Valentine's Day - 2026

 Day 2 after surgery - more icing, resting and being well taken care of by my nurse (Mark) again,,, who's been with me thru 2 shoulders, kidney stones, broken bones in my foot/ankle and now the eyes!    He's so patient and kind!!! 💘 my funny Valentine!!!

We met our long-time friends (since the 70s) for our 3rd outing this week at Cooper's Hawk.   Been a long time tradition of getting together on Valentine's Day and past several years have been at CH (usually in Naples, but so happy we have one now in Fort Myers).

And a wonderful lunch with wine was enjoyed by all....sad to say good bye to Don and Cathy who will fly home to Colorado tomorrow....God willing, we can continue our Valentine's Day tradition next year.

Mark, Pat, Connie, Steve, Cathy, Don

Stopped at WalMart and on home.

Arghhhh....here we go again with the USPS.    I mailed Liam's birthday card to Anne since he was going to be home a few days after his birthday (February 4th).    Anne kept saying it had never arrived....till today!   Mailed January 23rd from Fort Myers to Bloomington and arrived February 14th.  😟😟😟

Lucky Luke got to fly today thru the Eagle organization.

Friday - February 13

I'm back blogging squinty eyes and all.    Had a good night with my head elevated and icing when awake 20+ minutes each hour.   Also, no bending, lifting (more than 10#) or stretching.    

Sunglasses are a must and trying to stay out of the sun, but they feel good indoors, too.

Mark played euchre today with Marsha, Arlene and Estelle.    He and Estelle won both games.   On back to Flo and we left a bit later for Blossom and Brie where we met Steve, Connie, Don and Cathy.    They loved this wonderful place in the country - great ambiance, food and even got a personal tour by Rodney (owner) inside the container where they grow all the greens.    They were very busy and along with a private event in the barn, the restaurant served over 250 today for lunch,

They walked around outside seeing the animals.   I sat in the shade and Connie joined me.   Such a gorgeous day to be out in the country.

We all came back to CT and enjoyed sitting on our patio with laughs, reminiscing (where we've celebrated Valentine's Day since 2008 - Steve, Connie and us) and later with friends, Sharon, Harry, Sue, Jerry and Don and Cathy.    We had dessert and enjoyed our memories.

Don, Mark, Steve

Connie, Pat, Cathy

I really appreciate the kind notes from family/friends asking how I'm doing with the eyes!   And big thank you for the chocolates and coffee gift card!

Sad to hear that 2 of my dear friends here in Florida have Covid!    UGH...that stuff just won't go away!

Have a great weekend and...

HAPPY  VALENTINE'S  DAY

Thursday - February 12

I did some laundry and walked to the library to play rummiKub, but NO one showed up!    Bummer....sooo much going on here in the park, outside the park and sickness!    

Remainder posted by Mark:

Early afternoon we left for St. Mark's surgery center for Pat's scheduled eyelid surgery.  This is to improve her vision.  It was a short surgery but she was there for 2 1/2 hours total.  

Surgery went well and she is resting tonight.  Using ice packs at least 20 minutes every hour.

Only restriction is no lifting over 5 pounds for a week.   See Doctor in one week.

She should be back doing the blog tomorrow.

Wednesday - February 11

 Mostly cloudy today but in the 70's....I had a mani/pedi with Alisa at Profiles downtown.   After parking Ruby, I walk right past Peter's, so stopped in for a latte before the pampering!

On home, we had lunch, folded some laundry and then we were off to Captiva.   Stopped at Boops (ice cream, coffee, dessert spot connected with the Bubble Room) for 3 slices of orange crunch cake,    This is really good stuff and I first heard about it a few years ago from Paul, my hand therapist.   So, one slice for Claire, JoAnn and us!

Then to The Green Flash to meet Connie, Steve, Don and Cathy for linner.    Don and Cathy just returned from their Panama Canal Cruise - we were all long-time friends thru bridge.    Don and Cathy moved to Colorado a few years ago but so happy they are back for Valentine's Day.

Lunch was sooo good and memories of being here on Catrina several years ago (we think 2014).   

Final stop was Captiva Cruises (Steve and Connie's son, Brad is part owner) for our sunset cruise aboard the Lady Chadwick.   Today was mostly cloudy and 7 degrees cooler on Captiva than when we left CT.    But by late afternoon, the sun came out and it was perfect with deep blue clear skies.    So much fun to be together....last year when Don and Cathy visited, Steve and Connie were sick so the 6 of us were not able to all be together.

Steve, Mark, Don

Connie, Cathy, Pat

Don, Cathy, Pat, Mark, Connie, Steve

Beautiful ending to our day

Tuesday - February 10

Mark was up at 5 AM to see Marilyn and Jim off to the airport.   We got the she shed back in order converting Marilyn's Motel back to Pat's laundry room!   

Sharon texted about coming over to play games this afternoon.    She and Darrell arrived and we played Swoop (Mark won) and SkyJo won by Sharon.    Another lovey day to be outdoors.   We left at 3:30 for Cooper's Hawk and joined by Jim, Lydia, Tom and Peggy.   Wonderful meals enjoyed by all.    We had a 4:00 reservation and that's the time to go as not crowded at all.   A few hours later....another story!    Said out good byes to Tom and Peggy - they have 2 more days in Fort Myers, so have fun things planned.    Back to CT and said good bye to Sharon and Darrell who fly home Thursday afternoon.    Sure have enjoyed these family visits.   Next up is Doris (another sister) coming in next week.

Peggy, Sharon, Lydia, Pat

Jim, Darrell, Tom, Mark