Our Florida home - November 7, 2024
Very warm today with lots of sunshine. The highlight of our Saturday was meeting Charlotte and Doug for lunch at The Rum Bucket - they had never been. We sat outside and enjoyed our lunch and conversation! Great afternoon!
In between lunch we walked in the park.....almost daylight savings coming and losing that hour of sleep!
Spectacular day....I was off to get a haircut. Starbucks shares the same parking lot, so first, got a hazelnut latte. So much fun to yak with Jewel and catch up on each others news. Back home and fixed Trader Joe's tomato/basil soup (sooo good) and grilled cheese on sourdough!
Mark was working away while I was gone getting Big Red ready for traveling on Monday to Lakeland. Gary, next door, helped him lift bins into back of truck that had been stored underneath Flo. Since we hadn't planned to be here the next 3 days, now we have extra time to get it all together!
Did a load of laundry and organized our closet. I walked in the afternoon and then we both walked late afternoon. Visited with neighbors Joe and Barb but kept our distance as Joe has been sick with fever, cold, cough, etc. And Barb is all stuffy....still so much sickness going around.
Enjoy your weekend!
I played RummiKub in the library with Vicki for 2 games (I won both) and then Anne joined us for 2 more games with Vicki and I the winners.
Mark drove to the Coconut Point Medical facility (where I had my shoulder surgery) for a CTA procedure (Coronary Trans Artery). He had this done in 2004 and all good and in 2010 with a sight change. Mark asked Dr. McCarty about doing it again (been 15 years) and he gave the ok. They have a brand new machine and this location has the only one in the Lee Health System.
We both took a nap in the afternoon.....such a beautiful day with deep blue skies, very breezy and sunny - high of 73 but with the strong wind, feels much cooler.
Our weekend plans have changed. We were leaving tomorrow for Pensacola to visit Blue Angel friends, Carol and Bob from PA. They are the in-laws of Tom Frosch (Ryan's boss with the Blues). Bob fell a week ago and has been in the hospital for several days and now in rehab. Too much going on for Carol and last thing she needs right now is visitors, so....we had a good chat last night and canceled our trip. We also had planned to meet Ann and Duaine (owners here at 104). in Destin for lunch on Monday, so that won't be happening either.
So, we'll leave Monday afternoon with Flo and drive to Lakeland to visit my brothers and sisters-in-law....Flo has an appointment on the 13th to have a new hot water heater installed in Lakeland.
Euchre tonight and I won with 32 points and Greg had 31 points. Small crowd - just 3 tables. Maybe too chilly to venture out? Fun time!
It's Ash Wednesday and the start of the Lenten season. Mark and I went to 9:00 Mass at St. Vincent de Paul (several from CT were there). Great to see the church so packed!
Came back home, had a quick bite to eat, changed clothes and then off to Arcadia - first to stop at Dollar Tree and then met Joyce and Butch who came from Frostproof at The Arcadia Seafood Grill for lunch! Wow....excellent (crab cakes for Mark and me; shrimp for Joyce and Butch). Right across the hall (this is the old post office and was built in 1926) is the Florida Farmhouse Coffee Shop . How convenient as when we 4 get together, we usually end up in a coffee shop! This was a cute little spot, but both the restaurant and coffee shop were very COLD!
It was so windy today but thought we would sit outside rather than the chilly coffee shop. Mark and I got a table for 4 and had just sat down when a very big gust of wind blew massive amounts of dust and dirt at us. Whoaaaa...no thanks, so went back indoors and found another seating area between the restaurant and coffee shop. Had a great visit....so thankful that Butch is doing really well after his scare from lung cancer. Alleluia to these dear friends!
A stop at the Ranch RV Park to give Joan a pair of earrings from Janet. And she gave us an ice pak for Lydia. It was starting to rain, so a very quick "hi" and "bye".
On home but drove thru some very heavy rain.....and when we got back to CT, not a drop although that changed a short time after when the heavens opened up big time! Yikes!
My "boat sisters" arrived home safe 'n sound this afternoon - sooo many happy memories😊
One final day with my "boat sisters" and it was a dandy! We met for lunch at Buckingham Farms - they loved it! Back to CT for some games - Donna and I beat Chris and Teri 2 games of euchre; I won at Gin 13 (new game Chris taught us) and finally I taught them RummiKub - they love it and all going to order that game. Teri and I were the winners.
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Mark was our chauffeur and took the ladies to Doc Fords for dinner - but first we drove around and showed them some of the damage from Hurricane Ian. We were on the patio but it was very breezy and cool, so luckily we could get a table inside - much more pleasant and a wonderful meal.
We've eaten soooo good these past few days! Stopped at Surf 'n Style and Donna and Teri got in some retail therapy.
On home...................sad good byes and big hugs for these dear "sisters". They hope to make this a tradition each winter and increase by one more day each year! 😃 I will see them Memorial Weekend at Superior Marine. Wishing them safe travels tomorrow back to Ohio.
We walked around downtown and checked out a few shops.
Then back to Cypress Trail and a relaxing afternoon sitting on the patio.....they caught up with Mark and we had lots of laughs At 4, we enjoyed the Mardi Gras parade here at CT. Lots of decorated golf carts and the folks throwing out beads and candy. Fun!
At 4:30, we girls left for downtown to have drinks on top of the Luminary at the Beacon Drinkery. Beautiful evening to sit outside.
Time for dinner at Firestone Grill - a wonderful meal at this neat place. Up to the SkyBar for martinis to end this very enjoyable day with my crazy, fun, awesome "boat sisters"!!!
On home and caught up with Mark and our day....also a good chat with Liam who called to check in! Nighty night.
Today would've been Mark's mother's 99th birthday!
And 15 years ago today - 3/3/2010, Mark and I were hit as pedestrians walking across the street in St. Pete, FL....
Mark and I went to 9:30 Mass at St. Francis with Father Steve and then to Panera for breakfast. We had some free time before heading to the Barbara Mann theater, so read and played some games on our I-pads./
Then off to the theater for the 1:00 performance of "Come From Away", the story about the 38 planes, 7000 passengers and crew and 19 animals that were told to land at Gander, Newfoundland on 911. What a story (all true) and so well done with singing, dancing, laughs and tears. Just remarkable and we highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.
Came home, I changed clothes and was off to The Boathouses to meet my "Boat Sisters" from Port Clinton who arrived this morning till Wednesday. Soooo good to see Donna, Chris and Teri. We had a drink by the pool while waiting for our table - so many laughs and talked non stop.
We all enjoyed our food and the music and then said our good byes (after a harrowing scary 10 minutes or so when Donna couldn't find her phone!!!😨😨😨 But happy ending as she had left it in the car!!! Til tomorrow.....these gals have been up since 3:30 AM so very ready to call it a day. No picture....😞
On home and told Mark all about our reunion with these fun friends.
Zoom tonight was with 10 siblings....lively conversation as always.
March came in like a lamb here in Fort Myers today - absolutely gorgeous day - 79, sunny and breezy! Allie and Owen came at 9 and Mark drove us downtown to Ella Mae's for breakfast - so good along with plenty of chatter!
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I can't believe it's the last day of February.....2 months already finished for 2025. Life needs to S L O W down!
Mark played euchre with 5 ladies today in the library - None of the others had ever played 6-handed. Lots of fun with Estelle, Judy and myself beating Jo, Ann (newbie) and Mark 2 games.
On home for lunch. Just a gorgeous day here at CT. Had to take a pic of this lovely bougainvillea on our walk home from cards.
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A nice Thursday in SWFL....Mark was off in Big Red to get his DEXA scan (bone density) at a facility in Estero. I left to play Rummikub in the library - 6 of us today (Nancy, Jo, Anita, Vicki F, Vicki S and myself). Anita, Vicki F and I were the winners.
Shortly after I got home, Mark returned and then Claire arrived. She and I were off to North Fort Myers for lunch at Blossom and Brie. WOW...................this place was wonderful in a very rural farm setting - farm to table and less than 2 years old.
Our waitress, Megan was excellent, the food was excellent and overall ambiance, excellent with a walk around the farm and seeing the chickens, (baby chicks and big girls), cows, 1 big hog and many piglets, sheep, donkey (Blossom), Jersey cow (Brie). The owners, Rodney and Stacey are from Champaign, IL. Can't wait to go back!!!
Sunny, warm Wednesday. Mark uncovered Big Red and was off to get a haircut, some new wiper blades and maybe a coffee at Peter's? I did some laundry and took Jim and Lydia to the airport for their flight this afternoon to St. Louis for a family visit. They'll be back Sunday.
Mark was home when I returned from the airport. He enjoyed his blueberry coffee cake and coffee at Peter's. I did another load of laundry.
JoAnn (across the street) loves Mexican, but it's not Buddy's thing, so we had a fun girls lunch at Cabos Cantina downtown - delicious and a very nice treat from JoAnn for my birthday along with a box of chocolate truffles!
We walked late afternoon and then picked up Buddy and JoAnn and went to "Scoop Me Up" for some yummy ice cream treats. We hadn't been there in a long while. Sat and visited and then on home. They are leaving for home (NC) on Saturday. We sure will miss them!
Last evening we had rain off and on, but around 10, the heavens really opened up and it rained very hard along with some thunder booms. We ended up with 1 1/4" and this morning everything was fresh 'n clean!
I went with Mark to his 8:40 appointment with Dr. McCarty for his yearly check-up. All good and a nice visit with the Dr. who asked about our summer plans. He's originally from Michigan and spent many summers in the North Channel and Georgian Bay growing up. He was very envious that's where we plan to spend part of this coming summer. He showed us a darling picture of his children, Noah (3) and Sophia (1) with Santa. Nice guy!
Stopped at Publix for a few things and on home. I did some laundry. And then time for lunch.....met Doris at The Farmer's Market. She always takes her siblings to lunch on or around their birthday. Since Doris was visiting and she and Mark hadn't been together for late November (his birthday lunch), she suggested today which worked out fine. We enjoyed our lunch and visit at Fort Myers oldest (73 years) restaurant! Good home cookin'.
I said my good byes and left for downtown and mani pedi. They continued their visit and then Doris brought Mark home. She was going to the Miromar Outlet Mall this afternoon and has a flight back to O'Hare this evening. We sure enjoyed her visit.
The rain started very early this morning and came down nice 'n gentle. By 9:30, the sun was shining! Beautiful rest of the morning even though the forecast was for rain ALL day.
Doris picked me up and we went to the clubhouse to play canasta - 3 tables of 6 and one with 4 ladies. As always, lots of fun and Doris, Jean and I came so close to winning but lost to Lisa, Susan and Donna.
'Doris brought me home and we made a plan for tonight - "Where oh where to EAT again"??? Of course, last minute can't always get the time we want, but no worries....4:15 is ok at Izzy's.
The rain returned around 2 and was steady. We picked Doris up and wow, the heavens really opened up along our way downtown. Met Jim and Lydia at Izzy's - we had not been here for a few years......very good and all happy with our meals.
Very nice sunny, warm (79) Sunday. We met Doris at Ella Mae's Diner for breakfast (love this place) and then to 11:30 Mass at St. Francis with Father Steve.
On home for a bit till Jim and Lydia invited Doris and I to their gazebo for some canasta. Doris plans to play here in the park tomorrow and wanted a little refresher course (she played many years ago but since it's similar to Hand 'n Foot, she caught on very quickly.) Such a pleasant afternoon with a nice breeze. Jim and I beat Doris and Lydia, but overall, a close game.
Mark walked in the afternoon and read. At 5, we all left for Rib City - 1st time for Doris - as always, we all thoroughly enjoyed our ribs and fixins.
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A beautiful day but down to 48 when we got up (felt like 40 with the wind). It warmed up to a nice sunny 73 degrees.
We left at 10:15 for Okeechobee to meet Jim and Shelly at Lightsey's for lunch. Jim and Mark worked together at State Farm and they moved to Wisconsin a few years ago but spend February and March in Cocoa Beach. It's exactly 1 hour and 50 minutes to Okeechobee from Cocoa Beach or Fort Myers. We always enjoy getting together and catching up over some yummy seafood. We all had grouper today but mine was the sweet potato encrusted grouper with mango salsa - delish!
It's my birthday and oh what a fun day!!! Mark's sisters, Janet and Doris came to pick me up and we went to the cubhouse to play Rummikub with Jo and Nancy. And the biggest surprise was that I won 5 of the 6 games with Jo winning the 6th game.
Then we were off to meet the rest of the crew at Rum Bucket for lunch - all good and had a really sweet waitress. Joe and Joan came from Arcadia, Janet and Michael (who golfed this morning), Jim, Lydia, Doris and Mark. Great fun visiting over lunch and then back to our place.
Happy Birthday also to my brother Bob, and cousins Dave, Michelle, Amy Jo and Frances and friends, Kay, Fred and Sally.
I so enjoyed the phone calls, e-mails, texts, etc. It was a wonderful day!
HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY
PATRICK
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The brutal cold is around so much of the country, but here in SWFL we are enjoying summer-like weather thru tomorrow. Then a cool-down and more pleasant temps are coming.
Did laundry and later walked in the morning. Stopped at Jim and Lydia's to say "Hi" to the gamers. They were playing their first game of the day "Clank", yummy snacks and the camaraderie of family under the gazebo! Mark and I are not into the "serious and heavy" games they play and there are so many. They will enjoy their day for sure.
A fun family day.....Mark was off to the Sanctuary for lab work for upcoming physical. Michael played golf at the Fort Myers Country Club. Jim and Lydia picked me up and we picked up Janet and then to Peter's downtown for our coffee and pastries (avocado toast for Janet). Sat and gabbed and then back to our place.
Lydia had an appointment with a new orthopedic doctor. She and Jim left at noon but over 3 hours later, till they were done.
Janet, Mark and I played Sky Jo and then Janet and I played a few games of Rummikub. After Jim and Lydia got home, we went to their place and taught Janet canasta (she knows hand 'n foot, so this is very similar). Fun day!
Dr. told Lydia she needs to have a hip replacement. She'll be seeing a neurologist in March so will be anxious to see what he says about her spine?
We left at 5 for downtown to meet Michael at the Beacon Drinkery on top floor of the Luminary Hotel. Wanted Janet and Michael to enjoy the views, but they were having a private party, so....could not enjoy the outdoors. Got a quick picture and then walked to Bruno's.
It was 5:30 but no tables for 6 available till 7:30 at Bruno's. We are in high season, but very difficult to get a table without a reservation. So, Capones for pizza (all of us and linguini for Mark). We got their last table of 6. They were very busy and took a while to get our food, but all good!
Michael and Janet left for home and Jim brought us back to Flo. The gamers in the family (Jim, Lydia, Joan and Janet) are planning a BIG game day tomorrow.
Very warm and very windy today! We went to St. Francis at 9:30 with Father Steve and then took Ruby thru the car wash and on home.
A lazy Sunday.....read, took a nap and just a quiet day on Flo. We did walk in the afternoon (gotta get back in that groove).
Mark's sister Janet and Michael were to fly in from Rockford, IL today, but their flight was delayed because of heavy air traffic or as Philip suggests - a big shortage of air traffic controllers! Originally they said a 4-hour delay, but turned out to be 2 hrs. and 20 minutes.
Jim, Lydia, Janet, Michael, Mark and I were to all have dinner at Pincher's, but with their delay, we went ahead and had a great meal. Afterwards we stopped at their vrbo which they have for the week - such a cute little house!
Very breezy today with warm sunshine. We headed downtown to have coffee/breakfast at Peter's only to find it closed cause of so many street closures (tonight is the big 3-hour Edison parade of lights). So, we kept walking and had a very good meal at The Standard. We'll have to come back here sometime!
Stopped at Publix for a "few" groceries and $96 later 😖 we were on our way home.
We went to a wedding reception at our clubhouse at 5 celebrating the marriage of Jack and Liz. The wedding took place in Venice earlier this afternoon. Liz and her first husband, Dave used to live across the street here at CT. Liz and Jack make a great couple and what a fun party. Jack's parents (90 and 93) were both there along with his siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren from North and South Carolina.
Liz and Jack are avid runners and have done several marathons - LOVED Liz's dress!
The CT grillers did their famous burgers/hot dogs with all the fixins and then a huge potluck from all the guests - soooo much awesome food! And then wedding cake! We left early along with Jim and Lydia as the band "Deb and the Dynamics" were sooo LOUD! Really bothers the brothers' ears.
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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
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More clouds than sunshine on this Hearts, Flowers and Chocolates Day! Mark and I played euchre in the library. Jim, Lydia and Jo played 3-handed while Estelle, Diane, Mark and I played 4-handed - fun!
We left at 11:30 for Cooper's Hawk and our traditional Valentine lunch with long-time bridge friends (all originally from Bloomington going back to the early 1970's). Connie and Steve cancelled as she is having health issues and been in the hospital.
Don and Cathy flew in from Colorado to visit several friends in the area and join us for lunch. UNFORTUNATELY, I did not think to tell them that Fort Myers now has a Cooper's Hawk so they were at the Naples location (where our group met for many years on VD). UH OH......they were such good sports and drove to Fort Myers and Cooper's Hawk was very gracious in giving us till 12:45 to hold our table. It was packed on probably one of the busiest if not thee busiest days of the year.
But all worked out well............so good to see Don and Cathy and catch up - lunch was wonderful and just enjoyed these long-time friends so much! A really nice afternoon.
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On home and just relaxed rest of the afternoon/evening,
Have a great weekend!
We hit 87 degrees today! Nice warm breeze to go along with the heat! I played Rummikube with Anita and Jo. Anita won 2 games and I won 1. Fun as always.
Back home for lunch and then quiet rest of the day. Jim came over with his new AC for his shed to take measurements. Not sure I understand all this, but Mark and Jim do, so that's all that matters! 😄
We played euchre at night - so so cards for both of us, but always a good time - 7 tables tonight.
Happy 7th Birthday to Flo.....wow, how fast the years fly by!
A nice relaxing but HOT day.....we met Ron and Vicki at Buckingham Farms and enjoyed our great breakfasts!
While Vicki and I set up on the patio to play Rummikube, the guys started to do a temporary fix for hot water with success. Ron was in the heating and air conditioning business - he brought several tools and we were soooo very grateful for his expertise!
Unfortunately, Mark got a bad boo boo when he stood up from working on the floor and hit his forehead on a cabinet....ouch!
Vicki and I played many games - it was very warm today here while snow is falling back in the Midwest!!!
We enjoyed some delicious cake (chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, toffee) from Buckingham Farms that Vicki brought in the afternoon.
We drove downtown later, parked in the Luminary lot and enjoyed a few hours on the 12th floor overlooking the city - absolutely spectacular evening. We had drinks and several small plates - all delicious!
