Best laid plans..................

Love and laughter all around as one of us celebrated a birthday......Gifts were abundant, the friends are wonderful and life is good. As to our plans which looked so promising just a few short days ago.....alas, they have changed. We are still heading west...................

but not in the home on wheels...........
nor in the new car finding a place in our garage..............
nor by the roads in the sky...............
Instead, we will meander along the byways in our reliable old 2000 Ford Explorer with 170,000 well used miles on it. This is not ours as it is getting a physical so I found this pic of one just like it, all shiny and new. It still looks good and runs pretty well but just keeps losing parts and functions bit by bit.....I know how it feels. We will take it to Colorado for one of the kids to use....just like we did with a '92 Explorer after 10 years.

We'll try and leave this weekend and go by some interesting places and take our time. And hope to check in and share some of the details.

Plans........

Just thought I'd throw in proof that we have a great family and have had some fun times. This one is from Paul's last flight , over 8 years ago. We all hopped on board and flew from Denver to Puerto Vallarta , spent a few sun and beach days and then came back to cold snowy Denver on Dec 31st. It was a memorable time . It's been a busy week; saying good by to Andy and Mason who filled our pool and house with happy laughter; and Paul having to say a final goodby to a friend and colleague in Ct.

And now we are gearing up for a busy month of May.....which could possibly include
getting the 'moving roadblock' all prettied up for her next trip.....and
might just include a visit with our favorite teens again
and by going to the left coast, we'll meet up with this good looking pair.

We won't make the final plans for several days but we're getting out the maps and making the lists.

Which one of these.......

Is NOT like the others ??? Does that bring back a little Sesame Street memories?My screen bugs of late have had some company...........this is the errant gecko who has taken up residence on the wrong side of the screen. He seems to enjoy the neighborhood but aside from eliminating a bug or two (no proof of that however), I find him of no value and his darting about the plants is a bit startling at times. He landed on my foot one morning when I was dousing the plants with the hose.

Jan and Curt (Paul's favorite sister and brother in law) arrived from Ky by way of Kiawah Island, SC. We can't compete with that kind of beauty but did manage to find some of the natural Florida over in Homasassa Springs where the manatees live and the native flora and fauna are in abundance. The weather was perfect for a stroll among the flamingos and the alligators and Jan's favorite turtles.
I'm enjoying the new camera altho I haven't taken snaps of anything National Geographic worthy. This is the bird of paradise leaf after a rain.
My lone hibiscus is adding a bright spot on the lanai with its constant blooming.
Andy and Mason practically wore out the pool during their stay. It's so fun to see them develop their swimming skills in such a short time. And mostly on their own, with little coaching. They put on snorkles and took to them immediately. I remember my first time well and had to fight off the panic of breathing underwater.....I can't imagine trying scuba........

No, Mason is not driving the golf cart....just a time lapse shot along side the cart path with the underglow lights visible.

14 holes in 1:35 mins

Jon and boys are at Springbreak Casa for the week so haven't had time to update the 'world famous blog ' in quite awhile. So enjoy this video that Jon made yesterday with a fun iPhone app when he and his dad enjoyed a warm round of golf. Towards the end, they play the 4th hole behind the house and the boys ran over to join them. Turn the sound on.............

Yes we have no pictures...

.....today despite the fact that I now have THREE cameras. I have a well used Sony that has served me well. Then I have the very excellent iPhone which takes exceedingly good shots and I can quickly email, text them or save to iPhoto. And now I own the Canon SX130IS. It has an amazing zoom allowing me to capture images far, far away. It has way too many pixels for me to appreciate. It has a 3 inch screen to view the immediate shot. And Sam's had it for a great price. I got all the details I was looking for and now have to learn how it works.
As I compose this (on the iPad for the first time ever) I am struggling to keep warm in Connecticut. I came up yesterday with hopes of finding Spring........but it is taking it's time. . There are still patches of snow around and daffodils barely out of the ground. Waiting for the boys at the bus stop, I found patches of pussy willows and brought some home to join the vase of tulips I bought. And I saw two robins.
Paul is basking in the sun and fun back home and waiting for favorite company .

Stay tuned for views from my lens.......

It was a dark and stormy night...........

and it continues as we speak. Central Florida is living up to it's reputation of being the lightning capital of the world and a hot spot for tornados. We had a brief respite last evening and then it all fired up again.This is a bad picture out the front door.....the tree was bending way over but with the delay on the iPhone, I only got it partially bent. The winds were very impressive and since we don't have a basement, I sought refuge in the laundry which seems to be the most protected inner room. But unlike the neighbors, I did not take the beer and peanuts with me......will need to add that to the emergency list.
This is the view of the front approaching yesterday....the view today is more widespread but not as dangerous , so far. As I write this at 9:45 am, it is totally dark outside. We've had 3.5 inches of rain in the past 18 hours.

Paul is enjoying the sun in Miami again....he's doing the flight instructor thing in the simulators for the 2nd time this month. Aside from the long drive, he seems to like the change of pace from golf and more golf.

I saw this app, CamWow, for the iPhone on Robbie's blog (www.robbiespawprints.blogspot.com) and I had to try it and have been having fun with it. It makes a picture of my desk look like a sketch. It would be pretty to use flowers , trees etc.
It is a free app but for $1.99 you can get the writing eliminated.

Think I'll go stock the laundry room/tornado shelter with diet beer and pretzels.

Update: it is now an hour later and we have had 6+ inches and it is still raining torrentially.

GRAND kids

Yes, they are grand. And the fact that they want to spend their vacation days with us is a real treat.

Some of us enjoyed a day of shopping in Orlando. We did ourselves proud with a new pink Juicy purse (her) and black silk wedgie shoes for me. And lunch at Brio.....I enjoyed a salad, which is a far cry from the risotto that I usually order.......actually, the whole time I was there, I really really wanted the risotto.......
Meanwhile, Alex was burning up the course with his grandfather. Everyone around here really enjoys watching the young ones ...... even if we can't follow the ball that far with our old eyes.

Meanwhile, back on the feminine side of life, Lizzie and I had our nails spruced up.
On Friday, we hopped over to Epcot and Disney. It is the annual Flower Show and there was color around every corner.


It was a long day but the weather was perfect, as was the company. They fly home tomorrow and we will miss their energy and joie de vivre.

The fog comes on little cat feet................(Carl Sandburg)

It was a foggy, foggy morning on the course. We tee'd off at 7:47 and could only see 50 yards ahead. (These pictures were taken after the first couple of holes so not as foggy, just pretty.) Now considering that the greens are farther than that, and MOST times I can hit the ball farther than that......this presented a bit of a problem. It seemed kind of easy to just hit the ball straight ahead but our perception was all skewed and balls flew most anywhere they wanted. Some never to be found again. In order not to get hit by the group behind us, we had to flash our cart lights at them to indicate we were leaving......or just a shout out into the abyss. It was interesting.
It gradually started burning off and by the 5th hole, the sun was shining through. I can't say that I'd like to play like that very often but it certainly added a new dimension to already abundant challenges.

And, as we headed off to breakfast, we passed through this beautiful area filled with the moss covered oaks and the stunning azaleas. Everything is beginning to bloom and it is magnificent.

The JHS Class of 61.......

is looking pretty darn good. Judy Schultz Anderson and her husband Gary, have recently become Villagers and we gathered at the Palmer Country Club for a delightful evening of food and wine. They live in Fargo and are alums of UND and NDSU so we had a lot of catching up to do. It was a perfect evening for dining outside. The weather has reached the time of year when it is absolutely glorious,....warm, not hot, no humidity, beautiful evenings and perfect for dancing on the square and enjoying every minute of the day.

And, the tulips have arrived in the grocery store. I love them when they droop gracefully. However, I seemed to have gotten two groups of differing age and temperment. Or maybe it's just time for some fresh ones.

Good company......great family.

Our newest gadget is remarkable in it's simplicity. And it feels good besides. Jeff and Jennifer arrived last week and brought with them a small box containing the new Apple TV. She is very adept at making sense out of all those electronics and quickly made it work. Somehow, we can now buy first rate movies, (still in the theaters), choose from Netflix instantly, enjoy a slide show of our pictures and listen to our iTunes music. We can also access radio stations, youTube, podcasts and I'm sure there are many other things we need to learn about. And it's all done via our computer to the TV. Pretty cool.....We also bought new speakers for improved surround sound. Technology changes so rapidly but with a little help from our bright kids, we manage to almost keep in step.

We so enjoyed having them here........Jenn telecommutes for work so while she was busy, Jeff got in some good golf time. I'm back on the "I will either improve or quit" mode and so took a lesson with more planned for my future.

The weather wasn't great, nice temperatures but chilled by the strong breezes. They managed to squeeze in a day at Universal and recommended the Harry Potter rides and castle.

It was a good week.........