Have your event in TV……..

 

Speaking of which, if you decide to go into cardiac arrest anytime soon, might I suggest that you do it in The Villages.      The paper reported that we have a 46% survival rate…meaning you walk out of the hospital…..compared to the national average of 9%.     Reasons given are  (1) Response time by EMS of 4 minutes !!   compared to 9-11 elsewhere (if you're lucky)    (2)  More trained neighbors and recreation staff (3)  Use of   compression- only CPR (proven more effective than with mouth to mouth) and many AED's in neighborhoods and public buildings.     So, come for a visit and have your event here instead of on the streets of NYC !!     

I really need to get my camera out and capture spring.   I sent in my favorite  lens for a tune-up and after $200 and a lengthy list of things corrected, I should have no excuses for lousy shots.    I felt that it was really dirty after the sand and dust of Utah last summer.   I suspect the camera could use a bath as well.  
I need to carry it with me on the golf course.    The alligators are out, the large birds are strutting their stuff and everything is blooming.      Yesterday, we played Redfish Run Executive course.    I think its rated a 3 out of 4.   Only one par 4 but it is brutal with all sorts of ugly stuff to get in trouble in and there is water on most holes.   But, I managed to shoot a 3 over par !!!   On days like that, it seems that the ball just knows where to go and does its thing regardless of what I do.    Guess that's how the Pro's feel when it's their day.   Only I didn't win a million bucks.    Just a Mexican dinner.  

We are supposed to be on an RV Rally in Tennessee this week.   We didn't pack up the wagon and go. We don't really know anyone in the group and altho the area should be beautiful in the mountains, we opted to stick around here.    But, we need to be in Gaffney SC for the annual Freightliner maintenance so that will get us out of the house this month.   It will be good to get out in the bus after these months staying put.    And then we load up for our trek westward in May.    No news on the house but assuming it is moving towards the finishing stages soon.  

Never mind……...

………what I said the other day…..    Blogging is a bit like dieting.   You start out strong and full of intention but after while, it's not so interesting anymore and you'd rather just "stop looking at life as a possible blog post' / eat the entire pie"……     And sometimes, it seems like you should do something more important, especially when others around you are having really hard days….or the world seems heartless and the news never gets to the happy stuff.      But then, I realized that I actually missed talking to you and I didn't want to keep a private journal and altho the bad stuff in the world will keep happening, it's a pretty nice day at this house so time to get up off the couch and get back to writing again…..well, actually, I do do my writing on the couch.      So, if most of you have gone elsewhere, that's OK and I'll just talk to myself for a bit…..

While I was gone, not too much happened…..well, except for the attempted burglary down the street and my part in the adventure.    I was quietly contemplating nothing on the lanai one afternoon and I see a young man calmly walking across the golf course.   He wasn't dressed like a maintenance guy so I was pondering what he was doing there and wondering what I should do about it.    Then my neighbor comes banging on my door to say there was a burglar on the loose and I said " I just saw him !!"    I don't think I've ever seen a real life actual thief before.    So, the call to 911 goes in and in seconds it seemed , I had 3 squad cars in my front yard and also a bloodhound.    And then a helicopter flying low and slow over the area.    I gave a report, both verbal and written and in no time, all of our phones were ringing, texts and emails were received and we were thoroughly warned about the burglar.   The officers were very professional and nice and shortly, both of the "perps" were apprehended.   I've been waiting for my reward money ………

Some of you might have seen the NBC Nightly News episode on the fast growing sport of Pickleball.   I have worked my way thru PB 101 and 102 and with the help of my cute coach, I am actually playing…not well, but I am optimistic that I will look less awkward soon.   

Our neighbors and good friends , The Scott's , are gardeners and their yard is always resplendent with colorful flowers…..even their Bird of Paradise blooms….!

       
 The other day, we noticed that John, a serious and excellent golfer, seems to be trying to grow golf ball flowers…………..

 And today, after heavy rains, we noticed that he had actually succeeded……….

It's Time…….

……to end our relationship.     I've become lazy and rather boring and after 498 posts, what more do I have to share………..?
I think that the Blogs written by active RVer's who travel about and give info on where to stay, where to go and what to do when you get there, are very helpful.    Cooking blogs have taught me a lot.   Art blogs are my favorite as are blogs of my friends.     But mine fits none of those categories and altho it was originally designed to keep the family informed of our travels, it has certainly lost that theme since we don't travel so much and if we do, we return to the same places we wrote about previously.  I've noticed that other blog writers are coming to similar conclusions and are either stopping or cutting back to a point where it's hard to follow them.    I'd prefer not to become boring and stagnant and feel that I might be teetering on the edge of that.     I'll continue to keep a private journal of our life because it is a great source when we need to remember where we were or what we did and when we did it.  
   So thanks for coming along all  these years and be good out there……and stay Younger Every Day !!

The most beautiful state……...

We pulled out our western/winter clothes, spent 4 hours on a flight and have been enjoying the past several days in Colorado.      We woke the first morning in Denver to a beautiful fluffy 6 inches of snow.    And as we headed into the mountains, the views were magnificent.    However, we didn't stop to take decent pictures so this one just gives you a hint, taken thru the windshield.

The house progress is much faster than we had anticipated and some decisions needed to be made before dry wall went in.     Montrose, altho it can get cold and snowy ( as we experienced on our Dec. trip) has been called the Banana Belt….I'd say more like the Squash belt as far as growing stuff in the winter !….   But it was near 60 and the golfers were out in force.


View of the Par 3 green from the back of the house.  





Looking from the front of the house towards the back of the house and the views….to the right is the kitchen and fireplace on the left.    Master bedroom is the other large window on the right.   Ceilings in the great room are 12 feet.

Back of house with large overhang.

We've met a couple who  purchased a pre-owned house and have spent 4 months in a huge remodel.   It is beautiful.    They moved from a ranch where they were avid hunters and trophies abound.    They served ELK for dinner and I brought wine called Elk Cove pinot gris, which was also very good.    The elk, I wouldn't know since I'm not a big meat eater and opted to enjoy the wonderfully prepared fresh vegetables.    But P said it was excellent.           This is not a good pic of Buffy who watched over us as we savored his wildlife friend.           My father was an avid hunter and our freezer was filled with a variety of birds, ducks and deer.  It was vital to the family budget.    And to the best of my memory and effort, I didn't touch any of it…..altho I'm sure that the "beef" hamburger was not the 100% cow that my mother insisted it was.