Saturday Morning-last day of January

Well Friday was anything but usual after supper but the morning started out much the same. The temps had warmed up considerably during the day on Thursday but cooled down to where Friday morning required a coat and hat on my bike ride to the rec after my usual start for the day. We had a 3 courts in action with a mixed group of pickle ball players but mainly it was composed of A players. By 10 am I was whupped and ready for a break with a wet shirt. I made a quick stop at the library for a couple new reads I had on order before heading home to water the gardens.

Nancy was at her Friday morning Bible study at SFBC so I vacuumed the house and got ready for Amy, GG and the kiddos for lunch. GG brought me a bowl of leftover gnocchi soup she had made the night before and everyone else ate chef salads. This soup is served at Olive Garden and was quite tasty with dough balls made in Italy and made from potato's. After lunch I settled into reading as another front came through the area dropping the temps a few degrees while hiding the bright sunshine. It finally warmed back to the low 70's by days end but quickly dropped off again after dark to the upper 40's.

We settled into reading the rest of the afternoon and this new author George P. Pelecanos is fantastic in writing in the era after WWII. His characters are Greek in ethnicity and the story line takes place in the city of Washington D.C. This book THE BIG BLOWDOWN is fast paced and loaded with lots of action and is a real page turner with lots of real life issues for that era. Luckily he has several books out and I'm interested in reading them all if they are as good as the last couple I've read.

We fixed a frozen pepperoni pizza loaded with fresh mushrooms for our supper. I of course doctored mine up with plenty of fresh herbs and hot red peppers. We were meeting up with Dan and Patrick to head over to Bobby's and then to Element Church for men's game night at the warehouse. Nancy was going to spend the evening with Annsley and Gabe while Bobby and the rest of us played Halo and corn toss and some board games. Wow did 2 hours fly by with several men and boys playing this shoot'em up Halo game and the prize for winning this contest was a 47 " LED big screen TV. It was a fund raiser for one of the families in the church who is still dealing with the expenses they incurred during the loss of their 4 year old son last year; such a sad occasion which happened this month last year.

It was after 11pm before we got back to Seminole and said our "good nights". Many thanks to Patrick for driving us in his hybrid Toyota. Nancy had the kiddos wired up with ice cream sandwiches and popcorn while watching a movie with them and they all came down stairs to say good night as well before we left Brandon. Annsley is now doing multiplication tables in the first grade and gave me a quick demonstration of her intelligence. We had a grand time for the evening and enjoyed the time with Patrick and Dan as well. Carole was unable to leave her mom as she is the primary care giver which restricts their ability to socialize away from the home and Kathryn is recouping from her surgery.

Today, Saturday we are celebrating our son, Bobby's 34th birthday with a family supper; wow where did that time go? We will have everyone here for brauts, fresh broccoli out of the garden and salad and Nancy made a fruit cobbler instead of a cake per his request. The grand kiddos will have a chance to play together and renew their friendships as we haven't had them over all together since Christmas, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday started out rather nippy with temps in the low 40's but by lunch time it had warmed up so much I donned shorts and a t-shirt while working outside in the garden and by late afternoon I'm sitting in the back yard yard shirtless while reading for a couple hours. What change and all within just a couple hours. That's Florida weather in the winter; heat in the morning and a/c in the evening.

The day started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me. After my morning routines and a few quiet moments I had a lite breakfast of oatmeal, honey, cinnamon and a few pecans before riding out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We had 2 courts of A players and the action was awesome and the wet shirts were in abundance as well. I headed out at 10 for a quick stop at the library before heading home.

Nancy was planning on visiting her mom(GG) for lunch along with Amy and the kiddos so I wanted to work in the garden and decided to skip the lunch date. I headed out to run some errands while she was at the rec for her workout. I purchased a couple more 9 packs of lettuce as we are really using up mine at a fast pace with a salad most every day. I still have several seedlings that are maturing but I don't like having to purchase lettuces at the store when it grows so well here. I got the ground ready and transplanted three rows of seedlings as well as moved some of the smaller seedlings up into larger containers. The garden loves these cool nights and warm days with bright sunshine. The sugar peas are putting on small pods and the blooms are everywhere as is the green beans. The volunteer tomato's are just loaded with blooms and they are one of the reasons I went to Home Depot to purchase tomato cages; but they didn't have any and neither did Walmart the other day. I got a lot done in the garden but I sure missed seeing and playing with Sam and Eliza Faye after lunch.

I finished up the leftover lasagna for lunch and while I was out running errands I stopped by the vegetable stand and picked up some Ruskin tomato's. (Ruskin is south of us and is a huge area for growing vegetables in the wintertime.) I also picked up some asparagus and turnips which accompanied Salmon cakes for supper. Nancy makes this turnip casserole which is just delicious and (I add a few dried red pepper flakes to mine which really sparks it up) and steamed asparagus. Well after the clean up we settled into watching the Fox News channel our new smart TV which is awesome until the Lightning Hockey Team came on against the Detroit Red Wings. We smoked them 5-1. We have lots of boy nephews who live in Michigan and are avid Red Wings fans and I know this was hard for them to watch.

After a hot shower and the remainder of the game it wasn't long until the sandman calleth and I was reading the insides of my eye lids, LATER  

Thursday Morning

Well once again the morning started out with the heat on as the temps were down into the 40's. A strong breeze for most of the day kept it long sleeve weather despite the bright sunshine and it was even chiller in the shade. I had my morning routines and then a few quiet moments before riding out on my bike to the rec which left me with watery eyes from the cold.

We had 3 courts in action with a mixture of players but mainly the B group. I did manage a wet shirt from the workout as I sat out twice during the course of the 2 hours of play. Today the A players will have the gym and the play will be fast and furious with much tougher rallies. I had a chance to work on my short soft game with the B players along with some offensive lobs. I stopped off at the library for a new read by Yates titled COLD SPRING HARBOR. It's another great read and not very long either but the story takes place in the WWII era. A very thought provoking read and I would say very much true to the actual circumstances he faced growing up. I'm more than half way through as I just could not put it down when ever I had a spare moment.

I harvested lettuces and other greens for a huge fresh garden salad for lunch after getting back from my workout. Amy picked up GG on her way for lunch as well and stayed until it was time to pick up Ava from school. We took GG with us to the new Walmart out our way for some shopping before dropping her off at home and then we headed to Aldi's which is near us as well for a few items that are even less expensive than Walmart. We got back around 4'ish and the temp's were really starting to drop especially in the shade. I fired up the grill and put a couple bone-in pork chops slathered with fresh Rosemary to cook. Wow did they ever turn out delicious along with some canned peas and leftover taters' Nancy fried up. Yikes was that ever tasty.

I forgot to mention how sweet and cuddly Eliza Faye was today. She now comes into the computer room after lunch and crawls up on my lap so I can show her videos on the laptop of animals. She is making some of the animal noises as well and she just melts my heart when she smiles with those big blue eyes, wow is she ever a sweetheart. She is funny at lunch when she doesn't want something on her food tray, she just picks it up and drops it off and gives you this look. She loves fresh grapes sliced in half and you have to give her them last or that's all she will eat.

We had a house church meeting last night and got to meet Dan's older brother, Don who is visiting this week from New Jersey where he retired as a policeman. His wife had to leave earlier in the week so we never got to meet her. The Tracy's as well as Danielle came and we watched 2 parts of the Revelation Series done a few months back on the History channel and now we are going to start a study in that book as well. It should be interesting as I've never been one to enjoy or understand that book in its entirety and it will be good to have everyone's perspective with the tribulation meanings. We broke up around 9'ish an after a hot shower I watched a little of the tennis from Australia which is experiencing summer down there. I had the great fortune of staying there for a week during my Air Force days while flying with General Estes. The Aussies loved us Yanks back then and their country around Sydney is gorgeous as well. I never got to Melbourne where the tournament is being held, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was a bit nippy with temps in the upper 40's to start the day. There was plenty of sunshine but the breeze made it feel colder with the dry air. I started the day much the usual with a before 6 roll out and then after my normal routines and a few quiet moments I pedaled out to the rec for 2 hours of pickle ball. We had 3 courts in action with a couple players waiting to get on through out the morning, wow what a good workout and I was whupped by 10 AM.

 I hand watered the gardens when I got back and settled into read while waiting for Nancy to get in her workout. Amy picked up GG and brought her and the kiddos for a lunch of frozen pizzas with fresh mushrooms added, yeow were they ever delicious with a garden salad on the side. Little Eliza was her charming self as we played together after lunch. After they left to pick up Ava from school Nancy and I read the afternoon away until it was time to prepare supper.

I cut my first broccoli head and wow was it ever tasty and one head was big enough for the two of us along with sauteed fresh yellow squash with onions and parsley taters. That was the first I've eaten taters in a several weeks as we had a meatless supper. Everything was superb especially the broccoli. After the clean up we settled into Fox News and saw where the radical Islamist have struck another deadly blow in Libya and now have personally threatened the potus. I wonder when he is going to finally call them what they are Islamic terrorist. Our friends an ally in Israel must be wondering why this administration is so publicly against them and yet so friendly to Iran. For the life of me I do not understand this man and his policies that continue to appease those who want to destroy us. You would think after their actions on 9-11-01 we would be better prepared to know what the intentions they have for us. How quickly we forget what happened on that day and I'm so disappointed that we continue to allow them to even exist.

Well I found a new author who writes of our era and his stories are exciting as well. I finished a book titled NICK'S TRIP by George Pelecanos and it's a good read, a real page turner although at times with the main characters smoking and drinking I wondered how he ever managed to function, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was a bit chilly to start the day but by the afternoon it was rather comfortable and we had lots of sunshine with a strong breeze. It was nothing like those folks living in the northeast, wow can you believe those weather conditions and the scam merchants of the global warming community want you to believe their pablum. Oh well, that's for another day to debunk them and their cause which is to redistribute our money. Our potus thinks global warming is the greatest threat to our nation. It makes me wonder how those in the media continue to give this man a free ride when he and his policies are the greatest threat to our country and culture, oh well!!

I started the day much the usual with my internal alarm waking me a little before 6 and then the usual few quiet moments and a lite breakfast before pedaling out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We had a severe rain storm during the night and every thing got another good drink overnight. My broccoli is ready to harvest and the bad thing is I have 5 of the 8 plants ready to cut. I guess we will have another homemade broccoli soup as well as have it in a stir fry and then steamed. That is really a good bad thing I suppose as we love it even raw dipped in ranch dressing. We had a good workout on the courts with 10 class A players for most of the morning and the shirts were drenched once again.

I learned later in the day one of my high school classmates who was diagnosed with a brain tumor passed away. She and I had several classes together and while I haven't seen her since our graduation in 1964 we were in contact with each other through Facebook. She was really to meet her Lord and didn't want any prayers for healing or any extravagant measures to prolong her life. She passed peacefully in Hospice care with her family around her. We have had 3 classmates leave us permanently since out 50th reunion in September.

Amy, GG and the kiddos came for a lunch of salad and sandwiches. Little Eliza came around 10:30 as Amy took GG and grocery shopped. She is such a cutie and we just love loving up on her. She has such an infectious smile and now is all over the house with her staggering walk. She loves to sit on my lap and watch videos on the laptop of kittens, dogs and horses. She is talking a little more each day and loves for me to chase her and play hide and go seek. She was so sleepy yesterday while Amy was gone and I had her almost asleep by rocking her in my arms when she her the door open and Amy's voice. Well that woke her up and you could forget about any nap from that point on. She and Sam roll around on the floor together and she loves for him to rough house with her.

Well we took GG to a doctor appointment and then to Sam's Club for some goodies. We filled up once again at a 1.89 which is about the lowest price we have seen gas. We are having a birthday supper on Saturday celebrating Bobby's 34th and he wanted brats on the grill and they have the best ever. We did pick up a few other goodies as well before dropping GG at home. We came back and the outside temps were dropping a little even though it was still pleasant at 60*. The strong wind made it feel even colder. I didn't have to water today so we read until was time to finish off the lasagna leftovers around 6.

Well that was about it as well settled into the great picture on our new TV with the Fox news channel. I did get to watch a little of the Australian Open and the picture was almost the same as being there, wow have I ever been missing some great viewing entertainment with this HD TV, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday started out with temps in the 40's and lots of sunshine but by late afternoon we had the windows and door open to let in the warm outside air. The day started with a 6'ish wake up as we would be traveling to Element Church in Tampa for worship around 9'ish. We were alone today as Dan and Carol had out of town guests so we made a lunch stop at Paneria Bread on the way home.

The "gathering" was just awesome as Melody spoke about love and she had fantastic message. Bobby led the praise and worship music and had us all honoring the Lord with our voices lifted high. We saw several new faces and gave as well as received many hugs and handshakes. It was a good day to honor our Creator in both word and song and with other believers.

We had a gift card from a couple years back that we had never used for Paneria Bread as one is located on our way home from church, so we decided to break the bread ban or at least I did for the day with a sandwich and some very tasty broccoli cheese soup, almost as delicious as the one Nancy made last week. She saw my sandwich and wanted it, so I exchanged with her and her soup which was different(chicken and rice) wasn't nearly as tasty as mine but I wouldn't share it despite having one similar a few days ago. We were satisfied and that held us for the rest of the day except for some egg rolls we had purchased for New Years Eve which were in the freezer. They were very good with a sweet and sour dip around 6'ish and a glass of vino.

We are so enthralled with the picture on our new TV especially the Alaskan shows with the scenery that leaves us in awe of the land. I did watch a little of the Australian Open and wow what a picture of this sporting event as well as a little of a couple college round ball games, Wow!!! The rugged Alaskan frontier is such a beautiful place to live year round and I would love the challenge it presents to tame the land. I usually read but this new HD picture finds me hooked already. The bad thing is I'm not using my brain to recreate the scenes from reading while letting the TV do that for me. Oh well!!!That is pretty much what we watched the whole evening except for a new show about the Sons of Liberty. I found it interesting but I'm usually falling asleep around 10'ish so I got ready for bed and watched part of the last hour or so from the insides of my eye lids, LATER  

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was one of those days when I started out with shorts and t-shirt and by night fall it was long pants and a sweat shirt. This morning (Sun.) it was down into the 40's to start the day whereas on Saturday it was close to 70, oh well no wonder everyone has some form of a cold, runny noses and sniffles this time of the year. Nancy seems to be doing somewhat better with her cough and I feel like I'm totally over this crud as well. We had a 4 hour window where someone had to be home for our cable company to come by an ascertain what has been causing some interference on the phone as well as some flickering to the TV as well.

I drove GG to her hair appointment around 9 so I had to skip pickle ball this morning but I'd had plenty of play this past week so after our usual morning routines I read until the cable man showed up in the third hour of the four hour window. Well he was a really nice young technician and checked everything both in the house and outside on the cable box and made several changes including a new modem, cable box and he reprogrammed my remote to where I would only need the one to operate the whole system, yikes that was so nice. He even replaced my HD cables that I had purchased Friday night at Radio Shack which has made all the difference in the world to viewing our new LED smart TV. Wow have we been missing some great viewing. He knew of a less fortunate older person who needed a TV, so he took our old one with him as it still worked beautifully. What a blessing for them and for us as we were unable to be rid of the TV that still had some life. Well it was going on 1pm when he finished up and we were pleased with his work and with his loyalty to the company and to his career. What a nice young man.

We ate a large lunch of leftover chicken casserole finishing up that meal we had prepared for our shut-in friends and us on Thursday and decided to just eat a salad for supper around 6. I climbed up on the roof and cleaned the dead limbs that we could hearing falling from the oak trees throughout the day with the wind breaking them lose. They sounded like an elephant falling on the roof but when I investigated they were small in size and the wind was so strong most of them had blown completely off the roof and into the yard. I filled up a large trash can of the down limbs and twigs. I decided to mow up the down oak leaves as well as a few weeds that seem to thrive no matter the lack of rain. I filled several large trash cans of the sucked up leaves and then mulched them down to about 1/4 their original size and scattered them into the gardens. The earthworms will digest them eventually and leave great matter for the plants to use as fertilizer. Speaking of garden plants I will enclose a couple pictures of the broccoli, green beans and cabbage plants at the end of this discourse.

I settled into a new read by George Peleganos titled SHOEDOG. I think I'm really going to enjoy this author as he puts you inside the mind of his characters and the ending was nothing like I expected or as a matter of fact I could never figure out what next was going to take place in his story. It's a little different but I like his style of writing. I read until it was time for supper and then after the clean I finished up the book before heading in to shower and watch some sports on my mini size TV screen. What a difference from our new HD 42 inch tube. I don't really watch that much TV but I'm contemplating the smallest version for my room as well.

That was about it for the day as our get together with the Botbyl's and Tracy's was cancelled. Kathryn is still recouping from her surgery and the Botbyl's have out of town company. We will head out for worship this morning to Tampa and Element Church and see our

son Bobby. He will lead the praise music once again and we will get to love up on many there as well. On a more somber note it seems the "religion of peace" just beheaded a Japanese person. What kind of barbarians do this in this civilized world and make a spectacle of such evil? Where are our leaders?? Past leaders of this once great nation(USA) would not tolerate this kind of behavior but now we have no leadership and I'm beginning to believe he is complicit or at least sympathetic with these who profess this ideology, Wake Up America...LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was another typical Florida day and by late evening the humidity had returned so the a/c was turned on once again. It did reach the lower 80's but the skies turned cloudy after lunch and there was the threat of rain in the air and did it ever down pour about bedtime. The day started with the usual roll out around 6'ish or a little before for me. Nancy was still sawing logs when I came in to get ready for the rec around 7:30. She had been up a couple times during the night coughing but finally after ingesting some cough syrup she settled down and seemed to sleep well the rest of the night, thankfully.

I headed out to the gym after my usual morning routines, a few quiet moments and a lite breakfast. The strong breeze was coming out of the south which had the morning temp's up into the high 60's and lots of humidity. We had 3 courts going with several waiting to get on throughout the morning and there was quite a mixture of the skill level of the players. I had no trouble acquiring a wet shirt by 10 and was completely worn out as I spent most of the morning on the court. One of our regular players who has knee issues came back and played for the first time since we returned from the cabin. His skill level is still very good and he played quite well despite being away from the game and it was good to have him back in the fold.

I stopped off at the library for a couple new reads on the way home and decided to hand water as the soil was quickly drying out due to the wind. I did harvest some lettuces, kale, spinach and beet greens and got them ready for a salad once again. We were taking supper to another shut-in which included one of my fresh garden salads and then we were having Amy's family and GG for supper which included another salad as well.

Nancy made a broccoli cheese soup for lunch which was very tasty as Amy picked up GG and brought her as well. She also made another batch of chocolate chip cookies to serve to the shut-in's as well as for them to eat after lunch. Eliza Faye had her first homemade cookie and she seemed to enjoy it. She is eating table food regularly but still wants to nurse at times. We think she maybe cutting new teeth as she still has a low grade fever and is somewhat fussy at times. Last night she was awake at 9:30 before finally crashing. Ava had crashed before her but Sam was going strong on the Ipad.

We had a delicious lasagna for supper with salad and garlic bread. I'm still passing on the breads and desserts and really don't miss them as much as I thought I would. I'm down a few pounds but still have most of the spare tire but I feel so much quicker on the pickle ball court and my play has been rather decent. We are having some trouble with the phone and cable TV and yesterday we had to set up and appointment with Brighthouse to have a technician check out our difficulties with both of them. I thought maybe it was because I set up the new led TV wrong but I was assured by the operator with them that there were problems in the system with the company. Hopefully since I have to miss pickle ball this morning they can get the problems corrected.

Nancy is thrilled with her new white entertainment center and Tyler made some unbelievable adjustments an along with a couple HD power cords we are thrilled with what we see from the smart TV. We are finally out of the dark ages with this new set and I tried to give my old set which still plays away. No one takes them any more not even any of the charities. I found out Best Buy with dispose of the old set if you bring it to them so I'm going to check that out today. Well that was about it for the day as Nancy has been in the kitchen for the past couple of days and I've in the garden harvesting greens for salads. We are supposed to join up with the Botbyl's for a supper this evening and I'm to bring a salad to that as well. The weatherman say's we are in for some much cooler temps the next few days with the possibility of some freezing to our northern counties. I spoke with Paw Paw in Virginia and they are forecasted for 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff over the next couple days. The mountains had some on the ground yesterday morning from the webcan but I think rain washed most of it away, LATER  

Friday Morning

Well Thursday turned out to be a very busy day that started with a 6'ish roll out and by 10 pm I was really for some horizontal lab, wow I never stopped except to set down and eat lunch and supper. It was also another quite warm day that reached close to 80. The humidity wasn't too bad but there was evidence it was starting to make an appearance once again; however that is supposed to change later today(Fri.) as another front moves into the area and they are calling for freezing temps just a couple counties north of us for next week. That's typical for Florida's winters.

After my time quiet time and a lite breakfast I rode out to the rec on my bike for 2 hours of pickle ball, wow did we ever have some hard fought matches with just the advanced players and by 10, I was whupped with a wringing wet shirt. I made a quick stop at the library for a couple new reads but not once did I get the chance to read today as we headed out for some shopping into St.Petersburg as soon as I cleaned up. I must mentioned I found a new author by chance and I really like the way he writes. He is now deceased but I found a collection of his short stories a couple days ago and Richard Yates holds my attention and writes from within the mind of his subjects. Check out this book THE COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES by Richard Yates and you will be pleasantly surprised.

We headed to Home Goods where our neighbor and friend Carol Botbyl saw a couple of TV stands yesterday while she was shopping there, so we headed down and found 2 that Nancy really liked and they both were white in color. One was a brilliant white(which we purchased) and the other was a distressed white but wasn't quite as large as the other. The one we purchased was 64 inches in length and 35 inches high and had the shelves we were looking for and a two glass doors that closed so we bought it and it just fitted in the back of the truck with the tailgate up and the topper closed.

We headed to Sam's club to fill up at 1.88 a gal. before loading up on some goodies as well. We were preparing two suppers two nights in a row for shut-ins so the rotisserie chickens are huge and make for great casserole once deboned. We made 2 meals one another family and one for us from them with some chicken left over for salad toppings for lunch. We made another stop at Publix for a few items as well before getting home around 12:30. I deboned both chickens and then I picked the bones clean while they were still hot. I always think of my birth mom when I eat chicken from the bone because she could pick chicken bones cleaner than anyone I've ever been around. She would take a knife and scrape them as well. While we never lived together as a family she would visit her brother(Paw Paw) occasionally after he took me in to raise as his own; its funny how some things stick in your mind from past experiences.

We ate lunch and then I happened to notice neighbor John the fireman from across the street was home so I enlisted him to help me move the solid oak entertainment center we've had for ever out of the house and into the garage where I will use it for storage and to move the new stand into the house from the back of the truck. Many thanks to him as Nancy's back was bothering her and she could only oversee our actions. I was able to clean out the garage for the old piece to make it fit and then I was able to set up the new TV and hook it up to the cable so we could at least have TV later in the evening. Well that kept me busy before and after supper as we took supper to the Tracy's on Indian Rocks Beach. Kathryn is recouping from surgery on Tuesday and is still in pain. They were most appreciative of the meal. Nancy had a tomato based sauce cooking through out the afternoon for a lasagna that she was preparing for another couple from our old church and her Bible study on Friday's who also is recouping from surgery. We will deliver that today(Fri.) as well as have enough to make a meal with Amy and her family as well as GG tonight.

Well I had set the sprinkler on the gardens as I had no time to hand water them during the day. The sandy soil dry's out so quickly here despite all of the compost and now the beans and broccoli are almost ready to harvest as well as I'm still harvesting lots of the lettuces. The salads we took took with us for the Tracy's was all from my garden except for the tomato's. It was a busy day and we accomplished more than I first thought we could especially with me hooking up the electronics. That is Tyler's expertise and I will have him hook up the DVD player through the TV as well tonight when they come for supper. So far I'm not that thrilled with the flat screen TV picture but I think it needs some tweaking as the cable man indicated he had to do for the last one he purchased. I'm a little bummed because we have to use two remotes because of the TV being hooked into cable, oh well.

Nancy is still hacking and coughing and she was up once again during the night with her deep cough; finally she took some cough syrup which calmed her down enough that we finally got some sleep around 3 am. Amy and her kiddos are still suffering from some colds as well as Sam was out of school another day. We sure missed seeing them today at lunch but all of them will be here tonight for supper, LATER  

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday morning turned out to be one of those days that almost had us turning on the a/c after a somewhat chilly start. The sun was shining and the humidity was creeping back into the picture once again after a couple of very nice days that had everyone wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts. That's Florida weather in the winter time and its no wonder every one here has a cold, a cough or even the flu. I managed to get rid of my malaise with lots of Vit. C and gargling with warm salt water.

The day started with my internal alarm clock ringing me awake before 6 am, after about 15 supplements all taken with one swallow of V-8 juice and my usual morning cup of hot green tea I headed in to post this ramble and spend a few quiet moments lifting up several I know who are in need of some healing and comfort. I then headed out to the rec on my bike for 2 hours of workout on the pickle ball court. Wow has this sport taken off here at our facility and today I played with some snow birds who just joined the rec and brought with them a decent game from up north. We have such a variety of players who gather on Wednesday as it's open to all skill levels. Most of these today were good players but what was unusual was the gals out numbered the guys almost 2 to 1 at times. Initially it was the other way around when we started the game here at our rec and we have a couple really good female players.

I headed home around 10 'ish and wanted to replace my old mailbox and a new post. I've been painting the post the last couple days and had it sealed against the moisture that eventually will deteriorate it some time down the road. I borrowed my neighbors post hole digger and put it 3 feet in the ground then fastened the new white mailbox. The mailman did a double take when he approached the box to make sure he was at the right address as the old black box was hanging on by a thread.

I hand watered the gardens and got ready for Amy and her crew to arrive for lunch. I finished up some leftovers and then Eliza Faye and I played toys. She is so cute and cuddly and just looks up at you with those big blue eyes which melts my heart. She now likes to get on my lap and look at videos on the laptop especially kitty cat ones and today we also looked at some horse videos.  She walks all around the house and loves to get in any door that is closed especially the Tupperware cabinet. She will pull them out and parade around the house showing us all what she has accomplished. Sam was enthralled in a kid show on the tube but occasionally those two will roll around on the floor together when she tries to change the channel he is watching.

Well after they left to pick up Ava at school we settled into some hard reading for a couple hours before getting ready for supper. We were planning on meeting with one of our Amway team leaders at The Anderson house and bring our new neighbor Carol who is very interested in the business. Her folks were in it for years and now that she has her own cleaning business she knows the reputation of the cleaning products; however she had car trouble when she got back from Tampa and had to borrow a car to get home. Needless to say she didn't make the meeting but we introduced her to Twill Auto who may be able to help her with her vehicle issues.

We got back to the house a little before 9 and then headed for the showers shortly there after. I tuned into the last of the O'Reilly Factor and then watched Megyn. I learned where some leaders in the congress are going to step out and meet with other world leaders about the chances of Iran getting a nuclear weapon and its about time. If that country which is a sponsor of terrorism gets the bomb there will be an annihilation of Israel and then they will come after us(USA) here in the homeland. This president is constantly appeasing the radical Islamist and refuses to even acknowledge them as a threat to the world. Finally those even in his party are making a stand as we need to leave politics out of the mix and worry about those who kill indiscriminately. I applaud those who are standing for America and the safety of our nation. I didn't watch the speech he gave Tuesday night as I just could not listen to a man who is such a liar and is delusional with his self importance, LATER  

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday started out once again a bit nippy with temps down into the low 50's. Nancy had the heat on and by late afternoon it had warmed up to the low 70's with plenty of sunshine and the doors and windows were opened,  however there were some dark clods in the distance which maybe that front we are supposed to encounter later this week. After my usual 6'ish roll out to start the day and then a few quiet moments I headed out on my bike to the rec for some 2 plus hours of workout on the pickle ball court. We had 2 courts in action and while we were a mixed bag of players I just never got the wet shirt I've usually been having after 2 hours of continuous play. It felt good to be back on the court after the tournament play on Friday.

I stopped off at the library for a new read on the way home and the outside air had really warmed up by then after the chilly start. Nancy had driven her mom to the doctors office and I was supposed to pick her up if she called. While waiting for her call I harvested lettuces, beet greens, kale and spinach and cleaned them and put a salad together. I then started on making a guacamole for lunch when she called, so I dropped everything and headed out to get her. We made a vegetable stand stop on the way home for some Ruskin tomato's and sweet onions. Nancy was home waiting for us as she had finished her workout at the rec as well. Amy came with Sam and Eliza and we had a smorgasbord lunch with left over soups, guacamole, salad and of course Sam wanted his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He was a little under the weather and didn't go to school for the day.

After lunch I headed out to hand water the gardens and feed some of my new seedlings as well as paint a post for my new mailbox that I'm going to set today. My old one is about shot so we bought a new white shiny one the other day and now I need to set the post in the ground. Amy and the kiddos all have runny noses and some coughing and I think they gave me the bug as well as I have a sore throat; however I've been loading up on Vit C and gargling with warm salt water and that has really helped. This morning the sore throat is gone for now and I'm getting a break up of some phlegm when I cough. Hopefully its going away with the proper eating and gargling.

After they all left and Nancy took GG shopping I settled into reading until supper time. Nancy made a shepherds pie as she used the leftover smashed taters from the other night and wow was that ever tasty. That's the first taters I've eaten in awhile and with the combination of ground beef, cheese and all of her ingredients it was very tasty and it was complimented by a fresh garden salad. After the clean up we settled into the Fox News network until the hockey game between the Lightning and the Canucks. I couldn't stomach watching our lying potus give his speech on the tube but did watch a very good hockey game and the Lightning prevailed once again.

After a hot shower it was soon time for some horizontal lab after the game around 11'ish, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was a federal holiday honoring Dr. King's birthday so the rec and the library was closed and there was no school for Ava and Sam so they along with Amy, Eliza Faye and GG all came for a lunch of beef barley soup. It was a good time for some some as the morning started with temps in the 40's but by late afternoon we reached the upper 60's and maybe a 70. There was plenty of sunshine and yet the breeze out of the north kept us in long pants for the day.

The day started with a sleep in until nearly 7. The warm flannel sheets beckoned us to lounge around as the house temps dropped overnight down into the high 60's. We had no plans for the day as everything was closed that is on our usual schedule. We had lots of leftovers to share with Amy and GG for lunch so we spent the morning on the Internet after our quiet times and a lite breakfast of oatmeal. I did put in a load of laundry and eventually hung it on the clothesline as it was a good day for drying with the sunshine and breeze.

I headed out to hand water the garden after it warmed up some and my broccoli is just about ready to harvest sometime this week. I found a green tomato about the size of a marble and the suage peas are starting to bloom as well. The new lettuce seedlings I transplanted into larger pots isn't doing as well as I expected but are still alive at this moment. I have a few more to move up into larger pots if these die. The green beans are growing as well with little beans about the size of toothpicks. I lost the basil due to the cold night time temps but no one uses it but me. The parsley is growing almost out of control as well is the cilantro.

Little Eliza is walking everywhere is so funny. What a sweet smile she has and Nancy got her to fall asleep for about 45 minutes while Amy and GG shopped before lunchtime. Ava and Sam are into the Ipad with all of the games and seldom to you hear a peep out of them. Eliza now like to get up on my lap and watch kitty cat videos on the laptop as well. We had a delicious lunch of soup and some pasta salad Amy had leftover from a covered dish supper at church Sunday night. The kiddos stayed until nearly 3 and then Nancy and I took off on a 3-4 mile walk/hike through the 'hood. The sun was bright but the air had just enough chill to keep you from breaking a sweat. We came back around 4 'ish and took down the laundry and then I hand watered again some of the more tender plants before we settled into reading before starting supper.

We had one of our favorite meals of salmon cakes, frozen peas and a salad for supper. I found out that canned salmon is harvested in Alaska and processed there as well and it's never farm raised. After the clean up we settled into the Fox news channel and learned our potus wants to redistribute(tax)another 320 billion dollars from those who are successful and give it away to grow the government even bigger. Wow, he is the most arrogant potus after a resounding defeat of his policies in the last election. I hope we can survive as a nation for the 2 years left of his administration but what really bothers me is the lack of any leadership in the opposite party. We know the conservatives or the right want less government intrusion into our lives while the opposite is true to the left or liberals. I'm afraid we are heading down the same socialist road that Europe tried and now we know that course has miserably failed, wake up America and where are those who have some bright ideas on how to fix the economy with some job creation and giving folks a sense of worth from their endeavors while keeping the many government regulations out of our daily lives, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday was a bit nippy to start the day which was around a 6'ish wake up. We would be heading to Element Church later in the morning for worship as we car pooled with Dan and eventually we picked up Patrick on the Tampa side of the bridge as he rode with us as well. It began warming up by the time we headed out a little after 9, so I wore a short sleeve shirt and by the time we left Tampa around noon it was back up to the low 70's' with plenty of sunshine.

Our gathering service was fantastic as we still are using in-house speakers, teachers and Bobby was once again back to help in leading worship with the music. It was an awesome gathering and to be in the presence of so many who came to worship our Lord and to give lots of hugs and handshakes as well. Our childrens attendance is growing steadily with lots of preschoolers and toddlers. This is such a young crowd of attendees and we had another baby born this week to a young couple. Nancy and I are the dinosaurs in this body of believers with just a few other couples close to our ages. We got to love up on Annsley and Gabriel as they were here this weekend with Bobby.

We headed home after dropping Patrick off to pick up his car to a lite lunch of leftover collard greens and dogs in a wrap. Nancy decided to make a pot of beef barley soup from the frozen bones of the standing rib roast we had for Christmas dinner. Wow did they ever make a nice pot of very delicious soup that we attacked for supper while I watched an exciting first game of the NFL division championship between Seattle and Green Bay. That was a great game that ended in overtime and a great come from behind victory for the Seahawks. The second game was a complete bust with a trouncing by the Patriots over the Colts. That game wasn't worth watching after the first half and I didn't as I read and tuned into the Alaskan Families and their ordeals on the frontier.

I finished a horrifying read about how Sharia Law took the life of an innocent woman by stoning her to death in front of her family in a village in Iran after the regime of Khomeini deposed the Shah and implemented these hard line Islamic practices. Much of this is going on now in the world with the beheading and instant judgement on practices that don't conform to this barbaric law. The title of the book is THE STONING OF SORAYA  M. and was written by Freidoune Sahebjam. The back ground for the story occurred in 1979 in a small mountain village. I must warn you it's very graphic and the ending will make you disgusted with these men who abuse the power under this law to achieve their goals. This story is not for the faint of heart and all women should have to read this story and then make a decision as to why they would want to be a willing partner to these barbarians who are under the influence of such inhumane practices and the law that governs them, Yikes!!

Well that was about it for Sunday and no matter what your beliefs are the greatest facet of Christianity is that Jesus prescribed love, not the killing of those who do not believe or follow the rules set up by some fanatic's on keeping you fearful of your life through some rigid set of laws. How have we let this ideology back into our nation. We now have elected congressmen and appointed officials in our homeland security office who prescribe to this ideology. Wake up America before we are destroyed from within by this unchecked cancer that has shown it's ugly face in places like France, England, Belgium and of course their constant hatred for Israel, LATER  

Sunday Morning

Well after a chilly start on Saturday morning the day turned out to be rather nice. The clear dry air made it feel colder than the actual temps but as the day grew longer it warmed up to where you needed the a/c on in the truck. It was in the low 40's to start with and ended in the low 70's by night time. We both slept in as the workout on Friday was more exhausting than I first estimated as seldom to I ever stay in bed until nearly 8 AM.

We did our morning routines then soft boiled a couple eggs before getting ready to head out to do some shopping at the new Walmart near us. We needed a new mailbox as well as some bathroom scales so we can keep track of our hopefully weight loss; but after a lunch of a frozen pizza doctored up with fresh mushrooms and a salad and then later to Olive Garden for supper with GG maybe I should have said weight gain. I hung a load of laundry before we headed out as the sunshine was bright despite the chill in the air.

We headed back out around 3'ish and picked up GG to travel to the Clearwater area to once again look for TV stands. We found lots of perfect ones that fit our needs except they are or most were the wrong color. Nancy wants a light wood color one because our couch's are dark chocolate brown and our present entertainment center is an light oak finish. We were hard pressed to finally find one at Kanes Furniture which suited us fine, but they had none in the warehouse so it will probably be another 2 weeks before a shipment arrives. Another store is getting some in around that time as well which I actually liked a little better. We found a couple on line that suited us but I have to put them together and you never know if they are damaged when you open the boxes so I would rather find one already together then make a decision. All of these shopping trips because we are upgrading to a new larger screen TV, so we must get rid of a beautiful piece of furniture because the dang tv's will not fit in the old center, oh well! GG is having the same problem as she to wants to upgrade to a larger screen tv and must find a different tv stand as well.

We stopped at the Olive Garden for supper in Largo for a delicious supper of soup, salad, bread sticks, scallops, shrimp and chicken with Alfredo pasta's. Yikes was that ever a fine meal and the girls brought half of theirs home for later. I cleaned my plate as I passed on the garlic buttered bread sticks which took some restraint to do, as they are one of my favorites and the after dinner mints as well, yikes!!! We took GG home then stopped at Aldi's for a couple items before heading home to vegetated in front of our respective tv's. I watched the Lightning beat the Avalanche in hockey in a close game that ended in a shoot out and then I read for a few before lights out around 11'ish, LATER

Today Sunday we travel to Tampa for worship at the gathering with our Element Church family and we will get to love up on Annsley and Gabriel as Bobby has them in his care this week end. Be sure and keep our nation in your thoughts and prayers as we are faced with an awful threat from fanatics who want to kill us in the name of their ideology and prophet.

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was another chilly start with temps into the low 50's and overcast skies; however by mid morning the skies cleared and bright sunshine finally invaded the area and with that a slight rise in the outside temperature. By late afternoon we were in the middle 60's which made for rather comfortable conditions.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out, a few quiet moments then a lite breakfast before heading to the rec for what I thought would be a warm up in pickle ball for the tournament that was to start at noon, but the gym was closed as maintenance was replacing some burned out lights. I headed into the weight room and did a few minutes on the treadmill before heading back home on my bike. I decided to get a load of laundry on the line as the skies were quickly clearing and it looked like a good day for hanging clothes. Nancy was getting ready for her weekly Bible study at SFBC so I had a couple hours to kill before heading back to the rec for the pickle ball tournament.

I harvested collards then cleaned and chopped them for Nancy to put on to slowly cook when she got back home around noon as I would be gone until after 3. I filled in for another player who had the flu as I initially wasn't sure if I was going to play. Keith who I had previously partnered up with in earlier tournaments several years ago was left without a partner. Well since I didn't sign in time to get in the draw I was left on the sideline until his partner had to withdraw due to illness. So I thought what the heck lets give it a try and we played the first 2 matches and never lost a point. Then we played the  next two teams who we thought would win the tournament and beat them as well in some really good points. We had to wait for an hour or so to play the winner of the losers bracket which turned out to be the third team we beat in the first round. It was a double elimination tournament so we played this team again and beat them in a good match.

This tournament was initiated to raise funds for hospice in the name of one of our fellow pickle ball players who passed away rather unexpectedly last year. His widow came for the tournament and she was delightful and so appreciative that we would hold this special occasion in his honor and for the $550 dollars we raised in his name. A good time was had by all and there were 20-25 teams involved in the play as well which was mainly for in house participants. The Rec was very involved in helping to sponsor this tournament as well and the feedback was very encouraging for pickle ball at this facility.

I headed out around 5'ish to pick up GG and along with the Amy, Tyler and the kiddos we had a down home feast of collards, Swiss style steak and gravy, smashed taters, corn and biscuits. I passed on the taters but did have a biscuit which was fabulous with orange/fig jelly. The collards were just awesome as well as we now have the old fashion method down to properly preparing them with smoked bacon, onion and red pepper flakes. After the clean up we got into the new game called Things which Amy and Tyler gave us for Christmas. It is a fun game with lots of humor and GG beat us all with me dead last. You have to guess who said what that is written on a slip of paper which is read to the group all at once.

Well after a hot shower I was fading fast by 10 PM, LATER

Friday Morning

Well I must say Thursday was rather chilly, gray and overcast for most of the day. While the temps stayed around the 50 degree mark for most of the day it felt even colder as the damp air seemed to penetrate you right to the bone. It was around that 50 degree mark when I awoke and right there when I finally headed for some horizontal lab around 11 PM.

I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out and after my usual routines and a few quiet moments to give thanks and remember a few folks who were on my mind I got ready to head out to the gym on my bike for some to 2 plus hours of pickle ball. Wow did we ever have 8 very good advanced players and even a visitor from The Villages which is near Ocala. He told us they have over 150 pickle ball courts for that complex and he is one of those who ranks the players in their ability to play the game. He had a nice game and it was fun to play with and against him during the course of the morning. Needless to say when I left at 10, I could once again wring my shirt of the sweat. I made a quick stop at the library on the way home.

I decided to head out to my barbershop where Patti does a great job on keeping me groomed. She and her daughter Christina run this 2 chair shop on Seminole Blvd which is close to my house so I ride my bike. We got to talking and her beau bought one of Bobby's book THE EPIC OF HAVEN and Bobby autographed it for him. I mentioned to her that I put this ramble together everyday so that my grand kids will know a little about us when we are gone and she seemed interested with in my leaving a little of us in word through this journal of how life is as we know it now. How the people we get to know and interact with and some of the mundane daily experiences as well as I interject some of my opinion's in the social and political realms that face us daily and which may be an influence on how they will face life in their future. I knew very little about my grand parents except for my grand mother who helped to raise me as a small child before I went to live with an uncle(paw paw) who took me in when I was about 4-5 years of age and raised me as his own son with his 3 daughters. Many of them are now grand parents as well and we share our memories and pictures through this daily blog or journal.

After a quiet lunch with just Nancy and I, she headed out to take her mother to a doctor's appointment so I stayed in where it was cozy and read the afternoon away. I did hook up the Ipad to the Bose and found some great Blue Grass stations and we listened and even at times danced a little to this "hard to keep still" music. After a supper of baked flounder, fresh asparagus and leftover Cole slaw and the clean up we settled into the Fox News channel to see what is happening in the world with true investigating reporting that is unbiased. The major networks are so biased in their reports that keep this administration from looking incompetent that it's almost ridiculous and self serving; as they were the ones who helped get this community organizer elected not once but twice. I find nothing to glean from their newscasts and those who spew their sycophant babble, oh well just my opinion.

We tuned into the American Idol talent show and found it to be much more entertaining than the news of us the USA releasing 5 more terrorist by this administration who will be back in field trying their darnedest to kill us once again. The guy who put the Obamacare bill together was definitely right when he spoke that Americans were to stupid to understand the bill and now we are too stupid to understand that we are being led to more slaughter by this religion whose ideology is to kill those who don't believe the way they do. It's unbelievable that we are allowing this to actually occur in our once great nation where we stood for the rights of all folks regardless of their beliefs, but now all of that is changing with this leadership or lack thereof in the Nations Capital. Wake Up America before Sharia law becomes the norm in our country and don't be fooled by these who profess Islam is a religion of peace, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday despite being overcast for a good portion of the day reached the upper 60's and maybe even to the low 70's. The late evening saw a mild cold front enter and this morning it's down into the low 50's. I know that is a warm up for the mountains but this AM I will need a extra shirt as I ride out to the rec in about an hour or so. The evening found us at the Botbyl's house for our weekly house church gathering and we watched the movie God is not dead. I must say it was well done and presented several interesting scenarios mainly set on a college campus with academia as the protagonist which seems to run true to form today.

The day started out much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me. After my regular routines I did my few quiet moments before heading out to the rec for 2 hours of workout on the pickle ball court with about 15 or so other intermediate players. I had a good workout despite the level of play was not as challenging as with the more advanced players, but my shirt was sweat soaked as I never had a break for over an hour. Afterwards, I headed home with a quick stop at the library for a new read.

Once again Amy and kiddos never made it for lunch as Nancy had a hair appointment around noon and I had a dental one at 1 PM. I got my first gold tooth as a crown for a rear molar which I learned seems to acclimate better than porcelain crowns and the cost is no more. I stopped off at the Home Depot for a few items before heading back to work in the garden in shorts and t-shirt. The sun finally broke through and it warmed up nicely. The newly transplanted lettuce seedling made it overnight and I fed many of my other seedlings as well, plus I spaded or turned over the ground in some areas where I just finished up several lettuce plants. The four new tomato plants that I set out that came up as volunteers seems to be doing well and I noticed my first bloom on the sugar peas which have now climbed up several feet on the chain link fence. If the freezes hold off we should have some green beans in a week or so as well as broccoli and the cabbages are starting to form small heads as well.

We did a vegetable only supper with store bought fresh green beans, a baked sweet 'tater and a small fresh garden salad with all the ingredients except the cukes, radishes and carrots from my garden. I'm waiting on the moon cycle to resow radishes seeds as they are one plant that exemplifies not planting in the right phase. They are the best example of that scenario with beautiful tops and no radish or small tops and all radish, oh well.

We got a package in the mail with a CD from our friends Sam and Marcia from Elk Creek, Va.(don't you just love that name) labeled Christmas Music in the Mountains. There were lots of Blue Grass songs and a few with other big names like Alabama mixed in as well. We listened to it on the Bose and it was awesome with about 80 minutes of listening pleasures. Several of the songs where from old time music and a few were tear jerkers. Many thanks to them for this belated Christmas CD.

We met with the Tracy's and Danille at Dan and Carol's for our weekly house church get together and the movie was awesome to say the least. This was the second time for the Tracy's and the first for the rest of us. After a small discussion as it was going on 9 we dismissed after voicing some concerns and then headed home for the hot showers. The night air had a chill to it but nothing severe which actually felt rather nice. It wasn't long after a few chapters that I snuggled into those flannel sheets and was soon out like a light, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was another warm day with temp's reaching the middle 70's and lots of sunshine. We are close to having the a/c on once again as the humidity had crept back into the picture. Today was our youngest grand daughter Eliza Faye's first birthday celebration and we had a big supper at her house and of course lots of gifts for her to open. We took GG with us after lunch to shop for a TV stand as she to wants to upgrade to a flat screen and will need a new stand as well.

The morning started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me. After a few quiet moments and my routines I headed out on my bike to the rec for some 2 hours of pickle ball with 8 other advanced players. We had some fantastic play and of course I could wring my sweat soaked shirt out afterwards. Nancy was on her way out to the rec as I got home so I piddled around in the garden until she got back and then we had a salad for lunch and took off to pick up GG. Amy and kiddos were not coming today as we were going to her house later for supper and then the birthday celebration for Eliza Faye.

We stopped at several furniture stores and found none to our liking in color, design and price range but I did find a couple on line(Internet). The only draw back is I must assemble it which should be no problem and the condition of the material once it arrives by truck plus shipping costs, oh well!!! It's no big rush or anything as one store has a stand that we like(from their website) and it's supposed to be in the store in February, so maybe we can wait for a couple weeks and see if that is the one to our liking.

We made a couple stops and one for gas at 2.01 a gallon and even saw in cheaper at 1.98. Wow never would I have thought it would reach this price again. We dropped GG off and picked up her car as we have two separate appointments today at about the same time. I headed home while Nancy made a stop at Aldi's for a few items. I then transplanted some new lettuce seeds that burst forth the past couple of days into 9 packs as I'm slowly using up most of my first plantings of lettuces. The broccoli is setting some golf ball size heads and the pepper plant has a few small heads as well. I haven't found any tomato's yet but did have lots of blooms before the last big rain. The green beans continue to grow and are about and inch in length.

We picked up GG around 5:30 and headed to Amy and Tyler's for supper. Wow he had (2) 4 pound pork butts(shoulders) on his smoker for about 8 hours and did they ever look delicious. That was the best pulled pork we've eaten in many a moon. Amy had a crock pot of dried pintos that had been cooking for several hours with a smoked hock and they too were very good. Little Eliza loved the beans and the mac and cheese. Nancy had made a Cole slaw to accompany the meat which you could eat with a fresh bun. I passed on the mac and cheese, buns, cake and ice cream which was very hard to do. (I did bring a piece of the cake home for later during the day tomorrow.) The meal was awesome and afterwards we watched the kiddos help Eliza open her presents from her grandparents in Kansas. Tyler was Skyping with them during the present opening. It's 18* cold there, yikes and we were having the a/c on here in Florida with so many folks in the house.

Eliza was so funny when we all sang to her and then put a piece of the chocolate cake with white icing in front of her with the candle glowing. She tasted the cake then began to squish it with her fingers as she poked it into her mouth. She ate most of it then was going strong from the sugar high until we left going 9'ish. Her bedtime is usually before 8. We had a grand time and now she is walking more than crawling. She and the other kiddos should have slept well as they tired me out just watching them buzz around, LATER

 

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday started out very warm for this time of the year with some sunshine but as the day wore on it clouded up and by mid afternoon the rain fell and at times down poured. There wasn't much going on except the big game later in the evening and it seems the Ohio team routed the west coast team from Oregon. I do like the QB from Oregon and if he had better receivers I think the outcome would have been some what different in the early stages of the game, oh well!!!

The day started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out and after my morning routine and a few quiet moments I rode out to the rec for some 2 hours of pickle ball. We had 2 courts in action with some great rallies and I headed out at 10 with another sweat soaked shirt. I stopped off at the library for a new read before heading home. I started to water the gardens but I could feel the moisture in the air and checked the radar and sure enough a line of rain was heading our way and by lunch time it started to rain and did so all the way up until late in the evening, despite a beautiful sunset just before dark.

Amy picked up GG and brought Sam for lunch. She had earlier dropped Eliza off for us to watch around 10 'ish while she grocery shopped. Little Eliza and I played toys and had a grand time. She is now walking rather consistently and while she is still a little wobbly she motors right along. Today(Tues.) is her first birthday and we will celebrate it with a supper at Amy and Tyler with pulled smoked pork and all the fixen's. She is still coughing a little and has a runny nose at times but she is the happiest baby ever with a smile for all. She loves her fruit as well especially grapes for her snacks. We had a grand time playing and loving up her and she took a nap after lunch which is unusual as she fights sleep. I think we wore her out playing toys.

We dropped GG off at her house in a hard rain around 3 'ish and decided to forgo shopping for a TV stand as we ordered a new 42" LED tube which should be delivered sometime this coming week. The streets were flooded as we drove home as its been awhile since that much rain fell that fast. We decided to read until it was time to prepare supper. GG had brought some Italian bean soup for lunch which was very good so we ate lite for supper with a pan fried steak and salad. I'm still maintaining my diet of no breads and desserts however tonight I will have a small taste of Eliza's birthday cake which Nancy made today, chocolate with white icing. Yeow that is one dessert that is hard to pass on and especially as we celebrate this momentous occasion with Eliza Faye.

Well our leaders have done it once again snubbing the rest of the world leaders who gathered to send a message to the radical muslims who kill needlessly for their ideology. While the gathering was a symbolic gesture to those jihadist, we the USA refused to even identify the issue of radical islamist and we seem to be sympathetic to their actions. It's becoming harder to believe the potus has the country in his best interests, LATER

Monday Morning

Well I must say after a some what chilly start for Sunday morning Florida weather has returned and within hours which is customary as well. This AM(Mon) it's 69* at 6 o'clock and the change happened yesterday afternoon after we left Element Church in Tampa.

We started Sunday morning with our usual routines before getting ready for the close to an hour ride to Tampa for worship with our Element family. There was a nice crowd on hand but we noticed several families are still battling the sicknesses associated with this time of the year. After a great message delivered by one of our elders we had an owners meeting and then we voted on a list of new elders and leaders for this next year. Our son, Bobby led the praise and worship music which I must say was awesome in both reverence and uplifting. Several of the band members were out and only 2 guitars and Shana our fantastic female singer blessed us with their talents. Afterwards we made a quick stop at IKEA to check out their TV stands and the one we liked is out of stock.

We came back and I opened the windows and doors as it was warming up very quickly. I set the sprinkler on the garden as I wanted to watch the playoff games before we had to leave the house and ride with Dan and Carol to the Salt Rock Grill for lunch/supper. The Packers came from behind and beat the Cowboys and the late game saw the only home field team(Broncos) lose so far in the playoffs. I must say the Grill has some of the best tasting cuisine ever and served with such flair as well.

We had a separate room that had a water front view and we could see some of their fishing boats unloading their catch and filleting the fish for consumption in the restaurant. At 3 PM in the evening this place was jumping with diners and staff. This event was for those in our Amway group who did well in our sales for the month of November and we had our choice of a Ribbon Gift or dinner with several other successful IBO's at the Grill. Well there were 24 of us and many who we knew personally from Element and then some new folks from elsewhere in the state. There was a huge weekend conference in Clearwater with thousands of conferee's from the southeast in attendance. We met several new faces who are into the business and I must say by the time we parted some 2 1/2 hours later we were like old friends.

We could order anything we wanted from any of the menu's and I started with a crab/asparagus bisque soup that was very good. I did stay true to my dietary restraint of the marvelous looking sour dough bread and the herb/oil dip to start. I even passed on the crackers for the soup. I did have a glass of very nice Merlot to accompany the meal. I decided on something I had never ordered before and that was the Ahi tuna. Son in law Tyler orders this frequently and while I have tasted his I found it was very good but never ordered it as it is served almost raw. It is lightly seared on both sides and very raw in the middle and now I know why. It is superb in flavor and texture and I had grille asparagus with mine in place of the potatoes that came with the meal. Nancy had pecan crusted Mahi-Mahi and while her's wasn't up to what we remembered in portion and taste it still was very elegant looking. I passed on all the desserts as well which was unbelievably great looking. Someone started the Key lime pie and cherries Jubilee ordering after several saw one being served and then lots more were being served instantly. Everyone had a grand time and we were treated royally.

 Our team leaders picked up the tab and all we had to do was give hugs and handshakes on the way out. It was truly a very nice occasion and we felt honored to be among so many who have become successful in the business. Last year Amway paid out 35 billions in bonus's to their IBO's worldwide. That is amazing and I said billion. Our team leaders parents are in the top echelon of company and have been in it over 50 years and I sat next to them. I learned he is a former pastor and still does tremendous charity work while they travel worldwide promoting their Christian views as a motivational speaker and film maker. Awesome folks!!

Well we came back around 6'ish and I headed in to watch the last half of the Bronco vs the Colts game. This will probably be the last time we see Peyton Manning on the field as he is past his prime in that arena and to think his old team the Colts knocked him out of his last hurrah. He was definitely a class act in both his personal and professional career in football. After the game it was Alaska the last frontier until lights out around 11'ish, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday saw us with cold temps to start the day but by late afternoon the winds calmed down and with lots of sunshine we reached a high into the 60's. It was just a mite nippy after sunset but not nearly as cold as it has been. Today we start to feet the warmth of the 70's once again before supposedly rain comes in the first of the week.

I started the day out much the usual despite it being a Saturday. I was up around 6'ish then did my morning routine after my quiet moments before heading out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. This month of January will be our last month of having the gym on Saturdays for the game but with the weather being nice we can always play outside once the youth basketball have the gym. Yesterday we had 24 players most of whom are intermediate and beginner players for the morning session. I stayed until 10 then headed home to work in the garden after a decent workout.

I harvested once again several different lettuces, beet greens and kale for the salad and then Nancy added all kinds of other veggie for the mix. We made a run to the local veggie stand for tomato's and wound up getting turnips, grapes, green beans, cukes, sweet taters and of course Ruskin tomato's. We haven't shopped there in quite awhile and their produce is always so nice and fresh and reasonable as well. My green beans are about a half inch in length and so far no tomato's have set any fruit. I then harvested  the leaves of 4 collard plants and cleaned then for the pot. We crisp up bacon added a whole cooking onion and a little red pepper flakes then the chopped collards which simmered for about 4 hours. They were to die for and without a doubt absolutely the best broth ever as the leaves literally disintegrated in your mouth. Nancy also made a turnip casserole with a white sauce which also was to die for. We took the salad, collards and casserole with us up the street for our pulled supper with the Botbyl's and Tracy's.

I spent the rest of the afternoon feeding my plants and hand watering the garden as the outside air slowly warmed to where a jacket wasn't needed. Around 4 I tuned into the NFL playoff game and at first thought the Ravens were going to beat the Patriots on their home field but Brady pulled out another win with his leadership and skills despite being 2 TD's down a couple times. The Panthers in the late game in Seattle played well the first half but again the ability of the Seahawks quarterback Wilson prevailed and that turned out to be a blow out when I shut the tube off. There should be a couple decent games on today(Sun) as well.

Well Dan cooked fillets and Kathryn made scalloped taters and of course there was salsa, guacamole and what we brought to the table so we had us a sit down feast. We ate healthy with no breads or dessert but did have a little glass of red vino for a couple of us who partake. Nancy and I ate somewhat unhealthy for lunch with a frozen pizza doctored up with fresh mushrooms. That was the first use of flour for me this week but it tasted great especially with fresh mushrooms and lots of red pepper flakes and additional oregano and basil sprinkled on top to accompany a fresh garden salad.

Today we drive to Tampa to Element Church with a stop afterwards at IKEA afterwards to look for a new TV stand. We are modernizing with a new 42 inch LED smart TV and of course it won't fit in our entertainment center so that luxury piece of furniture will be moved to the garage for storage. This afternoon at 3 we are meeting with our Amway leaders at the Salt Rock Grill on the beach for a sumptuous lunch/dinner as a reward for doing so well in November with our business as an IBO. Our leaders are just so giving and fun to do business with and we just love all of the products we are using that specifically are only distributed by Amway.

That was about all that is going on except we got a call from Paw Paw(dad) and while he is 87 he seems to be in good spirits and health, but his younger brother Junior is in the hospital with some health issues. Seems he has some internal bleeding issues and has been given some units of blood. I gave him a call in N.C. and he didn't seem worried but sounded in good spirits despite this same issue occurring once before.

I almost forgot to mention we played a new game called THINGS at last night's supper. It is a hoot and it took a couple rounds and the reading of the directions several times to learn how to score the game but the essence of the game was laughter and lots of humor. I think we will keep this game and play it several times in the future. You must write an answer to a question and then the fellow players must guess who wrote the answer and if you guess who wrote the answer they are out of that round. It's fast and fun and somewhat like Balderdash as you try to influence people with your answer, LATER    

Saturday Morning

Well it was another cold start for Friday morning however it did get up into the low 60's by days end. There was plenty of sunshine after mid morning yet the stiff north wind made for a chill especially in the shaded areas. Today (Sat.) it's warming up to the middle 60's and may go a little higher yet, according to the weather man. We have had the heat on for 3 nights in a row but no freeze yet or frost.

 The garden seems to be thriving as I once again harvested Swiss chard and beet greens for supper to accompany a grilled pork chop. Today I'm harvesting collards and greens for a huge salad as we pull a supper with our house church gang at the Botbyl's house. We will then play some kind of card game or a new board game called "Things". It should be a fun evening as we have a grand time together and I'm the senior guy of the three of us and Nancy is the junior gal, oh well!! Speaking of Nancy she did fine on her treadmill cardio stress test as she reached the level of 13 with no problem. She is wearing a heart monitor that records any anomalies but so far she hasn't experienced that racing pulse or fluttering she had a couple weeks ago. That is what brought all of these tests and doctor's appointments about. Hopefully sometime in the next 30 days the monitor will tell the doctors what is the cause for this electrical malfunction in the heart and it can be repaired or the cause can be controlled with a medication'

I started the day much the usual after my few quiet moments and a lite breakfast of oatmeal, cinnamon and honey. It was once again down right cold as I rode my bike to the rec for 2 hours of pickle ball. It was an open day so we had a few intermediates but the play was good. I managed to stay on the court for most of the morning as the winners split  after each game and was paired up with a new partner. I get to work on my short or soft game with them which also helps them out in their goal to get better and become an improved player. I managed a good sweat from the exercise which is my ultimate goal. Afterwards I dropped off a couple reads and picked up a new one at the library before heading home.

Nancy wasn't allowed to eat anything before her stress test,so I lunched on a garden salad and then we took off for the testing place a little before one. That took about an hour and afterwards we stopped at GG's to drive her to pick up her new medications for her blood pressure. She has been having swollen feet, ankles and legs ever since she flew up to Michigan for the holidays and the doctor thinks it maybe due to her medications. I dropped them off at Publix's for some shopping then I headed over to Sam's for a fill up at 2.04 a gallon. I hear its below 2 bucks else where but this price sure looks good here for now.

We read the rest of the afternoon until it was time to start the grill for the chops smothered in fresh rosemary. I'm still staying away from all of the starches and carbs and I think I notice a difference in the way my britches are fitting; except for a handful of cashews with my daily glass of red wine it's mainly vegetables(green) and meat and I have noticed my level of energy is elevated. I'm staying away from anything that is a processed food especially sugars and white flour. I really haven't had a craving yet but I do take an energy drink with me to the rec while working out.

Well another tragedy with the "religion of peace" to coincide with the already killings in France. This event should wake us Americans up to what is occurring throughout the world with these fanatics who are destined by their ideology to kill all who are infidels(those who haven't embraced Islam). Our own government whose job is to protect us should wake up and see what is taking place throughout the regions of the world. This fanaticism is spreading like a cancer to the more civilized nations and how quickly we forget what happened on 9-11. There is nothing peaceful about these animals who murder innocent people taken as hostages. Our government is releasing captured terrorist from prison so they can go back and once again join those who are trying to kill us. Where did we get such incompetent leaders unless they are part of the problem with their sympathy for that religion, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday was probably the coldest morning we have had in several weeks. There was no frost but that was attributed to the strong winds that made it feel colder than the actual 30's temps. We had frost a month or so ago but since then we have had the a/c on several times and this morning we had the heat on. It stayed nippy all day until late evening when the wind calmed and the outside air warmed to a balmy 62*. There was plenty of sunshine which helped despite the cold winds out of the north.

I started the day with a 6'ish roll out and after my quiet moments and a lite breakfast I bundled up with a sweater, a lite jacket and base ball cap for the 10 minute or so ride to the rec on my bike. Brrr is all I can say as the wind chilled me to the bone but after 2 plus hours in the gym the cold felt rather nice as I pedaled home. We had 2 full courts in action with advanced players and the action was fast with long rallies. Wet shirts were in abundance from several players and mine was soaking as well. I made a stop at the library to drop off a couple reads before heading home. The outside temp had warmed to the 50's by then so it wasn't too bad. I hung a load of laundry as the dry breeze quickly did the work of a dryer and the fresh smells were awesome from the air.

Nancy took off to the rec for her workout on the treadmill so I watered the gardens. Every thing survived the cold temps and the green leaf plants seemed to love the cold. The basil didn't look great as it does not like anything below the 40's. I did cover it with a towel and a bucket as I tried to save it by replanting it in the ground a week or so ago. For some reason this fall has not been a good season for growing sweet basil. The rest of the herb's are doing fine especially the cilantro, thyme and rosemary.

Well Amy picked up GG and along with the kiddos we had a lunch of fresh salad topped with some smoked turkey. Amy had a box of breaded mushrooms we baked in the oven and that was the first white flour in the breading I've had in several days as I downed a couple with some leftover homemade marinara sauce that Bobby had made for the pizzas last weekend. Wow was that ever delicious. We ate the leftover rotisserie chicken from Sam's along with fresh green beans for supper. My green beans which are half runners have climbed to the top of the 6 ft fence on chicken wire and are heavy in bloom. I hope this cold snap doesn't set them back too much. The leaves looked good as I made sure they had plenty of water during this cold spell. I learned the roots survive better when the soil is wet or damp during these cold snaps. It's supposed to warm back up to the high 60's and 70's today and for the beginning of next week, back to the low 80's.

Well I was disgusted with a dad who threw his young daughter off one of the bridges to the approach of the Skyway Bridge last night and she drown before being rescued. I use to work that area and know just what terror she must have experienced prior to her drowning and death. Our society or the media has changed the nature of our culture as we no longer value life and especially that of our children or those who are helpless. It all start's with killing our unborn in the womb with the so called women's choice movement that dehumanizes the fetus as not being a person. Now we fail to call those who want to kill us a terrorist because of some religious tenet. We no longer regard the life of the police who protect us from these societal maniacs but instead they're demonized in the media. Where is civility and common sense? We have let those who don't honor the principles and tenets this nation was founded on to be the norm and now we see the harm which is occurring to our nation. What use to be bad is now good in several facets of our culture and I fear for our grand children. We harbor those who enter our land illegally and make excuses for the those who are criminals as well as circumvent the vary constitution which made us a great nation at one time. We sure could use another Ronald Reagan to lead us from this malaise that has infiltrated our populace. It seems only one network has the courage to tell it like it is and of course that is the FOX Network. Even the satellite company like Dish is dropping that network to further limit the exposure of the real truth of the changes occurring in our society by the left or the liberals. Oh well just some of my thoughts an opinions on the down fall of our culture, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well I must say we are seeing quite a change in the temps that started Wednesday morning and by nightfall we had put on coats to attend our house church meeting at a neighbors at 6:30, yikes we go from a/c to heat almost overnight but that is Florida in the wintertime. We were up early around 5'ish so Nancy could make her jury duty appointment on time at 8:15 Luckily for her there were no trials on the calendar for the 15 or so court rooms so all of the prospective jurors were sent home around 10'ish.

I was up with her at 5'ish as we had a very limited amount of sleep thanks to Bright House our TV, cable an internet provider from the night before as we waited for a tech until after 8 and then tried to eat some supper around 9'ish or a little before which left us with full tummy's to try and sleep on, oh well I've beat this dead horse already and it still leaves me with a bad attitude for their incompetence. I headed out to the rec after my quiet time and a couple soft boiled eggs done in the microwave to perfection. We had 2 courts in action for an open day of pickle ball. I manged to stay on the court for most of the morning depending on who my partner happened to be. I was bushed by 10 AM with a good sweat.

I stopped off at the library and picked up a couple new reads and a new library card as my old one was about to expire. Now I must memorize a new number once again as I've had this one for years. I headed home and set the sprinkler for a change on the gardens as I wanted to vacuum and them shampoo the carpets since we weren't having anyone for lunch. Well that chore keep me busy until after lunchtime when Nancy got home from her adventure which I learned included a stop at Walmart for birthday shopping for Eliza Faye who will be one next week. Where did that time go?

I settled into reading the rest of the afternoon until it was time to eat a supper of the last of the leftovers and a salad. I'm still trying to stay away from the carbs, such as desserts, taters and breads and so far I'm managing to hang in there and to cut down on my portions as well. I think it's working but I still have the spare tire but maybe not as inflated as has been. I do seem to be a little quicker on the courts and don't tire as quickly either, so maybe I'm losing a little or getting into better shape.

We met with our two other couples at the Botbyl house for a video on the 12 biggest lies that confront us today and wow do they ever hit the nail on the head, especially when it comes to understanding the Muslim teachings. It is by no means a religion of peace but quite the opposite even for those who consider themselves to be moderate and not the radical jihadist's. We saw an example of that today once again in France with the killing of 12 innocent people by the radicals. We have let our political correctness shadow our common sense with regard to this ideology that has reached well within our communities here in America. We had better wake up before we see this kind of tragedy occurring here and it may have already started within the community of race baiters and police haters. I think there is a correlation between those who want to change the USA starting with the POTUS and those of his associates who he constantly meets with at the white house. The main stream media fails to investigate and reports these undertaking but thankfully we have the Fox News channel who questions some of the actions taken by this administration and what is happening to our country.

Well that was about it for Wednesday and this Thursday morning we are down into the high 30's but with a cold wind chill. We spoke with our "mountain mom" Helen and it's going down well below zero in the mountains for the first time in many moons, Stay warm in Sparta as well and hopefully it doesn't freeze out my garden here in Seminole, LATER