Well Wednesday was a full day with some extreme pain by late evening in the molars that I had crowned around lunch time. I was beginning to think I was going to be seeing the endodonist again for another root canal as the Novocain wore off from my earlier in the day dentist appointment. The morning started much the usual with a little before 6 roll out to start the day. After my morning routines and a few quiet moments I got ready to ride out to the rec on my bike for some 2 hours of pickle ball. We had a new A player join us for the first time and we are hopeful he will return as he's a nice player. We had a few B players mixed in with us and the play was consistent as many of them now have greatly improved their game. I had a soaked shirt by 10 when I headed out for home.
Nancy was at the dentist getting her final crown installed and then she would be heading home so I could head out for my 11 o'clock appointment. Well I had 2 molars that still had the old amalgam filings from the 60's that were put in by USAF dentists which were starting to crack so I didn't want to go through the possibility they would break down this summer, plus I never want another abscess again,so I had both of them done at one time. Well all went well until about 5:30 when the numbness left my jaw and I thought I was going to get sick from the excruciating pain which suddenly enveloped me. I managed to finished eating a delicious supper of pot roast, taters and home grown carrots and then washed down a couple Naproxin. Well that took about 45 minutes to kick in and the pain level dropped considerably, which I thought was a good sign. I was still not comfortable going out to our house church meeting despite spending a couple hours on the work book and text titled COUNTER/CULTURE by David Platt. Instead I vegetated on the couch wondering how much sleep I would get during the night from this painful jaw.
Well the dentist always calls and checks on you or any patient after a visit to his office and he was surprised I was having such pain from the procedures. He did notice some cracks in the molars but he seemed to think he got them bonded well and didn't think I would need a root canal or there was the possibility of an abscess. I still had some prescribed pain killers from the last dental procedures so I dug them out and had them ready for the night shift if necessary. Thankfully with a couple more Naproxin just before bedtime the pain stayed away during the night.
I must say watching the 7th and deciding game in the hockey playoffs helped to take my mind off of the pain for a couple hours and to make it even sweeter out team the Lightning beat the Red Wing team 2-0 to advance in to the next round of play offs. They will face a much rested Canadian team this week end. I'm thrilled the pain has abated for now and I had a somewhat restful night. Well that was about it for the day. I sure missed playing with Eliza Faye and she gave me a big smile when I got home after being in the chair for over 3 hours. We are watching all of them on Friday night as Amy and Tyler have a date night, LATER
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Wednesday Morning
Well Tuesday started out much the usual with a little before 6 roll out and after my routines and a few quiet moments I got ready to ride out to the rec on my bike for a couple hours on the pickle ball courts. It was just starting to sprinkle rain as I left the house and by the time I got to the rec it was starting to down pour and it did down pour for the next 3 or so hours. I had to leave my bike and hitch a ride home after my workout. We had 2 courts in action with mostly A players and the rallies were long and packed with some great points.
There wasn't much to do except read until lunch time when Amy, GG and the kiddos came. It was still raining but finally cleared off somewhere around 1:30. Amy gave me a ride to the rec on her way to pick up Ava so I could retrieve my bike and then stop off at the library. It was one of those days where very little was accomplished except for reading and catching up on some paperwork. We decided to finish up the pulled pork leftovers for supper with some Sonny's barbecue sauce and fresh beets from the garden along with some Jasmine rice. After the cleanup we spoke with one of our mountain neighbors, Ray Todd and he mentioned they had frost on the ground overnight. It's still rather chilly there but a warm up is expected later this week. He mentioned the old Saddle Mountain Cafe has been sold and the new owners by the last name of Green's are making some drastic changes to the building as well as the menu. We will have to check it out this summer.
Well, we tuned into the riots in Baltimore where the destruction of private property, commercial businesses and police vehicles is rampant by a bunch of thugs and criminals egged on by the race baiters who are frequently seen with our potus. I still say make available choices of decent schools, jobs for the young people and teach some family values without the federal government dictating or interfering and get these folks off of welfare and most of these problems will go away. This is predominately a black city run by black leaders and most of the crime is on blacks and by black criminals. This is not racist it's just plain fact. All people need jobs and some reason to be needed in their communities and made to have some self worth. When this doesn't happen we see the results of big government give away programs that should be left to the free enterprise system where no one respects the rights of other because they have nothing invested in the community; so they burn and destroy what they have no vested interest in. A few of the community leaders see the problem and are trying their best to preserve the neighborhoods but our potus and other so called black leaders put the blame on racism which is utterly ridiculous.
I tuned into the Ray's vs the Yankees and we lost the second game in a row and are now no longer leading the division. The Lightning play tonight(wed) in Tampa for the deciding game to see which team moves on in the playoffs. Today both Nancy and I are at the dentist as I have two molars to be crowned. Let's hope neither of these will need root canals or abscess but my luck hasn't been great this year with crowns, LATER
There wasn't much to do except read until lunch time when Amy, GG and the kiddos came. It was still raining but finally cleared off somewhere around 1:30. Amy gave me a ride to the rec on her way to pick up Ava so I could retrieve my bike and then stop off at the library. It was one of those days where very little was accomplished except for reading and catching up on some paperwork. We decided to finish up the pulled pork leftovers for supper with some Sonny's barbecue sauce and fresh beets from the garden along with some Jasmine rice. After the cleanup we spoke with one of our mountain neighbors, Ray Todd and he mentioned they had frost on the ground overnight. It's still rather chilly there but a warm up is expected later this week. He mentioned the old Saddle Mountain Cafe has been sold and the new owners by the last name of Green's are making some drastic changes to the building as well as the menu. We will have to check it out this summer.
Well, we tuned into the riots in Baltimore where the destruction of private property, commercial businesses and police vehicles is rampant by a bunch of thugs and criminals egged on by the race baiters who are frequently seen with our potus. I still say make available choices of decent schools, jobs for the young people and teach some family values without the federal government dictating or interfering and get these folks off of welfare and most of these problems will go away. This is predominately a black city run by black leaders and most of the crime is on blacks and by black criminals. This is not racist it's just plain fact. All people need jobs and some reason to be needed in their communities and made to have some self worth. When this doesn't happen we see the results of big government give away programs that should be left to the free enterprise system where no one respects the rights of other because they have nothing invested in the community; so they burn and destroy what they have no vested interest in. A few of the community leaders see the problem and are trying their best to preserve the neighborhoods but our potus and other so called black leaders put the blame on racism which is utterly ridiculous.
I tuned into the Ray's vs the Yankees and we lost the second game in a row and are now no longer leading the division. The Lightning play tonight(wed) in Tampa for the deciding game to see which team moves on in the playoffs. Today both Nancy and I are at the dentist as I have two molars to be crowned. Let's hope neither of these will need root canals or abscess but my luck hasn't been great this year with crowns, LATER
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Tuesday Morning
Well Monday turned out to be a rather typical Florida day with the heat, humidity and lots of sunshine. The temps were into the low 90's by afternoon but by late evening the high clouds moved in with a nice breeze which made for ideal conditions for working outside until nearly dark; and that's just what I did. I mowed my yards and even helped the gals out next door by mowing their high grass as well. The day started with the usual roll out around 6 and then a few quiet moments before getting ready to ride to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We started out with a small crowd and eventually built up to a challenge court for the A players which made for some good play and soaked shirt by 10 AM. I stopped off at the library before heading home to hand water my new seedlings and pick tomato's.
Amy dropped Eliza Faye off while she grocery shopped with GG, then they all came for lunch. Nancy has been having some tummy issues and I think she is gluten and lactose intolerant and with all of the pasta we had this past weekend it caused her to be in some discomfort. She did take my advice and eat plain for lunch as well as consume some ginger tea and ginger ale. That did seem to give her some relief but I'm afraid she will have to be more careful with her food selections. After a bland lunch for both of us I headed out to the barber shop for an ear lowering and then came back and read the afternoon away.
I grilled a couple chicken breasts then we placed them on top of a fresh salad and called that our supper. I headed out afterwards to do some yard and garden work until nearly dark. The Lightning were in a must win game in Detroit and they pulled it off with a big win 5-2 over the Red Wings. The Ray's didn't fare as well with a loss to the Yankee's 4-1. It wasn't long after the end of the game(s) that I turned the lights out a little after 10, LATER
Amy dropped Eliza Faye off while she grocery shopped with GG, then they all came for lunch. Nancy has been having some tummy issues and I think she is gluten and lactose intolerant and with all of the pasta we had this past weekend it caused her to be in some discomfort. She did take my advice and eat plain for lunch as well as consume some ginger tea and ginger ale. That did seem to give her some relief but I'm afraid she will have to be more careful with her food selections. After a bland lunch for both of us I headed out to the barber shop for an ear lowering and then came back and read the afternoon away.
I grilled a couple chicken breasts then we placed them on top of a fresh salad and called that our supper. I headed out afterwards to do some yard and garden work until nearly dark. The Lightning were in a must win game in Detroit and they pulled it off with a big win 5-2 over the Red Wings. The Ray's didn't fare as well with a loss to the Yankee's 4-1. It wasn't long after the end of the game(s) that I turned the lights out a little after 10, LATER
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday Morning
Well Sunday was another typical Florida day with heat, humidity and lots of sunshine. We are so ready for some 40's in the morning which is what the mountains are having this week. We started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out as it was church day in Tampa at Element. We rode with Dan our neighbor but Carol stayed home as her mothers health seems to be getting progressively weaker despite having a health worker come into the home. We had a few new faces at the "gathering" as well as some we hadn't seen in awhile. Chris brought a good message on what it means as we follow Christ in our daily living. The praise music was awesome as always despite our own house church singer Danielle being ill.
We got back from Tampa a little after 12 and had a lite lunch as we were pulling a large supper at 5 at the Botbyl's house. Dan was doing baby back ribs on the smoker, Kathryn was bringing this awesome mac and cheese as well as a veggie plate with dip and Nancy was making a fresh salad, dressing and broccoli and fresh mushrooms. We all had a glass of vino as well and after the clean up we then settled into a 6 rounds of chicken foot domino's. Carol smoked us in that game and then we watched a Louie Giglio video that goes along with our Counter/Culture study we are doing on Wednesday nights on what we as Believers must do to reach the unbelievers to be saved from eternal separation from GOD at our passing or physical death. The evening meal saw me eat way too much but its been like this the whole week-end that started with a big meal on Friday with Amy and GG and then the birthday meal on Saturday and then again tonight; I'm afraid to get on the scales as I feel at least 5 pounds or more heavier, oh well. It bread and water to eat the rest of the week for me but it tasted so good.
I did get to watch the Ray's in the final game of a three game series sweep of the Blue Jay's on Sunday afternoon with a convincing 5-1 win. They despite still not having some of their best pitchers in the rotation win against some good teams. They lead their division at this point in time. The Lightning have a must game win in Detroit on Monday night or they are gone from the playoffs for this year despite having one of the best records in all of hockey for the season. I'm back on the pickle ball court this morning after having 3 days off and several pounds heavier, oh well, LATER
We got back from Tampa a little after 12 and had a lite lunch as we were pulling a large supper at 5 at the Botbyl's house. Dan was doing baby back ribs on the smoker, Kathryn was bringing this awesome mac and cheese as well as a veggie plate with dip and Nancy was making a fresh salad, dressing and broccoli and fresh mushrooms. We all had a glass of vino as well and after the clean up we then settled into a 6 rounds of chicken foot domino's. Carol smoked us in that game and then we watched a Louie Giglio video that goes along with our Counter/Culture study we are doing on Wednesday nights on what we as Believers must do to reach the unbelievers to be saved from eternal separation from GOD at our passing or physical death. The evening meal saw me eat way too much but its been like this the whole week-end that started with a big meal on Friday with Amy and GG and then the birthday meal on Saturday and then again tonight; I'm afraid to get on the scales as I feel at least 5 pounds or more heavier, oh well. It bread and water to eat the rest of the week for me but it tasted so good.
I did get to watch the Ray's in the final game of a three game series sweep of the Blue Jay's on Sunday afternoon with a convincing 5-1 win. They despite still not having some of their best pitchers in the rotation win against some good teams. They lead their division at this point in time. The Lightning have a must game win in Detroit on Monday night or they are gone from the playoffs for this year despite having one of the best records in all of hockey for the season. I'm back on the pickle ball court this morning after having 3 days off and several pounds heavier, oh well, LATER
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Sunday Morning--last Sunday in April
Well Saturday was a super day of relaxing at the beach and celebrating our oldest grand daughter Ava's 8th birthday with all of our kids and grand children present for an awesome supper of smoked pulled pork and all the trimmings. The day started with a sleep in until nearly 7 'ish for a change and then we did our usual morning routines including a few quiet moments before getting ready to spend a couple hours soaking up the sun at Redington Shores Beach.
We saw another couple from SFBC there with their son and grandson and we visited with them before calling it a day around 12:30. It was a little breezy and there were a few rain clouds around as well as a water spout out in the Gulf. But it didn't interrupt our walk in the surf and laying out. After a lite lunch of guacamole we headed for the showers and then to relax for the next couple hours before heading over to the Ross house for the big party and supper.
I did get in a little garden work as I moved my tomato seedlings up into the 9 packs to carry to the mountains for transplanting as well as put a chicken wire fence around the new beets and kale to keep the pesky squirrels from digging up the new seedlings. I watched them and they were really trying their best to get inside the fence and they may do it yet as they are the nosiest critters yet and very determined to get into what ever they want. I've just about cleared everything from the garden except the onions, herbs and tomato plants that are still producing as well as my carrots in the side garden.
We picked up GG around 5 then headed over to the delicious smell of smoked pork butts permeating throughout the house. Amy had a huge pot of pinto beans, mac and cheese and Nancy made Cole slaw. Nancy also made the chocolate cake and decorated it for Ava as well. The food was delicious and while I passed on the mac and cheese and buns I had seconds on all the rest as well as a piece of the cake. Amy has begum as good a cook as her mother and GG. We watched Ava open her presents and then it was close to bath time for all the kiddos before Bobby and his kiddos headed out for Tampa. They would be asleep by the time they got home so all he had to do was put them to bed.
Well we headed out shortly after Bobby left and learned the Ray's came from behind to win the ball game but our Lightning loss big time to the Red Wings in Tampa. They go back to Detroit for what could be the final game of their season if they lose there on Monday. It was a fun day for us and one where we had our grand kid's all together. They really play great together and love one another's company.
Well today is worship day at the warehouse in Tampa for the"gathering" of our house church members and afterwards we are meeting with our house church gang for a
pulled supper at the Botbyl's house later in the evening for smoked ribs and all the fixin's. Yikes there goes my spare tire being inflated once again, oh well I will have to work harder this week on the pickle ball court, LATER
We saw another couple from SFBC there with their son and grandson and we visited with them before calling it a day around 12:30. It was a little breezy and there were a few rain clouds around as well as a water spout out in the Gulf. But it didn't interrupt our walk in the surf and laying out. After a lite lunch of guacamole we headed for the showers and then to relax for the next couple hours before heading over to the Ross house for the big party and supper.
I did get in a little garden work as I moved my tomato seedlings up into the 9 packs to carry to the mountains for transplanting as well as put a chicken wire fence around the new beets and kale to keep the pesky squirrels from digging up the new seedlings. I watched them and they were really trying their best to get inside the fence and they may do it yet as they are the nosiest critters yet and very determined to get into what ever they want. I've just about cleared everything from the garden except the onions, herbs and tomato plants that are still producing as well as my carrots in the side garden.
We picked up GG around 5 then headed over to the delicious smell of smoked pork butts permeating throughout the house. Amy had a huge pot of pinto beans, mac and cheese and Nancy made Cole slaw. Nancy also made the chocolate cake and decorated it for Ava as well. The food was delicious and while I passed on the mac and cheese and buns I had seconds on all the rest as well as a piece of the cake. Amy has begum as good a cook as her mother and GG. We watched Ava open her presents and then it was close to bath time for all the kiddos before Bobby and his kiddos headed out for Tampa. They would be asleep by the time they got home so all he had to do was put them to bed.
Well we headed out shortly after Bobby left and learned the Ray's came from behind to win the ball game but our Lightning loss big time to the Red Wings in Tampa. They go back to Detroit for what could be the final game of their season if they lose there on Monday. It was a fun day for us and one where we had our grand kid's all together. They really play great together and love one another's company.
Well today is worship day at the warehouse in Tampa for the"gathering" of our house church members and afterwards we are meeting with our house church gang for a
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Saturday Morning
Well Friday being the last one in April for this year turned out to be once again a hot muggy one despite the threat of rain clouds at times. We stayed rain free for the day but sure could have used a shower to cool things down. The morning was anything but usual as we were slated to attend Keswick School for the Spring elementary program with oldest grand daughter Ava Mae performing with the second grade. It was a very nice program filled with the band playing and choral singing as well as a folk song performed by the 1st graders. We had a nice time mingling with lots of familiar faces as many from our old church have their children enrolled at this private Christian school.
I missed my usual pickle ball workout but did get in a couple decent walks and later a ride on the bike to the library for some new reads. We came back and Nancy baked a chocolate cake with chocolate icing for Ava's 8th birthday supper on Saturday evening. Bobby will bring Annsley, Gabe and GG of course will attend a pulled pork supper with all the fixin's per Ava's request. Tyler took Ava and Sam to Tropicana Field last night to watch the Ray's beat up on the Toronto Blue Jay's 12-3.
Nancy fixed a supper of fresh asparagus, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, garlic and capers in a white wine sauce over linguine, wow was that ever delicious. It seems no one else in the Ross family like that combination except for Amy so she never gets it at home. I had taken GG for an ultrasound on her carotid artery earlier in the afternoon and then brought her home with me for supper with us. After supper the girls all except for Eliza went to see the movie "the longest walk". I kept little Eliza Faye and we had a fun time as she loves to watch this one particular kids video on the laptop. She was fast asleep by 7:30 and never stirred until the girls got back sometime after 10. She fell asleep in my lap reading books to her.
Well that was about it for the day as we ate well and will once again later today at Ava's birthday supper. I think we are planning on doing another beach morning as we only have 4 more Saturdays before we head to the high country, LATER Here are a couple pics of Ava and of her art work at school.
I missed my usual pickle ball workout but did get in a couple decent walks and later a ride on the bike to the library for some new reads. We came back and Nancy baked a chocolate cake with chocolate icing for Ava's 8th birthday supper on Saturday evening. Bobby will bring Annsley, Gabe and GG of course will attend a pulled pork supper with all the fixin's per Ava's request. Tyler took Ava and Sam to Tropicana Field last night to watch the Ray's beat up on the Toronto Blue Jay's 12-3.
Nancy fixed a supper of fresh asparagus, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, garlic and capers in a white wine sauce over linguine, wow was that ever delicious. It seems no one else in the Ross family like that combination except for Amy so she never gets it at home. I had taken GG for an ultrasound on her carotid artery earlier in the afternoon and then brought her home with me for supper with us. After supper the girls all except for Eliza went to see the movie "the longest walk". I kept little Eliza Faye and we had a fun time as she loves to watch this one particular kids video on the laptop. She was fast asleep by 7:30 and never stirred until the girls got back sometime after 10. She fell asleep in my lap reading books to her.
Well that was about it for the day as we ate well and will once again later today at Ava's birthday supper. I think we are planning on doing another beach morning as we only have 4 more Saturdays before we head to the high country, LATER Here are a couple pics of Ava and of her art work at school.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Friday Morning
Well Thursday turned out to be one that fits into the doldrums of summer with heat, humidity and rain. This weather will surely bring on the grass and if you have any garden left it should really bring on the tomato, peppers, okra and cukes; unfortunately all I have left is tomato's, collards, carrots and some herbs.
The day started with me rolling out a little earlier than normal as I had to be at the VA hospital for a fasting blood draw at 7 AM. That didn't take long to draw 5 vials of blood and then I was back home by 7:30. After a breakfast of soft boiled eggs and a couple small tomatoes I headed out on my bike to the rec for some 2 hours of pickle ball play. The action was fast and continuous through out the morning with 3 courts in action as well as a challenge court which kept us A players in contention with each other. Wow was I ever whupped with a wet shirt by 10 AM. I made a quick stop at the library on the way home.
I didn't need to water anything as we had heavy down pours while I was playing pickle ball. It did let up to just a sprinkle by the time I headed home on the bike. I read until it was time for lunch with Amy and the kiddos as GG stayed home for some reason. Nancy was picking her up after lunch for one of her many doctors appointments and I watched Sam and Eliza while Amy did one of her appointments. We had a great time watching kid videos on the lap top and then they all headed out around 2:30.
We decided to finish up the spaghetti for lunch for our big meal of the day and just do a salad for supper which I'm beginning to endorse. I'm still maintaining the weight just a little above 180 which was originally my goal but have decided a pound or two above is good as well. I dropped down from 195 to 181 which has made a difference in the spare tire and even Nancy has commented how much better my belly looks.
Well after supper we spoke with our old friend Eddie who sustained a nearly life threatening accidental fall last spring and who is still incapacitated. He is in the VA hospital in Salisbury, N.C. getting daily therapy and he seems to have a better outlook on his prognosis for at least a partial recovery. He is starting to experience pain in areas where he felt nothing for months so maybe that is a good sign those areas are starting to "wake up" or being rejuvenated as he calls it. That is a plus for him and is giving him much hope. He says the facility is top rated there and while he misses being home this is so much better for him and for his recovery.
I tuned into the Fox News and once more learned what a shady bunch we have in the government. The Clinton's are the biggest hypocrites ever and I think she sold our country out for cash as well as this present administration is selling out our safety for his personal religious views. How did we ever let the media sell us with these losers who are self serving in their views and ideology. We are in for big changes if we allow the main stream media to once again dictate the future of our nation with this upcoming election. I fear there will be a severe backlash toward us as a Christian nation as we are now seeing it throughout the world. This will become a religious war fought here on our own soil and this administration wants to limit and take away our ability to protect ourselves with the loss of the second amendment. Hopefully we will wake up and see what is happening to our ability to protect ourselves, our families and of course our nation from these radical Islamist.
Well we tuned into both the Ray's and the Lightning games and both were nail biters. The Lightning were losing big in the final period so I turned them off to watch the Rays win in the bottom of the ninth and then saw where the Lightning came back and scored 3 goals to win the game and draw even in the best of 7 game series with Detroit. They are 2-2 each and now come back to Tampa for the next game.
Well this morning (Friday) I will miss my workout on the pickle ball court as Ava is participating in her schools spring program at 9 so we will attend and support her and tomorrow she will be 8 years young. Where did that time go? LATER
The day started with me rolling out a little earlier than normal as I had to be at the VA hospital for a fasting blood draw at 7 AM. That didn't take long to draw 5 vials of blood and then I was back home by 7:30. After a breakfast of soft boiled eggs and a couple small tomatoes I headed out on my bike to the rec for some 2 hours of pickle ball play. The action was fast and continuous through out the morning with 3 courts in action as well as a challenge court which kept us A players in contention with each other. Wow was I ever whupped with a wet shirt by 10 AM. I made a quick stop at the library on the way home.
I didn't need to water anything as we had heavy down pours while I was playing pickle ball. It did let up to just a sprinkle by the time I headed home on the bike. I read until it was time for lunch with Amy and the kiddos as GG stayed home for some reason. Nancy was picking her up after lunch for one of her many doctors appointments and I watched Sam and Eliza while Amy did one of her appointments. We had a great time watching kid videos on the lap top and then they all headed out around 2:30.
We decided to finish up the spaghetti for lunch for our big meal of the day and just do a salad for supper which I'm beginning to endorse. I'm still maintaining the weight just a little above 180 which was originally my goal but have decided a pound or two above is good as well. I dropped down from 195 to 181 which has made a difference in the spare tire and even Nancy has commented how much better my belly looks.
Well after supper we spoke with our old friend Eddie who sustained a nearly life threatening accidental fall last spring and who is still incapacitated. He is in the VA hospital in Salisbury, N.C. getting daily therapy and he seems to have a better outlook on his prognosis for at least a partial recovery. He is starting to experience pain in areas where he felt nothing for months so maybe that is a good sign those areas are starting to "wake up" or being rejuvenated as he calls it. That is a plus for him and is giving him much hope. He says the facility is top rated there and while he misses being home this is so much better for him and for his recovery.
I tuned into the Fox News and once more learned what a shady bunch we have in the government. The Clinton's are the biggest hypocrites ever and I think she sold our country out for cash as well as this present administration is selling out our safety for his personal religious views. How did we ever let the media sell us with these losers who are self serving in their views and ideology. We are in for big changes if we allow the main stream media to once again dictate the future of our nation with this upcoming election. I fear there will be a severe backlash toward us as a Christian nation as we are now seeing it throughout the world. This will become a religious war fought here on our own soil and this administration wants to limit and take away our ability to protect ourselves with the loss of the second amendment. Hopefully we will wake up and see what is happening to our ability to protect ourselves, our families and of course our nation from these radical Islamist.
Well we tuned into both the Ray's and the Lightning games and both were nail biters. The Lightning were losing big in the final period so I turned them off to watch the Rays win in the bottom of the ninth and then saw where the Lightning came back and scored 3 goals to win the game and draw even in the best of 7 game series with Detroit. They are 2-2 each and now come back to Tampa for the next game.
Well this morning (Friday) I will miss my workout on the pickle ball court as Ava is participating in her schools spring program at 9 so we will attend and support her and tomorrow she will be 8 years young. Where did that time go? LATER
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Thursday Morning
Well Wednesday was much the usual kind of week day with a 6'ish roll out, a few quite moments then a lite breakfast before riding out to the rec on my bike for a couple hours workout on the pickle ball court. We had 2 courts in action with several B players in the mix as many of the A players were off at another venue. I did manage a wet shirt by 10 but the action was less severe or as aggressive as I normally anticipate. We have a couple B players who are steadily improving and will move up by next fall when tournament time comes along.
I stopped at the library and picked up a new read for Nancy as she has found this new author, Charles Martin to her liking. I headed on home and harvested the last of the lettuces, some beet greens and kale which are also on their last legs. The heat has just taken its toll on these cool weather veggies. I did pick a couple handfuls of tomatoes which seem to be ripening all at once, especially the small teardrop salad tomatoes. After cleaning and spinning the bounty I made a large salad for lunch. Amy, GG and the kiddos came for lunch around 12:30 and afterwards I piddled around with my pickle ball paddles giving them a coat of urethane.
Everyone left so I read for the next couple hours until it was time to get ready for a lite supper of sliced tomatoes and parsley white taters. We were scheduled to be at our house church meeting at 6:30 so the cleanup was easy and the meal was delicious as well. We are studying the series on Counter/Culture by David Platt and he is very informative on what is taking place in our nation especially with the lack of commitment by so called Christians. We have let political correctness inundate our society to the extent we are now governed by the few that have changed what was once bad or wrong to now being right. Our mores and customs have completely been misrepresented by these secular progressives who want nothing to do with GOD in our nation and we are starting to see the disintegration of the society internally as well as abroad.
Well I'm cutting this short as I have to be at the VA for a blood draw in about a half hour as I have my yearly physical next week with a new doctor, LATER
Here are a few pics from Annsley school program on Tuesday evening and a late supper at the Acropolis Restaurant in Brandon afterwards.
I stopped at the library and picked up a new read for Nancy as she has found this new author, Charles Martin to her liking. I headed on home and harvested the last of the lettuces, some beet greens and kale which are also on their last legs. The heat has just taken its toll on these cool weather veggies. I did pick a couple handfuls of tomatoes which seem to be ripening all at once, especially the small teardrop salad tomatoes. After cleaning and spinning the bounty I made a large salad for lunch. Amy, GG and the kiddos came for lunch around 12:30 and afterwards I piddled around with my pickle ball paddles giving them a coat of urethane.
Everyone left so I read for the next couple hours until it was time to get ready for a lite supper of sliced tomatoes and parsley white taters. We were scheduled to be at our house church meeting at 6:30 so the cleanup was easy and the meal was delicious as well. We are studying the series on Counter/Culture by David Platt and he is very informative on what is taking place in our nation especially with the lack of commitment by so called Christians. We have let political correctness inundate our society to the extent we are now governed by the few that have changed what was once bad or wrong to now being right. Our mores and customs have completely been misrepresented by these secular progressives who want nothing to do with GOD in our nation and we are starting to see the disintegration of the society internally as well as abroad.
Well I'm cutting this short as I have to be at the VA for a blood draw in about a half hour as I have my yearly physical next week with a new doctor, LATER
Here are a few pics from Annsley school program on Tuesday evening and a late supper at the Acropolis Restaurant in Brandon afterwards.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Wednesday Morning
Well Tuesday morning started out much the usual however by the late afternoon we found ourselves in some of the heaviest vehicular traffic I've been in quite awhile as we traveled over to the Brandon area which is just a suburb of Tampa. Wow what a congested area that has quickly become, despite there are still some large land areas that still hold grazing cattle. This was once all agrarian but Tampa has exploded into a large metropolitan city, oh well are we ever looking forward to trees, hills and wildlife in the mountains of North Carolina.
After my usual 6'ish or a little before roll out to start the day and a few quiet moments to give thanks and reflect I got ready after a lite breakfast for my work out at the rec on the pickle ball courts. We had 2 courts in action with mainly A players and the workout was to say the least, exhilarating. My shirt was soaked and my tail was dragging by 10 AM. I headed out on my bike for home with a quick stop at the library to drop off some reads. I didn't have to water today as the soaking rain from the day before was still evident plus there isn't a whole lot to water except for the new seedlings and tomato plants. Most everything by this time of the year is gone from my November garden and did we ever have a great one this year. The orchids are still blooming and while the older flowers are gone the new ones are just as vibrate and beautiful and I still have 5 more buds to open with a total of 14 this year. The most ever.
Nancy was watching Eliza Faye when I got home around 10:30 as Amy has an appointment and she shortly came and picked her up after Nancy left for her workout. They as well as GG and Sam came for lunch and we chowed down on leftover spaghetti and salad. Bobby had called the night before and indicated Annsley's school was having their Spring Concert and she had a small solo part at 6 this evening so we left the house about 4 and headed to Brandon. Well despite using the toll road it still took us close to and hour and half to travel there. Wow I saw more vehicles today than we see all summer in Sparta.
Annsley program was musical in nature and she was a cutie pie. The 5 grades put on a nice program and we looked at all of the art projects that were being displayed throughout the building and hallways by these elementary students. This is a Christian Academy and the kids are being taught the word of GOD as well as their scholastic curriculum. This is Annsley second year there and she loves the school. After the program we headed over to the Acropolis Restaurant and had a late supper of gyros platters, salmon salad, pasta and meat balls. Wow the food was very tasty with that Greek accent and very plentiful. It was after 9 before we got back to Seminole and settled in to watch the remaining minutes in the losses by both the Lightning and the Rays on TV. We had lost our phone and Internet service just before we headed out around 4 and just now found both to be working again this morning, LATER I will publish some pics from yesterday on tomorrow's post.
After my usual 6'ish or a little before roll out to start the day and a few quiet moments to give thanks and reflect I got ready after a lite breakfast for my work out at the rec on the pickle ball courts. We had 2 courts in action with mainly A players and the workout was to say the least, exhilarating. My shirt was soaked and my tail was dragging by 10 AM. I headed out on my bike for home with a quick stop at the library to drop off some reads. I didn't have to water today as the soaking rain from the day before was still evident plus there isn't a whole lot to water except for the new seedlings and tomato plants. Most everything by this time of the year is gone from my November garden and did we ever have a great one this year. The orchids are still blooming and while the older flowers are gone the new ones are just as vibrate and beautiful and I still have 5 more buds to open with a total of 14 this year. The most ever.
Nancy was watching Eliza Faye when I got home around 10:30 as Amy has an appointment and she shortly came and picked her up after Nancy left for her workout. They as well as GG and Sam came for lunch and we chowed down on leftover spaghetti and salad. Bobby had called the night before and indicated Annsley's school was having their Spring Concert and she had a small solo part at 6 this evening so we left the house about 4 and headed to Brandon. Well despite using the toll road it still took us close to and hour and half to travel there. Wow I saw more vehicles today than we see all summer in Sparta.
Annsley program was musical in nature and she was a cutie pie. The 5 grades put on a nice program and we looked at all of the art projects that were being displayed throughout the building and hallways by these elementary students. This is a Christian Academy and the kids are being taught the word of GOD as well as their scholastic curriculum. This is Annsley second year there and she loves the school. After the program we headed over to the Acropolis Restaurant and had a late supper of gyros platters, salmon salad, pasta and meat balls. Wow the food was very tasty with that Greek accent and very plentiful. It was after 9 before we got back to Seminole and settled in to watch the remaining minutes in the losses by both the Lightning and the Rays on TV. We had lost our phone and Internet service just before we headed out around 4 and just now found both to be working again this morning, LATER I will publish some pics from yesterday on tomorrow's post.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Tuesday Morning 4-21-15
Well Monday saw us with some rain by late afternoon and evening, boy did we ever need it. I understand from all the pictures on Face Book the mountains are over running with rain water from the past several days of continuous rain fall. That should really green things up as well as bring on the flowers and grass. It getting closer to our departure time for the cabin and I'm very ambivalent with having to leave our kids and grand kiddos but we must get back up to see how the cabin fared with us being away for nearly 7 months.
The day started out much the usual with a before 6'ish roll out and then my routines and a few quiet moments before riding out to the rec on my bike for some 2 hours of pickle ball. There was a small crowd once again but we managed to get 2 courts in action as well as a challenge court with A players. I had a soaked shirt by 10 and was worn down as well. I stopped off at the library on the way home. Amy brought little Eliza Faye by for me to watch while she grocery shopped so we watched videos and then played toys and listened to the Bose players. She loves music and has the "I can't sit still" effect when any kind of music is playing. Nancy got back a little after 11 from her workout and then Amy, GG and Sam came for lunch.
After they left we read until it was time for supper which was prepared on Sunday so it was just a matter of heating the spaghetti sauce and noodles up in the microwave. That was easy and the cleanup didn't take long either. We settled into the Fox News channel and after O'Reilly came on I headed for the shower and then to watch a little playoff hockey. The Lightning play again tonight in Detroit the third game in the best of 7 series to determine who moves on in the quest for the Stanley Cup. It wasn't long after 10'ish I was watching the inside of my eyelids when Nancy came in and turned the TV off which of course woke me up, oh well, LATER
The day started out much the usual with a before 6'ish roll out and then my routines and a few quiet moments before riding out to the rec on my bike for some 2 hours of pickle ball. There was a small crowd once again but we managed to get 2 courts in action as well as a challenge court with A players. I had a soaked shirt by 10 and was worn down as well. I stopped off at the library on the way home. Amy brought little Eliza Faye by for me to watch while she grocery shopped so we watched videos and then played toys and listened to the Bose players. She loves music and has the "I can't sit still" effect when any kind of music is playing. Nancy got back a little after 11 from her workout and then Amy, GG and Sam came for lunch.
After they left we read until it was time for supper which was prepared on Sunday so it was just a matter of heating the spaghetti sauce and noodles up in the microwave. That was easy and the cleanup didn't take long either. We settled into the Fox News channel and after O'Reilly came on I headed for the shower and then to watch a little playoff hockey. The Lightning play again tonight in Detroit the third game in the best of 7 series to determine who moves on in the quest for the Stanley Cup. It wasn't long after 10'ish I was watching the inside of my eyelids when Nancy came in and turned the TV off which of course woke me up, oh well, LATER
Monday, April 20, 2015
Monday Morning
Well, Sunday as always is a day where we get to gather with other believers to sing praises and listen to a spirit inspired teaching based on Biblical principles from the book of John. Blake one of our elders brought forth just such a message at Element Church in Tampa. While we are a small group which has gone through lots of transformations over the past year or so we are still viable in our weekly warehouse gatherings and house churches. We have a core of young families with an occasional visitor and visits from a few prior members who have moved away when they come back to the area to visit family. While it's a long trip on Sunday's to the warehouse we sometimes carpool with neighbors, but after nearly 6 years of making the weekly trip we have adjusted especially as we get to see our son and his 2 kiddos.
The morning started out with a 6 'ish roll out and we do our own thing on Sunday mornings as the big thing is to leave the bathroom open for Nancy and her "face time" to get ready. I did my quiet time and then ate a couple soft boiled eggs with a vine ripe tomato while she does her quiet moments. I drove this Sunday and the Botbyl's rode with us as Carol was able to get a sitter for her mother so she could attend church. Afterwards we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a delicious lunch that held me the rest of the day. I use to have this meal of fried chicken most every Sunday when growing up on the farm and I must say this restaurant knows how to prepare well, except for my late Aunt Nancy who prepared it magnificently. After lunch we dropped them off and then I settled into the Ray's vs the Yankees game and once more our pitching led to another defeat. That's three straight losses to them.
Well Nancy had a pot of spaghetti sauce cooking most of the afternoon as son Bobby said he may stop by after an afternoon on Lake Seminole skiing and wake boarding with some church members and he did come around 6:30. We sat and talked and he visited along with a friend until after 8'ish. I was still comfortable with the meal of chicken, sweet tater, fried okra and biscuits from lunch so we decided to wait until Monday night and eat this awesome smelling sauce with some noodles. We finally got a nice rain shower after several weeks and it cooled things down a bit as well as watered the lawns and gardens. I understand there is heavy rains in the mountains and some localized flooding which always occurs after it rains for an extended period on the small streams and creeks.
That was about it for the day except I did watch a little of the hockey playoffs between some teams that the Lightning will hopefully get to play. I noticed three more white orchids have opened and are in full bloom with 6 more buds to open any day. They are so beautiful to look at and the smell is just delicious, LATER
The morning started out with a 6 'ish roll out and we do our own thing on Sunday mornings as the big thing is to leave the bathroom open for Nancy and her "face time" to get ready. I did my quiet time and then ate a couple soft boiled eggs with a vine ripe tomato while she does her quiet moments. I drove this Sunday and the Botbyl's rode with us as Carol was able to get a sitter for her mother so she could attend church. Afterwards we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a delicious lunch that held me the rest of the day. I use to have this meal of fried chicken most every Sunday when growing up on the farm and I must say this restaurant knows how to prepare well, except for my late Aunt Nancy who prepared it magnificently. After lunch we dropped them off and then I settled into the Ray's vs the Yankees game and once more our pitching led to another defeat. That's three straight losses to them.
Well Nancy had a pot of spaghetti sauce cooking most of the afternoon as son Bobby said he may stop by after an afternoon on Lake Seminole skiing and wake boarding with some church members and he did come around 6:30. We sat and talked and he visited along with a friend until after 8'ish. I was still comfortable with the meal of chicken, sweet tater, fried okra and biscuits from lunch so we decided to wait until Monday night and eat this awesome smelling sauce with some noodles. We finally got a nice rain shower after several weeks and it cooled things down a bit as well as watered the lawns and gardens. I understand there is heavy rains in the mountains and some localized flooding which always occurs after it rains for an extended period on the small streams and creeks.
That was about it for the day except I did watch a little of the hockey playoffs between some teams that the Lightning will hopefully get to play. I noticed three more white orchids have opened and are in full bloom with 6 more buds to open any day. They are so beautiful to look at and the smell is just delicious, LATER
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday Morning
Well Saturday was much like a vacation day here in hot sunny Florida. I rolled out at my usual 6'ish time to start the morning. After a few quiet moments and a breakfast burrito we got ready for the beach at Redington Shores. The breeze and high clouds made for a great visit and the surf had 5 to 6 foot rollers. I did some body surfing or just plain letting the waves carry me into shore. We took a nice long walk in the knee high water which was quite a workout as well and after 2 plus hours we headed out for home. There is something about a visit to the beach which sets up a vacation like attitude.
After a lite lunch we did some house cleaning then hit the showers as we were meeting up with the Botbyl's for an evening out with the Tracy's at a new eatery for us called the Aqua Prime on Indian Rocks beach. They had all eaten there before. I still prefer the Bonefish Grille which is just off the beach and the food is always consistent in quality and quantity. I had a seafood pasta bowl which was supposed to have shrimps, mussels and calamari. Well I did have 5 mussels and 2 shrimp and that was all for nearly 20 bucks and the waiter made no effort to correct the situation, plus he was very slow and not attentive. I will not eat there again and really wouldn't recommend it as the place wasn't filled with customers and we could not understand why the service was so slow, oh well.
Patrick had to leave early as he was working a booth at a huge concert at Indian Rocks Christian Church so we dropped Kathryn off before heading home for the evening. I had watched the Lightning beating up on the Red Wings earlier in the afternoon before we headed out for supper. They won big at 5-1 and then when we got home I tuned into the Ray's vs the Yanks and the first 6 innings were great and then they fell apart with their pitching staff. I turned it off at 9-0 for the Yanks and read until I was reading the inside of my eye lids. Don't forget today to take some time to honor GOD by worshiping in church and or where ever you are, LATER
After a lite lunch we did some house cleaning then hit the showers as we were meeting up with the Botbyl's for an evening out with the Tracy's at a new eatery for us called the Aqua Prime on Indian Rocks beach. They had all eaten there before. I still prefer the Bonefish Grille which is just off the beach and the food is always consistent in quality and quantity. I had a seafood pasta bowl which was supposed to have shrimps, mussels and calamari. Well I did have 5 mussels and 2 shrimp and that was all for nearly 20 bucks and the waiter made no effort to correct the situation, plus he was very slow and not attentive. I will not eat there again and really wouldn't recommend it as the place wasn't filled with customers and we could not understand why the service was so slow, oh well.
Patrick had to leave early as he was working a booth at a huge concert at Indian Rocks Christian Church so we dropped Kathryn off before heading home for the evening. I had watched the Lightning beating up on the Red Wings earlier in the afternoon before we headed out for supper. They won big at 5-1 and then when we got home I tuned into the Ray's vs the Yanks and the first 6 innings were great and then they fell apart with their pitching staff. I turned it off at 9-0 for the Yanks and read until I was reading the inside of my eye lids. Don't forget today to take some time to honor GOD by worshiping in church and or where ever you are, LATER
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Saturday Morning
Well Friday was mostly a non eventful day; however I must say a rather full day which started out with a before 6 roll out. After my usual morning routines and a few moments to humble myself, give thanks and lift up those I know and love and pray for some real leadership for my country I got ready to head out to the rec after a couple soft boiled eggs. The ride to the rec at this time of the morning is really very beautiful. The heat and humidity have abated overnight and the birds are making such melodious noises and the huge fireball of the sun is just peeping over the horizon; of course all that changes in about 2 hours as the sun reaches toward it's zenith.
We had a small group of pickle ball players but had 4 A players which we set up as a challenge court. The couple of B players finally go enough players to fill the other court. Well the challenge court consisted of the best of 7 sets using regular pickle ball scoring and when 10 AM finally arrived I was soaked with sweat and plumb wore out. The games were very close and a point or two separated the winners from the losers throughout the 2 hours of matches. I lost 2 pounds of fluids during those matches. Needless to say after a quick stop at the library I hydrated when I got back to the house. Nancy was at her final Bible study for the summer so I decided I would mow the yards and work outside as there was a bit of a cloud cover and it looked somewhat like it could rain, which it never did.
I took out my Maharajah water ski that I retrieved from the attic the other day and decided to once again treat the rubber boot with some Armor All and then hand waxed the board as well for the first time in 37 years. I'm hoping to some day teach my grand kids how to shalom with this beautiful ski. I had no idea how valuable this keepsake is but I can relate to how well it's held up and to the quality and beauty of its workmanship. After beautifying the yards I hand watered what is left of the gardens which isn't much.
Amy, GG and the kiddos came for a lunch of salad and sandwiches. Afterwards I retired to the reading room with an occasional visit by Eliza to watch cartoon videos on the laptop. She is really showing some of her ability to determine what she wants despite not being able to talk as of yet. But she knows exactly what you are saying. She is just so adorable and a such a smiley kiddo. She and Sam play so well together but a little rough at times but she is right in there with him and goes back for more.
Well Nancy took GG shopping and then brought her back to the house for supper. I grilled wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon and we fixed the last of the half runner green beans as well as some rice pilaf. I must say this is the best tasting salmon ever and its individually wrapped and cut into about 5-6 ounce portions which are just perfect. After the clean up we watched a little of Fox News while GG catnapped. She wanted to be home before dark so Nancy took her home while I tuned into the Ray's game. They were beating the Yankees at one time but once again poor pitching caused them a loss in the latter innings.
It wasn't long after the ending of the game and a hot shower that I was ready for some horizontal lab(that is an old college term we used when asked if we studied) and lights out, LATER
We had a small group of pickle ball players but had 4 A players which we set up as a challenge court. The couple of B players finally go enough players to fill the other court. Well the challenge court consisted of the best of 7 sets using regular pickle ball scoring and when 10 AM finally arrived I was soaked with sweat and plumb wore out. The games were very close and a point or two separated the winners from the losers throughout the 2 hours of matches. I lost 2 pounds of fluids during those matches. Needless to say after a quick stop at the library I hydrated when I got back to the house. Nancy was at her final Bible study for the summer so I decided I would mow the yards and work outside as there was a bit of a cloud cover and it looked somewhat like it could rain, which it never did.
I took out my Maharajah water ski that I retrieved from the attic the other day and decided to once again treat the rubber boot with some Armor All and then hand waxed the board as well for the first time in 37 years. I'm hoping to some day teach my grand kids how to shalom with this beautiful ski. I had no idea how valuable this keepsake is but I can relate to how well it's held up and to the quality and beauty of its workmanship. After beautifying the yards I hand watered what is left of the gardens which isn't much.
Amy, GG and the kiddos came for a lunch of salad and sandwiches. Afterwards I retired to the reading room with an occasional visit by Eliza to watch cartoon videos on the laptop. She is really showing some of her ability to determine what she wants despite not being able to talk as of yet. But she knows exactly what you are saying. She is just so adorable and a such a smiley kiddo. She and Sam play so well together but a little rough at times but she is right in there with him and goes back for more.
Well Nancy took GG shopping and then brought her back to the house for supper. I grilled wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon and we fixed the last of the half runner green beans as well as some rice pilaf. I must say this is the best tasting salmon ever and its individually wrapped and cut into about 5-6 ounce portions which are just perfect. After the clean up we watched a little of Fox News while GG catnapped. She wanted to be home before dark so Nancy took her home while I tuned into the Ray's game. They were beating the Yankees at one time but once again poor pitching caused them a loss in the latter innings.
It wasn't long after the ending of the game and a hot shower that I was ready for some horizontal lab(that is an old college term we used when asked if we studied) and lights out, LATER
Friday, April 17, 2015
Friday Morning
Well this week has surely flown by and we are looking at 5 more Friday's before we will be heading for the cabin and hopefully some cooler temps. I'm ready for the mountain temps, smells of Spring time in the air with chilly mornings and the quietness of the woods. Yeow, how I miss that part of this creation and of course all of our mountain families and friends. I started Thursday off at the usual 6'ish roll out and then a few quiet moments before making ready for a bike ride to the rec for some 2 hours of continuous pickle ball action. We had 3 courts in action and one was a challenge court which kept most of us A players there for the whole period. My shirt was soaked by 10.
I stopped off at the library for a couple new reads as I finished up the book BLOOD AND THUNDER which was basically a biography on Kit Carson. What a great historical read including lots of pictures. He was quite the "mountain man" and one of very few words but oh so significant in helping to settle the west. The man couldn't read or write words but he was very good at reading people especially the Indians and Mexicans as well as understanding nature and the land. I recommend this book to all who really love history and the settling of the country west of the Mississippi River.
I climbed up into the attic and retrieved my slalom Maharajah water ski that I purchased over 40 years ago and cleaned it up. It was still in excellent condition despite being unused for 36 years as Nancy never did like my boat or any water sports. Bobby and some friends are doing some wake boarding this weekend and none of them have ever slalomed. I thought I would help teach them as I use to take lots of the neighborhood kids skiing on Lake Seminole. I checked on line for the price of this ski and it now sells for 1600 bucks new, yikes I think I paid a couple hundred new as it's the top of the line in wooden ski's.
Nancy had taken GG to her doctor for a checkup and afterwards invited us to a lunch of ham salad at her house so we picked her up around 11:30 and headed over for lunch. Amy, Sam and Eliza Faye came also. Amy is feeling much better from her day of discomfort and lethargy and little Eliza was such a cutie pie entertaining us with her antics. She and Sam play so well together despite the fact he gets a little rough at times but she gets right back into the mix with him and never cries or complains.
After lunch we headed home and at one time I thought we may get a shower as the clouds moved and the humidity suddenly increased; but false alarm. I did head out to the garden and picked the last of the half runner beans and tore the vines down off the back fence. I found enough dried bean hulls to save for future plantings. I picked another dozen or so tomato's and a few large ones as well. We are coming to a close on most all the cold weather plants except for the collards, onions, beets, kale and some herbs. I started a couple Rosemary cuttings and hopefully they will set roots by the time we leave in May.
We cleaned up the leftover roast beef, smashed taters and gravy from a couple nights ago and then after the clean up I headed outside to hand water the front yard and pull weeds. It was really a nice evening as the breeze picked up and made for pleasant working condition. The pesky squirrels have my yards both front and back full of holes as they seek acorns in the ground. They do keep the yards aerated but with no natural enemy except for the neighborhood cat who occasionally catches and eats one; they have gone out of control. I do hit one once in awhile with the BB gun but that usually doesn't cause any real injury or death. We counted a dozen or more at one time in the Oak in the front yard today. I love to see them flattened in the street once in awhile by a passing vehicle, oh well.
The Ray's played a great game last evening with good pitching in Toronto and won 3 out of 4 games there but our Lightning lost to the Red Winds in Tampa last night. That series is the best of 7 so they will have a couple chances to redeem themselves. That was about it for the day except for all of the news about Hillary running for president. She should be running for the biggest crook in the country along with her sycophants in the media. It's a crying shame that no one has any shame anymore especially those in positions of leadership. We let those who were captured in their attempt to kill us go free in exchange for a deserter who collaborated with the enemy and all of this was known at the time our potus said he served with honor and distinction. What a slap in the face of honorable men and women who serve our nation with their lives. Disgraceful. Wake up America, LATER
I stopped off at the library for a couple new reads as I finished up the book BLOOD AND THUNDER which was basically a biography on Kit Carson. What a great historical read including lots of pictures. He was quite the "mountain man" and one of very few words but oh so significant in helping to settle the west. The man couldn't read or write words but he was very good at reading people especially the Indians and Mexicans as well as understanding nature and the land. I recommend this book to all who really love history and the settling of the country west of the Mississippi River.
I climbed up into the attic and retrieved my slalom Maharajah water ski that I purchased over 40 years ago and cleaned it up. It was still in excellent condition despite being unused for 36 years as Nancy never did like my boat or any water sports. Bobby and some friends are doing some wake boarding this weekend and none of them have ever slalomed. I thought I would help teach them as I use to take lots of the neighborhood kids skiing on Lake Seminole. I checked on line for the price of this ski and it now sells for 1600 bucks new, yikes I think I paid a couple hundred new as it's the top of the line in wooden ski's.
Nancy had taken GG to her doctor for a checkup and afterwards invited us to a lunch of ham salad at her house so we picked her up around 11:30 and headed over for lunch. Amy, Sam and Eliza Faye came also. Amy is feeling much better from her day of discomfort and lethargy and little Eliza was such a cutie pie entertaining us with her antics. She and Sam play so well together despite the fact he gets a little rough at times but she gets right back into the mix with him and never cries or complains.
After lunch we headed home and at one time I thought we may get a shower as the clouds moved and the humidity suddenly increased; but false alarm. I did head out to the garden and picked the last of the half runner beans and tore the vines down off the back fence. I found enough dried bean hulls to save for future plantings. I picked another dozen or so tomato's and a few large ones as well. We are coming to a close on most all the cold weather plants except for the collards, onions, beets, kale and some herbs. I started a couple Rosemary cuttings and hopefully they will set roots by the time we leave in May.
We cleaned up the leftover roast beef, smashed taters and gravy from a couple nights ago and then after the clean up I headed outside to hand water the front yard and pull weeds. It was really a nice evening as the breeze picked up and made for pleasant working condition. The pesky squirrels have my yards both front and back full of holes as they seek acorns in the ground. They do keep the yards aerated but with no natural enemy except for the neighborhood cat who occasionally catches and eats one; they have gone out of control. I do hit one once in awhile with the BB gun but that usually doesn't cause any real injury or death. We counted a dozen or more at one time in the Oak in the front yard today. I love to see them flattened in the street once in awhile by a passing vehicle, oh well.
The Ray's played a great game last evening with good pitching in Toronto and won 3 out of 4 games there but our Lightning lost to the Red Winds in Tampa last night. That series is the best of 7 so they will have a couple chances to redeem themselves. That was about it for the day except for all of the news about Hillary running for president. She should be running for the biggest crook in the country along with her sycophants in the media. It's a crying shame that no one has any shame anymore especially those in positions of leadership. We let those who were captured in their attempt to kill us go free in exchange for a deserter who collaborated with the enemy and all of this was known at the time our potus said he served with honor and distinction. What a slap in the face of honorable men and women who serve our nation with their lives. Disgraceful. Wake up America, LATER
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Thursday Morning
Well Wednesday started out much the usual with a 6'ish roll out. Nancy and I both had doctor's appointments through out the morning but I managed to get in an hour or so work out at the rec with pickle ball after my usual morning routines and quiet time. I actually drove to the rec to give me a little more play time on the court and work up a wet shirt by 9:15. I had broken my provisional cap on the molar so I stopped by my regular dentist to get fitted for a new one before heading to the endodonist for the final procedure on the earlier root canal which was just like the original root canal. The tooth looks like it will be saved after all and at the high cost of over 3 grand. I headed back to the first dentist and had the cap glued on for a week or so before the final crown is installed.
Well it was going on 1 before I finally was able to get home and found that we were babysitting Sam and Eliza as Amy was not feeling well. I had a lite lunch and then we settled in to playing and watching the kiddos. Eric, Nancy's brother and his friend Nelson came by and visited for a couple hours as they make plans to leave for 2 weeks to Italy with 4 other people. I did get Eliza down for a short nap before they came.
I grilled a couple marinated chicken breasts for supper and Eliza ate with us but Sam wasn't interested as he only likes chicken legs. It wasn't long until Tyler came for them and then they headed to Dairy Queen for some take home food as Amy still wasn't up to par. Neighbor Carol came by and visited with Nancy and blessed her with some nice jeans that she no longer could wear and then Nancy visited her later in the evening. House church was cancelled due to 2 couples not being able to make it so I tuned into the Ray's game and they looked like the Ray's of the first couple games; awful. The pitching was abysmal to say the least and at one time it was 9-1 in favor of the Blue Jay's.
We finally settled into the Idol show until 10 then it was shower time for me and by 10:45 it was horizontal lab time, LATER
Well it was going on 1 before I finally was able to get home and found that we were babysitting Sam and Eliza as Amy was not feeling well. I had a lite lunch and then we settled in to playing and watching the kiddos. Eric, Nancy's brother and his friend Nelson came by and visited for a couple hours as they make plans to leave for 2 weeks to Italy with 4 other people. I did get Eliza down for a short nap before they came.
I grilled a couple marinated chicken breasts for supper and Eliza ate with us but Sam wasn't interested as he only likes chicken legs. It wasn't long until Tyler came for them and then they headed to Dairy Queen for some take home food as Amy still wasn't up to par. Neighbor Carol came by and visited with Nancy and blessed her with some nice jeans that she no longer could wear and then Nancy visited her later in the evening. House church was cancelled due to 2 couples not being able to make it so I tuned into the Ray's game and they looked like the Ray's of the first couple games; awful. The pitching was abysmal to say the least and at one time it was 9-1 in favor of the Blue Jay's.
We finally settled into the Idol show until 10 then it was shower time for me and by 10:45 it was horizontal lab time, LATER
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Wednesday Morning
Well Tuesday once again was typical for a Florida day. High temp's, humidity and lots of sunshine through out the day. I started the day with a 6'ish or a little before roll out. After my routines and a few quiet moments I got ready after a lite breakfast for the ride to the rec on my bike for some 2 hours of pickle ball play. We had 2 courts in action and a couple waiting to play the winners. I spent most of the 2 hours on the court and by 10 my shirt was soaked. I stopped off at the library on my way home.
I noticed my recently blooming orchid plants produced another 4 buds that will open in the next week or so. That is now a total of 14 white orchid on 2 plants which is beyond my expectations. A couple of the buds pods have three blooms. I initially I thought just 2 blooms but that seemed to change almost daily and these flowers are so beautiful and the smell is so sweet. Never would I have thought these ugly plants(when not in bloom) could produce such beautiful flowers. I hand watered and harvested the last cabbage plant as the other one plant rotted over night due to the heat and humidity. I weeded my new beet and kale seedlings and fed them as well as harvested a nice mess of the beet roots for supper. I cleaned the weeds out of that row of mature beets and denuded the straggly leaves and fed them also as I saw lots of new young shoots to add to my salads. I harvested another batch of lettuces and kale for another large salad for lunch and supper.
We had Nancy's brother Eric, GG, Amy and kiddos for a lunch of chicken salad on a bed of garden salad. Wow did that ever taste great with some pickled eggs and beets on the side. My temporary cap for my molar came off while eating and I crunched it so I'm back to the dentist this morning for a new provisional and then to the entodonist to finish off the root canal from 6 weeks ago. Despite losing the cap the tooth seems to be O.K. and I think maybe I won't lose this tooth after all. That's a plus. After they left for home we settled into reading until supper time. Since we had a large lunch we just had fresh buttered beets from the garden and they were very delicious. These are the same beets that were covered in snow at the cabin last October.
We have found that beets sowed really close together will easily transplant once they reach a height of 6 to 8 inches. I plant the seeds very close together and then dig them up and they transplant any where. We love the greens or beet leaves more so than the actual beet root and they continue to produce new leaves that we put in salads. They have become one of our most hearty veggies as well as the one of the most healthful ones. We put their leaves in all of our garden salads as well as sauteed the leaves occasionally if we let them get large enough. The leaves are almost like Swiss chard in flavor when cooked.
Well after supper I headed out to hand water the new seedlings and then I sowed some tomato seeds from our teardrop tomatoes as well as some seeds from the large tomatoes that came up volunteer in the compost. We will see if they sprout and take hold and if so I will be taking them to the cabin the end of May for our summer garden. I tuned into the Ray's game and they put together another win against the strong team in Toronto. That's 4 wins in a row for a team that looked terrible to start the season. The first game of the hockey playoffs start on Thursday and we have a team the Lightning playing against the Red Wings. Tonight is house church night and we are doing the study on counter/culture which is happening right now. If we who are believers in the Christian/Judeo principles and the Gospel don't start to make our presence know in this nation that has been blessed by GOD we will soon be vanquished by the secular progressives who already have made severe inroads into destroying our once great nation, LATER
I noticed my recently blooming orchid plants produced another 4 buds that will open in the next week or so. That is now a total of 14 white orchid on 2 plants which is beyond my expectations. A couple of the buds pods have three blooms. I initially I thought just 2 blooms but that seemed to change almost daily and these flowers are so beautiful and the smell is so sweet. Never would I have thought these ugly plants(when not in bloom) could produce such beautiful flowers. I hand watered and harvested the last cabbage plant as the other one plant rotted over night due to the heat and humidity. I weeded my new beet and kale seedlings and fed them as well as harvested a nice mess of the beet roots for supper. I cleaned the weeds out of that row of mature beets and denuded the straggly leaves and fed them also as I saw lots of new young shoots to add to my salads. I harvested another batch of lettuces and kale for another large salad for lunch and supper.
We had Nancy's brother Eric, GG, Amy and kiddos for a lunch of chicken salad on a bed of garden salad. Wow did that ever taste great with some pickled eggs and beets on the side. My temporary cap for my molar came off while eating and I crunched it so I'm back to the dentist this morning for a new provisional and then to the entodonist to finish off the root canal from 6 weeks ago. Despite losing the cap the tooth seems to be O.K. and I think maybe I won't lose this tooth after all. That's a plus. After they left for home we settled into reading until supper time. Since we had a large lunch we just had fresh buttered beets from the garden and they were very delicious. These are the same beets that were covered in snow at the cabin last October.
We have found that beets sowed really close together will easily transplant once they reach a height of 6 to 8 inches. I plant the seeds very close together and then dig them up and they transplant any where. We love the greens or beet leaves more so than the actual beet root and they continue to produce new leaves that we put in salads. They have become one of our most hearty veggies as well as the one of the most healthful ones. We put their leaves in all of our garden salads as well as sauteed the leaves occasionally if we let them get large enough. The leaves are almost like Swiss chard in flavor when cooked.
Well after supper I headed out to hand water the new seedlings and then I sowed some tomato seeds from our teardrop tomatoes as well as some seeds from the large tomatoes that came up volunteer in the compost. We will see if they sprout and take hold and if so I will be taking them to the cabin the end of May for our summer garden. I tuned into the Ray's game and they put together another win against the strong team in Toronto. That's 4 wins in a row for a team that looked terrible to start the season. The first game of the hockey playoffs start on Thursday and we have a team the Lightning playing against the Red Wings. Tonight is house church night and we are doing the study on counter/culture which is happening right now. If we who are believers in the Christian/Judeo principles and the Gospel don't start to make our presence know in this nation that has been blessed by GOD we will soon be vanquished by the secular progressives who already have made severe inroads into destroying our once great nation, LATER
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Tuesday Morning
Well Monday once again was hot and muggy with temps up into the high 80's and no rain in our area. The middle part of the state is getting heavy rain and thunder storms but we are left dry as some areas had 5 inches of rain in an hour, yikes that of course had warnings out for flooding. We had Nancy's mom, brother and sister as well as the Ross Family for supper in the evening but I will get to that a little later in this ramble.
The morning was much the usual with a before 6 roll out for me. After my routines and a few quiet moments I got ready for the rec and headed out on my bike. I must say the mornings are beautiful with a little dew on the grass, blooming Jasmine smells in the air and the birds singing. Sunrise is such a beautiful time of the day and I marveled as I pedal to the rec for some 2 hours of some good pickle ball play. My shirt was soaked by 10 and then I made a quick stop at the library on the way home.
I piddled around in the garden waiting for Amy to drop Eliza off while she grocery shopped. We have such a fun time together and she loves to be outside until it gets too hot. Nancy was at the rec doing her workout so we played outside then came in and her new thing is for me to read books to her as well as watch the videos on the laptop. I got her to take a nap before lunch and she slept for almost 2 hours. They took off around 2:30 to pick up Ava and I headed to the post office to mail a pickle ball paddle to one of our northern visitors who misplaced it at rec before heading home last week.
I helped get the house ready for the big supper crowd and then headed over to pick up GG and Eric. Hopefully Amy will get her car back tomorrow as we have been shuffling cars around while hers is getting repaired from her crash a couple weeks ago. GG had a beef roast in the oven so we brought that to the house and finished cooking it as well as Nancy had smashed taters and gravy and I dug a pot full of fresh garden carrots and of course a fresh garden salad. I'm really starting to harvest the larger tomatoes as well as the teardrop smaller ones. Amy brought a layered dessert which I had to try that was chocolate pudding, graham crackers, whipped cream and walnuts on top. Yikes was that ever good. I made a guacamole to get the gastric juices flowing while we imbibed a little fruit of the vine. I sure blew my diet with this meal as everything was scrumptious.
I now have the other two blooms on the white orchid open and they are just like the first two. Beautiful and with such a fragrant smell. This separated plant has 6 buds which will open sometime next week as they are still rather small. The garden however is in it's last stages except for the recent sprouting of kale and beets seeds. I'm going to start some tomato seeds today and get them up to transplanting size for my mountain garden. I managed to watch a little of the Ray's game after supper and they held on to beat a good Blue Jay's team 2-1. It wasn't long after the game and the house had cleared of our supper crowd that it was shower time and then some horizontal lab for me, LATER
The morning was much the usual with a before 6 roll out for me. After my routines and a few quiet moments I got ready for the rec and headed out on my bike. I must say the mornings are beautiful with a little dew on the grass, blooming Jasmine smells in the air and the birds singing. Sunrise is such a beautiful time of the day and I marveled as I pedal to the rec for some 2 hours of some good pickle ball play. My shirt was soaked by 10 and then I made a quick stop at the library on the way home.
I piddled around in the garden waiting for Amy to drop Eliza off while she grocery shopped. We have such a fun time together and she loves to be outside until it gets too hot. Nancy was at the rec doing her workout so we played outside then came in and her new thing is for me to read books to her as well as watch the videos on the laptop. I got her to take a nap before lunch and she slept for almost 2 hours. They took off around 2:30 to pick up Ava and I headed to the post office to mail a pickle ball paddle to one of our northern visitors who misplaced it at rec before heading home last week.
I helped get the house ready for the big supper crowd and then headed over to pick up GG and Eric. Hopefully Amy will get her car back tomorrow as we have been shuffling cars around while hers is getting repaired from her crash a couple weeks ago. GG had a beef roast in the oven so we brought that to the house and finished cooking it as well as Nancy had smashed taters and gravy and I dug a pot full of fresh garden carrots and of course a fresh garden salad. I'm really starting to harvest the larger tomatoes as well as the teardrop smaller ones. Amy brought a layered dessert which I had to try that was chocolate pudding, graham crackers, whipped cream and walnuts on top. Yikes was that ever good. I made a guacamole to get the gastric juices flowing while we imbibed a little fruit of the vine. I sure blew my diet with this meal as everything was scrumptious.
I now have the other two blooms on the white orchid open and they are just like the first two. Beautiful and with such a fragrant smell. This separated plant has 6 buds which will open sometime next week as they are still rather small. The garden however is in it's last stages except for the recent sprouting of kale and beets seeds. I'm going to start some tomato seeds today and get them up to transplanting size for my mountain garden. I managed to watch a little of the Ray's game after supper and they held on to beat a good Blue Jay's team 2-1. It wasn't long after the game and the house had cleared of our supper crowd that it was shower time and then some horizontal lab for me, LATER
Monday, April 13, 2015
Monday Morning
Well Sunday was a great day weather wise and worshipful. We started with a 6'ish roll out to start the day and did our morning routines and after our quiet moments we got ready to head out to Tampa to the "gathering" at Element Church. We had a nice crowd with lots of new faces. We got see and hug our son Bobby and his 2 kiddos, Annsley and Gabe. The praise music was very worshipful and the message on faith & works was very insightful as well and since there is some what of a dichotomy between Paul and James between the two our message results were emphasized as "faith works". After our good-by's we headed home and had a quick lunch of salad before heading out to the local nursing pavilion to assist by pushing wheelchairs for the invalids to a small church service. Our own house church member Dan brought a short message and we sang some hymns with them as well. We really feel blessed after this encounter with these who are so debilitated.
We came back to change clothes then picked up GG for a shopping trip to Sam's and Publix. Eric, Nancy older brother is flying in from Detroit for a week before taking a 2 week trip to Italy with a group, so we stocked up on groceries then headed to the airport to pick him up around 6:30. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home from the airport and feasted on a supper of fried chicken, pinto beans, fried okra, baked sweet potato with biscuits and cornbread. Nancy had the haddock instead of the chicken. Yikes was that ever tasty and we licked the platters clean as we waddled out of the place. You definitely don't leave hungry from there and I guess that is why the place was nearly full to capacity even at that hour. So much for my diet today. We had a good visit with him and a caught up on all the happenings with his 11 children and 15 or so grand children and counting.
After dropping them off it was nearly 9 o'clock so we headed home and tried to digest before turning the lights off at 11, LATER
We came back to change clothes then picked up GG for a shopping trip to Sam's and Publix. Eric, Nancy older brother is flying in from Detroit for a week before taking a 2 week trip to Italy with a group, so we stocked up on groceries then headed to the airport to pick him up around 6:30. We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home from the airport and feasted on a supper of fried chicken, pinto beans, fried okra, baked sweet potato with biscuits and cornbread. Nancy had the haddock instead of the chicken. Yikes was that ever tasty and we licked the platters clean as we waddled out of the place. You definitely don't leave hungry from there and I guess that is why the place was nearly full to capacity even at that hour. So much for my diet today. We had a good visit with him and a caught up on all the happenings with his 11 children and 15 or so grand children and counting.
After dropping them off it was nearly 9 o'clock so we headed home and tried to digest before turning the lights off at 11, LATER
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Sunday Morning
Well Saturday found us with another touristy morning where we headed out to the beach after a somewhat sleep in until 7'ish. We were going to go down to Long Boat Key for an Amway get together at a private beach and cook out but since our friends weren't able to get a sitter for Carol's mom late in the evening we decided to spend the morning with them and then go out to eat early together. Well to make things difficult and upset the "apple cart" their sitter never came at all so they missed the beach morning with us and we decided since they couldn't go out to an early supper we all stayed home, oh well.
The weather was fantastic despite it reaching the middle 80's as the humidity wasn't too bad. The nice gentle breeze kept it comfortable and the Gulf water was refreshing to say the least. After our normal morning routines and our quiet times I loaded up the umbrellas, chairs and lotions, cold drinks and our books and we headed out around 10'ish to Redington Shores. The Gulf of Mexico was almost flat with very little wave action and as the morning heated up we took a long walk in the surf and eventually I did take a swim. It was after 1'sih before we headed home to a lite lunch of a fresh garden salad loaded with fresh garden tomatoes. They have finally started to ripen I'm picking nearly 6-8 tomatoes a day. Wow are they are ever tasty on a bed of garden fresh lettuces and kale.
Speaking of tomatoes all of these plants were volunteers that came up from my compost in the mountains and here in Florida. We ate the last of the Swiss chard for supper as the heat and nematodes are taking it toll on that veggie. I pulled up a couple plants and the root knot was just so great its a wonder they produced as much as they have. I cut another cabbage head and it must have weighted 5 pounds or more. I still have a smaller one left along with the cauliflower that we will soon harvest. I inspected the white orchid plants and noticed two more blooms that will open any day and on closer inspection found 6 more small buds on a different plant that I had separated a year or so ago which will eventually bloom as well. That gives me 10 blooms this year whereas I normally get two and they are just beautiful.
I found the Ray's Baseball on the TV at 4'ish so I tuned in and watch them finally beat the Marlins in a good game 2-0 and then later in the evening watched the final hockey game of the season as the Lightning beat the Bruins from Boston and eliminated them from any playoff hopes. The playoff's start next week. I grilled some wild caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and along with garlic butter pasta and Swiss chard we feasted. This salmon is the best ever and that is what I will eat from now on despite it being a little pricey at 12 bucks a pound but grouper is close 16 bucks a pound and at one time that was a trash fish when I first came to Florida, oh well I started a new non -fiction read by Hampton Sides titled BLOOD AND THUNDER and I think this will be another awesome researched and investigated story about the West and those characters who lived and died there.
Well today is the "gathering" at Element Church. We are a group of believers and followers of the Gospel that meet weekly in our respective homes for "house church" where we eat, discuss and do "life" together in a personal setting. The warehouse in Tampa is just a place where all of the house churches meet on Sunday Morning and we get to hug, handshake and love up on all of the beautiful little kiddos and hear one of the elders bring a message and sing praises to our CREATOR. If your not involved in some form of worship at least weekly there is probably a void in your life. Our once Christ influenced nation is quickly becoming a void as well and we are seeing the results of this in our culture that is quickly becoming tainted with secularism and political correctness, LATER
The weather was fantastic despite it reaching the middle 80's as the humidity wasn't too bad. The nice gentle breeze kept it comfortable and the Gulf water was refreshing to say the least. After our normal morning routines and our quiet times I loaded up the umbrellas, chairs and lotions, cold drinks and our books and we headed out around 10'ish to Redington Shores. The Gulf of Mexico was almost flat with very little wave action and as the morning heated up we took a long walk in the surf and eventually I did take a swim. It was after 1'sih before we headed home to a lite lunch of a fresh garden salad loaded with fresh garden tomatoes. They have finally started to ripen I'm picking nearly 6-8 tomatoes a day. Wow are they are ever tasty on a bed of garden fresh lettuces and kale.
Speaking of tomatoes all of these plants were volunteers that came up from my compost in the mountains and here in Florida. We ate the last of the Swiss chard for supper as the heat and nematodes are taking it toll on that veggie. I pulled up a couple plants and the root knot was just so great its a wonder they produced as much as they have. I cut another cabbage head and it must have weighted 5 pounds or more. I still have a smaller one left along with the cauliflower that we will soon harvest. I inspected the white orchid plants and noticed two more blooms that will open any day and on closer inspection found 6 more small buds on a different plant that I had separated a year or so ago which will eventually bloom as well. That gives me 10 blooms this year whereas I normally get two and they are just beautiful.
I found the Ray's Baseball on the TV at 4'ish so I tuned in and watch them finally beat the Marlins in a good game 2-0 and then later in the evening watched the final hockey game of the season as the Lightning beat the Bruins from Boston and eliminated them from any playoff hopes. The playoff's start next week. I grilled some wild caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and along with garlic butter pasta and Swiss chard we feasted. This salmon is the best ever and that is what I will eat from now on despite it being a little pricey at 12 bucks a pound but grouper is close 16 bucks a pound and at one time that was a trash fish when I first came to Florida, oh well I started a new non -fiction read by Hampton Sides titled BLOOD AND THUNDER and I think this will be another awesome researched and investigated story about the West and those characters who lived and died there.
Well today is the "gathering" at Element Church. We are a group of believers and followers of the Gospel that meet weekly in our respective homes for "house church" where we eat, discuss and do "life" together in a personal setting. The warehouse in Tampa is just a place where all of the house churches meet on Sunday Morning and we get to hug, handshake and love up on all of the beautiful little kiddos and hear one of the elders bring a message and sing praises to our CREATOR. If your not involved in some form of worship at least weekly there is probably a void in your life. Our once Christ influenced nation is quickly becoming a void as well and we are seeing the results of this in our culture that is quickly becoming tainted with secularism and political correctness, LATER
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Saturday Morning
Well Friday turned out to be a rather mundane an uneventful day with typical Florida weather for this time of the year; hot and dry. The day started with a 6'ish roll out for me and after my usual morning routines and a few quiet moments I had a lite breakfast before heading out on my bike to the rec. We had 3 pickle ball courts in action with some nice long rally's and plenty of wet shirts by 10 AM. I stopped off at the library on the way home for a couple new reads. Nancy was at her weekly Bible study class at SFBC with Kathryn and 20 plus other ladies.
I piddled around in the yard and gardens pulling some weeds and hand watering until lunch time. Amy picked up GG and along with the kiddos they all came for a lunch of frozen pizza doctored up with fresh mushrooms and a fresh garden salad, Yeow do those two ever go together. It was close to 1 before we ever set down to eat so that was our big meal of the day. We finished up the small pieces of ham and a small pot of green beans for supper around 6:30. After the kiddos left around 2:30 we read the afternoon away and started making some plans for what we will have to do to get ready at the cabin when we first arrive the end of May.
After our supper I headed out to hand water the gardens and the front yard then we settled into the Ray's baseball game which was different to say the least. They were down 8-1 to the Miami Marlins who hadn't as of yet won a game and had only scored 3 runs in 3 games. Well our pitching was atrocious then all of a sudden their pitching went bad and we tied the game at 8 all and then wound up losing in extra innings. We surely need some pitching but that's Tampa Bay for you as we dealt the Cy Young award pitcher away for some bucks.
Well it's hard to believe but we are just a few weeks away from packing up and heading to the mountain. Already I'm getting antsy and want to be there yesterday but we have to wait until grandson Sam graduates from pre-k before heading out, LATER
Here is a picture of my beautiful white Cattelyas orchid. This plant has a double blossom on one stem another double not yet opened on the same plant. The smell is almost like citrus blossom smell, so delicious. Our mountain mom Helen gave me all of her orchids when she permanently moved to the mountains as the winters are just to cold to grow them outside. I have separated this plant a couple times and I do absolutely nothing to encourage their growth. I have them under a large vine on the fence in the back yard which keeps
them from the hot evening sun and maybe once a year or two I squirt them with the hose, but that is all. They are by far the easiest flowering plant ever to grow and of course the most beautiful. I think they bloom every 9 months or at least that's what I've told.
I piddled around in the yard and gardens pulling some weeds and hand watering until lunch time. Amy picked up GG and along with the kiddos they all came for a lunch of frozen pizza doctored up with fresh mushrooms and a fresh garden salad, Yeow do those two ever go together. It was close to 1 before we ever set down to eat so that was our big meal of the day. We finished up the small pieces of ham and a small pot of green beans for supper around 6:30. After the kiddos left around 2:30 we read the afternoon away and started making some plans for what we will have to do to get ready at the cabin when we first arrive the end of May.
After our supper I headed out to hand water the gardens and the front yard then we settled into the Ray's baseball game which was different to say the least. They were down 8-1 to the Miami Marlins who hadn't as of yet won a game and had only scored 3 runs in 3 games. Well our pitching was atrocious then all of a sudden their pitching went bad and we tied the game at 8 all and then wound up losing in extra innings. We surely need some pitching but that's Tampa Bay for you as we dealt the Cy Young award pitcher away for some bucks.
Well it's hard to believe but we are just a few weeks away from packing up and heading to the mountain. Already I'm getting antsy and want to be there yesterday but we have to wait until grandson Sam graduates from pre-k before heading out, LATER
Here is a picture of my beautiful white Cattelyas orchid. This plant has a double blossom on one stem another double not yet opened on the same plant. The smell is almost like citrus blossom smell, so delicious. Our mountain mom Helen gave me all of her orchids when she permanently moved to the mountains as the winters are just to cold to grow them outside. I have separated this plant a couple times and I do absolutely nothing to encourage their growth. I have them under a large vine on the fence in the back yard which keeps
Friday, April 10, 2015
Friday Morning
Well Thursday turned out to be another very interesting day especially with and evening out with our house church gang to eat at Chili's and then to a movie theater across the parking lot. Now this wasn't your ordinary movie with actors but was more so a documentary titled Four Blood Moons and what made this so significant is we just encountered the fourth blood moon last week end. I will expound on this film later in this ramble.
The morning started much the usual with a little before 6 roll out and then my routines and my quiet time before a lite breakfast. Afterwards I rode out on my bike to the rec for some 2 very active hours of pickle ball. We had 12 to 14 players through out the period with some really good play. I could wring my shirt out by 10 AM. I stopped off at the library for a new read for Nancy and she thoroughly loves the author Charles Martin who wrote when CRICKETS CRY. He has several books in his genre which has a morale element to his novels and leaves you with the feeling you must go back and re-read portions of his stories.
Nancy took GG for a hair appointment then brought her to the house for lunch along with Amy, Sam and Eliza Faye. Eliza is really starting to put away the food and is becoming such a sweetheart. She jabbers away and occasionally says or repeats your words. She will be talking in a few months. Sam loves his PB&J sandwiches for lunch. We ate a salad and the leftover pasta from last night of which Eliza stuffed that in with both hands. After lunch I settled into the reading room in which Eliza visit's from time to time wanting onto my lap to watch this silly cartoon she adores with elephants, giraffes and other jungle animals. The music is so cute and she just gives me the cutest smile and wrinkles up nose when she sees and hears this particular video.
After they headed out to pick up Ava from school and take GG home we read and then got ready to head out with Dan and Carol to meet up with Patrick and Kathryn for a supper at Chili's in Pinellas Park and then to see the the Four Blood Moon film. Our meal was wonderful and I'm a fan of the chicken enchiladas with the hot green pepper sauce that comes with black beans and rice, yeow did I ever lick the plate clean. Everyone seemed to like their meal except the meal Carol had eaten disagreed with her tummy, oh well.
This Fourth Blood Moon documentary was exceptional and at the end of the film there was a 20 minute or so question and answer session with each of the main lectures I would call them. The emphasize on the film was broken down into three main parts; the biblical, historical and scientific aspects of what the blood moons were to the Jews. GOD set aside the Jewish people or who were called the Israelite's in the Old Testament Bible and the Jews in the New Testament because of Jesus's lineage and that prophecy that some day they would be restored to their own home lands. The relationship of America and Israel is so interwoven that both of these countries and their people are based on the Judea-Christian principles and are basically a success because of our beliefs in this Creator called GOD in the Bible. The first moon occurred in 1493 which was about the time that America was discovered or shortly thereafter to where those persecuted for their beliefs in GOD could be transplanted to America and have their freedom to worship GOD.
The second blood moon occurred after WWII when the Jews were freed from the Nazi's and the holocaust and the effort to wipe them from the earth but that failed when the Americans helped to liberate and document what the Nazi's were doing. We were instrumental in helping and securing the Jews in acquiring what is now their homeland and state after the third blood moon and the 6 days war against 5 Arab nations which pitted the small Jewish Nation defeating these aggressors with our assistance for Israel. GOD has provided and secured this holy land for his people and with that we in America have benefited immeasurably due to our love of GOD and the biblical teaching from His word.
That brings us to this fourth blood moon and with it the Jewish holidays or feasts of remembrance's that GOD has instituted for his chosen people. What makes this so critical for America is that we now have taken GOD out of everything; our homes, schools and government as we are basically biblically illiterate to the Judea-Christian principles that once made us a great nation. We are now cavorting with those nations(Iran specifically) who want to obliterate Israel from the face of the earth and the USA with them. Our leaders are helping the radicals in their quest to achieve this goal and so that brings us to the brink of possible disaster. We already see where we are losing our prestige in the world and now we are a nation that leads from behind, our allies no longer see us as a nation of strength, our economy is based on ever increasing debt with a give away economy that creates lassitude and lack of individualism as well as a culture that promote's immoral behavior.What was once wrong or bad according to GOD'S word is now being promoted as good. The decline of our culture is much like the once great nations who have been destroyed within because of their lack of moral principles and the straying from those principles set forth in his Word.
In essence we may see some drastic actions or changes which could be detrimental to our life style and our existence in this our life time as has been evident surrounding the other blood moons of the past especially concerning GOD'S chosen people the Jewish Nation. This film is an eye opener and very correct in the fact we now have leaders who care very little for our only ally in the middle east. We must wake up and see the results of the lack of real leadership for our America that was founded on the principles set forth in the Bible. We called ourselves a Christian nation until this potus stated we are no longer a Christian nation but a nation of Muslims, Buddhists and every other religion on earth. It's time to elect those folks who once again believe in what our founding fathers fought for and brought forth in our Constitution that is based on GOD'S laws and principles. WAKE UP AMERICA, LATER
The morning started much the usual with a little before 6 roll out and then my routines and my quiet time before a lite breakfast. Afterwards I rode out on my bike to the rec for some 2 very active hours of pickle ball. We had 12 to 14 players through out the period with some really good play. I could wring my shirt out by 10 AM. I stopped off at the library for a new read for Nancy and she thoroughly loves the author Charles Martin who wrote when CRICKETS CRY. He has several books in his genre which has a morale element to his novels and leaves you with the feeling you must go back and re-read portions of his stories.
Nancy took GG for a hair appointment then brought her to the house for lunch along with Amy, Sam and Eliza Faye. Eliza is really starting to put away the food and is becoming such a sweetheart. She jabbers away and occasionally says or repeats your words. She will be talking in a few months. Sam loves his PB&J sandwiches for lunch. We ate a salad and the leftover pasta from last night of which Eliza stuffed that in with both hands. After lunch I settled into the reading room in which Eliza visit's from time to time wanting onto my lap to watch this silly cartoon she adores with elephants, giraffes and other jungle animals. The music is so cute and she just gives me the cutest smile and wrinkles up nose when she sees and hears this particular video.
After they headed out to pick up Ava from school and take GG home we read and then got ready to head out with Dan and Carol to meet up with Patrick and Kathryn for a supper at Chili's in Pinellas Park and then to see the the Four Blood Moon film. Our meal was wonderful and I'm a fan of the chicken enchiladas with the hot green pepper sauce that comes with black beans and rice, yeow did I ever lick the plate clean. Everyone seemed to like their meal except the meal Carol had eaten disagreed with her tummy, oh well.
This Fourth Blood Moon documentary was exceptional and at the end of the film there was a 20 minute or so question and answer session with each of the main lectures I would call them. The emphasize on the film was broken down into three main parts; the biblical, historical and scientific aspects of what the blood moons were to the Jews. GOD set aside the Jewish people or who were called the Israelite's in the Old Testament Bible and the Jews in the New Testament because of Jesus's lineage and that prophecy that some day they would be restored to their own home lands. The relationship of America and Israel is so interwoven that both of these countries and their people are based on the Judea-Christian principles and are basically a success because of our beliefs in this Creator called GOD in the Bible. The first moon occurred in 1493 which was about the time that America was discovered or shortly thereafter to where those persecuted for their beliefs in GOD could be transplanted to America and have their freedom to worship GOD.
The second blood moon occurred after WWII when the Jews were freed from the Nazi's and the holocaust and the effort to wipe them from the earth but that failed when the Americans helped to liberate and document what the Nazi's were doing. We were instrumental in helping and securing the Jews in acquiring what is now their homeland and state after the third blood moon and the 6 days war against 5 Arab nations which pitted the small Jewish Nation defeating these aggressors with our assistance for Israel. GOD has provided and secured this holy land for his people and with that we in America have benefited immeasurably due to our love of GOD and the biblical teaching from His word.
That brings us to this fourth blood moon and with it the Jewish holidays or feasts of remembrance's that GOD has instituted for his chosen people. What makes this so critical for America is that we now have taken GOD out of everything; our homes, schools and government as we are basically biblically illiterate to the Judea-Christian principles that once made us a great nation. We are now cavorting with those nations(Iran specifically) who want to obliterate Israel from the face of the earth and the USA with them. Our leaders are helping the radicals in their quest to achieve this goal and so that brings us to the brink of possible disaster. We already see where we are losing our prestige in the world and now we are a nation that leads from behind, our allies no longer see us as a nation of strength, our economy is based on ever increasing debt with a give away economy that creates lassitude and lack of individualism as well as a culture that promote's immoral behavior.What was once wrong or bad according to GOD'S word is now being promoted as good. The decline of our culture is much like the once great nations who have been destroyed within because of their lack of moral principles and the straying from those principles set forth in his Word.
In essence we may see some drastic actions or changes which could be detrimental to our life style and our existence in this our life time as has been evident surrounding the other blood moons of the past especially concerning GOD'S chosen people the Jewish Nation. This film is an eye opener and very correct in the fact we now have leaders who care very little for our only ally in the middle east. We must wake up and see the results of the lack of real leadership for our America that was founded on the principles set forth in the Bible. We called ourselves a Christian nation until this potus stated we are no longer a Christian nation but a nation of Muslims, Buddhists and every other religion on earth. It's time to elect those folks who once again believe in what our founding fathers fought for and brought forth in our Constitution that is based on GOD'S laws and principles. WAKE UP AMERICA, LATER
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Thursday morning
Well Wednesday turned out to be much the usual with the morning starting after a 6'ish roll out to start the day. After my usual routines and a few quiet moments I headed out on my bike to the rec for 2 hours of pickle ball. I'm starting to once again build up my stamina as well as maintain the weight somewhere within a couple pounds of 180 which was my goal several months ago. I'm shooting for a consistent 180 or less by staying away from processed foods such as crackers, chips and heavy doses of refined sugars in desserts and somewhat portion control. I do slip off the wagon whenever we eat out such as Chili's where last week I helped to devour 2 baskets of those fatty, crispy chips with salsa. Ooh they were so delicious; but I skipped the butter laden popcorn at the movies earlier in the afternoon. Such willpower!!
We had 2 pickle ball courts in action whereas last week we had 3 courts with 6-8 players waiting to get into the action. I just remembered that Easter is usually when most of the snowbirds head back north and we sure lost quite a few. After a wet shirt from the continuous action I pedaled out to the library for a couple new reads. I just finished BLACK HORSE RIDERS by Philip Keith and if any of you have never seen or been involved with the war in Vietnam back in the days this read will bring you up to speed and when you see those Vietnam Veteran stickers on vehicles take a moment and pray for these men who lived through that era. This book will put you right right there in the midst of the carnage on both sides of the battle field. We were all young men most of us were still teenagers or barely twenty years in age and in just hours of firefights you aged considerably, especially for those who were out on patrols in the bush. This read is not for the faint at heart but everyone should have to read this book, especially the politicians and those who send our finest young men to the front.
Nancy had a hair appointment just after lunch so we missed out on Amy and the kiddos coming for lunch. I piddled around in the garden, harvested and cleaned greens for a huge salad and then read the rest of the afternoon until it was time to grill a couple wild caught Sockeye Salmon fillets, yeow were they ever delicious. We use to buy the farm raised salmon and there was always an after taste and sometime it repeated on you but the wild caught is fabulous and leaves such a clean taste to your palette. It is worth the extra cost in wholesomeness. We had some garlic buttered pasta to accompany the salmon and salad.
We headed out to Dan and Carol's house a couple doors up to meet with our house church. We had 7 in attendance and a lively discussion that goes along with this new study we are doing titled Counter/Culture. Yikes, we as a nation have become complacent with our beliefs and Judea/ Christian principles the country was founded on. We surely don't stand up for our beliefs and the Biblical beliefs our fore fathers on the Mayflower brought to this land. We have let the few secular humanist take over the ideology of this once Christian based country. We are letting our individuality slip away as well as our stand for what is right. It seems that everything that once was wrong is now right, we know longer protect and stand up for the weak and innocent and there has become such racial divide in the country and more importantly we no longer honor GOD in our culture. The church has become a milk toast body where principles set forth by GOD are now being eroded and and questioned. Society is now asking does GOD really want us to acknowledge him and his word? Well as we see in the news we no longer have any honest leadership with the lies and downright deception used to spread a political agenda. America is losing it's example as a shining city on a hill for the world to see and it all comes back to losing our morality and not doing what is right and honoring the Gospel.
I will get off my stump in a moment but GOD made us male and female to procreate so why would we question that occurrence and GOD made us in his image so why would we kill the unborn who is in His image. We protect wildlife from cruel actions but our leaders promote killing the innocent in the womb. We promote and offer several chances to the criminals but castigate those who offer up their lives to protect us on our streets. We are definitely in culture shock and we who love our freedoms, liberty and individualism's are about to had them over to the few who want to radically change our land to their way of thinking and many definitely did that with the last two elections. We have history to remind us what happened to Rome as she was change within and soon disintegrated as the once most powerful nation on earth. I'm afraid that is happening to America, just sayin'..LATER
We had 2 pickle ball courts in action whereas last week we had 3 courts with 6-8 players waiting to get into the action. I just remembered that Easter is usually when most of the snowbirds head back north and we sure lost quite a few. After a wet shirt from the continuous action I pedaled out to the library for a couple new reads. I just finished BLACK HORSE RIDERS by Philip Keith and if any of you have never seen or been involved with the war in Vietnam back in the days this read will bring you up to speed and when you see those Vietnam Veteran stickers on vehicles take a moment and pray for these men who lived through that era. This book will put you right right there in the midst of the carnage on both sides of the battle field. We were all young men most of us were still teenagers or barely twenty years in age and in just hours of firefights you aged considerably, especially for those who were out on patrols in the bush. This read is not for the faint at heart but everyone should have to read this book, especially the politicians and those who send our finest young men to the front.
Nancy had a hair appointment just after lunch so we missed out on Amy and the kiddos coming for lunch. I piddled around in the garden, harvested and cleaned greens for a huge salad and then read the rest of the afternoon until it was time to grill a couple wild caught Sockeye Salmon fillets, yeow were they ever delicious. We use to buy the farm raised salmon and there was always an after taste and sometime it repeated on you but the wild caught is fabulous and leaves such a clean taste to your palette. It is worth the extra cost in wholesomeness. We had some garlic buttered pasta to accompany the salmon and salad.
We headed out to Dan and Carol's house a couple doors up to meet with our house church. We had 7 in attendance and a lively discussion that goes along with this new study we are doing titled Counter/Culture. Yikes, we as a nation have become complacent with our beliefs and Judea/ Christian principles the country was founded on. We surely don't stand up for our beliefs and the Biblical beliefs our fore fathers on the Mayflower brought to this land. We have let the few secular humanist take over the ideology of this once Christian based country. We are letting our individuality slip away as well as our stand for what is right. It seems that everything that once was wrong is now right, we know longer protect and stand up for the weak and innocent and there has become such racial divide in the country and more importantly we no longer honor GOD in our culture. The church has become a milk toast body where principles set forth by GOD are now being eroded and and questioned. Society is now asking does GOD really want us to acknowledge him and his word? Well as we see in the news we no longer have any honest leadership with the lies and downright deception used to spread a political agenda. America is losing it's example as a shining city on a hill for the world to see and it all comes back to losing our morality and not doing what is right and honoring the Gospel.
I will get off my stump in a moment but GOD made us male and female to procreate so why would we question that occurrence and GOD made us in his image so why would we kill the unborn who is in His image. We protect wildlife from cruel actions but our leaders promote killing the innocent in the womb. We promote and offer several chances to the criminals but castigate those who offer up their lives to protect us on our streets. We are definitely in culture shock and we who love our freedoms, liberty and individualism's are about to had them over to the few who want to radically change our land to their way of thinking and many definitely did that with the last two elections. We have history to remind us what happened to Rome as she was change within and soon disintegrated as the once most powerful nation on earth. I'm afraid that is happening to America, just sayin'..LATER
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Wednesday Morning
Well Tuesday started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out. The temps were already in the low 70's and would eventually reach the middle 80's by late afternoon. It did look like there was a chance of maybe a shower with a few clouds but they quickly dispersed and we were left dry again. After my routines and a few quiet moments I got ready and headed out to the rec on my bike for 2 hours of pickle ball play. We had 2 courts in action and one court was a challenge court which kept the 4 A players on for most of the morning. Some of the A players would rather sit than play with the B players but as for me I just want a wet shirt when I leave after 2 hours.
I stopped off at the library to return some some books before heading home to hand water the garden. The tomatoes are ripening at a good rate and the new beet and kale seeds are now up an inch or so. The lettuce is really starting to bolt due to the heat as is the Swiss chard. Both of these veggies like the colder weather and do really well before the heat sets in. Nancy was at the dentist having a new impression after her recent root canal before the crown goes on. My root canal on the abscess seems to be doing O.K. and my temp crown came off last night while picking my teeth, so I just put it back on as I'm due for my final packing in the root canal and then my final crown next week. What a year it's been for dentists.
Amy, Sam and Eliza came for lunch as GG still had her visitors from Miami. We dined on salad and left over ham as well as some salsas. After lunch we settled into playing with the kiddos until it was time to leave and pick up Ava at school. I finished the book on catching the elusive killer James Earl Ray of Dr. Martin L. King. Hampton Sides does a brilliant investigation in HELLBOUND ON HIS TRAIL regarding the lives of both King and Ray and how he was finally captured in England months after the assassination in Memphis. This is a good read and Sides reports all of the aspects of both of their lives along with the "dirty laundry". He leaves no twist or stone unturned with this story. Great read and so much history with Hoover, the FBI as well the Johnson administration in the dealing with King's death and his movement and the aftermath of his death with the rioting.
After a lite supper of left overs I headed outside to work in the yard and garden. The temps had dropped with a gentle breeze which made for pleasant working conditions. I pulled weeds and hand watered the yards as well as gardens. It was going on 8 before I finally came and settled into the Ray's game and once more they were losing big despite a rally that left them one run short. I watched O'Reilly and his take on what happened 5 years ago with this administration blatantly lying to us about the swap of a deserter for 5 Taliban generals is just so egregious and criminal. The potus knew this soldier left his post willingly yet he promoted this swap as the right thing to do. He not only lied but his sycophants lied as well to us the public about this transaction and now he wants us to believe he has made the right deal with Iran. He is a total disgrace to this nation and is selling us out to those who wants to destroy our way of life especially the radical Islamist that are being funded by Iran, Wake up America. We must stand with Israel and get some real leadership as this man is a outright liar and cares nothing about keeping us safe in our homeland. There is no way we should make any deal with a nation that chants "death to America" and give them a chance to produce a nuclear bomb. Where has all of the "common sense" and the realistic thoughts gone to preserve our nation and keep us safe as well as protect the only viable democracy in the middle east, Israel...Wake up America before we are forced to bow down to Mecca, LATER
I stopped off at the library to return some some books before heading home to hand water the garden. The tomatoes are ripening at a good rate and the new beet and kale seeds are now up an inch or so. The lettuce is really starting to bolt due to the heat as is the Swiss chard. Both of these veggies like the colder weather and do really well before the heat sets in. Nancy was at the dentist having a new impression after her recent root canal before the crown goes on. My root canal on the abscess seems to be doing O.K. and my temp crown came off last night while picking my teeth, so I just put it back on as I'm due for my final packing in the root canal and then my final crown next week. What a year it's been for dentists.
Amy, Sam and Eliza came for lunch as GG still had her visitors from Miami. We dined on salad and left over ham as well as some salsas. After lunch we settled into playing with the kiddos until it was time to leave and pick up Ava at school. I finished the book on catching the elusive killer James Earl Ray of Dr. Martin L. King. Hampton Sides does a brilliant investigation in HELLBOUND ON HIS TRAIL regarding the lives of both King and Ray and how he was finally captured in England months after the assassination in Memphis. This is a good read and Sides reports all of the aspects of both of their lives along with the "dirty laundry". He leaves no twist or stone unturned with this story. Great read and so much history with Hoover, the FBI as well the Johnson administration in the dealing with King's death and his movement and the aftermath of his death with the rioting.
After a lite supper of left overs I headed outside to work in the yard and garden. The temps had dropped with a gentle breeze which made for pleasant working conditions. I pulled weeds and hand watered the yards as well as gardens. It was going on 8 before I finally came and settled into the Ray's game and once more they were losing big despite a rally that left them one run short. I watched O'Reilly and his take on what happened 5 years ago with this administration blatantly lying to us about the swap of a deserter for 5 Taliban generals is just so egregious and criminal. The potus knew this soldier left his post willingly yet he promoted this swap as the right thing to do. He not only lied but his sycophants lied as well to us the public about this transaction and now he wants us to believe he has made the right deal with Iran. He is a total disgrace to this nation and is selling us out to those who wants to destroy our way of life especially the radical Islamist that are being funded by Iran, Wake up America. We must stand with Israel and get some real leadership as this man is a outright liar and cares nothing about keeping us safe in our homeland. There is no way we should make any deal with a nation that chants "death to America" and give them a chance to produce a nuclear bomb. Where has all of the "common sense" and the realistic thoughts gone to preserve our nation and keep us safe as well as protect the only viable democracy in the middle east, Israel...Wake up America before we are forced to bow down to Mecca, LATER
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Tuesday Morning
Well Monday started out with temps close to 70 with bright sunshine and the humidity was back in the picture. It stayed that way for most of the day except about 4'ish the clouds moved in and at one time I saw a few sprinkles of rain but that didn't last. I'm really starting to dream of the cool mornings in the mountains and the grass greening up. We are looking at another 7 weeks or so before I hope we make that dream come true.
I rolled out at my usual 6'ish time and after my routines and a few quiet moment to give thanks, reflect on this past Easter Sunday and lift up a few folks who need some special thoughts concerning their situations I ate a lite breakfast before heading out on my bike to the rec. Our large group of pickle ballers have some what dwindled down to just 2 courts today with a couple waiting to get on. Seems we have lost several who have traveled back to their summer homes in Canada and the Northeast. We still had enough players to all leave the gym with wet shirts by 10 o'clock.
I headed home to hand water the gardens as the heat has really started to dry things out. We could use some rain. I picked another dozen or small tomato's as well as a couple tennis ball size ones. I then picked a gallon or more of half runner beans and we had those for supper at GG's later in the evening. The new beets and kale seedlings are showing some great color and it maybe too early to start some tomato's seeds but I want to see if they will make. That new garden magic powder composed of 30 some trace and minor elements is fantastic and is just what my soil needs. I noticed the last several times I've buried my kitchen compost the earthworms are back in abundance. Of course they make the best plant food ever with their casings(manure).
We weren't having anyone for lunch today but ourselves as we were all meeting at GG's for a supper with Erica and her family from Miami. Erica who is two years older than Bobby and now has 8 kiddos, 5 boys and 3 girls yikes I don't know how they do it and home school too. The kids are all well behaved, very musically talented and there is not a picky eater in the gang. They can eat like an adult. We had a great visit with them and Ava and Sam quickly made friends with their cousins as well. We had chicken Kiev, rice, green beans, broccoli, salad and Nancy made 2 pumpkin pies as well as chocolate cookies. I passed on all the sweet stuff but everything was delicious. We visited and enjoyed the different personalities of each of the kids before heading out around 9.
I tuned into the final basketball game which was even at half time. After a hot shower I watched the first few minutes when Wisconsin came out strong and built nearly a 10 point lead and Duke was missing everything. So it was nearly 11 and I decided to read about the final score this morning and I was shocked that Duke came back and won by 5 points. That must have been an exciting last few minutes of the game. I almost forgot to mention the opening day for the Rays against the Orioles was played during the afternoon at Tropicana Field and the season got off to a bad start with our pitching and hitting as we lost 6-2 to the birds, LATER
I rolled out at my usual 6'ish time and after my routines and a few quiet moment to give thanks, reflect on this past Easter Sunday and lift up a few folks who need some special thoughts concerning their situations I ate a lite breakfast before heading out on my bike to the rec. Our large group of pickle ballers have some what dwindled down to just 2 courts today with a couple waiting to get on. Seems we have lost several who have traveled back to their summer homes in Canada and the Northeast. We still had enough players to all leave the gym with wet shirts by 10 o'clock.
I headed home to hand water the gardens as the heat has really started to dry things out. We could use some rain. I picked another dozen or small tomato's as well as a couple tennis ball size ones. I then picked a gallon or more of half runner beans and we had those for supper at GG's later in the evening. The new beets and kale seedlings are showing some great color and it maybe too early to start some tomato's seeds but I want to see if they will make. That new garden magic powder composed of 30 some trace and minor elements is fantastic and is just what my soil needs. I noticed the last several times I've buried my kitchen compost the earthworms are back in abundance. Of course they make the best plant food ever with their casings(manure).
We weren't having anyone for lunch today but ourselves as we were all meeting at GG's for a supper with Erica and her family from Miami. Erica who is two years older than Bobby and now has 8 kiddos, 5 boys and 3 girls yikes I don't know how they do it and home school too. The kids are all well behaved, very musically talented and there is not a picky eater in the gang. They can eat like an adult. We had a great visit with them and Ava and Sam quickly made friends with their cousins as well. We had chicken Kiev, rice, green beans, broccoli, salad and Nancy made 2 pumpkin pies as well as chocolate cookies. I passed on all the sweet stuff but everything was delicious. We visited and enjoyed the different personalities of each of the kids before heading out around 9.
I tuned into the final basketball game which was even at half time. After a hot shower I watched the first few minutes when Wisconsin came out strong and built nearly a 10 point lead and Duke was missing everything. So it was nearly 11 and I decided to read about the final score this morning and I was shocked that Duke came back and won by 5 points. That must have been an exciting last few minutes of the game. I almost forgot to mention the opening day for the Rays against the Orioles was played during the afternoon at Tropicana Field and the season got off to a bad start with our pitching and hitting as we lost 6-2 to the birds, LATER
Monday, April 6, 2015
Monday Morning
Well Easter Sunday was an awesome day weather wise and filled with great food at another family supper in the evening hours. We started the day with the usual morning routines after a 6 ish roll out and after our quiet times and a lite breakfast we got ready to head to Tampa for the "gathering" at Element Church. We drove alone this week as our car pool buddies decided to eat out after church for their Easter Dinner.
The warehouse was nearly filled to capacity with familiar faces and a few first timers. The little girls were dressed in their colorful dresses as well as several of the moms. There were lots of hugs and handshakes as well. The message was delivered by one of the elders and Bobby lead the praise music. It was a grand time of worship. We got home around 12:30 and had a salad for lunch then started to get ready for the gang arriving somewhere 5'ish.
I harvested lettuces, kale and beet greens to add to another huge salad. I picked a handful of small tomato's as well and noticed the kale and beet seeds I sowed one day last week were poking through the ground and the chicken wire that I used to keep the pesky squirrels from digging in the row. After cleaning the greens I vacuumed the house then hid plastic Easter eggs in the back yard for the kiddos who would all be here somewhere around 5'ish along GG, Betsy and Braden.
Well the kiddos were excited as they spotted several colorful eggs hiding in the open in the back yard and they had a fun time finding the eggs and then opening their baskets as well. After we got them settled and cleaned up we wanted to eat before they started on the candy so I carved the baked ham which was probably one of the tastiest ever. We had a potato casserole, a green bean casserole and fresh garden salad to accompany the ham and baked biscuits plus salsas and pickled eggs and beets to get the gastric juices stirring. There was carrot cake for dessert. I passed on the biscuits and cake but both looked and smelled delicious.
After the cleanup the kiddos all got baths and showers then we settled into a game of Trivia Pursuit. We haven't played this game in at least 10 years or longer and the most current question were from in the 90's but the men prevailed with a good shellacking of the gals. It was after 9 before folks starting heading out for home with kiddos still on a sugar high from the Easter candy. Little Eliza Faye was crashed after her bath despite all of the noise. It wasn't long after the house was once again quiet that I headed in to finish watching the girls from UCONN whip the gals from Maryland in the final four being played in Tampa, LATER
The warehouse was nearly filled to capacity with familiar faces and a few first timers. The little girls were dressed in their colorful dresses as well as several of the moms. There were lots of hugs and handshakes as well. The message was delivered by one of the elders and Bobby lead the praise music. It was a grand time of worship. We got home around 12:30 and had a salad for lunch then started to get ready for the gang arriving somewhere 5'ish.
I harvested lettuces, kale and beet greens to add to another huge salad. I picked a handful of small tomato's as well and noticed the kale and beet seeds I sowed one day last week were poking through the ground and the chicken wire that I used to keep the pesky squirrels from digging in the row. After cleaning the greens I vacuumed the house then hid plastic Easter eggs in the back yard for the kiddos who would all be here somewhere around 5'ish along GG, Betsy and Braden.
Well the kiddos were excited as they spotted several colorful eggs hiding in the open in the back yard and they had a fun time finding the eggs and then opening their baskets as well. After we got them settled and cleaned up we wanted to eat before they started on the candy so I carved the baked ham which was probably one of the tastiest ever. We had a potato casserole, a green bean casserole and fresh garden salad to accompany the ham and baked biscuits plus salsas and pickled eggs and beets to get the gastric juices stirring. There was carrot cake for dessert. I passed on the biscuits and cake but both looked and smelled delicious.
After the cleanup the kiddos all got baths and showers then we settled into a game of Trivia Pursuit. We haven't played this game in at least 10 years or longer and the most current question were from in the 90's but the men prevailed with a good shellacking of the gals. It was after 9 before folks starting heading out for home with kiddos still on a sugar high from the Easter candy. Little Eliza Faye was crashed after her bath despite all of the noise. It wasn't long after the house was once again quiet that I headed in to finish watching the girls from UCONN whip the gals from Maryland in the final four being played in Tampa, LATER
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