Wednesday

Wow was it ever chilly this morning as I rode out to the rec at 7:20. The cool dampness in the air was exhilarating; however I know this kind of morning won't last but for the last day in March it's really nice. After my quiet moments and a bowl of oatmeal I got in about 45 minutes of play before having to head home from pickle ball and then head out to Riverview to watch grand daughter Annsley while both her parents worked.

We had a grand time with Annsley bowling, blowing bubbles, playing bouncy ball, watering her daddy's garden, reading books and playing tee ball and ended the day with a tea party. Whew, what a busy day and she took a 2 hour nap in the middle of that so we caught up on some reading after a lunch of pizza. We got back to Seminole a little before 6 PM, so I watered my garden then we put the finishing touch on a large garden salad we were taking to our house church for dinner in addition to the salad there was chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, french and garlic bread and chocolate chip cookies.

We had 14 adults and 3 kids for house church tonight and it was a great get together. We really look forward to the sharing of ideas to reach others for Jesus and the fellowship. Its great to be around such a diverse group of folks who have so much in common and such desire for community. We will certainly miss them when we head back to the 'Carolinas in May. We were sorry to have many who were ill this evening and some had to work late. We are looking forward to "bloody Sunday" on the 18th of April as we will be a part of the blood drive church wide. There will be food(brunch) and each house church will take an active part in the service.

Well we have really been busy the past couple days and of course this being Easter week-end we will be celebrating with local as well as out of town relatives. I think we will have around 21 for Sunday dinner including 3 kids. Should be a house full. LATER

Tuesday

Well it was nippy as I rode out to the rec on the 18 speed after of course a few quiet minutes of thanksgiving and a bowl of oatmeal. There were only 8 players today for pickle ball and lots of sore muscles. I headed to the weigh room for about 75 crunches afterwards and did I ever need to after the great dinner at the Salt Rock Grill last evening. There were 11 of us and the food was amazing for an early bird. The sourdough bread and herb dip was filling in itself. I had the broiled fillet kabobs medium rare with garlic smashed, Caesar salad YUMM!!! We all headed back to GG's around 7:30 for her famous red cake and Nancy's chocolate with white icing. I partook of neither of course after eating tons of the bread at dinner I didn't need any.

Yesterday around 2:30 Sears delivered our refrig and micro, the under the counter or over the stove type. My friend and appliance guru at Jerry's Appliances is an amazing homegrown technician and guy, anyhow he helped me install the oven right up until it was time to head out for our reservation for dinner. The new appliances look great just hope they last like the old for over 22 years and still running.

Well will cut this short as we have to be in Riverview at 10 AM for the day with Annsley and I'm heading to the rec for a short workout at 7:30. LATER

Monday

Well did it ever rain during the night and continued right up through the morning hours. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal I got ready to ride out to the rec but rain forced Nancy to drive me in the truck and drop me off.

Today was the Good Life Games being held at our rec center here in Seminole. Luckily we held them inside our gym but the bad thing is we only have 2 courts suitable for tournament play. There must of been 50-60 players with many of them coming from as far away as Ocala. There is a place called The Villages where they have 107 courts, of course all of them are outside play and there must have 4-5 teams of players for both mixed and team play doubles from there. I learned we had a couple teams who had played in the National Pickle Ball Tournament, actually one of those teams beat Mitsuko, Ric and myself as we teamed up for both men and mixed doubles. Mitsuko and I took the bronze medal in mixed doubles but that was the extent of my winning as Ric and I blew a 1 set lead and lost by 3 points. Was there ever some good play and great teams. It was an all day affair and was still going on when I left at 4 PM. Costco donated sandwich fixin's, water, fruit and snacks. Many thanks to them and to our own Jersey Jim for helping with officiating and score keeping as well as seeing the tournament ran smoothly.Not many of our teams won medals but we had some idea of what we must do next year to get ready to play these teams that play together daily.

That was about all that took place today as it was pretty much an inside the gym day. I did cut a very large broccoli for dinner from my garden. The outside temps once again dropped considerably after the rain stopped and a strong northerly wind took over and of course dried up the couple inches of rain that fell the past 2 days. I sure missed seeing the grand kids today. LATER

Sunday

Well the morning started out with our usual quiet time and a cup of hot green tea. Both Nancy and I ate a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and a banana before we got ready to head out to Tampa for worship at Element Church. It was in the low 70's but showed a promise of rain. We stopped and picked up GG and Pap(Nancy's folks). Nancy's mom, GG has a lone older sister Darrell who was visiting Clearwater along with her husband, Warnie and a granddaughter Allison(she is Chris's daughter and Chris is Darrell's daughter) and her husband Mike. They too wanted to worship at Element and to see Bobby and his family. Tom who is Darrell's son and his wife, Kathy and their daughter, Amanda also were driving up from Sarasota to not only worship but to visit with the family as well. It had been years since we had seen many of them especially Allison and Amanda. Nancy is younger than Tom and his sister Chris(who did not make the trip to Florida) but they use to visit with each other in their younger days especially at GG's and Darrell's parents cabin on the Capon River in West Virginia. I hope I haven't left you in the blind but just a little background an genealogy on the Rouse's who are originally from West Newton, Pa.

Worship was awesome at Element with uplifting praise and worship music and Bobby's message gave us all inspiration with what the first church faced in the book of Acts. After the service we visited with Bobby and Jill and her family before we headed out to Sonny's for lunch. There were 11 of us and we had an enjoyable meal plus there was so much chatter, laughter and many stories to tell and to share. We met Allison's hubby, Mike for the first time and we were really impressed with his warmth and great personality. Uncle Warnie is nearly 90 and hasn't changed a day since I met him over 30 years ago. Aunt Darrell has had some health issues but is such a delight and still gets around with the aid of a cane, Tom and Cathy look very healthy and are enjoying their retirement and of course Amanda is as beautiful as ever and is on spring break from teaching in Pa. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and plan on going to the Salt Rock Grill on Tuesday for dinner then back to GG's and Pap's house for her famous red cake. It was nearly 3 PM before we finally made it home.

We hit rain as we left the restaurant and it followed us all the way to Seminole where the streets were flooded, my garden loves this. Nancy and I just chilled and I watched 2 great basketball games with Michigan and Duke being victorious in come from behind wins. Should be a good final 4 this weekend, speaking of next week-end Tom, Kathy, Darrell and Warnie are coming Easter Sunday for worship again at Element as well as GG and Pap. I think we will have a house full for Easter dinner next Sunday.

Well tomorrow is the big tournament for Seminole pickle baller's, should be fun with lots of exciting play. LATER

Saturday

Well, what a gorgeous morning, a little breezy and a cool dampness in the air but lots of bright hot sunshine. I watered the garden after my quiet time and a breakfast of blueberries and a banana in oatmeal while waiting for it to warm up enough for the beach. Nancy and I headed out around 10:30 and we stayed until after 12 noon. Believe me that was enough time as the sun was hot but the breeze coming off the cold water made you too comfortable for a really big burn, plus we had to get ready to leave out at 3 PM for Riverview. The beach wasn't as packed as last week but still it was a beach day especially for all the northerners visiting the area from the frozen tundra north of the Mason Dixon Line.

We cooked up a frozen pizza for lunch then got ready to head out to watch Annsley as Bobby had a wedding to conduct at 5 PM. We had thawed out a rib roast that we purchased when they were on sale for 3.99 a pound so I cut that into steaks and we took 3 nice ones with us for dinner. Bobby picked up a couple sweet 'taters after the wedding and along with Nancy's fresh homegrown garden salad and Greek dressing we had a feast.

Annsley was so cute and she and Ava are so darn smart and just lovable, especially at this age. Her voice is so small its barely audible and you have to really pay attention to whats she saying. She and Nancy did bubbles, bowled and watered Bobby garden and flowers, of course she has her own watering can and wears her 'tink(tinkerbell) bathing suit while doing so. Along the way she likes for you to squirt her with the hose, accidentally. While waiting for dinner she and Nancy played toys in her room while she rode Blaze the horse we got her for Christmas. So cute!!!

The dinner was good even though we had to broil them in the oven, seems his grill needs some new grates, but the taste was good and done to perfection after he marinated them for a few minutes. That Annsley is a meat and salad eater. Well after Annsley's bath time we headed out for home a little before 9. The day seemed like we were on vacation and it was a great day for some bonding with Annsley as we usually only see her once a week at church or when we have family dinners. We are going over next Wednesday and watch her all day .

Wow was there ever some upsets in college basket ball, the Mountaineers won and a school called Butler upset Kansas. Yikes whats a happening as I saw white kids out jumping and shooting black kids, "wasn't there a movie white men can't jump?" Anyhow I have some black friends who will get a ribbing from me about B-ball.

Well better get ready to head out for worship as we are picking up Nancy's folks who are going with us to church as GG's sister, Aunt Darrell is in town with family and wants to worship with us as well, then it will be lunch out, afterwards. Have great day to all, LATER

Friday

Well what a beautiful morning after the rain last night. The downpour washed most of the pollen and fuzzies from the oak trees and gave my garden a good drink. There was just enough coolness in the air to make it really spring time. These kind of mornings sure remind us of our North Carolina mornings in the mountains. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with some blueberries and a banana I pedaled out to the rec for some pickle ball. We had about 14 players today and the first 30 minutes was superb with some great team play. Today was our last day before the big tournament on Monday. Seems we will compete against teams from all around the state and we will have several teams in both men's, women's and mixed doubles divisional play.

After 2 1/2 hours of play there were lots of wet shirts. I headed off to the weight room to do 75 crunches and to weight myself. I'm still holding at about 4 pounds lost in the last couple weeks. Tonight G/G has us over for stuffed cabbages in a tomato sauce, smashed spuds and salad. Delicious!!! Everyone but me ate bread and some of her lemon pie. It sure looked good but so far I'm holding strong on the no desserts.

Amy, Ava and Samuel came for lunch and we finished up the last of the salad and I ate a left over hamburger with no bread. Ava and I did a little trike ride on the sidewalk before they left for home; after they left Nancy did her couple miles in the 'hood and I finally finished up my taxes. Not a happy ending this year because I'm now having to pay taxes on my social security benefit I contributed to for all these years.

Tomorrow we are heading out to Tampa around 3PM to babysit Annsley and then to have dinner with Bobby after we spend the morning at the beach. Should be a fun day. LATER

Thursday

Well it was quite a bit warmer this morning as I rode out to the rec on my bike after my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. We had a large group once again for pickle ball but I got in some really good play for the first 45 minutes. There were lots of sweat soaked shirts; the sign of a good workout. We are fine tuning our pardner play for the Good Life Games which are held this coming Monday the 29th.

After 2 1/2 hours of play I headed to the work out room for about 75 crunches before stopping off at the library on my way home. I hand watered the garden when I got home for nearly 30 minutes before Nancy got home from her couple mile walk through the 'hood. Amy, Ava and Samuel came for lunch and we got a surprised visit from son, Bobby as he was in the neighborhood on business. After lunch Ava and I headed out so she could ride her trike and wow was the sun ever hot, I think it reached the high 70's. Luckily we had a nice strong breeze and a few clouds began to head into the area. After the kids left Nancy and I headed over to her folks to help with a few odd jobs. I cleaned out the gutters on the front of the house which required some ladder work, then I trimmed some bushes in the back that had some freeze damage while Nancy and her dad put the trimmings in the garbage. After leaving there we stopped at the veggie stand for 'maters and other fresh veggies before heading on back to the house.

I grilled marinated chicken breasts and Nancy made her famous garlic butter sauce with fresh mushrooms to go over penne pasta with fresh asparagus on the side. A fresh garden salad topped off the meal. Amy and the kids came to eat as Tyler is teaching tonight. After cleaning up the kids headed for home before dark. Well its supposed to rain tonight and cool off just bit. We had a fun day taking pics and just loving on those grand babies. Enclosed are couple pics from today. LATER

Tuesday and Wednesday

Well I was lazy last night after getting back from Amy and Tyler for supper. Amy made a nice chicken casserole for dinner as Tyler had a late dinner with his boss and Nancy brought a salad. Tuesday was a clear but cool and breezy day. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I rode out to the rec for some pickle ball. We only had 10 players but had a great workout. I did about 50 crunches in the weigh room afterwards before heading home to hand water the garden.

Nancy fixed some great ham sandwiches for lunch then Ava and I went outside so she could ride her trike. After the kids left I got in a little garden work before we headed over to Amy's for dinner. We headed home afterwards to watch American Idol and that lasted until 10 so I was to whipped to write after my shower.

Wednesday morning was once again cold for March as I rode out on the bike after my usual quiet time and this morning a bowl of oatmeal. The birds were just singing away as daylight broke and all the ponds had steam rising. We had a larger crowd today of about 15 players; but we still managed a lot of good play and there were lots of wet shirts. I headed to the weigh room for 75 crunches today after my PB before stopping by the library for a couple books. When I got home Nancy was making a large pot of chicken vegetable soup. Nancy wanted to share some with an older neighbor lady who is suffering with cancer and chemotherapy. She has lost a lot of weight as well as all her hair but she still has a great attitude. While watering the garden Nancy's folks(GG & Pap) came by and then stayed around until Amy and the kids came for lunch. We all had some yummy soup and salad for lunch.

Well after eating Ava and I headed outside to play. We could actually play outside with no jacket for a change as the temps really warmed up. It must have been in the high 70's. After the kids left I finished up some garden work then sat out in the back yard and read until it was nearly time to start supper. I pulled about 10 large collard leaves, took out the large vein, rolled and chopped them into bite size pieces then sauteed them in hot olive oil and garlic. Wow is that ever a great dish and so easy to fix. I fixed a couple hamburger steaks on the grill and along with some wild rice we had a tasty supper. Good eatin.'

After cleaning up we got ready to head out to our neighborhood house church at 7 PM. There were 10 adults and 2 kids as several from our group had to work late or were sick, so we were a little lite in numbers. We had a time of prayer for those who we know in our circle of influence and then shared these concerns with the group. Afterwards we or they all had desserts. I'm still trying to be strong as I passed up carrot cake and brownies. I'm still down a few pounds but it is very hard to maintain even without desserts. Well not much else is going on. LATER




.

Monday

Well the day started out with cloudy skies and cool temps once again. After a cup of hot green tea, my quiet time and an orange for breakfast I rode out to the rec for some pickle ball. We had 10 players today and the first 15 minutes had 4 of us with some fast action and wet t-shirts before we had to change our method of play as we had people waiting. I had to leave about 20 minutes early as Sears was waiting for me at 9:45 to off load our new electric range. Nancy detected some minor cosmetics dings so they will bring us a new range on the 30th. Unbelievable!!! They did offer us a 60 dollar gift to keep the range they delivered, but what the heck when you pay a ton of money you want one without flaws especially in an area that is noticeable. Anyhow they insisted we use the one they brought today until they deliver another one on the 30th.

Amy, Ava and Samuel came for lunch and Samuel seems to be a lot better from his cold. Amy is still suffering with a runny nose but other than that all seems better. My cough has really just about gone for now with an occasional hack, actually the leaves have just about budded out so I think that was a major player with all my hacking. I haven't used a Clarentin in a couple days but believe me that works for allergies and cold like symptoms.

I managed to get a little garden work in after lunch as Ava and I did her trike ride before lunch. I finished up the lettuce in one area and worked the soil over for the next bunch of seedlings. I sowed a lot of seeds that I'm planning on taking to the mountains in May; 4 types of tomato's, 2 types of peppers, kale, basil, rosemary, artichoke, pak choy. Hopefully these seeds will make some great plants that will be ready to plant into the ground the end of May. I also made a couple more cutting from geraniums and moved several of my herbs up into bigger pots with some new and fresh potting soil.

I worked in the front yard sowing some more grass seed and watering even though we had a good rain yesterday. Hopefully with the warmer weather I can get some grass on the bare dirt pile by the huge oak tree in the front yard. I cut 2 really nice broccoli's for supper and the taste was superb along with some fresh rosemary on a couple of bone-in pork chops on the grill. Yumm good eatin'. Tater tots was the starch as we are trying to eat down our freezer before we head to the Carolina's in May. This beautiful weather has us getting ready to once again work in the flower and vegetable gardens as well as to visit all of our mountain friends.We are just about 8 weeks away as we are planning on heading north over the Memorial Day week-end.

Well I will enclose a couple garden shots, LATER.

Sunday

Well it stated raining early this morning and rained lightly until near lunch time then just poured for about an hour. We may have seen the sunshine for just a few moments today but nothing like yesterday, anyhow we had a grand time visiting with family in Tampa at Element as well as a great time of praise and worship. Our church family there is growing every week with lots of new faces and another pregnant lady was there today for the first time. That's about 11 new babies this year, Yikes don't drink the water in Tampa.

We got back home in the rain around 12:30 and finished off the leftovers from last nights supper for lunch. I vegetated after lunch in front of the TV watching the NCAA basketball playoffs; Go Mountaineers and Duke. Not much else is going on today except I didn't have to water as the garden really loved this nice rain of which we probably got about 3/4 of an inch.

Keep little baby Samuel in your prayers as he has a pretty bad cold. He has a deep rasping noise in his chest as well as a runny stuffy, nose. LATER

Saturday

WOW is all I can say, Spring has bloomed on the Suncoast of Florida, finally. The morning started out with my usual internal alarm clock going off at 6:30 and that turkey next door gobbling. I think he would look good on a platter, stuffed. Oh well, he is the center of attention when ever any visitors head to the back yard to view my garden and Ava just loves to have him gobble when ever she playing in the back or looking for buggies. After my cup of green tea, quiet time and catching up on the Internet, Nancy made us a "mountain breakfast"without the buckwheat cakes with a banana and blue berries in the batter; instead we had smoked bacon,cackleberries, grits and toast with homemade black raspberry jam we made last summer Yumm!!! That jam was the best I've ever eaten.

After breakfast we decided to go to the beach around 11 AM, so I hand watered the gardens. The sunshine was delicious with blue skies even though there was a touch of coolness in the air it looked like it was really going to warm up and it did. I think it topped out around 75 by days end. We met us with neighbors and friends Carol, Dan and their married daughter Daniell at Maderia Beach. The place was jumping with hundreds of people and even a few brave northers swimming. I probably would have also but I'm still coughing a little from all this pollen in the air or at least I hope that's what causing this lingering cough. It's not as bad as I had it last year which eventually caused me to seek a physician for the first time in 20 + years. Knock on wood, I've been blessed with good health. (sorry about digressing)

After the beach we headed out to Pinellas Park for some super WalMart shopping then stopped by Sam's Club. We finally got back to the house around 4PM and we needed to get some chicken breasts in a marinade as we were having Dan and Carol for dinner at 5:30. Nancy was making a salad with homemade Greek dressing, sauteed peppers and onion and Carol was bringing black beans and yellow rice. I grilled the breast with lots of fresh rosemary on top and then we added fresh cilantro from the garden to taste on our fajitas along with grated cheese, sour cream and of course I used some very hot sauce on mine. Yumm!!! Very good eatin'!!!

After cleaning up we played one game of Phase 10 with a close win for Carol. Another one for the girls!!! Well, we were all exhibiting lots of red from our 1 1/2 hours on the beach. It seems when we go to the beach it makes you feel as if your on vacation. We had the windows open and the sweet smell of orange blossoms was in the air as well as the melodious sounds of the many birds singing. Yikes was it ever nice and a great way to wind down the first day of Spring. Tomorrow is worship at Element Church in Tampa, would love to see ya there, LATER

Friday

Once again it was downright chilly for Florida for this time of the year, although there was tons of sunshine and yet again a chilly north breeze. Anyhow the birds are loving this weather and were singing loud as I pedalled out to the rec this morning for PB after my quiet time and a banana for breakfast. We had a large crowd today with 14 plus players and there were 4 of us for the first 45 minutes which saw most of us with wet t-shirts. Great play and lots of fun, I was ready to call it a day after those 2 sets, anyhow afterwards I did a few crunches for the big belly in the weight room and stepped on those dreaded truth detectors of how much blubber is around my middle, still holding a 4 pound loss or change from 2 weeks ago. Its rough to give up so much good eatin' for so little weight loss but I'm starting to not miss those delicious, beautiful, sweet tasting apple pies, chocolate cakes, vanilla puddings, etc(maybe just a smidgen).

After PB I stopped off at the library and picked up a book for Nancy then headed on home to hand water the garden. The lettuce, sugar peas, radishes, beet greens, kale and herbs are really starting to produce, my onion sets are up 4-5 inches in two weeks. We had a nice salad from the garden for lunch and dinner. Amy, Ava and Samuel came for lunch and afterward Ava and myself went for her trike ride. Even though there was lots of sunshine we stilled needed a jacket on and this is the 19th of March. Unbelievable for Florida!!! After the kids left we started to get ready for Nancy's mom and dad for supper.

Our dear friends in the mountains hooked me up with some native trout they had caught last fall and had frozen them in a baggie with water. Nancy's folks love trout so I thawed them out and boned them(6) and then I picked more lettuce and cleaned that for Nancy to make a salad. Well those trout were as fresh tasting as the day they were caught and we licked the platter clean, YUMM!! Many thanks to Andy and Caleb and we will always enjoy the fruits of your harvest. After dinner Nancy and her mom whipped her dad and myself in 2 games of Phase 10, both were very close but must admit it was the girls night.

Well today Saturday looks to be promising with no wind or not much so after running some errands we may head to the beach after lunch for the first time in 2010, last year we or I was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico around the first of the year. LATER

Thursday

Well it was very chilly here this morning especially on my ride out to the rec at 7:20 on my bike for some pickle ball, of course with this time change it was still pretty dark out as well. The north wind was blowing and continued to blow all day long; even though the sun was warm the air remained chilly all day and this evening its down right cold. After my quiet time and a banana for breakfast I pedalled out. We had 15 players today and eventually had some pardner play as we tuned up for this upcoming Good Life Games tournament on the 29th of this month. The nearly 3 hours of play plum tuckered me out.

After PB I checked in at the library and picked up a couple books before heading home to hand water the garden. While watering Amy, Ava and Samuel came by for a visit and to have lunch with us. That Samuel is getting so big and he makes the cutest little grunting and groaning noises. Ava is such a big sister and checks on Samuel at the least little noise. I picked a bunch of greens for our salad for lunch along with radishes and sweet sugar peas.

After lunch I took Ava out to ride her trike around the block and we both had to wear a jacket even though there was lots of bright sunshine. Ava of course had to pick every flowering weed, seed pod and touch every cactus along our path. She is very perceptive and remembers the names for all these trees, flowers and plants.

They headed out around 2:30 for Ava's nap so I decided to take a small one myself as Nancy did her couple mile walk through the 'hood. They were coming back this evening to eat supper with us as Tyler does his weekly teaching with ESL at SFBC. We had another one of Amy's favorite meals which Tyler isn't crazy about; taco's and burritos. Yumm!!!

Well the kids just headed out and we were getting ready for Survivor when we found NCAA college basketball on instead, March Madness. Well not much else going on this evening, just chilling' literally. LATER

Wednesday

Well the morning started out the usual with a few moments of thanksgiving in my quiet time and a banana for breakfast before heading out to the rec on my bike. Yikes, it was cold with that north wind a blowing. We had about 10 players all together but 4 of us had some great play the first 1/2 hour. After the rec I headed home and it sure looked as if would rain most of the morning, but eventually the skies cleared off but there was a coolness in the air all day long.

Amy, Ava and Samuel came for lunch and he was 2 weeks old today so we celebrated by having meatloaf sandwiches in his honor. I took Ava around the block on her trike after lunch and we found a few roly poly's(bugs) in the backyard and then she played with the doll house for awhile before heading out for her nap around 2:30. Nancy and I just chilled and read until it was time to head out for supper at our house church. We had a large group this evening with 18 adults and 5 kids. We pulled a supper with Carol making sloppy joes, Amy and Lucy made mac and cheese's, Nancy brought a large salad, apple pie, strawberry's and goop.Once again I was strong and refrained from dessert with having just a small bowl of fresh strawberries. So far I'm down 6 pounds and hope to lose another 5. That is now becoming much harder to do.

We had a super time of fellowship, praise and worship music, a little Bible study and prayer. It was after 9 PM before we headed home and caught the last half of American Idol. By then it was too late to ramble so here I am after lunch on Thursday. LATER

Tuesday

The day started out with cold temp's and a strong north breeze. I actually was able to wear shorts but needed a long sleeve shirt on when outside, at least there was some sunshine. I headed out to the rec while it was still dark after my quiet time and a lite breakfast. We had 10 players for the morning and there was some great play. I got in nearly 3 hours of play and boy was I ever feeling it as I headed home facing a stiff north wind after dropping by the library for a couple books I had on hold.

I watered the garden while Nancy took off on her 45 minute walk through the 'hood and then harvested some great tasting lettuce, kale, beet greens and radishes for a fresh salad for lunch. Amy, Ava, and Samuel arrived for lunch so we each had a bowl of the last of the vegetable beef barley soup from Sunday's family dinner as well as a salad. Yikes, is that ever good 'eatin. After lunch the girls took off with Samuel to Target while Ava and I played outside with her riding her trike and playing with neighbor Carols dog, Sadie. We eventually tired of that and then headed in so she could play with the doll house while having her many snacks. The girls got back a little after 2 then headed home for Ava's nap time. Nancy and I headed out to Home Depot for flower and veggie seeds, fertilizer and grass plugs. Luckily they won't have any plugs until this Saturday.

Well we read the rest of the afternoon then we both worked on a gourmet dinner. Simple ingredients but one of the best I've ever eaten; marinated chicken breasts in Italian dressing and grilled with fresh Rosemary on top, I chopped fresh homegrown collard greens and then sauteed them in olive oil and fresh garlic, added just a little sea salt and ground pepper and a touch of hot sauce after cooking if you like, Nancy sauteed fresh garlic, onions, basil, fresh mushrooms in a ton of butter and then spread this over penne pasta. WOW is that ever good and the greens sound yucky, but they so compliment the pasta dish its unreal. This is real good eatin' and pretty too if that means anything on your plate. The taste is just fabulous.

Well not much else is a happening except its supposed to stay the cool the rest of the week. Actually this is perfect weather; windows closed, no heat or a/c on and no humidity. My garden is really starting to shape up with lots of tomato blooms and 2 broccoli's about ready to eat. The lettuce is superb and I'm now giving some away. Just want to say happy birthday to my middle sister, Pat who is a pastor in Milton, Pa. Well until LATER.

Sunday and Monday

Well, Sunday turned out to be just an absolutely gorgeous day with lots of bright sunshine but just enough of a breeze and chill in the air to make it comfortable, so far the humidity is a non-entity. After getting up with it still dark outside at 6:30(for Nancy) I layed around for awhile longer as I don't have the make up and hair "thing." We headed out to Tampa to Element for worship and the praise music was awesome as well as was Bobby's message. Wow is he ever becoming a great speaker and teacher for such a young guy. We are definetely proud of him and his endeavors to reach Tampa through Element for Christ.

We got home from church around 1:30 and popped a frozen pizza in the oven for lunch as we had tons to do before the family began to arrive around 4:30 for the celebration of Jill's birthday earlier this week. I vaccumed, picked and cleaned fresh greens from the garden for the salad, dried all of Nancy's dirty pots and pans and cleaned the bathrooms. Nancy was busy puting the finishing touches on the 2 pots of soup she was making as well as putting the salad together. We had a super dinner with calderons of hot vegetable beef soup and a fresh garden salad with Greek dressing and crusty bread. Nancy made a carrot cake which according to the family was the best they had ever eaten, I once again was strong and refrained. So far I'm holding and hope with a full week of pickle ball play I lose another couple pounds or maybe a roll off the tummy.

The family stayed until nearly 9:30 before the girls started to get cranky and we all knew it was close to their bed times. Arrianne left for Mimi around 8 PM and she called back around 1 AM to say she had made it home safely. She had come up for the weekend to accompany G/G, Pap and Betsy to the the Michael Blublay(sic) concert in Tampa Saturday night. He is a Canadain who supposely sings much like Frank Sinatra.

Well Monday morning found me leaving out for the rec in the dark morning hours on my bike after my quiet time and lite breakfast. We had 14 players for pickle ball and some really fast and furious games. The floors had been onc agin refinished this time with oil base polyurthane, th smell was outrageous. After the rec I headed home to water the garden while waiting on Amy to drop Samuel and Ava off as she headed to Publix for shopping. I had a salad (leftover) as well as a bowl of the soup from last night for lunch. Ava and myself headed off to do the block around the 'hood on her trike. We stopped off and visited with neighbor Carol and her mutt, Sadie on the wy back home. Carol let Ava take her doll baby playhouse back to our house for her to play with as Ava just loves playing with it. Wow was she ever infatuated with the house and all the little people and animals. She played with that until it was time to head home for her nap.

After the kids left for Ava 's nap we headed to Sears to check out purchasing some new kitchen appliances. Our over the range micro bit the dust a week ago and our refrigerator and stove are 22 years old and were starting to have some small issues so we went shopping, actually we went comparison shopping and Sears had the best to offer with a Kenmore refrigerator, a Whirlpool stove and a Samsung over the stove microwave oven. The offer of 15 % off large appliances, free pickup and delivery helped us in our decision making plus the Consumer Reports magazine gave credence to our selections and last but not least was the fact our present appliances are 22 years old and we were having signs they could be on the way out at any moment, according to Nancy.

Well, we had fried flounder with black beans and rice for supper. LATER

Saturday

Well I'm hacking and sneezing from all this pollen in the air, never knew it to bother me before but that's life as we grow older, I guess. Saturday was just what we refer to as a N.C. morning, delicious crispness in the air with bright sunshine and wow were the bird ever happy. I listened with such wonder as the air was filled with their chirping, singing and such activity. I think this is the mating period as we've noticed lots of birds carrying debris to the trees lately. Anyhow back to the start of the day after our lingering around in bed until nearly 8 AM. I knew we would lose and hour come Sunday morning so I thought why not take advantage of the no reason to just out of bed early, so we did. After our quiet time, Nancy mixed up a bunch of buckwheat cakes with a banana and blueberries in the batter, fried up some smoked bacon and then we added a couple cackleberies to the finalized version of what we refer to as our "mountain breakfast." That held us to nearly 2 PM, when we just had a lite snack and eventually 'til supper as we made it an all veggies; fresh beets, baked spud, Lima beans and I sauteed some mustard greens like I usually do with collards and Swiss chard. Well the greens weren't bad but not as good as the other 2 so I will stay with those other delicious greens. I like the fact you can fix those in about 10 minutes compared to cooking them for hours; if your interested Swiss chard is the best and all you need is a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a couple garlic cloves into the hot oil and stir in the chopped greens until they are rendered down to about 1/4 their size add salt and pepper to taste and a little hot sauce if you like.

Well I got carried away with that last paragraph; anyhow the rest of the morning after eating I worked outside in the yard raking leaves then reducing them to mulch by constantly mowing over them in a pile then adding the mulch to my garden. Makes it easier for the worms to breakdown for food and helps to keep moisture in the ground, as you know I must water at least once a day here as the soil is so sandy but fertile. I now have greens onions planted at one week ago about 2-3 inches up as well a new 1/2 runner beans up.

Nancy spent the morning getting ready for Jill's birthday dinner tonight (Sunday) and of course off to Publix again. I finished the outside gardening then read for a couple hours while she did her 'hood walk. Not much else is happening except for the loss of an hour of sleep but I beat that by going to bed an hour earlier than usual.

I will post a couple pics of Ava when he was firstborn and compare them to baby Samuel. They are nearly identical. The 2 pics of Ava at a few days old are the last 2 in the beige or yellow gown and of course the other 3 are of Samuel and Ava.LATER.

Friday

We have "duck weather" at the moment and ever since last night it has been a constant steady rain and the front should be out of here by morning. Speaking of morning, after my quiet time and some fruit for breakfast one of my PB buddies, Jersey Jim picked me up at my house then we picked up a couple more players before heading down to St.Pete Beach rec center for over 3 hours of play. I would guess there must have been 30 plus player all together and while their system of play is quite different from the way we structure our play we never the less had some good play and there were lots of wet t-shirts. Jim and I teamed up to play a 25 year old and his pardner in the best of 3 sets and we won the third set convincingly. I must brag on our group of senior players as being more skilled and competitive overall to the group we played with today. There were 8 of us from Seminole and we played until nearly 12:30 before heading out to Pass a Grille for lunch at the Pelican or Seahorse Restaurant; not sure of the name of the place.

Well after lunch and getting back to Seminole I learned Amy had taken Samuel to the doctor because of some inflammation in his eyes. It was nothing serious that drops couldn't handle plus when they weighed him he had exceeded his birth weight in just a little over a week. He is up to 10 pounds. I didn't get to see the kids today as they dropped Nancy off after the doctor's appointment and it was time for Ava's nap.

Well not much else going except some of those onion sets I planted last Saturday came up today from all that rain from over night. I think we had 2 + inches. The temps have stayed pretty nice even with all that rain and the highs were in the low 70's and tonight its supposed to get down into the 50's. The plants really love these kind of growing temps. Nancy baked a couple pork chops along with baked sweet 'taters and fresh broccoli for supper. Well will close for now and will enclose a couple pics Nancy took of Ava and Samuel today. LATER.

Thursday

Well the morning started out with Nancy coughing and hacking which had me awake earlier than usual. We both think its due to all the oak pollen in the air. I noticed a yellow film on all our neighbors vehicles this morning so we kept the windows closed today. Was it ever windy and overcast all day but at least it was in the low 70's and about 5 PM a light rain started. After my quiet time and a check of the Internet we decided to poach a couple eggs for breakfast. Since the gym was closed until next Monday there was no pickle ball today, but a couple of our group are heading down to St. Pete Beach and play in their gym on Friday morning. Nancy and I both took a Clarentin this morning as I seemed to have contracted some allergic reaction to the pollen as well. That little pill kept us from sneezing and coughing most of the day.

Well after lunch Ava and myself took a ride around the block on her trike. She loves to stop and pick the flowering weeds in people yard as well as pick up all the seed pots for me to carry. I try to lose them by the time we get back to my yard or have the wind blow them away. I climbed onto the roof and raked lots of dead limbs and sticks as well as tons of acorns and leaves off into the back yard. Ava played around the garden edge looking for buggies and that kept her busy for about an hour while I cleaned out the gutters, picked up sticks and raked leaves into a pile for mulching. Ava had a grand time jumping into the piles and rolling around in them as well.

The kids came for supper as Tyler has to teach at ESL one night a week so Nancy fixed things that Tyler isn't fond of like; salmon patties and asparagus. We had yellow rice as well of which Ava just loves. The rain continues as I write and this front is suppose to cool things off once again back down into the low 70's for a high and 50's for a low. The garden loves this kind of weather. The sugar peas are producing as well as the radishes along with the lettuce. The tomatoes are blooming as well as the green peppers and beans.

I was surprised to see in the Sparta, N.C. newspaper a neighbor on top of the mountain passed away last month. Susan was only 64. We often saw her and her lab's on walks along the back trails. We were surprised and saddened to hear of her passing. I was also sadden to see where Merlin Olsen passed away today at the age of 69, he was one of the most dominate defensive linemen for the old L.A. Rams I ever had the pleasure to watch play football. There are just too many 60 year old kickin' the bucket to suit me.

Well will go for now, LATER.

Wednesday

Well what a beautiful late morning an afternoon, the temps reached into the low 80's for a couple hours. There was a time when I was sure Nancy would want the a/c on but we perserved and stuck it out. Of course putting shorts on helped her immensely. I had a super workout this morning as we played pickle ball and unfortunately the rec is closed until next Monday due to Seminole Pow Wow. I think a group of us will venture out to St Pete Beach rec on Friday to play. We had about 12 player's today and some really good play.

After PB I headed home to hand water the garden while waiting on Nancy who had headed over to Amy's to help with the kids. Ava is as cute as ever and becoming quite the big helper and Samuel is growing and entertaining us with his attempts to raise his head and all kinds of sweet cute noises. He basically likes to eat about every 2 hours and constantly has a steady stream on everything as his diaper is being changed.

After lunch the neighbor boy Phoenix came by for a visit with Ava and the 2 of them rode trikes around the hood for nearly an hour. They played in the back yard and Ava tried to get him to play with some of her buggies. She had them crawling on her arms, hands and shirt but could never get Phoenix to play with them. I remember Amy was the same way with Bobby. He would run away with her chasing him with a bug, like mother like daughter. After the kids left around 2:30 Nancy took her walk through the 'hood while wearing summer clothes. I sat in the back yard finishing up a good read on a true crime book titled DARK AND BLOODY GROUND. If your faint hearted stay away from this one, however it did take place in Kentucky back in the 80's with the fugitives being arrested in the Daytonia Beach area of Florida.

I chopped up some collards and sauteed them in olive oil with fresh garlic and a little salt and pepper, man were they ever good along with a grilled a marinated chicken breast and yellow rice. I still am holding at a 4 pound loss and have foregone desserts for nearly 2 weeks. I hope I make it throught the evening as Nancy made a great dessert for house church tonight. Its a chocolate pudding with whipped cream and roasted pecans on top called "better than sex." I hope I can hold out on this one, sounds interesting as well. Well its time to head out to house church. Later.

Tuesday

Well the morning started with grey overcast skies, I actually thought it might rain before I got to the rec on my bike. After my usual quiet time and an orange for breakfast I pedalled out. We had 4 players for pickle ball the first 30 minutes then wound up with 10 for the day. The play was a step up with some great play and several teams played together as they polished up their play for the tournament later this month.

I hand watered the garden waiting on Nancy to return from Amy's with Ava and Samuel for lunch. We had a garden fresh salad then Ava and I headed out to ride bikes. She loves to question everything and wants to touch to all as we biked around the hood. Actually she rode her trike and I followed on foot, but she calls it riding her bike. She loves to make conversation with all she meets and especially likes petting cats and dogs. Samuel was very alert today as he makes all of these cooing noises and he is back to his birth weight after nearly a week. Amy's milk is really flowing.

Well not much else is going on, Nancy made a taco salad for dinner with refried beans. Good eatin'. I sat out in the back yard in the bright sunshine and read for a couple hours after Amy and the kids went home. LATER

Monday

Spring has sprung, at least for a day or so. Wow it reached the middle 70's today but there was just a touch of coolness in the air out of the direct sun. All in all it was a magnificent afternoon. The morning started with scattered frost in the area and was a bit nippy as I rode out to the rec on the bike after my quiet time and a left over buckwheat cake with a banana on top for breakfast. We had some good play the first 45 minutes and eventually ended up with 10 players for the day with several coming and going through out the morning. Anyhow we had 2 1/2 hours of play and a few wet t-shirts. By the way since last Monday I've dropped 4 pounds, I love it; just staying away from desserts, 1 helping and limited bread use is really all it took. Just about 5 more pounds to go and then I can coast or really I just want to see my toes in the shower without bending over. Seems the older I get everything just drifts to the south and gathers around my belt buckle.

After the rec I picked up a couple Larry McMurtry books I had on hold at the library. His LONESOME DOVE is one of my all time favorite reads. When I got home Nancy wanted to run to Sam's to pick up a few items and to make some pics of our newest addition to the grand kids, Samuel, by the way he did much better with his sleeping last night so I think his parents have decided to keep him. Anyhow after Sam's Club the kids came by for a visit so Tyler and myself followed Ava around the block as she rode her trike then we went next door to feed the fish at Jim and Laurie's house as they are on a cruise. Ava loves to watch them eat, especially the Nemo fish. Well we played out in the back yard as Ava looked for buggie's and Samuel was held by his grandmother.

After the kids left we headed back to Sam's to exchange the sundress we bought for Ava for Easter as it was to short in length and to pick up the pics we forgot to get earlier, where is our brain. Warm weather does that to us plus we had a few frozen things in the buggy so our mind was on getting home, luckily we only live about 5 miles from the store. I headed out on the bike to the post office to get a gift in the mail to another young man who was born a couple days before Samuel. Man is it gonna be great when we get all these boys together to go fishing, play ball, camping or whatever we guys want to do.

Well Nancy took her walk while I was at post office and I got some Swiss chard ready to saute for supper. Man is that ever good when fixed with garlic, olive oil and just a touch of salt and pepper. Nancy fixed red spuds with the jackets on and I grilled us a pork chop with the bone in. There is something special about chops with the bone in for flavor and tenderness.

Well not much else is going on, LATER.

Sunday

Once again the heat ran most of the night, however this morning there was lots of bright sunshine but the air was still cool in the shaded areas. We slept in until 7' ish before getting ready to head to Tampa for the gathering at Element to worship. Bobby did an awesome job with the story of the stoning(murder) of Stephen in the book of Acts and the praise music was inspiring. We had once again nearly 30 children in attendance. We took Ava with us today as Amy and Tyler tried to get a little sleep after being up most of the night with baby Samuel who has his days and nights reversed. Ava and Annsley were so cute together as they mingled with the crowd after the service, especially with Ava showing off her big sister photo of Samuel that was pinned to her dress.

We got back to Seminole around 12:45 dropped Ava off then we headed over to Subway and brought back subs for lunch. After lunch and holding Samuel for awhile we headed home. I lounged around and watch the Atlanta Nascar Race. What an ending!! I picked some fresh greens; lettuce, kale, beet greens for our salad as well as some radishes and sugar peas. I grilled a couple marinated chicken breasts to add to the salad. Wow was that ever a tasty meal. After supper Tyler and I took Ava to the park so she could play on the equipment until nearly dark. The temp's were falling fast by sundown, back down to the low 50's after a warm afternoon of the middle 70's. We hung around holding and loving up on sleepyhead baby Samuel until 8:30. He nursed a couple times and made some really cute little noises plus loaded his diaper a couple times. He is fun to change and he christen Amy and Nancy a couple times with his strong stream.This is quite a change from a little girl to a little boy. It will take the girls awhile to figure out how to minimize the shooting stream. Well not much else is happening. LATER

Saturday

Well it was a treat to sleep in this morning but I was awake at 6 AM listening for Ava as that was her usual time to wake up. Anyhow the heat was running and woke me up at 7 :15 so we had a good extra few minutes. Speaking of heat it's so unusual to have the heat on this time of the year. It was down in the 30's last night and even though it was a bright sunshine day the air was still chilly with the north wind blowing. After our usual quiet time and catching up on Face Book, Nancy made our weekly mountain breakfast around 9:30; Buckwheat cakes with some fried deli ham. Yumm!!

After breakfast I headed out to plant some onion sets and to hand water the garden. My Basil isn't looking to good but everything else has survived the cold and some of the cold weather plants look great, especially the new lettuce seedlings. Nancy decided she had to run some errands so I finished up an Ed McBain book and checked out a website of those visiting pickle ballers from Colorado Springs, Steve and Ramona. Wow, this couple have travelled the world and have even written a book about how to travel. Check out their website site at:www.BoomersGoingGlobal.com. They are very good players and super nice folks. I also think that is the name of their travel book.

Well Nancy and I took a nice long walk through the hood after she ran her errands and then we stopped off to visit with Ava and Samuel and of course their parents. Samuel was sleeping and seems to have his days and nights mixed up and of course Ava was showing us all of the new things that belong to her brother. She is such a proud sister. Tomorrow we will take her with us to Element and give her a chance to play with Annsley as well as a ton of other kids in Sunday school. She is the only toddler in her class at SFBC.

Well after a late lunch of leftovers and a salad we decided to just fry up an eggplant for dinner. My is that good eatin', if you love fried squash you will love fried eggplant, especially if it sprinkled with a little ground red pepper, fresh oregano, cilantro and dill. Yummm!!! Not much else going on this evening as Nancy is watching HGTV and I started a new book on Henry Stanley entitled DARK SAFARI. Wow was he an interesting guy. It was good to speak with our mountain mom, Helen this morning. Looks like they may be getting a little warm up in the mountain which their high will be our low for the day. Nancy reminded me we didn't have any pics of us holding Samuel on my ramblings so here are a couple.LATER

Friday

Wow, is it ever quiet around here after the past 3 days!!!. The morning started out with once again frost, can you believe that in Florida in March!!! Well after my early morning rise with Ava waking around 6 AM saying "grand dad my eyes don't want to sleep anymore." The day started out with my quiet time and fruit for breakfast after getting Ava situated. I headed out to the rec on the bike for 2 1/2 hours of pickle ball. Wow, once again we had a full house and our visitors from Colorado Springs came back for a second day of fast and furious play. They are very good players and we really enjoyed their caliber of play.

I stopped off at the library to pick up 3 books I had on hold before heading home to watch Ava while Nancy headed off to have a C-spine x-ray. Seems her neck has been cracking and popping as well as some muscle discomfort in the trapeze group of muscles. I have massaged and ultra sounded that area a couple times a day for weeks. I certainly hope we find out about what ever it is that's causing all this pain and discomfort.

Well after PB I watered the garden and took Ava on a trike ride round the hood and we had a good time. She is now able to maneuver across driveways and around cars parked in the driveways. We had a good time looking for bugs in the backyard before heading into the house out of the cold wind. About 11:45 Ava layed on my chest and fell asleep and continued sleeping until after 3 PM. She was just worn out with not being in her bed as well as all the excitement with a new brother and being a new big sister. She really missed her mommy and shed a few tears last night.

Well Nancy made a fine dinner of pot roast with spuds, carrots and parsnips. Well let me tell you that was good eatin along with a fresh garden salad. Parsnips is a new veggie I had never remembered eating before and by golly they are good. They are a little sweeter than a carrot but in the same family.

I just got off the phone with an old friend from N.C. and boy are they ever tired of this cold weather. Snow is still built up along the roadways and the temp hasn't been above freezing in weeks. This winter has certainly convinced us that we won't be making plans to spend the winter there for awhile.Well better go and get these latest pictures out. I want to than all of you who took a few moments to pray for Amy as she delivered this big baby. Your prayers were answered, she is doing great and finally back home. LATER

Wednesday and Thursday

Wow, what a busy day on Wednesday as first of all it was Nancy's 53 birthday, we were keeping Ava as Amy and Tyler left for the hospital early around 5:30 so she could be induced at 6 AM. The morning was once again a chilly one with temp's in the 40's and a strong northern wind. After my quiet time and and a lite breakfast of fruit I pedalled out to the rec for some pickle ball. The first 45 minutes was superb with some fantastic play. We eventually ended up with 14 players and by 10 AM I was ready for a rest.

I headed home to help with entertaining Ava by taking her out to ride her trike and find lots of buggies for her to play with. She is like Amy with her fascination of bugs. We had a lite lunch then waited for a call from Tyler about the birth of Samuel. Ava decided to take a 2 1/2 hour nap. Finally a little after 4PM he called to tell us the birth was over and all were doing well. Amy had him without any pain med's and the natural way. Yikes what a baby boy. Samuel Tyler Ross was 9 lbs 7 0z and 22 1/2 inches long and entered this world at 4 PM on March 3, 2010. By the way Nancy was elated,what a present.

We fixed a lite dinner and got ready to head out to the hospital. Nancy had made her famous chocolate cake with white icing for our house church that was to meet later in the evening so we cut a couple pieces for Amy and Tyler and dropped the rest off at the Botbyl's house on our way to meet Samuel. Ava was so sweet with Samuel the first time kissing him and saying how cute he was. She really was playing up the big sister part as were we; plus she received a couple presents from Samuel which helped to deflect all the attention baby Samuel was receiving.We stopped off at our house church meeting after leaving the hospital. Amy looked exceptionally well for just giving birth and had eaten a good dinner. By the time we had gotten there Samuel had nursed 3 times. He is nearly as large as a newborn in our house church that was born in December. While I was holding him he kept trying to lift his head. I think we are going to have us an athlete. We had another new family visit our get together(house church) with their 14 month old son. We have had 2 new families join the last 2 weeks. We are excited for the group in Pinellas County that travel about 45 minutes to Tampa each Sunday to worship at Element. We had 15 adults and 5 kids last night.

Well after leaving the Botbyl's and all of the cake was eaten( I still am being strong and not partaking of the sweet delicious desserts) we headed home to give Ava a bath and get her ready for bed. We then watched the last hour of the Idol before getting ready for bedtime.

This day, Thursday morning was once again cold with the strong north wind blowing but at least was a bright sunshine day. I headed out to the rec for pickle ball after the usual quiet time and fruit for breakfast. We had once again had some great play from 7:45 until 8:30. Today we had a couple from Colorado Springs who travel around the country playing pickle ball. They are travel writers and photographers. They play a good game and we received a super compliment as being the best pickle baller's overall they had played with in their travels. We do have some good players, especially since we are a public rec and not private. Anyhow,it was great fun and we welcome them back to play and write about us anytime. Wow, I would like to have that job. What a super way to meet folks and see the country.

After a lite lunch of soup on this cold windy day we headed out to visit with Amy, Tyler and baby Samuel. We had a great visit and he is sooo far a great baby, lots of smelly doo doo's, but just cute as button and we haven't heard him cry yet. These kids are tooo easy these days!!

Ava fell asleep on the way home and slept until after 4 PM. Nancy is baking some pork chops for dinner so I will close for now. Amy is doing great and what a true pioneer, she would definitely have made it on the wagon train. Tyler is holding up well, now that he has 2 young'ens. Well will close for now. LATER

Tuesday

Sorry about not rambling last evening but it was a busy one with Dan and Carol for dinner and then Ava came to spend the night. Tuesday morning was another cold one for Florida in March. A couple years ago we had the a/c on the first week in March and no we have the heat on. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast of fruit I rode out to the rec. We had some fast and furious play with 4 of us for about 30 minutes and ended up with 14 for the day. I had a good workout and there were lots of wet shirts. I checked the scales in the weight room and just since Monday I had dropped 2 pounds. Now I need to drop about 8 more.

Nancy made meat loaf sandwiches for lunch so I just ate 1 instead of my usual 2;at least that was a start for me. Amy and Ava came for lunch as well. After lunch it was warm enough for Ava to ride her trike around the block so instead of lounging around reading I stayed on my feet; gotta burn them calories.

Amy is still a no go after getting back from the doctors but they did decide to induce her Wednesday morning her actual due date. After they left for her afternoon nap Nancy and I decided to walk the hood, got to burn more calories and we did about amile or so before it started to rain and with the cold wind blowing we headed home. I decided to work on my taxes with turbo tax on line and that's enough to cause you to burn calories with sweating. Looks like I will have to pay a substantial amount this year because of social security. Oh well I hate the part I have to pay a penalty because I didn't figure in an estimated tax liability for that income.

We, Dan, Carol and Nancy were supposed to go to the Salt Rock for dinner but had to cancell so we decided to have them for dinner. I grilled rib eye steaks, had oven 'taters, Carol brought broccoli and Nancy made a fresh salad. Today is Carol's birthday and tomorrow is Nancy's. They are 1 year and a day apart. We had a pleasant visit with them before Amy and Tyler brought Ava by for the evening. We watched American Idol and then got her ready for bed. Amy had to be at the hospital at 6 Am this morning(Wednesday) for baby Samuel birth. LATER

Sunday and Monday

Well it was another cool morning as we got ready to head out to Element for church on Sunday. Nancy and I worked at the e-kids check-in desk and we checked in 27 little ones. I managed to slip in too hear Bobby speak as Nancy helped out with the toddlers after her check in duties. Seems we now have an autistic young 4 yr. old girl which really demands some extra attention. Bob had a great message on chapters 3-5 in Acts about the new church and our role after being filled with the Holy Spirit.

We stopped off at Sam's on the way home for a few items and picked up a rotisserie chicken for lunch, can't beat the price for such a yummy lunch. After lunch we chilled and then I watered the garden before catching the first period of the USA vs Canada hockey game. What a great game but I really don't see why we had to play Canada again after beating them several days ago and then for them to win the gold medal after just barely beating us in their one and only win. Seems we should of had at least a 3rd game to decide.

We headed over to G/G and Paps around 4 PM for Nancy family birthday dinner. All the kids were finally there by 6:30 so we feasted on pork roast, kielbasa, Nathan dogs, mashed spuds, sauerkraut, salad and rolls with a chocolate cake with white icing. Thanks G/G for putting on such a great spread. Ava and Annsley had a great time together with each of them having their moments; Annsley stepped on a toy an injured her foot and Ava closed her finger in the leaf of the coffee table. Both will be better before their married, that's my standard line.

Monday morning found me riding out to the rec around 7:20 for some pickle ball after my quiet time and a lite breakfast. It was cold out with frost on every house roof and a lot of car tops. Yikes when is this weather ever going to stay warm for more than a day. We had 11 players for the day with some exceptional play the first 45 minutes for the 4 of us. Great rallies and some hard hitting. We are polishing up our team play for the tournament on the 29th of this month which is being held in our gym. The Good Life Games is a 50+ and older to participate. I did a few minutes in the weight room after my PB play on the elliptical and crunch board. I certainly need to firm up all this fat I'm managed to put around my middle the past couple of weeks while its been so cold outside.

After leaving the rec I picked up a book on hold at the library then pedaled home to water the gardens before lunch. Seemed the kids(Ava and Amy) were coming by after lunch as Tyler was working from home in case of an abrupt arrival by baby Samuel. Speaking of Samuel he was a no show once again today.We're hoping for a GO this next day or so before Amy is induced on Wednesday. I played out side with Ava for awhile until the girls decided it was warm enough to walk. Ava rode her trike around the block while Nancy and Amy walked. I raked up 4-5 large trash cans of leaves then took the mower and reduced them to just a few bags of mulch. I then mulched all the lettuce, took out the old kale and mustard green plants I brought back from the cabin and planted more beans, cukes, basil and lettuce. The temps finally warmed up to the middle 70's and it was just a beautiful day. Nancy took her walk after Amy left to put Ava down for a nap and I worked up a sweat while raking and mulching the leaves. Wow was it ever nice to have such a beautiful warm and sunny day. Tonight there is rain in the forecast with cooler temps for the rest of the week, Yikes here it is the first of March and the heat was on this morning. Nancy made a nice meatloaf for supper with asparagus and a baked spud. I have officially cut out sweets and desserts from my diet as I'm about 6 pounds on the porky side.

Well I will enclose a few pics from the dinner last night. LATER.