2010 - HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2010

First, we want to say thank you for your notes in response to our e-mail holiday newsletter. We really enjoyed hearing from you. Also, to those who sent cards and newsletters they were a lot of fun and we do appreciate being in your thoughts during the holiday season.

We had a quiet Christmas. We cooked a turkey breast in the crock-pot and prepared the usual side dishes in small amounts. It was delicious that day and even though we reduced the amounts we cooked—just as good the next day. I love having leftovers! I baked a pumpkin pie with Splenda and we had a sugar-free traditional dessert that was delicious.

I am a lover of words and here is a list of them I thought you might enjoy titled, “No wonder English is so hard to learn.”

· We polish the Polish furniture.
· He could lead if he would get the lead out.
· A farm can produce produce.
· The dump was so full it had to refuse refuse.
· The soldier decided to desert in the desert.
· The present is a good time to present the present.
· At the Army base, a bass was painted on the head of a bass drum.
· The dove dove into the bushes.
· I did not object to the object.
· The insurance for the invalid was invalid.
· The bandage was wound around the wound.
· There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
· They were too close to the door to close it.
· The buck does funny things when the does are present.
· They sent a sewer down to stitch the tear in the sewer line.
· To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
· The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
· After a number of Novocain injections, my jaw got number.
· I shed a tear when I saw the tear in my clothes.
· I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
· How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
· I spent last evening evening out a pile of dirt.
And the best sentence ever in the English language: “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.”

Thanks for stopping by,

Until next time ...

Welcome to Celebration, Florida.

Map of Disney's perfect city.

Streets of Celebration all decked out for Christmas. They block off the streets at 2 PM. Don't know how all these cars are getting off the street

Man made canal in Celebration.

Phil is posing with Celebration's Christmas tree. Probably would have been prettier at night with all the lights on.

Sunset in Florida ...

We bought ourselves a toy for Christmas. We'll let you know how it works. The box says, "Get Ready for a paper-free world."

Read all about it: http://neatco.com/

HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ONE AND ALL!

All I’ve got to say is GOOD GRIEF CHARLIE BROWN! Only five days until Christmas and I’m still a day away from sending my Christmas cards out in the mail but I must tell you I have put up the good fight this year. With Phil’s help I refused to yell uncle and admit defeat so I have emerged victorious! The back story is this: after I figured out how to print my address labels last year I promptly put it out of my mind and went about my business for another year. Okay, so this year we had to start from scratch (memory wise).

Phil often says sometimes, between the two of us, we’d make a good half-wit. We always laugh and think that remark is really funny. Well, this time he was leading the way and I was playing catch up remembering how to do it! I have my holiday newsletter written, we’ve printed our return address labels and we’ve found our Christmas cards but those pesky snail mail card address labels were refusing to cooperate. But, I am happy to report they are done and ready to go on the envelopes. By tomorrow we should have them ready to mail.

How I wish everyone on my list had e-mail! I know there are some that hate receiving the electronic version but I love all of you that are included in my e-mail edition address list. Thankfully, there are three times more of you than the family and friends that have still not joined the e-mail society. Also, this year after we figured out the sequence to printing I wrote it down—click for click and put in my Xmas file. There will not be a repeat of this fiasco in 2010!

Our friends, Margie and Roger have fired up their big diesel pusher and headed north to Tennessee to spend the holiday with family. Neither wanted to leave this warm weather behind but “Duty” called. They will be back as soon as possible after Christmas if all goes well. Again, our life has been fairly quiet this past week. Not a drop of drama to report (well except for printing those darn labels)! :-)

After Christmas we will get out and see a few things to share with you. Until then, bear with me, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Until next time,

Here I am (Phil took the picture) at Margie and Roger's gorgeous Phaez2 to join them for dinner right before they left for Tennessee. Margie cooked a pot roast in the crockpot with roasted potatoes, and carrots. She also had mashed potatoes, brown gravy and corn. Roger baked a pecan pie for dessert. It was a carb lover's dream dinner (me and Margie) and we waddled home afterward!

Just one of many decorated homes here at Citrus Ridge Park. Our night picture setting on the camera didn't do a very good job. Check our Margie's blog for some great pictures of the lights and decorations around our park.

We turned around to photograph this display of tropical greenery growing in the ditch along the road! So pretty!

These huge leaves are gorgeous but I have no idea what plant it is. I know it must be related to the giant elephant ear tropical plants or a giant split leaf philodendron. If I had a place for it I think I'd be out with a shovel in the dark of night. Beautiful!

The gorgeous girl on the left is my dear Aunt.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE BEV!

Tomorrow is your big day and I wish we were there to join in the celebration.

Here she is today. Just as beautiful inside as out.

We love you Aunt Bev! Have a great day :-)

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,

My aunt Lola and my cousin, Sherry in the early 1950s.

Happier times in 2008 ...

Joy, Lola and Sherry

I copied this picture from Margie's blog

She took it when the four of us went to dinner at Mimi's in Kissimmee last weekend.

Phil and I each had a $10 off coupon as a birthday gift (our bd's are the same day) so we swapped spouses (just for dinner :) and got four meals for the price of two. Pretty cool, huh?

Musical instrument and fishing poles ready to ship once the auction is finished.

Check out Phil's goodies on e-bay under his seller name: PlastiFab

Even the puppies get in on the act!

Our friends Roger and Margie in the Christmas parade at Citrus Ridge on their little Cricket (aka Jiminy) golf cart tossing candy to the cheering crowds ... well not exactly ... but it was fun!

GREETINGS FROM RAINY FLORIDA

After what has seemed like unending days of rain, the forecast is for sunshine starting today. We are ready for some Florida sunshine! It has been so wet we have been sticking pretty close to home and there isn’t much to write about this week. Because we have the use of the storage shed on this site, Phil has been cleaning out the basement storage in Penny the Pace. He is also working on sorting and cleaning both his personal and collectable fishing gear and is looking forward to selling a few items on E-bay again since we will be parked in one place for a while.

One day last week we did take a drive to visit the Blue Springs State Park north of Orlando. The West Indian manatee is an endangered species and hundreds of them return to this park on the St. John’s River during the colder winter months where there are several warm water springs. Phil’s good eyes spotted two of them but they were so far away, the camera could not get a picture. I did get to see one raise its head and take a breath but Phil missed it. For more info on these gentle giants click here.

Phil came home the other day with a new patio table, four chairs and an umbrella. One of our neighbors had it out on their driveway for sale because they never used it and we decided we could use it while we’re here and resell it when we leave. Sounds like a win-win situation to me and we love having a place to eat outside. We had our friends Margie and Roger over the other night to initiate the table and Phil grilled some lovely chicken breasts for dinner. It was a great evening with good friends and good food!

We have also set out our bird feeding station and the hummingbird feeders but so far, we have not seen any birds except the big Sandhill Cranes that hang out around here. Maybe we should have taken a hint from the fact that there are no bird feeders evident in this park, anywhere. Maybe there are no birds in this area of Florida … naahh, that can’t be true. We will just wait and see.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,

Here is a picture of our new patio set. We are going to enjoy it!

Phil looked up one day and spotted one of the three Goodyear Blimps in the USA flying overhead.

Haven't heard what they were doing here ...

Interesting ...

Fair warning.

Manatee sanctuary on the St. John's River.

Near Orlando even the power lines are dependent on Mickey for support :)

A pair of Sandhill Cranes enjoying the corn left out for them near the office at our park. We found out in our research that most Florida Sandhill Cranes stay here year round. We also found out it is illegal to feed them in Florida but obviously that law is being ignored.

This bird looks like it is standing watch while the mate eats.

A huge poinsettia shrub in our park blooming for the Christmas season! Gorgeous!

MOVING SOUTH TO WARMER WEATHER!

Last Sunday in spite of the rainy weather, we drove north from Monticello, GA to Plains, GA to visit the hometown of Jimmy Carter. The town is so small I would not have been surprised to run into Jimmy on the one block long main street of town. However, it didn’t happen. We did buy some souvenirs at the old Carter peanut warehouse and sampled some of the peanut butter ice cream. The boyhood home of Jimmy is a nice, middle class farmhouse and we were surprised to see it is just left open without a docent or “guard” on site. That kind of trust is unusual.

Just a few miles up the highway from Plains, we visited the location of the infamous Confederate prison camp in Andersonville, GA. It is now a National Historic Site and is managed and maintained by the National Park Service. The gloomy, rainy weather contributed to the overall feeling of melancholy as we drove around the beautifully groomed countryside. In the National Cemetery the Union soldiers graves, lined up row after row after row led to such a feeling of frustration … and screamed the question … WHY? So many men received brutal inhumane treatment and suffered so much—so many lives lost and for what? I know I don’t have the answers but there just has to be a better way to solve our problems than war. We took a brief tour of the National POW Museum but again the suffering it represents is beyond my comprehension. I’m sorry but I just couldn’t take pictures inside.

We had a comfortable, uneventful drive from Monticello to Davenport, FL. When we arrived, we wound our way through the park until we found the site we had rented. We passed our friend, Margie out walking her adorable little Chihuahua, Buddy along the way. Soon she and her husband, Roger were at our site on their recently purchased cute little golf cart and watched as Phil backed Penny the Pace perfectly into our new site on the first try.

After one day to wind down, we attended the Thanksgiving potluck dinner in the Citrus Ridge Clubhouse. It was a wonderful meal and we were sure we wouldn’t eat again for two days. However, since the next day was our birthdays (Phil and I share the same birthday) we managed to rustle up an appetite to enjoy the steak and lobster we prepared for our celebration dinner. It was delicious!

.

Needless to say, this week has probably contributed to adding a few pounds, at least for me. Phil never worries about his weight no matter when or how much he eats!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,

…

The entrance to Citrus Ridge. Phil's been told there are bass in that little lake :)

Miss Penny the Pace, snuggled into her new home for a few months at Citrus Ridge Community in Davenport, FL.

Can you tell? Joy found the dessert table!

Joy, Margie and Roger holding down our end of the table closest to the food. Unfortunately, they drew cards for the order of filling our plates. We drew number six but there was plenty of food to go around ... and then some!

Our friend Margie telling Phil where to go ... I mean where to sit :)

Part of the group who came to the potluck Thanksgiving dinner at Citrus Ridge clubhouse. The park provided the turkey and the other hot food. It was soooooo good!

So much good food ... turkey and all the trimmings at the club house.

One end of the food table at the park's clubhouse.

On Main street, this was formerly the Carter family peanut warehouse. Now this store is selling all kinds of souvenirs and peanut products including ice cream. It was delicious!

Looking toward the back porch/kitchen on the back of the house. The outhouse is real but the Carters did eventually put in a bathroom.

Sign outside the Carter farm house.

Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains, GA.

This is the Secret Service gate house at the Carter Compound just a few blocks from downtown Plains, GA. The Carters still live in the only house they have ever owned in Plains only now it is surrounded by a serious security fence.

This is the main street of Plains, GA. It is the home of the 39th president of the United States, James Earl "Jimmy" Carter.

Andersonville National Historic site honors all prisoners of war.

Andersonville National Historic Site is the only National Park System area to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. This place is so sad ... displaying in stark reality ... "man's inhumanity to man."

One corner of the Andersonville prison has been reconstructed to show how the prisoners were forced to live.