Monday

Well I was awakened this morning around 5 with the sound of rain once again beating on the roof. Wow have we ever been getting the rain in this usually dry period of the year for Florida. My garden sure appreciates the wet weather. Anyhow after our quiet times and my cup of hot green tea I finished off the last of the pumpkin pie for breakfast before heading out to the rec on my bike. I had to stop at the library on the way to wait for the rain shower that suddenly sprung up to ease off enough to ride on. After about 5 minutes under the shelter I headed on to the rec.

We had 13 players total for pickle ball and 4 of us got in some good play before the others arrived around 8:15. The play was fast and furious at times with lots of wet shirts and it was good to see Leslie back on the court from her Caribbean Cruise. Must be nice!!!

I got a little garden time in after PB even though it was very damp, humid and overcast. There were showers through the day. Amy and Ava came for lunch then the girls took off to the mall for some shopping. I hung around and read until it was time to head off to Sam's to pick up a few things as well as gas up again. While at Sam's I tried one of the samples being given out and somehow an upper molar with a filling that had been sensitive in the mountain in October, broke into. So now I have an ugly space with a black spot between the eye tooth and another molar on top. Well I have an appointment to get it yanked out tomorrow and will go from there on what course of action is best suited. A bridge or implant!!I have little faith in root canals and crowns. I'm looking into an implant but the cost is very expensive. That's where a titanium screw or post is inserted into the jawbone which eventually adheres to the bone and then a crown is applied to the top of the screw. That procedure usually lasts a lifetime whereas the root canal and crown is somewhat suspect or at least it has been with us as Nancy had a 2 grand tooth pulled a couple months ago after that course of action failed. Oh well!!

Well will close for now, LATER.

Saturday and Sunday on Sunday Night

Well I'm sure for those of you who read my ramblings you have no doubt surmised that I had Internet access problems starting Saturday morning until around 5 PM today(Sunday).

Saturday morning found us drying out from a ton of rain, wind and falling temps. I don't believe it got much over 65 and with the steady breeze it actually felt colder. Nancy took off to run some errands after our quiet times an a hearty breakfast of buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter and some fresh blueberries. I lathered mine with Smart Balance(all finished with the Amish Butter until next year)and honey. Wow were they ever good and they lasted(stuck to our ribs) us until dinner time.

I managed to loosen up the compacted soil around most of my garden plants as the heavy rains really packs the soil around the plant roots as well as bend the younger seedlings over and down into the soil. After the garden work I checked on a couple college football games and watched Pitt lose to Cincinnati in a close game and with cold temps and snow falling. Yikes I remember those days of playing football on cold hard packed fields in northern Virginia. Believe me it was not much fun as I recall. I played 5 years and was a starting guard the last couple years as well as a defensive end. There is nothing more painful than jammed fingers on cold helmets. When your young and full of it you just ignore the pain, especially when there's pretty girls in the stands. Those were the days when our skulls were full of mush!!!

Saturday evening we were having another roast turkey dinner with smashed 'taters and gravy, stuffing both dry and wet(inside the bird), candied yams with G/G's special sauce of brown sugar, triple set and a little bourbon, GAB's frozen cranberry salad and corn. Wow was that ever good eatin'. For dessert Amy made a pumpkin pie as well as Nancy made a pecan pie. I passed on the pie's until breakfast this AM and ate the last piece of pecan before we headed out to Tampa to Element Church.

We picked up Pap and GG and took them for their first visit to the warehouse(Element) to hear Bobby play and sing as well as teach. They were quite impressed but did mention the drums were a little loud. After the service we got back into Pinellas County just about lunch time so we stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel. Wow was that place ever jumping. We had to wait about 15 minutes but it was well worth the wait and the food cost was reasonable. Each of us had a different entree from meat loaf, trout, fried chicken and chicken & dumplings. Yummy and were we ever stuffed. I ran into an FHP dispatcher(actually she now works there and spotted me), Charlotte who I hadn't seen in 20 + years. She left our county and moved to the Orlando area but has recently moved back. We shared about our children and grand children. We also ran into Nancy's hairdresser, Mary who we hadn't seen since last May. It was like old home week.

Well after dropping Nancy's folks off at home we headed over to the nursing home where a couple times a month we team up with neighbor Dan and some folks from SFBC to hold a short church service for the patients. We push them to the service where we sing a few hymns and present a short message and just spend a few moments with many who have out lived their families.

Well I headed back to the house and watched a little of the Panthers whup up on the Bucs, of course our rookie quarterback threw 5 intersections down near the goal line so that didn't help our 1-11 record. I know my N.C. friends can feel my pain. It looks like the Saints will represent our division which includes the Bucs, Panthers and Falcons into the playoffs. I'm happy for them as I remember at one time their fans were so ashamed of their play they wore paper sacks over their heads in disgust. Such is the life of sports players; someone has to lose.

Nancy was busy in the kitchen after getting home making a dinner for one of our neighbors and fellow church goers who gave birth to a beautiful little boy on Thursday morning. Mason Christian is his name and at 8 pounds plus he has a full head of black hair. Congratulations Lucy and Marco!!!

Well I will close for now and enclose a few pics(to answer a complaint of not enough images). These snow pictues are of our cabin in N.C. that were sent to us today by neighbor Gerald who I understand was deer hunting up there this weekend. Thanks Gerald for sending us those beautiful pics. BRRR it looks cold there!!!LATER.

Friday on Saturday Morning

Wow have we ever been getting the rain the past 48 hours. It did let up enough Friday morning for me to ride to the rec on my bike after my quiet time and a navel orange for breakfast. I once again got in 2 1/2 hours of pickle ball with about 14 other players. We had some spirited play and lots of wet shirts. After the rec I stopped by the library to pick up a couple books that were on hold for me before heading home. The rain started again just about the time I got in the house plus the temps were dropping down into the low 60's. It definitely was going to be an inside day from then on.

Ava and Amy came for lunch as Amy brought some leftover chicken noodle she had made the day before. Wow was that ever good and hit the spot on such a cool damp day. Nancy came in from her Bible study at SFBC. We also popped a frozen pizzas in the oven. The kids stayed around until it was time for Ava's nap around 3. She was coming back for dinner around 5 as Tyler and Amy were having a date night; with dinner out, a movie and Christmas shopping for Ava.

After a dinner of oven baked chicken, yellow rice and wild acre peas(black eyed peas) we played for awhile, watched Nemo and got her bath out of the way before taking Ava back to her house for bed at 9 PM. Nancy and I fought to stay awake until nearly 11 when the kids got home. We watched dateline regarding the college student(Amanda Knox) who was found guilty of murdering her roommate in Italy. Yikes what are these kids thinking??

It rained steadily all evening and night and has finally slacked off this morning as I write this post. Much cooler air is moving into the area today with temps only reaching the middle 60's. The forecast for next week has us back into the 80's with bright sunshine. Looking forward to that and we were desperately in need of this rain that wiped out most of the activities that were planned for this weekend. Oh Well. We got some pictures from our mountain buddies of the snow that was on the ground. Looked as if they had a couple inches and could possibly get more. I sure miss the fun (for a day) of sled riding, snow balling and building snow people of course we haven't been to the beach since we've been back so, I miss swimming in the Gulf, laying out in the sun getting a tan and walking on the beach(how about for more than a day).

Well better go as we are expecting a house full this evening for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Both grand girls will be here with their parents, grandparents, etc. LATER.

Thursday

Well once again the day started at 6:30 with a hot cup of green tea before spending a few quiet moments with the Creator. Afterwards I sliced up a navel orange for my breakfast before heading out on my bike to the rec for some pickle ball. Wow we had nearly an hour of fast play with 4 of us before the others began to arrive. We had around 10 players for the day and had some great play with lots of wet shirts. I have found eating a banana around 9 AM seems to revive me for the last hour of play.

After PB I headed home to work in the yard and garden. The heavy rain last night compacted the sandy soil in the garden so I took a garden hoe and loosen up the soil around all the plants. I also moved up 6 tomato plants from gallon containers into 2 1/2 gallon pots. There was lots of new roots in the old pots. Next I once again cleaned out the gutters as the oak trees are constantly dropping leaves and sticks onto the roof which eventually clog the gutters. Nancy had been watching Ava for Amy as she had a doctors appointment so she headed off to the rec for her 30 minute workout on the treadmill after Ava left around 10:30.

After Nancy got back from the rec we had tuna fish pockets(pita bread) for lunch and I ate the last piece of cake from last night,Yumm!! I just lazed around reading until it was time to put the hamburger steaks on the grill for dinner while Nancy fried the potatoes and heated the beets for dinner. Nothing special but the fresh rosemary really added to the flavor of the hamburger meat on the grill.

We got word that one of our house church families have a new addition this morning around 8 AM. Lucy and Marco had a baby boy, 8 pound Mason Christian. Congratulations!!! Well not much else except the temps finally cooled down again with much drier air into the 50's tonight. Once again cut the a/c off. There is more heavy rain in the forecast for this weekend. LATER

Wednesday

Well the day started out pretty much the usual with my quiet time and a lite breakfast before heading out to the rec on my bike for some pickle ball. I got in once again 2 1/2 hours of fast and furious play with about 10 players. I headed home and worked in the yard and garden before eating a lite lunch of kale salad. Nancy after her 30 minutes on treadmill got ready and headed out to go shopping with her sister and mother.

After lunch I picked up a new non fiction book called Friends Of The Family by Tommy Dades and Michael Vecchione. Both are retired NYPD detectives who help bring 2 bad cops who actually worked for the mob to justice after they had retired. Great book and packed with lots of gruesome information. I read solid for about 5 hours and finally finished it last night.

I grilled Mahi Mahi and Salmon for dinner;Nancy didn't care for the Mahi Mahi as it tasted a little fishy to her the first time we ate it. It was frozen when we bought it. If ever you get that taste just soak the fish in salt water for a couple hours then marinate it in orange, lemon or tangerine juice. I used tangerine juice as my tree is loaded with fruit, but any citrus will do. Yeow was that ever good and no fishy taste at all.

After dinner we got ready to head out to our house church at Dan and Carol. We listened to a 30 minute message from Andy Stanley, yeow he is a good teacher. He is such a young guy much like our son and pastor, Bobby. I think we are going to do a 4 part series by him. We celebrated Dan's 55 birthday which was Tuesday as Nancy made a superb chocolate cake with white icing, Yummm!!! A super big storm was heading into Pinellas County so we got back to the house(3 houses away) before it hit. There was lightning everywhere so we stayed off the computer but did turn the a/c back on as it got muggy and warm once again. LATER.

Tuesday

Well the morning started out once again about 6:15(thought I was retired) and after a cup of hot green tea, quiet times and a banana I jumped on the bike and headed to the rec for some pickle ball. We played for 3 hours today and had a total of about 10 people all together. Man my engine was in need of some fuel by 10 :30. After riding back home I was whipped and in desperate need of some calories so I ate the left over black beans and rice from last nights dinner COLD. Ahhh that helped some what, so after hand watering the garden and yard Amy and Ava came and we then had some zuppa soup for lunch that G/G brought by yesterday that she made. Ahh that is the best, one of my favorite soups

After lunch the girls headed out to Target for some shopping and I caught up on some reading. As a matter of fact that is about all I did the rest of the afternoon until it was time to put the pork chops on the grille for dinner. I harvested a little fresh parsley for the 'taters some fresh rosemary for the chops and a little oregano for my salad. The weather was a little warmer today but still cool enough to keep the a/c OFF. Yea!!! Tomorrow there is a chance of blustery wet weather and much cooler temps towards the weekend with temps down in the 50's.

Well not much else is happening except Coach Bobby Bowden is retiring from FSU football after a ton of wins and a couple national championships. He is a strong follower of Christ and if you get the chance read his autobiography. The Florida Highway Patrol is in the news for investigating a car crash of the famous golfer, Tiger Woods and charging him with careless driving. Sounds to me like there maybe more than meets the eye with this incident. Well I'll close for now and the only reason I mention these news bits is this blog is mainly for my grand kids who maybe will one day ask someone who were these people and why were they such celebrities. LATER.

Monday

Well Sunday evening turned out to be just a pleasant fun filled family event. We arrived there after taking the scenic route(missed the turn off) into the heart of Hillsborough County's farm land. The Dover area is just loaded with tons of truck farming from all kinds of veggies and fruit growing, especially strawberry's. The day was warm with temps in the upper 70's. We missed the baptism's but got there in time for a little flag football, a huge bonfire ( which I put together with one flick of the bic) food and a great time of music, worship and thanksgiving. I would guesstimate 75 + folks attended for what could be an annual event. We were on our way home by 7 PM.

Monday morning was just absolutely fine with cool temps in the 60's to start and reached the middle 70's by afternoon. After an early start of the day at 6:30, quiet time an a lite breakfast(leftover 7 up pound cake) I pedalled out to the rec for some pickle ball. We had 5 initial players and ended up with about 14 for the 2 1/2 hours we played. Great play with lots of wet tee shirts. Nancy did her 30 minutes on the treadmill and she later in the afternoon took about a 2 mile walk through the hood. I passed on the walk with her.

We headed out to Walmart in Pinellas Park after the rec so I could get my truck serviced and she could get her baking supplies as its that cookie baking time for the holidays. We got back at noon and Amy and Ava came for lunch. Ava is just starting to get into the Christmas spirit as she now talks about Santa and just loves playing with all the decorations. She is so aware of everything and never stops talking. Nancy and I are not going to have a dull moment when we keep her for several days in January while Amy and Tyler go to Atlanta for Passion with the college group he teaches. Ava just loves being outside and involved in whatever your doing. She loves to garden and to pretend she is planting. Today she and the next door turkey got into a verbal shouting or gobbling match. It was so funny as she stands right next to the turkey(through the chain link fence) and mimics that bird.

Well I finally got the grill out of the shed and did a couple of marinated chicken breasts for fajitas along with black beans, rice and a salad for dinner. YUMMM!!!! I will enclose a couple of pics from yesterday's Element event. LATER.