Easter - March 31

 Posted by Mark:

Happy Easter everyone.

We picked up Bill and Beth and went to church this morning.  Nice to see a very full church.

Back home for a bit. Then went with Bill and Beth to Bob Evans for late lunch.  Pat and I had the special Easter platter that included turkey, ham, and dressing plus sides.   Had a good time and good meal.

Pat, Mark, Beth, Bill

They came over around 5:30 with Freda their dog for drinks and more visiting.  They head north tomorrow to Cortez, FL near Anna Marie Island.

Frieda and Bill

Finished the evening having zoom with my siblings.

Saturday - March 30

 Posted by Mark:

Real easy day today.  We decided to do the last Saturday breakfast in the park.  They actually had a large number show up.  Many families here on spring break.  Took a long walk this morning.

This afternoon a family came in next door in a rental RV.  4 children plus Mom and Dad.  They are from Stuttgart Germany.  Here on a two week "holiday" starting from Miami.  Went up to Cape Canaveral on east coast, now doing the west coast ending up in the Keys, then back to Miami

Pat watched some of the NCAA Women's basketball and I watched a couple of movies.

Did BLTs for supper.  One last walk in the park and called it a day.

Friday - March 29

 posted by Mark:

Did not have anything scheduled until lunch so very easy relaxed morning.  Exercises of course for Pat - Hand and Shoulder.

Picked up new neighbors Beth and Bill who are here for a week.  We met them in 2021 and they are from Drummond Island.  We went to Shrimp Shack.  A place we have heard about but never been there.  Perfect place for Good Friday seafood meal.   Everyone enjoyed their meals.   Bill said the grits were best in Florida.

Beth, Bill

When we got back we visited further under their tiki hut.  Very pleasant weather.

Later this afternoon Pat got a nice present from Claire and Kathy.  

A very nice assortment of cookies

Tonight we did a nice long walk around the park.

Thursday - March 28

 Posted by Mark:

A big day of Doctors and Therapy.  Started with therapy with Jeff.  Then breakfast at Bob Evans.

Later Pat had appoint with Dr. Collins.  Stiches came out.  Wound looks good.  She indicated that full recovery would be up to a year.  Her carpal tunnel damage was considered very severe.

Pat then had an appointment with Occupational Therapist.  He assessed her situation and suggested therapy for the hand 2 times a week for 4 weeks.  Main goal is to avoid scar tissue from developing.  She also has exercises 3 times a day at home.  So between hand and shoulder life will continue to be exercising and therapy.

Brady face timed us to tell us he has decided on Notre Dame as his college choice.  He was really excited.

Annette sent a picture of Maeve and her friend roller skating.  She is getting quite good and leaves Mommy in the dust.

Allie, Maeve

Luke repelling at his hike this weekend.

We played Euchre tonight. Pat earned second place!

Wednesday - March 27

 Posted by Mark:

Started our day with Mass at St. Vincent's.  Then back home for breakfast of leftovers.

Pat had organized lunch with our friends after Beth's doctor's visit.  She called when she was 30 minutes away so off we went to Boat House.  Shortly after we got there and luckily found a parking spot up front, Charlotte and Doug arrived.  Beth and John came soon after.

We have not been together for 3 months due to numerous health issues for all of us.   Was great to visit and catch up.

from top left clockwise: Doug, Mark, Pat, John, Beth, Charlotte

Three lovely ladies,  Charlotte, Beth, Pat

Back home we let it cool off just a bit then went for a walk.  Still pretty humid

Annette sent a picture of Luke at his outdoor camping trip this weekend.

Luke and gang having fun in the woods

Tuesday - March 26

 Posted by Mark:

Started the day with therapy.  Measurements showed that Pat was able to raise her arm towards the front 68 inches.   Jeff was pleased with the progress.   After we were back home for just a bit we headed to Broadway Palms Theatre for buffet lunch and show.   The show was Beautiful: Carole King Musical.

Buffet was good, but you (me) always eat too much.  Show was excellent.  It focused on her early career and covered a large number of the songs she wrote for others that became big hits.  I had no idea that the many oldies I like were written by her.

The second act focused on some of the songs she wrote and sang herself.   Quite the lady.

Got home a bit after 4 p.m. and just settled in.   Should have walked but too lethargic from the big lunch.

 

Monday - March 25

 Posted by Mark:

Very nice day today.  Started off with mass at St. Vincent. Then home to get ready for Joe and Joan.  They brought down their Cricket golf cart for us to store.  They head north tomorrow.

Joan gave Lydia a lesson on driving the Cricket.

Joe, Joan

Joe, Joan, Jim, Lydia headed off to Rum Bucket in one car and Pat and I followed them.  Should have checked ahead of time.  They are closed on Mondays.    

Plan B was Rib City.  Jim followed me there.  We always get and share the rack and a half of baby back ribs.  Everyone got those and loved them.  I decided to try the brisket sandwich.  My half was fine but Pat's had lots of fat in her meat,  not a good choice for us.  Will stick with the ribs in the future.

Mark, Pat, Joan, Joe, Jim, Lydia

Headed back to Cypress Trail and Joan made Orange Crushes, then later made Muddled Old Fashions with Brandy.  Both were very good.

Joan working the muddler!

Mid afternoon they headed back to Arcadia.  We wish them safe travels tomorrow.

This evening Beth and Bill from Drummond Island stopped by.  They will be here for a week.  We met them in 2021 and visited them on Drummond Island.  Then Pat headed to the Ladies Wine night at Brenda's place.

Bottom Row Lydia, Pat, Becky

Top Row Terri, Brenda, Marie

Sunday - March 24

 Posted by Mark:

Happy 18th birthday Brady.  

Proud Mom with her new 18 year old!

Brady is visiting Notre Dame this weekend as a part of his research and College decision process.  Doesn't like the cold, but likes the campus so far.  We had a good chat with him this afternoon.  Michael told us later that Brady and 2 others had a birthday today so they got to stand up to applause in front of 2200 people.  Pretty special.

Had church this morning then breakfast at Oasis.  From there we went to Publix and Rooster's on 80 produce stand.   It is quite the place.  The outside Pizza oven was busy also.

At home I finished up all the Easter cards.  Should have had them in the mail sooner.

Big step today for Pat was:  Take off the bulky bandage.  Replace it with very large band aid over the stiches and put on a carpel tunnel wrist brace.  She is to wear the brace 24  x 7 for next 4 weeks, then 2 more weeks at night.

Zoom tonight catching up on everyone's activities. Did some reminiscing about those of us who took our oldest sister Carol to St Mary's of Notre Dame.  That would have been in the late 60s.

Saturday - March 23

 Posted by Mark:

I talked about Maeve and her new missing tooth yesterday.  Not to be out done, This morning we got this from Luke.   Tooth fairy is keeping busy at their house.

Luke - still losing teeth

Gibson turns 4 today.  Since Anne was the only one home with him the dog loving neighbors helped with a little party.

Gibson - Happy 4 year old

Today we had lunch with the Mid Illini group from Florida.  Met at F M Don's in Punta Gorda.  Great to catch up with everyone. 7 total in attendance.  We have been getting together since 2008.

Roger, Jeanne, Pat, Ron, Marcia, Pat, Mark

After lunch Marcia, Pat, and I went back to Roger's newly remodeled condo for more visiting.  Late afternoon we headed back home.

Friday - March 22

 Posted by Mark:

Woke up to rain and it rained slowly all day long. Had just a lazy day. 

Heard from Charlotte  this morning that she and Doug really enjoyed the show last night.  

Annette sent a picture of Maeve with a bottom tooth now gone.  The tooth fairy sure has been busy.

Maeve

Do to a number of reasons, we cancelled our dinner plans with friends Mark and Brenda.

Heard that Pat's Aunt Dee had a second recent fall and reinjured her hip.  Today she had a full hip replacement.  Will take her a couple of days to recover from the anesthesia but so far so good.

Thursday - March 21

 Posted by Mark:

Pat is doing good, but I now have a wicked head cold.  

We went to 9 a.m. therapy.  I slept in the car. Pat's therapy is very  limited due to her hand in the bandage.  He gave her a few things to do at home that were similar to those in the very beginning of therapy.

 Then back home to take things easy.  We were to go to Barbara Mann Theatre tonight to hear Sounds of the Sixty's.  Doug and Charlotte were able to use our tickets.  We drove down to their place mid-afternoon to give them the tickets.

Dinner tonight was take out ribs from Rib City.  Very good again.

Wednesday - March 20

 Posted by Mark:

Carpel Tunnel Surgery Day.   We left for our 8:30 appointment.   They were fairly fast getting Pat back to Pre-Op. At 9:53 I received a text that surgery had started. At 10:02 I received a phone call from the surgeon.  She reported that everything went well.  The Median nerve was compressed, but not strangled (like a belt that is on too tight). 

She also reported the blood vessels had a good supply of blood so the exercises on the arm and hand are working.

Stopped for breakfast at Bob Evan's.   Pat had nothing to eat or drink since midnight.

Got home around noon.  Pat is already moving her index, middle finger and thumb way more than before the surgery.

Pat is very thankful for all the notes and emails from family and friends.  You are all very special to her.

Tuesday - March 19

 Posted by Mark:

Happy 22nd birthday Davis.  He is a senior at NC State.  Enjoying his last semester in Mechanical Engineering.  Also doing a number of interviews.

Happy Birthday Davis

Pat's throat was a bit better today, but still want to avoid too much talking so cancelled her lunch with Claire.

Did go to therapy, got to keep at it.

Took Pat downtown after lunch to have her nail polish removed.  Need this for surgery.

Lee Health Surgery Center called this afternoon to tell Pat to be there at 8:30 tomorrow morning for her carpel tunnel surgery.  

Took it easy most of the day.

Left over pizza for Pat and TV dinner for me.  (as I said took it easy).

I've been meaning to post this picture of the bougainvillea on our lot.  It broke off a couple of years ago and was just a small shoot from the base.  Look at it now.

A little color for our lot.

Monday - March 18

 Posted by Mark:

Quiet day today.  Pat woke up with scratchy throat this morning. We cancelled a lunch date with Margaret and Paul, friends from Bloomington.

This afternoon we went to urgent care.  The PA said everything else looks good, but throat is sore.  Thinks it is viral, but since she is having surgery later this week he prescribed an antibiotic for extra safety.  Drink lots of fluid, gargle with salt water solution, etc.

I went back out later to get the drugs, had to wait a bit as they were very busy filling prescriptions.

For dinner I had some left over BBQ and Pat had chicken soup.  We both had a small cup of ice cream and strawberries with some chocolate sauce that Linda had found and recommended.

As I said, quiet and low key day. 

Sunday - March 17

 Posted by Mark:

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

We started of with church at St. Xavier, then to Christof's on McGregor. Met Allie and Owen there for breakfast.   Their brunch menu is very nice.

Pat, Mark, Owen, Allie

Owen, Allie

We came back to Flo and visited some more.

Later this afternoon Maeve wanted to facetime.  Turns out she had something she wanted us to see.

Maeve before:

Maeve after getting her ears pierced

Annette said she was a real trooper.  No tears, no flinching, just held still while they did it.  She must have wanted it real bad.   😀

Zoom tonight with 9 of us joining.  Good way to keep up on the families.  Tom and Beth leave this week to fly to Japan to see their daughter Meghan.

Saturday - March 16

 Posted by Mark:

Breakfast in Flo then got busy cleaning Flo and preparing for our guest.  Gatlin was preforming at our park tonight, so Allie and Owen were coming along with Doug and Charlotte.  Jim and Lydia were bringing Joe and Joan.

I finished putting the table top back together.

Allie and Owen arrived at 2 p.m.  We sat outside and enjoyed the nice breeze and caught up on each others activities.

Charlotte and Doug arrived at 5.   We all walked over to the food truck at 5:15 which was "That smokin' butt".  Pat and I had the brisket sandwich which was excellent.

Ready for Dinner - Pat, Allie, Owen, Mark, Charlotte, Doug

Gatlin show started at 6:30.  They put on a very good show.

Darryl and Andrea Gatlin

Jim, Lydia, Owen, Allie, Pat, Charlotte, Doug, Mark, Joan, Joe

Allie and Pat - Long time friends

Joe caught us dancing.

Joe told Joan it looks like we still like each other.  We Do! 😍

Friday - March 15

 Posted by Mark:

Day started with a phone call to Pat from the Sanctuary Surgery Center needing a few questions.  After 20 minutes with a very nice young RN they had all the medical history they should ever need.  Tuesday they will call to give us the surgery time for Wednesday.

Since the call was taking so long we headed to the Sanctuary for Therapy while she was still talking.

Jeff gave her another good workout today.

After therapy we went to Target for a few items.

Back home I finished painting the table top boards.

We met our new neighbors Kathy and John across the street in Liz and Dave's old lot.  We also helped them hang their new 75 inch TV.  They are from Kentucky.

Tonight we went to the End of Season party with Jim and Lydia.  Then back to Jim's place for Euchre and SkyJo.   Euchre cards were much better tonight for Jim and I.  Pat and Jim tied as winners of SkyJo, but final scores were very close.

Nice walk back home tonight, weather was perfect.

Thursday - March 14

 Posted by Mark:

Headed downtown this morning to drop Pat off at Peter's for coffee and manicure and pedicure.  I then ran a few errands and headed home until she was done.  From downtown we headed to Panera for lunch.

At 1:20 we had appointment with Dr. Collins to cover the results of Pat's nerve study.  She was very thorough and explained the results.  Bottom line she needs carpal tunnel surgery as the study shows damage to the hand and palm and muscles will atrophy more if nothing is done.

After surgery she should get some definite relief.

Since she knew we were snowbirds she said they'd work hard to get everything done.   The worked some wonders with the schedule.  Surgery next Wednesday at the Sanctuary Outpatient Surgical Center.  Same building Pat has therapy in.

Stitches come out 8 days later.  She should be able to drive after that.  4 weeks with a brace day and night and then 2 weeks with brace at night.  

Played Euchre tonight. 3 tables - 12 people.  Both Pat and I had very poor cards, but met some new people.

Wednesday - March 13

 Posted by Mark:

Started the day with Church at St. Vincent's.  I did a coat of paint on the outside table top.

 Pat did not have therapy until 12:45.  I ran errands to get car washed and more paint at Lowe's.

This afternoon I did a second coat of paint on the table.

Tonight we played Lucky 13. We had two winners at our table. Jim was one of them and he won the final game which has the biggest pot.  

Sunday - Tuesday March 10 - 12

 Posted by Mark:

Sunday

Since we knew that Sunday we'd lose an hour we told Bob and Linda we wouldn't get to Lakeland until after lunch.  Allowed us to sleep in a bit.  

After Pat's exercises, we packed up and headed out.  Stopped in Bartow at Zaxby's for a good lunch.  Got to Bob and Linda's at 1 p.m.

Ron and Vicki arrived later to join in all the gabbing.   Had some drinks and appetizers. 

Ladies were playing some games so the guys headed over to Ron's to watch some TV and warm up some of the dinner.    

Ladies came over to finish preparing the dinner.  Fried Chicken, baked beans, and Linda's potato salad, so we ate very good.   Key Lime pie for dessert.

Monday

Bob drove Linda, Pat and I to Tarpon Springs.  Ladies were off shopping and joined us back for lunch at 11:45 at Hellas'.   Great lunch and picked up some desserts at the bakery for dinner tonight.  Forgot to get a lunch picture.

Ladies had more shopping to do so Bob and I found a bench and settled in.

We headed to Lakeland around 3,  traffic was not too bad.

Got home in time to make drinks and walk down to friends Dave and Wanda for happy hour.  They have it every night in the park for the northern Illinois folks.

Then we got our desserts and headed to Ron and Vicki's.  Cleaned up left overs and had a good portion of the desserts.

Don't ask me to name all of them, but they were very good.

Tuesday

The six of us met for Breakfast at Keke"s.  (Why is it always about eating? 😋😋

Here we are ready to eat again.

Linda, Bob, Mark

Ron, Vicki, Pat

After breakfast the Ladies headed to "one more store for shopping" and the guys headed to Bob's house.

After more chatting, games, and discussions of family history using the "Find A Grave" website the afternoon flew by.

A fun 2 1/2 days was had by all.

Ron, Vicki, Linda, Bob, Pat, Mark

Pat and I got back home around 6-ish after a stop for gas and bite to eat in Arcadia.

Always good to be home.

Connor was by our old home on Jackson Street and sent us this photo to bring back memories.  Thanks Connor

Saturday - March 9

 Posted by Mark:

Nice easy lazy morning.   I cleaned off the boards to the outside table I want to paint.  Was hoping to paint today, but very foggy and high humidity this morning.  Will have to wait.

Lunch at Boat House with Doug and Charlotte.  Great time, we went early which was good as place was packed when we left.   No picture, Pat forgot and I never remember to get pictures.

Home for naps (at least for me) and reading.  

Church downtown at 4 p.m.   Small crowd.

Dinner tonight was Italian sausage that I had cooked earlier this week.

Pat did some final packing.

We are off tomorrow to Lakeland to visit her Brothers and spouses.  Ron, Vicki, Bob, and Linda.

Don't think I'll do a blog update until we return on Tuesday.

Enjoy your weekend.

Friday - March 8

 Posted by Mark:

Started the day with Mass at St. Vincent's.  Lent is flying by.  After mass filled up the car with gas and also got it washed.

Around 11 we headed to Backyard Social to meet Dick and Shirley.  They went to Amboy High School with Pat.  We catch up with them every year, they spend February and March in Naples.

Dick, Shirley, Pat, Mark

Once we got back home a nap was in order for each of us.  Then I worked on a question Maeve asked for her school project.  She needed to know when some of her ancestors came to the USA and why.  I traced my Dad's side as I knew about when they came from Ireland.  

My Dad's grandparents came from Ireland in the mid 1850s.  I got some of the names using the Find A Grave website and working backwards.  It is amazing what is available online.

A nice long walk around the park ended our day while the sun was still up.  With the upcoming time change it will be light almost to 8 p.m.

Thursday - March 7

 Posted by Mark:

Started the day with therapy at 8:30.   Then we were off to Panera for breakfast.  From there to Broadway Palms Theatre to buy tickets to see "Beautiful - The Story of Carole King"

Next stop Peltz Shoes and Beall's for Pat to get a new pair of shoes.  Old ones have seen much better days.

What we thought was final stop - haircut with Jewel,   however with the driving, waiting, etc., I was hungry for some ice cream so a final stop  downtown at Peter's for some German ice cream

Home for a bit then back downtown to have dinner with Jim, Lydia and their neighbors Tim and Lori.  Everyone enjoyed their meal at Ford's Garage

Pat, Lydia, Lori, Tim, Jim, Mark

After dinner we walked around downtown as it was a very nice evening.  Then back home in time to play Euchre.  They had 5 tables tonight.  No winners for Pat and I but we had fun.

Wednesday - March 6

 Posted by Mark

Rained a good amount during the night and early morning.  When it cleared up we walked a bit and checked out the Farmers Market.  With the rain only 2 vendors were there.

Left at 10:30 for Arcadia to meet Joyce and Butch and eat at the Nav-a-Gator.  You would never know that they had damage from IAN.  They did get 6 feet of water all over, but looks like just a freshly painted old Florida place.  Since we had more chatting to do we went to Rose' Bakery for coffee and more chatting until they closed at 2:30.  

Joyce, Butch

From there we went up the road to see Joan, Joe and their new spot at the campground.  Their granddaughter Josephine is also with them this week for vacation.

Joan, Josephine, Joe

On our way home we chose to come down highway 31.  Bad choice,  construction in front of Babcock Ranch caused major delay.  43 minutes to go 4 miles.  

Played lucky 13 tonight but everyone at our table was "unlucky".  No winners for our table.

Tuesday - March 5

 Posted by Mark:

Had a rare day for us.  Absolutely nothing on the calendar.  

Started the day with a walk. Then Pat did some laundry and I repaired our outside steps on Flo.  One of the parts had rusted and bolt broke.  New parts came in the mail yesterday.   They are good as new.

I also took all the top boards off of our outside table.  They need to be painted, but rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

Said our goodbyes to Brenda and Gary our next door neighbors.   Also said hello to the new renters who came into their spot,  Steve and Doreen.   They have been renting each winter in Cypress Trail since it was first built.  They will be here until the 17th.

Cooked brats for dinner tonight.  (Mark grilling out, another rare event) 😃

Posting a photo of Connor's last hockey game.  Forgot to post it last night.

Proud Mom and Connor

Anne has been a hockey mom for the past 15 years.

Monday - March 4

 Posted by Mark:

Therapy early this morning.  We went with all the worker traffic so needed the alternate route as 75 was jammed.  While Pat was at therapy, I did a nice long walk.  Need to do more of that.

After therapy we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  Then on to Costco and Dollar Tree.  Pat needed a bunch of cards.

This afternoon we did a good walk around the park, but is was very humid.

Tonight Pat went up to play Dominoes.  She stopped to pick up Lydia and sent a photo of the nice orchids Lydia has growing in her palm trees.

They did have a good turnout for Dominoes.  Pat was the winner at her table.

Sunday - March 3

 Posted by Mark:

14 years ago today was my Mom's 84th birthday.  It was also the day Pat broke her left shoulder when we were hit by a car.  Her daily exercises and therapy are a constant reminder these days.

We picked up our Illinois neighbors down the street - Barb and Joe for Mass and breakfast today.  St. Francis Xavier was really full today.  Ella Mae's diner was very busy also.  To get first available table we had to eat inside.  It was unbelievably nosy.  Very are to gab!  Breakfast was good however.

Joe and Barb

When we got home a strawberry ferry had left us a gift.

Thanks Jim and Lydia

Pat watched Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes today.  She broke another record.

I got in one full walk around the park, but it was pretty warm walking. 

Later we went over to check on Jim, Lydia, and Joan.  They were having a game day.  They were finishing up and Lydia was finishing some Kabobs and Egg Rolls.   Good timing as we got to bring some home.

Joan, Lydia, and Jim the game players

Lydia finishing up the kabobs

Most everyone made zoom tonight, but not that much news.   Everyone is enjoying having life slow down a bit.

Saturday - March 2

 Posted by Mark:

Started the day with breakfast at the club house.  They served over 100 people today.  They do it every Saturday in Jan, Feb, and March.   But we usually have other things on our schedule.  Today it worked out for us.

Fairly easy day for us.  Pat worked on laundry.  Her new computer showed up so I enjoyed getting it all set up today.  Actually I'm doing the blog tonight on it.  I still prefer my larger laptop, but for her, it will be much faster than her old one.  She was due, as the old one was 7 years old.

Tonight we had a thank you gathering at St. Francis Church for some of the donors.  The new pastor is trying various ways to meet the people.  We met some very nice couples.  Of course, none are native to Florida.

Not much else to report.

Friday - March 1

 Posted by Mark:

We started the day with mass at St. Vincent's.  Then back home for a bit and on to Cristof's on McGregor for Pat to have lunch with Claire.  I mailed off our tax package at the nearby UPS store then headed back home.

Claire, Pat

Pat was done around 2:00 so I headed back to pick her up.  We stopped at Trader Joe's for a few things.

Said our good byes to Buddy and Jo Ann.  They head back to NC tomorrow.

We were to go to American Trilogy (Neil Diamond, Elvis, and Frank Sinatra) concert tonight but it was cancelled at last minute due to illness.

Instead we got to receive frequent updates of Brady's ballgame.  Patton lost to West Stokes High School tonight.  They ended their season at 23 -4.  First time ever to play in the month of March.