Sunday - March 8

Missed that extra hour of sleep especially since we went to bed later than usual last night (but Paul Anka was sooo worth it)!   😀

We picked up Joe and Barb (neighbors) for 9:00 Mass with Father Murchadh at St. Vincent de Paul.    The church was overflowing and so happy and thankful to see this!

Then to Blossom and Brie for brunch - another big crowd and sooo delicious.    We had taken Joe and Barb there last year and they wanted to go back - definitely a favorite of ours, too.

Joe, Barb, Pat, Mark

On home and a quiet afternoon....hot 'n sunny again today!    Very little rain last night!

Walked in the afternoon and visited with Anita and Jim - it is HOT out there   Did not realize Anita is having hip replacement in April and that they are buying a 5th wheel - happy for them!    I've missed her as we played canasta and RummiKub but I've missed several weeks and just too much going on, +++trying to avoid some of these events with all the sickness in the park.

Zoom tonight was 10 siblings - Tom C is down to his last few days of work before retirement.    Tom H will celebrate his 70th birthday tomorrow; Jim and Lydia are in the process of moving to Shell Point and planning to spend Friday night in their new home.   Some talked about serving on jury duty - Tom C has been called up for federal jury duty.

Enjoy your week.

Saturday - March 7

Sure feels like we're in the heart of summer down here in SWFL but the calendar says March!!!    Unseasonably warm.

We walked in the high humidity and then had cereal - today is actually "National Cereal Day" - who thinks up these things????

I did some laundry and then had a nice long chat with my friend Carol in Pennsylvania..    Carol's son-in-law, Tom was Ryan's boss with the Blue Angels.    Carol and Bob always spend their winters in Jupiter, FL, but due to health issues, they are staying close to home - maybe next year?    The cold weather has been hard on Bob and they've had a doozy of a winter.    It was so good to catch up with both of them.   We were supposed to get together last March in Pensacola, but Bob fell and that's when things went downhill.   

We met Barb and Roger (1st time since October) at P.F. Chang's for lunch.   Sooo good to be with them again and after a delicious lunch and almost 3-hour visit, we said good bye and hope we'll be together again in a few weeks!

Roger, Barb, Pat, Mark

Stopped at Costco and on home in the rain.    Glad to see things were very wet here at CT, but not sure how much we got?

Tonight we saw Paul Anka at the Barbara Mann Theater.....WOW....what an entertainer at almost 85.    The show with no intermission lasted 2 hours with non-stop singing!    His orchestra was phenomenal, too.    He started the show singing his #1 hit "Diana" coming from the back of the auditorium and walking down the aisle high fiving several including Mark!!!!!!     GRRRAAAAT show!    Our friend Anita here at CT offered us these tickets as she and Jim were not able to attend - HUGE thank you!

 

 

Friday - March 6

 Hot 'n sunny 'n breezy reaching 89 today!   We went to 9:00 Mass at St. Vincent de Paul and then to Dollar Tree and Publix.   On home to put our stuff away.

Did some laundry and this afternoon we got a text from Chris (boat sister) that her father-in-law had passed away today.    Our sympathy to Michael, Chris and their family.  

 RIP Mr. Hosford

I went downtown in the afternoon for a manicure with Alisa.    Some of the streets were closed off for the big Music Walk tonight which always draws a huge crowd!

Keep hearing about more and more people sick with flu-like symptoms including nausea (new one)!

Have a fun, cool, healthy weekend!

Thursday - March 5

 I walked to Kathy and Kevin's lot for the rosary at 7:45.    There were 7 of us today and missing Kathy who is ill and stayed inside her RV.   We prayed for all our CT residents who have fallen to the crud going around.....keep hearing about more and more cases (outside the park, too).    Some have said "I've never been so sick" and some are running a fever of 101-103 for a few days!   Yikes....

I went downtown later and had coffee at Peter's and sat in the courtyard till my sisters arrived and we met at Ella Mae's for breakfast/lunch.    We sat outside on the covered patio and enjoyed our meals, the nice weather and non-stop chatter.    Walked around later by the water and then sat in the lobby with more visiting, until it was time to say good bye and they were heading to the airport for their flight to Columbus, OH.   Oh what fun we had....so many games of euchre and RummiKub, so many good meals (and calories), the Gatlin show and on and in with bunches of laughter!!!    Praying for Chris's father-in-law who is in his final days having entered hospice yesterday.    Big hugs and they were off.    We'll be together in mid May in Port Clinton .    

Donna, Chris, Pat, Teri

Luminary Hotel where we had 2 great breakfasts at Ella Mae's Diner and last night

at the Beacon Drinkery Social (rooftop)

I came home and Mark and I had a quiet afternoon - at 4:00, we got some rain but not near enough!   At 5, a little more rain...

So something interesting I learned from the Boat Sisters......Port Clinton hosts the "Burning Man" festival on the last Saturday of February on the beach near Doc's Beach House (favorite).    Apparently it's an all-day adults-only party where 21 and over can ride shuttles all around bar hopping, lots of food, music, etc.   But the grand finale comes at 10 PM (on the beach) when the big 25' snowman (made with wire)  has been wrapped around and around with paper.    And then he's set on fire (takes 7 minutes to burn) and the crowd cheers "Good-bye to Winter" (or so they hope)😉    There was probably lots of celebrating this year as their winter was very cold and snowy!

My sisters do not participate in this all-day event, but have been to the actual "burning man"  activity on the beach!                                          

                                                                                                         

 So tonight north of here the radar was very red and yellow.....just saw that Punta Gorda got between 4-5".    WOW.....we only got 0.25"  

                                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - March 4

 My last full day with the sisters.....Mark and i walked over to visit Jim and Lydia and catch up on their closing and upcoming move to Shell Point.    My sisters came and we were off to Belk for old times sake for Teri.    She remembers growing up in South Carolina and shopping for her back-to-school clothes at Belk, so wanted to check it out.    Our Belk is at Gulf Coast Mall.....we browsed around the store with just Chris making a few purchases.   Then we were off to Blossom and Brie.    They loved this place - we walked around looking at all the animals and then enjoyed another delicious lunch.    Afterwards, we met Rodney the owner who took us on a tour of the container with all the hydroponic plants.   

Pat, Chris, Donna, Teri

After lunch we came back to CT and played some games - Teri and Donna won at euchre and I won RummiKub.    The girls checked in with Southwest to get their boarding passes for tomorrow.

Late afternoon we drove downtown to the Luminary and went up to the top (12 floor) - Beacon Drinkery Social for drinks and appetizers (4) - all so good.   

Pat, Chris, Donna, Teri

On home - another very fun day!

I'm tired!    We all are!

They set the date for their 2027 visit!

So the word is out that here at CT, that there's lots of sickness, including Influenza A and terrible coughs.   

Planning to avoid big group activities.