Tuesday Morning last day of March 2015

Well Monday's weather was just perfect although I must admit it started out rather chilly, enough so that I had to wear a flannel shirt as I rode my bike to the rec for my work out. I never would have thought the temps would drop this much and for several days as well. It was a great day for being outside working as the humidity was gone and the sun drenched skies were clear with a gentle breeze that kept it a little on the chilly side throughout the day for the girls as they sat outside after lunch in the back yard.

I started the day with a 6'ish roll out and after my routines and a few quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and intercede with prayer and thoughts for those who need some special considerations; I had a couple soft boiled eggs before getting ready to ride out on my bike. We had 3 courts in action for pickle ball with some great action packed play. The knee seems to be holding up well but I do keep it braced during play and I'm not hot dogging it either. I'm sort of like a dog chasing a frisbee if you know what that looks like; never giving up, oh well I'm learning. I stopped off at the library for a couple new non fiction reads on the way home.

Nancy took off for her workout and Amy dropped the three kiddos off while she took GG and grocery shopped. We stayed outside and played and Eliza was right in there following the big kids around so much so that when Nancy got back she put her down for a good hour plus nap. Being outside just wore her out but she loves being there. I harvested and cleaned lettuces and other greens and then I headed over with the blower to clean off our widow neighbors roof of leaves and debris. I also went back after lunch to mow up all of the leaves and put them in my garden for the worms to turn into dirt for next years garden veggies.

GG brought some leftover Zuppa soup for lunch and it was delicious along with a leftover burger for me, slathered with some fresh guacamole I made. We are really liking my dip as I have ventured from the norm with my recipe. Fresh thyme has made a difference as well as has the fresh garlic I add to the mix. After lunch all of the kiddos and the gals headed outside with pop sickles and to let them wear their selves out playing ball. Needless to say I had to rescue the ball from the neighbors yard a few times as Ava has become quite the ball players. Sam is into other things right now but I'm sure that will change as he grows older; but Ava is really pretty good at hitting and throwing the ball. They all headed out around 3'ish so I settled in to reading THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY by Paul Collins. It's a great read that occurred during the 1800's in New York City and started the tabloid wars between the many newspapers of that era.

We decided with so many leftovers from the week end that we would have the left over black beans and Jasmine rice along with the taco meat for supper. After the clean up we spoke with our "mountain mom" and the weather has finally warmed up to the upper 50's with bright sunshine but the strong wind has made it almost unbearable to work outside. The grasses are greening and the early spring flowers are blooming and it looks like winter is finally closing the door to spring. We are thinking more and more of the cabin and once more being there with all of the work that needs to be done. We spoke with sister Dee as they were traveling out to New Mexico to see their grandson for a few days.

I headed out to work in the front yard, hand edging the sidewalks and fertilizing the grass and then hand watered the back gardens. The fall veggies are starting to wind down as I don't plant a spring garden here in Florida. The spinach is gone and lots of the lettuces are maturing as well as the collards. I gave away another mess to one of my neighbors up the street. The sugar peas are just about dried up as well and there is just a couple cabbages left. The beans, tomatoes and carrots are still doing fine but the cold weather plants are not liking the past couple weeks of the hot temps. I will soon start some kale, beets and tomatoes seeds for seedlings to take with me to the cabin for transplanting into my summer garden.

Well we tuned into the Fox News channel and learned once more the elitists have destroyed any evidence that would indicate their involvement in the death of our ambassador to Libya and fellow Americans as well as covered up the taking of money from foreign entities while being a government employee. She now wants to be president. I certainly hope we will not allow this type of behavior to be the norm for our leaders but it seems a lot of liberals could care less about the country and where we are heading. The media is a lap dog to these secular progressives and fail to realize they are selling the country and our culture down the road. We have no leaders who care about the country as we are so far in debt and continue to promote reckless spending that we will be paying on the national debt with our grand kids future. I'm so disgusted with politics and the lack of honesty that has become the norm with this potus and now they want to negotiate with a country that chants "death to America". Wake up America, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday was a perfect spring morning one of which we seldom see this time of the year in Florida. The humidity stayed away and temps were in the low 70's for most of the day after a chilly start that was in the high 40's. The bright sunshine made for a great day. We opened the windows and doors and aired out the house and after Amy came she complained of being cold a couple of times.

We started the day with a 7'ish roll out as it was "house church Sunday". That meant there was no formal gathering at the warehouse for Element Church. After our usual quiet times Nancy fried up some sausage patties and got them ready for our pulled brunch at the Botbyl House to go along with Carol's delicious french toast casserole, Kathryn's potato casserole and fruit salad. Yeow what a feed that was and we had plenty for the extra family members in attendance. We men had a great discussion as did the gals as we seemed to separate and then congregate by genders for some reason. It was going on 1 PM before we headed down the street to home and to get ready for Bobby, Amy, Tyler, GG and then all of the grand kiddos for a 5 PM supper. I managed to finish INTO THE FIRE by Dakota Meyer who received the medal of honor for his life threatening actions in Afghanistan to save his soldier friends. This is a good read but not for the faint of heart.

I grilled cheeseburgers and Nancy did oven taters(slathered with olive oil,fresh rosemary and parsley) and GG made a yellow squash casserole. Nancy had dream sickles for the kiddos. The eatin' was fine once again for the day and we had leftovers for lunches this week. We played ball outside in the yard with the kiddos until it was time for Bobby, Annsley and Gabe to head for Brandon. We played with Amy's three outside until it was going on bath time for them and Eliza's bedtime. They had a blast as the weather was just perfect for running and playing.

Well after the cleanup and putting the house back in order we settled into the special on Killing Jesus at 8 PM  that was an adaption from Bill O'Reilly book. I read the book and found it was more in line with the historical presentation and facts on the life and death of Jesus while the special left out or seemed to change some of the biblical facts especially ones they couldn't substantiate such as the miracles, the curtain in the temple ripping in half upon his death and the resurrection. The Bible is specific in these occurrences and I thought they were not presented to the utmost, oh well!!!

It was 11 before the special was over and shortly thereafter I was in the horizontal position as my bedtime had passed. We had a fun filled day with our two kids and their kids as well as some fine belly expanding foods. It back to eating lite this week before we once again next Sunday celebrate Easter with the family here for supper and Easter egg hunts for the kiddos. Nancy has tons of candy and clothes for the kiddos baskets as well, LATER

Sunday Morning-- Palm Sunday

Well I would never have thought we would see the cool temp's we are having for this time of the year especially after the high 80's and 90's of the past couple of weeks. Nancy actually put a sweatshirt on this morning after rolling out around 7'ish. The temp's were down close to the 40's this morning with clear skies and at least the wind has stopped. Today is house church Sunday so we will meet at the Botbyl's along with the Tracy's and we aren't sure about the Anderson's if they will be there for brunch. We will all pull the food and have a sumptuous meal around 10.

Saturday found us sleeping in until 7'ish as well. I'm not sure why all of a sudden the internal alarm clock is letting me stay horizontal for a change but I like it every now and then. We did our morning routines and after our quiet times we settled into a semi mountain breakfast with buckwheat cakes and a couple fried eggs as we were having a pork roast for supper so we skipped the bacon. It's been awhile since we've had cakes and they held us until early afternoon when we did a few crackers and cream cheese with a chutney while sipping a little vino before our evening meal with the Tracy's.

I harvested a huge mess of Swiss chard and picked green beans and along with a pork roast with smashed taters and gravy we feasted. Kathryn brought a beautiful salad and strawberry shortcake and ice cream for dessert. Wow did we ever put on the "feedbag". We took a walk after the main course during half time of the basketball game to help settled the supper before tackling the dessert. We all moaned about how full we were after eating this delectable combination. There went my diet but it was so good, oh well.

They headed out after the game between their favorite Arizona team who lost to Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 grouping and then I tuned into the Notre Dame game with Kentucky and that was a real close game that came down to the last shot at the buzzer. The Wildcats prevailed but they had their hands full and stayed undefeated for the year. I think Wisconsin with give them a tough match as well but they have such height advantage with 3 players 7 foot tall or more, oh well. It was lights out for me after the game, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday turned out to be an unusual day of rain that started with heavy down pours during the early morning hours and then off an on again for most of the afternoon. It held off while I rode my bike to the rec and until about lunch time when we received some more of the much needed wet stuff. Along with the rain came a drastic change in the temps which dropped 10 or more degrees in just a short time. I never thought we would see the 50's again until next November but this morning the middle 50's are here. What a nice reprieve from the 80's and 90's of last week.

I started the day off on Friday a little hurried as for some reason my internal alarm clock failed to go off and when it did I hadn't noticed but the power had gone off during night so the bedside clock was flashing about 1 hour off. I finally noticed the dawn through the blinds and then discovered I had forced myself to over sleep by the inaccurate time on the clock. Maybe you noticed the rather shortened post for Friday morning. I usually roll out around 6 'ish but yesterday it was 7'ish. I did everything in double time and still made it to the rec at 8'ish to get in 2 hours of pickle ball and a wet shirt workout. The gym was filled and even a few players headed outside to that court for play as well. This sport has really taken off and we had several out of state folks on the court as well.

I stopped off at the library for some new reads as well as returned several then headed home. The garden and yards were saturated so I didn't need to water. I did harvest some lettuces and collards for Kathryn and Patrick as well as for the neighbors next door but despite her car being there she never answered the door, so I spotted a young lady walking her dog on the sidewalk and blessed her with a mess of fresh collards and instructed her how to fix them. I learned she had an unusual name which my niece carries; Halley. We conversed and she is the same age of Halley Jo Dillon my niece and I remarked to her about the comet that Halley was named after, such a small world. Anyhow its always great to make new friends and she remarked "my neighbors loss was her gain".

I read the rest of the morning until Nancy got back from her Friday morning Bible study at SFBC with Kathryn. Amy, GG and the kiddos came for lunch and after wards I finished IN THE KINGDOM OF ICE. Wow what a great read and I wondered how the voyage could be so well documented and be such a tragedy at the same time. Without giving away all that occurred the papers, letters and journals were all preserved and found which was amazing in an of itself. A few of the crew did make it back to civilization and went on to become national hero's in their survival. This is a read that is as good and intriguing as the book, UNBROKEN.

We took off for some shopping at Walmart in the rain for Easter goodies for the kiddos and some few items as we were having them for supper while Amy and Tyler had a date night. They did get out to dinner but had to miss the movie as he was called in to work. They came and got the kiddo somewhere around 10'ish. Little Eliza was so cute and bubbly and really put away the supper of black beans, Jasmine rice, fresh garden tomatoes and some taco meat. She went down around 8 and never made another peep the rest of the evening. Ava and Sam fell asleep on the floor watching a movie and I headed into the bedroom to watch a little March Madness until they picked up the kiddos. That was about it for the day as I too headed for some horizontal lab, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday saw us doing something we hadn't done in quite a long spell. We went to a matinee to watch the movie Do You Believe. Well that show is a real tear jerker, very well done and the applause from the audience at the end showed you how well it was done. Great story line and the acting and actors were great as well. Thanks to Kathryn and Patrick for turning us on to the movie and afterwards we stopped at Chili's in Pinellas Park for a delicious supper.

The day started much the usual with a 6'ish rollout and then a lite breakfast after my quiet time before riding out to the rec for some 2 hours of pickle ball. The wet shirts were evident among the group that had 3 courts in action. After stopping at the library I headed home to watch Eliza Faye while Nancy did her workout and Amy shopped. I rocked her until she fell asleep around 11 and she napped until nearly 12:30. We lunched on meat loaf sandwiches that GG brought as well as a salad. After they left I hand watered the garden then we got ready for The Tracy's to pick us up a little before 4.

That was about it for the day as we got back home a little after 8 and settled into some channel surfing for Nancy and some reading for me, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was more a usual routine day with a 6'ish roll out to start the morning. I did my everyday quiet time and a lite breakfast of oatmeal before riding out on my bike to the rec for two hours of pickle ball play. We had three courts in action and the wet shirts were in abundance including my own. The knee is holding up fine and I'm keeping it well braced and playing with normal action; in other words not above the usual 100 % effort that I sometime do in tournament play, oh well there comes a time when you just must play within your age and physical limits.

I stopped off at the library for a new great non-fiction read by Hampton Sides titled IN THE KINGDOM OF ICE. Wow is this ever an interesting read and so much history for the time period and I haven't even got into the meat of the story which is about the failed voyage of the USS Jeanette which tried to find a route into and through the arctic polar cap. This author is easy to read and the book is well researched and footnoted. I did about a fourth of the story yesterday and I'm absorbing every word as it's historically interesting.

Amy and the kiddos didn't come for lunch as she had a minor rear end crash on the way home after dropping Ava and Sam off at school in the right turn lane; so that not only ruined her day but messed up plans as well. Luckily it was very minor and the damage to both vehicles were so they could be driven away and no one complained of any injuries. I have investigated hundreds of these type crashes over my 30 years and one must always look back to the right before starting forward despite thinking the vehicle in front of you had driven off. Invariably one driver will stop after starting to pull out and then stop due to misjudging the speed or closeness of an oncoming vehicle.

We decided to have our big meal of the day at lunch as Nancy wanted to do some Easter shopping for the grand kids so we chowed down on cold chicken on top of a garden fresh salad and then we were bad as I broke my "no dessert rule" or should I say my "not many dessert rule" and we finished the leftover chocolate moose cheese cake that Amy forgot to take with her on Monday. We ate the two remaining slices and my was that ever delicious, Oh well!! For supper Nancy made a quesadilla with some of the leftover chicken and bacon bits with cheese. After the cleanup we headed outside to work in the yard and garden until nearly 8.

Well the mainstream liberal media is hounding Ted Cruz so that tells me he is a real threat to their agenda and now we learn the 5 top echelon Taliban prisoners who were exchanged by the potus himself without congressional approval for one soldier who is now charged with desertion from his Army post in Afghanistan. Where is the outrage in the media as they continue to cover for this inept president. What has happened to the leadership of this government. I say that borders on treason with aiding an assisting the enemy during this time of war on terrorists. These 5 prisoners where the backbone of this organization that is killing Americans worldwide, Wake Up America and at least take an interest in what is being done by our potus. Now we learn he tried to undermine the election in Israel because of his personal animosity towards BiBi and now refuses to meet with the UN leaders while Russia flexs it's muscles with fighter jets flying through controlled air space in the Balkans. I'm not sure our country or the world can stand 2 more years of this incompetent potus, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was another interesting day that started with a 6'ish roll out. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I headed to the rec on my bike for an hour and a half of pickle ball. The knee is doing O.K. but I have it double braced and it held up remarkably well. I cut the play short as I drove Nancy down to our endondonist who once again for the third time in 6 weeks performed another root canal. These things run right around a grand each and I'm starting to think maybe we should knock her out and do all of the rest of the teeth at a reduced rate, oh well. We made a stop at Sam's Club on the way home after her hour plus in the chair.

We had our large meal for the day around 1'ish as we picked up a rotisserie chicken and had that over salad. Nancy was doing fine with no real discomfort which was a change as the last one had her taking lots of naproxin for pain. We settled into reading the rest of the afternoon until it was time for a lite supper around 6'ish. I had picked fresh green beans and Nancy boiled up some white tater's with fresh parsley and we made that our supper. After the cleanup I loaded up my new neighbor Carol's old patio furniture and hauled it over to Amy and Tyler. She was going to get rid of the 4 chairs and table which were in great shape. We stayed and played with the grand kids for an hour or so.

We learned that Ava had an in school piano evaluation concert and she received superior on both of her pieces she performed. One was a memorization piece and the other she had to read the music to play it. Way to go Ava. The kiddos were in the trampoline and little Sammy got stung by a honey bee which is very unusual but that sent him to the house in pain and tears. Eliza wanted to get in the ring and she loved walking and bouncing around like the big kids. Well we headed home just about dark and it was already close to 8 PM. We tuned into the O'Reilly Factor and then afterwards it was shower time and some NHL as the Lightning beat the Panthers in a real close come from behind game. They have now tied their club record for the most victories in a season and there is still 8 games to play.

If you get the chance watch the speech( I shared it on Face Book) that Ted Cruz gave at Liberty University the other day when he announced his candidacy for president. I was most impressed and sense this man is for real and a true American who once argued successfully before the Supreme Court some of our greatest values regarding The Pledge of Allegiance, the displaying of Our Flag and the Constitution. Take the time to watch and listen to what this man has to say and now see why the established career politicians on both sides of the isle(Dem. & Rep.) in Washington are putting him down as too conservative. This man has my allegiance if he makes the nomination. I think he is the real deal and somehow he will make us all wake up and see where our liberties guaranteed by the Constitution are being eroded in the name of political correctness and that government has run a muck and is used for personal gain at our expense. We need someone from outside the confines of the thinking in Washington and start a grass roots movement to bring back our liberties and put our nation once more on the road to financial prosperity, restore our mores and values, offer a simple tax and abolish the corrupt IRS and keep us safe from those who want to annihilate us in the name of religious fanaticism, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday started out with overcast skies and then a deluge of rain that had a small river out in front of the house. We really needed that rain and and it cooled things down just a little which felt great. The morning started with us or me back to my usual routines after a 6 ish roll out. I did my quiet time then posted this ramble before a bowl of oatmeal then I had to drive to the rec as the rain storm was at its highest. We had 3 courts in action with a few yearly winter visitors and the play was good and packed with lots of action. I decided to take it slow and test the knee and it held up well. I had it braced and decided to not overdo it with just about an hour and half of play.

After the workout I headed home so Nancy could get her workout in and Amy brought Eliza by for me to watch while she grocery shopped with GG. We had a fun time as she loves to climb up on my lap and watch this one kids video. She wrinkles up her nose and smiles when she sees and hears the video. She is just a charmer and she is starting to put a few words together other than her babble. We had a grand time and finally when Nancy got back from the rec she managed to get her down for a good hour or so nap while we ate lunch.

We finished up the left overs from Saturdays supper for lunch which was superb. Nancy managed to get a few pictures of Eliza and Sam together on the front porch before they headed out to pick up Ava from school. I read the afternoon away then headed out to pick green beans and sugar peas then pulled several carrots which we had for supper. Wow were they ever tasty. That was about it for the day except for a phone call to our "mountain mom" Helen after supper. Seems the temps have reached into the upper 50's with some flowers in full bloom, but the wind has kept it cool. She hasn't been able to do much outside with the cool breeze but the grass is starting to really green up and spring is finally on the way. We are starting to get that mountain itch as well and looking forward to a change of scenery. The roads here are packed with spring breakers and snow birds.

Well Nancy has another appointment with the endodonist this morning so its looking like another root canal for her. That will be three this winter and I'm still not sure sure if I can save this tooth I had an abscess in a couple weeks ago. I'm still waiting for the dentist to finish up the root canal and then I will see if its worth spending another couple grand for a crown, oh well. Sam and Ava are getting excited about Annsley and Gabe spending the night over the week end and going to church with them. They play so well together now and its a real treat for all of them to be together. Sam was counting backwards to the number of days before they will be together and we thought that was quite unique for a pre-K student that he is able to do that. Most kids at that age can't even count correctly.

Well we tuned into the Fox News channel for updates on what is happening in the world and the radical Islamic terrorists. Seem they now have chased us(USA) out of Yemen and now are setting up spheres of influence throughout the regions backed by the Iranian's who chant "death to America" while we or this administration want to give them more concessions, while turning our backs on the only democracy in the region, Israel. I just wonder who is advising this potus but I do know that one of them is Iranian born, Valerie Jarrett. Our lack of a foreign policy is starting to give me some real concerns that we have become appeasers to the bullies in the world while distancing our allies. I have some grave concerns about the religious fanatics who call themselves Muslims. We lack any leadership with keeping us safe and those who are our friends an allies in the region from these radicals of whom the potus will not call them what they are, Wake Up America, LATER

 

Monday Morning

Well Sunday was more like a usual day when we awakened around 6'ish. We were excited about getting to attend the gathering at Element Church in Tampa as we have missed the last two Sundays. After our routines and a few quiet moments we got ready and car pooled with neighbor Dan who drove this week. It was great to see lots of familiar faces with many hugs as well as a couple new faces as well. Melody brought the message today and she did a fantastic job with it focused mainly on the life of Simon Peter and his relationship with our Lord. Bobby led the praise music and our dear sweet girl friend Danielle sang a solo. It was a great day of honoring and worshiping GOD through word and song.

We came back around 12:30 and had a leftover brat and salad for lunch. They were as tasty as the day before. We got word that Betsy got Chris and Bill after a small delay to the airport for their flight back to Pennsylvania. Betsy called and came by and picked Nancy up and they took off to the mall for a new coffee maker as her old one went on the blink this morning. They were gone a couple hours so I headed out to water the gardens and watched a little of the basketball tournament. My once favorite Virginia team got beat by a good Michigan team but the rest of the games were just not that important to me. I did get to watch the Lightning finally beat the Boston hockey team for the first time in quite awhile.

We were meeting up with our house church group for a pulled supper at Dan and Carols house. I cleaned more fresh greens for the salad and Nancy made her famous Greek dressing and we headed out a little before 6. Kathryn had a very large and delicious lasagna and some cheeses to start the gastric juices flowing and Carol had a beautiful pound cake(I passed on the dessert) and some dipping bread. We all had a glass of vino except for Patrick who is basically a non imbiber except for a margarita occasionally. The meal was very good and filling and after we played about 9 rounds of chicken foot dominoes. That was a first in many moons since we have played that game. It was a real hoot and Dan whupped all of us with his great play.

It was after 9 before we got back to the house and we were both stuffed. The new moon was beautiful with Venus shining brightly in the western sky. The atmosphere was so clear and the heavenly bodies were eerily bright. It wasn't long after a hot shower it was lights out for me around 11'ish. We made plans and talked about our trip out west next fall with the 6 of us as we are looking forward to that adventure and seeing some places neither of us has ever seen as well as visiting some familiar places in California. We have decided to leave from here for the mountains on Sunday morning May 31st and Patrick and Kathryn are also leaving somewhere around that time frame for their rental cabin near us as well, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was one of those days when you feel like your on vacation by staying home. We took off for the beach around 9:30 and stayed for nearly 3 hours. It was awesome and I will expound a little more later in this ramble. We or I rolled out around 6:30 to start the day and after my usual routines and a few quiet moments with my Creator I had a lite breakfast of a couple soft eggs microwaved before heading out to hand water the gardens. The birds were singing and the dew on the grass added to such a sweet smell in the air. The humidity was still staying away and the nice gentle breeze made for a beautiful morning.

We loaded up the beach umbrella, chairs and some lotions and sun screens along with some cold drinks and headed out. We found a parking spot on the road and it was just a short walk to the beach through an access. There were quite a few folks already there on this beautiful morning so we set up, lathered up then soaked up the rays. I had brought my new read LONE SURVIVOR so I caught up on what was happening with my main character during his training with the Navy Seals in California. This is another fantastic read and not for the faint of heart.

I decided to test the waters and found after walking in the surf for a few minutes the chill of the water went away so I took the Nestea plunge and dived head first after trying to walk into the water. After the initial shock I quickly acclimated to the water temperature and it was quite pleasant. It was perfect for swimming with no waves to slap you in face and so I got in a good workout for the knee with no weight upon it. After wearing myself out swimming and treading water I headed back under the umbrella with my head and shoulders and read until it was time to head out for home. We both got some sun and wow did we ever feel like we were on vacation with all of the other winter visitors here from up north.

After a lite lunch we settled into getting ready for our cousin Chris her husband Bill, GG and Betsy along with the Ross Family; Amy, Tyler, Ava, Sam and Eliza for supper. I did a vacuum while Nancy cut up red, yellow, green peppers and onions to be sauteed for the brats. GG was bringing Greek potato salad to go on top of our home grown salad and Amy brought some bakery buns for the brats. Nancy had made a chocolate moose cheese cake yesterday so it was settling into perfection and I made a guacamole for snacking before grilling the brats with a little vino to get the juices flowing.

Supper was delicious and very vacation like and it was hard to get a word in edge wise as we caught up on what's been happening in their lives in Lancaster, Pa. We visited them when we celebrated the passing of her dad last summer on the 4th of July week end for a couple days. That was when we stayed in the hotel from hades as everything was booked in their town. We did have a great time eating and sharing the memories from when we knew Uncle Warnie who passed at the young age of in his 90's.

Well it was going on 9'ish and past the kiddos bed time so the Ross Family headed out and then it wasn't long when everyone decided to call it a day as well. We decided Chris and Bill should visit us this summer for a couple days at the cabin. After the cleanup I headed for the shower and then watched a little March Madness on the TV. It wasn't long after 10 that I was watching from the inside of my eyelids so it was lights out as I headed for some horizontal lab, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was another usual Florida morning with bright sunshine, blue skies, heat and a some what less than usual humidity for the day. My routines was anything but usual as I'm still taking off a couple extra days from the pickle ball court to rest the strained knee, so I played taxi for the better part of the morning after a few quiet moments and the posting of this ramble. I finally hit my goal of 180 and so I microwaved a couple eggs to soft boil style and started the juices flowing with my hand full of Nutrilite vitamins and supplements with a cup of of green tea.

I drove Nancy to the church at SFBC for her weekly Bible study and came back and hung two loads of laundry outside on the clothesline, then harvested lettuces, beet greens, kale and spinach and cleaned them when GG called and had me pich her up and drop her off for her doctor's appointment. After that I used a salad spinner to dry the greens and then broke them up into a huge salad for lunch. By then it was time to pick up Nancy at church and bring her home as we got ready for Amy and the kiddos for a lunch of frozen pizza doctored up with fresh mushrooms and a salad. GG called and was ready to be picked up from the doctors office so I picked her up after a quick stop at the veggie stand and we had lunch.

After lunch I managed to get a little read time in between Eliza climbing up on my lap to watch kiddie videos. She is just so dang cute and smart as well. They all headed outside to the back yard under the big oak where it was quite nice as the humidity was staying away despite the temps in the middle 80's. Amy headed out around 2:30 to pick up Ava from school and I rode to the library on my bike to check on a book. Nancy had to drive GG to pick up a prescription so I read until it was time to head out and hand water the gardens. We cancelled on out going out with Dan and Carol for supper due to a scheduling problem with someone staying with her mom. I picked a huge colander of green beans and along with fried new taters that was our dinner. We had a big lunch so we weren't that hungry.

I headed out about 6'ish to mow the yards and mulch the last of the leaves into the garden. The dead leaves are about gone and so is the fuzzes, finally. I worked outside until nearly 8 as the temps were perfect and then set the sprinkler on the front yards. The heat is starting to take its toll on the cool weather veggies which are on their way out especially since they have been in the ground since November. The sugar peas are no longer blooming but what a run they had this year. I picked at least a bushel of them from about two dozen vines and still have one more picking. The beans are still blooming and the tomato pants are loaded. I have 5 large tomatoes in the window helping them to ripe before the nasty little fruit flies bored a hole in them causing them to rot, oh well.

That was about it for a Friday as we are planning on going to the beach this morning for a couple hours and a swim for me. It's been months since I've enjoyed a good swim and I need the exercise as well, LATER

Friday Morning

Well the rest and rehab on the knee seems to be working as I'm back to walking relatively pain free after a couple of days with discomfort to where I was beginning to think that maybe my pickle ball playing days were numbered. I do think I will scale down my 2 hours of activity and gradually work up to my fitness level with a brace on the knee, oh well. I just hate that I'm limited with the aging process but thankful that I'm still able to play and walk normally.

Thursday morning found me rolling out at my usual 6'ish hour despite the fact I wasn't heading to the rec. I just cannot sleep past 6 for some reason. I did all my usual morning routines and after my quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and lift up those who I know have special needs as well as lift up our nation and pray for some competent leadership. Once gain we see where the radicals have no fear as they gunned innocents in Tunisia in the name of Islam. I fear that with this administration this will occur here in the homeland sooner than we think.

Nancy took off for another dental appointment to have her permanent bridge installed and then was informed once more she may have to have another root canal. She was in near tears when she came home. This has been a bad year for both of us in the dental department but more so for her. It's not like we don't brush and floss daily as we do but the old amalgam filings have caused so much trouble. My advice is to never have them installed, ever. Pay the extra for the white filings as it will come back to take a bite out of your wallet if you don't.

I spent the morning reading and hand watering the gardens. I started an unbelievably non-fiction read from the Vietnam War era titled  ABANDONED IN HELL it's about Firebase Kate that fought off several days of around the clock fighting against the NVA near the Cambodian border. These soldiers were so outnumbered it's a wonder any of them survived the onslaught. The largest airstrip near them that would accommodate a C-141 was Pleiku and I made several trips into that strip under fire with ammunition and supplies that would be forwarded to these fighting soldiers as well as bring the wounded and dead back to the states.

The humidity has dropped considerably and despite the 80's it was most pleasant outside. Amy picked up GG and they all came for lunch and afterwards Amy took Sam to see the doctor as he was going to the bathroom more than normal and complained of some discomfort. It seems he has a little blood in his urine which is most unusual for boys at his age so they put him on some antibiotics to see if that clears it up. Hopefully it's just something minor but keep little Sammy in your prayers.

We had fresh green beans from the garden along with fresh asparagus and I grilled a couple bone-in chops slathered with fresh rosemary, yeow was that ever delicious. After eating we spoke with our "mountain mom" and the weather had turned wet and cold there once again. At least it doesn't look as if they will get the big snow storm headed for the upper states but they did encounter some snow flakes during the morning drive down off the mountain. Yikes isn't spring just days away? We are getting antsy for the mountains especially with the temps here being close to breaking the records for heat in March. I must say the past couple of days have been very comfortable outside with the humidity so low; but the a/c has been on now for several days and will be that way until next November, oh well.

We tuned into the Fox News to get the real news of what is happening in the world and it seems our potus is very unhappy that the folks of Israel re-elected BiBi and now he wants to circumvent the congress and go to the United Nations with his bad deal with Iran who make it know they want "death to America and Israel". Why do we have no one to put this man in his place. The sycophants in the media, except for Fox News which tell it like it is, just embolden him. I have a bad feeling about this man who I think is going to sell us out to the Islamist terrorists. We already know he has caused more harm with the race relations in the country and his lack of honesty with regard to Benghazi, the IRS, the gun running in Fast and Furious, the amnesty of illegals and his lack of leadership with the Russians and now wanting to help Iran get the bomb. His lack of transparency is so evident or maybe he is so incompetent his Secretary of State,  Clinton used unsecured lines of communications to transmit classified messages and he wasn't aware of it. Wake up America before he becomes a self proclaimed king, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday started out with a 7'ish roll out as I'm still nursing that knee strain and while my mind and spirit want to be on the pickle ball court the pain in the knee governs, despite wraps and braces. I will give it the rest of the week then gradually introduce the exercise in again next week. I did do most of my usual morning routines except for the ride out to the rec. A few quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and to lift up those who need some special considerations and one of those persons is our dear friend Margaret Crouse from Cornerstone Church in the mountains. So if any of you have just a moment she is in need as is her family of some extra prayer for comfort during this health issue.

I piddled or hobbled around the house and mostly rested the knee with ice packs and rub downs with analgesics and read the day away until nearly lunch time when Nancy picked me up on her way home from taking GG to one of her doctors appointments. We stopped at the Outback for a late lunch which held me the rest of the day. I had fish tacos and a loaded baked potato which were quite tasty as well as filling. We then stopped off at the new super Walmart just up the road for some shopping. I needed a new wireless router as Nancy has been unable to access her Ipad the past couple of days due to the old router going belly up. We picked up a few goodies as well and then dropped GG off with her bounty as well before making another stop at Aldi's on the way home. After unloading our goodies it was going on 5 o'clock and Tyler stopped by on their way to church to help with setting up the new router. That took longer than anticipated but he is such a whiz with electronics and computers that make my head swim. I followed the directions on the CD that came with the router but no way was I able to set the new one up, oh well!!

We got ready for our regular Wednesday evening house church meeting at the Botbyl's where we watched the Truth Series by Focus on the Family about history. There is so much happening today as history is being rewritten about why the country was settled or founded by the Pilgrims who wanted to honor GOD by living out the Biblical principals set forth in the Bible. The "political correct" crowds are doing away with our heritage as a place where GOD was honored. We have being seeing the results of their ability to rewrite our history the past several years with the culture shift by the left and radical liberals. We know longer honor GOD by killing our unborn as well as each other with the crime caused by the out of control drug use which they are trying to make legal, the what was once declared bad and criminal is now being made to be good and the social unrest between the races is being enhanced by those who want strife for political reasons. We are losing our once special status of being a GOD honoring nation in our daily life to kicking him and denying his influence in our culture completely out of this nation. Our history is being totally rewritten by the secular progressives. We are seeing the ill effects of this attitude shift in our society today especially with this present administration in power, oh well. I must say I'm thrilled Israel re-elected a strong leader again so maybe there is some hope for this next generation who will stand and fight radical Iran and the Islamist terrorist.

Well it wasn't long after a hot shower and a few moments to flip channels that the sandman calleth, LATER  

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was one of those days where I got very little accomplished on my feet as I rested the hyper-extended knee for most of the day with ice packs while lying on the bed in the reading room. I did finished the AMERICAN SNIPER, the memorial edition and wow what a true patriot he was. There were lots of great attributes this man possessed that started with his upbringing, his faith and desire to see that right was done, especially in protecting the soldiers on the battle field. He was definitely a man's man and epitomized what was once taught to be the desire to seek the American Dream(s) with hard work and love of family and country. We lost a true hero when Kris Kyle was murdered needlessly. This is a super read and I put it up there with the book UNBROKEN. A real page turner. It's no wonder the movie has receives such high praise as his life emulated his hero John Wayne.

Well, nothing much got done outside except for some hand watering of the gardens in the late afternoon. I did pick another huge mess of the sweet sugar peas and Nancy made them into a stir fry over Jasmine rice for supper along with Salmon cakes. Amy, GG and the kiddo's came for lunch and we had a grand time with their visit. It was so nice in the back yard and the humidity just suddenly vanished that Nancy despite it being in the upper 70's actually opened the windows to air out the house. It really was pleasant outside much like a summer day in the mountains.

Well that was about it except for a couple of phone calls to our neighbors the Browning's on top of the mountain. They said it was such a constant cold this winter with temps below zero and the strong winds made it even colder. They have been having nice spring like weather the past couple of days and are looking forward to our arrival as well as warmer temps. We also spoke with our old friends Walt and Theia Hampton and she sounded chipper as well and they are also sick of the cold winter weather. Walt seemed a little better in his voice despite all of their medical issues and they too are looking forward to our return to the mountains sometime around the first of June.

After supper and the clean up we watched the Fox News channel until Nancy's shows came on at 9 and then I retired to the bedroom to read and channel surfed until it was lights out for me around 11, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday started out much the usual with a 6 ish roll out and then my routines before heading out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We had 2 courts in action but towards the end of the session I hyper extended my left knee again and will have to take a few days off as it was rather bothersome the rest of the day. I should have worn my brace to start with but failed to do so until after the pain occurred, oh well I should learned by now that some of these joints aren't as strong as they once were after being previously injured. I will probably miss the next several days of play and the Good Life Games tournament at the end of this month as well, dang!!!

I stopped off at the library on my way home and picked up the read titled AMERICAN SNIPER by Chris Kyle. It's an autobiography and he gets right into the many battles he was engaged in during the campaign in Iraq. I read nearly a third of it as its a real page turner. I understand the movie is awesome as well. Such a shame to lose his life at home after saving so many soldiers with his expertise and patriotic duty.

Amy dropped Eliza Faye off on her way to grocery shop around 10:30 and stayed outside with me until Nancy got back from the eye doctor. It seems the new lenses were not adapting to her eyes so she down graded the lenses to make them work and now she can see again clearly. Eliza and I hand watered the gardens as she just loves being outside. After Nancy rocked her for awhile she took a 2 hour nap right through lunch time. Amy brought GG and Sam and we dined on leftover soup and salad. After lunch I headed over to a neighbors to collect some oak leaves and the mulched them for my garden for next years crops. It seems all of the oaks in the 'hood have dropped their old leaves and bright new green leaves are evident everywhere. Spring has come and it's quickly turned in summer almost overnight with high temps into the middle 80's and high humidity.

After they left to pick up Ava at school we settled into reading until it was time to make taco's for supper. Nancy took her mother home and then picked up her finished glasses. We read until it was time to start supper. After the clean up I headed out to set the sprinkler on the front yards and moved it around until after 8. I settled into the Fox News channel and then eventually watched the Lightning hold on to beat the Canadians in hockey, by 10:30 I was ready for some horizontal lab after a hot shower, LATER

Monday Morning

Well our little overnight weekend visitor went home with her parents while I headed to the airport to pickup Nancy's cousin and husband last evening. We will of course see her again today but she was such a delight and really she entertained us for the weekend. Little Eliza Faye has us wrapped and the house seemed so lonely last evening after she left. We laughed and remembered all of her cute little antics she did the past couple days.

Well Sunday was anything but usual as we skipped out on the long drive with Eliza to Element Church in Tampa. We did take a long walk with her in the stroller after breakfast much to her delight. I then let her set and watch me hand water the gardens as she just likes to be outside in the fresh air. She awakened around 6'ish after sleeping for a little over 10 hours straight. We never heard a peep from her during the night and she awakened very happy but a little confused at first to her whereabouts. Many times she falls asleep here when we have them over for supper and to play games but she always wakes up in her bed.

After a hearty breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, blueberries and nearly a whole banana we headed into watch her favorite kids cartoon video on the laptop. She wants up in my lap to watch the same videos with a musical theme she really loves. We did that several times throughout her visit. Around 9'ish we took off on a long stroller ride and then around 10:30 I could tell she was getting sleepy so I rocked her and she when down for over an hour and half nap. We did a lunch of cold chicken for her and with fruit and crackers and she shoved it in with both hands. She really is eating well.

It was really starting to warm up outside so we stayed in the house playing toys, reading books and just loving up on her until she got sleepy again and went down around 3 and slept until 5 when we woke her up to eat a supper of leftover Italian bean soup, macaroni and lots of fruit and buttered bread. She had several snacks in between as she goes the cabinet and points with fingers to where Nancy keeps these paper bowls which holds her snacks. Her appetite has really improved and we were astonished she took such a long nap once again. Amy called and thought they would be back around 7 to pick her up. We gave her a bath and had her really but I had to leave at 6 to pick up GG and head for the airport which took longer than expected due to the influx of several flights on Allegiant Airlines arriving in Clearwater/StPete airport all at one time. It was going on 8 before at got back home and she was already gone.

Well it was a quiet evening without little Eliza and the house was picked up when I got home. We settled into some TV and Facebook catching up. I talked to my old air force buddy in N.C. and then it was lights out for me around 10:30, LATER  Here are a few pics of her posing for the camera with Nancy and eating some of her homemade cookies after lunch. What a cutie!!

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was a great day for family as we got little Eliza Faye just a little after 6 in the morning. Her parents and big sister and brother were all going to spend the week end at Disney World as they celebrated one of Sam's birthday presents. We were up and ready for a fun filled day as well and the only time we saw or heard Eliza fuss was when she hearded Amy's voice on the speaker phone sometime in the afternoon. Other than that one small moment she was such a fun little girl as we played outside, she saw her first parade ever and played with cousins Annsley and Gabriel when they came for supper. She ate very well all three meals and snacked occasionally and went down after her bath and slept over 10 hours straight without a peep and just before lunch she took an hour and half nap.

Uncle Bobby came around 3'ish after leaving the beach and the kiddos played while we visited then he prepared a guacamole, pico de guyo from scratch and I grilled marinated chicken breasts which we turned into roll ups on toasted tortillas, yeow was that ever delicious. After eating his kiddos got baths and showers then they headed out some time around 6:30 for Brandon. They had been to the beach for a couple hours with many of his male friends and their kiddos for a Dadderday outing where they played in the water and built sandcastles. After they left I took Eliza out side with me to water the gardens and she loved playing and being outside.

Earlier in the day we walked up to the post office where the Pow Wow parade ended and she got to hear the local high school bands perform as well as see and hear lots of fire trucks. She enjoyed that and was a bit sleepy on the way home and did finally fall asleep in her stroller and then put her down for her nap. After lunch we played toys and then watched kids videos on the laptop which she just loves to climb up on my lap for 30 minutes at a time and watch. It has been a great time with her and she hasn't fussed or been whinny at all. I don't think we with try the long ride to Tampa this AM for church at Element as she is not fond of traveling at any any length of time in the car seat, LATER Here are a couple pics after her bath and just before she crashed for the night as she fell asleep on my lap and then I put her down for the night just before 8.

Saturday Morning

Well it's a little after 6 AM and Amy and Tyler just dropped off Eliza Faye for the week end as they take Ava and Sam to Disney World for the week end plus now is a good time to wean her from the breast.

Friday was another very warm, windy day with temps in the high 80's and rather muggy. There was no rec today so that changed all of our routines despite rolling out at 6'ish. We did get an early morning call from GG that she was still having some thoughts she might pass out so I took her to the doctors office for a 9 AM appointment. Nothing had changed regarding her health and the doctor thinks her symptoms maybe from all of the oak pollen or some type of sinus infection which is causing her anxiety so they prescribed a form of Dramamine which she bought OTC. Hopefully that will help her with her feelings she may pass out.

I got back to the house around 10:30 and then headed out to the gardens where I picked another large mess of green beans and sugar peas. Wow have they ever produced this year and I noticed a couple large tomato's turning and then I saw where they were about half rotten from these little flies that infiltrated the skin. Well there was three bad tomatoes so it looks as if I will have to dust them with Sevin dust as much as I detest using insecticides. I may try that soap spray first and see if that makes a difference.

Nancy was at her Friday morning Bible study with Kathryn when Kathryn suddenly became very ill. Nancy drove her home and then I headed over to bring her home. We were scheduled for a dinner at the Botbyl's house house in the evening with the 6 of us so we cancelled that get together. Amy, GG and the kiddos came for lunch and we had chicken salad and I finished the leftover ham salad on a wrap. After they left for the day I read the rest of the afternoon until supper time. Nancy made a pot of Italian bean soup for supper which is delicious. After the clean up we headed outside to work in the front yard watering and weeding. Mr.Wade came by on his mobility scooter and visited for an hour or so. His wife Ms. Susie is not doing well as she is suffering all kinds on physical issues plus Alzheimer. She has been in a nursing home for several months now and he can barely walk. It was good to see him as he and Susie use to babysit Bobby and Amy when they were just tykes.

We stayed outside until nearly 8 PM before heading in as the mosquitoes were quite hungry and I looked like a banquet table to them, LATER

Friday Morning

Whew, was it ever a warm and muggy day which caused me to thinking about the cool temps in the mountains. It went from flannel sheets to no covers at all it seems here in sunny Florida over night. The morning started with once again a 6'ish roll out to temps in the 70's and pitch black outside. I sorta miss seeing the daybreak when I roll out but eventually the skies lighten and by 7:30 it was starting to appear. The rec was closed today so there was no need to hurry after my morning routines so I just piddled around on the Internet until nearly 9'ish before cutting a pink seedless grapefruit for my breakfast.

GG had  to be at the hair dresser at 9:30 so I took gave her a ride and then came back and hand watered the gardens. Nancy decided she wanted to get a long walk in through the hood so we took off on a 4 mile hike and that had us sweating by the time we got home. It was a rather easy hike on flat land but the heat radiated off the asphalt roadway which contributed to the already warm muggy air. We did noticed some trees in full yellow bloom which were just beautiful. A few blossoms had fallen to the roadway and they looked just like petunia blossoms with no smell but with such rich yellow color. I know the Jacaranda trees have beautiful deep purple blossoms but I don't know the name of these trees. There were several in the hood in all of their grandeur.

We decided when we picked GG up from her hair place around 10:30 that we would go on to Walmart and then to Sam's Club since we were out. We picked up some goodies and filled up again at $2.36 a gallon. We also picked p a few items for GG and then dropped them off at her place before coming home for lunch. Amy and the kiddos were already there waiting and little Sam smelled the rotissere chicken we purchased and he loves chicken legs, but he only likes them with the meat on the bone. Well he is in a growth spurt or should I say eating spurt as he chowed down on the 2 legs and a wing plus a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The chicken was tasty on a bed of fresh garden salad with home made dressing. Eliza Faye also ate quite well as she is expanding her appetite. Amy just about has her weaned but she still attempts to nurse at times especially bed time.

We watched kids cartoons on the laptop after lunch and then Sam and I played with some western figures. Eliza with take one and then run away quickly with Sam in hot pursuit and she squeals with delight when he wrestles her down. She is just a cutie pie and just full of it as well. Those two wrestle on the floor and she is tough as nails and never cries or complains. She loves to find him on the floor interested in something then she attacks him. Those two have become best buds until she takes one of his action figures and runs away and she is crazy about music. She sways and wiggles when any kind of music reaches her ears, its so funny to watch her dance.

After they left Nancy took off to pick up her new glasses, frames and a dress so I read the afternoon away and then she brought GG back for supper. I harvested a nice mess of Swiss chard and had it cleaned and cut up for the skillet and we had bought new white taters so Nancy cooked them then added fresh parsley from the garden. We had also picked up wild caught frozen Sockeye Salmon at Sam's and I grilled the fillets with fresh dill. We used to get the farm raised from Chile but the flavor is nothing compared to the wild caught. It's a little pricey but well worth the cost in flavor and absolutely burping after eating. Seems the farm raised always returned or caused some mild burping on us but not this and the meat is almost red in color not orange. That was a very nice supper and GG just loves the Swiss chard as all of us do. After the cleanup we settled into the news and then Nancy took GG home and we settled into the Idol Show. I headed in to watch the Lightning play a great game against Boston only to lose in a shoot out after the overtime period. It wasn't long after a hot shower and a few minutes flipping channels the sandman appeared and I was out around 10:30, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was just a typical Florida morning with temps in the low 70's to start the day and it reached the upper 80's by day's end but the big difference is the high humidity which has returned. I started the day with a 6'ish roll out and after my usual routines and a few quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and lift those up who need some special remembering I headed out to the rec for nearly 2 hours of pickle ball on my bike. We had three courts in action and it was a mixed group of A with mostly B players. I left with a soaked shirt around 10 AM and made a stop at the library for a couple new reads on the way home.

Nancy was getting her eye exam and picking out new frames and lens and then headed to have a recently crowned tooth checked for the possibility of a root canal and she did get one. I'm thrilled it was detected before they installed the final crown. Wow this has been a month of dental extremes with a bridge for Nancy, 3 root canals, 2 crowns between the two of us. There goes our kids inheritance. Oh well. My abscess or the swelling and terrible pain is gone but the tooth still has some obvious disturbance and I'm hoping will once again become a non issue. My jaw still exhibits some pain when opening my mouth to eat and it's difficult to open all the way without some pain as well is the knot in the jaw adjacent to the tooth.

No one came for lunch as Nancy had 2 different appointments but I made a guacamole which was fantastic and I slathered that on a tortilla roll up and called that lunch. We are trying to get most of out appointments out of the way as we are now thinking about the cabin once again. The first of June or last of May will be here shortly and that is our plans for heading back to the cabin. We have been here over 4 months and it just flew by; but the heat and humidity has us thinking cool mountain weather especially with the budding of the trees and flowers. We are also concerned with how the cabin fared during the sub zero temps this winter.

I'm hand watering the garden a couple times a day as the soil is bone dry from the heat. This is usually our dry season until June or July however we have had more rain than normal for this time of the year. The rec is closed for the next 4 days so we will have to walk the hood for our daily exercise. We are getting excited to have Bobby and his kiddos over this weekend for a visit and have supper with us and to have Eliza Faye for an overnighter on Saturday. There is never a dull moment in this household. I will pick up Nancy's cousin Chris and hubby Bill on Sunday at the airport. They will be here a week or so from Lancaster, Pa. visiting with GG and then traveling down to Sarasota.

Well that was about it as Nancy did rather well from her root canal. We cancelled house church because of it but will make up for it next week. I snapped a pot of half runner green beans and Nancy made her famous turnip casserole for supper. I had my first glass of vino in nearly two weeks as I have been on those powerful antibiotics. I did noticed some weight loss by a couple pounds and that may be attributed to the lack of vino and maybe to the pain while eating. Either way I'm just about 5 pounds from my goal of 180, LATER  

Wednesday Morning

Well I'm thrilled to report the abscess has apparently diminished in size, pain and except for a small knot in the jaw near the tooth, gone. Wow I've never had one of those experiences before and never want one again as it took 10 days of high does of antibiotics as well as some strong does of pain meds, yikes how did the old timers ever survive this malady. I should have pulled the tooth at first and saved myself all of that pain and grief but with the price of dental care I just couldn't throw away a several grand or more, oh well.

The day started out with the usual roll out around 6'ish and then my routines of a few quiet moments and the posting of the day before activities which I have to admit have been filled mainly overcoming this ache but all of that changed on Tuesday as I headed out at my usual time; except now it's just barely daylight on my bike for an hour and half of pickle ball. I was greeted warmly by my fellow players and it felt good to get back on the court. We had 2 courts in action and I managed a wet shirt in no time. Nancy wanted me to limit my play to an hour instead of two so I compromised and did an hour an half and I was whipped by the end of that session. I will be back tomorrow for the whole time frame as the rec is closing for 4 days due to the Seminole Pow Wow which takes place on our grounds every year. I have no idea why they close the building as all of the activities take place on the parking lots, Oh well!!!

I dropped off several reads at the library and then headed home to work outside in the yard and garden. I took the blower and cleaned off the roof as the leaves and fuzzes were in abundance everywhere. It's that time of the year when the new leaves pop out and the brown fuzzes are everywhere so I sucked up with the mower several large trash cans of them and mulched my garden. That kept me busy right up to lunch time. The grass is starting to green up now that we can see through all of the oak tree fuzzes. I piddled around in the garden and then harvested several kinds of lettuces as well as kale, beet greens, sugar peas, spinach and a beautiful head of cabbage. I say this all the time but this has been one of the most productive gardens ever. I'm picking hundreds of sugar peas every couple of days and the blooms are still in abundant and the green beans are producing so fast that I'm picking them every couple days as well and the tomatoes are just loaded with fruit. I'm still waiting for them to ripen. We had for last nights supper enough broccoli from the plants that were harvested already. I leave the stalks of the plant in the ground and they send up shoots that have small rosets of broccoli which are the same as the large heads.

It seems in the cabbage 9 pack of seedlings I bought last November there was a seedling that has turned out to be a cauliflower. I noticed a couple weeks ago this one seedling wasn't heading up so I thought maybe it was an aberrant plant but after leaving it in the ground I noticed there was a small white head down inside the loose leaves. It is doing well and to think I almost pulled it up. We love raw cauliflower and so does little Sam. He eats all kinds of raw veggies but doesn't like them cooked which really are better for you. I have some carrots that are really for harvesting and he loves them as well with a little ranch style dip.

Well Amy and the kiddos along with GG came for lunch and we feasted on fresh salad from the garden plus we finished up a few leftovers from the day before from each household. There was leftover zucchini pie from GG's which Amy took care of and a couple grape leaves that Amy made and Nancy and I took care of those. Afterwards I retired to the reading room and little Eliza Faye crawled up on my lap to watch her kiddie videos and she just melts your heart with her smiles and noises she makes when excited. They all left around 2:30 so we settled into reading as it was just to hot and humid outside to do anything else. By the late evening I headed out to hand water the gardens and then we spoke to our "mountain mom" on the land line for nearly an hour. The weather has finally broke and she has jonquils poking through the ground which is a great sign of spring. She still has a pile of snow that hasn't completely melted from when she had her driveway scrapped. It reached the upper 50's today there and we are starting to get that mountain fever of returning to our beloved cabin and our mountain family; especially since the a/c is running almost non stop here in sunny Florida, Later

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was another warm and muggy day here in central Florida. The a/c is back on as temps rose to the middle 80's and the humidity has once more showed itself. I saw my first day almost pain free in over a week and boy am I celebrating that occurrence as well. The oak trees in the hood are showing bright green leaves and of course the dried fallen leaves along with the fuzzies have just about covered our yards. I will mowed them up this afternoon and mulch them into the garden for some great compost for the worms which will start a new cycle for next years garden in the fall.

The morning was much of nothing to speak about as I laid out from the rec once again but hope to change that on Tuesday morning with at least an hour or so of workout on the court. I have one last day of antibiotics and I've restricted my intake of pain meds too almost nothing. I'm hoping to clean out my system as I've really bombarded it with ibuprofen and scripts this pass couple weeks. I did call my regular dentist Dr. Beirl and had him grind a little off of the temporary cap as it seemed a little high. He thought every thing looked good in the affected area and that the root canal may have saved the tooth despite the abscess. I feel much better now that the pain has dropped down to a tolerable level and last night I went to bed without any pain meds for the first time in several nights.

Eliza Faye came around 10'ish while Amy grocery shopped for the week and we had a grand time entertaining her. She loves to crawl up on my lap and watch cartoons on the lap top and she gives me the biggest grins and wiggles her nose up in delight when she sees something she recognizes. She is a little charmer and loves to put her head against mine when she wants to show affection. We will keep her all day and then overnight on Saturday and then again all day Sunday as Amy and Tyler spend the weekend at Disneyland with Ava and Sam for their birthdays. She is a momma's girl and Amy is trying to wean her from nursing so maybe this will be that moment in time.

Nancy took GG to finish up her taxes and I read for an hour or so then we stayed an ate supper with GG. She had a zucchini pie and a nice salad which was delicious. After the clean up we hung around until almost 8 before heading for home to settle into the Fox News channel. Wow there is no wonder most Americans have such disrespect for those in this administration/government with all of the scandals and its "good for everyone else but not for them." The Clinton's I always felt were less than honorable and especially her and now with the deception of not using safe and secure methods of dispersing secret information information and accepting foreign money is very egregious while in a cabinet position. I think it borders on influence peddling and close to be treasonous. The lack of leadership by our potus is even more disturbing as it seems he learns every scandal through the news. Wake Up America and see what is taking place to weaken us as a nation, line personal pockets with money and influence and then lie about it when confronted with the evidence. We are budding up to radicals who want to and have openly stated "death to America and Israel", we are giving them billions of dollars to use against us in aid and refusing to call them what they are. I never would have thought I would see the day when students in our universities would ban OLD GLORY as being offensive. This is what is happening when you have a leader who has been influenced by such people who espouse socialism/communist, anti-colonialists and Muslims ideologies as has our potus, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday was anything but usual but towards the end of the day I did start to see some evidence the antibiotics were working or at least the swelling and the pain in the jaw was subsiding. That was a big hallelujah for me as I was ready to call an oral surgeon on Monday(today) and get this molar yanked. Now I think I will finish the course of the scripts and see what happens on Tuesday or Wednesday. I used about half or even less of the pain meds on Sunday that I had been taking throughout the week.

The face was still swollen Sunday morning and after Patrick watched it swell at his place on Saturday night I decided to skip the drive to Tampa and Element Church. We sure missed our church family there but we will be able to listen to the message on podcast. We lounged around the house until late morning which seemed upon us very quickly with the loss of an hour due to the time change. I know a lot of losing an hour is all psychic but the day just flew by and it was going on 7 o'clock before we knew it. I was encouraged as the day went on as Nancy noticed the swelling dissipated and by late evening except for a hard knot on the jaw it was barely noticeable. We decided since I was feeling better to take a walk through the hood and the low humidity with a gentle breeze made for a beautiful evening stroll. I really haven't done much physical exercise since this molar went south almost 2 weeks ago and I surely needed this walk.

We ate lite throughout the day which we needed to do after a delicious fattening meal on Saturday night and we stayed away from snacks as well. I'm trying to drink Kefir which is a probiotic every time I take the antibiotic to preserve the flora in my gut. I'm starting to really have some hope for saving this tooth especially since I have so much money invested in it; but hopefully there is no way I'm going to endure this pain for another week. According to all I've read it takes anywhere between 7-10 days of antibiotics to clear this abscess out of the system and I'm now on my 8th day and finally saw some improvement, yeah!!! I want it gone yesterday so I can play, eat without pain and have a glass of vino before supper and talk about something else, yikes!!!

Well that was about it for the day as I set the sprinkler last evening in the front yard. The temps reached into the upper 80's today and it's forecasted for that kind of weather the rest of the week and we probably won't see anymore cold weather until next fall. Nancy sat in the back yard in her bathing suit and soaked up some sun for an hour or so. I'm up to hand watering the garden a couple times a day and I harvested another beautiful cabbage and blessed out friends and neighbor with it along with some fresh lettuce and sugar peas. I also harvested another large mess of half runner green beans.The November garden is producing abundantly and I need to sow some beet seeds so I can take them with me to the summer garden in the mountains. Once they reach a few inches in height they transplant nicely. My beets here in this garden I transplanted from the cabin garden and they were once covered in 6 inches of snow.

 Well this has been a week(s) of firsts for me with the abscessed molar and I'm skeptical about replacing the two large lower molars with the huge amalgams from my Air Force days; but the alternative is to chance going through this week or so with pain and meds which I abhor. I'm trying to give my body just good home grown veggies, no processed foods in packages and foods that will generally keep the body as pure as possible with plenty of exercise in the form of pickle ball or physical work, LATER  

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was a beautiful day weather wise but I'm still suffering from this abscessed molar and despite 4 thousand milligrams of antibiotics a day and some very high powered pain meds along with tons of liquid gel Advil I'm not much better than I was nearly a week ago. Something must be done this week as I'm not sure I can stand this much longer. The pain is incessant along with the swelling in the jaw and face. I've used ice packs to no avail. I've been told the tooth can't be extracted until the swelling subsides because of the possibility of the infection getting into the blood stream which is really discouraging at this point in time.

There were moments when Nancy noticed some remarkable changes in the reduced swelling which gave me some hope that maybe this was behind me and at times the pain was basically diminished from the meds; but both came back after a few hours with vengeance. I did venture out to hand water the gardens after a chilly start which found us down into the low 50's to start the day. Nancy made a nice mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes with blueberries in the batter, a couple cackleberries(eggs) along with a couple strips of bacon. I prepared the bacon a new way in the microwave from a video I saw on Face book and while it took longer than the video time frame, there was almost no mess and no smell of fried bacon in the house and it did get rather crispy. That held us until we met up with Patrick and Kathryn for supper at Guppy's Restaurant on the beach at 4 o'clock. The Botbyl's were supposed to meet us there as well but got a late start from their week in Orlando and then got caught up in the Strawberry Festival traffic on I-4 in Plant City.

We had never been to Guppy's before and it's quite a nice spot with several rooms as well as outside patio dining. The place was filling up fast and I would say it's comparable to the Bone Fish Grille in quality and the prices were about the same as well. I would go there again as it seemed to be as popular as the Salt Rock Grille which is further down the beach. I'm not a fan of the 15% gratuity added to the check as we usually usually tip more than that but what the heck. We came back to their beautiful condo on the beach and played a round of Eucher and the gals won on the last hand in a very close game 10-9. We headed out around 8:30 which was actually 9:30 with the time change overnight. My jaw wasn't feeling too bad at this point but Patrick noticed that suddenly my jaw began to swell before his very eyes as did everyone else as the ibuprofen began to wear off, yikes.

I loaded up once again on the hydrocodone when we got home and headed for the shower and then watched a little NCAA basketball before crashing sometime around 11'ish. Once again sleep eluded me as I was awake with pain around 2 and then again around 4'ish, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was a day with some encouraging moments with regard to this abscessed tooth but late Friday night and early Saturday morning I was awakened with such throbbing pain all of my hope for saving the tooth dissipated. The swelling is still evident as well and that is really a concern and so is the fact I'm not getting any exercise. I'm taking my scripts as directed and trying to use only the OTC Advil for pain except for the throbbing pain during the night. That high powered script leaves my head in a cloud and with a dull ache. I was on the Internet with several medical programs from dentist throughout the country and it seems I'm on the correct scripts and that it's normally takes 7-10 days to kill this infection before any further action can take place. I'm once again leaning to have this tooth pulled unless something dramatically occurs in the next couple of days. Yesterday I thought I saw some reduced swelling and I felt much better better through out the day until I went to bed, then all hell broke loose. There is something no right in my jaw and I can feel it as I'm normally a fast healer.


There isn't much going on except some reading however I did pick up GG and take her to a doctors appointment which was unplanned and then again picked her up and brought her here to the house for lunch with Amy and the kiddos. Ava had a half day of school so we had an energetic bunch until late afternoon. I did head out to hand water the gardens after they left; despite a front coming that brought no rain. The front did drop the temps back into the 50's overnight, so I cut off the a/c once again. It won't be long until that will change and be a constant here in Florida. We finished the leftover stir fry for supper and after the cleanup settled in to the Fox News channel.

I dozed on the couch during the shows so it was off to the showers and then I watched in between naps the final of Gold Rush, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday turned out to be rather warm and humid with lots of sunshine. I'm still under the influence of this abscessed molar as I can not get the swelling to decrease in my jaw and neck despite taking two different antibiotics. I've tried to lessen the use of the powerful pain pills but last night the throbbing pain was back with avengeance and I could only get relief finally by taking one with some Aleve at 10 and then again around 4 AM. This swelling in my face has been going on since last Sunday and I don't see any evidence that it has improved either. I've used ice packs throughout the day to no avail and now I'm getting rather dejected as I see no end to this pain without medication. I really have done all I can in trying to save this tooth but it's been the worst kind of pain ever in my jaw area.

I have enough prescriptions to get me through the week end and if there is no improvement by Monday I'm going to have it yanked. I hate to throw away so much money but I can not function like this much longer. I haven't been able to get any exercise and while the jaw pain from the abscess is controlled by the pain meds the ability to open my mouth is very limited and the pain is very evident there as well. I'm over this as this all started two weeks ago Thursday with the dentist replacing a filing that was close to 50 years old.

I did read and finished a couple books the past couple days and at times I was able to ride my bike to library to pickup new books but my body is starving for exercise especially pickle ball. I hand watered the gardens a couple times yesterday and gave away fresh lettuce to three of my neighbors. We had GG for a supper of stir fry with garden sugar peas, fresh asparagus and mushrooms and I grilled a couple bone in pork chops slathered with fresh rosemary. I could barely get my mouth open to insert the food and it most definitely hurt throughout the eating process. After the clean up we settled into the Fox News channel and finally the polls are showing lots of us think this potus is a liar and doesn't have the best interests of Americans in his plan for keeping us safe from the terrorists and from Iran getting a nuclear weapon; finally a few folks are starting to see the writing on the wall. We need to lay aside politics and do what is right for the USA and I just hope it's not too late. I wonder how will we ever recover from this president's lack of leadership and his desire to fundamentally change our culture, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well after the early start on Wednesday that really never stopped on Tuesday night as there was no

sleep to be found I did get in to see the endodonist who performed the root canal on Monday. He said over an over again with the abscess just beginning to set in the jaw area it would take some time and some strong antibiotics to arrest this infection so he prescribed an additional antibiotic as well as some schedule pain killers to take along with my liquid gel Aleve. He was confident he could save the tooth as the 2 fractures were above the base of the tooth in the enamel and did not totally split the tooth; so I will go with his professional opinion and workmanship. He did decided to not to a final fill on the canals until April 15 which gives the tooth plenty of time to heal before putting a crown on it, oh well.

I spent the afternoon lounging around taking prescription medicine and pain killer as well as using ice packs on the swelling along the jaw and neck. This is not my way of enjoying this beautiful weather and or the bounty from the garden as it's difficult to open my jaws and stuff in food and then chew. My jaw on the left side is really sore and stiff, oh well. I'm getting some pain relief but oh how I hate to put all of this stress on my liver with these pills I'm running through the system daily.

I headed out just before sundown in the warm air that was somewhere in the upper 80's to hand water the gardens. Nancy picked a huge mess of sugar peas for a stir fry for lunch today as Amy seldom gets this dish. Nancy will use fresh mushrooms, fresh asparagus and sugar peas over Jasmine rice. No one in her family like that combination but her and then we will have GG for supper and some Swiss chard. The garden is producing and I must have at least a hundred green tomatoes set on the vines, mostly the teardrop ones which are perfect and very tasty in salads. I do have some larger ones but all of them are still green. These past couple days of hot weather should help with turning them red.

We had fresh broccoli and a garden salad along with garlic buttered linguine for supper, yeow was that ever delicious. I'm putting back on the spare tire since I haven't worked out in over a week and now I must take some food whenever taking these antibiotics. I sure don't want to mess up my gut if possible. I'm not using any red wine now because of the scripts so maybe that will offset the additional calories. After the cleanup we settled into the Fox News channel to see where King Obama is doing his best to destroy America with his appeasement for a country who want to annihilate the west and especially Israel. I do think maybe the true colors of this left leaning government is coming to light especially now with this proposed nuclear treaty with radical Islamist and now with the audaciousness of the Clinton's in the possible breach of national security interests transmitted in personal emails, WAKE UP AMERICA, "the enemy of our enemy is still OUR enemy", LATER