winter homes and museum today.     So we all yakked about what had happened since we went to breakfast.    Bill made some wonderful pork fajitas with his specialty beans (I added potato salad and cole slaw).    Tasty dinner and now back home and settled in.

 

 

Brady's 6th grade basketball team placed 2nd in their tournament last weekend!    Drew was head coach assisted by GrandBob (Brooke's Dad). 

 Brady (3rd from left holding trophy), Drew back row middle and GrandBob far right!

 

Way to go Concordia!