Where does time go?

I have really fallen off the blogging wagon I guess.  I can't seem to get a schedule down so I don't post - but it's been almost 4 months since the last post.  Really??? I can't do any better than that???  Well, I won't guarantee it, but I will try.

So, what has happened in the last four months???  LOTS!!!  Let's start with McKinzie Rea.  We picked Kenzie up on the 26th of February and proceeded to drive the four and a half hours home right away - this little nugget slept the entire trip.

She did such a fabulous job of traveling -  the breeder told us NOT to put her down in the grass on the trip home, just use the pee pad she gave us.  We were told that Parvo was rampant and that we needed to be careful with her.  We did use the pad and she had her first vet appointment on Monday, where our vet told us the same thing - NO outside time and NO other dogs until she had all her parvo shots.  On her first appointment she weighed in at 4lbs 6 ozs.  Just a tiny little thing.  We tried putting her in her kennel to sleep at night, and she did well until Dan had to get up - then she just cried and cried.  Well, if you know Dan at all you know that she ended up in bed with us.  She has become a great bed sleeper - going straight to sleep as soon as the light is turned out.  She did get us (me) up once during the night to potty for about the first 6 weeks at home, but she is sleeping through the night now - from about 10 PM to 6:30 or 7 AM.  Not too bad.  She has continued to gain weight and at 5 months she is up to 6.9 lbs.  We really started working with her on her potty training the middle of May and she is doing fantastic.  She tells me when she has to go outside and she has not had any accidents in the house in over a month.  She is a good little girl and so much company and fun for us both.

We got an offer on the house in Dowling Park on the 26th of February on our way home from picking Kenzie up.  The offer was good so we accepted.  Closing was on May 7th.  It was so nice to FINALLY have all of the houses in Dowling Park closed on and that door closed.  We will miss our friends there but will stay in touch and continue to see each other even though we don't live there any more.  The house here was paid off on May 12th!  Yippee!!!!  Another milestone accomplished!!!

I had outpatient surgery on May 5th - I had been having a terrible time with kidney stones for two months.  I thought I would be able to have the surgery in April, but due to approval from the insurance company it took another entire month.  Anyway, the procedure went well and I feel great now.  I will go back in 6 months to make sure I'm not producing any more and I have changed my diet somewhat.  I haven't gone full on with a low oxolate diet due to the fact that a lot  of the things I am not suppose to have are things that Dan has to have for his heart diet.  (No bran of any kind - goodbye whole wheat bread).  It's all good - I just really limit things that I am not suppose to have (or just not eat them even though I fix them for Dan).

We have made a few changes to the house - new entertainment center for one- and we are just chilling out here for awhile. 

I took this picture right after we got everything in the house.  We took the other unit to the consignment shop for Jan to sell for us.  We'll see how long that takes.

Oh, Dan sold his truck and bought a Jeep.

We can actually get both vehicles in the garage now - I can't remember when that has ever happened since we have been together.  We haven't taken it down to River Ranch yet, but I'm sure that will be in the works sometime in the near future.

Crystal was able to come down for the month arriving on Memorial Day and will stay until the 4th of July weekend.  We had Melissa, Justin and the girls here and we had a wonderful time with all of us together for the first time in well over a year. This is probably the last time Crystal will be able to come for the whole month as she will have to start going into the office at least a couple of days a week after she gets back home.  She  adopted a dog right before she came down from the SPCA in Nashville.  Willa and Kenzie get along great and play together for hours on end.  Willa is 8 months old while Kenzie is now 5 months old.

So cute!

This past Monday was Lorelai's birthday - how can this precious child be 9 years old already????  It seems like it was just yesterday that Dan and I were keeping her and her sister while they played in their little pool and big sand box.

I still remember vividly those first weeks of her life in the NICU.  Today you would never know that this spunky, sweet, loving child ever had anything wrong with her.

Yesterday I kept the girls while Melissa had virtual meetings all day - we spent part of the day down at the pool.  A fabulous place to be on these hot, hot days.

Another reason we went to the pool is, Crystal had a big virtual meeting during the morning and we needed to be out of the house so we didn't have to worry about the girls making too much noise or the dogs barking.  We also went to the used bookstore and the girls bought 6 books each.  It should give them something to read for the next few days/weeks.  I'll keep them again next week for a couple of days as Melissa has to train a new employee and doesn't need the girls to be underfoot. 

Well, that's about all for now - I started this back in May and finally got it all down.  Hopefully, I'll do a better job of blogging.

Till next time!

Sorry about last time

 Hello everyone who might read this - I really don't think many people are and that's okay.  I really can't blame them since I had not posted in over two years.  It will take time to get a new following (IF I get any following at all!).  Anyway, I wanted to apologize for the last post.  I really was not feeling it the day I posted and I was frustrated at the computer as I couldn't get it to do some things that I wanted it to do.  Anyway, I just shouldn't have posted at all instead of doing such a crummy job.  I hope that you will forgive me for a terrible post and I will try and take some better pictures in the future and repost the bookshelves, as it really has made a difference in how they look.

Let's get caught up on the last couple of weeks.  Last week Dan and I received our first dose of the Moderna COVID 19 vaccine.  After talking to Dan's cardiologist and our primary care physician they HIGHLY recommended that we get the vaccination.  So, my daughter started looking for a place for us to get the shots since the call line and wait list for Polk County has over 18,000 people on it.  She was able to get us an appointment in Winter Haven.  We drove over and spent three hours in line, but we were able to get the shot.  We had NO side effects - our arms were a little sore, but no more than when you get a regular flu shot.  We have our appointment for our second shot in February.  One of the things we found out from our doctors was that the death rate was actually over 2% not the 1% that everyone talks about.  But one of the main concerns that our doctors had is something that is not talked - long term effects of the virus.  There are so many cases of long term effects that entire practices are opening to just treat those - things like organ damage (liver, kidney, heart, and lung), respiratory issues, and even muscle and nerve damage.  In the office our doctor talked about 4 patients that he has seen that are having issues - one person in their 40's can no longer walk, another patient, in their 20's is on oxygen full time.  We were told by all four doctors that probably, IF Dan contracted COVID, he would not survive.  That was enough for me - and I am so grateful that we were able to get vaccinated.

Sunday we spent most of the day watching the playoffs - first was the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Dan was routing for the Packers and I was, sorta, routing for Tampa Bay.  Well, Tampa  Bay won that one, so it will be the first time a home team will be in the Super Bowl.  The other game was the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.  I was for the Chiefs and they won.  So, it will be Tampa Bay (and Tom Brady) against Kansas City (and Patrick Mahomes).  Have to say - GO CHIEFS!!!  

Also, I never said anything about the college National Championship game that was played a couple of weeks ago - if you know me at all you know that I am an Alabama fan from the get go so to say that I was extremely pleased with the outcome of that game would be an understatement - Roll Tide!!!

Today I have spent a lot of time on the phone calling different places.  One health insurance company that was sending us bills for coverage that we longer had - a couple of calls to auto insurance companies to shop our rates.  Our rates with the company we have been with for YEARS jumped $500.00 - that is just not acceptable.  Have already gotten one quote for exactly the same coverage but $700 less (and a reputable company - guess we are getting the "Patrick price").  It will be interesting to see what the others companies come up with - and I also have a call into the company that we have now to see why our rates jumped so much - especially now when no one is driving anywhere.

Speaking of not going anywhere - we aren't.  Other than the few doctors appointments we have, going to pick up groceries with curbside pick-up, and occasionally going through a drive thru to pickup some fast food we go no where.  I will be happy when we get our second shot and wait our two weeks for maximum coverage to take affect.  Then we will be able to see the kids, start having our family dinners again, and not feel so isolated.  We have been so extremely careful for almost a year and to actually see an end in sight - well, it's a bit overwhelming! However, due to Dan's health concerns, I would do it again or continue to do it if it meant he would stay healthy.  We are so extremely grateful and blessed that we have gone this long without exposure.  Thank you Lord!!!

Now,  we are going somewhere in February - after our second shot but before the two weeks.  We are getting a new puppy - a sweet little mini daschund that we have named McKenzie (we will call her Mac).  This is the latest picture I have of her - she is three weeks old in this picture. 

We will not be able to get her until she is 8 weeks old, but the end of February this little munchkin will be coming to live with us.  We are so excited!!!  We really took our time making this decision - we lost Jessie a year ago so this has not been a rash decision.  We are ready and I think this little one will be loved so much!  I'll post updated photos as we receive them - the breeder posts new photo's once a week and she has changed so much in the last week.  Be prepared to be bombarded with cute photos once she gets here.

We have not done any projects this week - I will start working on getting our income tax information together for the accountant.  Other than that we are staying pretty lazy.  I'll try and get some better photo's of the bookshelves and the new valances/blinds in the office in the next couple of weeks.  Also, the wallpapering project in the laundry room and dining room.

Until next time!

Nothing much happening

 Well, I didn't post last week.  I am having a difficult time coming up with anything to post about.  I have been fairly down in the dumps the past couple of weeks - not even getting dressed all of last week and the first part of this week.  When you have absolutely NOTHING to do it can get to you after awhile.  BUT, enough is enough!  Today I am up, dressed and ready to go!

Right after the first of the year we did a little update to the bookcases in the family room.  Here is a before picture.  There was really nothing wrong with them other than they looked like black boxes that everything got lost in.

So, we bought some peel and stick wall paper, a luan board that we had the nice people at Lowe's cut for us and we ended up with this:

So much better!  Now you can actually see what's on the shelves.

There have a few other projects that we have completed over the last few months.  I'll try and get those posted in the next couple of months.

Have a good weekend!

Hello 2021

Hello everyone.  I haven't blogged in almost two years and so many things have changed.  From what we are doing to where we live.  To condense two years into a sentence or two, after we lost my mom in August of 2018 Dan and I decided it was time to move back to Lakeland to be near our kids and grandchildren.  So, in November of 2019 we put both houses on the market and bought a house in a gated community about 5 minutes from the girls.  We were fortunate enough to sell the cottage this past September (2020), but our house is still on the market - thank you COVID (if you know anyone that wants a completely remodeled house in a great 55+ community have we got the deal for you!).  The entire community has been shut down to outsiders due to COVID, but we are hopeful that things will improve in 2021 and the house will sell.    

Like most of us, we have spent the majority of 2020 staying in and social distancing.  Our plan of being closer to the girls has not played out like we thought, but we have to make the best of a bad situation. I have spent some of the time cooking dinner for the kids - delivering meals to their front porch three days a week.  That is until I fell in August and broke my right wrist -  it was really difficult to do anything with it for about 3 months. Dan had to take over all kitchen duties (along with helping me with a lot of things), so we stopped all extra cooking.   I finally got out of my cast the first part of November and have been trying to use my hand more and more.  It is still swollen some (the doctor says it could take up to a year for all the swelling to go away) and I may never have the full use of that hand again.  It is what it is and I will have to adapt as best I can.  At least I can write and type again, so I don't feel completely useless.  I don't have the strength in my right hand like I used to and sometimes I have to ask Dan for help in pulling pop-tops on cans and putting heavier dishes in the oven or microwave, but we are doing okay. I am working on exercises here at home to add strength and mobility to my hand and it is some better - practice makes perfect, right?

We were fortunate enough that Crystal was able to spend a couple of months with us this year.  She is working from home and came down from Nashville for the month of June and then came back right before Thanksgiving and left on the 28th of December.  We were able to have Thanksgiving breakfast with Melissa, Justin, and the girls by cleaning up the garage and setting up tables out there.  We were more than 6 foot away from each other but at least we were able to spend the time together.  

Christmas was a Zoom meeting - but we were able to see the girls open their presents (we had delivered our presents to them on Christmas Eve - leaving their presents on the front porch and picking up ours.)  After the delivery we were able to visit for a little while.  We stayed in the car and talked while they stayed on their porch.  It was certainly different but we are happy we were able to still be a part of the morning.

We took all the Christmas decorations down after Crystal left on the 28th, had them up in the attic on the 29th, and the house was all put back together by the 30th. I have done some rearranging of cabinets and we did a little project in the bookcases in the family room.  I'll try and take some pictures and post them with the next entry.  We did receive our Christmas presents to each other yesterday - new, comfortable chairs for the new screened in porch.  It is so nice to be able to go out in the morning and drink our coffee in comfortable chairs.  I plan on spending more time out there in this new year - I am going to try and read more this year and this is the perfect place to sit.  Temperatures will be in the 80's today, before a cool front moves in Tuesday of next week.

Well, I will close for now.  I am happy to be blogging again and I hope that some of you will like my posts.  I hope to post about what we are doing and show pictures of any of the projects we accomplish.  I am not going to say that I will post daily, but I will try and post at least once a week - today we are ready for the College Football Playoff games - Roll Tide ROLL!  Dinner tonight will be Prime Rib, baked potatoes and asparagus.  Looking forward to getting back to eating better than we have in the last couple of month.

Here's to a better 2021 - may we all be healthy and things get back to somewhat of a normal schedule!

Rainy, Dreary Days

Well, I don't know what the weather has been like where you live but here it has been warm, overcast, and rainy.  We are having temperatures in the upper 70's all week - so I guess Spring is right around the corner.  So, while the weather has been ugly things are starting to bloom.  For those of you that are still socked in with snow or freezing temperatures I thought you might enjoy looking at some of the first signs of Spring in North Florida.

Dan and I went out in the golf cart yesterday, between rain storms and I took a few pictures with my phone.  Just thought I would share some.

Wild Plum Tree

  Tulip Tree

The next pictures are from our back yard.

Red Bud Tree

This camellia bush is right behind the pergola and the one that Dan spray painted (oh the joys of overspray).  It is covered in buds and getting ready to pop!


This the camellia bush that was frozen a month ago - now it is covered with flowers!

These two bushes are in our side yard and we almost forget they are there.  I think they are a couple of the prettiest camellia bushes we have.

Double Pink

Pale pink "Rose" Camellia

And I'll leave you with a picture of the little wild violets that are blooming all over the yard.

I'll be back on Wednesday with an update on the pergola and our latest "Coffee on the Back Porch".

Hugs!

Hibernation

Hello all - Yep, I'm still here.  Sorry I sorta "fell off the wagon" with blogging - you know how animals go into hibernation when it's really cold?  Well, that the only thing I can use to describe me the last couple of weeks.  It seemed that instead of being all "gun ho" and getting organized and everything like everyone else in creation all I wanted to do was sit and be lazy chill.  So, that's what I did.  That is until a couple of weeks ago.  I finally decided it was time to get up and get some stuff done!

I guess it all started when Dan decided that he needed some help painting the pergola.  We had gone to Lowe's and bought a paint sprayer, as he thought that trying to paint it by hand would be too much.  So, with paint sprayer in hand and the patio cleared of all the furniture, he started.  Now, while it is true that it sped the process along, the waste of paint was tremendous.  Can we say over spray!?!  Anyway, he wanted me to move the drop cloth from area to area while he used the sprayer just so we didn't have a gray painted floor or gray plants all around (although some of the leaves of some of the plants are now gray).

 Covered the bird bath so we didn't have to worry about messing it up with paint.

 Grill and outdoor "side table" covered with plastic.

 This is a good shot of all the paint over spray.  Waste, waste, waste!  And at over $40 a gallon, not a budget friendly way to paint.

However, we used all the paint we had - we had to buy two more gallons.  It is starting to look pretty good and we are excited to get it finished.

Dan has since gotten it all done, except for a little bit of hand brush work.  He did finally admit that the sprayer was not the best option and went old school with a roller and extended handle.  It might have taken him two days to finish it up this way, but at least we didn't paint everything else in sight.

When I wasn't helping Dan outside I decided it was time to get some work done in the house.  So, while doing some early spring cleaning (or late January/winter cleaning) I did some rearranging of items, rearranged the bookshelves in the family room, and even did a little Valentine's day decorating.

 Living Room -  I haven't moved any furniture (the way the room is laid out this is the best room arrangement) so I just make little changes with the accessories.

I moved the wooden goose from the side table to the coffee table and added a heart shaped dish that I've had forever (I found it again stashed in my nightstand).  With a little Valentine's candy and it's good to go.

  I found these flowers on Amazon last month and loved the soft pastel colors of the flowers.  I knew that I wanted to put them in a square glass vase and I just happened to find this vase at the Twice Nice Furniture store here in the Village (it's a resale shop of things that are donated and it's where all our donations go).  A little moss around the sides, and I might need to fluff the flowers a little but I think it gives a hint of spring.

A little better shot of the heart shaped dish.  Don't you just love it when you find things that you have that you can use instead of having to buy things?


I also decided to group my crocks and jugs together instead of having them spread out all over the house.  The perfect spot was under the entry way table.

When we went to the little resale shop I also found this smaller square vase.

I thought it would be perfect as a candle holder and why not add some Valentine candy.  Quick and cute.

Then for the shelves and mantle.  I was just tired of the same ole, same ole.  So, I decided to shake things up a bit.  I started gathering stuff from around the house and just moved some things around and viola newly decorated shelves.

A new look for no cost.

This past Tuesday I had a check up on my thyroid down in Gainesville and I thought Dan and I could do some shopping while there (it's the closest Home Goods store and I had never been in the Hobby Lobby there).  So, after my glowing check-up - no change to the growths on my thyroid and no need for biopsy at this time, just another check up next year - Dan and I headed to Hobby Lobby, as it was the closest to the doctor's office.  I purchased a few spring flower at 50% off and a new basket for an arrangement on the front door.  When leaving the store I received a call from one of my mom's neighbors telling me mom had fallen and had messed up her arm pretty badly.  I explained I was in Gainesville and Judy said she would stay with mom until the doctor' released her.  Dan and I made a quick trip to Bass Pro shop, since we were already headed that way, to pickup some wax melts that we had wanted for a long time and then headed directly home (sorry Home Goods, maybe next time).

When we got home we stopped at mom's house, but no one was there.  I went across the street to the neighbor's house, thinking that she may have kept mom at her house until we could get home, but was told by her husband that Judy had taken mom to the hospital in Live Oak to have her head and shoulder x-rayed since our clinic doesn't have that capability.  I called Judy to see if she wanted me to come and relieve her, and she said no they should be home soon as they were just waiting for the results of the x-rays.  About half an hour later I received a call that they were home, so I headed back down to mom's house.  She did not have any broken bones, just a good knot on her head (no concussion), some bruises, and a pretty good cut down the entire length of her left arm.  The cut is not deep and didn't require stitches - just steri-strips - but she will be sore for a couple of weeks.  She is very lucky that she didn't break anything and it is something that we will have to continue to watch.  Her sense of balance is getting worse, but this is the first time she has fallen since we moved here three years ago.  She doesn't know why she fell - she was in the middle of her living room so she didn't trip on anything.  She said she tripped on her own two feet - and at this point who knows.  I will be going to a class that is being taught by Elder Care on being the caregiver to someone with Alzheimer's.  I just want to make sure I know how to make it as easy on mom as I can (as well as Dan and I).  It's a six week course taught at our local library and I am hopeful that it will give us good information.

Wednesday was my normal shift at the store (just a few lookers) and I had plenty of time to finish the bookkeeping for the month of January.

Thursday I finally decided that I needed to stop putting off the cleaning out of drawers and cabinets.  I had been putting off cleaning and organizing the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen for months, but I went in and in thirty minutes it was all done!  (Why do we put off things for so long when it really doesn't take that long to do????)

Next, it was time to start getting everything ready to send to our tax accountant.  I'm still missing a couple of pieces of information, but that should come in next week and I have everything else ready to go.  I hope to get it mailed off to her by the end of the week and then keep our fingers crossed that we won't owe that much!

While I was getting the tax stuff together I decided to get the file cabinet cleaned out and organized too.  Once again, a job that I had put off for months was completed in just a couple of hours.

Dan and I are ready for the Super Bowl - we aren't going to a party, just the two of us here with a pizza and some chips and dip.  Nothing big or fancy.  I really don't have a "dog in this race" and I really don't care who wins - I'll probably cheer for the Eagles but it won't hurt my feeling if the Patriots win.  (I know that my son-in-law will be happy if the Pats take the win, but we shall see.)

Speaking of my son-in-law - a couple of weeks ago his family had a family reunion in Texas and, for the first time, my daughter, sil, and two grand babies went.  They spent five days in Texas (Wednesday through Monday) with a trip to Waco and Magnolia Market thrown in one day.  

 

Melissa said the girls had an awesome time playing on the grounds.  They didn't get a cupcake as the line was wrapped around the building twice and she didn't buy anything in the store either (how can you not buy SOMETHING????  I know I couldn't - LOL!) She tired to Skype with me, but we weren't home and I didn't have my phone with me when she called - darn!  Then they had the reunion at the rodeo in Ft. Worth over the weekend. The babies got cowboy hats and they were so cute! I think they had a good time and it was good for them to get away for a little trip.

Well, this has turned into a small book - sorry for the length.  Hopefully, now that I am not in hibernation any longer I will get back to posting regularly.

Have a great weekend!

Just Not Feelin It!

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday.  I'm sorry that I didn't post last Friday I just haven't been feeling all that well.  I have been just keeping a very low profile and staying inside and pretty much on the couch all the time.  In fact, yesterday I didn't get dressed and only got up to fix dinner.  

Thursday I did go to the Membership Council meeting and then Dan and I went into town to the grocery store.  Friday I cooked Breakfast Burritos for the first time in a long time - I also fixed a slow cooker meal for dinner.  Something didn't sit well on my tummy and I paid for it Friday night - in fact, I ended up finally going to sleep on the couch in the family room around 3:30 AM.  Maybe that's why I wasn't so chipper on Saturday and just spent the day on the couch, checking out different blogs and watching a couple of movies on Amazon Prime.

Speaking of Amazon Prime, did you guys know that you can watch movies as well as some TV programs on Amazon Prime??? I didn't. There are quite a few movies to chose from that are absolutely free.  Yesterday I watched an oldie but goodie - McLintock with John Wayne and then the fairly new movie Florence Jenkins with Meryl Strep.  It was a cute little movie and didn't know before that it was based on a true story.  Was it Oscar worthy?  Nope, not even close, but it was cute.  I have a few movies that I will watch in the next few weeks, months - and it's great that I don't have to pay for them.  Now, if you want there are also movies that you can rent - I don't think the "rent" is anymore than RedBox, but I don't know that for a fact as I have never rented from them.  Anyway, that's just a little side note.

Today Dan and I finally got out as the day was really nice - not too cold- and the sun was shining.  We went down to the dining room for lunch, then went for a little ride in the golf cart through the woods.

There is a nice little path through the woods that we like to ride - every once in a while we will see a deer, but not today.

This is how I ride - I know - really lazy - but it's comfortable and it's just natural way for me.

Well, that's it for today - going to watch the rest of the Jags/Pats game and then the Viking/Eagles game.  Pizza for supper.

I AM feeling much better today (except for a pain in my lower back), and I think I'll actually be up and making some changes around here tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

Hope you are having an awesome day and I'll talk to you soon!!!

Hugs!