Rainy days.....

The forecast was for rain all day....heavy at times. But the morning was just cloudy and in the high 60's and Andy wanted to go swimming. He was very insistant so by 9:15 we were in the golf cart and driving to the pool. The air was cool but the water was warm and it actually was a good idea, despite some earlier misgivings.

The skies remained cloudy and only spotty drizzle so we drove over to Mt Dora, about 30 min , and went for a train ride on an old steam train. The ride was a bit over an hour and we followed the lake shore.

There was no glass in the windows so it was pleasant and made for unrestricted viewing of the summer homes and lush greenery . But it also meant that the smoke and cinders and soot came in . I don't recommend wearing white for this event.

A walk to the back of the train was a rocky affair. It was sort of like being on a boat.Mason thought it was a good place to take a little rest. The rains held off until after we had lunch and then we had torrential downpours the rest of the day.

They're Baaaaaccckkkk......

Orlando Airport, 12:30 pm. Arrival of Andy , Mason and MaryBeth. How fun is this???

They decided at the last minute and called us the night before. Jon dropped them off and then flew his trip to San Francisco. He will fly down tomorrow night to join them.
It wasn't a hot and sunny day but the rain stopped long enough for us to get a swim in before dinner. They will stay until about Tuesday. We have missed them all so much so this visit is really special . Mason is starting to say some words (he is in speech therapy) and he mimics so many sounds.....he's especially good at imitating the rooster crowing across the way.

We will do more fun things tomorrow and hope for a bit more sun.

Addendum: Mr Anole Gecko has not shown up. I searched the guest room thoroughly, put down the sticky pads (apologizing to him the entire time) and have kept my eyes peeled for something darting about. Obviously he was too smart for my primitive trap.

Guess who came to stay........

Remember Mr Anole Gecko ? He'd been missing for quite awhile and we were sad but our bugs were happy . We'll, I put a new welcome mat out and guess who came calling. I mean literally came calling and made himself at home. Not that he rang the door bell and asked to come in. He just appeared on the wall and then scurried off into the guest room and made himself comfortable. We found him next to the lamp, no doubt reading a good book on mysteries of the insect world.

So, we decided to let him spend the night. Fortunately, we had no other guests so he didn't have to share. But he also doesn't have much in the way of food or drink. Actually, I did see an unsuspecting small spider on the floor so maybe he was able to grab a snack. Just to make sure he didn't want to go for a tour of the rest of the house, I sealed the bottom of the door with a towel. I don't mind these little creatures but not as a surprise in the dark. This morning we tried to round him up and escort him out but he is FAST.! So here is my original gecko trap, loaded up with damp grass and assorted leaves. I hope he's dumb enough to take the bait. I called a friend , a long time Villager to see what other options there were as I'm sure this is a very common occurance. (We left the door open for a bit yesterday). She said the exterminators use the sticky tape but that means a certain death and I'm not into geckocide just yet.

On a happier note. There was a display of StreetRods....a specialized golf cart.....at the Square the other night. This one was particularly note worthy. The guy retired from UPS recently.

We met our neighbors and then all went out to dinner at the nearby Mallory Country Club. A good time was had by all. We are fortunate to be next to such nice people. Well, actually Roger (3rd from left) can be rather cantankerous but his wife Sue is a gem (2nd from the right).

Stay tuned for the outcome of the Unwelcome Guest.

And then there were none.

The house is quiet and just two old people are rattling around in it. Everyone went home. Jeff left on Wednesday and Alex left yesterday. We had a very active time with both of them. Alex has become quite an improved golfer and is learning the rules and etiquette of the game. And also, that some days , no matter what you do, that ball is not going to go where you thought it should. He is fun to golf with and I suspect that in the very near future, he will be out of our league. Here we are heading out for a sunny day in the sun.

Jeff took this picture of us at the spanish gates to the town of St Augustine. One of the most popular activities down here is playing Pickle Ball. We had never heard of it before but a little research indicated it was started in California but a US Senator and his friends. It was named after his dog Pickle who kept running away with the ball. It is played on a court similar to a tennis court but smaller. Usually played as doubles around here, it is a more active game when just two are running around. Alex was familiar with it as he had learned it in school.

These are the paddles which are a bit larger than ping pong paddles and the ball is a wiffle ball but has a rougher surface. It bounces well the first time but then dies rapidly as you swing at it.

Alex and I spent some time hitting the ball in the hot sun. I had planned to take a lesson but I learned quite a bit from Alex so may join the Tuesday group of Inner Circle neighbors. After all the sweating, we headed for the pool to cool off before going to the airport. Here is a view from the tunnels that allow golf carts to traverse the area and avoid the busy roads. Our golf cart is a bit taller due to the larger wheels so we have to be careful and not scrape the top if we get too close to the sides.

In talking to someone at one of the golf courses, I mentioned Alex driving. She related a story she had heard about underage drivers (supposedly you should be 14). She said a grandfather was fined $250 and the young driver received points which would be applied when he got his license at 16. Sounds pretty extreme to me unless they were driving unsafe. But we heeded the warning and decided that Alex should only drive on the transportation paths and we would switch when it required driving on the paths on the sides of the roads. And he drives on the golf course and I walk.......I prefer the exercise and he prefers to drive.

Rainy day around here this afternoon which is spoiling all the fun of the many many visitors this Easter weekend. There was a Spring Craft show down at the square. We wandered around but the crowds were just too much. I think everyone had the same idea of getting there early before the rains.

The guest bed is ready for guests again. Hope to see YOU soon.!!!

Happenings

Guess who had his 5th birthday? And made even more special by the spectacular cake his mom made. Jon also had a birthday recently and turned a young 38. Realizing of course that we are much too young to have children as old as they are........

Jeff came to visit and it has been just great having him. We opted to take a day off from golf and drive over to the East coast and toured St Augustine. This is a partial view of the Castillo de San Marcos built in 1695 by the Spanish. St Augustine is the first permanent European settlement in the continental U.S. Established in 1565, there is a lot of history packed into a relatively small area, easily walkable.

It was a warm day and we all got a bit too much sun. We drove over to the beach for some cooler air . There are very few sea shells on this part of the coast but the sand is like white powder.

The azaleas are in full bloom here in the south. Hibiscus were also prominent in many different colors. Maybe I need one of those in the yard.

Becca and I had a nice chat via text messaging this morning. She left very early this morning from Denver and was on a lay over in Dulles waiting with her Spanish class for the flight to Spain. What a wonderful exciting opportunity for her. Alex arrives tomorrow for the week. He is so nice to have around and we look forward to sharing the golf course and ping pong table with him. We may even try pickle ball (more on that sport in a later edition).

Last week, to celebrate Jon's birthday, I played 27 holes of golf in one day!!! I played 9 holes on the Executive course with the Ladies of Inner Circle Group and then played 18 on the Havana Championship course with Paul and Jeff. I am tooting my horn very loudly as I took the low score with the ladies and then managed a 97 on the 18. That is the first time I have ever shot below 100 and I am so excited. I just hope I can repeat whatever I did. We are playing 9 holes later today.

Weather is getting a bit warmer and I had the A/C on today. Jeff went for a run and came back drenched and very hot. And the envy of all he passed.

Picture Free Blog

Yes, we have no pictures. I tried to get pictures of the exciting night time launch of the space shuttle. It had been described in glowing terms by other Villagers . So we set the alarm for 2:15 AM. We walked out back at the appropriate time and we could monitor the lift off being broadcast live from the local station. The space ship lifted off and we looked to the sky. Nothing, .....we waited and still Nothing....we watched it on the TV but still nothing in the sky....did they take a wrong turn? And then we realized that the cloud cover was just too thick. We thought it was more broken up and were quite disappointed.....especially considering the hour. It was hard to go back to sleep.

Today we visited with a local Doctor. We made the appt just to get acquainted with someone, Just In Case. She seemed very nice, very thorough, very down to earth and did her residency at Yale . We'll have some lab tests , do a follow-up visit and then hope that we don't need to see her for a year or so.

Jeff called a bit ago to tell us that he is arriving tomorrow for his first visit to The Villages. We are very excited. He is an excellent golfer and we have reserved tee times for Thurs and Friday . Tracy is traveling for work and can't make this trip but we hope she can come soon.
OOPS !!!! There is a picture on this blog. This is a favorite picture of Jeff. I will post more typical ones when he arrives.

Plans

We should all start our day with a good breakfast. This is one of my favorites.
Today I went for my morning walk even tho the wind was blowing at sub-hurricane force. There were very few brave souls out there and no small dogs. I think I should get extra credit for the effort I expended. We had a golf date planned for noon but wisely cancelled. Paul came home yesterday from Miami with a head cold and the wind and cool weather would not have helped.

I am not a gardener. I did not inherit the gene from my mother altho my sisters did. I do not miss it. I do not like being surprised by all creatures great and small. I do not like to get bitten by mysterious invisible things. I do not like my sweat mixed with dirt. But, I do like the fruits of someone else's labor (sort of like grandchildren). Eventually we will have to revise and add to the landscaping that is here. For now , I hope to put in some pots with assorted plantings. I did have good luck with gardening on that scale in both Ct and Pa. I guess I'm more in control of all the elements. But I have no idea what works down here so spent some time at the bookstore. This book seemed to have the most comprehensive and easy to understand guidelines.
Maybe some topiaries by the front door or the garages.

I like red in and on anything.
The house is moving along very slowly. I need to live in a space before I know what to change. I have looked at furniture stores but nothing is very intriguing.

We have a rather large nook in the kitchen designed for a table. But its only 3 steps to the dining area and another five steps to the table on the lanai, so how many tables does one small house need? But I do need a desk and I can always use more storage so we had some drawings made up. This will be made using the same cabinetry as the kitchen. I would like granite but don't know if we can come reasonably close on the match. ( My apologies for the quality of the picture but I couldn't cut and paste this from the pdf so I took a picture.)

This is the space it will go it. It faces the front of the house. Even thought we are far from settled, we do have a guest room already for you. Please drop by and stay awhile.

Happy Birthday Marybeth

Today MB as we tend to refer to her , became a year older. She is still young but said she feels old. I guess it's all relative. We are delighted that she is a part of our family. She is very special to us and we will miss our frequent times together now that we are 1000 miles apart.
I'm trying to download some pictures but Blogger is not cooperating.
Rainy day down here. But still warm and pleasant. The house is not coming together very fast. Mostly it's due to a shortage of places to put things. I spent some time at the design center that coordinates the cabinetry, flooring, appliances etc. I will have a desk and more cabinets built into the kitchen area. That will help significantly. I wish someone would just come in and decorate and I'd be done. I"m tired of decisions.
My golf game took a sudden turn for the better......surprise, surprise. And just when I needed it as I was playing with the Inner Circle Ladie's Group.
Paul is in Miami for the week and anxious to be back home.
Spring is starting to arrive. I noticed that many of the trees are getting their leaves back and the camelias are in bloom. It's not like the north where you really notice these things. It seems more subtle , especially since there is always something blooming down here. I'm all confused about the plants and trees . I don't know what they are called, how they grow or what they need. The landscaping around the house just seems to take care of itself for now. Eventually, we will have it revised and pick things that we like.
Enough chatter......
Love to Marybeth and wishes for a GREAT year.

If the gods had wanted us to fly..........we'd be born with parachutes.

We are DONE !! And we are HOME !! (barely and by the skin of our white knuckles, but more on that in a minute.)
There are no pictures today, just my chatter and important ?? thoughts on life and moving.
The final hurdle of emptying the house and cleaning has lingered in our brains for several weeks and so it was actually good to get on with the final task. The interior of the house needed a good painting and if we had actually sold the house in the normal fashion, we would have painted before the Sale sign went up. But, I decided to fill the nail holes and touch up the smudges and finger prints. I was completely out of paint from recently painting the kitchen so Paul picked up a quart , thereby submitting himself as the culprit. I diligently went about the house, kitchen, family room, stairway, upstairs hall, living room and dining room.....all the same color, a light yellowy colour called Powell Buff by Benjamin Moore.......great color. When it dried , I was horrified to see that it didn't match....not at all. So Paul picks up a gallon of paint and this time it glides on and blends in perfectly.......beautiful and we felt really smug about our success........NOT. It dried and didn't match again. I talked with the future owner and her son, the realtor, and told them they had a polka dot house and then we wrote out a check to have the walls painted. Painful but it needed to be painted anyhow.
The neighbors had a Farewell gathering Sat night and we will miss this generous group. They were so helpful when Paul was on his back. They built the wheelchair ramp into the house, provided outstanding meals to us for several weeks. They mowed our grass and our favorite opthomologist plowed our driveway with his BIG truck and teenage son after every snow fall. Doug, our favorite Dr, brought us a large package containing all our medical records from his office. Beth and Danny hosted the event. They are a young and generous couple. AND, reponsible for our selling the house to Dan's mother. They are very special and we will miss them.
We signed the closing papers at the lawyers, said goodby and "see you very soon" to Andy and Mason and Jon drove us to the airport in the rain. (beats snow). By the way, Andy was very concerned about the dinosaurs and their disappearance. He asked me if I knew where they went ( because grandmothers know EVERYTHING ) and then asked if I knew that fish need to live in water . It was all very cute and he has pondered these important matters since pre-school that day.
We intended to catch the 4:20 flight but managed to arrive as the 3:20 was boarding so we stepped up to the gate and said, " Can we go on this flight instead? and the nice agent smiled and said "Enjoy your flight" and I thought I saw a sardonic grin on his face. The plane had only about 50 others on it and we made ourselves comfortable, again very smug that we had managed this smart move. We took off thru the rainy clouds and it was a bit rougher than I like but then, I don't like anything but SMOOOOOOOTH sailing. I settled down with my iPOD , my knitting and my generous bag of 3 mini pretzels. It was cloudy all the way. And a bit bumpy.......then we descended a bit and slowed down. I noticed that we were making wide circles....that western sunset kept reappearing out the window. And that we were over water. And that there was large dark very scary looking weather to the west with lightening. And the thought went thru my brain that we would have to go in that direction in order to land. Finally the Capt,with the soothing calm voice , said that the storms were over Orlando and that we couldn't approach from this direction so would have to fly to the other side and approach it from there......well, that got my attention !! (By the way, since I dislike flying so much and do it so often, I am intune with every sound and movement of the plane and can generally recognize when things are changing....but since I have close friends who actually fly these things, I try and understand that they are well trained and that this is all very routine.......but I also hear the stories of the occasional dorks that sit up there and make stupid mistakes.......but that's for another story). So we turn Right and head towards that nasty sky. It was not fun.....Captain Paul kept saying in that calm soothing voice that it was "MODERATE" turbulance.......I can't imagine what anything worse would be called.....but then I wouldn't care as I would be dead of a fatal panic attack.
We somehow made it across Florida thru hell with all plane parts intact and then started circling again. The Capt with the calm soothing voice said, "Well folks, it seems that we will have to keep holding as Orlando is now closed due to the weather (I was sure it was because some airplane, not screwed together as well as ours, had just fallen to the ground) and we will have to go to Ft Myers for additional fuel. !! By this time, I didn't care, I just wanted off and intended to do just that once we landed. We would rent a car and drive .... I had my speech and tears all prepared to present my case to Paul. And then , after flying for 20 min in smooth air, we turned around, he said we were going to land in Orlando after all ( so what's with the needing fuel issue.....are we on fumes ??) We turn around, it is now very dark and we descend in relative calm and finally we LAND on terra firma. The plane erupted in applause. As we departed , I hugged the Captain, with the calm soothing voice, and offered him my last born grandchild in appreciation for saving us. ( We won't tell him that Mason is currently in the midst of the Terrible Twos .) Paul had nary a bead of sweat on him and probably would have slept thru it if it weren't for that clinging hysterical woman next to him. As we came out of the jetway and I saw all those innocent soon to be passengers, I wanted to shout, "Run, don't walk to the nearest rental car....you DON"T want to go up in that sky.! " But I didn't and smiled as if I'd just gotten off of a Disney ride.

Here's a little humor from Jon.......


So we are HOME and it looks great and we can get on with enjoying it. But, it is COLD and they are saying lows in the 20's tonight. What is with this. ?? Haven't we been thru enough already.? I want warm and sun and a cool drink by the pool . With my luck lately, it will probably snow .......

Farewell gift

View from the front porch......just a little joke from Mother Nature to remind us of why we want to live where palm trees grow. Paul's flight to Newark today has been cancelled and he will try again tomorrow. The snow is to continue for awhile and then change to freezing rain......yippee.
Fortunately, I made it to the yarn shop yesterday for an emergency supply of sock yarn. Not that I don't have enough (well, you can never have enough....) but its all down there in the warm house. I also had to stop in and see Patti, at The Dressing Room. How convenient is it when your favorite yarn shop and clothing boutique are next door to each other? I will miss this wonderful little shop but mostly, I will miss Patti. What a great friend she has become. I'm sorry that I don't have a picture to share as she is GORGEOUS and the classiest fashionista.
I think that The Villages needs The Dressing Room II.
And do you see those temperatures on the Rt side of the blog.........painful to look at.

How cold is it ?

In the fine print of the weather.com site, it says that it feels like 10 degrees. When I arrived home yesterday, the wind was fierce and the house was chilled to 50 degrees. It took layers of clothes, hot tea and a blanket to warm me up. Where is that husband when you really need him? Oh, yes, he's in FLORIDA.!!

The leaves are frozen into the pond. I wonder how the fish are doing. The previous years, they have survived and multiplied. But the ice looks very thick today and not sure they were able to escape to the bottom. Last year the frogs didn't make it. The new owner says she wants to keep the pond.

There is still snow around the yard and more predicted for tomorrow. Paul is scheduled to fly in on Friday and I suspect the airports will be a mess. I will pick him up if he actually gets there.
After over 2 years of complaining about my cell phone, I broke down and bought a new one. Now, my preference would have been an iPhone but I didn't want to give up Verizon service. I had a nice salesperson to assist me and explain, in simple terms, all the phone options now available. They are many and I'm sure I will use about 2 of them. This phone has a camera, an MP3 player, a GPS and email. Those last 3 items have charges so I don't plan on using them.

But this is why I really wanted it. It has a KEYBOARD. Now for you technophiles and teenage grandchildren, this is not news. But for me, it has made a big difference in my texting abilities. Alex was very surprised that I even sent text messages and said, "You're just like a teenager!". Before, I could manage to pound out a couple of words....now I can write a novel. I feel like we have been moving for months instead of weeks. The process just goes on and on. I am just anxious to get this all over with and head back to the warm.....and our stuff....and our new life. Today I will drop off clothes and more clothes to charities. Friends will stop by and pick up various pieces of furniture that didn't fit in Florida. I am getting rooms cleaned and touch up painting done.. On Monday a company comes and cleans out all the leftover debris and then we are DONE. We will let the lawyer handle the closing later in the week while we are basking in the sun on the golf course.

Disney World and Lizzie World

We had a wonderful 2 days at the Magic Kingdom with Lizzie, Alex, Becca and Nicholas...and of course, their parents, Mike and Jenna. Weather was perfect and the crowds were impressive. We noticed that Disney did not provide an abundance of benches for waiting and resting. Unless of course, you wanted to visit an eating establishment. But we managed to put in long days and evenings with a big smile on our faces and even bought a multiple day pass so we can return anytime. Here is a picture of Lizzie and Becca sharing a bench with Walt and Mickey on Main Street. Paul , Nicholas, Alex and part of Jenna on Main Street. I am not really pleased with the pictures taken but I think you get the idea. Mike took zillions of pics and I will hopefully post some of his at a later date.


Lizzie looked adorable in her beautiful and cute costumes . Jenna made and designed them all and they were even mentioned in Lizzie's critique. Most of the girls wear ice skating type costumes and they are VERY expensive....in the hundreds of dollars. Becca was in charge of hair and make up and getting Lizzie to the judging on time. Jenna was in charge of worrying. Mike was the photographer and Nick and Alex enjoyed being surrounded by so much beauty. As grandparents, we were adept at applause, cheers and hugs.

This picture gives you an idea of the venue. Each girl (and a few guys) did their presentation in front of a judge in this large auditorium. Lizzie insists it was fun and not nerve wracking.
This is Lizzie during one of her modeling competitions. She also did marching and a twirling presentation. It was a wonderful experience for her in developing poise and concentration and we're glad she wasn't stressed by it.

We managed to stand in quite a few lines in order to enjoy the various shows. We had to make the required stop by "It's A Small World" ..... and yes, the song stayed with us the rest of the day. We stopped by to watch the Disney Extravaganza at the castle. The castle changes colors throughout the presentation. A firework display is the finale.

It really is a magical place, for any age.

Paul is off to Miami for a week of work. I will fly up to Pa. on Wed and he will arrive on Fri. We will clean and empty the house and then complete the papers for the closing.

Today I played my first round in the Inner Circle Ladies Golf. Despite brief showers , bright sun and fierce winds, I was fairly pleased with my game. And I met 3 nice neighbors.

Tough travel days

We so enjoyed having the kids with us once again . The unpacking was put aside as we shared the sunshine with these cute little ones. Weather was mostly cooperative until the night before they left when we were under tornado warnings. The weather alert radio went off and it is a deafening alarm. Doubtful we could ever sleep thru it which is comforting to know.
Mason has a VERY strong stubborn streak and was determined to help with the bags. He actually managed to get it out of the house all by himself. Because Jon flies for Continental, they can fly standby on flights (fortunately, so can we). The Orlando to Newark flights looked great and off they went to the airport. By the time they checked in, everything was falling apart due to a combination of very bad weather in the Northeast and in Florida. Realizing that they had few options in Orlando, they rented a car and drove to Tampa, hoping to get on the 2 pm flight. They eventually got on a flight at 6:30pm and then had a tough drive home in the dark with the ice and snow.
But it was not time to put away my worry beads. The weather in Denver was deteriorating rapidly with near blizzard conditions forecast for today. Mike, Jenna and all the kids are planning on flying out to Orlando this morning. In text messaging with Becca, they had a slow drive thru bad conditions but so far their flight was on time. I'll relax once they are on the flight and heading towards the sun. Mike came down with the flu last week....the real thing, Type B. (He did get a flu shot) He has been pretty miserable and I'm sure will be pretty wiped out but maybe the sun will help. We'll head down to Disney tomorrow and Saturday to see everyone and cheer Lizzie on in the Twirling Events. You can be sure there will be pictures.
PS: They landed just 17 minutes late.

Andy and Mason came to visit.....

We are so happy to have Andy and Mason with us ....and of course, their parents. They had a great Disney visit and now are spending a few days with us, exploring our new home. Today they are at the beach, somewhere on the east coast. It is a beautiful sunny day. Looks like lunch is still on the face.
View from the lanai out to the golfcourse. Paul and I played our first round in the Inner Circle Couple's Golf. It was the longest and hardest 9 holes I've played. The course is nothing by small mounds, dotted with either sand or water......and the greens undulate in every direction. It was painful. We play best ball per couple so that helps some. We play the next couple on Thurs.....same course. Hopefully , different outcome.
View from the living room. Looks well put together doesn't it ????? NOT. I'm slowly getting thru the major boxes but then I forget where I put everything. I think anyone over 60 should be prohibited from moving unless they have a keeper.

Can't wait to see Mike and Jenna and the kids on Thursday when they arrive for Lizzie's international twirling extravaganza at Disney.

A VERY SPECIAL WELCOME TO MATTHEW CHRISTIAN HOLTAN born on February 9, weighing a healthy 8 lb 15 oz. Congratulations to First time Grandparents Annette and Mark. Welcome to the wonderful world of little boys and diapers once again.....