The good , the bad and the really ugly...

In my mind, I am a slim, younger person. In my mirror, I am neither of those. But this is supposed to be about the GOOD.......not the BAD or the UGLY. For whatever reason and mindset, I gave up eating healthy awhile back. I ate what and whenever I wanted, in denial that my body would eventually mimic the fattening foods I devoured. But , it soon did and I just quit looking in mirrors or at photos. And then one day about a month ago, I decided to do something smart for a change and put my head on the right way. Today, I had my annual physical and the Dr said I looked very healthy and she was very pleased with my labs. In just that short time, I dropped 33 points on my total Cholesterol levels. I have lost weight (still have many more to shed) and feel soooo much better. I'm doing Weight Watchers because that works for me and obviously agrees with my health as well. And, surprisingly, I am not deprived nor missing out on anything. The body is amazing and I am thrilled that it is giving me another chance to treat it kindly.

There is nothing I would consider BAD around here except for that gecko that found its way into the lanai and gazes fondly thru the open doors into the house. With family arriving in two days, I hope he finds a way out.

The REALLY UGLY...................was my golf game yesterday. We played 9 holes on one of the more difficult Palmer courses.
All I can say is that it was a beautiful day filled with basking alligators, sand hill cranes and a diving osprey. And thankfully, lots of wine to forget my score.

The R & R is over........

I thought I 'd disappear for a longer time but I missed you all......not that you ever comment or anything, but I know you're there. Lurking is fine with me, I do it all the time on the other blogs I read.

We took advantage of some free time (yes, the retired do have a busy life also) and we saddled up the RV and headed NW. We ended up at St George Island State Park. It is where Florida bends toward the panhandle about 80 miles south of Tallahassee.
It is just beginning to warm up and still very quiet among the dunes. They call it the "Forgotten Florida" or the "Real Florida". We liked it alot.
There were few people on the beaches which have the lovely powdery sand, cute sandpipers and all the shells you could pick up.
We ate out one night at the Blue Parrot, a seafood spot on the beach. I recommend the grilled fresh grouper. And the wine.
Trying to capture a picture of this tiny crab as it scurried about was a challenge. To gauge the size, that white piece at the bottom of the picture is part of a sand dollar.

As we lumbered home on Thurs, we realized the space shuttle was about to launch. So we grabbed the iPad (remind me sometime to tell you how much I like that thing), and found NASA TV with a LIVE liftoff.......it was amazing to be able to do that!!! If there hadn't been a heavy cloud cover, I'm sure we would have seen the trail in the sky also. The marvels of technology.!I need to post this on my forehead and remind myself of this everyday........
..............so let's all hurry up and get going..................!!

It's time for a ..........

.....vacation, sabbatical, time-out, coffee break, recess, nap time, spring break...............Get the idea that I'm going away for awhile?? Life is good, our days are busy and if we take that world cruise or go sky diving, we'll be sure and take you along. Be good, have fun and grow old later.............just like we plan to do.

Is it or is it not...........

a blog ?? My apologies to all my loyal followers who thought they had signed on to a blog filled with titillating stories and scenic views, posted regularly and predictably. Alas, I have led you astray and my true nature of procrastination and laziness has invaded even this part of my life. I will try to either stay with it.....or concentrate on finding the missing golf game......it seems I can't do both these days.

So, to catch you up on the exciting days of the elderly, we had great company 2 weeks ago. Mike and Jenna, sans all 4 kids and the assorted birds and dogs, flew in from Colorado and we headed to the beach.

We noted this church floating along the inner coastal waterway and upon investigation, found that it is a floating wedding chapel ! How fun is that. (click on to enlarge).
Weather was sunny and not overly warm but perfect for shelling on Sanibel's famous beaches.


While we were enjoying the pelicans and good times, Andy and Mason were dealing with snow, snow and more snow and a power outage. And because the morning toasted bagel is a requirement, dad came to the rescue with the kerosene bagel toaster.

Currently, we are back on Sanibel Island, enjoying perfect weather for biking, shelling and dining outside. We brought the RV down for a couple days and are staying at a place filled with snow birds that have been coming down for 20 years. They are a friendly and busy group and have welcomed us. One of the nice employes referred to the Periwinkle RV Park as Periwrinkle Park......................

Today I'd rather ......

....blog than go for my morning walk. Well, actually, I'm just trying to avoid the walk. It is 41 degrees, cloudy, windy and I'm trying to deal with shin splints. So, you all get to share the trivia of my life once again.

This is the man with the raspy voice that we all like to cozy up with by the fire......or rock away the hours with his music of years past.
This is the Rod Stewart we actually saw last night. The Great Pretender series brings look alikes, sound alikes and wannabees to The Savanna Center. I enjoyed his
plausible attempt at impersonation altho the raspy voice was mostly missing in the 90 minute aerobic renditions of favorite music. The back up band was good and in general, the old people really got into it, complete with the oversized soccer ball bouncing about the crowd..... Never having seen the REAL thing, I'm assuming the various gyrations, dancing with the crowd and whirling the microphone stand, are RS trademarks. I enjoyed it, Paul not so much.

I found a great time waster yesterday......like I need any more. Someone recommended an app for the iPad and I had to try it. It is really fun.

You write with your finger (or spend money on a stylus) in colors and various line width. Comments by others said they take notes with it in meetings.......I think it would be fun for kids to practice writing. I enjoy doodling on it. Have no idea if there is any real practical application but it is fun..........and did I mention the procrastination feature??

It's been a good year...............

.....so far anyhow and shows no signs of going anywhere but up.

It's time for new beginnings and promises to one's self to do better, get organized, freshen up one's life and generally recharge for the upcoming year. If only I was so disciplined to think I could actually accomplish what my inner voice suggests. At the very least, I could try and update the blog more timely......

Christmas was good to our families and it was delightful to be with most of our grandkids near the holiday.

IPads seemed to be the gift of the season and we were no exception. Jon got one
and our family generously gifted one to us. It is a delightful little machine. It sits
in it's nice little case and is very fast and just feels good......just like the iPhone. I'm still undecided if I prefer reading books on it or my Kindle. I'd like to recommend my current read but I am slogging thru a tome of some 900 pages highly touted by the New York Times Book Review. I think I'd be happier if I went with my own instincts and just read trash. I'm learning more about India than I ever wanted to know.

While in Colorado we were having fun making coffee in the Cuisinart Single Brew coffee maker. The variety of brews and instant gratification are appealing. Soooo, we picked one up when we got home.

I
I only drink decaf and so far, I haven't found one I like as well as a brewed choice. And it's expensive to try them all out since you can't buy the little K cups individually. I like the Cafe Mocha and would like to try some teas. I like the hot water feature for soups and tea bags. But, it is annoyingly expensive and extravagant despite its appealing convenience. Fortunately, Costco has a long return policy so we'll give it a fair trial. Anyone else have one ??

And it looks like the beginning of a good year for Jeff and Jennifer who have announced their engagement. The big date will be September 3, 2011 in Portland, Oregon. We are delighted to welcome Jennifer to our family.

PS: If anyone finds my golf game, would you please return it ASAP !!

Greetings from Colorado

It is actually warmer here than in Florida. The snow resides only in the mountains and the Front Range views are very scenic. But all is to change tomorrow with BELOW ZERO weather moving in and SNOW. Not sure how much but enough to make it lovely. We don't fly home until Friday eve so are not too worried. And, if we should happen to get stuck here, it would be a good thing. We have our knitting, our various electronic toys and plenty of good company.

Speaking of good company, or at least interesting house mates.... Normally, I regale you with grandkid pictures but today I will introduce you to the other inhabitants of this large house.

Guess what Becca and Lizzie are examining?

This is a Russian Tortoise, Lizzie's gift for Christmas. It's name is Shelly and lives in a very large cage in her room. Each morning, it needs to be awakened and warmed in water so that it will eat. ( That conjures up various images and comments for the human gender but I will let it slide....)
Next, is Top Dog, Queen Bee, The Princess Roxie. She is maltese/yorkie mix and controls the house. Today she is rather plainly dressed but has quite a wardrobe.
Jake (a bichon) and Sammy (a labradoodle) are mostly confined to the large kitchen area due to bad habits. Jake is getting old but still rambunctious.
There are 3 large salt water fish tanks in the family room and they are a beautiful glimpse into an underwater world. My favorite are the Clown fish which come in black as well as the familiar Nemo orange. They are in front of the anemone named Marley ( for obvious hair similarities ).
Next up is Charlie, a Green Cheek Conure. He doesn't speak but just looks pretty.
And finally, meet Billy.... He is the star of the family room with a vocabulary bigger than mine. He sings, he whistles, he barks, he meows (there used to be cats here also). He also mimics the sound of the kids voices when he calls out their names. He answers Hello when the phone rings and laughs loudly. This is not a good picture of him as he didn't like me so close and kept moving. He is an Blue Front Amazon parrot and will live forever.

So, with 4 wonderful kids, 2 great parents, assorted friends stopping by, and the above menangerie, this home is a busy lively place to enjoy.

Maybe snow pictures tomorrow.....................Plus, I'll share what a perfect gift we got.

Tis the season.......

I'd like to say that the blog has been put on the back burner these weeks because of all the Christmas preparations.....but ............the preparations are still in their boxes so that excuse won't work. Yes, the house looks like it did in July...no tree, no trimming, no cookies (except for those who took pity on us and gifted us tasty little treats). I found that we are not alone in not decorating this year and sometimes a break is a nice thing. The best part is that I don't have to UNDECORATE.

Our trip to the north allowed us to be a part of the December rituals and we went along on the hunt for the perfect tree. Jones Tree Farm is quite the impressive operation with over 15000 trees sold during the season. It was rainy and cold but these two didn't mind one bit. After much searching, the
perfect Blue Spruce was found.....
Part of being the dad is getting to lay on the soggy ground and try and cut the trunk with a dull saw.

It had to stay in the garage for several hours to dry out but then came in to be
adorned by the little elves. It is a perfect, beautiful tree for a beautiful family.

Meanwhile, down in the land of sun and warm, the golf game has improved and we won our Couple's match yesterday. We'll spend Christmas Day with other orphan neighbors and with Aunt Romayne. Soon, we will wing our way West to hug those growing grandbaby's in Colorado.......Is Nicholas really 21 ???? And Becca a college sophomore and Alex will drive soon and Lizzie a Tween ??? Wow, we really are old!!

But life is very good and we wish all of our thousands of readers a Wonderful Holiday, A Merry Merry Christmas and a New Year of blessings .

Baby it's cold outside............

Because it wasn't cold enough for us in Florida, we decided to go where it really is. We got up Thursday morning at 3 AM !! and drove to Tampa International . There we went thru the naked body scanner device and one of us got a 1/4 body pat down (that would be moi). Then we flew (one of us slept) for 2 hours, enjoyed the 45" ride into Manhattan, soaked in the busy atmosphere at Grand Central (thank you Jackie Kennedy for reburbishing it) and ate a sandwich on the train north. Then , a quick hug and kiss for the boys and we were off on a 2.5 hour drive( NYC traffic !) to the JFK area for the NAA gathering of pilots, current and retired. ...... then a 2 hour ride home (one of us refused to stay in a hotel due to the possibility of encountering BEDBUGS) and a collapse into bed at 1 AM. A looooooong day for the old folks. I didn't take a single picture at the party but others did and I hope someone sends some along so I can share them. But it was so great to see the familiar faces and catch up once again.





On Friday, plans were made to cook kabobs on the grill..............................no one

told the weatherman of our plans but at least it wasn't me that had to stand out there and cook.

The boys love to play games on the iPhone........here they are ignoring everything and everyone and deep into Angry Birds. It is addicting and time consuming and I love it too.............

We will stay here for another couple days before heading back home where it is predicted to be 50 degrees on Monday with a low in the 20's.........I think we will move to Costa Rica.

Looking for someplace warm

It is very cold here. After last winter, I thought we might not have to endure another 50 year cold spell for awhile. We are to have freezes for the next couple of days and highs in the 50's and windy. This time we are not covering or moving or doing anything to save the plants. If they can't put on their own coats, they will have to suffer the consequences. Luckily, I have no golf scheduled.

The Apple geeks at the Genius Bar fixed my computer in less than 2 days. !! So...off I went with a spring in my step and Freida at my side. The place is quite lovely during the season and it was exhilarating to be loose among the glitter and glamour. I found these pillows at Pottery Barn. I think they are just perfect but will have to think about it. Maybe one would be better in a frame. I love magnolias but found that they turn brown shortly after picking.

Remember when I mentioned that our friends , John and Freida bought the new Droid X phone? John had a 3Gs iPhone but they were interested in the Verizon network.

After about 2 weeks, they were terribly frustrated with the phones and returned them.
They now have the new iPhone 4 and life is back to normal. I think the Droid X is a very nice device with good apps and comparable to the iPhone in many areas.....it has gotten good reviews . And if it were your first Smart phone, it might be a good choice. BUT, trying to switch from an iPhone to anything else would be impossible for me as it was for them.

Living here in 'the bubble', we have constant entertainment options. Most is OK and some is less than that but there is something for most everyone's taste. Usually , we get groups that are familiar names from years past. Sometimes they are still good, mostly they are 'past their prime', just like the crowds they are playing to.

Anyway, we went to the John Tesh show the other night. It really was a mixed bag.
Much of the program was light Christmas music and his 6 piece band is very good. The background lighting and graphics were excellent. When , at the end, he played one piece, you could imagine him at Red Rocks doing what he does best. He should stick to music and forget the selling of his book and boring stories of his teenage daughter. All in all, it was a nice evening. Addendum: The concert was almost 2 hours, no intermission, and ended on a very rousing number. The audience applauded vigorously for 2 seconds and then got up and walked out. No sustained applause and no encore which I thought was very surprising. Seems like most everything gets an encore these days and I was kind of looking forward to one of his better arrangements. I wonder if I had continued clapping, would they have returned JUST FOR ME ???