Tuesday - February 28

 The last day of February already!    Yikes.....life needs to SLOW down!    Folks are leaving the park ending their season and going home or moving onto another location.

We enjoyed a "down" day of just us!    I did yoga and Mark went to a tailor in North Fort Myers to have some pants shortened.   Another load of laundry and packing...

Read and played games on our I-pads this afternoon - we both enjoyed this lazy day!

Congrats to Brady who made the Mountain Foothills 7 All-Conference Basketball Team

Went for a walk late afternoon and welcomed Jim and Lydia back (they've been in St. Louis with their kiddos).    Then to say good bye to Buddy and JoAnn who are leaving tomorrow for NC.   We will miss them but look forward to being together when we're at Lake James in April.

JoAnn and Buddy

on their lot

GREAT neighbors!

Monday - February 27

 Bright sunshiny 82 degrees....little cool down!    Our friends John and Doug brought their wives (Beth and Charlotte) to Cypress Trail at 9 AM.    We all chatted a bit and then we girls were off to Venice for some shopping and the guys went to the Farmers Market for breakfast.

We had so much fun hitting all the cute boutique shops along Venice Avenue - each of us had some success and then to Fin's on the water for delicious lunch and drinks!    It was very pleasant sitting outside with a nice breeze watching all the folks eating at Sharkey's next door, walking the pier and enjoying the beach.

We got home at 4ish - it was a most enjoyable day!!!

Pat - Charlotte - Beth

Shopping buddies

We walked to get our mail early evening and had a nice visit with neighbors, Barb and Joe.    It sure cools off in the evening.

Sunday - February 26

 The heat wave in FL continues.....abundant sunshine and upper 80's.    We went to 9:30 Mass at St. Francis and then to Bullig Coffee and Bites.   We came here a few weeks ago but saw the sign that said 10-15 minutes for drinks and 45 minutes -1 hour for food.    Mark didn't want to wait so we went to the church pancake breakfast.

Today, he took his patience pill 😊 only to find out at the counter where you order, that they do not have decaf?    WHAT????    That is 3rd coffee shop (all downtown) that do not serve decaf let alone make an Americano Decaf which he prefers.   Waited awhile for a table but then sat on the porch which was very pleasant.    It is a popular place and not much seating inside or out.   Everything is about waffles (Jim, you and Lydia have to try this).....and such a unique menu.    Food was delicious along with my maple latte.

Bullig is in a very out-of-the-way location next to the Butterfly Estates and the Florida Native Butterfly Society Conservatory.   Highly recommend UNLESS you want decaf!😖

On home and Mark finished up the taxes and I did some laundry and laid out some of our clothes for upcoming trip later this week.

We went with our neighbors Buddy and JoAnn to The Prawnbroker.    They are leaving the park and heading home on Wednesday (after 3 days at Disney).   Dinner was delicious as always and huge crowd as always.   Plenty to chat about! 

Buddy, Mark, Pat, JoAnn

Zoom tonight included 9 siblings with a variety of subjects covered and lots of laughs.

I was reading online about the Polar Plunge Liam and  Connor participated in yesterday.    Did not realize that over 850 folks took the plunge (police departments, college sports teams, businesses, sororities, fraternities, businesses, work groups and more).   Over $130,000 was raised for Special Olympics.

Have a great week ahead...

Saturday - February 25

 Another fun day with family!   Mark and I went to Publix for a few groceries and then met his sister Doris, Rich and their daughter Laura and Mike at The Boathouse for lunch.

Such a beautiful day sitting under the tiki with good drinks, food and conversation.    Mike and Laura flew down Thursday night and having a ball in the warm sunshine - Laura's brother Rick and Michelle are keeping their 3 little ones.

After lunch everyone came back to our place for drinks and more catching up.    Then Mike and Laura went to our pool which they loved on this warm day.    Dessert later and then time to say good bye as they were going out for dinner tonight!

They are leaving Monday - Rich and Doris driving to Lake James to spend a few days with Theresa (another sister) and Mike and our kiddos.   Mike and Laura are flying back to the Chicago area.

We'll all be together at our nephew's wedding in May in Columbus OH.

Rich, Doris, Laura, Mike

After super (leftovers - so many Styrofoam containers stacking up in the fridge), we went for a walk - cooled off from this afternoon!    Felt good!   

Liam and Connor and their CCHS Swim Team took the Polar Plunge at Miller Park today raising $ for Special Olympics.....water temp was 39.

Liam far left - Connor 3rd from right

Way to go guys!!!

Friday - February 24

Allie and Owen arrived at 10:15 and with the girls in the front (me driving) and guys in back, we set off on a little car trip....since Mark is usually driving, he wanted to sit back and take in all the sites. 

We drove downtown to see some of the damage remaining from Ian - boats toppled on top of one another and businesses still closed.    Then to the Barbara Mann Theater for tickets to see Million Dollar Quarter later in March.    We had so much fun and enjoyed Pretty Woman immensely last night, so decided (even though we've all seen this musical) to get tickets and another reason to get together!   

 Off to Fort Myers Beach and that sobering drive which hasn't changed much from the 1st time we did this trek back in January with Anne and the boys (my 3rd trip and 4th for Mark).    Allie took several pics and videos and of course, they were amazed at all the destruction.

Stopped at Junkanoo which was destroyed by Ian, but recently reopened at new location on the back bay.     All outside seating along the water and really good food.

Delicious lunch

Allie and Pat at Junkanoo

And then our tour continued all the way along Estero, to Bonita Springs and on home taking Imperial to I-75.    Said our good byes and hugs and happy birthday wishes to Owen who will be 80 on March 4th.

We went for a walk around 6:15 - very still and humid out!

Happy weekend!

Thursday - February 23

 We met Rich and Doris (Mark's sister) at Buckingham Farms for delicious breakfast and good visiting.    They are here for just a week (could not use their rental condo on Fort Myers Beach this year cause of damage from Ian.) so staying at a nearby hotel.  Their daughter Laura and Mike are coming late tonight from Chicago and staying thru the weekend - looking forward to being together on Saturday.

Doris and Rich

Love all these family visits

We came on home and did some piddlies around Flo including defrosting the freezer.   Allie and Owen arrived from North Port at 2.   We visited for about an hour, they left to check in at their hotel and later, we picked them up and off to University Grill for another delicious dinner followed by "Pretty Woman" at the Barbara Mann theater.

It was sooo fun and entertaining - we all loved it.   The grand finale with the orchestra playing "Pretty Woman" - awesome!!!!!  A great evening with great friends!

Allie and Owen

All of us at University Grill

Waiting for "Pretty Woman" to begin!

Wednesday - February 22

 It's Ash Wednesday and the start of our Lenten Journey now thru Easter Sunday, April 9th.  We went to 9:00 Mass at St. Vincent de Paul and got our ashes (the symbol marking the beginning) then to Publix for a few groceries, got the car washed and on home.

It is hot and sunny and the " warm" weather is to continue for next several days.   Hitting the 90's in February is very rare but could happen later this week!

Our friends Connie and Steve were supposed to come today - we were going to check out the Farmers Market, lunch at the food truck and then play dominoes on our patio.    They were sick with nasty colds for our Valentine's Day outing so canceled and still not feeling up to par.   Connie did not sound good and is very tired of this ole cold just hanging on and on.    

So, with some free time, I did 2 loads of laundry and organized my locker of folded clothes and our closet.   

We left at 4:45 for Snappers, a comedy club where Gatlin was performing tonight.   We met John, Beth, Charlotte and Doug for dinner along with their friends (2 couples) from Michigan.    Enjoyed our dinner (service was slow) visiting and then the 1.5 hour show.    Since Ian wiped out or severely damaged several of their venues, Darryl and Andrea have had a tough time finding work.....slowly getting back to some performances and more picking up soon.   It was great to see them again and as always, put on a fun, entertaining show.

Andrea,  Mr. B (harmonica player and singer) and Darryl

A beautiful evening on the dock at Lake James for Maeve and Luke

Tomorrow, they are to hit 80!

  

Tuesday - February 21

 We were off and running at 7:15 AM - 1st stop was Dr. McCarty for Mark's yearly physical.    All good in that department and after his check-up, we went to 1st floor for lab work.    Then to Chocolatte for my free birthday beverage (hazelnut latte) + a bagel/cream cheese.

Next stop was Salon by Design for a much-needed haircut for me.    Then to Target and Dollar Tree for some piddlies.   Last stop was lunch at Connor's with Barb and Roger who came from Bonita Springs.    Lunch was great as always and enjoyed chatting with these 2 long-time friends.

Roger, Barb, Mark, Pat

While we were eating, a couple came in and sat in a booth near us.   Roger was pretty sure he recognized the guy - Pedro Martinez, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.    As we were leaving, Roger went up to him and yup, it was Pedro.    Although Roger is a huge Yankee fan, he said this guy is a class act.    Pedro and Roger shook hands!

On home to just sit and relax.    Today is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday....there was a big party here in the park with tons of food, but we passed on that as we had a big lunch and have been eating sooo much lately.    Sounds like a huge success!

 

Monday - February 20

Happy Birthday to me AND my brother Bob and a bunch of other family/friends who celebrate this February 20th!!!

And a Happy "Heavenly" Birthday to FSIL (favorite son-in-law), Patrick who would've been 58 yesterday!

I had a wonderful day - lunch at Cristof's with 3 dear friends (Claire, Beth and Charlotte).   Sitting on the patio in 85 sunny degrees with a glass of wine, excellent crab cakes and then a chocolate bomb with spumoni inside made it all extra special!

Claire, Pat, Beth, Charlotte

On home and enjoyed the Mardi Gras parade here in our park.   We sat across the street in the shade with our neighbors, JoAnn and Buddy, Brenda and Gary.     Nicely decorated golf cats - very festive!

One of many decorated golf carts

Went to dinner tonight at Firestone Grill downtown with Jim and Lydia and met Doris (another sibling) and Rich who arrived this afternoon for a week's vacation.    Our dinners were very good and really excited to have them back open after a 4-month closure cause of Ian.    We sat and gabbed and made my birthday extra special with family to celebrate with!

Family time

Doris, Rich, Mark

Pat, Lydia, Jim

A great birthday and so appreciate the phone calls, texts, e-mails, cards and e-cards.      Loved visiting with our kids, grandkids and facetime with Luke, Maeve and Blair!

You are all so very special in my life!!!

Sunday - February 19

 Warm and sunny Sunday....we were off to 9:30 Mass with Marilyn at St. Francis.    Afterwards, Marilyn had Father Anthony bless a new rosary bracelet that our niece Molly made.    Molly is into jewelry making and has a little business going "Hatfield Jewelry and Things".

We sat outside on the patio at Oasis - always enjoy our breakfast here and another good one today.

Marilyn had never seen a manatee, so......after breakfast we drove to Manatee Park on Palm Beach Boulevard, a popular place to see the manatees, go kayaking, and stroll around the grounds,    The water temp (checked on 2 different thermometers) showed 80+ degrees, and manatees prefer 70ish temps, so..........no sightings today.   Lots of people out and about but nary a ripple in the water and also, no kayakers.     

                                        Pat - Marilyn - Mark (one more selfie at Manatee Park)

We sure enjoyed Marilyn's visit this week and packed in a lot of fun stuff and great eating.    Jim and Lydia took her to the Punta Gorda airport for her 4:58 flight which ended up about 30 minutes late taking off.    She liked being out in the she shed - her own little nook with air mattress, bathroom, washer/dryer,   

Got the she shed mostly back in order and did some laundry.    Mark worked on a bunch of paper work regarding my upcoming trip to Cabo San Lucas.   I soooo appreciate all this!

Only 6 on zoom tonight - not too much news - nasty stomach flu is going around! 

Busy week coming up......another of Mark's siblings (Doris) and Rich arrive tomorrow for a week + my birthday, dr. appt., haircut, Gatlin show, "Pretty Woman" and more good eating out with family and friends!  

Have a great week! 

Saturday - February 18

 Cool and cloudy in the morning.   Marilyn and Lydia went to breakfast at the clubhouse.    Mark and I went for a walk and the sunshine returned late morning.   

Jim and Lydia picked us up and off to Pincher's downtown for a 1:00 lunch.    We met Tom and Beth there who had just toured the Edison Ford museum.    Sat outside and so many memories of eating here when Catrina was docked down below at the marina and when Ryan had his boat docked there in November, 2016.    And now after the hurricane, there is no more marina, no boats, no docks, just a mess of concrete that had been a nice walkway.

Beth,, Marilyn, Pat, Beth

Jim, Mark, Tom

We came back to Cypress Trail and shortly after, Lydia, Tom and Beth went to 4:00 Mass at St. Vincent de Paul.    The rest of us took a little nap! 😉

Everyone came to our patio for a fun game of SkyJo (I won), drinks and dessert.   Beautiful evening and then time to say good bye.    Tom and Beth fly home (IL) in the morning and Marilyn, in the afternoon.    What a fun busy week!!!

The in-laws

Lydia, Beth, Pat

The siblings

Tom, Marilyn, Mark, Jim

  

Friday - February 17

 Getting warmer every day....mid 80's and sunny!    Had a light breakfast with Marilyn.   I left to get a manicure downtown with Tamara, but first my latte at Le Macaron Cafe.

On home where Mark and I had a nice quiet rest of the day as Marilyn went with Jim and Lydia to tour the Edison/Ford Museum and then breakfast/lunch.

Marilyn, Jim and Lydia played "Trekking the National Parks" and later, we played RummiKube.   Mark joined us...fun time.    Tom and Beth arrived around 5 - had some drinks/snacks and visited more under Jim's gazebo.

Learning all about our national parks

Gorgeous bougainvillea between our neighbor Dick and our lots.

Tom and Beth were in search of good salads,   Jim and Lydia treated Marilyn to a fried chicken dinner carry out from Cracker Barrel.  Mark and I had leftovers from last night.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday - February 16

 Really warm today.....I went to yoga and Mark and Marilyn had breakfast at Hardees (Marilyn loves their biscuits and gravy, too).    Then they picked up a few groceries at Publix and on home.    Tom brought Beth over late morning and she and I went for a walk in the park and then she did laundry.    She enjoyed our pool in the afternoon.

Played SkyJo card game in the afternoon - Joan and Joe came and she made her yummy muddled old fashions.   Joan also did laundry (glad to have them use my she shed/laundry room).  Tom was golfing at River Hall with a friend and Lydia played mahjong with friends at the clubhouse.

Interesting game with Marilyn, the winner

Then we all went to University Grill for supper.    Good as always and enjoyed another fun family day/evening.   What a nice surprise to see our friends Mike and Claire also dining there with their friends.

Marilyn, Joe, Pat, Mark, Joan, Beth, Tom, Jim, Lydia

Wednesday - February 15

 Whew.....winding down after a very busy day with Marilyn.    Left the park at 8:30 and started off with a stop at Starbucks for our coffee fix and then on south to the Botanical Gardens in Naples - wow....had heard about this place from several others over the years, but 1st time visit for us.   What a spectacular place of 170 acres developed in 1993 by a donor who gave $5m to get the project started.    The weather was perfect and we just meandered around the grounds - here's a "few" pics I took....

Marilyn and the orchids

Pretty lily pads

"Catrina" display  (elegantly dressed skeleton figures used as a symbol of the Day of the Dead)

Stickworks 

Us and Lake Tupke

We had an excellent lunch at the Fogg Cafe (delicious club sandwich and mango chicken salad) in the garden.   Then we were off to the Seed to Table grocery store and so much more.    Mark and Marilyn were amazed - we did a little shopping and then to the beach.

Beautiful color-coordinated display of veggies

 Marilyn wanted some souvenirs to take back to her grandkids, so she shopped at Mango Bay in Bonita Springs.

Happy shopper

Another somber ride along Estero Boulevard seeing all the sadness of what used to be Fort Myers Beach,  Marilyn was truly amazed as she remembers her visit there a few years ago.

Then time for Love Boat and ice cream - sooo many choices (Marilyn had s'mores, a chocolate shake for Mark and I had cinnamon caramel pecan)!    All very good!!!

And finally on home at 4:15......what a big day but lots of fun!    We were only home a few minutes and Tom and Beth arrived.    They've been in Orlando (business for Tom) and drove down here for a few days.   Jim and Lydia walked over and a fun family visit on our patio!

Jim, Beth, Mark, Tom, Marilyn, Pat (Lydia was photographer)

Valentine's Day - 2023

 H A P P Y   V A L E N T I N E' S   D A Y

A perfect day for hearts, flowers, love and chocolate in SWFL.    Sunny skies and low 80's.   

I was planning to do yoga this morning but got to the clubhouse (with 2 other gals) only to find it full of other residents for the HOA meeting,    I'm not on FB so that's where they gave the notice there would not be yoga today and we totally forgot about the meeting starting at 9.  Arghhh!    Back home and Mark and I got things moved around in the she shed, had the air mattress blown up, bed made and now ready for Marilyn coming in tonight.

At 11, we left for Cooper's Hawk in Naples to meet Sharon and Harry for lunch.    This long-time tradition on Valentine's Day for our bridge group (originated in the early 70's) to get together since most of us are in FL for the winter.    Connie and Steve canceled this year cause of bad colds; Jerry and Sue are back in IL with Jerry's health issues and Cathy and Don are in Africa on a mission trip (or soon going).....so that only left the 4 of us.    We sure missed the others, but a good time with Sharon and Harry catching up over a wonderful lunch, sangria, wine, and topped off with an excellent dessert!   

Our waitress told us they were serving "900" today for lunch/dinner!!!

White chocolate cheesecake - heavenly!!

Harry, Sharon, Pat, Mark

We're so excited that a brand new Cooper's Hawk will be opening in Fort Myers in mid March!

We were off to the Punta Gorda airport to pick up Marilyn - flight was right on time arriving at 6:37 from Rockford.

Cheers to Marilyn and WELCOME to Fort Myers!

Monday - February 13

 Spectacular day with sunshine and 73 for a high!    We thoroughly enjoyed having a day of nothing scheduled!    I set out to spiff up Flo and the she shed - tomorrow, our next guest (Marilyn, Mark's sister) arrives till Sunday.    So, I cleaned away and also got the laundry caught up.   We went for a walk late morning

Mark did more book work, I caught up on some paper/computer stuff, so a good day to get stuff done!

I washed Little Navy and we walked some more late afternoon.  

Sunday - February 12

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY to FLO

Flo is 5 today!    

My how time flies!

We went to 9:15 Mass at St. John XXIII and met Janet and Mike.    This church is huge with an occupancy of 1,794 and took a while to get out of the parking lot afterwards.    

Onto Keke for breakfast with a 20-minute wait - really good food and of course, plenty of chatting.   We sure enjoyed their visit and they hope to come back next winter and stay longer!    Good bye hugs and look forward to being together again at our nephew's wedding in May.   Off to the airport for them and a little shopping for me.

Mike and Janet

Mark stayed in the car with his I-pad (and enjoyed a little snooze) while I hit Chicos and Soma (just a few doors from Keke).   I had some special discounts for my birthday month from both stores so had fun picking out a few things.    And then on home.    

It was extremely windy today and cooler - low 70's.

Along the way, we came to the intersection of Martin Luther King and Ortiz with police blocking 2 lanes and directing traffic.    One of the big traffic lights was flopping in the strong wind and hanging very low to traffic.   

Very low swinging stop light

 Today is the Super Bowl and fond memories of 7 years ago when Ryan did the flyover with the Blue Angels at halftime and Michael was there to cheer him (and his Carolina Panthers on).    The Blues did great - the Panthers lost to Denver 24-10.

Ryan and Michael

Santa Clara, California

Liam and Connor are coming down the home stretch with their hockey season - tournaments are underway.    Today they won 5-4 with both Campbell boys scoring 2 goals!    And Connor was named "Player of the Game" for 2nd consecutive game!!!

Mark read online that the going price for a Super Bowl ticket was $9,720......totally NUTS!

No zoom tonight - most everyone watching the big game!

Enjoy your week!