WARM AND WET WINTER ... so far

I am so sad to report another death of one of the older generation of my family (there has been three this past year) of which I am rapidly becoming one of with each passing year. Consequently, I’m not going to dwell on the subject but it is with a heavy heart I write that last Thursday, December 10th my dear aunt, Lola, in Salem. Oregon passed away from complications of a stroke. Lola was 93 years young and would have celebrated her 94th birthday next month. Since she was divorced from my uncle over 50 years ago, there were many years I did not see her and I am thankful that Phil and I stopped to visit with her twice in the past few years. She was a beautiful and precious lady who was so good to me when I was a youngster and I loved her very much! And, to my dear cousin, Sherry, remember your family loves you and our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

The first couple days of the week were so quiet around here; I can’t even remember what if anything we did during that time. I know for sure that one of those days I didn’t bother to get dressed and another day I took a nice two-hour nap. Sometimes I just relish being lazy and laid back … and I believe at my age, I’ve earned the right to do so without any guilt. That’s my motto now-a-days … "guilt free and loving it"! I have spent too many years living with guilt for one thing or another and I refuse to harbor those feelings ever again.

Last Thursday we spent the afternoon food shopping. Neither of us could believe that we had managed to use up so many hours just roaming the aisles in two stores. We had brunch in a little restaurant down the road from us called “The End Zone,” and as you can tell from the name, it is a sports bar. There was the multitude of TVs on the walls but the volume was tolerable and the menu had a nice variety. Prices and service were good and the food was okay. Phil’s Philly Cheese steak sandwich was very good but my chicken-taco-salad left a lot to be desired. That’s okay though, I always get plenty to eat and since my appetite for restaurant food is nearly zero lately, I’m fine with the food just being okay. When we finished eating, we drove to Wal*Mart where two hours later we emerged with everything on our list. From there we went next door to the Winn Dixie store. They were having a buy one, get one free sale and we stocked up on some meat we decided we wanted including a turkey breast for our Christmas dinner. Phil defrosted the freezer, cleaned out some outdated items and made room for all our purchases so we’re good to go for another two or three weeks. Lately, cooking at home has become almost an obsession with me in order to guarantee we enjoy our meals. Nothing like good home cookin’! Since Phil is the resident dishwasher, I think he gets a bit tired of a messy kitchen every day but so far, he has not complained.

On Friday, it was cold, overcast and threatened rain all day. On Saturday the temperature got up to nearly 90 degrees F but the overcast continued all day so with a little breeze it was easily tolerated. We didn’t even turn on the AC. Margie and Roger called on Friday morning and asked us if we wanted to join them at Denney’s for breakfast. Well, of course we did so they picked us up and off we went to the restaurant just a few miles down the road. Denney’s has a new menu at least here in Florida and I found what I’m going to order next time! Margie asked for a side of grits and it came in a large soup bowl. It looked so good; she gave me a bite … delicious! She eats hers with butter but I will eat mine with milk and Splenda. I love hot cereal and actually it wasn’t bad with just butter. They do a really good job on the grits … hot and creamy. Who knew?

All week long Phil has been working with his e-bay treasures in the little storage shed outside. He listed a few items and so far he has sold three of them! He is having such a good time watching the bidding and packing up the things that sold. Come to find out, he has really missed selling on e-bay and since he brought a box full of misc. fishing tackle to sell plus several rods I suspect he will be able to amuse himself as long as we are sitting in one place for awhile.
I have been working on my holiday newsletter while listening to holiday music on our Sirius radio station provided by Dish Network (it helps to get me in the mood); working on my mother’s biography and today the locals here in the park provided a cute little holiday parade in their decorated golf carts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,