Thursday

WOW what a day this turned out to be with severe thunderstorms, tornado's and torrential rainfall. It rained off and on most of the night so much so I drove the truck to the rec this AM for pickle ball after my quiet time and lite breakfast. We had a full house today but the first hour was such a workout. Afterwards I stopped by the weight room for some crunches and heavy weights, I'm still maintaining the weight loss with just about 5 pounds to go. After getting home I noticed some very ominous rain clouds and heavy thunder in the distance, yikes I knew we were in for some rough weather. We called Amy and she brought the kids over and shortly the storm broke lose. There were some severe wind gusts, hurricane style with thunder, lightning and some lite hail with terrific down pours. We had the storm on radar and there was evidence of tornado's although we never saw them we did see the damage later this evening as we drove out to Bonefish Grille in Largo for supper with family. We took GG and Pap out for his birthday and we met her sister, Daryl and family for and enjoyable evening of dining and talk. Well not much else is going on except the weather is to be better tomorrow with some sunshine and drying out. LATER

Wednesday

Well it was sure cloudy as I rode out to the rec this morning on the 10 speed but no rain until late this evening when a strong front with some severe storms hit the just north of the bay area. Trees, building damaged and thousands without power, yikes we were just in between these storms with tornado warnings still in effect as I write. Anyhow after my quiet ime and a bowl of oatmeal with fruit I headed to the rec for some pickle ball. we had some great play for the first hour.

We were heading over to GG and Pap's for lunch as neice Erica and family were visiting from

Miami. She has 6 children with the oldest 8. Wow does she have her hands full. As I write Sam is on my lap trying to help me type, what a character he is. He is jabbering away and no one knows what's he's saying but he is vocal. We had a grand time and it was good to see their newest addition for the first time. I will enclose some pics of their gang. The lunch was great as well with garbanza bean soup GG made, macaroni salad Amy made and deli lunch meat sanwiches Nancy made as well as chocolate chip cookies. The kids all got a chance to bond especially Teresa and Ava.

After getting back Nancy took off to Publix then to the rec for her workoutI chilled and caught up on some reading. Amy and the kids came for supper so we finished up the chicken casserole from Amy's, a pork chop and taters as well as a salad with some hard boiled eggs. After supper it was color time and doll baby making; then bath time as Sam was already yawning. Well I will close for today, LATER

Tuesday

Well it was a rather nice day with temps in the 60's this morning and eventually getting up to the low 80's. There was a nice breeze and the humidity didn't seem as bad as a couple days ago even though there have been some high rain clouds. We are fore casted with a good chance of rain for the next couple days. It looks as if we had several inches of rain the past couple according to our neighbor bucket in the back yard.

After my usual quiet time and a couple pieces of banana bread I pedaled out to the rec for some pickle ball. We had some great play the first hour before the general players arrived. Lots of wet shirts and by 10 Am I was ready to slow down. I headed into the weight room for some crunches before heading home and then heading out to Sam's for some goodies.We picked up some pork chops with the bone in for supper and I cut some Swiss chard to go along with parsley spuds and a fresh garden salad.

Amy and the kids came for lunch and supper so we had a full day of grand babies. They just headed out after their baths for home as Sam was showing signs of bed time. Ava and Sam play so good together and are just a delight, but I'm bushed with the combination of pickle ball and playing with the kiddies. I'm not sure what happened to my paragraph's but will have to wait until Tyler can come by and check out my rambling on my blog. I must have hit something that did away with that feature. LATER

Monday

Well we were sure in the need for some rain and wow have we been getting since early this morning. At one time the street out front looked like a river as the rain was just pouring down. The morning was pretty much usual except for the rain as I got ready to ride out to the rec after my quiet and a lite breakfast. The rain had ceased by 7 AM and held off until early afternoon so I could ride my bike. Amy and the grand babies came for lunch so we ate leftovers and a fresh garden salad. The kids played and the girls watched Avonlea until it was time to head out for Sam's nap. Ava now has decided shes much too old(almost 4) to take afternoon naps, actually her mother was the same way at that age. After they took off I cleaned the gutters of fuzzies from the oak trees as well as acorns and leaves. I managed to get them cleaned out before another hard down pour. Well Amy had us over for her rotissere chicken casserole with green beans and crutons. Yumm and we finshed the left over collards as well. Well not much else is going except for the wet weather except there is snow on the ground in the mountains. What happened to the spring weather?? LATER I just realized something changed with my indented paragraphs as there aren't any,and I'm not sure how to correct that problem also my spell check isn't working, Yikes!!!

Sunday

Well it was another memorable day as we we got ready to head over to Tampa for worship at Element Church. This Sunday was our blood drive and we had several make it out to the blood mobile including myself. My vitals were good that included blood pressure, pulse, iron and temperature. In a couple days I can check my cholesterol via the Internet. After the service we headed on back to Seminole to eat a good lunch of leftover; ribs, taters and sauteed yellow squash. I chilled after the clean up and harvested several heads of bib lettuce. I watched the VCU team beat a highly ranked Kansas team then saw the N.C. team lose to a Kentucky team. Wow we know so many fans on 3 of the teams but no one from VCU. They are definitely an underdog team but since they are from my home state I will pull for them and because they are an underdog. Amy and the grand babies came for supper so we fixed some garlic butter pasta, fresh green beans and some broiled salmon, Yumm was that ever good. We gave the kids their baths as Amy had a meeting at church. Well not much else is going on except I've been running the hose sprinkler all afternoon. It does seem to be clouding up a bit so maybe we will get some rain. LATER

Saturday

Well it was nice to sleep in until 7:30 after a busy week but the day held the promise of another busy one as well. The temps are still fairly nice but the humidity is back so of course the windows are shut and the a/c is on. Oh how I long for that fresh mountain air that lingers in your nostrils from the flowers, the trees and fresh mowed grass. Yikes it won't be long now until we will experience that sensation and climate change of the high country. Our house church met at Twill Auto Shop(family owned by our neighbors and friends Dan and Carol Botbyl) for our community service of free oil changes as well as a gas card to single moms. We certainly made a difference for a few moms and their children. We were back home by 10:30 as the count was down from last time. It was a working together effort to share a little love for those struggling with just one parent. I believe we serviced 4 family vehicles down from 9 families last time. After our oil change effort and a lite lunch Nancy and I got ready to travel to Riverview to Bobby and Jill's to play with Annsley and Gabey. We got there around 3 PM and left around 9 PM that evening. Nancy and Annsley were in their own little world of make believe and Gabey and I watched the NCAA playoffs. Florida got knocked out by an underrated Butler team after Florida led at once time by 10 points. We had a great time bonding with both as we don't see them as much as we would like do. Gabey is sitting up and is just such a smiley boy and what an eater he is. I ran out out to their new Sam's Club just down the road for a fresh pizza for supper as Annsley said that was her favorite. Wow is that ever a nice new store. Bob and Jill got back around 9 so we headed out shortly thereafter and made it back home in Seminole around 10. We were just amazed at the traffic on I-4 at the hour. You would never know gas is so expensive by the volume of traffic late in the evening, oh well. Today (Sunday) is worship at Element in Tampa so we are carpooling the Dan and Carol and today is "Bloody Sunday", that is we give back to the community in the form of a blood donation at the blood mobile that visits our church parking lot every 56 days. Nancy has a much rarer type but mine is universal. Well not much else is going on except we look forward to worshiping with a great family at Element. LATER

Friday

It was once again a beautiful morning with temps in the 60's and lots of sunshine however we are very dry and could use a little rain. I ran the sprinkler in the gardens after pickle ball for most of the afternoon. Speaking of pickle ball the morning started out the usual with a 6:30 get up, a few quiet moments and then a bowl of oatmeal before pedalling out to the rec. We had a small group of mostly good players and the action was great with some super rallies. There were lots of wet shirts. Afterwards I trucked off to the weight room for some 100 plus crunches and a few heavy weights before pedalling home.

The kid weren't coming for lunch so Nancy and I ate a lite lunch about 1 PM as she headed to Publix after her Friday morning Bible study. I moved the sprinkler about every 45 minutes and read while waiting for her. I'm just about finished with a true read entitled THE DEVIL'S GENTLEMAN by Harold Schechter. Great read and so much history as the nation leaves the 1800's for the 20th century. Its a real page turner.

After lunch we started preparing for our supper with neighbors and friends Dan and Carol. I had bought some baby back ribs(frozen) at Target of all places for 2.29 a pound. That's a steal!!! Anyhow Nancy boiled them for about an hour then I put them on the smoker with some apple wood and my were they ever delicious along with parsley potato's, a fresh garden salad and Carol brought some cooked carrots. Well what a feast we had and afterwards we played one game of Phase 10. It was a nail bitter right down to the end with Carol winning by just a couple points, good game and lots of them not wanting me to win after I smoked them all last week with 3 wins in 3 games, of course I had to bring that to their attention throughout.

They headed out a little after 9 PM as they both worked all day at Dan's shop, Twill Auto. Speaking of Twill Auto our house church is holding a free oil change for single moms there this morning at 9 AM. Well I watched a little of the college basketball playoffs before calling it a night. LATER

Thursday

Well its starting to look and feel like summer is here. We sure could use some rain as I'm setting the hose sprinkler every day. Thank goodness I have a shallow well that allows me to water the gardens and yard. After my quiet time and some fruit for breakfast I headed out to the rec on the bike for my usual couple hours of pickle ball. We had a good crew with some good rallies for about an hour then the general players arrived and changed all that. Anyhow it still was a good workout and I'm glad so many folks are interested in the game.

After my workout I headed home to work in the yard before Amy and grand babies arrived for lunch. Sam is walking consistent with a little wobble at times but he's getting there much too fast at times. Ava is such a darling and of course is another mother to Sam. They are such a delight and as I think that in about 7 weeks or so we will be leaving them for the summer as we are planning on heading back to the cabin.

We had GG and Pap along with Amy and the little ones for supper. I had several packs of frozen trout from the mountains that our Dalton friends caught last year so we fried them up along with some wild rice, collard greens and a fresh garden salad. GG made some cheese biscuits which were tasty as well. After cleaning up which is a little messy, I usually fry fish in the mountains as I have a burner on my grill so the mess is usually left outside, we got ready to watch Florida play BYU. The out come was good for the Gators in overtime, so they proceed to the next round.

Well not much else went happened on Thursday, as I'm writing this Friday morning, LATER

Wednesday

It was another very nice night day with temps staying rather pleasant in the low 70's. We actually cut the a/c and opened the windows as much drier air arrived. We had our house church tonight and several of the gals were wrapped up in blankets and complained of being chilly.

The mornining stared the usual with quiet time and then a bowl of fruit before heading off to the rec for some 2/1/2 hours of pickle ball. The morning play was rather good at first with just 4 of us but as the general players arrived the level of play dropped. I was bushed after the last 2 days of the tournament when the adrenalin flowed with new opponents. I was ready for 10 AM to come. After leaving the gym I did a few crunches before heading home and setting the sprinkler for the gardens. The kids weren't coming for lunch so we headed out to Sam's to pick up some goodies then came back to a salad for lunch. Since we were having house church tonight I was given a honey-do's list. We had 14 aduts and 5 kids. Nancy made fresh salsa and peanut butter cookies for the occasion. I skipped both as we had pork chops, fried potato cakes(left over mashed potato's) and peas. Yikes no wonder I skipped the other.

After everyone left it was nearly 9:30 so we watched the last of American Idol then it was time to get ready for the sack. It was another full day and on Thursday we are having her folks and Amy and the grand babies for mountain trout at supper time. Sure hope this weather holds, LATER

Tuesday

Well it was another beautiful day here in sunny Florida with temps in the low 80's, lots of bright blue skies and a nice eastern breeze. The humidity is still around but not unbearable, yet. After the usual morning routine of my quiet time, bowl of oatmeal with all kinds of fruit and then a ride out to the rec on my bike. Its not as dark when I ride out at 7:25 as it was last week.

We had our second day of the pickle ball tournament with mixed doubles play. My pardner Sandy Cross did a great job as we came back from a 1st round loss to beat the same team in the 3rd round and then we went on to win the silver medal in a very close match. Several of our home team players won medals and the team that beat us for the gold was also a home team. There was lots of good play and once again we made many new friends from across the state.

After the rec I headed home to finish the last of the leftover deer steak and gravy from last nights supper, even little Sam loved the flavor as well and he helped me to clean it up. Boy is he a good eater and try's just about anything you put on his place. After they left for their afternoon nap I actually took a little one myself before heading out to set the sprinkler on the back garden. I pulled a 1/2 dozen parsnips; while they are gigantic they are very tasty. I peeled them like carrot then split them into strips and put them in tin a foil pan with a little olive oil, sea salt and put them on the grill while a couple marinated chicken breasts cooked. Yumm is all I can say. Nancy also sauteed some yellow squash with onions and mushrooms to go along with a fresh garden salad. Great supper!!!

After eating I worked in the garden and pulled the last of my radishes then turned the ground over and sowed a couple more small rows of radishes as the sign of the moon is waning. Just right for planting seeds that produce a vegetable below the ground such as potatoes, peanuts, beets, radishes and onions, everything else I plant needs to be sown in the waxing of the moon. Well I cut several heads of bib lettuce and took to the neighbors as its really starting to head up with this hot weather.

I will enclose a couple garden and Ava and Sam shots as Nany is in the photographing mood again. LATER

Monday

Well it was another beautiful day with temps in the low 80's but more humidity so the a/c stayed on overnight and is presently on, so much for the windows being open. The morning started the usual time with a 6:30 alarm going off, for some reason I didn't pay any attention to the feathered critter but it was more likely I didn't hear him with the a/c going and the windows closed. I guess that's one of the benefits of having the windows closed. Anyhow after the usual quiet moments and a bowl of oatmeal I headed out to the rec for the Good Life Games being played in our gym. There were approx. 50-60 people there with about 2/3 of them playing in the games. Today's venture was for mens and women's doubles and tomorrow is the mixed doubles play.

Ric my men's doubles pardner and I won our division with straight set wins, and captured a gold medal. We then played in another division and loss 11-9 in the 3rd set after splitting the first 2 sets. We should have won but somehow lost our edge with too many unforced errors, plus we had to wait so long before finally getting on the court to begin with. It was a fun time but not near enough play as we sat from 9AM until nearly noon before getting on the courts.

I got home around 1PM and had a lite lunch as Amy and the kids were finishing up. Sam was so happy to see me and didn't want to let me out of his site. He is walking so good and is jabbering up a storm. I played with him and Ava until it was time for them to head out for their afternoon naps. I cut and cleaned lettuce after they left and Nancy ran off to Publix. She fixed some cubed deer steak for supper much like you would cube steak simmered in a rich gravy which we put over mashed potato's. I also picked several small heads of broccoli and sugar peas and they were great together. Wow what a tasty supper. Well not much else is going on except we need some rain as I'm running the hose sprinkler daily on the gardens and yard.

I'm scheduled to play at 9 AM tomorrow in the mixed doubles competition, hopefully Sandy and I can play well enough for a medal but I saw some good womens play today in the doubles matches, Oh well it was fun and it certainly was good to play some new folks. LATER

Sunday..The first day of Spring

Well it was another beautiful, breezy and warmer day so much so the a/c is back on and will probably be so until next fall. Wow has it ever been nice these past couple of weeks.After the usual quiet times and lite breakfast we got ready to head out to Tampa for worship at Element. We picked up Nancy's folks and took them with us as GG's sister Daryl and her husband Warnie and their son Tom met us at Element as well. After the service we all headed out Sonny's for lunch. That was the first we had seen them in over a year. Warnie just celebrated his 90th birthday a couple weeks ago and Aunt Daryl was very ill most of last year. It was good to see them again and especially in good health.

After getting back from Tampa I chilled and set the sprinkler on the gardens and yard while Nancy took her mom shopping. We had such a big lunch we decided a salad was all we needed for supper. After eating I headed out to the front yard to hand water the new grass plugs by hand until nearly dark. I see some new growth and some are actually starting to spread. Well not much else except Duke and Florida are in the final 16 teams in the college basketball championships. Go Gators, although if their out then I'm pulling for Duke. LATER

Saturday

Well once again it was another beautiful day with warm temps up to about 80 and little or no humidity. There was bright sunshine with just a slight breeze that kept it comfortable all day long. We kind of slept in until 8 then had our quiet times and I had poached eggs over grits for breakfast. After eating I ventured out to hand water the gardens, cut lettuce and work in the garden until it was time to take an hour walk through the hood for our exercise. What a lovely day and it seems the green worms hanging from the oak trees are finally going away.

Nancy got a load of laundry out then we had a salad for lunch before she took off to the mall for some dress shopping. I stayed at home and read until it was time to watch Florida beat UCLA to advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA basketball championship. We headed up to Dan and Carols for supper and we made a nice fresh garden salad and fresh green beans. Dan grilled pork chops and Carol had oven taters so we had a great meal. Afterwards we got in a game of Phase 10, Oh Well and Golf and tonight was my night as I came in first in all 3 games. Nancy was sleeping with a winner tonight. On the way home we noticed had bright and full the moon was wow what a site. I understand the moon is 30 thousand miles closer to the earth for some reason. Oh, well!!! LATER

Friday on Saturday

Well was today Friday the 13th???? I was begining to think that as the day progressed after getting home from pickle ball this morning. Of course the morning was pretty much normal to begin with after my quiet time and usual bowl of boring oatmeal with the tasty strawberries, blueberries and a banana. We had a great workout on the PB courts with a tune up for the Good Life Games this next Monday and Tuesday. What a workout we had and afterwards I headed into the weight room for some crunches and heavy weights. I gotta get ready for the gardening season in the mountains as I try to do every thing the "colonial" way with a hoe, shovel and elbow grease but this year at least I have the use of an old roto-tiller for the really big garden. Hopefully it made it through the winter!

Nancy rearranged the passenger side mirror on the truck as she was backing out of the garage this morning, thankfully I found a new unit so quickly and with the help of some mechanic's(Twill Auto) I was back in business by 5 PM., also the pressure switch went kaput on my well pump, but I was able to fix that within a couple hours and some knowledgeable folks on switches at Ace Hardware. My old neighbor Mr. Bill was a well and pump man and he taught me lots so with a couple pipe wrenches I managed to get the pump apart and check out the electrical connection. I knew I was getting juice to the motor as I was accidentally shocked with a good jolt, oh well, country boy I am. I had the garden hose going a couple hours later.

Speaking of garden wow did we ever have some great sauteed Swiss chard to go along with our fried fish and yellow rice. My was that ever good and the plants are just beautiful. I will enclose some pics today(if I can remember to take them). We watched Annsley and Gabriel while their parents went to a surprise birthday party was some great friends at a Greek restaurant in St.Pete last night. It was nearly midnight by the time they got home and Annsley was still going strong while Gabey finally went to sleep around 10:30, they were such little night owls. Ava came over and played with Annsley until she got sleepy around 9 :30. It was a fun time as we gave baths, read books and watched Sleeping Beauty and UP. LATER

Thursday

Well not much different happened today with the temp's holding nicely and no humidity. I believe it reached the low 80's with lots of sunshine and blue skies. After my usual morning quiet time and bowl of oatmeal with strawberries, blueberries and a banana I pedalled out to the rec for nearly 3 hours of pickle ball. My pardners Rick and Sandy in the men's and mixed doubles were both there and we got in some quality play and practice for the tournament that happens next Monday and Tuesday in our gym. There will be players from around the state participating in these Good Life Games and there usually is some great play, hopefully since we are playing on our home court that will give us a little advantage.

After the PB play I stopped off at the weight room for my 100 crunches and a weight -in. I'm still holding my weight loss at about 6 pounds and I'm hoping my the time May comes around I can increase that to 10 pounds. I definitely feel like I've lost a little of the spare tire but its hard to tell especially with all the great meals Nancy prepares and of course my daily having to fight the sweet desserts she prepares as well. It really takes will power and some days are better than others.

After a salad for lunch I spent the rest of the day watering my gardens, playing with the gran babies and reading. They came for supper tonight so we had some extra time with them. That Sam is really motoring around and today he receive 3 shots for 1 year check-up, he is such a sweet boy and Ava is such a great sweet big sister as well. Well not much else is going on except tomorrow night we are watching Annsley and Gabey so we will get too spent a little quality time with them as well. LATER

Wednesday

Once again it was another crisp cool morning and dark as I rode out to the rec for some pickle ball after my usual morning quiet time and bowl of oatmeal. We had about a dozen players total for the day but the first hour or so we had some great play with some long rallies. After PB I headed into the weigh room for a 100 crunches before pedalling home on the bike. Wow was it ever a nice morning outside with once again bright blue skies and lots of sunshine.

After getting home I watered the back and side gardens and then set the sprinkler on the new sown grass seed in the back yard while I mixed up some liquid fertilizer to feed my plants. I pulled several radishes and cut 4 nice heads of bib lettuce for the salad we were taking to house church tonight. Daniel and Neal were having the meeting and fellowship(food)at their house as we celebrated Neil's 30 th birthday. Neil grilled burgers and dogs and lots of others brought side dishes. We had a great turnout with about 17 adults and 6 kids. Today is also my middle sister Pat's birthday. Happy Birthday to both.

After a lite lunch we got ready and headed out to Sam's for our weekly stock-up then stopped by the veggie stand for strawberries and tomato's. My 'maters have stopped ripening for now but I have lots of green ones on the plants, hopefully they will come in shortly. We just chilled until it was time to head out for house church at 6:30. I finished a great true story read titled ESCAPE FROM DAVADO. The setting is WWII in the Philippines and the escape from a Japanese POW camp. This is definitely a page turner of excitement and harsh conditions suffered by the Americans as well as the local natives. Great Read. Well not much else is going on except for American Idol after our fellowship tonight. LATER

Tuesday

Well once again it was a fabulous weather day here in the Sunshine State. Cool temp's this morning, bright sunshine, clear blue skies with just a slight breeze and no humidity. Yikes one has to love this N.C. type spring day. Speaking of N.C. it looks chilly, damp and foggy on the Roaring Gap web cam with temps just above freezing, at least there is rain and dampness to ward off possible fire dangers.

This morning here was the usual after my quiet time and the bowl of oatmeal with fruit before I rode off to the rec for some 2 1/2 hours of continuous pickle ball play. The first hour or so was non-stop with the better players before some of the women arrived but even these gals were some of the better ones so there was some really good competition. By 10 AM I was bushed so I stopped off to do my 100 crunches before riding home. Amy and the grand babies came for lunch and we had a good time playing with them before they headed around 3 for their afternoon naps.

Our good friends the Paynes came by for a couple bags of collards then we got ready for son Bobby to come by for supper. He was doing a beach wedding in Clearwater around sunset so we had him for baby back ribs, parsley red potato's and fresh beets out of the garden along with a fresh garden salad. After supper I headed out to hand water the gardens and yards while Nancy took off for her couple mile walk through the hood. LATER

Monday

Well the morning started with my usual quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal before climbing aboard the bike for my ride to the rec in the dark. Luckily the dawn is just breaking about 7:30 as I rode out in the cool morning hours. We had some good play for some 2 1/2 hours with 12 players and afterwards I stopped by the weight room for a 100 crunches and a weigh -in. While not losing anymore this weekend at least I didn't add much considering its been 4 days since I last had a good sweat workout.

Well things are not looking good for the island nation of Japan and I just learned there appears to be a meltdown or an explosion at another nuclear reactor so that will let lots of radiation into the atmosphere. Many folks there are still without food, water and heat and many have yet to be rescued as I write. I have been trying to find my friend and fellow pickle baller, Mitsuko to determine if she and her family are alright. So far all of my efforts have been futile. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and all of the Japanese people.

Amy and the kids came for lunch and she dropped Sam off while she and Ava shopped. He loves to be outside with me and we had a grand time. After lunch we played until it was time for their afternoon naps. Nancy took off for her walk through the hood and I read a good book on the Chandra Levy murder investigation and congressman Gary Condiff.

Well we had a simple supper as Nancy had a 1/2 dozen biscuits left over from Sunday's brunch so Nancy made a tuna fish gravy to go over them along with some fresh broccoli and sugar peas. After supper I headed out to pull weeds in the front yard and to hand water the grass plugs. By the way I forgot to mention its cool here with temps in the high 60's and supposed to down into the 40's once again tonight. Great weather with bright sunshine skies and no humidity. LATER

Sunday

Well it was another N.C.morning with cool temps, bright sunshine and blue skies. This day was a little bit different as we had our house church get together and no formal gathering for worship. We all brought some food for a brunch then had a great time of prayer before getting ready to head out to Tampa for a 1 o'clock meeting for field day. Well the day was a blast with lots of competition between the individual house Church's with all kinds of games such as ; roll the potato with your nose, sweep a lemon, tug of war, fill the bucket, pass the life saver, biting an apple on a string and run with an orange between your knees. It was a fun afternoon right across from the University of Tampa campus on the Hillsborough river. This park was right in the middle of down town Tampa's high rise office buildings. I had no idea this place existed. We were there from about 1 PM until after 4:30. Fun time with lots of fun people. Our house church had a lot of last minute no shows I believe 6 in total so we came in 4th out of 8 teams; not bad for only 8 adults showing up to compete, it was totally a beautiful day.

Our brunch had us eating scrambled eggs, fresh baked biscuits and french toast with juice. The lunch at the picnic featured grilled dogs and many side dishes. After getting back to Pinellas we decided as Dan and Carol rode with us that we would pull a supper, so we had black beans and rice, chicken fajitas, salsa, salad and some kale chips. Once again we out did ourselves. We stayed around and played golf for 18 rounds before calling it a night at 9PM. LATER

Saturday on Sunday morning

Well here I am again with an update on the clock, this Sunday morning we lost that hour due to daylight savings time. Anyhow back to Saturday. Wow was it a nippy one with temps down into the high 30's and even patchy frost not an hour away to the north from us. It was such a N.C. morning and stayed that way most of the day. No humidity, bright sunshine and deep blue skies. Fantastic, now if it would only stay this way until next October, I know I'm dreaming but yikes it will be hard to forget days like this when the temp's are in the 90' plus and dripping sweat by just walking out side. Oh well!!!

After spending most of the morning in bed, it was after 9 o'clock when we got out of bed, of course the feathered alarm made his presence know at the usual 5 AM awakening but I rolled over. After arising and my spot of tea and quiet time perused the many video's of the earthquake and tsunami damage in Japan. Unbelievable anyone could survive that wall of water as it moved onto the land. I sure hope my friend Mitsuko was not visiting anyone in the northern part of her country. I sent her an e-mail but no response as of yet. Keep her and all of Japan in your thoughts and prayers. I had the privilege to visit Japan while in the military several times during my 7 years of flying in the Viet Nam war. Japan is really a lovely country and I found most of the people were very accommodating. So sad to see such devastation.

Nancy and took off on an extended walk through the neighborhood and it was just beautiful with just enough chill in the air to make it pleasant for power walking. I also got in a good bike ride earlier in the day and learned an old friend had passed away at the age of 94. After the bike ride I watered the gardens then we had leftover cold meatloaf sandwiches for lunch and my were they ever good with some Duke's mayo and onion on pita bread. There goes that spare tire again, oh well.

Tonight we were celebrating Nancy's birthday with a dinner prepared by GG and Amy and brought to our house. We have a dishwater(me) and more play things for the grand babies plus GG and Pap are getting on up there in years and its just too much for them to handle a large crowd for meals. So we are the designated house for family dinners. We had roast pork, kielbasa and Nathan hot dogs in sauerkraut, smashed spuds and a fresh garden salad with homemade Greek and ranch dressings and GG also made a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I passed on the dessert one again but made up for it with the sauerkraut. YUMM!!!

After they left I watched a little college basketball before cutting the lights off. Today(Sunday) we are having our house church meeting then off to Tampa for our church field day in a park in down town Tampa. We are raising money for a village in Ethiopia, Africa that one of our house churches has adopted, should be a fun day and the temperature is delightful. LATER

Friday on Saturday

Well this will be another date in history that will be remembered forever especially in Japan. The earthquake and tsunami that followed devastated that island nation. The untold number of deaths and the loss of property is just unimaginable. I have a close pickle ball pardner and friend who just went back there a couple weeks ago to visit her aging mother, we are certainly hoping she and her family are alright.

The morning started out here in Florida with rather unseasonably cold temp's down into the 40's, bright sunny skies but a strong northern wind which kept it cold all day. Amy and the kids came for lunch so we just chilled, playing with them until after they headed out for their afternoon naps then we took off on foot for a long walk through the hood. Afterwards I helped with getting ready for our neighbors Dan and Carol for supper.

Nancy put together a large meat loaf with half of the meat being venison as well a pot of home grown 1/2 runners and I pulled my very first home grown parsnips. I peeled them and quartered them into a glass bowl with a little olive oil and sea salt then put them in with the baking meat loaf for about 45 minutes, wow were they ever good. I also pick a bunch of new lettuce, spinach, radishes, dill and basil for the salad as well. Carol brought some twice baked spuds so we had a feast. They commented how tasty the meat loaf was so I then told them the secret ingredient of "mountain grown deer"and they were quite pleased. Thanks again to Andy for the great meat and his excellent method of processing it. I would eat deer only for red meat if it were available of course that was one of our stables when I grew up on the farm in Virginia as Paw Paw kept us in deer year round. After eating we played a couple card games and called it an early evening as Dan had to get up to drive to Jacksonville the next morning(Sat) for the Gator Nationals drag races.

Well not much else is going on except there is another family dinner here tomorrow(Sat) as we celebrate Nancy's 54 th birthday with roast pork, sauerkraut and smashed spuds for supper, there goes that spare tire pump blowing up my belly fat once again. LATER

Thursday

Well around 5 AM this morning a front passed through our area and the thunder, lightning and heavy rain hit and lasted until late morning. The road in front of the house looked like a river with the heavy runoff of rain. That was the first real rainfall in several weeks and maybe even a month or so, wow did we ever need that. There was no chance to workout at the rec as its closed until Monday, bummer!!! Any how I ate a fresh home grown orange from Amy and Tyler's tree then a banana for breakfast after our quiet times.

I just hung out in the house reading and waiting until it cleared off enough to head out side. Amy and the kids came for lunch so we finished the left over soups and the spinach dip from last nights house church. They hung around until after 2PM watching the series Avonlee. After they headed home for their afternoon naps Nancy and I got ready to do about an hour walk through the hood. The temps had really dropped with the north wind so she had on a jacket plus long sleeved sweat shirt and long pants. I didn't think it was nearly that cold so I only added a flannel shirt over the tee shirt and shorts. It was a great walk with no humidity.

After getting back I pulled radishes, picked green beans and cut Swiss chard and kale for supper all except the beans which we will eat tomorrow. Amy and the kids came for supper as Tyler was teaching ESL at SFBC. I made a first time treat for us with fresh home grown kale called kale chips. My were they ever delicious and easy to make. I took about 10-12 kale stalks and cut the center stem out and separated the leaves into bite pieces, then after making sure they were dry I took a couple tablespoons of olive oil with a little apple cider vinegar and mixed together then added the kale pieces and tossed them. Not to heavy on the oil but just enough coat them, I then sprinkled a lite coating of sea salt on the leaves and placed them in the oven at 425 for about 10-12 minutes on a cookie sheet. Wow were they ever crispy and delicious. Sam loved them as well and we ate all of them before setting down to supper. You can also add a little garlic salt, cumin and cayenne pepper if desired. They were delicious and I understand you can use beet greens, Swiss chard and even collards.

Nancy had some oven taters baking and along with the baked fish sticks and sauteed Swiss chard we had an excellent supper. Sam went crazy over the kale chips, greens and fish. Yikes what a good supper and Nancy made homemade tarter sauce to go with the fish. Well after supper and the kids bath they headed for home around 8 PM. Nancy is now glued to American Idol. Wow it's supposed to head down into the 40's tonight, I never would have thought we would see these low temp's this time of the year. Well spring training baseball is in the area so it won't be long until the regular season begins. We saw where one of our favorite Ray's player signed with the Red Sox and was back in the area to play against his old teammates, Oh well!!! LATER

Wednesday

Wow another gorgeous morning with lots of sunshine and a strong wind all day long. The temps reached the middle 80's, but the humidity is once more back in the area so the a/c is on once again. After a wake up call from the rooster I did my quiet time and had a bowl of oatmeal before pedalling out to the rec for what was the final pickle ball play this week. It seems with the Pow Wow festival this week end; the rec is shut down which doesn't make sense to me but what can you do. Any how we had some great play and tons of wet shirts with about 15 players total, but the first hour was exceptionally good play from 8 players. I did a hundred crunches afterwards and jumped on the scales for a weight check. I'm still maintaining a loss of about 4-6 pounds as it fluctuates almost daily.

After getting home from the workout I hand watered the gardens then had a salad for an early lunch. After lunch I headed over to put up a new mailbox for our widowed neighbor lady then did some touch up painting. Nancy took off to get her hair colored and cut while I caught up on some reading.

We were having house church tonight at our house so once again I did the vacuuming while Nancy put together a dip and made brownies. We had 14 adults and 7 kids. We had leftover vegetable beef soup for supper. Well not much else is going, LATER

Tuesday

Well for some reason the feathered alarm clock next door was either on vacation, slept in or was some how incapacitated cause my alarm went off at 6:30 and I was still in the sack, oh what a good feeling to be awaken at a normal time. Anyhow after my usual quiet time and breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries, banana and strawberries I pedalled out to the rec for some pickle ball. Wow we had some very good play for the whole 2 1/2 hours and by the time 10 AM rolled around I was ready for a break. I stopped off at the weight room and did a hundred crunches before stopping off at the library for a read I had on hold.

After getting home I set the sprinkler on the new grass seed before getting out the rake and working on the back yard. I raked up about a 1/2 dozen large black bags of leaves and added them to the couple dozen or so of bags of leaves I had stored up to put on my garden when we leave for the mountains in May. These leaves will eventually turn to soil as the worms do their thing and will help during the hottest part of summer to hold moisture.

Nancy was busy baking blueberry pies and getting 2 kinds of soup ready for our birthday celebration supper tonight. We were having a vegetable beef soup along with a Zuppa soup with a fresh garden salad in recognition of Jill's birthday. Once again the food was delicious and I passed on dessert, boy was that hard to do but after seeing some positive results of weight loss I'm only too happy to refrain from eating all that sugar. The kids and grand babies stayed until nearly 9 PM. After their bath times I'm sure they were asleep by the time they got home. LATER

Monday

Well this morning as I rode out to the rec after my quiet times and the usual bowl of oatmeat with a little fruit for pickle ball I had to put on a long sleeve shirt, yikes this is the second week in March and usually by this time of the year we have the a/c cranked up until the end of October. I love it but I'm sure these temps won't be around much longer although last night around 9 PM we got a call from Winchester and they were having snow falling after having 73 degree temps the day before. Wow whats is going on with these crazy temps!!!

We had a great workout this morning at the rec the first 1/2 hour or so before the general players arrived. I did have a soaken wet shirt and by 10 AM I was ready for a break. After pickle ball I stopped by the weight room for a 100 crunches and a weight in, Wow I'm down a couple more pounds with only about 5 more to go. I've noticed the belly fat is shrinking and I'm totally delerious about this occurrence. Well I stopped by the library to pick up a read before heading home to water the gardens. I then pedalled over to Amy's and picked some of their romaine lettuce which is starting to go to seed to mix in with my bibb lettuce which is starting to mature. Wow there is nothing like home grown lettuce.

After a fresh garden salad for lunch I worked out in the back yard digging weeds, raking and planting new grass seeds until it was time to pull beets, cut broccoli and pick sugar peas for supper. What a super tasting supper with these fresh veggie's when accompanied by a chicken breast on the grill loaded with fresh rosemary. Good eatin'!!!

Well not much else is going on so LATER.

Sunday

Well I would never believe it is this nice and cool this time of the year in the Sunshine State, actually tonight it will be down into the 50's. I thought we wouldn't see it this cool again until next December, anyhow I will relish these temps for another week. My garden loves it especially the leafy green veggies. I've been picking broccoli, snap sugar peas, radishes, green 1/2 runner beans, tomatoes and 4 different lettuces plus spinach, Swiss chard and kale. Yikes are they ever good and good for you.

After an early morning down pour around 5 ish I climbed out of the sack around 7 AM and got ready for the trek to Tampa for the gathering at Element Church. Bobby has a great message on why we gather for corporate worship, the music was awesome and at the end of the message he baptized 6 people. It was an awesome morning with lots of visitors. After worship we had a fresh salad for lunch and then I just chilled on the couch watching some great music from the 60's on PBS and switching to the Nascar race in Las Vegas. Nancy was accompanying her folks and sister to Bonefish Grille for dinner. I decided not to go for various reasons, so it gave her some time with just family. I ate left overs from Thursday which were excellent.

Well not much else going on except only 3 days at the rec for pickle ball as POW WOW happens next week end and the rec area is used so I must make the most of the next 3 days, plus we are having a family dinner to celebrate Jill's birthday on Tuesday. I sure hope I can maintain this weight loss from around the middle of my belly. LATER

Saturday

Wow another beautiful day in Florida with temp's near the 80 mark but with a nice stiff eastern breeze which kept it quite nice. Wow if only it would stay this way with no humidity, anyhow after sleeping in until nearly 8 AM(actually the feathered alarm clock was there crowing at 5:30). I got up and made myself some grits and poached eggs while Nancy made her own grits and eggs after our quiet times. I made a couple calls to some of our mountain friends and found out it was rainy, cool and foggy there but some of the trees were starting to bud out with their leaves, so spring isn't far off.

I headed out to the garden to do some watering, pull a few weeds and harvest some radishes. Yikes, these are the prettiest red radishes; so juicy and sweet. Nancy got ready and we took off on an hour walk through the hood. I worked up a sweat only because the sun reflecting off the hot asphalt made it feel warmer than if we were walking in the woods. Sure do miss those hikes up the back trail to the top of the mountain.

After our walk we ate the left over salad from yesterday then I settled down to read while Nancy took off shopping for clothes. After she got home we got some spuds ready for oven 'taters, home grown broccoli and sweet peas together as we were heading up to Dan and Carols for supper. Carol had country pork ribs cooking in the crock pot. The supper was good and finally there was no dessert. Afterwards we played Phase 10 and Dan won then a game of Golf and Nancy won. Well not much else is happening except we have worship tomorrow at Element. LATER

Friday

Once again we have unbelievable nice weather for this time of the year. There is a stiff east breeze with temps in the 70's and bright sunshine. Actually we need some rain as I'm hand watering the gardens twice a day and I now have the sprinkler set on the front yard. Sure don't want to lose all those plugs I put in a couple months ago. Anyhow the morning started early once again with that rooster crowing at 5 AM and not stopping at least until I finally got up at 6:30. Grand son Sam woke up shortly thereafter so I put him in bed with grandma Nancy as I got ready to start my morning routine of quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal before heading out to the rec for some pickle ball.

We had 7 players today and most were exceptionally good players so the action was fast and furious for over 2 1/2 hours. Wow what a workout and afterwards I could barely do my 50 sit ups and crunches before heading out for home. I gathered up Sam and put him in the stroller while I hand watered the back gardens and he loved being outside with the turkey next door just on the other side of the chain link fence. He was so funny and loved doing his little gobble imitation which caused the turkey to go off on its real gobble noise. We spent about an hour out there in the nice breeze before heading in for lunch around noon.

Sam ate a nice lunch of cheese, beans, bread and tomatoes. Nancy and I each had a fresh garden salad. After lunch we played with Sam and I took him around the block in the stroller hoping he would fall asleep; but he wanted nothing with a nap. Finally around 1 PM he went down for an hour and a half. I took a power nap then read until it was time to head out to the back yard for the evening watering. Sam once again came out in his stroller and mimicked the turkey for another hour or so. I picked fresh Swiss chard and got it ready for the sauce pan while Nancy entertained Sam. We had fried fish of which he ate 1/2 of a fillet as well as the greens and some canned vegetables. Once again Sam ate very well. After the clean up I set the sprinkler on the front yard and Nancy got him ready for his bath. We played with him until 8 PM which was about the time he started rubbing his eyes so Nancy rocked him and he was out in less than 5 minutes.

We had such a good time with him and Amy called while we were preparing supper to say they would be late in coming home from Sea World. They had a great day and it was even nicer that little Sam didn't have to hold them down. I'm sure Ava is worn out after an all dayer there. Well not much else is going on, so LATER

Thursday continued

The morning started out pretty much the usual with the feathered alarm clock next door starting his crowing about 5 AM and it continued until I finally got up around 6:15. After my quiet time and this morning I microwaved a couple poached eggs on a bed of grits, Yumm!. Afterwards I got ready and pedalled out to the rec where we had about 18 players but the first hour was just good hard play, wow what a workout and wet shirts were the norm. I headed for the weight room and got in a few crunches before heading out.

The kids didn't come for lunch today as Tyler was off as his little sister was in town from Kansas so it was just Nancy and I. She had been making Sam's birthday cake all morning and it turned out darling, it had Elmo face on it. After lunch she took off for the rec and I worked in the garden transplanting(thinning out) some bibb lettuce as well as planting a tray of grass plugs I started from seed in the back yard.

Today was Nancy's birthday as well as Sam's so there was a big dinner at Sam's house with cake, ice cream and lots of presents for Sam. We had a great meal and enjoying watching Sam tear the presents open. After supper we hung around watching American Idol until 10 PM. We brought Sam home with us as the rest of the family was going to Sea World early on Friday and spending the day. We finally got to bed after 11 PM and he woke up a couple times just before midnight but slept through until around 7 AM. Not much else is going on as its now Friday morning and I just gotin from watering the garden. Sam set in his stroller and made noises to the turkey and rooster next door. He loves being outside. LATER Enclosed are a few pictures from last nights supper.

Thursday

Well I'm late getting this post out for Thursday because stayed late at the Ross' where we celebrated Sam first birthday with a super supper of smoked brisket, potato casserole, pinto beans, salad with crusty bread. Yikes was that ever good eatin' and then grandma who also was celebrating her birthday as well made a Elmo birthday cake for Sam as well. I will resume this post later as Sam spent the night and he is awake and raring to go. LATER

Wednesday

Well it was down right nippy this AM as I rode out to the rec after my quiet time and usual bowl of oatmeal with fruit for some pickle ball. We had about 15 players with some good play the first 45 minutes before the general players showedand we were missing a couple of our regular good players as well. After about 2 1/2 hours I ventured into the weight room and did about 50 crunches before heading for home, by then it was nearly 10:3o and the temps had warmed back to the middle 70's. A stiff east wind kept it nice all day long and by this evening after dark there was coolness in the air.

I watered and fed my garden before Amy and the grand kids came for lunch and little Samuel sat out in the back yard in his stroller for about half an hour with me, he is going to be an outside boy and his walking is getting better daily. Nancy and Sam will be celebrating birthdays tomorrow.After theyleft we got the house ready for house church. We had 12 adults and 3 kids and we missed the Ross Family tonight as Tyler's sister Kelsey flew in from Kansas for a visit for about a week.

Well not much else is going so LATER.

Tuesday

Well today was a most different one from the usual as I started out the morning the usual. Did that make sense??? Anyhow about 6:30 I roll out of the sack and I did my usual quiet time and had my usual bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries and a banana before pedalling out to the rec for some pickle ball. It looked as if it could rain as I rode out and about 1/2 through the play period it poured rain. I thought to myself well I will get wet on the ride home at 9:30 but about 9:15 the rain stopped long enough for me to get home dry. I cut the play short as we were to be in east Tampa by 11 AM to see grand daughter Annsley do her hour of gymnastics and that was about 50 miles away. With the slick roads due to the rain I wanted to get there in plenty of time especially since we had never been there before.

We headed out from the house after I got home and changed clothes about 9 :45. The radio said there were accidents blocking the interstate so we decided to take the cross town toll road to Brandon before exiting onto another major roadway. This morning was the funeral for one of St.Pete's finest officers who was gunned about a week ago by a 16 year old. So sad and he was just about to complete his 25 th year of public service, anyhow we circled around the road blocks which had shut down another major roadway. To make a long story and drive short we made it to the gym in time despite the rain, road blocks and wrecks.

Annsley was awesome for her age and worked hard for an hour along with 3 other little girls who all seemed older by a year or so. Her instructor put the girls through all kinds exercises as well as agility and balance drills with some tumbling moves as well. It was a well balanced hour of continuous movement. Afterwards we met Jill, Bobby, Susan(Jill's mom) and little Gabey at Crispers Restaurant in Brandon for lunch. We had delicious sandwiches and soups and others had beautiful salads. We had a great visit until nearly 1:30 before heading back to Pinellas County via the interstate. We met lots of motorcycle cops from various police departments returning back to their districts from the funeral in St.Pete; luckily the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.

We made a stop at Sam's to pick up a few articles but mainly to get a beef brisket so Tyler could smoke it for Sam's birthday dinner on Thursday as he will be 1 year's old. After getting home Nancy took off to the rec for her workout and I read a little before getting a call from our "mountain mom", Helen. She said the grass was starting to turn in spots as well as the daffodil's are blooming as well. Seems the temps have moderated a little up there but the nights are still cold, at least they had some rain the past couple days which should help with the fire danger but the wind is about to blow her off the mountain. I will enclose a couple pictures of today's gymnastics with Annsley. LATER