Well it was a wet morning to start the day with a moderate to steady rain. We certainly needed this "duck weather"; but along with the rain a cool front approached as well. We had to close up the house again and don long pants and long sleeve shirts. The roosters weren't as active this morning I guess because of the rain, so I was able to get a few more winks until nearly 7 AM.
After my quiet time and a lite breakfast I drove to the rec as the rain was to hard to chance it with the bike. I wasn't scheduled to play in the mixed doubles for the pickle ball tournament but a couple teams cancelled from out of the area; probably due to the inclement weather, so there were only a few teams left to play. I picked up the rec worker Kristin who had only played a few times and a couple of the other regular players chose up teams and we managed to put 5 teams together on the floor and have some good play. Kristin and I won a couple matches against the pickup teams but lost to the regular scheduled teams, but the scores were fairly close and we had good matches with some great rallies.
After PB I stopped by the library and picked up a new read by DeMille titled THE PANTHER. Since the outside weather was yucky I spent the rest of the day and evening engrossed in this read and managed to get about 1/2 way through it. What a good read and a real page turner at that. While the book is a novel I think it's based on some historical evidence with Americans who turn against their country and head back to their families roots as a jihadist in the Middle East. I'm anxious to get to the conclusion of this story.
Well Nancy is still suffering from this sinus cold with a runny nose, sneezing and watery red eyes. I don't think she is contagious but if she isn't better in a day or so I guess she should see a doctor. This has been going on for the better part of a week and we are scheduled to head north to the Homosassa area on Saturday and visit with some friends who have a place there, as well as on top of our mountain at the cabin in N.C. We haven't seen them since last October and are so looking forward to seeing them. We use to see them nearly every day on our hikes to the top of the mountain during our stay there in the summer.
Well, we ate lite today with mushroom quesadillas for lunch and fried egg plant for supper; when we do egg plant we dip it in egg and cracker meal then fry it and garnish it with lots of fresh herbs and are usually to full to eat anything else. After the cleanup we settled into the FOX News channel then I headed to the bedroom and eventually the shower. I watched a little of the Lightning Hockey before turning the sound down and read until nearly 11, LATER
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday Morning
Well the day started out with warm almost Spring like temps with plenty of sunshine and once again a breeze. I did my usual after the 5:30 wake up by the feathered guys next door. After my quiet moments I had a hardy breakfast of leftover stone ground grits with a couple poached eggs before heading out on my bike to the rec. Today was the Good Life Games at the rec for doubles play in both the men's and women's divisions for pickle ball. I partnered up with another senior Keith in the 60 to 70 age group and we had a successful run for the top spot. We never lost a set and won big in our division and then played the top players(just for fun) in the 50 to 60 age group and beat them in straight sets as well.
After the tournament play I headed home for lunch. Nancy had taken GG to the grocery store then brought her back here to our house for lunch; so along with Amy and Sam we ate some of the fresh garden salad I made yesterday as well as some left over meat loaf GG made. What a great tasty lunch and afterwards I headed out to hand water the gardens. The rest of the gang came out to sit in the sun and of course Sam had his audience of chicken. He is so funny talking to the hens and of course they are looking for any thing he puts through the fence for them to eat, like worms from my garden and the hibiscus blooms they love. Nancy took some pictures of him with his hens and rooster.
Well after Amy, GG and Sam left I settled in to reading and ordering books from the library until it was time to hand water the garden again. The breeze and warm temps have really dried it out and tonight we are fore casted to get some rain finally. I picked a dozen or so small 'maters and a pot full of sugar peas and 2 really nice Bell peppers. I also picked lettuce for GG and a couple green onions for Amy. The 1/2 runner beans are really producing and they are the best tasting green bean ever. My egg plants are starting to produce along with the spaghetti squash plant which has a small one set as well. This scheduled rain will help.
Nancy made a stir fry for supper using the sugar peas, green peppers, garlic and cabbage from my garden and with all the other veggies and shrimp which we put over a bed of wild rice, yikes that was some good eatin' and GG ate with us as well. After the clean up I tuned into the Fox News channel while Nancy took GG home. That was about it for the day as Nancy is still suffering with this sinus cold. I have managed to avoid her crud so far. Well it's raining as write this post plus the rec is closed due to the tournament for the mixed doubles team. My old women's partner decided she didn't want to play because of school so I will sit this one out unless someone at the last moment needs a partner. I will head up to the rec for a workout on the treadmill if all else fails as soon as this rain lets up, LATER Notice Sam the mud puppy, he gets it honest as I was always in the dirt as a kid.
After the tournament play I headed home for lunch. Nancy had taken GG to the grocery store then brought her back here to our house for lunch; so along with Amy and Sam we ate some of the fresh garden salad I made yesterday as well as some left over meat loaf GG made. What a great tasty lunch and afterwards I headed out to hand water the gardens. The rest of the gang came out to sit in the sun and of course Sam had his audience of chicken. He is so funny talking to the hens and of course they are looking for any thing he puts through the fence for them to eat, like worms from my garden and the hibiscus blooms they love. Nancy took some pictures of him with his hens and rooster.
Nancy made a stir fry for supper using the sugar peas, green peppers, garlic and cabbage from my garden and with all the other veggies and shrimp which we put over a bed of wild rice, yikes that was some good eatin' and GG ate with us as well. After the clean up I tuned into the Fox News channel while Nancy took GG home. That was about it for the day as Nancy is still suffering with this sinus cold. I have managed to avoid her crud so far. Well it's raining as write this post plus the rec is closed due to the tournament for the mixed doubles team. My old women's partner decided she didn't want to play because of school so I will sit this one out unless someone at the last moment needs a partner. I will head up to the rec for a workout on the treadmill if all else fails as soon as this rain lets up, LATER Notice Sam the mud puppy, he gets it honest as I was always in the dirt as a kid.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Monday Morning
Well Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day with regards to the weather and a warming trend. I opened some windows and doors and aired out the house especially with Nancy having some upper respiratory ailments; runny nose, sneezing and watery eyes. I'm trying to dodge those ailments and hopefully miss out on all that stuff. She even stayed home from church this AM as did Carol; so Dan and I headed out to Element on our own as it was my turn to drive. The crowd was down a little due to the time change but we did see a couple of new families and one especially with 4 little ones. Bob had a good message and the music once again was awesome and inspiring. We got back to Seminole around 1 PM.
The outside temps really started to warm up so Nancy sat out in the back yard in the sunshine in hopes that would help dry out her sinuses while I hand watered the garden. I cut one of my 2 cauliflowers and wow was it ever sweet and delicious. I like it raw as well as cooked and so we steamed some along with some broccoli for our supper to accompany a baked spud and a garden salad, Yeow was that ever good, fresh and healthy. We are going to make a concerted effort to not mix proteins with starches and to lower our portions as a big wedding is fast approaching and we both must lose or rearrange about 5 pounds in order for her to get into her wedding dress and me get my shirt buttoned. Oh well!!!
After the supper cleanup we chilled talking to our "mountain mom" and it seems the weather there has also improved with temps reaching the low 60's the past couple days. It won't be long now until the grass as well as the Spring flowers will be poking through the ground with the beginnings of Spring. We tuned into the History Channel show on the BIBLE and found it to be entertaining as well as somewhat scripturally correct. Well that was about it for Sunday as we ate light all day and then just chilled after the big days on Friday and Saturday, LATER
The outside temps really started to warm up so Nancy sat out in the back yard in the sunshine in hopes that would help dry out her sinuses while I hand watered the garden. I cut one of my 2 cauliflowers and wow was it ever sweet and delicious. I like it raw as well as cooked and so we steamed some along with some broccoli for our supper to accompany a baked spud and a garden salad, Yeow was that ever good, fresh and healthy. We are going to make a concerted effort to not mix proteins with starches and to lower our portions as a big wedding is fast approaching and we both must lose or rearrange about 5 pounds in order for her to get into her wedding dress and me get my shirt buttoned. Oh well!!!
After the supper cleanup we chilled talking to our "mountain mom" and it seems the weather there has also improved with temps reaching the low 60's the past couple days. It won't be long now until the grass as well as the Spring flowers will be poking through the ground with the beginnings of Spring. We tuned into the History Channel show on the BIBLE and found it to be entertaining as well as somewhat scripturally correct. Well that was about it for Sunday as we ate light all day and then just chilled after the big days on Friday and Saturday, LATER
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sunday Morning
Well Saturday was another busy, busy day until early afternoon when all the grand kids headed for home. We had an enjoyable time as we entertained the 4 of them for their first ever sleepover. They did quite well despite 3 of them being wide awake until 10 PM or after. Nobody cried for their mom's and dad's so that was a success and they all got along great together except for a few minor "that's mine" or "I had that first" squabbles over toys; but that's common when you have 2, 3 year old boys playing with trucks and cars. For the most part they were in their own little worlds playing monster trucks and the girls having dinner parties with their dolls.
They slept in until 7:30 and then the fun began again as one boy needed a diaper change the other needed to be reminded constantly and put on the potty as he is in the final stages of training. Nancy fixed them eggs, sausage and toast as well as banana's and grapes. Amy and Tyler came around 9 ( for breakfast as well) and they brought a pot of stone ground grits and had cooked them the old fashion way, wow were they ever good and along with eggs and sausage they held me until suppertime.
After the cleanup we got the kids dressed and then headed out to watch the local POW WOW parade just a few minutes from the house. We took beach chairs and sat right along the roadway(which had been blocked off) with the kids. It was about an hour long parade of fire trucks, police cars, local high school bands, several church floats, local elected officials, monsters trucks, sports cars and some Army trucks as well as clowns. Most of those entries were giving out candy to the kids as well as stuffed toys. So each of our kiddo's came away with a toy as well as a bag of candy; yeow just what they needed to be energized. Maybe we should have eaten the candy!!
We got back to the house and of course they were all thirsty and hungry so Nancy made them sandwiches and then Bobby came to pickup Annsley and Gabe. Amy and Tyler were taking Ava and Sam to the carnival associated with Pow Wow so they got ready to leave as well. It was like a ghost town around here after all had left, so I vacuumed and Nancy cleaned up the kitchen. We put away toys, blankets and made up the beds and then we layed down and rested for an hour or so. She is still fighting the runny nose and sneezing. I almost finished the book STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens and this author has you right on the edge of your seat. It's a good read and Carol mentioned she had also read the book.
Carol and Dan had invited us to their place for supper and we didn't have to bring a thing but ourselves. We had a sumptuous meal of barbecue ribs, salad and crusty bread and then strawberry custard pie for dessert, Yeow was that ever delicious. We stayed afterwards and played Phase 10, with Dan leading until the last hand when I snuck in with a win at the wire. It was going on 9 when we finished which actually was going on 10 with the time change being tonight so we headed home for the showers and then chilled until it was lights out.
Well Nancy seemed to do well through the night and is still in the sack as I write this post. We aren't sure if she will make it or not for church this morning, so it's a wait and see if the nose is still draining, LATER
They slept in until 7:30 and then the fun began again as one boy needed a diaper change the other needed to be reminded constantly and put on the potty as he is in the final stages of training. Nancy fixed them eggs, sausage and toast as well as banana's and grapes. Amy and Tyler came around 9 ( for breakfast as well) and they brought a pot of stone ground grits and had cooked them the old fashion way, wow were they ever good and along with eggs and sausage they held me until suppertime.
After the cleanup we got the kids dressed and then headed out to watch the local POW WOW parade just a few minutes from the house. We took beach chairs and sat right along the roadway(which had been blocked off) with the kids. It was about an hour long parade of fire trucks, police cars, local high school bands, several church floats, local elected officials, monsters trucks, sports cars and some Army trucks as well as clowns. Most of those entries were giving out candy to the kids as well as stuffed toys. So each of our kiddo's came away with a toy as well as a bag of candy; yeow just what they needed to be energized. Maybe we should have eaten the candy!!
We got back to the house and of course they were all thirsty and hungry so Nancy made them sandwiches and then Bobby came to pickup Annsley and Gabe. Amy and Tyler were taking Ava and Sam to the carnival associated with Pow Wow so they got ready to leave as well. It was like a ghost town around here after all had left, so I vacuumed and Nancy cleaned up the kitchen. We put away toys, blankets and made up the beds and then we layed down and rested for an hour or so. She is still fighting the runny nose and sneezing. I almost finished the book STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens and this author has you right on the edge of your seat. It's a good read and Carol mentioned she had also read the book.
Carol and Dan had invited us to their place for supper and we didn't have to bring a thing but ourselves. We had a sumptuous meal of barbecue ribs, salad and crusty bread and then strawberry custard pie for dessert, Yeow was that ever delicious. We stayed afterwards and played Phase 10, with Dan leading until the last hand when I snuck in with a win at the wire. It was going on 9 when we finished which actually was going on 10 with the time change being tonight so we headed home for the showers and then chilled until it was lights out.
Well Nancy seemed to do well through the night and is still in the sack as I write this post. We aren't sure if she will make it or not for church this morning, so it's a wait and see if the nose is still draining, LATER
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Saturday Morning
Well it was the big sleep over last night with ALL the grand kids sacked out on our living room floor. They are still sleeping as I write; but it was nearly 10:30 before the last one finally fell asleep. The day started out on Friday withe temp's still on the chilly side but did manage to break the 70's by late afternoon. The breeze still kept it on the chilly side in the shaded areas.
After an early start with the usual 5:30 crowing contest next door I did hang around in the sack until 6:30. There was no pickle ball today so I had my usual spot of tea and then lingered on the computer catching up on some back scripture reading before having a lite breakfast. Nancy and I are reading the entire Bible this year taking a chapter a day from both the New and Old Testament. So far I'm in Samuel and Timothy.
Nancy's Mr.Coffee failed to work last night as it just plum wore out so she was off to purchase a new one and Amy dropped Sam off for me to watch while she was at her Bible study. Nancy was still having too much cold symptoms to be around the older ladies so she skipped going to the study with Amy. She picked up some Zrytec at the grocery store and it seems to be helping with her runny nose, etc. Amy came by and had lunch with us as we ate on the tortilla soup then she took Sam and headed home. The Ross Family was coming for supper later on.
Well I cut lots of Romaine for a nice Caesar salad then cut lots of Swiss chard for a skillet full of sauteed greens, Yeow both of the dishes from the garden were very tasty as well as the chicken fried deer steak. I made a milk mushroom gravy from the dripping and we put that over Jasmine rice. Yeow that was some good eatin' and even the kids enjoyed it until we let it slip that the steak was deer, so automatically Ava didn't like it any longer, Oh well!!! After getting the kids bathed while Tyler and I did the supper cleanup we got a movie on for the kids then we managed to get in a game of OH -ell!!
Well it was thought we would let Sam go home with Amy and Tyler but he fell asleep first so we just covered him up. We had made a huge pallet on the floor with quilts and blankets so all 4 of the kids slept crashed there. It was their first big sleep over together. Well the peace and quiet has just abated as the sleep over has just become the big party once again. I'm cutting this short as of right now due to the boys chasing the girls and squeal's are everywhere, LATER
After an early start with the usual 5:30 crowing contest next door I did hang around in the sack until 6:30. There was no pickle ball today so I had my usual spot of tea and then lingered on the computer catching up on some back scripture reading before having a lite breakfast. Nancy and I are reading the entire Bible this year taking a chapter a day from both the New and Old Testament. So far I'm in Samuel and Timothy.
Nancy's Mr.Coffee failed to work last night as it just plum wore out so she was off to purchase a new one and Amy dropped Sam off for me to watch while she was at her Bible study. Nancy was still having too much cold symptoms to be around the older ladies so she skipped going to the study with Amy. She picked up some Zrytec at the grocery store and it seems to be helping with her runny nose, etc. Amy came by and had lunch with us as we ate on the tortilla soup then she took Sam and headed home. The Ross Family was coming for supper later on.
Well I cut lots of Romaine for a nice Caesar salad then cut lots of Swiss chard for a skillet full of sauteed greens, Yeow both of the dishes from the garden were very tasty as well as the chicken fried deer steak. I made a milk mushroom gravy from the dripping and we put that over Jasmine rice. Yeow that was some good eatin' and even the kids enjoyed it until we let it slip that the steak was deer, so automatically Ava didn't like it any longer, Oh well!!! After getting the kids bathed while Tyler and I did the supper cleanup we got a movie on for the kids then we managed to get in a game of OH -ell!!
Well it was thought we would let Sam go home with Amy and Tyler but he fell asleep first so we just covered him up. We had made a huge pallet on the floor with quilts and blankets so all 4 of the kids slept crashed there. It was their first big sleep over together. Well the peace and quiet has just abated as the sleep over has just become the big party once again. I'm cutting this short as of right now due to the boys chasing the girls and squeal's are everywhere, LATER
Friday, March 8, 2013
Friday Morning
Well it was cold and breezy all day on Thursday despite the sun shinning brightly, now when I say cold for here in Florida it's nothing like the cold and freezing temp's in the mountains. But it stayed in the 50's most of the day after a 42 to start the morning. Once again those feathered critters started their dang crowing around 5'ish so I was awake for the day so I rolled out and started my morning routine all except for the riding out to the rec for pickle ball. Instead of pickle ball I headed to the VA center at Bay Pines to meet up with a counselor to hopefully rectify my situation with showing I was at one time or another in Vietnam some 47 years ago with the USAF.
I found the building after a cold windy walk only to learn the office didn't open until 10 AM as the counselors or case workers who helped Florida veterans was out in the hospital or nursing pavillons assisting Vets from 8-10. So I took a walk over to where my original orrientation took place back in January to inquire about a phone number(I was one number short) to update my medical status on line. Well that took about 45 minutes as it was clear across the complex and the strong wind had my nose and eyes watering, yikes the temps were cold coming off the water that surrounds the hospital.
I finally got in to see a case worker around 9:15 as one finished his rounds early so we spent the next couple hours going over my service record and buddy letters which really helped to get the investigation going. One of my buddy's had a set of orders dated back to the late 60's which had my name, rank and serial number. That clearly helped to establish I was an air crew member and part of my job description was the carrying of cargo, soldiers, med-evac and cadavers in and out of Vietnam during the period I was on active duty. We were not only exposed to this chemical agent called Agent Orange but we actually transported it on the aircraft. Several of my flying buddy's have developed some serious life threatning ailments and even a few have passed away as a result of the cancers that are associated with this agent. I wanted the VA to be aware that I was exposed to it but thus far seem to have no major ailments, thankfully.
Well I got back just before lunch and Amy, GG and Sam came to eat with us. We finished up the garden salad along with some chicken salad GG brought to add to it then the gals took off to do some shopping. I watched Sam and we were able to set out in the sunshine in the backyard where he played with the chickens through the fence. The wind was still strong but we were sheltered somewhat plus the direct sunshine kept it bearable as long as you had a jacket on. I caught up on some watering and reading while they were gone. Seems Sam was a mud puppy according to his mother, so Amy put him in the bathtub when she got home. I thought just a wash up of the hands would suffice but she felt he was too dirty to put in the car, oh well. That boy loves playing in the dirt much like his grand father did so he gets it naturally. After they left for home Nancy took GG to Publix and then home so I headed off to the library on my bike as they had a book for me.
I finished up a book I had on the shelves for years titled OMERTA and it was a good easy read about the mafia. This new book is titled STLL MISSING and the first few pages sounds as if it will be a page turner. I'm looking forward to getting into it later today. Well that was about it for Thursday except Nancy made a pot of Tortilla Soup which hit the spot for a cold windy evening. I made a nice Caesar salad from the garden and wow do I just love that salad for a change. Tonight(Friday) we are having a big crowd for chicken fried deer steak for supper. One of my favorite meals along with another fresh garden salad, LATER
I found the building after a cold windy walk only to learn the office didn't open until 10 AM as the counselors or case workers who helped Florida veterans was out in the hospital or nursing pavillons assisting Vets from 8-10. So I took a walk over to where my original orrientation took place back in January to inquire about a phone number(I was one number short) to update my medical status on line. Well that took about 45 minutes as it was clear across the complex and the strong wind had my nose and eyes watering, yikes the temps were cold coming off the water that surrounds the hospital.
I finally got in to see a case worker around 9:15 as one finished his rounds early so we spent the next couple hours going over my service record and buddy letters which really helped to get the investigation going. One of my buddy's had a set of orders dated back to the late 60's which had my name, rank and serial number. That clearly helped to establish I was an air crew member and part of my job description was the carrying of cargo, soldiers, med-evac and cadavers in and out of Vietnam during the period I was on active duty. We were not only exposed to this chemical agent called Agent Orange but we actually transported it on the aircraft. Several of my flying buddy's have developed some serious life threatning ailments and even a few have passed away as a result of the cancers that are associated with this agent. I wanted the VA to be aware that I was exposed to it but thus far seem to have no major ailments, thankfully.
Well I got back just before lunch and Amy, GG and Sam came to eat with us. We finished up the garden salad along with some chicken salad GG brought to add to it then the gals took off to do some shopping. I watched Sam and we were able to set out in the sunshine in the backyard where he played with the chickens through the fence. The wind was still strong but we were sheltered somewhat plus the direct sunshine kept it bearable as long as you had a jacket on. I caught up on some watering and reading while they were gone. Seems Sam was a mud puppy according to his mother, so Amy put him in the bathtub when she got home. I thought just a wash up of the hands would suffice but she felt he was too dirty to put in the car, oh well. That boy loves playing in the dirt much like his grand father did so he gets it naturally. After they left for home Nancy took GG to Publix and then home so I headed off to the library on my bike as they had a book for me.
I finished up a book I had on the shelves for years titled OMERTA and it was a good easy read about the mafia. This new book is titled STLL MISSING and the first few pages sounds as if it will be a page turner. I'm looking forward to getting into it later today. Well that was about it for Thursday except Nancy made a pot of Tortilla Soup which hit the spot for a cold windy evening. I made a nice Caesar salad from the garden and wow do I just love that salad for a change. Tonight(Friday) we are having a big crowd for chicken fried deer steak for supper. One of my favorite meals along with another fresh garden salad, LATER
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