Saturday, December 31, 2011

Friday

It was a little warmer this morning with temp's in the middle 50's as I awakened to the fowl music from Sams feathered friend, who I named Chester around 5'ish. Chester by the way for those of you who have just tuned in to this rambling post is a checkered gray and white rooster who lives next door and is only separated from our yard by a chain link fence. He has a healthy set of lungs and a crow that pierces the early morning silence way before dawn. Anyhow after my cup of hot green tea and a few moments to reflect on all the blessings of life and to lift up those who we know who are in dire need of comfort and healing; I started my day with a bowl of oatmeal with a banana and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top.

I pedalled out to the rec for what would be my last pickle ball play for 2011 around 7:15. We had 4 players to start with but that quickly grew as several straggled in throughout the morning. I did the whole 2 1/2 hours for the first time since I came down with this congestion in the chest a little over 3 weeks ago. I felt great but could tell by 10 AM I was ready for a rest. The coughing stayed away most of the morning and day except for the first thing in the morning when it seems to be the most pronounced. I jumped on the bike and headed home facing a stiff northern breeze but with bright sunshine.

I watered the gardens and gave them a little boost of Miracle Grow especially the lettuces after picking a huge colander of 3 lettuces, kale and beet greens which I cleaned and then made a nice fresh garden salad for lunch to go along with a frozen pizza that we doctored up with some fresh sliced mushrooms. Amy and the kiddos ate with us as well. After eating Sam and I headed outside to the back yard where I sat in the sun an read and he and Chester(rooster) ran back and forth along the fence and Sam occasionally grabbing him by the head and played with his comb(the top of the head that is red). That rooster loves for Sam to touch him, anyhow after a while Sam wanted to ride bikes so I took out the trike and we played out front on the sidewalk. Ava came out and we played for nearly an hour and at times sought the shade of the big oak as the sun was downright hot.

The kids left for their naps and I was looking forward to a little rest as well around 2 PM, but first I needed to pick collard greens and get them on to boil for our supper. Nancy took off to the rec for her workout and I read this awesome account of a young Vietnamese girl who got away from her country before the fall to the communists and eventually came to America and went back to her country some 20 years later in 1986. This is her autobiography and you can learn so much history about that war torn country as she relates how our involvement was doomed almost from the beginning. It kind of reminds me about our history and the Revolutionary War we fought to break from England and gain our independence; but that is where it stops. This is a must read for those of you who like history and the different cultural conditions that third world folks face just to live day to day. WHEN HEAVEN AND EARTH CHANGED PLACES by Le Hy Hayslip is a must read!!!

Nancy spoke with her mom in Michigan and nothing much has changed with her dad's conditions as he is barely able to get out of bed for any length of time. The swelling from fluid retention is quite pronounced and his blood sugar fluctuates extremely from very low to high almost daily. Her folks will celebrate 60 years of marriage on New Years Day and we are hoping they will be able to celebrate it with a nice meal prepared by Eric's family. I think her dad wants scallops, so that's a good sign he is still planning ahead. Please keep them both in your thoughts and prayers.

Speaking of a great supper we had one last night as we smelled the collards cooking with some ham based added to the pot for additional flavor as well as chicken fried deer tenderloin, my oh my was that ever dewisheous and I made a nice milk gravy from the fry pan to cover the steaks. Thanks again to the Dalton guys who made this possible. That is the cleanest smelling and tasting red meat ever.

Well not much else as we chilled after supper watching the FOX NEWS and I watched a little college football, LATER

Friday, December 30, 2011

Thursday

Yikes it felt a little like winter this morning as it was in the low 40's and what a chilly ride on the bike as I pedalled out to the rec around 7:15. Anyhow it sure was good to be snugly with no humidity for a change and by the afternoon it had warmed up to the middle 60's with bright sunshine and blue skies.

The rooster was once again singing or crowing his heart out around 5'ish and later in the day Sam came by to play with him. He has an injured leg and now walks with a limp; I think I will name him Chester. He and Sam were buddies as they once again hooked up by the chain link fence. They are just to cute together; anyhow after the morning wake up and a spot of hot green tea I did my quiet time before having a bowl of cereal then heading out for around 2 hours of pickle ball. I'm gradually lengthening my playing time until next week when I can get back to a full 2 1/2 hour workout. We have been having some very good play with long rallies and our 2 new visitors from Chicago, Bill and Trish were back again. They are very good and nice players as well.

After pickle ball I stopped off and picked up a read from the library; one of Steig Larsson books. I've been wanting to read this trilogy for some time, while I'm usually not crazy about fiction everyone recommends this author especially now that he's dead at an early age. There is such a demand for his books from the library I will have to read them out of sequence, Oh well!! I will start with THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE. I'm presently reading a great book on Vietnam titled WHEN HEAVEN AND EARTH CHANGED PLACES. Interesting read and helps clarify the civil war within the country when the USA got involved.

Well it was good to have Amy and the kiddos back for lunch and some afternoon play outside. They love being outside and we played hard until it was time for their naps and mine. Nancy took off to the rec for her workout on the treadmill and I napped and read until it was time to start supper. I picked fresh beets from the garden along with enough 1/2 runner green beans and we sliced off the bone some smoked ham, once again another dewisheous meal. Nancy's sister Betsy came by and finished the leftovers on her way home from work. After the clean up it was FOX NEWS time then a little FSU football versus Notre Dame. The Seminoles won in a come from behind game and that help set the stage for some good college bowl games these next few days.

Well not much else is going except we spoke with our mountain mom; her son and his gal left the mountains to head back to Florida. They had a great time for nearly a week checking out all the excitement in Sparta; at least they had decent weather as last year they were snowed in most of the time they were there over Christmas. Nancy spoke to her mom in Michigan and nothing much has changed with her dad as he progressively get worse each day with the fluid build up. I made contact with a fellow ex-trooper on Face Book who I hadn't heard from since 1986. He left the patrol and joined the National Guard flying 'choppers and now is flying med evac's in Jacksonville, Florida. LATER

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Wednesday

It cooled down overnight into the low 50's and with a stiff northern breeze made it feel down right cold in the shaded areas. The sun was bright and lots of blue skies but comfortable out of the wind. The morning started out the usual with a fowl symphony around 5'ish, then a cup of hot green tea while I did my quiet time and a bowl of fruit salad before riding out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We had a new couple visiting from the Chicago area who we enjoyed playing with and really had a fun day with lots of players coming and going. I did about 2 hours and then this cough came back so I headed out to the library to pick up a couple reads.

After getting home I hand watered the back yard gardens, Nancy decided we needed to make a Sam's run so we did that all before lunch. I also stopped by Home Depot for some D-Con as the fruit rats are now starting to chomp into my green tomato's and ruining them. I found a half dozen or more with their teeth marks. We stopped by her folks house and checked on that as well. After a lite lunch of salad from the garden I got ready to shampoo the carpets through out the house. It had been awhile since that last happened, but what a difference it makes afterwards. Grand babies have a way of slipping out of the kitchen with snacks and invariably spill or drop goodies from time to time on the carpet, anyhow that took the rest of the afternoon and the results were great.

We hand picked up a whole pork tenderloin at Sam's so I sliced a couple end pieces off for stir fry for supper and cut the rest into roasts for later suppers. We will do one for the New Years Day feast along with some bean soup and hopefully collard greens. We have invited Bobby and Amy with their families and the Botbyl's. It should be another day of over eating and family fun, maybe I should have waited until that feast was over before doing the carpets, anyhow! I picked fresh sugar peas and some broccoli from the garden which we added celery, onion, fresh asparagus, and mushrooms to the cut up pork that I was sauteing in olive oil with fresh squeezed garlic. Nancy had a pot of Jasmine rice cooking. We spooned this concoction to the top of the rice and added some soy sauce and my oh my what a dewisheous dish and very good for you. After the clean up we got ready to head to Tampa to pick up Amy, Tyler, Ava and Sam who were flying in from Kansas. They had been on the road since 7 AM and the kids were exhausted. It was good to see them again and love them up; Sam kept looking at us as if he remembered us but wasn't quite sure from where. Ava had grown taller and prettier as well. The whole family had a new haircut which made them all look older as well. Tyler's sister, Kelsy is a beautician and fixed them all up with adorable hair cuts.

I learned when I got back from helping the kids back to their house that a fellow trooper friend of mine had passed on. Seems he had a patrol car crash in October and never recovered. Trooper Bill Dyer was just a young man in life years and I don't think he left an immediate family other than his folks. The passing of someone you know especially a younger person always reminds you of how precarious life can be.

Well its supposed to be down into the 40's for Thursday with highs of only being in the 60's. Now that's Florida winter weather. I picked up some bush green beans seeds and planted them yesterday as my 1/2 runners seem to do better in the mountains. Tyler's bush beans are just going crazy and mature rather fast so I decided not to plant runners anymore down here in Florida. Nancy spoke with her folks today and her dad is quickly filling up with fluid once again as its now reached beyond his lower extremities and now is into his mid section. He still refuses to go to the hospital and says he wants to remain at home. He definitely needs some prayers.LATER

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tuesday

Well I was back on the pickle ball court this morning and did it ever feel good to exercise those rested up muscles. We had a small crowd which made for continuous play for about 2 hours for me. I started coughing again so decided rather than risk weakening my resistance by the extra 1/2 hour workout I would stop. The morning before the rec was the usual with a 5'ish fowl wake up, a spot of green tea with my quiet time and some left over egg casserole before pedaling out to the rec.

It rained for the first time in a couple weeks while I was at the rec as a cold front moved into the area. It rained off and on most of the morning and early afternoon so I didn't have to water the gardens at all. It finally started cooling off around supper time enough so we could turn the a/c off. We finished up the sausage gravy(almost like con Casio dip) with a little salsa and chips for lunch and then finished the leftover prime rib, mashed spuds with gravy and opened a can of peas for supper. That was the end of the Christmas Day eats and my were they ever as nearly good as the day they were prepared.

After lunch we decided to take down the Christmas Tree and decorations and store them in the attic for another year. They were certainly beautiful this year but I want to clean the carpets before Amy and the kids come for lunch on Thursday as they return from Kansas Wednesday evening. Nancy and I will pick them up at the airport in Tampa. I know they are looking forward to warmer weather after being in the snow and cold for the last week or so with the wind always blowing; which makes it feel even colder. Sam got an ear infection his first one while there and the doctor put him on an antibiotic; Amy is still fighting a cold as well. I think Nancy and I have just about whipped this cough as well with just some coughing in the morning and when I over exert my self on the court.

Nancy spoke with her dad and mom and the caregivers as it seems he is being a bear to get along with. We know he is frightened of the outcome as its not looking good for a total recovery from his ailments so he is making life miserable for all those around him especially her mom. Luckily she is becoming hard of hearing and misses a lot of his rants but the ones she does hear are hard on her. Nancy gave him a pep talk and hopefully that will help with how he treats those who are looking out for his welfare.

Just a final mention of the ICOOK line of kitchenware and cutlery from Amway and for this year. If you purchase at least $300 of any ICOOK line of products you receive a $350 value set of kitchen cutlery plus I will offer you a $100 of your choice of jewelry as well FREE. This order must be made by the end of this month, Dec. to receive these Free items. That's $750 of merchandise for $300. Don't forget these make wonderful wedding gifts for new homemakers and I must warn you these German made knives are top of the line as our son, Bobby bought a set a couple years ago at full price and he takes them with him whenever he does his chef gigs and they are dangerously sharp. Anyhow take advantage of the ICOOK products they are top of the line as well and you can only find them on line. We have a couple of their fry pans and they are the best we have in our cabinets; great for sauteing and because of their quality construction you use only medium to low heat, what a difference in food preparation. Well enough said check us out at Amway.com/JNTriplett

Well we hope all of you had a great Christmas with family and friends and gave as well as you received. Nancy and I were privileged to help out with our mountain church family in making Christmas good for a couple families who were down an out as well as we helped a young family in our Tampa church who were struggling with extra expenses. We had a grand time with family and friends here and only hope you made the day a little brighter for someone less fortunate. I want to THANK all of you who shared cards, photos and gifts that made our Christmas a little brighter as well. We hope the New Year will bring you good health and well being and may you share the LOVE of CHRIST with others as well. LATER

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Monday

Well it was a sleep in day after the fowl symphony at 5'ish, we managed to roll over until nearly 7 o'clock. Then it was much the usual except for no rec today as it was closed. We ate some leftover breakfast casserole and fruit salad to start the day of frugal eating after the past couple days of "eatin' high on the hog"(that's an old country saying). I headed out to hand water the gardens while Nancy did her Face Book perusing and adding her 2 cents worth(another old country saying).

We decided or Nancy decided she wanted to see the movie War Horse in the theater so we decided to go to the 12:15 show as no one would be there, according to Nancy. Well when we arrived at the mall where the theater is located the place was packed with cars and shoppers everywhere, another black Friday only this was a black Monday, anyhow the theater was almost packed with watchers and the movie ended up a tear jerker. I thought the first part was a bit hokey but the war scenes and battles were pretty much authentic as the horse did an amazing job. I'm not sure if this was based on a true story or not but I could see where this might have happened; but the real story here is that we actually went to the theater together after many years, almost like a date. The price of seeing a movie is way too much and these actors make way to much money, now I know why I don't indulge this industry of make believe.
Oh well!!!

We stopped off at the grocery for few items then stopped by Amy's and watered Tyler's garden; its still doing great and the beans need picking again but I will leave them as they are returning on Wednesday from Kansas. They had to take little Sam to the doctor as he was running a constant fever and his cold hadn't got any better, poor little guy. We sure hope he is better soon as he will be flying back to Florida and its not good to fly with a head cold.

After getting home we just chilled for the day with me reading and Nancy on the phone with Michigan and family. Seems her dad is still alert and siting in his wheel chair but the fluid retention has just increased with such swelling in his lower legs and feet and of course his grumpiness has escalated as well. They have tons of people to look after him there with lots of family members coming and going so that is giving him something to complain about as well. The prognosis isn't well as he refuses to be taken to the hospital and of course the stress on her mom is constant with his being irritable and difficult.

Well we ate lite once again and took a nice walk after a supper of salad and a leftover sausage biscuit for me. We chilled with me reading and watching Fox News and then some NFL. The Saints look good with Brees at QB and I predict the Saints and the Packers to be playing one another for the NFC championship. That would be a good game with real pro players, something that's not seen here in the bay area with the team we have. Its almost laughable when you mention the BUCS name.

Well it was a very quiet day around here and we will take the tree down tomorrow and put away the Christmas decorations for another year. I want to clean the carpets before the kids get back from Kansas on Wednesday. LATER

Monday, December 26, 2011

A few Christmas Day Pics
















Sunday(Christmas Day)

Wow what a day of family, friends and eating. It was nearly 70 when we awakened to start the day so the a/c went back on and is still as I write this post on Monday morning. It got down right HOT on Christmas Day but we did have bright sunshine and blue skies. After our quiet times and a cup of hot green tea we got ready for a day of family, friends and rich food eating, my but was it ever dewisheous. We pretty much had prepared everything ahead of time so it much just heating and of course getting the biscuits baked.

I hand watered outside fighting the mosquitoes as they have showed up with the heat as well. I picked beans from my patch and did a little garden work while waiting for son Bobby and his family to arrive at 10 and then Carol and Dan arrived also with their pan of cheese blintzes. Bobby brought a skillet of sausage gravy and of course it was gourmet style which we could have eaten as the main dish, but we had the ham and cheese egg casserole, fried 'taters, fruit salad(I made this), biscuits and juice. Wow we almost had to roll away from the table as we were hungry because of the lateness in eating so naturally we or I over ate.

After the cleanup Dan and Carole headed out as they had to make the rounds of visiting their family so we opened presents with Bobby, Jill, Annsley and Gabe. The kids were so much fun watching them rip the paper and Annsley distributed the presents as she could read the tags. She is so dang smart(like her grand dad) and was so cute as each gift she opened she exclaimed her famous words "I've always wanted that". Gabe loved his big truck and just cuddled his puppy dog toy. He was so cute and the two of them were cute together for a change. Bobby and Jill gave us a gift certificate for the Acropolis Restaurant in Ybor City and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir. We were thrilled at the presents Aunt Josie sent(even though we agreed not to exchange presents now that we have so many grand babies to buy for) and hopefully she will allow us to bless her with a nice visit to the cabin this summer.


We were thrilled at how the breakfast turned out and of course I didn't eat anything until around 6 PM when we made a rib roast for supper and had the Botbyl's. That meal was another creation in an of it's self as I harvested fresh Swiss Chard from the garden as well and a ton of greens for a superb fresh garden salad. We had a 7 pound rare rib roast(Carole bought) and smashed spuds(Carole made the spuds) and Nancy prepared fresh carrots, gravy and rolls, as well. It was another dewisheous set down and roll away from the table meal. Two meals like that in one day and we will be big as a house; Nancy said tomorrow its back to oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch and stick soup for supper but I told Nancy what about the leftovers??? Anyhow thankfully the rec re-opens on Tuesday.

After the clean up from supper we played a double 12 game of "chicken foot domino's until nearly 10:00 PM. Dan cleaned up with a big win,(I was dead last) AGAIN. He won Saturday night as well, at least the boys WIN for those of you who keep score of which of the sexes wins!!! It was a fun day as we celebrated with family and friends and we remembered the reason why we gathered together to celebrate the day of the birth of our LORD.

I was able to get through to my dad at sister Dee's house in Virginia where she too was having a rib roast for supper and was unable to speak with the other two sisters, Josie in West Virginia and sister Pat in Pennsylvania as they were out with their families and away from their phones. Nancy spoke briefly with daughter Amy in Kansas and then her folks in Michigan but the celebration level of noise was so high there with all of their family present(20 plus folks)it was a short call. Sounds like ALL were having a grand time together.

Well we are looking forward to a NEW YEAR and all the excitement that goes with it. Nancy and I are so blessed with unbelievable super kids and grand kids. We wish ALL great health and blessings, LATER

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Saturday(Christmas Eve)

Well the morning started out with a serenade from the rooster's next door; one in the garage and one in the back yard. The one in the yard is Sam's buddy and when the two roosters are together they fight like crazy, so the neighbor keeps them separated but that doesn't stop them from dueling with their crowing, anyhow it was something to hear them.

After our quiet times and a lite breakfast I headed out to the gardens to water and Nancy busied herself getting ready for the Christmas breakfast we are having tomorrow. She was making a huge egg and ham casserole with bread crumbs on top. I peeled and cut up 6 large navel oranges as well as pulled some green onions for the casserole. After those preparations were complete we took a nice long walk through the hood. It was sunny and warm with temps in the 70's but the humidity was creeping back so the a/c would go on later in the day despite the nice northern breeze.

After the walk I fixed a great salad from the garden and was it ever dewisheous. I tuned in to the NFL and watched our hapless Bucs get stormed rolled by the Panthers; it was down right ugly and embarrassing these high paid pro's could perform so little. I have always been a supporter of the home town team but this whole team needs to be fired including the coaching staff. Oh well!!!

We got ready to head over to Element around 4:30 as Dan and I helped to set up the communion trays for the candle lite service. Wow was it ever a super gathering with nearly every chair filled and 60 plus little kids in the kid area. The music was awesome and inspiring and it was so good to see so many who had returned for a visit with family who had left the area permanently. There were lots of old familiar faces as well. The program was awesome and very upbeat as we celebrated this greatest gift of love to mankind in the form of a baby JESUS.

We were back home by 8:30 then we headed over to Dan and Carol's for a late night meal of Philly cheese steak hoagies, Yumm as that's the first time I had ever eaten one of those. We then played a 1/2 game of Phase 10(Carol won on the last round as we all were tied) and then headed home around 10:15. It was a fun filled busy day and we got to see our grand babies at the service as well. They were so cute in their Christmas finery and excited about the prospect of opening presents tomorrow morning at our house as well. We hope all of you have a great time with family where ever your paths take you and take a moment to reflect on why this is still a worldwide holiday especially among Christian folks in America. LATER

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Friday

Once again the temps were in the middle 60's as we started the day after a fowl wake up. That rooster is so missing Sam as he just sets by the fence waiting for someone to give him some attention. Whenever I water the gardens he just waits like a puppy dog for Sam to come by and play with him, that's so funny!! After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with a banana I pedaled out to the rec for nearly 2 hours of pickle ball. Each day I've felt a little stronger so I've added a few moments to each workout and hopefully by next Tuesday when the rec re-opens I can get a full 2 1/2 hours of workout.

After pickle ball I stopped by the library for a couple reads and I just finished a good read titled I BEAT THE ODDS by the character who was the football player in the movie Blindside, Michael Oher. He has a remarkable story to tell before he was sort of adopted by a coach and his family at Ole Miss University. This should be a must read for all youths raised in the projects and for all folks on welfare; regardless of your skin color. He is one great example of personal responsibility and willingness to take charge of his life and not let his circumstances dictate his outcome. Great read especially for those youths who have been foster kids and who have a complete dysfunctional or lack thereof so called family. Many kudos to him!!!

I rode over to Amy and Tyler's to water their garden, pick a mess of green beans and and some lettuce. Their beans are doing very well and I need to get some bush bean seeds as all of a sudden my 1/2 runners aren't looking great. Must be something in the soil their lacking of course they are a northern bean and I'm trying to acclimate them to the hot south. That could be the reason all of the blooms are falling off.

We had a fresh garden salad for lunch and my oh my is that ever tasty; all of the ingredients are home grown except for the 'maters. After lunch we chilled reading, napping and talking on the phone to family and friends in the cool and cold north. Seems the Ross and Everett Families will have a white Christmas but the rest will just be cool and of course we will probably turn the a/c on as it supposed to be in the 80's here with bright sunshine and blue skies, oh well!!!

Nancy spoke with her dad and he is about the same health wise and still grumpy. They took him to the doctor as his blood sugar is out of whack again and his feet are swollen as well; but he is talking about eating which is his favorite thing to do so he is hanging in there for now. Keep him and the rest of the family in your prayers and thoughts.

Well Nancy and I want to wish the very best to our family and friends and may you know the peace and contentment that comes with knowing the "reason for the season" and that is GOD'S gift to us in the birth of a babe named JESUS. That is truly one gift you must accept for with it comes all kinds of blessings in many forms and one that allows or requires you to share this gift with others. May the peace and love that is a blessing be upon all of you, LATER

Friday, December 23, 2011

Thursday

Well today was another busy day with the 6 AM fowl wake up. The morning started out much the usual with my quiet time, a bowl of oatmeal then a ride to the rec on the bike for some pickle ball. It was in the 60's and quite pleasant with the Eastern sky showing signs of day break. I think today was the winter equinox; meaning the shortest day of the year and each day will get progressively longer until June 21st which is the longest day of the year or the summer equinox. Wow I am looking forward to the days getting longer as that means Spring isn't too far away and we can head to our mountain cabin once again.

We had a small crew for pickle ball once again but enough players to make for some good constant play with lots of wet shirts in evidence. I'm still limiting myself to about an hour and a half for this week as I can feel the fatigue setting in after that amount of time. I hope to be back to the full 2 1/2 hours of play after the Christmas break and then get ready for the Good Life Games in early 2012. I stopped by the library for a couple reads before heading home to work outside in the yard, roof and gardens the rest of the morning. I took my leaf blower and cleaned the roof and gutters of leaves and sticks from the 2 big oaks that surround the house; then I mowed and mulched all the debris for the gardens then I hand watered. It was nearly lunch time when I finished and we ate leftovers.

After lunch Nancy made a grocery store run for last minute goodies for Christmas breakfast. I chilled and read the rest of the afternoon and took a cat nap under the nice breeze that was blowing in through the spare bedroom window. Yikes was it ever nice with temps in the middle 70's and the cool breeze from under the big oak. Our friend and neighbor called that she was involved in a crash with her new car and wanted my opinion on what to do and the results the investigating officer of the crash determined. Seems she was at fault according to his investigation but failed to take in a mitigating circumstance presented by the other vehicle that according to witnesses was speeding. I gave her my expert opinion and had her measure the skid marks so we can determine a minimum speed for the other vehicle and then base that on the crush damage and final rest for both vehicles. This calculation may help her with her court case as well as liability.

I picked fresh lettuces, kale, beet greens and a pepper along with some herbs and made a huge salad for supper that we added a grilled chicken breast on top, wow was that ever dewisheous. We spoke with our mountain buddies The Dalton's and wished all of them a Merry Christmas. We learned Kallie had smooched her dad into letting her get another cat as their previous cats had been killed and that Caleb had out killed his dad with deer so far this season. He killed a beautiful buck the other day and I think that made 4 for him and 3 for his dad. That's where we get our dewisheous deer meat. I hope Gerald is keeping the deer on our side of the county thinned out as they have become a nuisance at times in my garden and flower beds.

Well seems the weather in the mountains has been rather nice with temps up into the 50's during the days; that's not bad at all as the Midwest is under winter warning again as well as the northeast. We are having unseasonably warm temps and the garden loves it; however I'm afraid the humidity is starting to become a factor once again so that means the windows closed and the a/c back on probably on Friday. The nights cool down into the 60;s which is not bad but the moisture in the air makes it sticky.

Not much else going on except her folks are about the same at brother Eric's place in Michigan. It seems they have settled in nicely and his condition is still about the same although he loves to eat and has remarked on the good tasting deer meat they prepare that's killed on their property. Grandson Philip is quite the hunter and keeps them in fresh red meat which in our opinion is the best for you and your health. Amy and the kiddos are having a fun time with Tyler's family in Kansas and they have another week before heading back. LATER

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Wednesday

Well it was another busy day with gorgeous winter weather for Florida; highs in the low 80's and low in the 60's, yikes is that ever nice. We spoke with Amy and the grand kids in Kansas and boy is it ever cold there with snow everywhere. The kids are having a grand time yet Amy attracted a cold. Nancy and I are finally getting over our coughing and head colds, I'm back to feeling almost 100%. I'm still only working out about an hour and a half on the pickle ball court daily.

The morning started with my usual fowl wake up; you know that rooster is missing Sam so much that he let Nancy pet him yesterday through the fence, he is over there where Sam usually pets him every time we go into the back yard. Who would have thought roosters make pets as he use to show signs of aggression when we came near the fence. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal I headed out on my bike for the rec and pickle ball.

We had a small gang yesterday for pickle ball with only a couple players the first half hour but eventually ended up with 7 players before I headed out around 9 AM. I had a good workout and I still can feel the effects of the drain on my endurance from that cold. The play was grand with long rallies and some super points and I had a sweat in no time. The Christmas holidays have taken many players away and the rec will be closed next Monday. We usually lose 2 days of play because of the holidays but this year only the Monday after Christmas and the Monday after New Years.

After the rec I set sprinkler on the back garden while we got ready to head out to Nancy's folks. I cleaned out the gutters and she picked some navel oranges, they are the best eatin' oranges around. I'm been trying to eat at least one a day as well as a grapefruit thrown in as well a couple times a week. After leaving there we stopped at Aldi's for some items we need for our breakfast casserole on Christmas morning as we will entertain our son Bobby and family, the Botbyle's and Carole's mother, Jessie. It will be a little lite in attendance as Nancy's folks are always here as well. We usually don't have Bobby's family as its such a long drive for them but this year Jill's folks want them for dinner instead of breakfast so we will swap off, plus we will have our Christmas with them here that morning as well.

I headed over to Amy and Tyler's to water their garden and check on the house and all seems well. After those stops we came back for a fresh garden salad for lunch then we chilled the afternoon reading and catching up on some bill paying. We had some great news from our friends and fellow church goer's about the health of their about to be born baby girl. The doctors detected a heart ailment which would require immediate surgery to save her life after her birth. Well we started a prayer chain for little Kayla and when she entered this world the doctors were amazed she was well and this heart problem was gone. To GOD be the glory is all I can say and miracles do happen.

Well not much else is going on except we had one of our favorite vegetables for supper last night, fried eggplant garnished with all kinds of herbs, Yumm!! We made a meal of that only then took a walk in the hood afterwards, it was that nice out. LATER

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A few garden pictures











That beautiful Red Hawk is watching from the power line over my garden in the back yard, sure wish he had a taste for squirrels as they reek havoc in my garden and yard. Check out the brocolli, collards , swiss chard, pole beans(1/2 runners), beets and lettuce. Those green peppers taste just like bell peppers, but look like jalapeno's and are easier to grow. Those shots are from just one side in the back garden.

Tuesday

Well once again the day turned out to be just another typical winter day in Florida although the humidity is on the rise. It was into the low 80's with lots of sunshine and blue skies. The Ross Family(Amy and Tyler) are in the midst of a severe winter storm in western Kansas with below zero temps and snow everywhere, there were pictures of the kids having fun in the snow on Face Book.

After the usual morning wake up from the rooster next door I did my quiet time then had a bowl of oatmeal with a banana before riding out to the rec for an abbreviated workout on the pickle ball court. I'm still not completely over this cold so I still want to workout but just not for 2 1/2 hours. I dropped by the library on the way home and checked on some books I had ordered.

I spent the next hour outside working in the garden; watering, pulling weeds and hoeing. The garden is really starting to produce and I picked only our lettuces for a fresh garden salad for lunch. The only thing store bought was the tomato's. I have plenty of green ones but they are slow ripening for some reason, actually the reason is the lack of direct sunlight due to the large oak tree in the back yard. Oh well!!

Nancy took off to due some last minute Christmas shopping and I read. Not much else is going on around here except its awful quiet with out the kiddos being here most everyday for lunch. I grilled a nice piece of Salmon for supper and we had fresh broccoli from the garden as well as red potato's. Yumm, good eatin'!! Not much else is going only except she spoke with her dad as he is doing O.K. as he is once again complaining about everything, usually that indicates he is having a good day.

Nancy and I are going over to their house on Wednesday to clean out the gutters and pick some of their navel oranges. I've been eating at least one orange or grapefruit daily since I started having these cold symptoms. After leaving there we will head over to Amy and Tyler's and water their garden as well and once again pick beans. LATER

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Monday

Once again we had a bright sunshine day with temps in the 50's to start the day and eventually reached the upper 70's. A strong northeastern breeze was evident for most of the day keeping just enough of a chill in the air to make it pleasant even in the direct sun. After my morning quiet time and a navel orange and a banana I pedalled out to the rec for the first time since last Tuesday for some pickle ball. It was good to stroke the ball again and I had some good play for about an hour and a half before I decided to call it a day. I'm still not back a 100% as I'm still showing some minor effects of the upper respiratory infection that came as a result of a cold. It was good to see most all the players and I felt welcomed back.

I stopped off at the library and picked up a couple reads before heading home to hand water the gardens. I then headed over to Amy and Tyler's to put out their garbage and to water their garden as well. I picked about a pound or so of green beans and were they ever beautiful. I did find where some creature was eating the beans laying on the ground and discovered a fat cut worm the size of my little finger chopping away. Well I took care of him and looked for others. I'm sure there are others but they are so hard to pick out from the soil and mulch.

Nancy and I had an early lunch then got ready to take her dad's car to be serviced where he wanted it serviced then we headed to Sam's club to pick up a few items we were out of; plus we needed to kill some time while the car was being serviced. After shopping Nancy dropped me off to drive the car back to her folks house then we headed for her doctors appointment because she too had the runny nose, coughing and watery red eyes. Actually she was beginning to feel better the longer she was out in the air but the Dr. prescribed a Z pack for her as well so we stopped off at CVS to fill that need before stopping by the post office to mail some last minute cards.

I had taken out a pack of deer tenderloin for supper and we fixed that with those fresh green beans from Tyler's garden and wow was that ever dewisheous. I cut the meat in little bite size pieces then sauteed it in a pan with garlic, onions and olive oil. After browning the meat we added beef bullion and a cup or so of water and the green beans and brought to a boil. We had a pot of white rice on the side and then spooned the meat and beans over it with a little soy sauce, Yikes it that ever good, quick and easy to fix. I still say deer meat is the best red meat you can eat its so clean and has no fat at all. Once again thanks to our mountain friends The Dalton's and especially Andy for his superb method of dressing and preserving the meat. Betsy came by and had a bowl of it and was surprised at how great tasting the dish was as well.

We spoke with our mountain mom, Helen for awhile then Nancy's folks in Michigan. Her dad is about the same and we learned that The Ross Family is getting a blizzard in western Kansas. Sam and Ava will get to see snow for Christmas and we saw a darling picture of Sam in his great grand father Sonny's tractor out on the farm feeding his cattle; both of them had great smiles and I'm sure Sam is having the time of his life as he loves anything that makes noise, especially trucks and tractors.

Well my cold is about gone with just an occasional hack from deep within the lungs plus I'm feeling much stronger. I will try to get in another hour or so play each day this week on the pickle ball court. Did I mention I've harvested 8 beautiful plate size heads of broccoli from my garden this past couple days. The bad thing about that crop it comes to a head all at one time so it looks like we will eat that again tonight. The tomato plants are loaded with green tomato's but no ripe ones yet and the lettuce is as well producing plenty. LATER

Monday, December 19, 2011

Sunday

What an awesome day to take time to honor GOD by gathering to give our worship, our thanks and an offering. Bobby had a right on message and the music left you in tears of joy. Wow and besides our house church decided to help out a young family who had their Christmas shattered by unexpected car repair expenses. What a blessing to help out and see the disbelief and unexpected relief on their faces; once again confirming the saying it is better to give than receive.

The morning started out with cool temps down into the 50's and stayed rather chilly in the shade most of the day especially when out in the open breeze. We rode with our neighbors and friends Dan and Carol to Element for worship then afterwards headed over to Plant City to look for a restaurant for lunch. Well we had no idea about one certain eatery we knew of by name but was unable to find it but did see a sign for Fred's Home Cooking in Plant City proper. Well I must say they need more signs for tourist but the locals know where to go and they were there in droves. This place had the best tasting, food except for how "your momma use to make it" I have ever eaten. Yikes, even though it was a buffet the variety was endless and when you see local folks standing a 1/2 hour or more in line to to be seated should right away say something. We stayed and our waitress was the splitting image of our sweet niece Halley Jo right down to her mannerisms; it was uncanny causing Nancy and I comment about her several times. Needless to say we brighten her Christmas as well in Halley's name with a nice tip; but the food was out of site with the seasoning coming from a seasoned Southern cook. The restaurant while nothing fancy on its furnishings was remarkable in taste and variety as well as were its customers. What a mix of the races and when you have tons of mixed folks and some big enough to be the entire football line for the Bucs you know the food is good and plenty.

Well from the soup to the dessert it was the best tasting meal I have ever eaten out at a buffet. I even tried 2 desserts; peach cobbler and I brought a brownie covered in whip cream with a glaze of nut sauce for Nancy and she was too full so I had 2 desserts it was that tasty. They even give seniors a buck off and a discount if you clean your plates so there was no waste from our plates as it was that good. They even had fried green tomato's that where crispy, dewisheous!!!

Afterwards we headed to their blueberry winery to pick up their case of wine they get every couple months. The wine is very good as we have tasted it before but we were unaware Florida was such a great place for growing blueberries. We had an ice slushy made from blueberry wine and it was very tasty. The winery is small but their tasting room was very busy and we hope in the month of February when they are scheduled for their next case pickup we may stop before heading to Fred's for lunch and do some tasting.

Well Nancy's head cold seemed be getting progressively worst as the day wore on so we skipped the 6 PM cantata at SFBC and stayed close to home. She spoke with her folks up in Michigan and her dad was about the same. He was complaining so we knew he was doing as well as can be expected. Lots of the other grand kids along with their kids came by for a visit many of which he had never seen before so that was good for him. He has really filled up with fluids in the past 2 weeks, gaining over 25 pounds but he refuses to go to the hospital and wants to stick it out at home. He still is eating and able to sit in a wheelchair so that good and we even have a picture of him smiling with one grandson.

We just stayed home for the evening; me watching an upset win by the Chiefs over the undefeated Packers and then watched the Broncos and Tebow let a 16-7 lead slip away and lose to the Patriots. We then watched the Survivor finale up to the live show. I will have to check the website to see who won.

Well I'm hoping to get back on the pickle ball court this Morning(Monday) as it been 5 days since I last worked out and I need to start letting some air out of this spare tire around my middle. LATER

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Saturday

Once again another warm beautiful sunshine day with blue skies and a cool gentle breeze with temps in the low 80's. Thankfully the humidity is no where to be found. The garden is loving this weather especially the dark green leafy vegetables.

The morning was another laid back time with sleeping in after "big mouth" next door did his crowing. Nancy has acquired my congestion so she is stopped up in the sinus's and has a tickle in the throat as well but no fever. It seems the Z pack along with no workouts have helped me get over this crud as well. Little Sam shared his runny nose well as we think that's where it came from.

I drove Amy and Family to the airport for their flight to Kansas around 11:00 AM but they were in for a long day especially Ava and Sam. Seems they had to lay over in Nashville before getting into Kansas City around 6 PM our time then another 5 hour drive to Hays by auto, sure was a long day for all of them. Sam and Ava did well on their flights as we were concerned because of his cold and his ears able to catch up with the pressurized plane. I remember many times in the USAF we had to take the cabin pressure back up so we could clear our ears by valsalvoing(holding your nose and blowing) and then keeping them clear while dropping in altitude especially when you have a head cold.

It was close to 80 when I dropped them off at the Delta departure gate and the temp in Hays, Kansas was 27, Yikes that will be a big contrast for them as Sam and Ava love to be outdoors. They will be gone until the 28th so they will have a nice visit with Tyler's family. I'll look after his garden as its doing quite well especially his bush beans, they are producing as well as his lettuce. After dropping them off I headed home and we had a bite of lunch then just chilled the rest of the day. I had a leaky valve in the shower so I took both valves out and replaced the seats on the end of the valve stems which thankfully took care of that problem. I then cleaned out some old files with tax forms from the early 2000's and shredded them making room for this coming next years forms.

Also received in the mail a notice that we Social Security recipients are getting a 3.6 % yearly cost of living adjustment; of course already they(govt) has raised our medicare insurance rate as well as all of the utilities will once again raise their rates. I wonder if this is a vote buying gimmick for this present administration to stay in power as we have gone 3 years without a COLA and now in an election year they decide to give us one. ALL politicians in my book are the lowest on the totem pole of folks with any influence.

Well I cut a couple more heads of broccoli from the garden and we steamed that along with some tater tots in the oven and a bratwurst for supper. Yumm!!! I got into watching the History channel about moon shining in Appalachia and its really an interesting show with the local volunteer fire chief as one of the moonshiners; kinda like a reality show that goes back to the beginning of our country. The show also takes the enforcement side as well from the govt prospective of all the tax money they are losing because of the 'shine being sold illegally. I'm ambivalent about who you want to succeed as shine making goes way back to the area where I grew up. My dad still has a jar of shine that was made back in the 30's and the newspaper article that surrounds the makers execution and the sheriff he shot and killed. This occurred just down over the hill from where I grew in Virginia, very interesting, by the way the shine is still crystal clear and looks like it was made yesterday after being over 80 years old.

Today is Sunday and we are getting ready to head over to Tampa for worship with son, Bobby at Element Church. We will get to love up on Annsley and Gabe as well.LATER

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Friday

Well once again another beautiful day for winter in Florida. The temps were up around the high 70's and down into the low 60's with lots of bright sunshine and blue skies. The humidity is tolerable so we still have the windows open but close then at nights. My congestion has eased and I feel almost back to normal and now Nancy has it in her head.

I laid around and rested most of the day reading while she went to her Friday morning Bible study. Amy brought Sam by for me to watch him while she attended a school function for Ava. We played cars and trucks and I read the same books he loves to listen too. We had lunch together after Ava and Amy came then Nancy had a hair appointment so everyone took off for their naps. I did the same after vacuuming as we were entertaining Dan and Carol for supper.

Nancy made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce using lots of my fresh herbs from the garden along with a little Italian sausage that has fennel in it, wow does that ever add to a great tasting sauce. I made a huge fresh garden salad using my; cukes, beet greens, kale, romaine,Bib and Simpson lettuces, basil and dill with a green pepper as well. The only store bought was a little spinach and cabbage. Yikes was that ever a great tasting salad. I have lots of tomato's but none are turning yet so we did without any red on top.

After supper we played Sequence which was different for us as there were just 4 players but we played the best out of 5 games and the gals won by hair in the 5th. With just 4 players the game really is fast and the board nearly fills up before any winners, actually makes for a good game. That's the first we had played since we played in the mountains in August.

Well we had some good news for our mountain friend Mechelle's ailment so continue to keep her as well as Nancy's dad in your thoughts and prayers. The doctor found the cause of her condition and it is correctable with surgery; her dad's heart is not functioning properly due to the fluid buildup but she spoke with him today and he seems to be in a better frame of mind.

Amy and her gang is heading to Kansas for Christmas on Saturday so we miss them for the holidays. They fly out Saturday afternoon so we will take them to the airport and say goodbye. I know Tyler's family is getting excited about seeing them and they won't recognize Sam as he has really grown up since they last saw him. He is jabbering away as well. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers for safe travel as well. LATER

Friday, December 16, 2011

Thursday

Well the routine has slipped away due to this congestion in the chest and head. I've had a sore throat off and on but a little salt water gargling seemed to have taken that away daily. I think the real culprit was running the body down with too much daily activity, so I've rested the past 2 days and I'm starting to feel great once again along with taking some antibiotics Dr.K. called in for me. I actually think I picked up Sam's(grandson) cold a couple weeks ago and its taken that long to really hit me. During the pickle ball tournament a couple weeks ago I had a sore throat but with not a lot of severe discomfort. All of the home remedies worked up to a point until I needed to take some time off and rest and once again help the immune system to catch up. The riding home on the bike with a wet shirt after a 2 1/2 hour workout into a cold north breeze didn't help at all as well, oh well I forget I'm not a spring chicken any more.

I slept in even with the big mouth next door crowing his head off at 5 AM and spent the biggest part of the day either napping or laying on the bed reading. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal and a grapefruit I did head out to the garden to hand water for an hour or so. Its really starting to produce but I'm disappointed in my 1/2 runner beans as they were just loaded with blooms and now only a few beans are actually growing, next time I'm going to stick with bush beans here in Florida as they always do great but they take up a lot of room. Amy brought me a hand full from Tyler bushes and they are beautiful and he planted his weeks after I planted my 1/2 runners. Oh well!!

The kids didn't come for lunch so Nancy and I made a quick trip to Sam's for some goodies. She made a great pasta dish with sauteed asparagus, mushrooms, garlic, capers in olive oil and spooned over Penna pasta, yikes was that ever good along with a fresh salad some of which came from the garden. After the kids had their baths they headed for home around 8:30 so I settled in to the Fox News channel and eventually the debates.

Well the weather has been very nice and its been typical Florida in the winter weather, LATER

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Wednesday

Well today was one of those rare days in my life where I laid around all day. Tuesday night I started coming down with a chest cold or congestion , although I felt good physically I knew from past experience not to drag my body down further by working out. So after sleeping in until 7:30 albeit I was awake at 5 because of the big mouth next door. After a cup of hot green tea and my quiet time Nancy fixed us a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and grits.

Well I spend the rest of the morning laying on the bed in the computer room; reading and resting. I did that until Amy dropped Sam off then I read him some books and we had lunch together. I felt pretty good except for the deep cough which had not progressed to the annoying stage yet. After a lite lunch and lots of fluids I headed back to bed and spent the biggest part of the afternoon there, napping and resting until Amy and the kiddos came for supper. She made one of my favorite soups;Italian bean soup. Wow was that ever dewisheous and we cleaned the pot along with some baked crescent rolls.

I had been loading up on garlic, Vit C and an antihistamine I found in the cabinet and that so far seems to be working. I think not doing any real physical activity like playing pickle ball saved me. After supper we had our house church coming over to write Christmas cards to prisoners in the Florida system. We had a list of 87 names so we sat around the table filling out the cards and addressing them. Nancy had put out a large plate of her fresh baked Christmas cookies as well as tea and coffee. We did that until nearly 9 PM. I did get to see the last couple minutes of Survivor and what a turn around.

We also in our house church discussed a young family who is struggling due to lots of car problems as they have a VW and it must be a lemon or else they have been taking it to poor mechanics so we are going to brighten their Christmas with some gifts and help. I received a call from my old buddy, Walt Hampton in Sparta about 9:30 and we talked for nearly an hour. He is suffering some health problems as well and of course a lot of that is due to age. His young cousin was critically injured in wrestling accident at school and is now at a rehab in Georgia and another neighbor of his was nearly beaten to death by a stranger(down off the mountain) illegally hunting on his land. At least "Squeak" our sheriff and friend caught this guy and he is in jail in Sparta. Walt and Theila both need some prayer's as she is having severe back problems as well.

Well I've rambled long enough for a guy who laid around most of the day, I didn't even go outside to check on the garden. The weather here is still decent with the a/c off and the windows open during the day. LATER

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Tuesday

The day started out much the usual with a fowl wake up around 5 AM, however I managed to tune him out until 6. After a cup of hot green tea and my quiet time I cut up a sweet navel orange picked from a neighbors tree; wow are they ever sweet and juicy then fixed my proverbial bowl of oatmeal with a banana before riding out to the rec. We had some of the best play we've had in many moons. There were 6 of us and for an hour and a half it was super play with long rallies. The wet shirts were everywhere. I stopped off at the library on the way home and probably should have brought a dry shirt to wear home as the wind was still blowing from the north and may have given me a chill. I started to cough a little through out the day and by bedtime I had some deep chest congestion.

Amy and the kiddos came for lunch and afterwards Sam and I played outside until it was time for them to head home for his nap. The girls once again were in the final day of their Christmas cookie baking. Sam and I sampled a couple through out their process as we rode tricycles, played with the rooster and looked for buggies. He has to have a stick in his hands at all times when outside. He and I have really bonded the last couple weeks and he is such a jabber box as he learns new words each day. The kids and I delivered several boxes of Nancy and Amy's cookies to the neighbors along with Christmas cards. They were so cute handing out the boxes and wishing them Merry Christmas.

I tried to nap after the kids left but I could feel some tightening in my chest and coughing was becoming a little more than I wanted. I started to think back a couple years ago when I over worked my body on the pickle ball court so I decided I would take Wednesday off from exercise and let my body catchup and fight this cough. The gang came for supper and I grilled pork chops and cut 2 fresh heads of broccoli from my garden, wow were they ever dewisheous and the taste is so much different than store bought. We also had buttered macaroni and a fresh toss salad, Yum!!

I read to Sam while the girls watched Avonlea then it was bath time for the kiddos and then off to their house for bed. I followed their lead and did the same thing and then watched Fox News, O'Reilly and dozed through Hannity before calling it a day. I slept fairly well with very little coughing as I found some antihistamines in the cabinet and chewed some extra Vit C. I sure will miss my pickle ball workout on Wednesday but because of the holidays coming up I don't want to take a chance of getting run down.

Nancy spoke with Diane(sister-in-law) who is taking care of her dad and mom in Michigan and the heart doctor stated his heart condition was going from bad to worse, so keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is eating so that is a positive. Well I've rambled enough, LATER

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Monday

Well its hard to believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and only 8 more days until the the shortest day of the year and then we can look forward to longer days as well. It was in the low 60's this morning, comfortable with just enough warm in the air to make my ride to the rec pleasurable. After my quiet time and the bowl of oatmeal with a banana i headed out for two plus hours of pickle ball. We had some great play for an hour or so before some of the less experienced showed up and then several of the guys left, oh well. I still got a good workout in.

I came home from the rec and hand watered the gardens and noticed a few beans finally starting to show up on my dozen or so 1/2 runner bean vines, they were just loaded with blooms put now the vines are turning a little yellow so I'm wondering whats missing in the soil. Beans or legumes don't need fertilizing as they make their own nitrogen so I will have to research that problem; anyhow the cukes are growing as well as are the tomato's setting lots of little green ones. The lettuce is nice and I've been adding it too our market bought lettuce but I'm just about ready to quit buying that as well. The squashes as well are setting fruit but the humidity is so hard on squash in Florida as there is a mildew that usually causes the fruit to rot at about an inch or so long. I hate too use any chemicals on preventing this but I believe a copper spray does the trick.

Amy dropped Sam off on her way home from the grocery and we played outside until lunch time. He loves that rooster and that keeps him entertained for 1/2 an hour or more while I work in the garden. After lunch we played cars and trucks, read and rough housed as he likes to wrestle. Nancy and Amy made cookies while she was here before taking the kiddos home for his nap. I think they made or Nancy did three different kinds today; buckeyes, an almond one with a nut in the center and a white powered sugary one. Wow there goes the spare tire!!!

The Payne's our good friends from SFBC and from the Galax, Va came by for some fresh picked collard greens. I gave them 2 grocery sacks from just 2 plants. He is having many of the same health problems Nancy's dad is having; however he is able to still get around with a cane but he is in need of your thoughts and prayers as well. Sarah Ann is doing great for a gal who just turned 80 and is thankfully able to care for him at this point. They visited for quite awhile and raved at Nancy's cookies. It was good to visit and share with them our collards as well the cookies.

Amy and the kiddos came for supper and we made taco salad with some refried beans, once again very yummy. We played after supper and I read books to Sam as he likes the books that make sounds of animals and vehicles. He imitates them so cute. I spoke with our mountain mom, Helen and she said it was 15 degrees there Sunday morning, yikes that is a bit nippy and we certainly don't miss that as we are opening our windows during the day once again. Well not much else for now, LATER

Monday, December 12, 2011

Sunday

Well did we ever have a busy day that started with heading out to Tampa for worship at Element Church around 9 AM and ended with us returning back to Seminole around 9 PM.

After our quiet times and the usual bowl of oatmeal with fruit we met up with neighbors Dan and Carol and carpooled with them to Tampa. The worship music was awesome as well as was Bobby's message, afterwards we headed home and stopped at Subway for a lite lunch. We got home around 1:30 PM and then turned around to head out to the local nursing home where we pushed wheelchairs to a small church service. Dan spoke and Nancy led the singing. After the service we got ready to head over to pick up Amy and the kiddos to take them to Riverview where the gals met up with Jill and Annsley.

The gals took off to Brandon Mall and "build a bear" store where Ava and Annsley chose what stufferd animals they wanted all what clothes it had on, etc. A neat concept and its seems to be very profitable outlet. Bobby and I watched Gabe and Sam and a disgusting effort by the Bucs against another team with a record as bad as them and we made them look like a Super Bowl Team. I think the whole team should be fired after that showing; even die hard fans like us were disappointed in the lack of effort by the players and coaches.

I ate some of Bob's chili he made for a chili cook off with the house churches and which his was voted the best tasting and I must say it was dewisheous. Sam and I ate 2bowls it was that tasty. The gals got back around 7:30 and had pizza as well as tried the chili. Ava and Annsley each had their stuffed animals in little strollers and were so cute together.

Well it rained hard in Riverview and I'm not sure we got any in Seminole but the temps have stayed down a little so we still have the a/c off.

Just a little reminder of the date for getting any orders on line from Amway for Christmas, the 13 which is Tuesday is the last day for guaranteed delivery, also for those who don't know what to buy for folks who have everything or are hard to buy for the Ribbon Gits make an excellent gift as well. The recipient of the gift album chooses from about 30-40 different selections in each album and its mailed directly to them Free. Amway has a special(not from our team)that offers you and extra Ribbon Gift Album if you purchase 4 others. Not a bad deal!!! LATER

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Saturday

Well we had a fun and exciting day with lots of good down home eatin' and Christmas celebration with the grand kids. The morning started with the big mouth next door crowing at 4:45 AM. I managed to turn over and phase him out somehow and then slept in until 6:30. After our quiet times Nancy fried up the leftover oven taters and along with a couple cackleberries(eggs) we had a dewisheous breakfast. I had a fresh grapefruit prior to the plate of tater and eggs.

After breakfast and the cleanup we decided to run some errands so I took off for the Seminole Mall and GNC. I needed a couple supplements that Nutrilite doesn't carry then headed over to gas up Pap's car as we drove it to Riverview the night before then we stored it once again inside their garage. I once again set the timer on the living light in their house so as to make it look like someone is there. We came back and I watered the gardens and once again spread some ant poison on all the little ant hills in the back and front yard.

We picked at a few leftovers for lunch as we were eating big once again for supper. I spent the afternoon riding up to the library on the bike and then setting into reading. The sun had come out and warmed things up enough to make it comfortable. Nancy took off to make some pictures at CVS. She put a 8 pound roasting chicken in the oven for supper and got potato's ready for cooking as well as broccoli and cauliflower. We had all the kids presents out an under the tree for when they came at 5:30. Wow were they ever wired and excited. The supper was dewisheous and we all over indulged so much so we barely dented the chocolate cream pie. Some of us refrained completely but not me as that is one of my favorite desserts; albeit I just had a sliver, YUMMM!!!

It was a fun time watching the kids open their presents and they were of course were very thankful with their sweet little thank yous and Sam's "tank you". What cuties they both are. It will be quiet around here on Christmas without them and of course Nancy's folks. Bobby and his family will come for breakfast and we will give them their gifts then we will probably hook up with Dan and Carol for a quiet friendly supper and play some domino's or card games.

Well its time to get ready for church as its Sunday morning. Its overcast and in the 60's so that a nice temp. We go back over to Riverview this afternoon as Jill and Amy take the girls to the mall for "build a bear". Never heard of it but of course the kids all know about. Bob and I will watch Gabe and Sam and hopefully a little NFL football, LATER

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Friday

Well let the Christmas get togethers begin and the pumping up of the spare tire around my middle. First let me sau the weather has moderated and even this morning the temp was about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday. By the afternoon it was really nice with highs in the upper 70's and lots of sunshine but with a nice breeze and no stifling humidity. After the fowl wake up at 5 AM i managed to tune him out until 6 before rolling out to a hot cup of green tea, my quiet moments and then the proverbial bowl of boring oatmeal with a banana. I headed out about 7:20 for the rec on my(this was son Bobby's bike when he was kid) 20+ year old bike.

We had a good turnout with 2 courts going and lots of wet shirts, so the workout was a sucess. A couple guys are heading out for the season and will be gone several weeks as well as a couple are recouperating. I seem to have gotten over the trouncing last Saturday on the outside courts in Lakeland at the Senior Games. I will stick mainly to the inside play at the rec except for the outside play on the unique court at the Roaring Gap Club. That court is aluminun with a non skid surface and is completely different than the asphalt tennis courts, anyhow the 2 games(inside and outside) are completely different as well as the balls are constructed differently.

I stopped off at the library on my way home early to watch Sam as Amy was in a school meeting about where to send Ava for kindergarden and nancy had her Bible study at 10AM. Sam and I played outside in the backyard, he was having fun with the big mouth rooster while I fed my garden with some liquid Miracle Grow, then he rode tricycles and eventually ended up playing cars and trucks until his daddy came by to take him home. That Sam is becoming quite the jabber box and is just so cute. We will do our Christmas with them on Saturday as once again Tyler will be away with his job and they leave the next day he gets back for Kansas. They will spend Christmas with his family this year.

Nancy and I had a nice salad with left over chicken on top for lunch then we chilled until it was time to head over to Jill's folks(Brian and Susan)in Riverview for our annual domino/Christmas get together with them. We drove Pap's car so we could recharge the battery and give it a little work out since its not been used much since August. The traffic was awful with crashes and back ups on all the major interstates so we took a detour through Tampa and its still took us nearly 2 hours to go 50 miles, yikes come Spring. What am I complaining about as we are semi-snowbirds as well!!

The fod was very tasty with son Bob making a great bean soup with ham hocks; the ingredients were out of the normal realm but the taste was awesome. Lots of cold cuts, casseroles, dips, meat balls,etc as well as Nancy made her dewisheous chocolate with chocolate icing cupcakes(I had to refrain) for dessert. We managed about 3 rounds of double 15 dominos as the atmosphere was rather hectic with 3 grand kids on your laps and trying to get 10 adults to remember whose turn was next. We had a raucous time with Nancy once again creating impromptu lyrics to old melodies which had everyone in tears of laughter. She and Susan feed on one another and next year we are definetily separating the two of them, maybe into separate rooms as well.

It was nearly 11 PM before got back to Seminole, LATER

Friday, December 9, 2011

Thursday

Well it was a memorable day for Paw Paw(dad) as he turned 84 today. He has the distinction of living the longest in our family. I called to give him birthday wishes and he was bowling with his other league members; wow I want to be able to do that when I'm his age.

The morning was cold ,brr for Floridians with temps in the low 40's and a stiff northern breeze, after my quiet time and usual bowl of oatmeal I headed out,yikes my eyes watered all the way to the rec while I rode my bike. We had a good turnout for pickle ball and the play was continuous for 2 plus hours. Afterwards I rode home against that cold strong wind and it quickly chilled me to the bone. Finally after lunch the wind died down and the bright sunshine began to warm things up until it reached the 60's. By evening it was calm and rather pleasant outside.

Nancy ran some errands and I chilled with a book after setting the sprinkler on the garden as it was too chilly to stand out there hand watering. I finished a great read about a couple from England who set off for the Amazon to explore. Interesting and it made me want to be there(except for the mosquito's), its titled OFF THE MAP by John Harrison. Amy and the kiddos went to the park to play with other classmates of Ava's and to have a picnic lunch so Nancy and I finished the veggie soup, wow was that ever good on a chilly day. She then made cupcakes to take to our annual domino party on Friday night. The kitchen smelled dewisheous and was rather toasty as well so much she opened the windows to cool the cakes so the icing wouldn't run off.

I caught up on some bills and correspondence while she walked the hood then we got ready for Amy and the kiddos coming for supper. Amy likes oven taters so I picked lots of fresh parsley and rosemary that are chopped up to make a coating on the taters that are coated first in olive oil, man that is some good etin' along with fresh Brussels sprouts in Dijon mustard and baked marinated chicken breasts, almost a chicken Kiev. After supper the kids and I played while the girls cleaned up then it was bath time and they were on their way home by 8 PM.

Nancy's dad came home from the hospital but it seems his health is deteriorating even more as he can no longer stand alone. Diane (sister in law) thought he has gone down hill even more since he came from from Florida about 2 weeks ago and her mom stated she knew she was unable to provide any care as well and did think she could maintain their Florida residence if and when they should be able to come back. Keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.

Well not much else is going on except Tyler gets home this evening(Friday) from the D.C. area after being gone all week on job related business. He will be surprised at how much Sam's vocabulary has increased just this week, he is a little jabber mouth but oh so cute. LATER

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Wednesday

Well the day started with mild temps of in the 60's and reached the high 70's and closed out down into the high 40's, thats Florida winter weather. After an early wake up by the rooster next door I did my quiet moments of thanksgiving and reflection had a spot of hot green tea then a bpwl of oatmeal with a banana before riding out on my bike to the rec for a couple plus hours of pickle ball. We had once again a nice gang of 8 with mostly good players. The action was fast and furious and there were lots of wet shirts. Afterwards I headed home so Nancy and I could run some errands.

The baking era has about to begun as Nancy will make about a dozen different types of Christmas cookies that we will pass out in the neighborhood. Seems Wal-Mart has the best prices on these ingredients so we made a trip out to west Largo to the neighborhood store and then a trip to the new Aldi store in Seminole. They too have super low prices on the same ingredients as well. Its really surprising how much more we pay for the brand names only, anyhow we got back just in time as Amy and the kiddos came for lunch. We chowed down on the last of the vegetable soup then the kids and I played out in the backyard as the girls made a trip to TOYS R'US in the truck. Their great grand parents in Kansas sent the kiddos or Sam one of these large tables with trains for Christmas and it was too big for their cars to haul.

We played hide and seek, rode the trike and ended up sidewalk chalking just before the cold front headed our way. It clouded up and we got a nice rain shower then the wind picked up as well dropping the temp's 20 degrees in no time. We closed the windows and doors to preserve the heat in the house.Amy and the kiddos came for fried fish, yellow rice and I sauteed some fresh Swiss chard from my garden in olive oil and fresh garlic. My oh mY is that one of the best tasting side dishes ever; Sam loves it but Ava wouldn't touch it as she now has some of her daddy's texture dislikes. The meal was excellent and this fish we fry is called Swaii or Basra, depending on where you buy it. It has absolutely no fishy smell or taste and it fry's up so nice, again Sam ate with gusto and Ava liked that as well.

After supper we all headed up the Botbyl's house for our house church meeting and we put together jars of layered; dry milk, cocoa, sugar, chocolate morsels and marshmellows in a pint size jars with lids and a Christmas ribbon. We will had these out to our neighbors as a show of good will. The temps were really dropping as we left for home around 8:45. I finished the last 15 minutes of Survivor before heading for the showers and then to read before bedtime. Nancy spoke with her dad who is still in the hospital but they seem to have him stabilized for now and most of the pneumonia is gone as well. He is now on insulin due to his diabeties and the large swing in his blood sugar levels. He sounded upbeat and was hoping by the week end to be able to leave and come back to son, Erics house for more care.

Not much else is going on as this week end will be a busy one as we start to gear up for the Christmas season and the get together's with friends and families. Friday night we have our annual domino party with Jill's folks; Brian and Susan at their beautiful home in Riverview, of course there will be way too much great tasting snacks and dips plus a raucous game of chicken foot domino's. We always have a grand time with them and only wish they lived closer as that drive late at night is a sleepy one especially after such good eatin'.

Guys and gals just an update on the ICOOK products from Amway; don't forget this offer of purchase $300 worth of goodies and get the knifeware set valued at $350 Free and as an added bonus I will send you another $100 of your choice of Free jewelry to the first customer as well. All shipping is Free as well and if you want these products for Christmas gifts make your order before the 13th of Dec.

Also if any of you need a tax write off of charitable donations I have a need for pledges or just contributions to the New Beginings Youth Homes in St.Petersburg, Fl. The 2 houses are for runaway or/an abused girls ages 12-18. The director was herself a runaway at the early age of 14 and now has become full circle resigning herself to help these girls who have no place to go where they can feel safe. Check out the website at http://nbyouthhomes.org/tables.html, LATER

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tuesday

Well it was a long day starting with the fowl wake up around 5:00 AM, I managed to roll over and shut him out until nearly 6. I then did my quiet time and wrote this post before heading out on the bike for a couple hours of pickle ball at the rec. We had a small crowd to start with then reached about 10 players before they all dwindled down to 4 players by 10 o'clock. I then headed home to do some major gardening.I transplanted and thinned out some Bib lettuce, fertilized and hand watered until it was nearly lunch time.

Nancy and Amy had gone to Target for some shopping as they are getting ready to head for Kansas for the holidays. Now that Nancy's folks are in Michigan and Bobby's family is coming for Christmas breakfast this year we will have a rather small crowd for supper. We had even entertained the thought of making a fast trip to the cabin for a week or so after Christmas Day but the thought of getting snowed in squelched that rather quickly, especially with some rather cold and snowy weather on the way there as I write. Thursday for us is in the 60's for a high and down once again into the 40's at night. Time to cut the a/c off and once again open the windows.

Amy and the kiddos came for lunch and afterwards the kiddos and I played outside in the back yard. It was rather nice with a warm gentle breeze around 80 degrees. It felt as if the humidity was lessening and was down right nice even at that temp. The skies were clear with bright sunshine. It was going on 2 PM before they headed out for their naps and I needed to take a shower as we were heading to Bobby's to watch their kiddos for the evening as I knew it would be late when we got home.

We headed out around 3 PM and the road construction and traffic was just horrible, you can tell all of the "snowbirds" are back from up north. We took a short cut through Tampa because the interstate during rush hour is packed plus we wanted to stop at their Sam's Club near their residence off of Big Bend Road. We picked up a rotisserie chicken and a few other items which will save us a trip this week to our local one. This Sam's is brand new and huge and the lay out is great. We had a half hour or so to spare so we shopped around before heading just 10 minutes up the road.

Annsley and Gabriel were excited to see us and we had a super fun time. Gabe loves to play ball and of course Annsley is into her make believe world. Bob and Jill did dinner at P.F.Changs in Tampa(we have never been there) for Chinese cuisine and got back to the house around 9:30. I was starting to yawn as I have been turning the lights around 10 PM as 5-6 AM comes early. We got home around 10:30 so I had little to do before hitting hay. We had a fun time and Bob's little garden is doing great especially his tomato's. I picked a handful of cherry tomato's as his is really producing. I have several set on my plants but nothing like his as he gets full sun all day.

Well tomorrow(today as I write this post)is an infamous day in our history when in 1941 the Japanese Air Force bombed our Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This action drew us (U.S.) into WWII. Take a moment and remember all those and their families who died on that day for our country. I have been to that infamous site where several ships lay at the bottom of the ocean with many of the sailors on board,still entombed in that watery grave. Its a very touching site with oil still bubbling to the surface from those ships sunk so long ago, least we never forget much like 9-11. We of all nations have done so much good for so many people have such scars to remind us there are folks out there who don't like our way of life. We must be vigilant for our children and grand children and we must re-evaluate those who we elect to lead our land and keep us safe from such atrocities and never apologize for being a nation that is a beacon of hope for many in this world. Having travelled to many places in the world and mingled with the common ordinary folk, America is still the beacon of Liberty for all. LATER

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Monday

Well the humidity came back and with the temps in the middle 80's we once again closed up the windows and turned the a/c on. Here its December and we have the a/c on, whats wrong with that picture especially when our mountain friends have the heat on and are complaining about the cold winter weather.

The morning started out with a rooster serenade, then my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal before pedalling out to the rec on my bike for a couple hours of pickle ball. I was really glad to be back inside the gym as the outside play is totally different, I love the power game whereas the outside play with the different ball allows you only to play the "dink and dunk" rallies, plus the asphalt courts seemed to put added stress on my knees. I woke up Sunday morning with an ache in my right knee and it was a little tender Monday morning as well. Eventually it went away and it seems to be back to normal for now.

I hand watered the garden after my workout while Nancy took off for her walk through the hood. The weight room is under renovation at the rec so all the treadmills are down until next week end. It was a rather nice day until late evening when Nancy started getting a warm so we closed the house up. She had made a big pot of vegetable beef soup for supper as Amy and the kiddos came to eat with us. I'm sure the hot soup which was dewicheous added to her discomfort. After the kids had their baths they headed out around 7:30; I was bushed after reading and playing with them at lunch and then again for supper, plus I missed my afternoon nap as we ran errands after they left for their naps after lunch.

Well not much else is going on except her dad seems to be improving especially with the blood sugar regulation. We spoke with him in the hospital and his voice seemed much stronger as well as his demeanor, Thanks for your prayers for him, LATER