Thursday and Friday Morning

Well first let me say its "really HOT and HUMID here." I'm really looking forward to next weeks cooler weather like in the 30's in the mountain. I know I will complain that's its to darn cold but hey, who is really ever completely satisfied with the weather. Anyhow I mean we are setting heat records here in Florida and its nearly the middle of the month in October.

After pickle ball yesterday Ava and Amy came for lunch and to spend the afternoon. Ava and I built tents with blankets and she watched the movie "Ratatouille" while playing with wonder pets. Wow is she a little busy body with a vocabulary that just amazes me. Her retention level is shocking. We mentioned a friends name who she hasn't seen since July in the mountains and she remembered her dog was playing with a toy monkey. Oh well she must get that from my side of the family.

Nancy's folks; G/G and Pap came for her birthday dinner of Mexican enchiladas, rice and beans as well as salsa and chips. Amy made a super delicious carrot cake for dessert. That has to be one of my many favorite meals. We sat around after eating and watched the Dodgers come from behind to beat the Cardinals in the bottom of the 9th inninng.

This morning(Friday) found me with a flat tire on my bike so I took the truck and Nancy walked to the rec. then I walked home so she could drive home. I had 2 solid hours of play with 11 players. Lots of wet t-shirts. When I got home I worked in the garden pulling weeds and when I finished my shirt was completely soaking wet. I took the flat tire off my bike and found that my tire patch kit was out of glue. Oh well. I hung a couple loads of clothes on the line. Well I had a lite lunch of leftover salsa and Mexican rice. Yummm!!!

I will enclose a few pic's from our house church on Wednesday night and of G/G's birthday dinner. I had a great week of PB play with all my friends in Seminole. With all the new players we should have great winter play this year. Nancy and I will be heading back to the mountains on Sunday for exactly one month or if the weather gets to cold maybe we will return sooner. Tonight we are babysitting as Amy and Tyler will have a night out. Tomorrow we travel to Tampa to celebrate our youngest grand daughter, Annsley's second birthday with a party in the park then a family dinner at Bob's place.LATER.

Wednesday

Wow is all I can say about the good food my pickle ball friends put together today for a luncheon. After shutting the alarm off at 7 AM I got ready to head out on the bike for some PB play at the rec. We once again had 2 new players(to me) both gals; Pattie turned out to be an exceptionally good player while Nancy is just in the beginner class. This new blood along with the new additions of Pete & Mike should make for fun play this winter on the courts.We had 2 good hours with lots of wet t-shirts. Man this is great exercise as well as tons of fun.

Mitso brought her Japanese specialty yaksoba; Ric made Italian sausages with onions and peppers; Nancy made burgers & dogs; Pattie brought a layered salad; and I brought a bottle of homemade blackberry wine. Many passed on the wine tasting as they aren't imbibers but those who did partake, loved it. Several others brought all kinds of goodies as well but I wasn't aware of what they brought so if I left you out, I apologize. Many thanks to Jersey Jim for opening up his second floor condo right on the beach. Yikes, what a beautiful setting. Can't wait until we can do this again. The friendship's developed from this crazy named sport is awesome. Thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of you guys.

Last nights dinner with our neighbors and friends was tasty as well. We sat around afterwards and caught up on all that's been happenings since we left in May; good food and friendship as well. Tonight we are heading back to their abode for a church house, small group get together about how to Fireproof Your Marriage. This is a series started from the movie FIREPROOF. Anyone is welcome plus bring your kiddies, we have babysitting.

We just checked the weather for the mountains next week and its going to be in the 30's on Monday, Yeow am I looking forward to that. This heat is stifling and I won't miss it for a second. I can always warm up but its so bad you don't want to go outside, oh well.

Enclosed are a few pics from our luncheon and most are PB players with the exception of just a couple. LATER.

Monday and Tuesday on Tuesday

Monday was a busy day with the alarm going off at 7 AM. I didn't sleep all that well as the A/C ran all night. I'm not use to that noise plus the ceiling fan was on as well. I sure have got use to the quietness in the mountains plus its down right stifling HOT. Anyhow after a slice of pumpkin nut bread G/G gave us on Sunday I jumped on the bike and rode to the Rec for pickle ball. I think I mentioned we had good fast and furious play and I'm sure glad we were inside in the gym with A/C.

I then work outside in the yard; mowing the back yard, trimming hedges,pulling weeds and sweeping porches. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible, finally around 3 PM it was just to hot so I spent the rest of the day inside playing with Ava and helping Nancy get ready for the houseful of family for supper later. Ava left around 3:30 for her nap so I laid down as well for about a half hour.

Family started arriving around 5 PM so we broke out the home made blackberry and peach wine. Wow I was surprised as well as everyone else was of how down right good it tasted. The peach wasn't too sweet and had a little smokey flavor as well. The blackberry was superb and has to be our favorite. This is my second year of making a little wine; and its fun to share with friends and family. The roasting chickens were taking forever to get done so it was nearly 6:30 before we ate. What a delicious meal of; roast chickens, smashed spuds with real chicken gravy, home grown beans, corn and salad with Greek dressing and rolls. Nancy had to go back out to the store for blackberries as the frozen cherries we brought home from the mountains didn't look all that good. Getting the cobbler baked before putting the chickens in the oven made us about an hour late in eating but oh well everything was very good. I passed on the cobbler and ice cream,but it sure looked yummy.

We sat around and watched the girls(Ava and Annsley)play and watched a little football until nearly 10 PM. Where did the time go??? I think we are having another family dinner minus Bob and his girls on Thursday night to celebrate G/G's birthday and then on Saturday night we are off to Tampa to the park for an afternoon picnic/birthday party then Bob is grilling for the family for dinner later. We will be big as horses by the time we get back to mountain hiking. Oh well I sure miss the cold air as its so Hot and Humid here. I say to myself; how did I ever wear that uniform in this heat for 30 years?

Once again the alarm buzzed me at 7 AM and I rolled back over for another 9 minutes before getting out and getting ready for the ride to the rec. We had 4 players initially with 3 very good sets of fast and furious play before another 4 players showed up. We had some great play with lots of wet t-shirts.A new guys guy showed up for the first time who was a racket/paddle ball players and he did quite well after a couple games.

Nancy came to the rec. around 9:30 for her 30 minutes on the treadmill and then we headed out to Sam's to pick up a few things and to gas up. Wow the gas is so much higher in Florida as we payed $2.11 in S. Carolina and today it was $2.26. Oh well!!!

Tonight we have been invited over to neighbors and friends, Dan and Carol for dinner. It looks as if the only night at home this week is tomorrow and I have been invited out to a luncheon with all my pickle ball friends at Jersey Jim's condo on the beach. I think its to hot to even go in the water. Well will close for now and enclose a few pics from last nights dinner. LATER

Saturday on Monday

Well I'm writing this post late for many reasons but mainly so I can let my grandchildren see what great neighborhood get together's are like. Hopefully there will be plenty as they grow and eventually have get together's of their own. It would be wonderful if they as adults carry on this tradition started by Grant and Shirley Heglar at their mountain cabin called Two Pines.

The morning started out with temps in the 50's and eventually warmed to the 60's. It was a beautiful day, bright sunshine and that deep blue Carolina sky. A super day for hanging out clothes on the clothesline, hiking and later a wienie roast. Nancy and I hiked to the top of the mountain and had a short visit with Norm. We made arrangements to pick up our weekly dozen of free range brown eggs next Tuesday. We came back and had a lite lunch as we knew there would be a ton of good home cooked food; and we were right.

We headed out around 4:30 and rode the golf cart down. There were cars lined up along the road for nearly a 1/4 mile. We were able to slip in close to all the cooking areas. Neighbor Gerald had a big pot of fish chowder cooking which turned out to be very good. He drops whole uncooked eggs into the liquid which creates weird figures as it cooks. This turns Nancy off but doesn't change the taste. This has become one of the food highlights especially for the men. We don't care what it looks like as long as it tastes good going down. Everyone was supposed to bring their own dogs and buns plus a dish or dessert. All the dishes were great and some desserts where just outstanding. I would guestimate including tons of children close to 200 plus were there. We started eating around 5:30 and that lasted until all had their fill while the gospel singers entertained us.Some passed the football, threw beans bags in little square holes, swung over the small creek and just sat around catching up on the latest. It started to get rather chilly around 7:30 as the temps began to drop by the creek which runs under their deck.

We decided since it was getting rather chilly it was time to say our goodbye's and see ya' next year that we would head back to the cabin and play some Spades with Gerald and Jodi. My did that warm cabin feel good. Well we played a single game that lasted nearly an hour and a half with the boys going nil 5 times and only making it once. The girls eventually won the game but only after once again we failed to make our bid. It was another raucous game with lots laughs

It was 44 degrees when we pulled out at 6 AM for Florida on Sunday morning. We had a smooth uneventful trip the whole way. We could tell it was a full moon the night before as the interstate was littered dead deer bodies. We must have seen 8-10 killed deer and one large buck in S. Carolina. We hit the Florida line around noon and the temps were hitting 94-95, Yikes that was a huge change from what we had grown accustomed to the past few days.

Well it was great to visit with Nancy's folks on the way in and to later have supper with Ava and her folks. We are having the whole gang here to night to celebrate Tyler's birthday with his choice of dinner. This is a tradition in our family. Thursday night the gang is coming here again for G/G's birthday(82) dinner and the theme is Mexican food. Every night we have something planned so should be a short week.

I got up with the alarm at 7 AM for pickle ball and one person wanted to come at 7 AM. No way for me, 8 will do. I got in 2 good hours with about 8 players or more at times this AM. A good wet shirt,but I really had a wet shirt working in the yard later. Man is it humid here. Well better go, LATER.

Sunday

Well just to let all know we made it back to hot, sunny Florida. Thanks to all who prayed for our safety and a trip that was uneventful. We left the mountains at 6 AM with a morning temp at 44 degrees. When we hit the Florida line around 12 :30 it was 95. We did our best time ever at just over 10 hours with only 2 stops. The traffic was very nice with no construction delays.

We got to spend a little time with Nancy's folks and neighbors before visiting with Ava, Amy and Tyler. Ava has grown so much and is so cute.We had a great visit for a couple hours. I will cut this short for now as I have to write about Saturday' activities. Its time for a shower and some horizontal lab. Night Night. LATER

Friday on Saturday Morning

Well it wasn't quite as cold last night as the night before although we still have the gas heater on to keep the chill out of the cabin. The flannel sheets sure made a difference with sleeping. That is one cozy sleep, Uhhh!!! After just a cup of hot green tea we headed out to Sparta for the doctors office as Nancy was due to have her 6 month blood check-up, since she takes Lipitor and a couple other 'scripts. Tests results will be available when we are in Florida next week, but her blood pressure had dropped to within the normal range and was even a little better than expected. We found the correlation between coffee and all the stuff she puts in it like lots of cream and sugar may have an effect as well. She has gone about a month now with just an occasional cup, Yeah. I quit that stuff about 5 years ago and I couldn't feel better.

After the doctors visit we headed to Browns restaurant for some breakfast and wouldn't you know it several cups of coffee for Nancy, HA!! What a way to celebrate!! After eating we made a couple stops before heading back to the cabin. The Dalton Gang was coming for supper so we had to be ready; vacuuming(my job), spud peeling, bean snapping, etc. We managed to get in a super hike to the top of the mountain for about an hour. The day was magnificent with a strong breeze, lots of sunshine and blue skies. The forecast was for rain later in the day and we did get a light shower just after dark. I was able to burn a couple days worth of trash. Everything here has to either be burned or hauled off to the dump. Since the dump is about 8 miles away its easier to burn the trash less the tin cans.

The Dalton's and Luffman's arrived around 6 and Nancy had a sumptuous meal of roast pork tenderloin, fresh green beans, smashed spuds with pork gravy and the Gang brought a Ramen Noodle salad as well as a fresh baked apple cake. Delicious!! Prior to eating I open the first bottle of this years homemade black berry wine. Most of us had a small taste and I must say it was the best I have ever made. Of course this is only the second year of this adventure so I'm learning and having fun.

After eating the game was on, Sequence. We were a player short as Andy, the deerslayer was getting over a bout with poison oak and opted not to infect any of us so he not only missed the good eatin' but the loss at the hands of the gals once again. Wow they sure seem to win a lot lately.Good playing, gals. They headed out around 10 AM as Caleb was getting sleepy after the gals beat upon him as he stood in for his dad during the game. Well we are fixin' to have some breakfast as Nancy is frying up some 'taters, eggs and toast this AM. The temp this morning was 48, its still a little nippy but should be a great day weather wise. This will probably be our last post until we get to Florida for a week of celebrations of birthdays; G/G, Tyler and Annsley. Lots of dinners. Well we hope to get up back up here for another 3 weeks before heading back to Florida for the winter. LATER

Thursday

It was downright cold this A.M. at 38 degrees, now that is about as cold as it ever gets in Florida for the winter. At least the wind ceased blowing so strong during the night as there was a heavy dew. Most of the day was just a beautiful day and it actually was rather warm in the direct sunshine out of the slight breeze. After our quiet times we ate a lite breakfast of cereal and fruit. We wanted to leave the cabin by 10 AM at the latest as we were planning on getting back in the early afternoon so we could go to the pumpkin fields. Well it just so happened our contact for access to the pumpkins received bad news that we were not allowed to gather any for at least 2 more weeks. Oh well !!!

We headed for Galax and got to the barber shop around 10:30. While I was getting my ears lowered Nancy found a good deal on 8 inch potted mums, 3 for 10 bucks. We bought some last year about this time and we took them back with us to Florida and then brought them back this May. They are still blooming but getting a little ragged so we will plant them before we leave in November. Most of our impatient flowers are starting to look a little ragged as well due to all the rain; but our large begonia is just beautiful. I had never grown any begonias but from now on I think I will keep them round as it looks as good as the day we purchased it in May.

We of course went to Walmart to fill a prescription, get a few groceries, anti-freeze and waterproof sealer for the deck and porches. We made a stop at Horton's to pick up a couple bags of buckwheat pancake mix, pork tenderloin and ground beef. They are a local butcher and market and always have good reasonable priced meat. Its just a country store and they are always busy. We had to stop at our propane filling station just outside of town.We got back to the cabin around 1:30, so I grilled a couple hamburgers. The temperature was still in the low 50's but the sun was warm out of the air. After lunch we decided to take an extended hike.

The hike took us up through our back woods trail, across the top and down through what we refer to as "devastation," it's an area that was logged last year. After leaving this area we hiked down the back trail along a small creek and finally ended at Grant and Shirley cabin. She was there with her 2 grand children so we stopped and chatted for about an hour. They were getting ready for the big neighborhood wienie roast they sponsor each year on the first Saturday in October. They usually have live Gospel Music, horseshoe pitching and lots of food. Everyone brings a dish to share plus a pack of dogs and buns. This party goes on into the late hours of the evening if its not to cold and sometimes the next night as well to finish up the leftovers. We will visit for awhile but we are leaving for Florida early Sunday morning so we skip the late night activities. Its a great way to renew old friendships with folks we haven't seen for a year. Lots of their family, church families, out of towner's and locals attend this yearly get together.

Well we got back to the cabin after 4 PM so we just chilled until it was time to start supper. I managed a little garden work as I transplanted some volunteer tomato plants and then fed the new mums and other plants on the porches and deck. I brought up enough new spuds from the basement for parsley potatoes. Those spuds are the best. Since most of mine rotted in the ground this year we are not bringing any to share in Florida, sorry guys. I put a couple of marinated chicken breast on the grill and Nancy sauteed the last of the zucchini squash in olive oil with onions and garlic. That is a great side dish. There was enough potato's leftover so we can have fried eggs with 'taters for breakfast Saturday morning. Yummm!!! Supper was super and that's the last Nancy can eat until late tomorrow morning as its off to the doctor to do her 6 month blood check up. I guess we will have brunch in Sparta.

Well will close for now, glad to hear Florida was in the 60's for the low today as that temp was almost our high. Looking forward to seeing all the family next week, cooking birthday dinners, grand daughter time and a little daily pickle ball. LATER.