Well Wednesday was the start of the high humidity season and much warmer temps; we now have the a/c back on with the windows closed, yuck. I like the fresh air but it seems the warm, muggy conditions will probably be here until next October; so I'm thinking the mountains are calling my name. The morning started out much the usual with the roosters next door crowing around 5:30, then a few quiet moments and a lite breakfast before pedalling out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. I was a little stiff from the 5 hours of play on Tuesday and so were the others guys who played in the tournament as none of them showed up today. We had a good turn out with 2 courts going most of the morning even though 4 of the other guys took the day off.
I stopped off at the library for a new read by Tess Gerritsen on the way home. She is quite the story teller and keeps you interested with page turner novels. I watered the gardens then picked tomato's and lettuces and cleaned them for a large garden salad for lunch. My new lettuces are starting to come in so I'm adding romaine, bib, iceberg, red leaf and Simpson along with kale to the salad. Wow what a combination along with sugar peas, cabbage and radishes all from the garden and then green pepper on top with fresh scallions and 'maters. Talk about some healthy eatin' and down right delicious. This heat and humidity will start to take its toll on the leafy green veggies in the next couple weeks so its back to watering twice a day.
After Amy and Sam left after lunch I settled in to read and then caught a quick 10 minute power nap while Nancy took her mother shopping then brought her back here for supper. We had a nice deer roast that Gerald our mountain neighbor killed just before we left to come back to Florida last fall and it was superb. Nancy cooked it on top of the stove at low heat for about 5 hours and it just fell apart it was so tender. She made a gravy from the juice and we put that over smashed taters and along with fresh beets and half runner beans from the garden we had a feast. GG really was surprised at how good the roast tasted and looked so much like a beef roast.
After GG left I settled into the Rays vs the Orioles baseball game and once more the birds jumped on top early and kept the Ray's down most of the game; but they came back with a walk off homer in the bottom of the 9th. It was soon after, that lights out came for me, LATER
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wednesday Morning
Well the morning started out with warm temps in the high 60, bright sunshine and clear blue skies. I did my quiet time and had a hearty breakfast of poached eggs and grits as I knew I would need lots of energy for the pickle ball tournament in Clearwater. My partner, Keith picked me up and we made the 15 mile or so trek north. The traffic was horrible and we even passed what turned out to be a fatal crash on the way there. It just happened as we passed by the area. Anyhow we got there after about an hour's drive. I can't believe I use to work in all that traffic mess. We saw more cars this morning than we see all summer in Sparta with 6 lanes of bumper to bumper cars, oh well is it time to head north!!
The Long Center in Clearwater is a huge recreation complex with an Olympic indoor size pool and we could place our whole complex in Seminole in that area only. They had 6 pickle ball courts set up and the lighting was awesome with dark colored wood floors and no windows for sunlight glare. Keith and I were in the 60-69 age bracket which had 9 teams entered. Well we started out and won every match big and didn't drop a set. The tournament director messed up in setting up the brackets towards the end of the day as we had to play another team we had already beaten convincingly. Well we lost our edge and the only match of the day and then we were out of the tournament. We were awarded the Bronze medal but the team we had beaten earlier was awarded the Gold. I didn't think that was consistent but after all they were the home team from the Long Center. We still aren't sure how that was done but anyhow we played great together, had a lot of fun and met some really nice PB players from different areas of the county.
We got back to the house a little before 3 PM just in time to watch the opening day game between the Orioles and the Ray's. The Ray's dropped the first game with giving up a couple homers to the Birds. It was a good game until about the 7th inning when the relief pitcher left one up and out over the plate and the batter knocked it out of the park with 2 runners on, oh well!!!
I snapped a bag of 1/2 runner green beans while watching the game so we had fried taters and onions and steamed green beans for supper, yeow talk about some good eatin'. Delicious. After the cleanup I headed out to water the gardens then we took a couple mile hike through the hood and made it back to watch the FOX News with Shepard Smith. I headed in to the bedroom to watch the Lightning hockey team lose a thriller in a shoot out after the overtime period. Well that's about it for the day except Nancy had an old crown taken off and a new one installed. Seems our old dentist from years ago did a lousy job on that crown which was causing Nancy a lot of discomfort due to a poor fit. Well we hope with a new dentist, a new crown and a better fit this crown will last longer. LATER
The Long Center in Clearwater is a huge recreation complex with an Olympic indoor size pool and we could place our whole complex in Seminole in that area only. They had 6 pickle ball courts set up and the lighting was awesome with dark colored wood floors and no windows for sunlight glare. Keith and I were in the 60-69 age bracket which had 9 teams entered. Well we started out and won every match big and didn't drop a set. The tournament director messed up in setting up the brackets towards the end of the day as we had to play another team we had already beaten convincingly. Well we lost our edge and the only match of the day and then we were out of the tournament. We were awarded the Bronze medal but the team we had beaten earlier was awarded the Gold. I didn't think that was consistent but after all they were the home team from the Long Center. We still aren't sure how that was done but anyhow we played great together, had a lot of fun and met some really nice PB players from different areas of the county.
We got back to the house a little before 3 PM just in time to watch the opening day game between the Orioles and the Ray's. The Ray's dropped the first game with giving up a couple homers to the Birds. It was a good game until about the 7th inning when the relief pitcher left one up and out over the plate and the batter knocked it out of the park with 2 runners on, oh well!!!
I snapped a bag of 1/2 runner green beans while watching the game so we had fried taters and onions and steamed green beans for supper, yeow talk about some good eatin'. Delicious. After the cleanup I headed out to water the gardens then we took a couple mile hike through the hood and made it back to watch the FOX News with Shepard Smith. I headed in to the bedroom to watch the Lightning hockey team lose a thriller in a shoot out after the overtime period. Well that's about it for the day except Nancy had an old crown taken off and a new one installed. Seems our old dentist from years ago did a lousy job on that crown which was causing Nancy a lot of discomfort due to a poor fit. Well we hope with a new dentist, a new crown and a better fit this crown will last longer. LATER
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Tuesday Morning
Well it was another gorgeous day here in sunny Florida with temp's nearing the 80 mark. A gentle breeze kept it nice despite the rising humidity. I started the day out the usual with an early wake up by the roosters next door then after my quiet time and a lite breakfast I pedalled out to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball. We had a nice crowd today but three of our winter visitors have returned to the land of snow and ice, yuck for them.
After the rec I stopped off for a new read at the library then headed home to water the gardens. I picked more green beans, tomatoes and lettuces. Amy and the kiddos were coming for lunch so while Nancy was at the rec at made a guacamole dip, yeow was that ever delicious. We had that with some ham in lettuce roll ups and except for the chips and the dip very few carbs. Nancy and Amy headed over to GG's after lunch as the carpet man was coming and she wanted them to help her with the decision. The carpet man is an old friend of ours whose kids went to school with Bobby and Amy; as a matter of fact his daughter was on our coaches pitch team that I helped coach. Needless to say we got the family discount for GG.
I watched Ava and Sam and of course the chickens babysat them as they are just taken back by these hens. They are constantly looking for clover in my garden to feed them through the fence, so I caught up on some reading out under the oak in the back yard. It was a perfect day for being outside and of course I had to wash them off with the garden hose as they were black. After they left around 4 we read until it was time to start supper. We made fajitas out of the left over grilled chicken breasts along with peppers and onions from the garden and fresh cilantro on top with the sour cream, yeow were they ever good along with fresh asparagus.
After the cleanup I headed out to hand water the front yard as its a dust bowl. The grass, what little there is of it is brown and dried out; we need rain. There is a watering ban on for sprinklers but one can water by hand. I headed in around 7 PM to catch Fox News and eventually wound up watching the baseball game of the Braves vs Phillies. Atlanta is off to a good start and the Ray's have their opening game tonight in St.Pete. I'm off to Clearwater for a pickle ball tournament this morning with my partner Keith. Last time we won together but I hear the competition is fierce there with lots more teams to compete against, LATER
After the rec I stopped off for a new read at the library then headed home to water the gardens. I picked more green beans, tomatoes and lettuces. Amy and the kiddos were coming for lunch so while Nancy was at the rec at made a guacamole dip, yeow was that ever delicious. We had that with some ham in lettuce roll ups and except for the chips and the dip very few carbs. Nancy and Amy headed over to GG's after lunch as the carpet man was coming and she wanted them to help her with the decision. The carpet man is an old friend of ours whose kids went to school with Bobby and Amy; as a matter of fact his daughter was on our coaches pitch team that I helped coach. Needless to say we got the family discount for GG.
I watched Ava and Sam and of course the chickens babysat them as they are just taken back by these hens. They are constantly looking for clover in my garden to feed them through the fence, so I caught up on some reading out under the oak in the back yard. It was a perfect day for being outside and of course I had to wash them off with the garden hose as they were black. After they left around 4 we read until it was time to start supper. We made fajitas out of the left over grilled chicken breasts along with peppers and onions from the garden and fresh cilantro on top with the sour cream, yeow were they ever good along with fresh asparagus.
After the cleanup I headed out to hand water the front yard as its a dust bowl. The grass, what little there is of it is brown and dried out; we need rain. There is a watering ban on for sprinklers but one can water by hand. I headed in around 7 PM to catch Fox News and eventually wound up watching the baseball game of the Braves vs Phillies. Atlanta is off to a good start and the Ray's have their opening game tonight in St.Pete. I'm off to Clearwater for a pickle ball tournament this morning with my partner Keith. Last time we won together but I hear the competition is fierce there with lots more teams to compete against, LATER
Monday, April 1, 2013
Monday Morning
Well Easter started out with a beautiful crisp clear morning as we got really to start the day. The roosters were crowing next door before sunrise and I thought about Peter denying CHRIST three times before the sunrise as well, many years ago. We did our quiet times then I headed out to water the gardens before getting ready to head to Tampa for worship. The air was so clean, fresh and the mockingbirds were so loud, just singing away. What a beautiful way to start the day.
We picked up Dan and Carol and headed out to Element. There were so many new faces today and quite a few we hadn't seen in awhile. Lots of beautiful little girls in their new bonnets and dresses as well as lots of pastel shirts on the men. The music had you one minute clapping and the next with tears rolling down your cheeks. Bobby had a fantastic message on the Resurrection as well. Tammy and her family were there as were lots of out of towners visiting family members. The warehouse was packed. After lots of hugs and handshakes we headed out for home.
We were having another large gang for supper with once more a big meal; baked ham, potato casserole, cooked carrots, Brussel sprouts, garden salad, crusty bread and a lemon pie for dessert; of course there were pickled eggs and beets before we sat down to eat. I had the 2 college basketball games on the tube, which weren't all that good as both Florida and Duke got blown out. Ava and Sam had a good time and got to set at the big table for a change with all of us. The meal was awesome and after the clean up we men vegetated to watch the last half of the games while the gals sat talking at the table. We learned one of the players for Louisville had received a bad broken leg which must have occurred while we were eating.
Well after everyone left we tuned into 2 hours of the BIBLE on the history channel and that seemed as if it could have been an authentic portrayal of what Jesus went through on the cross. Yikes, what a horrible way to die and to think HE did for us and to fulfill GOD's plan for redeeming mankind.
We've had 3 days of eating too much rich foods so it's back to no desserts and less starchy foods with smaller portions until the wedding in May in Miami. We must be able to get in the clothes we are to wear for that occasion. LATER
We picked up Dan and Carol and headed out to Element. There were so many new faces today and quite a few we hadn't seen in awhile. Lots of beautiful little girls in their new bonnets and dresses as well as lots of pastel shirts on the men. The music had you one minute clapping and the next with tears rolling down your cheeks. Bobby had a fantastic message on the Resurrection as well. Tammy and her family were there as were lots of out of towners visiting family members. The warehouse was packed. After lots of hugs and handshakes we headed out for home.
We were having another large gang for supper with once more a big meal; baked ham, potato casserole, cooked carrots, Brussel sprouts, garden salad, crusty bread and a lemon pie for dessert; of course there were pickled eggs and beets before we sat down to eat. I had the 2 college basketball games on the tube, which weren't all that good as both Florida and Duke got blown out. Ava and Sam had a good time and got to set at the big table for a change with all of us. The meal was awesome and after the clean up we men vegetated to watch the last half of the games while the gals sat talking at the table. We learned one of the players for Louisville had received a bad broken leg which must have occurred while we were eating.
Well after everyone left we tuned into 2 hours of the BIBLE on the history channel and that seemed as if it could have been an authentic portrayal of what Jesus went through on the cross. Yikes, what a horrible way to die and to think HE did for us and to fulfill GOD's plan for redeeming mankind.
We've had 3 days of eating too much rich foods so it's back to no desserts and less starchy foods with smaller portions until the wedding in May in Miami. We must be able to get in the clothes we are to wear for that occasion. LATER
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday Morning(Easter)
Well if you could pick the weather for a day it was yesterday on Saturday. Wow it was perfect with no humidity, warm breezes and lots of clear blue skies and of course that Florida sunshine. The morning started with the usual wake up around 6:30. We had a lot on our plate today as we were having our first of two Easter get together's with family. My first cousin Tammy and her family were coming along with Bobby and his kiddos and Amy and her family and GG.
We spent the morning cleaning house and afterwards I headed out in the yard to water the gardens and eventually sit in the sun reading for an hour or so. We hid plastic Easter eggs for the kids to find and got ready for their arrival some where around 4 o'clock. They had a grand time searching and looking for eggs and afterwards the kids all played in the back yard while I worked the grill. We had some magnificent marinated grilled chicken breasts to go along with baked taters with all the fixins', asparagus, corn, garden salad, crusty bread and ice cream pie with whipped cream and toasted pecans on top for dessert, yeow what a delicious feast.
It was a shame that Tammy and her family got stuck on I-275 for a 2 hour delay due to a crash so they didn't get here until 7 PM but we kept the food warm for them as we went ahead with our meal. Bobby had to leave around 7:30 with his kiddos as he has to be at church around real early for service; but Tammy and Amy's family stayed until after 9 and visited. We had a grand time and Tammy's girls, Megan and Brook have grown so this past year. This is the 3rd year they have made it here for Easter. They will celebrate another Easter dinner at Bobby's today with Jill's family in Riverview and we will have Nancy's sister and her son as well as well as Amy's family and GG for another dinner here at the house. It would have been too many folks for all of us to get together at one house so we split it up for a change. It worked out fine.
Well today is a special day in the life of those who are CHRIST followers as we celebrate life over death and that promise is for all of those who are believers. We will head over to Tampa to celebrate with son Bobby at Element Church then back here to have a ham dinner, with potato casserole, green beans, Brussel sprouts, garden salad and crusty bread with a lemon pie for dessert, wow does that ever sound good once again and there goes that spare tire, oh well!!! LATER...Here are a few pics from yesterday get together.
We spent the morning cleaning house and afterwards I headed out in the yard to water the gardens and eventually sit in the sun reading for an hour or so. We hid plastic Easter eggs for the kids to find and got ready for their arrival some where around 4 o'clock. They had a grand time searching and looking for eggs and afterwards the kids all played in the back yard while I worked the grill. We had some magnificent marinated grilled chicken breasts to go along with baked taters with all the fixins', asparagus, corn, garden salad, crusty bread and ice cream pie with whipped cream and toasted pecans on top for dessert, yeow what a delicious feast.
It was a shame that Tammy and her family got stuck on I-275 for a 2 hour delay due to a crash so they didn't get here until 7 PM but we kept the food warm for them as we went ahead with our meal. Bobby had to leave around 7:30 with his kiddos as he has to be at church around real early for service; but Tammy and Amy's family stayed until after 9 and visited. We had a grand time and Tammy's girls, Megan and Brook have grown so this past year. This is the 3rd year they have made it here for Easter. They will celebrate another Easter dinner at Bobby's today with Jill's family in Riverview and we will have Nancy's sister and her son as well as well as Amy's family and GG for another dinner here at the house. It would have been too many folks for all of us to get together at one house so we split it up for a change. It worked out fine.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Saturday Morning
Well Friday started out with temp's much warmer than the past few mornings. The roosters started crowing earlier than usual due to the warm air plus I hadn't slept very good due to the midnight picking up of GG and bringing her back to our house for the night. It seems that problem is fixed as the fans were removed today and now we just wait for the new carpet to be picked out and installed.After a lite breakfast I got ready to head to the rec for a couple hours of pickle ball.
My dentist, Dr. Beriyl was coming this morning to try his hand at the game as he once played tennis and racquetball; so I assured him he would pick the game up quickly and he did. He stayed the whole 2 plus hours and by the end of session he was playing quite well for a first timer. He still had some difficulty with getting in the "kitchen" on volley shots. There is a 7 foot section on the court back from the net which your not allowed to hit the ball while it's in the air and that's the "kitchen". (I know it sounds weird but so is the name pickle ball.) In tennis that's a plus for putting the ball away for a winner while at the net, but not so in PB as your never allowed to enter that 7 ft. space unless the ball bounces first. He had trouble with that all day, but his strokes and eye hand was excellent as well as his quickness. He said he will be back next Friday.
I worked outside most of the rest of the morning until until lunch time; mowing the dried up yard of leaves, sticks and weeds then working in the garden. Nancy was in the kitchen for several hours as we prepare for 2 days of family get together's and today we do house cleaning. My cousin Tammy and her husband Rich and 2 daughters Megan and Brook will be here this evening (Sat.) for supper down from N.C. along with Bob and his kids and Amy and Tyler and their kids plus GG will be here. We will have a house full with only Jill missing as she has a prior engagement. Will fill you in later with some pics.
We were having an early 4 o'clock supper with Dan and Carol as we would be traveling to Tampa together for the Good Friday service at Element. She fixed sloppy Joe's and we made a fresh Cole slaw from cabbage and peppers from the garden. The service started at 6:30 but with Friday evening traffic we headed out around 5 as Dan was helping in the service. Amy and Tyler brought Ava and Sam as well. We had a nice crowd with awesome music and many were reduced to tears as we took the LORD'S SUPPER.
We got back in time to watch a little of the basketball tournament and the upstart team from Florida Gulf Coast were leading to start the game by a good margin but it slipped away and they were knocked out by the Gators as well as did Kansas who was leading big let the game get away to Michigan. Sunday should be fun to watch. Well it was after midnight once again when I cut the lights out, LATER
My dentist, Dr. Beriyl was coming this morning to try his hand at the game as he once played tennis and racquetball; so I assured him he would pick the game up quickly and he did. He stayed the whole 2 plus hours and by the end of session he was playing quite well for a first timer. He still had some difficulty with getting in the "kitchen" on volley shots. There is a 7 foot section on the court back from the net which your not allowed to hit the ball while it's in the air and that's the "kitchen". (I know it sounds weird but so is the name pickle ball.) In tennis that's a plus for putting the ball away for a winner while at the net, but not so in PB as your never allowed to enter that 7 ft. space unless the ball bounces first. He had trouble with that all day, but his strokes and eye hand was excellent as well as his quickness. He said he will be back next Friday.
I worked outside most of the rest of the morning until until lunch time; mowing the dried up yard of leaves, sticks and weeds then working in the garden. Nancy was in the kitchen for several hours as we prepare for 2 days of family get together's and today we do house cleaning. My cousin Tammy and her husband Rich and 2 daughters Megan and Brook will be here this evening (Sat.) for supper down from N.C. along with Bob and his kids and Amy and Tyler and their kids plus GG will be here. We will have a house full with only Jill missing as she has a prior engagement. Will fill you in later with some pics.
We were having an early 4 o'clock supper with Dan and Carol as we would be traveling to Tampa together for the Good Friday service at Element. She fixed sloppy Joe's and we made a fresh Cole slaw from cabbage and peppers from the garden. The service started at 6:30 but with Friday evening traffic we headed out around 5 as Dan was helping in the service. Amy and Tyler brought Ava and Sam as well. We had a nice crowd with awesome music and many were reduced to tears as we took the LORD'S SUPPER.
We got back in time to watch a little of the basketball tournament and the upstart team from Florida Gulf Coast were leading to start the game by a good margin but it slipped away and they were knocked out by the Gators as well as did Kansas who was leading big let the game get away to Michigan. Sunday should be fun to watch. Well it was after midnight once again when I cut the lights out, LATER
Friday, March 29, 2013
Friday Morning
Well once again we had an overnight visitor as GG decided with Betsy's help that she spend the night again with us; so Nancy at 11:30 PM drove over to pick her up. We wanted her to stay in the first place but she decided to stay at her house. Betsy is a real trip when it comes to pushing things off on Nancy and then doing the guilt trip; especially late at night, needless to say I'm not real pleased with her, oh well.
The morning started with a little warmer temps and by the afternoon we had the windows open for fresh air. After a couple hours of pickle ball we headed over to GG's to be there for the insurance adjustor's who was very informing. It seems GG will get some cash to help with the new carpet costs and for the other costs for the damage to the outside wall and the new kick board the water restoration people damaged inserting tubes to carry away the water. We then took her with us to Sam's and then to our house for lunch before Nancy and Amy dropped her off after lunch as they went to the mall. I had a friend of the kids dad who owns a carpet store come by an give her an estimate as well as I set up an appointment for the Empire flooring folks come by this Friday morning to give her an estimate as well. She should be back to some what normal by next week.
I grilled some brats for supper then pulled some fresh beets from the garden and along with some tater tots, cooked beet greens and sliced beets we had a delicious supper. We tuned into the news after the clean up then I headed for the bedroom to watch college basketball and was just turning out the lights when the phone rang at nearly 11 PM. It was for Nancy from Betsy, LATER
The morning started with a little warmer temps and by the afternoon we had the windows open for fresh air. After a couple hours of pickle ball we headed over to GG's to be there for the insurance adjustor's who was very informing. It seems GG will get some cash to help with the new carpet costs and for the other costs for the damage to the outside wall and the new kick board the water restoration people damaged inserting tubes to carry away the water. We then took her with us to Sam's and then to our house for lunch before Nancy and Amy dropped her off after lunch as they went to the mall. I had a friend of the kids dad who owns a carpet store come by an give her an estimate as well as I set up an appointment for the Empire flooring folks come by this Friday morning to give her an estimate as well. She should be back to some what normal by next week.
I grilled some brats for supper then pulled some fresh beets from the garden and along with some tater tots, cooked beet greens and sliced beets we had a delicious supper. We tuned into the news after the clean up then I headed for the bedroom to watch college basketball and was just turning out the lights when the phone rang at nearly 11 PM. It was for Nancy from Betsy, LATER
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
