Stuff you don't need to remember......

Florida and other parts of the Southeast are in the midst of a severe drought. Now, I can't blame the rain gods for the above plants condition ....it sits in my house and I have totally neglected it. Actually, it just needs repotting so it has better water retention soil. We are allowed to have the sprinklers on one day a week, after dark, and use non-potable water. (We have two water lines into the house for this purpose). But we are allowed to water extra if there is new landscaping or we hand water. One of our neighbors has a jungle for a yard and thick green grass , because he hand waters constantly. There outa be a law. But I suspect that his water bill is significant.
Aren't these lovely??? Even if they aren't tulips. And I bought them myself. The family knows I would prefer no gifts on Mother's Day but we went to Walmart on Monday and they had an abundance of left over bouquets for the paltry sum of $2.50 so how could I resist? As of today, Thurs, they are still doing well.
The buffalo seem to like their habitat and have produced bunches of baby buffalo. Initially, the mamas kept them away from prying eyes but now they are out in the open. Very cute. Alas, the Developer has announced that because of 3 "human incidences" and the potential liablity, all of the herds are being moved to "the North 40" whereever that is. The internet is full of comments this morning....everything from chastising people for feeding them and getting too close (yes, we are guilty) to putting up a double fence and even suggesting a moat with alligators. Others fear that this is just a way for the Developer to open up large areas of land for further building of commercial areas. They have announced that there will be a "spectacular" nature preserve built in the newer developments south of here.....maybe with buffalo?

The days are just too busy and I am accomplishing nada with the house. Today I am giving up my Art Studio to CLEAN !!! How sacrificial is that??? The new drapes are up (pictures to follow when the dust bunnies are gone) and they are OK, but the floors and walls are still bare. Just seems like there are other priorities in life.....like golf, and a good book, and a dip in the pool. Weather is still quite spectacular but a good soaking rain would be welcome.

If it's Wednesday, this must be Pennsylvania....

We left Colorado a day or two early and hopped on an almost empty plane to Newark. Now , we had no intention of doing this until later in the month or next month, but the RV needed some attention after the long winter in storage. and we fly when the seats are available. We managed to swap cars with Jon as he came to the airport for a trip and arrived in Pa before dark. I must say that it is a pretty time of year up here, dogwood, lilac, tulips and a variety of trees all in bloom.

Today is hectic with MaryBeth and Jon working, Mason and I at home and Paul tending to the RV and seeing his Dr for one last time. ( Patti, I apologize if I didn't make it to the shop to see you.......I really tried. )

Tomorrow we will head over to Newtown to see MaryBeth and Jon's new house as they are having the inspection done. They will move the end of June. Jon will drop us off at the airport and we will catch a late flight back to Florida.

Jon stitched this picture together so it is rather scrunched looking. The house is obviously new, in a nice development in Newtown, actually in the Sandy Hook section. It is on 3 acres.

Nicholas is in the midst of finals at The Colorado School of Mines in Golden but managed a few hours off to meet us for dinner. Becca looks none the worse for wear after a fun night at the prom. Prior to leaving, she was complaining about her shoes and admitted that she went barefoot for most of the evening. I doubt she was alone.

Lizzie and Roxie have both changed since our December visit. It is hard to see her grow up so quickly. She is getting very tall and makes quite a fashion statement.(Lizzie that is, altho Roxie has been know to wear some chic sweaters and collars.)

Becca's Big Day

Just writing about the events of the day leaves me overwhelmed and full of emotion. So grab a cup and sit back and enjoy the views. We began our first full day in Colorado at the first of two Lacrosse games. Alex is #24 and identifiable by his height and red shoes. I love watching this game, with all its fast pace, flying sticks and rough and tumble action. It's the only sport I know where you can poke, whack and attack the other player with a long stick and it's all legal. Alex is very good but by the 2nd game, the entire team was running out of steam.

Meanwhile, Lizzie practices her twirling with the wide open spaces
and Michael is the team photographer. Said he took over 350 pictures of the two games.
But the day belonged to our Beautiful Becca. We were thrilled to be able to witness the preparation and excitement. Having 3 boys, we definitely missed the making of a beauty.

Rebecca Anne Miller, age 16
Here's Mom giving a final inspection

And granddad giving a big hug


Becca went with this group, 7 beautiful young ladies, and 3 handsome guys. They had a huge limo, dinner at an italian restaurant, the prom and then a huge after prom party. We can't wait to hear the details.

We ended the long happy day with a cheesecake to celebrate Michael's 44th birthday. I tried to make him 45 for a minute but was promptly corrected. You'd think I'd know for sure.....I remember every detail of that day. Stay tuned, more news and pictures soon.

Random chatter

My blog discipline is severely lacking. I think about doing it everyday but then the important and priority things get in the way (golf, sunshine, more golf and even more sunshine) and before I know it , it is the bewitching hour. I will do better.

These are the wonderful, exquisite French tulips that arrived the day my sisters and mother left. (ProFlowers) They are large and lasted exactly ONE WEEK !!! Tulips are my very favorite and when I find the pot of gold , I am going to have them delivered every week. Along with more of the chocolate birthday cake.





The Bunches, of Ft Myers and Woodbury, Ct fame, graced our doorstep last week. How fun was that. We led them around The Villages and made them endure the Trolley Tour but we don't think they drank the KoolAide. We had rousing games of ping pong and pickle ball. Bruce is in the championship league for ping pong and had to tone down his skills in order to be part of our team. Janet and I go back many many years with a shared interest in fiber arts. Janet generously gave us this beautiful framed organic piece. It is about 8 x 10 and is comprised of a dried leaf (the tan portion) the webbed portion of a palm tree, acorns and in the lower center is a beautiful large perfect dragonfly. We have another one of her pieces, comprised of a section of birch with a large beetle attached. (I haven't unpacked it) She knows more about bugs, and snakes and birds and all things growing. And contributes her time to nature centers both in Florida and in Connecticut. We hope to get together again in Ct. We were trying out the Macro function on my camera and I thought this view of salad makings was slightly picturesque.

Tomorrow, on Friday, we are winging our way west. We had thought about leaving today but the weather was just plain ugly and it snowed vigorously all day in Denver. Thinking that our fragile and elderly bodies could not adjust to the sharp contrast in climate, we opted to postpone it by a day. We will enjoy seeing Becca in her prom preparations, Alex playing Lacrosse and marvel at Lizzie growing up so quickly. Hopefully, Nicholas will be able to get away from college finals studies.

Jon and MaryBeth have been house hunting in Newtown, Ct. They have sold their house in Pa after about 6 weeks . Hard to believe that Andy and Mason will be going to school in the same town where Jon grew up. They think they have found a house to their liking.......stay tuned for pictures.

Too soon it's over.....

Prior to my family's arrival, this lovely creation was delivered to our doorstep. The entire cake was edible and calorie for calorie, was probably the most expensive birthday cake I have enjoyed. It was magnificent and I highly recommend that you contact 1-800-FLOWERS if you'd like one (no affiliation, just a recommendation).

They also gave me these delightful slippers, all silk and padded. Great for my dainty feet on these tiled floors.

My sisters have excellent taste in clothes, decorating ideas and handbags.....unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the bags......just think large and colorful. But they did take on the house as their project and gave us excellent and creative ideas. As part of the process, they moved furniture......several times until it was right. We even enlisted the strength of Mother.

But all our fun time together ended much too soon. Since they have always lived on the opposite coast, we have spent most of our lives apart. My sisters are very talented successful women whom I have admired from afar and sometimes wished they lived next door. I look forward to seeing them again very soon.

Party time

When our 16 year old granddaughter (almost 17) tells me that my blog hasn't been updated in awhile, I guess its time to jot a note. Thanks Becca

To begin with, I had a birthday. A major milestone with a card arriving from the government. I have certainly whined and complained enough about this but in reality, I feel very fortunate to able to say that I am 65, in good health and enjoying life immensely and actively with someone very special at my side.

A BIG THANK YOU to our generous kids and their wonderful families for the super gift. It is a raspberry Sony camera and has amazing features and a big screen for viewing. It does so many things but I have no idea what they are.....yet. My first picture happened to be of a subject close at hand.......or foot. And my new toe ring. Who says I'm old.......And guess who came to help me celebrate my birthday.? What a nice present. My mother , still cute and dynamic at a young 87. And my two younger sisters, Sandy and Maureen (who wouldn't be happy if I called her Mugs on the world famous blog). Today we opted for an overview of The Villages via the Trolley tour. It is a relaxing and informational way to explain this place to a visitor. Of course, the real purpose is to convince you that you want to move here and invest in "the lifestyle".



Mother and Sandy waiting for the trolley. The weather was perfect...absolutely perfect. Clear skies, in the 80's with a slight breeze and NO humidity. Some of us did some shopping while others made mental notes on where we might have to return. With the part-timers heading north, the community is decidely quieter and the stores are having some good sales. We ended the day with kabobs on the grill and then a trip down to the square to listen to the band and watch the dancers.

It's been a great birthday party.

The house is empty of all creatures great and small.....

Another visit has drawn to a close. The house is quiet and all the toys are put away. We hope that it won't be long before Andy talks them into returning.

This is MaryBeth's reaction to her up close and personal experience with Mr Anole Gecko. I had assumed that he had left the guest room for more spacious quarters but we had no sightings. He finally reappeared right where we had last seen him and startled MB as she was packing. He escaped again but then returned and climbed onto the window. We were able to capture him in a plastic tub and deposit him back into the wild. No doubt he is as relieved as we are to be out of the house.

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.