Tuesday Morning (Late)

Monday was much the usual with the early morning wake up around 5:30 by the feathered boys next door. I learned we have another house with chickens in the back yard as well as a peacock on the block. That bird has a loud voice and its quite shrill, anyhow after my usuals; green tea, quiet time and a lite breakfast of cereal I pedaled out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. Speaking of cereal for breakfast I'm trying a new almond milk instead of regular cows milk. Its supposed to be better for you causing no mucus in the gut which can lead to all kinds of stomach ailments. It does have a wonderful flavor. After pickle ball I made a quick stop at the library then headed home to work outside until it got to hot. The summer has arrived here in Florida; its hot, humid and very dry as well.

Amy and Sam came for lunch and she brought ham and cheese for roll ups along with some garden salad. My home grown salad bar is about to close down as the heat is taking its toll on my garden despite watering twice a day. Its been great while it lasted but I'm still getting beet greens, kale, peppers and lots of tomatoes and onions. The egg plants and collards as well as the bell peppers are still flourishing.

Nancy was called into the dentists office during the morning for a check on her tooth that just had a root canal. The temporary crown wasn't fitting properly so the doc had to make some adjustments especially before they put the final crown in place. After she got back from the dentist she could actually chew on that side of her mouth some what, oh well!!

After Amy and Sam left I chilled reading while Nancy headed to the rec for her workout on the treadmill, elliptical and the bike. She has moved her total workout up to nearly and hour plus the walk to the rec. We are both making a concerted effort to slim down a pound or so before the wedding in May. We both are trying a new supplement that is called glucose heath from Nutrilite which helps with the body's utilization of fats, proteins and carbs. We will see if there are any results on the spare tire.

I almost feel like a new parent as my white orchid is blooming. It is just beautiful and such a sweet smell as well. It only blooms every 9 months I'm told. The Confederate Jasmine is also blooming on the front porch and the back fence, wow what an awesome odor as well. Well we ate lite for supper with fried taters and onions, the last of the 1/2 runner green beans and a small garden salad. I headed out to hand water the gardens and back yard until nearly dark then we settled into a movie; Lincoln. Amy got it on Net Flicks and let us borrow it, so we finally watched a movie. That was the first one since we have been back from the cabin. I wasn't all that impressed with the story line as it missed the real story in the book Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. Now I know why movies don't thrill me like a good book and I probably won't watch another one for some time. Hollywood and all its glamour is boring to me much like this Oscar nominee, LATER  

Monday Morning

Sunday started out much the usual way with the fowl wake up crow around 5:30. Nancy wanted to get up early anyways as she was making cinnamon rolls to take to church with us for the "table" occasion. It has become a tradition that we bring food to share with the church family, worship through music, and then recognize those whose show ownership to the hilt; even sometimes in jest with the "ownies" award as handmade "O's" on yard were handed out to be worn around the neck. The "table" was filled with awesome casseroles, fruit salads, meats, quiches, pastries, homemade desserts and store bought donuts etc. There was quite the assortment and very good as well.

After eating our fill and a few meaningful scriptures about our role in promoting our church family with community we then set about to restore the warehouse. We organized where clutter had moved in, touching up with paint where everyday use had caused blemishes, scrubbed and mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, cleaned glass doors, cleaned children's toys and wherever there was area that needed attention. It was awesome as 8 or 9 teams were to address those areas that needed some beautification. We stayed until after 1 PM before heading out for home and there were still some teams finishing up in certain areas as well.

After getting home we chilled until it was time to start supper. Nancy was having GG for chicken picota over fettuccine and I was doing Swiss chard; both of these dishes require some addition prep work but the results are fantastic. I tuned into the Rays game and finally they managed a second win in a row in Chicago. After supper we sat out in the back yard as it was quite nice and just enough of a breeze to keep the bloody mosquitoes away. I hand watered everything including the front yard while Nancy drove GG home. It was nearly 8:30 when I decided to call it wet enough for a few days . We desperately need rain for the grasses.

We picked up grand daughter Annsley from Amy on Sunday morning and took her with us to church as she spent Saturday night with Ava. It was the first time she had spent the night at Ava's house alone. It was a great time for her, Ava and Sam as they went to the fun house that was part of Ava's turning 6 birthday party on Saturday night, then watched a movie while all 3 sacked out on the living room floor. What a super weekend for the kids and some good time together as they bond. Well that's about it for Sunday, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was a fun filled day that started much the usual with the feathered boys next door crowing before daylight. We managed to hang in there until 6:30 then it was roll out as we had an early morning occasion at Twill Auto in St.Pete. Our house church was offering free oil changes for single moms and wives of service personnel who were deployed overseas. Our first appointment was at 9 and we had 3 to show right a way. We did a total of 11 through out the morning and a couple of the ladies were interested in our house church and even interested in coming to Element Church in Tampa. We gave each of the ladies a 10 dollar gas card as well as free coffee and donuts. They were really impressed that we knew and cared about the hardships of being single moms.

After the service project we headed home for a lite lunch before I headed out to water the gardens and back yard. We had made plans to go out and eat supper at the Salt Rock Grill over on the beach. Well we made it there just in time as the place was nearly filled to capacity at 5 PM. We sat in the bar area and even that filled up quickly and the waiting line was huge when we left around 6. The food was tasty as usual and a little on the pricey side for the amount you received. I had a crab cake that was about the size of a small tomato, a baked potato and a half table spoon of a specialty corn. There was plenty of sourdough break thankfully with dipping oil and a very small salad, oh well this place is the busiest on the beach.

Well Nancy is amazed that I recognize or know someone no matter where we go and while eating  a white coated male in his early 30's approached me as asked me if I was Mr. Triplett. Well everyone was amazed he remembered me from Seminole First Baptist youth group. He and Bobby were in it together and I chaperoned them on a wilderness trip to the mountains of Tennessee when they were in middle school. He is now a cook at the restaurant.

We left there and decided to travel up the beaches all the way to Clearwater Beach. Well its unbelievable how that area has changed since when I first visited and fished that area around Sand Key. The traffic was horrendous with backups in both directions. We finally made it off of the beach road and onto the mainland where we then headed down to Belleair. The houses in that area take up whole city blocks with amazing views of the bay. Gigantic houses with 4 and 5 car garages that looked like hotels, yeow. Many had security fences that where more costly that what I earned in a lifetime. We stopped at a couple houses that were much older and for sale that had green houses larger than my house and with large second quarters for mothers in law.

After the ride it was time to head back to our pill boxes and the real world and beside what would we do with all of that bigness. I could truck farm some of the land within the yards and feed the neighborhood fresh veggies, Oh well just a thought. We settled in to the Rays game and they were finally winning one big when I shut the lights out around 11. They have lost the last 2 games while leading into the late innings. Today, Sunday is worship at Element in Tampa. It's table day where everyone brings dishes of goodies to share with everyone and then it clean the warehouse after eating plus it "ownies award  day". Element promotes ownership in the church and awards are given, many in jest to those who are standouts. It should be an awesome day of worship, family fellowship, food and fun, LATER

Saturday Morning

Friday was rather quiet compared to Thursday; but the morning started out much the usual way. After the fowl wake up and a cup of green tea while writing this post, a few quiet moments, then a lite breakfast I got ready to ride out to the rec on my bike for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had a nice crowd of players and of course that resulted in a great workout with lots of wet shirts. Afterwards I headed by the library to pick up a couple new reads for the week end then headed home to work in the garden. It was rather nice to start the day with temps in the 60's but by 10 it had warmed up considerably yet we had a nice breeze to keep it comfortable. Nancy was at the rec doing her treadmill workout so I stayed outside until she got home.

Amy and Sam were coming for lunch and we dined on a chicken salad over a bed of leftover salad from last nights supper at Ava's party. Yeow what good eatin'. Sam wasn't feeling up to par so Amy made him some dried chicken noodle soup we all call "stick soup". He seemed much better after eating a bowl of that. I finished my lunch with one of Ava's chocolate cupcakes and it was wow. I could have eaten another but knew better. We are seriously going to start to work on reducing this spare tire around our waist. Nutrilite has a new supplement that is supposed to help with glucose reduction and its especially good for those who have type 2 diabetes. Not that either of us are but this product will help get rid of the excess glucose that is stored as fat. I'm curious to see if it works.

After Amy and Sam left we chilled and read through the heat of the afternoon until it was time to start supper. I grilled some cubed deer steak then sliced it thin while Nancy sauteed fresh green peppers and onions from the garden and then we mixed the two and called in fajitas. We put that on a tortilla with fresh cilantro, thyme, tomato, (cayenne pepper for me) and sour cream, yeow! That was some good eatin' as well and also filled us up. We started that glucose supplement about an hour before eatin' which is supposed to help with curbing your appetite as well. After the clean up we headed outside.

It had cooled down and with a breeze it was a great evening to work outside. We stayed out until 8:30. Nancy was hand watering the front yard while I trimmed dead tomato plants, planted marigolds and pulled weeds. Our back yard grass is really beautiful to look at as it gets water everyday when I water the gardens. We had a different chicken to get in the yard today so we let the neighbor know she needed to clip this ones wings as well.

The Rays lost another close game after leading by 3 runs most of the game to the White Sox. Today(Sat) our house church is doing a service from 9-12 to all the single moms who want a Free oil change and safety check on their cars at Twill Auto. That's Dan's shop. We even bless them with a 10 buck gas card as well. It's strange how some of these gals all say their friends tell them its a rip off and that Dan is trying to drum up business. We even provide them with coffee and doughnuts and Nancy, Carol and Danielle share with them about our house church and Element Church what we are all about; while we men service their cars and repair minor problems and then let them know of any major repairs they need to be aware us. I think we have about a dozen who have registered for appointed times to show up for this free service. Its just a way we help those single moms and or military wives whose husbands are deployed overseas, LATER   Here are a few pics!!!

Friday Morning

Thursday was just another one of those busy days that of course started with the early 5:30 crow off between the feathered fowls next door. I finally rolled out at 6:30 to start the usual morning routine of; hot green tea, quiet time, lite breakfast and then a ride out to the rec on my bike for a couple hours of pickle ball. It was rather nice as I rode out with cool temps in the 60's and the sun ball just rising above the horizon.

We had a large crowd today with 3 courts going and of course lots of wet shirts from the fast play.I left just a few minutes early as I needed to pick up a book at the library so I would have something to read at the dentist office down in St.Pete where I was taking Nancy for a root canal. Seems the back molar that Dr. Beirl was trying to straighten and then save went south over the past couple weeks. Nancy was unable to chew on that tooth and it constantly gave her some discomfort. Well we were in the dentist office from 11 AM to 1:30 PM and once again dropped a grand on that tooth even with a cash discount. I'm going to encourage my grand sons to go to dental college.

We had a lite lunch after getting back from St. Pete. The traffic was horrible going both ways and I asked myself how did I work in that environment for 30 years. Speaking of working I just remembered it was this month in 2004 that at retired. Oh well. We knew we were heading to Amy's for a large supper around 5 PM so we ate just enough to take the edge off for a late lunch. I headed out to water the gardens before we left to pick up GG. Nancy had lots of wrapped gifts for Ava, 4 plastic containers of cup cakes, a large garden salad as well as some spinach dip along with GG's Greek potato salad. Amy had delicious green beans, mac and cheese for the kids which was awesome and Tyler had 3 large marinated flank steaks on the grill plus crusty bread,yeow what a feast. The meat was perfect and what awesome flavor.

Jill came first with Gabe and Annsley and their dog Sugar. The kids played outside in the trampoline until it was time to eat then they were everywhere. We could hear squeals of delight and joy as they played. The ages now are great for playing together and they all ended up bathing together before going home around 9 PM. Annsley is coming and spending the night on Saturday with Ava and then we will take her with us to church on Sunday. Tyler had the family skyping with his folks as they wanted to wish Ava birthday greeting; it was great to speak with Cindy and Robb and see them in Kansas.

Well it was a fun evening and Ava is now 6 years of age where did that time go? It was great to get together and once again eat some delicious fare. Betsy and Braden came as well. We headed out after Bob and Jill left as they were driving separately due to a wedding rehearsal he was conducting. He has 2 wedding this weekend and another rehearsal as well. It seems the outside wedding season is finally coming to a close as the heat is starting to take its toll for that venue. We got home to see some of the White Sox game and the Rays were losing when I went lights out at 10:30, LATER

Here are a few pictures from last nights birthday supper.

Thursday Morning

Wednesday was another busy day that started with the 5:30 crow off before my usual morning routine; cup of hot green tea, quiet time and lite breakfast before pedalling out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of workout on the pickle ball court. We had a good crew of players today; thus lots of wet shirts. The temps were pleasant outside yet, so after heading home I worked in the back yard and garden. Once again harvesting tomatoes and then pulling up my green beans plants which were now dried up. I checked the bean plant roots and sure enough the nematodes had them looking arthritic in nature with severe knots; that explains the sudden dying of the plants. I turned that space over with a shovel and I will plant marigolds there in that space as I have several in bloom. They are a natural deterrent to the nasty root microscopic worms called nematodes.

Amy and Sam came for lunch so we had a nice garden salad while Sam had his "slamwich", he wants to be apart of everything and is so inquisitive. After lunch he climbed up on a chair to watch Nancy making cup cakes for Ava's birthday dinner today(Thursday) and of course he had to help decorate them as well. We headed outside while the girls cleanup to feed the chickens. I dug some clover and a few weeds for him to feed his flock and they follow him up and down that fence line like the piped piper. After they left to pick up Ava from school we turned into cleaning machines.

We were having house church tonight so I vacuumed and dusted then headed out to straighten out the back yard and sweep the porches while Nancy did the inside touch ups and make a delicious spinach dip. I grilled a couple marinated chicken breasts and along with baked spuds and fresh asparagus we ate healthy. Patrick and Kathryn brought a lemon pound cake which was utterly delicious as I like anything lemon and of course Nancy had extra chocolate cupcakes. I did try the pound cake and the dip but stayed away from the cupcakes. We had a total of 6 folks and we discussed the Charles Swindoll book on THE GRACE AWAKENING. It was close to 9:30 before we broke up after a 7 start. We really enjoy this new couple and I can see the start of a good friendship as well.

After all left we tided up and I got to see the last couple innings of the Rays defeating the Yanks 3-0. I then tuned into my favorite reality show Duck Dynasty as it was an hour special and the whole family went to Hawaii for a vacation. It was hilarious and this family reminds of the old show Beverly Hillbillies. Great family entertainment. Well it was lights out for me at 11, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was a busy day with the temps not to hot and the humidity stayed near normal. After the usual early morning crow off between the feathered boys next door I started the day rolling out around 6:30. After my cup of green tea and a few quiet moments I had a lite breakfast of fruit with oatmeal before pedalling out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had a small crowd throughout the morning with at the most of 9 players at one time. I had a good work out with a wet shirt by 10 AM.

I pedalled home to water the gardens then fired up the mower to suck up all the debris and leaves in the yards. The grass is starting to take off but I gathered 2 trash cans full of sticks, leaves, grass, weeds, etc which went into the garden for compost. I then edged and mulched that grass that was growing everywhere I didn't want it to grow and added that to the pile in the garden. The garden is winding down as the constant heat is taking its toll especially on the leafy green veggies. I took a bag of egg plants to pickle ball and gave them away and I still have several on the plant. Sam and I picked a quart or more of sugar peas but their vines are starting to dry up as well despite 2 a day watering. I have lots of new tomato's set on the new plants and while they are the cherry or small type in size these are very delicious in a salad. I started more seeds today from a tomato I got from Bobby's garden last week and hope to transplant them in the mountain garden in June.

Well Nancy had the afternoon running her mother to several appointments, grocery stores and she finally got back after 5 PM. I had thawed out some salmon fillets and we had that on the grill with sugar peas sauteed with fresh garlic and then put over Jasmine rice. Delicious and healthy as well. Nancy took off to an Artistry party that daughter-in-law Jill was having at our friends house here in Seminole. Artistry is the make-up, skin care products that is distributed by Amway. Miss America is the spokes person for this line of cosmetics. Nancy really loves their products. I tuned into the Rays game and they loss in the last inning to the Yanks on some questionable calls.

Just a reminder that Nutrilite Products are BOGO for this month of April only and time to order is running out. This is an awesome offer of half price or 2 for 1 price. We stocked up on their organic plant based vitamins and supplements that are grown and processed here in the U.S.A. Remember this offer comes only from our team leaders and the bogo's will be shipped to you Free at the end of the month. LATER   

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday turned out to be rather nice with cloud cover most of the day and even a sprinkle or two until late evening when we had a nice down pour. The temps were nice not real hot and with a breeze it was comfortable. The day started much the usual with the early morning crow off between the feathered boys next door. I had my usual cup of green tea then a few quiet moments to reflect and give thanks before a lite breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries, banana and cinnamon and then rode out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball on my bike.

We had a full house on the courts with 3 nets up and a few players waiting to get on. We had one player who hadn't been there in a year or so drop by and play for an hour or so. His game seemed to have improved while he was away; yet he is much younger than all of us old timers. We had a good work out as the wet shirts will attest to the vigorous activity. Afterwards I headed home to hand water the gardens, pick and cleaned lettuces then made a huge salad for lunch. Nancy had gone off to the lab to have a blood draw for her 6 months evaluation due to her cholesterol medicines. She was back having a breakfast and was getting ready to walk to the rec for her daily workout. Nancy is still having some pain with that back molar despite having a temp crown so now she is off to have a root canal on Thursday. It's a good thing she is having this procedure before the final crown goes on.

Amy brought GG and Sam for lunch and afterwards they all headed out to sit in the back yard  and watch Sam interact with the chickens; they are the best babysitters ever as he loves to feed them clover which seems to grow overnight in my garden to them through the fence. I was reading until it was time for me to head to the VA for my hearing test. Seems I'm having some tinnitus since having spent 7 years flying in jets during the service and now its coming back on me especially when I'm in quiet place. It's been waking me up during the middle of the night so it was time to put this to rest with some tests. Well its true after the tests that I'm showing definite hearing loss especially with the high pitch sounds so I'm having to go for further tests and evaluations. I'm not having trouble with normal conversations yet as the audiologist projected but eventually good lead to some substantial problems and of course the tinnitus is annoying, oh well.

We decided to fry some egg plant for supper and was it ever delicious. I garnished mine with thyme, cilantro, basil, dill, ground red pepper, salt and black pepper, yeow was that ever good eatin' and then we had a baked sweet potato with cinnamon butter. Yikes that was good the only problem with these egg plant are they are so small you have to slice them length wise to fry but they are sweet and tender. After the clean up I settled into the Rays vs the Yankees and it was a great game as the Rays beat them 5-1. Well that's about it for Monday, LATER

Monday Morning

Sunday turned out to be another fantastic day weather wise. The temps stayed on the pleasant side with little or no humidity and lots of clouds which made for temps in the high 60's to start the morning and reached the low 80's by the afternoon. We started the usual with the fowl next door around 5:30 crowing but managed to linger for another hour. It was a cup of hot green tea for me while Nancy did her coffee then we both did our quiet times. We are trying to read through the whole Bible at a chapter a day and sometimes I have to catch up reading several chapters at a time. This morning was one of those morning when I had ample time. We were picking up Dan and Carol around 9 as it was our turn to drive to Element in Tampa.

After a lite breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries, banana and some cinnamon we got ready to head out. It was blood drive Sunday at Element so I headed for the bloodmobile and donated my pint then made it to hear the last worship song before Bobby spoke. He had another awesome message on the resurrection and wow if only we could leave our hangups, prejudices and really listen to what the gospel really is all about and that is love. No other god or god's emphasized that aspect for mankind but our GOD. Bobby baptized 4 folks in a watering trough; 3 adults and one child and yes it was a tear evoking occasion. We said our good-bye's to the grand babies and then headed for Seminole.

We already had plans to eat at Dan and Carol's for supper as our original plans for Saturday were changed due to Arianne and Eroll's visit. I chilled on the couch and watched the Ray's play good baseball with good hitting and pitching while sweeping the A's in a 3 game series. I think if they keep this up they will once again be contenders for their division. The Yankees come to town for a series starting tonight(Monday). We got a call in to our "mountain mom" Helen and learned it was cold in the mountains with heavy frost and temps down into the 20's in the morning, yikes. Well we headed to Dan and Carol's for a fried rice and a shrimp curry with pineapple sauce along with our fresh garden salad. It was delicious and then we played a game of Phase 20 and it was close between Nancy and Carol right up until the last hand and Nancy prevailed. I was dead last as I got stuck on phase 6 and was never in contention. Dan then put together a magnificent dessert of pound cake seared on the stove with an orange peel dressing, fresh strawberries and whipped cream, Yeow was that ever light and delicious. We headed out for the house on foot about 8 and it was still light out and was sort of sprinkling rain.

Well Nancy has her fast induced blood draw this morning at 9 to determine her cholesterol numbers and I'm back on the court until 10. Amy, Sam and probably GG will come for lunch and the chickens will be glad to see Sam as they haven't had any attention for a couple days. He loves to feed them clover and other lettuce tidbits from the garden and of course they all flock to the fence when he's around. They even flock to the fence when they see me in the back yard but I don't feed them like Sam does, LATER. Here are some pictures of the baptism yesterday at the Element warehouse in Tampa.

Sunday Morning

Well a cool front came through on Friday night  bringing some light rain during the overnight and much cooler temps, so much so we cut the a/c off and aired out the house and it pretty much stayed nice all day. After our early wake up by the fowls next door we did our quiet times and then had a hardly breakfast from the leftover taters, cackle berries(eggs) and I of course had the venison along with a fresh sliced garden tomato, yeow what good eatin' and it lasted me until supper time.

We took off on a major hike around the Walsingham Park for about an hour and a half and covered nearly 5 miles or so. It was such a beautiful day with the nice breeze from the north and no humidity. We saw people out an about in sweaters, long sleeves shirts and pants and Nancy even mentioned she was chilled at times in the shade; but it felt great to me after this past week of temps in the 90's. We came back and settled in to reading for me and social networking for Nancy.

Our niece came in from Miami in a whim to pickup her wedding dress which we had been storing for her. She and her fiancee Errol were spending the night at GG's so we picked up ground meat, taters and made a huge fresh salad and headed over around 4 to visit then cook supper on the grill and eventually played a game titled Battle of the Sexes. That meant gals vs guys and we men prevailed at the end by a slim margin and they had 5 gals to us 4 guys. It was a moment to remember as we all are competitive and love to play games. We had the Rays tuned in the background and they pulled out a squeaker with a 1-0 win over the A's. It was going on 10 when we finally broke up and headed for home.

Well today is the gathering at Element and there is a blood drive as well as a baptism. It should be an exciting day of worship, both with a message from son Bobby and music. Arianne and Errol leave to go back to Miami this morning and they will be getting married in just a little under a month when we next see them. That week end will be filled with seeing Nancy's brother and all or most of his kids(11) that we haven't seen in some time. Should be a fun filled weekend and reunion except for the fact it's in Miami. That place is a crime filled city as even they have been broken into several times as well as has their friends, oh well.

We already have plans for supper tonight with the Botbyl's as we had to cancel with Arianne's arrival on Saturday. Yeow another weekend of sumptuous gastronomic delight, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was another hot day with bright sunshine and at least enough of a breeze to keep it bearable outside in the shade. It was well into the 90's for most of the afternoon and evening. The morning started with a wake up crow off around 5:30 but we managed to stay in for another hour or so as I wasn't heading to the rec for pickle ball. After my usual cup of green tea and my quiet time I had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, banana and cinnamon to start the gastric juices. Amy was bringing Sam for me to watch while they went shopping around 9.

Sam wanted to watch a kids show so I read while he grazed on snacks as he gets hungry the moment his mom left with Nancy. He is so funny as he really gets hungry all of a sudden. Well we spoke on the phone with Paw Paw and he gets the biggest kick out of Sam telling him about the chickens. Well I ate a quick lite lunch as soon as the girls got back as I was heading to Clearwater for a pickle ball match against the guys from the Long Center. There were 4 of us playing against their 4 best players. Well Seminole Rec (us) won the match with the overall scores. The play was fast and furious with long rallies and some great play. Needless to say there were soaked shirts and we finished around 3:30. Keith my partner in the last tournament was the best of the all around scores as each of us had to play with the other three players. It was a fun time and the competition was fierce. This venue may give our Seminole players an extra place to play this summer as the pickle baller's are limited to just 2 days a week in the Seminole gym due to the summer camps.

I got home around 4 PM so it was hand water time for the gardens as they were dried out. I picked a large mess of Swiss chard and got it really to sauteed with fresh garlic and olive oil for supper. I also picked parsley for the new red spuds I dug last week from the potato peeling I planted in Nov. These red potato's were the creamiest ever and just so tasty. Nancy had 3 venison tenderloins(thanks to Andy Dalton) marinating in Italian dressing and ready to go the grill as well as a huge pot of 1/2 runner green beans and a fresh salad all from the garden. We felt like little house on the prairie with all this home grown eatin'.  Wow did we ever chow down with Amy, Tyler, GG and the kiddos. They even ate well for a change and to top the meal off (like we needed anything) GG made her famous red cake with white icing. Now I'm not usually a big fan of this cake but it was definitely the best one she ever baked 'cause it was moist and the icing was superb. I must confess we all had seconds on that as well. We sent the rest home with her as I know we would eat it later. The meal was everything from the garden and the woods; a real old time meal.

After the clean up we got into the Rays game and for a change they were hitting the ball against one of the better teams statistically in baseball; the Oakland Athletics. Well we creamed the ball all evening and had some great pitching as well and won finally 8-3. We were all deciding what card game to play but the next door neighbor who has a son Ava's age came over and they stayed for nearly an hour. So we sat around and watched the kids play, talking while GG and I dozed in between innings due to the good eatin'.

Well I haven't mention the awful bombing in Boston but our law enforcement folks finally sent one of the bad guys to his final resting and later captured the other one. It makes no sense to me how someone can have such little regard for innocent people. I know their ideological differences can be pronounced but take it out on those you differ with in a forthright debate or battlefield. The cowards who blow up innocents with IED'S are the lowest of the low and I'm thrilled this piece of scum with be locked up for the rest of his days. I think killing him is to easy and that he should never have a moment of freedom for the rest of his life, locked in solitary confinement, oh well that's just me and the way I think. I'm definitely pro the death penalty as that criminal will never have the chance to do another crime but this scum, especially as young as he is should be penalized in confinement forever. LATER 

Friday Morning

Yikes it has got HOT! It was 75 this morning at 6:30 and last night on the way home from Tampa it was 81 at nearly 11PM. The morning was much the usual with the early wake up by the dueling roosters. We finally saw the one rooster who thinks its a person walking across the lawn to get in the neighbors truck the other day. He was hatched by a light bulb and the first thing he saw was the neighbors wife, so now he thinks he is a human. They have to keep in the garage away from the other chickens as the real rooster who takes care of his harem of 7 hens, fights this smaller white rooster with white plumage that is very pretty. The white rooster rides in their truck and sits on the seat backrest like a cockatoo, oh well. They do have these dueling crowing contests every morning that starts around 5:30.

After the usual cup of green tea, and my quiet moments I had a bowl of oatmeal with fresh blueberries, a banana and a little cinnamon to start the morning before riding out to the rec on my bike for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had a small crowd today but did manage to have 2 courts going for most of the morning as some folks were on the golf court. Tomorrow on Friday 4 of us players are heading to Clearwater in a challenge match with the players from the Long Center Rec.We have played against them before and have managed to come out as the overall winners a couple of times. I think we play a much faster game and hit much harder than most of their club players. It should be fun and its always good to play different folks'

Amy and Sam came for lunch then played outside for an hour or so before it became to hot. I read most of the afternoon catching up as I've been completing some honey-do jobs around the house and have let the books gather some dust. Amy left to pickup GG from the hairdresser and drop her off and then pickup Ava from school. We were getting ready to head over to Riverview which is about 50 miles or so away but you have to go through Tampa at rush hour. We did encounter backup several times on the interstate so we cut through Tampa and took a back way and was able to get there in about an hour and a half. Bobby and Jill both had meetings; his was with the elders at Element and she was presenting the info for a new IBO(independent business operator) with Amway. This has become her business and she stays at home with Annsley and Gabe and they have done quite well as team leaders.

Bobby prepared supper for us before he had to leave. A shirt steak grilled and then cut up for fajitas along with avocado, black olives, tomato and onions and various herbs. It was very tasty and along with the fresh garden salad we brought the meal was excellent. Bob is quite the chef and he is doing a cooking gig on Friday at a private residence for a couple of birthday couples. The menu sounded awesome as he picks up the food, prepares it and serves it. The last private cooking gig was for around 30 diners at a lavish home in Sarasota. He knows how to meld all the spices, herbs and foods that compliment each other and he loves doing it, however when he helps Nancy with her food he leaves the kitchen a mess.

Well we had a grand time with Annsley and Gabe' playing outside, reading books and playing hide and go seek. They squeal and get so excited when the dragon(me) chase after them after finding him. After their baths it was read a book time then brush their teeth time and finally prayer time before climbing into their beds. They only called out once after shutting down the lights as Gabe wanted a specific car to sleep with and Annsley knew where it was. They play much better together now and they both can wear you out with all that energy. It was after 10 before Jill got home and then we headed out for Seminole. While we shaved about 15 minutes off the travel time we were amazed at how much traffic was on the rode that time of the night. LATER 

Thursday Morning

Well we are deep into summer weather as the lows are in the high 70's and the highs are into the 90's already and that is a bit unusual as it usually doesn't hit the 90's consistently until late August. It was 91 at 7:30 this evening, Yeow!!! Anyhow the morning was much the usual with an early wake up call by the feathered fowl next door, then a cup of hot green tea, a few moments to reflect and give thanks and then a ride out to the rec on by old bike for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had 2 courts going with some 8 players or more at times. Lots of wet shirts so the workout was good. Afterwards I stopped off at the library for a new read I had ordered.

The hot weather is taking its toll on my beautiful garden. The lettuce is starting to bolt and many of the snow peas vines are drying up despite daily watering. I knew this was going to happen as the intense heat and sunlight usually has it burnt up by now. I'm still cutting lettuces and managed to salvage a couple bags for the fridge for later consumption. The green beans which have just produced marvelously since Christmas are starting to dry up as well. The peppers, maters', Swiss chard, egg plants and collards are still hanging in there for now.

Amy and Sam went to Tampa to have lunch with Tyler so I vacuumed and then shampooed the carpets which kept me busy for a couple hours after we got back from a shopping run to Sam's Club for some goodies and a frozen pizza for lunch.  I then headed out to change a new door knob going out from the side door in the garage and that was a beast to change out. That door knob has been on there since before we purchased the house some 34 years ago. I finally had to take a hacksaw and saw off the knobs then drill out the screws. After a couple hours I got the new one on with some adjustments, whew what a job and in the direct afternoon sunlight. My neck is black from the deep tan.

The sun finally moved down behind the neighbors Magnolia tree so I had some shade to finish the fence around the trash cans which required a new post and some painting. Luckily this new fence is the white plastic or vinyl variety so should require little or no upkeep. The old picket fence had started to rot and required painting to keep it looking good. Well I actually finished the fence after a delicious supper of sauteed squash, green peppers and onions from the garden, a great garden salad and grilled pork chops with the bone in. (I planted some onions seedlings a while back which indicated they would mature into round sweet onions and I pulled my first one for supper, delicious.)Yeow I scrapped the bones clean as the flavor was awesome; there is something about grilling meat with the bones in for superb flavor.

Well Nancy came out and hand watered the gardens for me while I finished up the fence as its a few less honey-do jobs before we get ready for our summer stay in the mountains where there will be much to do after being away since Nov. We settled in after our showers to the Rays game which they finally beat the Orioles 6-2, The Idol show and finally the new Duck Dynasty episode. Which was hilarious great family entertainment by grown men, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was a busy day that started around 5:30 when the roosters next door began their marathon crow off. I learned also that another neighbor across the street has just recently purchased some chickens for his back yard and we heard their rooster as well during the afternoon. I love the sound of roosters but just not so early in the morning. Well after a cup of hot green tea, a few moments to reflect and a lite breakfast I pedalled out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had 8 players most of the morning so there was little time to rest in between games and the wet shirts were evident of the fast play and long rally's. I headed home to get ready for meeting with my dentist and friend Doc Beirl.

I cut him some lettuces, egg plant and some peppers then hand watered the gardens until it was time to head out. His office is just 5 minutes from the house. The garden is really starting to come to a head as the heat and dryness is drawing the plants towards it final days. Well the Doc worked on several front teeth on my lower jaw, restoring them and making my teeth look original as several were cracked, chipped and just plumb wore off. Wow what a difference to look at as well as such smoothness for my bite and my tongue. I think I'm in good shape for now for the summer as we are getting ready to make plans for the mountains. I have a hearing test next week at the VA as I have been experiencing some tinnitus in both of my ears and that is probably a result from flying in a jet while serving in the military for several years, oh well.

I headed out to Home Depot to get some new plastic fencing to hide my trash cans. The old fence I had installed of wood a couple years ago was looking trashy and falling apart. I worked the better part of the afternoon tearing out the old and installing the new and it seems I will need another section to finish the job. Wow it was hot out there as the truck thermometer read 93 degrees, luckily I was starting to get a little shade as the afternoon wore on and my shirt was drenched from sweat, yeow its more than time to head for the coolness of the mountains.

Well Amy and Sam came for lunch as then Amy had to pick GG up from her doctor's appointment so it was shuttle city at times. Nancy even had to slip in to the Doc as the one tooth is still bothering her that has the temp crown. She may need a root canal before the final crown is made and fitted, oh well. We ate leftovers from the Olive Garden and now they have a new promo that if you purchase a certain item on the menu you get an identical item to go at no extra charge. Well we ate smokey chicken pasta mozzarella along with a fresh salad from the garden for supper and it was awesome. That's a good deal and we have never had a bad meal at the Garden.

After supper it had cooled down to the high 80's so I headed over to our widow neighbor across the street and cleaned her roof for her with the leaf blower; I got in my good deed for the day. It was still rather hot and humid but her house has good shade; thus all of the debris on her roof. Nancy was hand watering the front yard giving the dried up grass a much needed drink. Well I watered the back gardens again then headed in as it was nearly 8 o'clock. The Rays were losing once again as well as did the Lightning. The Tampa Bay teams are in a downward spiral for some reason. After a shower I tuned into the FOX News and then perused the new season of the Deadliest Catch. That is one tough job and the Bering Sea is not a friendly place to fish especially during crab season, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday started out with warm temps and promise of rain but none developed and by mid-morning the clouds had moved on and the sun was brightly shining, and yes it started to heat up. After the early morning crow off between the roosters next door we or I rolled out of the sack to start the day. With my cup of hot green tea I did my few quiet moments then had a lite breakfast of oatmeal before riding out to the rec on my bike for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had a large crowd with 3 courts going at once and still a few waiting to get on to play. I was bushed afterwards and then rode home after a quick stop at the library for a couple new reads.

I worked in the garden hand watering and harvesting. I took the neighbor 2 kinds of lettuces, egg plants and a hand full of peppers; she was delighted and found it unbelievable I could grow these kinds of veggies in my back yard. I then pulled sugar peas and tomato's and romaine for a Caesar salad for supper. Amy, GG and Sam came for lunch after Sam's dental appointment. He had 3 small cavities he had filled and Amy said he did wonderful and of course the dentist had plied him with stickers for his shirt and cheap toys. He actually fell asleep in the chair and they had to wake him up after the work was completed; how cool was that.

We had a lunch of chicken salad on a fresh bed of lettuce from the garden and afterwards they all headed out to sit under the big oak in the back yard while Sam played with the chickens. I opted for the spare room and read until it was time for a 10 minute power nap. After they all left to drop GG off and pickup Ava from school, Nancy and I both read for a couple hours before it was time to get ready and head over to GG's for supper. She had a meatloaf, egg noodles and peas and I brought a Caesar salad. The eatin' was fine once again and Amy and Tyler and the kids ate as well. We all headed out around 7:30 as we had to make a grocery stop on the way home.

Well the news was loaded about the bombing in Boston which probably was a domestic terrorist of some type. Cowards are what they are as they hurt innocents by remote control detonations of UED'S(unidentified explosives devices). The same type used by the terrorist in the Middle East and Afghanistan. I don't know why we house and coddle these animals once they are caught and proven to be guilty as they like to brag about their killing and destruction. Our leaders let them kill our embassy folks in Libya and now its being copycatted here in the U.S. The world is changing and I'm afraid it will never be the same as long as we have these in leadership in Washington and yet the media promotes their ineptitude.

Well enough of my "what I think the problem is" as I'm a firm believer in walking tall and carrying a big stick. We have let these who want to change the very nature of our land into something which has no regard for human life or love of our neighbor. I fear for what our generation will leave for my grand children, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday turned out to be another warm day but with lots of clouds, it was bearable despite the high humidity. We started the day out with the usual rooster wake up then our quiet times and a lite breakfast before heading out to Tampa for church at Element with son, Bobby. He had another awesome message about the resurrection and there were lots of sniffles and tears including myself. The music was inspiring as well. We got to see the newest baby just a few days old and the proud parents. We have so many new babies and more on the way and pretty soon the kids will out number the adults. We headed out for Seminole after lots of hugs. Annsley and Gabe were under the weather so we missed seeing and hugging them.

We came back from Tampa and ate left over garden salad and afterwards I vegetated on the couch watching the Rays lose another game. I think they are close to being in the last place in their division. They traded some key players in the off season and now its starting to show up in their overall play and standings, oh well. Nancy took her mother(GG) to the mall shopping and then brought her back here to the house and then we all went to the Olive Garden for supper. We had another great meal and brought enough home for another meal and we were in an out in just about an hour, with great service.

Well after eating we stayed at GG's for awhile and watched the finish of the Masters golf play and it was a thriller with the Aussie winning in a sudden death playoff hole. It was starting to cloud up again so we headed home and noticed some severe weather to the north of us. We were hoping for some rain but it stayed away. This coming week its supposed to be mid summer like temps; hot, humid and just a slight chance of rain. LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday was another warm and humid day which started out about the same time with the early morning wake up call by the dueling roosters next door. After our usual morning rituals and quiet times Nancy and I made burritos. I chopped green peppers and onion from the garden she thawed out some bacon in the microwave and then chopped it into small pieces we mixed all that together in the frying pan with some beat up eggs and and then added mushrooms and cheese. Yeow, was that ever delicious and it held me until supper time. After the clean up I headed out to hand water the gardens, pick green beans and sugar snow peas.

We decided instead of going to the rec for a workout we would once again head over to Walsingham County Park which is just a mile or so from the house. We did the 6 mile hike or walk in about an hour and 10 minutes. We did stop and gander at the wildlife as well as a potty stop. People normally walk about 3-4 miles per hour so we were moving at a decent clip. We saw 4 large gopher turtles out on the trail in the heat and we were surprised at that and then Tyler said he had one to come up into their yard at his house. He and the kids took it to Seminole Park and turned it loose. It must be mating time for those critters as I've never seen so many in one outing.

After the 6 mile hike we came back and I pulled the truck under the big oak in the front yard and spent the next couple hours; vacuuming, washing and waxing, cleaning windows and Armouring the inside vinyl and rubber seals around the door. I even washed out the bed of the truck. That took me up to 3:30 or so and Ava and Sam were coming at 3:45. I flipped on the Rays game with Boston and they let another game get away from them in the 10th inning, Oh Well!!

We kept the kids while Amy and Tyler attended a deacon function at a local residence then were going to go to a movie. We fed the kids grilled marinated chicken breasts,black beans and Jasmine rice and they were thrilled as they put away everything. After the clean up we headed outside so they could expend some of that energy and be entertained by the chickens next door. I dug them some wild clover which grows overnight in my garden and the chickens just go crazy when its offered to them through the fence. We kept them busy with kick ball and finally a wrestling match between the two, who gets to set on the soccer ball like a chicken does on an egg. While Ava is larger

, Sam is quickly catching up and is much stronger. He did good tackling the ball from Ava.

I had to take the hose to both of them before we brought them into the house and straight to the bath tub. After their baths I popped them some corn and it wasn't much longer before Ava was out fast asleep on the floor while watching a Disney movie. Sam was still wound up when the kids got home from their outing around 9:30. Well it was shower times for us and eventually I tuned into a 48 hours special and afterwards it was lights out. Today Sunday is worship day at Element Church in Tampa with son Bobby, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was a warm one to start with and the humidity has arrived to stay for the next several months. It was 76 at 6:30 and the skies were dark with rain clouds and looked like severe weather was about to happen at any moment. The rain held off and we only had a sprinkle somewhere around the early afternoon. I headed out to the rec on my bike after my quiet time and a breakfast of left over banana bread from house church last night.


We had a small crowd to start with but enough players to keep one court plus a few players waiting to get on most of the morning. It was a good workout and I was kind of glad it was Friday as I'm back to 2 plus hours of pickle ball daily. I stopped off at the library for a couple new reads on the way home as I really like the authors Tess Gerritsen and John Hart and there were 2 books waiting for me for the week end. I briefly hand watered the gardens as it was spitting rain but that never amounted to much so I picked lettuces and clean that and made a huge garden fresh salad. The heat is taking its toll on the black seeded Simpson as well as the iceberg and bib lettuces. The romaine and red leaf is still looking good but not for long. I'm picking tomato's like crazy and the new plants I started from seed have set fruit as well. So its looking like I should have 'maters up until we leave for the mountains. The sugar peas are just going crazy as well is the egg plants. The green beans are slowing down but the onion sets that are supposed to make sweet onions are starting to head up as well. I had to throw the cauliflower away due to being too bitter. I waited a day or so too long to cut it, oh well. They take up too much room in the garden anyway. The bell peppers are best I've ever grown here and its because of the Epsom salts I sprinkle around the plants every couple of weeks. I picked 5 and only because they have caused the plants to kneel over due to their weight.

Well we had Amy, Sam and GG for lunch and afterwards Sam played out in the yard with the chickens and once again in the dirt. He was a muddy buddy and had to be washed off with the hose before they got ready to head out to pick up Ava from school. We had a quiet evening at home for a change so we read and played around on the computer. We had tater tots, spinach and a pan fried Salmon fillet for supper, yeow delicious. After the clean up we tuned into Fox News and then finally I headed in to the other T.V. to watch Yukon Man as the Ray's baseball game was postponed due to rain and then the scenes behind the Deadliest Catch, interesting. It was time to get back into a memoir titled CHANEL BONFIRE by Wendy Lawless. Well the storms that were all around us seems to have past on by, thankfully. Bobby and Annsley were out camping with their house church somewhere in Hillsborough County so it was good the rain held off, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday was much the usual as to the start of the day; roosters crowing, cup of green tea, quiet moments, lite breakfast and ride to the rec on the bike. All of this before 7:30. We had a good crowd of players today for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. Afterwards I headed home to work outside and to watch Sam while the girls headed to the mall for some shopping. Sam and I had a great time together and what an imagination this little feller has. I helped him with digging up some wild clover that loves my garden and he loves to feed it to the chickens next door through the chain link fence. We stayed outside for 2 hours until we both got hungry. I had to wash him off with the water hose before we headed it for lunch.

I fixed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while I had a salad. He now loves green lettuce, kale, cucumbers and remarks how it gives him power as he ate from my plate. After we ate we headed in to read books then he played cars and trucks until the girls got home. GG was with them as they took her shopping as well. They all stayed and had lunch until it was time to pick Ava up from school then headed out. Amy dropped GG off as Nancy headed for her workout at the rec. I read then got a phone call that house church was going to be at our house as the leaders were going out of town for the weekend.

I immediately set to vacuuming and straightening up the porches and helping to get the house ready for our meeting. When Nancy got back from the rec she received the news with some alarms as she is a neat freak but we managed to dust, clean floors and had supper out of the way early. Luckily we had leftovers from last nights supper so it was just heat and serve. I did the cleanup after supper while she baked brownies and got drinks ready for the folks to arrive. We had a new couple Patrick and Kathryn Tracy who has a daughter that attends Element yet they live not to far from us here in Pinellas County. They are a delightful couple and we all bonded quickly and we had Dianne our neighbor come as well.

We started around 7 and quickly got loss in discussions, personal experiences and prayer time until it was nearly 9 before breaking up. The Tracy's are lovers of fresh veggies so I pulled them a bag of collards and egg plants before they left in the dark. We thoroughly loved their warm and friendly attitudes and look forward to meeting again next week.

I did make contact with a childhood friend who when we were just around the ages of 3 and 4 spent a lot of time together. I was being raised by my grandmother and mother in a small house behind the Mountain Falls store and her folks were retired military who owned the biggest house in the area. Kit was a year and 3 days older than me and every day until I went to live with Paw Paw she and I played together when they came down from the Pittsburgh area. Eventually they moved to Mountain Falls full time sometime after I left there around the age of 4-5. Her folks who I knew quite well eventually hired me as a farm hand at times to work in the hayfield as I grew older. We even rode the school bus together for many years until I started driving. She and her brother were the Valedictorians of their respective classes so I'm talking about some major smarts here. Anyhow we hooked up yesterday on Face Book as she was a friend of a friend. She has home movies of the 2 of us together when we were young and best pals. I'm interested in seeing them and showing them to my family.

Well that was a great surprise of the day and that was about it, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well it went from nice warm weather to HOT Florida weather overnight. This weather pattern will be will us for quite awhile I'm afraid to say, but that means its spring time in the mountains; however the weatherman showed some very warm temps for there as well. The day started out much the usual with the fowl wake up around 5:30 but it took me nearly an hour to finally roll out to actually start the day. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I pedalled out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of continuous pickle ball play. It was a wet shirt day as we had a small crowd which kept us on the court most of the morning.

I headed home to hand water and piddle around in the gardens until Nancy got back from her workout at the rec.We were planning on heading over to GG's to help with putting back together her house as she just had new carpet installed. That took us an hour or so and then we brought back with us for lunch a ham bone she had simmering on the stove for pasta fasoule soup. We ate that for lunch after Amy and Sam showed, yeow was that ever delicious. I picked a couple scallions and cut them up on top of the soup to add flavor.

Amy and Sam gave GG a ride home and then picked her back up later as we were having a roast chicken supper at our house. I picked fresh green beans and made a fresh garden salad to go along with smashed taters and gravy. Wow was that ever tasty and then Amy brought a 7 up pound cake and topped with fresh cut up strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. It was decadent as we had 2 helpings of the dessert, my oh my was that ever good eatin'. That will probably be the last family dinner until we celebrate Ava's 6th birthday in a couple weeks. I couldn't remember why we were having this supper since the last one here was Easter but now I remember it was to finalize our travel plans to Miami in May.

After supper Tyler and I made reservations for rooms in Miami in May when we head down there for Arianne's wedding. We will stay 2 nights at the Best Western Hotel which looks pretty nice. There is a 13% tourist tax in that city as well as high prices, yikes!! No wonder there is so much crime there. On a lighter note the Ray's finally won a game over the Texans and it reached nearly 80 degrees in the mountains. We got a call from little sister Dee and Mike and he has fully recovered from the open heart surgery. They went from snow one week to the a/c on as well in the Shenandoah Valley. Everything seemed to just bloom literally over night, oh well. LATER  

Wednesday Morning

Tuesday was another not much happening day except for Nancy as she had another tooth crowned, which meant she was in the dentist chair for a couple hours. Seems she had a molar tooth that was growing sideways due to an extraction as a child. The molar actually fell in sideways which was giving her all kinds of problems so the dentist had to straighten it somewhat and make a crown to fit the tooth. Dr Beirl (the dentist) called to check on her last evening and Nancy was doing fine. I'm back to see him in another week or so for some old filings( I have since the 60's) to be removed that is cracking my molars as well. He did a beautiful job on my last 2 crowns.

The morning started the usual with the roosters crowning at 5:30 on cue, we managed to stay in the sack until 6:30 then rolled out to start the day. After a few quiet moments, my cup of hot green tea and a lite breakfast I pedalled out to the rec for 2 plus hours of workout on the pickle ball court. We had exactly 8 players today so we had 2 courts going all the time and the wet shirts indicated the level of play. I headed by the library for a new read on the way home.

I spent the rest of the morning working in the gardens until it was lunch time where I had a beautiful fresh grown garden ripe tomato on the last of the rye bread. I sliced up a sweet onion and then slathered mayo on the bread to finish the creation, Yeow that has to be my favorite all time sandwich. Nancy was still at Dr.Beirl's office so I spent the next couple hours reading. I sent a bag of fresh lettuces, egg plants and collards with Nancy to the dentist's office and I was beginning to think they decided to have lunch together with the fresh goodies.

Amy and Sam came after lunch and spent an hour or so in the back yard with me as I sat and read under the big oak. Sam was in his glory as he pulled clover from the garden to feed his chicken buddies. I noticed yesterday as I got ready to leave for pickle ball the one hen that is a constant for escaping and flying over the fence and into my garden was unable to reach the top of the fence. The clipping of the wings did the trick so far. I had heard that all my life on the farm about keeping chickens from flying was to clip the feathers on their wings and now I know that works.

We decided to have sweet taters, fresh asparagus and fried Swaii( cat fish). I must say that is the best tasting fish ever, even better than Salmon to me. I of course slather horseradish on mine as well. We had planned to go over and help GG put her house back together but the carpet installers where still there going on 7 PM, so we decided after our workout's today(Wed) we would head over to assist with that job. Well that's about it as we are thrilled the mountains were in the 70's today and even warmer on Thursday. We are so looking forward to all of the outside work that needs to be done once we arrive in June. The snow has finally melted and the grass and flowers will begin to green up and bloom. The smell is just awesome there and the ambiance is breath taking as we are surrounded by all things that are natural. We are so looking forward to the views from the top of the mountain that gives us a look for 70 miles or further, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was much the usual with a 5:30 wake up by the feathered fowl next door then a roll out at 6:30. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I headed out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. There were lots of wet shirts so the work out was good. I stopped off at the library for a new read that was on hold for me before pedalling home to spend the rest of the morning working in the garden.

I tied up my loaded egg plants; there must be 30-40 egg plants on 1 bush and I have 3 bushes of them. These are the Japanese plants and thus the fruit is small and elongated but sweet and beautiful to look at. I grilled 4 last night for supper along with freshly dug red spuds from the garden as well sauteed Swiss chard also from the garden, yeow what healthy organic eating and delicious to boot. We had a fresh garden salad for lunch when Amy and Sam came and that was awesome as well, the only caveat was the fresh baked rye bread we had with the salad. I bought this bread Sunday in Tampa at the gourmet restaurant where we had lunch. Ahhh rye bread and real butter with Greek dressing on a fresh salad. I could eat that everyday for the rest of my life.

After lunch Sam and I sat outside in the back yard; I was reading and he was feeding the chickens next door clover and live bugs he found and the hens love both. Amy and Nancy went off and then Amy came back as Nancy had to drive GG to a doctor's appointment then helped her get ready as the new carpet is being installed today, Tuesday. After Amy and Sam left I checked for hotel reservations in the Miami area for the May wedding, yikes what these places want for 2 nights stay is unreal. I think we finally found a place outside of Miami proper that was reasonable and hopefully safe. That place is just one big crime waiting to happen. I'm not looking forward to the visit but we are excited about the wedding of Arianne.

Well I tuned into the NCAA game and it was close at half time and the Ray's were losing big to Texas so I cut the lights off and will check the Internet for the final score, LATER

Monday Morning

Well Sunday was another beautiful day with just a slight rise in the temps maybe just a little more humidity, but not enough to make it uncomfortable. The morning started with our usual wake up by the feathered boys next door dueling with their early morning serenades. We were out of the sack around 6:30 as it was church day in Tampa at Element. Dan and Carole were picking us up around 9 for the 40-50 minute ride.

After our quiet time and a lite breakfast we got ready and headed out with them. The traffic was just unbelievable heavy for this time of the morning on a Sunday. Where is all these people going? We made it there in plenty of time and helped to greet at the door those who were arriving. We had a several seniors visit I had never seen before so Dan and I weren't the only aged ones for a change. This congregation is mostly young marrieds with their 2 to 3 kids and most under the age of 5. I think there were 40 some kids in the age group and several infants as well yesterday, awesome is all I can say as they definitely are the future church. Bobby had another good message on the Resurrection and the music was once again inspiring. We got to hug Annsley and Gabriel although we just saw them on Friday evening.

We headed out after the service to a restaurant near the Bayshore area of Tampa. What a neat eatery and it was definitely a yuppie place with gourmet pizza's, sandwiches, soups and entrees. We stood in line to order our food and drinks then it was brought to our table. I had a soup that had a very unique taste of some herb I've never tasted and the flat bread pizza was cover in sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, spinach and herbs. The food was light and tasty. I would go back there and eat if it were closer. We then toured an estate sale house which was in the hood. This place was huge with numerous rooms, grandiose chandeliers and opulence's untold of. Wow all this in an old neighbor with houses with an arms length of each other. We never purchased anything but if was an adventure just see what this house was like and how people lived with so much wealth.

We got back somewhere going on 3 o'clock and I tuned in to watch most of the Ray's game versus the Indians and they got slaughter with their Cy Young award pitcher on the mound. It was so embarrassing to watch so I cut it off. I feel for the fans who came out to support this team and they looked like a bunch of pickup players off the street in all areas. It was terrible and I'm sure after beating this team 2 in a row and not allowing a run they were slaughtered the last I checked 10-0. Awful!!!

I picked lettuces and cleaned them while Nancy made a huge salad for supper. I had purchased a loaf of light rye bread at the restaurant as they had their own bakery so we ate bread and salad and my was it ever tasty. After the cleanup I dug up a spaghetti squash and took it up to Dan's garden as he now has the gardening bug as well. His back yard is perfect for his raised bed. Already he had a small raised box but now he has enlarged it 5 fold. I came back and hand watered the garden. I almost forgot to mention our neighbor hen which is constantly getting into my yard and thus scratching out my garden, well she was once again in the garden first thing this morning. I picked her up and knocked on the door and the owner acknowledged she would do something about this situation as now its become an issue. I mention to clipping the wing feathers to thwart the hens ability to fly. Well I noticed she(hen) was in the cage when we left for church but was in the yard all afternoon. I noticed the hens feathers had been clipped  and that she never was in the yard again all evening, hopefully that had conquered the problem, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday turned out to be a spring like day in the mountains with cool, clean, crisp temps that held for most of the day. The humidity had taken leave and the bright sunshine with just enough of a breeze kept it pleasant. Nancy was actually chilled in the shady areas. If only this weather would hold for another couple months but hot humid temp's are in the forecast for later this coming week. Oh well it's been nice for this time of the year.

The morning started with the roosters dueling before daylight but we managed to tune them out until nearly 7 before rolling out. I noticed the neighbor was in the back yard retrieving that rogue hen who had flew over the fence once again and was in the garden; so she was in the cage the rest of the day, thankfully. That chicken can destroy a garden in no time and she is the only one of the 7 hens who can fly; too bad she has to be caged but the alternative is dumplings if she continues in my yard.

Nancy made buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter for breakfast and those held me until a late afternoon snack of a few almonds. She drove her mother to the mall for some shopping while I caught up on some yard work; afterwards we got ready and headed over to the Walsingham County Park where there is a marked 6 mile paved trail throughout. Well that was a long hike and luckily it was flat. The scenery was nice as the trail wound around a huge lake that was surrounded by palmettos, scrub pines and jack oaks. We saw some snakes, fish, tons of ducks and a few gators. There were even a couple weddings that were happening at a couple of the shelters, so needless to say it was more interesting than walking the hood.There were lots of bicyclist, joggers, walkers and even a dog park for the furry critters to play in a fenced area.

I hand watered the garden after getting back and Nancy started on supper. Once again we were having our favorite red meat, venison in burritos. Yeow was that ever some good eatin' with fresh peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and cilantro from the garden. After the cleanup it was time to watch the college basketball semi's and the first seed team Louisville was having their hands full with the number 9 seed. We also had the Ray's game on and they were winning with some good pitching, finally. I spent the rest of the evening on the sports channel while Nancy was on the social network.

We did speak with our "mountain mom" and she said it finally warmed up enough to venture outdoors. Mechelle our close mountain friend was taking Caleb(son) for baseball tryouts at the ball field; so it looks after the blizzard conditions on Thursday that spring was on the way in. We are happy to hear that as that means its closer to heading back to the mountains, to our cabin and friends, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was much the usual to start the day with a 5:30 wake up by the roosters next door. I did manage to tune them out for another hour before rolling out of the sack. After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I pedalled out to the rec for nearly 2 hours of pickle ball and left there with a soaking wet shirt, wow what a workout. I stopped off at the library for a couple new reads by John Hart recommended by Bobby. Sam was coming for me to watch while the girls went to their Friday morning Bible study so we stayed inside as it was still pretty wet outside.

I did have an unexpected visitor from next door; one of Sam's chicken buddies kept flying over the fence and getting into my garden. She scratched out my cucumber plants completely before I noticed her in the back yard and after putting her back over the fence she did it 3 more times before we left for Riverview. I think she knew Sam was in the house and wanted him to come out and play. I finally put her in a cage and locked her up and told the owners when they got home. I sure won't miss that one hen as she can fly whereas the other 6 hens have never made it over the fence.

We headed out to Bob's around 2 PM to watch Annsley and Gabe while Bobby did a wedding and Jill had an Artistry show. We had a fun time with them and of course they showed off their skills with hitting and throwing a ball. Both of them are very hand and eye co-ordinated, especially Annsley with her throwing ability and Gabe can hit a ball off the T-ball tee very well. We had a fun time playing cars and reading books until Bob got home around 6:30. He took us to a new Mexican restaurant near his house and the place was packed. We had a rather lengthy wait but the food was hot and they brought us salsa and chips galore without asking. It was close to 8 after we finished up and headed back to Seminole.

We got home around 9 'ish and finished up watching the Ray's beat the Indians 4-0. Tyler had taken Ava to see the game so there was some daddy-daughter time as well. That's about it for Friday as a cold front came through the area and dropped the temp's back down into the 50's. I spoke with family in Pennsylvania when we got home and they were having a warm up to the 50's for the weekend and are so ready for spring like weather, LATER 

Friday Morning

Well we awakened to much needed rain this morning and at times it was a down pour, so I was forced to take the truck after my quite time and a lite breakfast to the rec. We started with just 4 players for pickle ball but as the morning wore on we had 2 courts going with players waiting to get on. It turned out to be a good morning with lots of wet shirts. I drove home in the rain as well so there was no need to worry about the gardens today. We just had a great salad out of the garden to go along with a frozen pizza for lunch when Amy and Sam came.

We spent the afternoon reading after Amy left to pick up Ava from school. It seems our dentist Brian Beirl also is an author and has written 2 books. Nancy started his book the BOOKBINDER and found it good reading; so I picked it up later in the evening and read about 60 pages. It's a good easy read and one filled with lots of values and truths not only for the individual but for mankind in general. He is fascinated with C.S.Lewis and Tolkien and the epic novels Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. Bobby and him would get along great, as most of you don't know but I must spill the beans; Bobby is also writing a book about an epic adventure. That's all I can say for now as he hasn't been published yet, but Dr. Beirl has 2 published and is working on a third book.

Well we ate left overs from the night before for supper and they were awesome and then headed out for our house church at Dan and Carols. Seems today was their 35th wedding anniversary. We were the only 2 couples but had a grand time with watching a video by Beth Moore and planning our next meeting with some new couples who are interested in visiting with us. We are planning our outreach project for single moms and wives of the military who are deployed out of the country with free oil changes towards the last Saturday in April. Check out Twill Auto on Face Book for the address and to sign up as its by reservation only.

Also just a note from the business aspect of Nancy and myself. This month our team leaders from Amway are offering BOGO (buy one get one free) on All Nutrilite products. We have been using their awesome vitamins and supplements for some time and now just this month I just started using the immunity packets. Any product that has Nutrilite in its name is bogo; that includes sports drinks and shakes as well. I use the sports drinks while playing PB for rehydration. If your order is at least 30 PV (product value assigned to each product) and the order is made by the 10th of the month you will receive a reimbursement check for the shipping as well. These bogo's and free shipping comes ONLY from our team leaders and me and not Amway. Check us out at www.amway.com/JNTriplett  You just go to this website and order what you want and pay for it on line as well. The products are shipped directly to you but just send me an e-mail so I can get your bogo's shipped to you at the end of the month which are also shipped free. Take advantage of this great offer if you want good products especially vitamins, etc as they are made in the U.S.A. and all are organic grown with nothing synthetic, LATER   Here is a picture of the deer roast, a neighbor chicken that escaped into my garden and the picture of the book my dentist wrote.