We’re back and forth on I-75 between Florida and Michigan so often that our vehicle now knows the way. This a.m. we started out before 9:00 and pulled into the motel tonight before 5:30. We’re in Kennesaw, Georgia. Traffic was heavy around Atlanta but at least we’ve already gone through Atlanta so tomorrow morning when we hit the road, the traffic should be heavier going south toward Atlanta rather than north like us. (Maybe we’ll have the road to ourselves… joke joke.)

I had limited email access as we traveled but it was spotty and slow (I was using a cell phone as a modem.) The motel has high speed internet. So I’ve caught up on my correspondence.

Our last day in Florida was relaxing and fun (more pool time and fewer visiting kids). We saw a lot of friends and made plans to get together when we return.

We’re both anxious to get home to Michigan, but also looking forward to being back to our Florida condo in the fall.

Tomorrow will be another day of travel.

This morning we went to the early Easter service at the Methodist Church in Sun City Center. It was a perfect way to start our Easter.

We had planned to spend most of our day at the South Club pool, but the volume of visitors was over-whelming. We arrived early and found a nice shady spot, but it seemed every grandparent had been invaded by their grandchildren. Well-behaved kids are one thing, but these kids ran wild. They out-numbered adults 2 or 3 to 1. I blew up at some kids who cannonballed into the pool, just missing and drenching me. John was hit in the face with a ball. We weren’t the only ones complaining. It’s too bad that parents (and grandparents) don’t understand that there are a lot of us who aren’t accustomed to kids and when they are out-of-control, we aren’t going to be happy. I’d be embarrassed if I had visitors who made others so uncomfortable. When we couldn’t take it any longer we went home. Tomorrow, if we get our packing done, we’ll find a pool that is less kid-friendly. (Or maybe/hopefully the kids will have gone back home.) Thankfully there are two other outdoor pools available to us at Kings Point (plus a couple indoor ones). We like the South Club because it’s close, but today’s experience really soured our Easter.

We have tomorrow left before we head to Michigan on Tuesday.

There’s always a lot to get done the last day: We need to pack our truck. I’ll do laundry and clean up the place before we leave. Hopefully we can complete it all by noon and have the afternoon for a last day in the sun. Michigan has warmed up since last week when they enjoyed several inches of snow, but “warmer” still only means a high of 55 and it’ll be cloudy or rainy. Quite a change from non-stop sun, and 89 which we enjoyed today!

Today’s weather was flawless.

We’re over-run with Easter/Spring vacation folks so our pool here at the Kings Point South Club was packed, but we found chairs by arriving early and had a great time. The water was warm. Lots of friends were present.

Thursday night’s Rockin’ Rondezvous was totally boring. I was hoping it would be a ball and we’d have a nice send-off carry us through until we can get back, but instead it was empty and dull. We left at 6:00. Very few danced. There were, at the most, about four couples on the floor dancing at any time. The crowd was very small. I guess that makes it easier to miss next week’s. (We’ll be back in Michigan Thursday.)

I heard from our Kings Point friends Brenda Wiley and John Berbard who are back in Maine. Sadly Brenda lost her brother to cancer April 3rd. She did make it back to spend time with him before his passing, but he was only 58.

Tonight we have plans to go to a potluck dinner/dance at the North Clubhouse, it’s a group of country dance folks. We haven’t ever country danced but enjoy potluck dinners and maybe we’ll learn to two-step. (Right now we’re upset because the beans we’ve been slow-cooking all day still aren’t done and we have about a half hour before we need to leave.)

Tomorrow is Easter. We’ll go to 9:00 church service and then stake out a pool spot.

I’ve been packing a little at a time, so hopefully the chore won’t be too bad Monday. I want to be able to enjoy pool time as much as possible between now and Tuesday.

Yesterday it turned cool and today there were gale force winds with a high temperature of less than 70 degrees. It would seem like wonderful weather if we were in Michigan, but since it’s our last week in Florida, and we want to cram in as much pool time as possible, it isn’t appreciated.

Thankfully it’ll warm up by the weekend so we’ll be able to enjoy the sunshine.

Today we had a condo association meeting. I did a little house-cleaning, some bill paying, and worked on the stuff I do for the Evart Funfest hammered dulcimer festival.

Tonight it’ll be down into the 40’s!

There tends to be an urge to cram in everything when we get down to the last few days. It’s been a grand visit and I hate to have it end but Michigan is still home.

I’ve become a lover of Florida vegetation, especially palm trees and orchids.

Palm trees fascinate me. We have two in our yard. And we’ve used a “palm” theme in decorating our condo.

They come in a dozen or more varieties. Some look like pineapples, others like feathers. They are towering and stately and oh, so Florida!! I love all the species. The canary island date palms (aka pineapple palms) are especially appealing. There are the cabbage palms which are native to Florida and grow in the “wild.” Some look like “fans” some are whispy. All seem to have a special personality.

I tried growing a palm inside, and it nearly died when we went home for two weeks, but now that it’s outside it seems to be recovering. (It was in a pot that was too small and no moisture could get to the roots. John replanted it.)

In case you’re wondering, none of the trees here are coconut palms. In Florida the coconut palm is successfully grown from Stuart on the east coast and Punta Gorda on the west coast, south to Key West but not in Sun City Center.

The other tropical plants I have come to love are orchids.

Orchids are exotic and lovely. The first two I owned died before I understood how to keep them nourished. Now I know watering needs to be restricted to once a week and it should be a flushing type of watering where you let the water run through the container, but never let the plant sit in standing water.

I have a lovely white orchid which is doing well with about nine large blooms. Two opened from buds after I got the plant and there is some “new growth” which is encouraging.

But I know that when we head back to Michigan (in less than two weeks) it’s doubtful that I’ll be able to keep it alive.

My orchid only cost $10, and I’ve enjoyed it for about a month so I’ve certainly gotten my money’s worth, but I’d love to be able to bring it back and forth from Michigan to Florida. I don’t know how. It’s tall (about three feet) and extremely fragile and sensitive.

Orchids seem to have a personality. The lady who sold this one to me referred to the one I have as as “her.”

She said, “I hope she will do well for you.”

Plants with enough personality to be defined by gender deserve to encouraged to thrive.

Today was fun. We must have hit fifteen garage and estate sales. We were able to replace our microwave for only $20 and got a couple of other small items ($1 each) which we needed. It was a fun morning. Since it was rainy and overcast, it was a good thing to do.

This afternoon we went to the pool and John played Pickleball while I read. He’s really getting toned. I’m really proud of how he’s staying so fit. Heck, he is the “male body” of the pool! At 71, he’s awesome.

Last night we played music for the Stained Glass Club dinner. It was a very nice event. John was sort of disappointed in his/our performance, but personally I feel we did fine. It was a tough room with a large percent of the folks were more interested in conversation and eating, but as we played, we “captured” them. They ALL stopped and listened. What more can you ask for? It definitely worked as good as it could under the circumstances.

John was notified last night that his nephew was killed in an accident. A truck he was working on slipped and crushed him at his home. He’d been married for 21 years and had two children. How sad!
You can read his obituary here http://obit.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com

John truly wanted to go back for the funeral, but it’ll be Saturday a.m. and we have a Thursday commitment we can’t get out of. That means we’d have to leave Friday and there’s no way we can drive back by the funeral time Saturday. John could fly home alone and then come back to Florida on the 6th to get me so we could drive home leaving on the 15th but it would be tough and expensive to get flights this late. It just won’t work so he won’t be attending the funeral.

On a lighter note, we’ve been practicing for our performance tomorrow.

And today we had to look for a microwave. We didn’t have one when we moved into our new condo but a friend loaned us one and said, “We’ll never need it back, just consider it yours.”

We had extra one in Michigan, but since we had that assurance, we didn’t bring it back with us in January. Wouldn’t you know, our friends had a change of circumstance and needed their microwave so we returned it to them. Now we have none.

Especially since I’ll be here alone in June, we want to make sure one is here when we go home in two weeks.

Since we can bring one back from Michigan in September, we’re not anxious to spend much on one. Our first choice would be to get something to fill-in until we can bring one from home. We’ve been shopping like mad. No success yet, but we’ll figure it out.

The pool was lovely today. The air temps were in the mid-high 80’s. It was a tad humid and sorta over-cast but the water was warm and our friends were there. Nevertheless the shadow of the tragic accident in Michigan clouded the day.

I lost John for over an hour today.

We had gone to the Big Top Flea Market north of Brandon. We arrived about 10:00 a.m. It is a huge place so we came prepared with FRS radios. I knew he would have his interests and I’d have mine. Once inside, we intentionally separated but I ran a check to make sure the radios were working, and everything was fine. It was agreed that I’d call when I’d “had enough.”

A couple of hours later, when I was ready to leave, I tried to contact John but he didn’t respond. As I said, the place is enormous so I searched for him, without success. I looked everywhere but it’s a maze. I even went back to the car thinking maybe he’d gone back there. Of course, I also kept trying the FRS radio.. but no luck. Finally after over an hour of intensive searching, I found him. His radio had somehow been turned “down” so the volume wasn’t loud enough for him to hear my calls. He was more than ready to leave, but waiting for my “call”. We were both pooped.

The radios let us down.

We then tried furniture shopping in Brandon, but we were both too tired to make any big decisions.

We got home in time to catch the conclusion of the Michigan State Final Eight Basketball game, enjoy a nice dinner, and spend a relaxing evening watching TV.

It was a nice (but frustrating) day. At least this morning there was a little rain. (The first in weeks.)

Boy, has ever been windy. We’ve had two or three days of 24 mph sustained winds. Today we watched a canopy at Falcon Watch Golf Club blow across the lawn. A table umbrella also blew away and my sun umbrella turned inside out. It hasn’t stopped us from going to the pool, but it has been uncomfortable.

We had another busy week. Wednesday we took our last intermediate swing dance lesson, John picked grapefruit and in the evening, we went to Ruskin for a spaghetti dinner with good friends.

Thursday evening’s Rockin’ Rondezvous was much better than last week’s. We had a good time. It was slow to get started with very few dancers until about 5:30, but we hung in there and it finally got going. The people make it, and we had a good group of friends.

Last night (Friday) after another day at the pool, we went to a Men’s Chorus concert at a local church. Very impressive.

Today we enjoyed a tour of the Falcon Watch Golf Club. We’d never been there before and it was nice to see what they have. We were invited to take part in an 18 hole mini-golf type competition on a large green. We were pretty bad, but I could see improvement by the time we ended and John even one-putted a couple of the holes. I was lucky to two-putt two or three holes (which was considered par).

Tonight rain is expected to pass through the area and bring temperatures about 10 degrees lower. (It’s been about 85 for the past few days.) But by early next week, it should be back up in the low 80’s.

Today someone at the pool said, “I must have died because this is heaven.”

We’ve been busy but it’s mostly fun stuff.

Yesterday John worked on our car (fixed the brake line) and we spent about an hour with Mom’s accountant. We also had our golf car inspected and went clothes shopping.

But today was a fun day: after practicing our music, we enjoyed lots and lots of lovely pool time, a little shopping, and when we stopped at our bank, they washed our golf cart and gave us a free lunch!

We have only 22 days before we head home. John’s ready to go now, but our schedule for the next three weeks is packed with fun stuff.

I checked the next 10 days for Michigan and found every day on http://weather.com was shown as being cool and most were cloudy or mostly cloudy. For those same 10 days in Sun City Center the prediction is that the temps will range from 82-87 for highs with the forecast for lots of sun. Guess where I’d rather be?

When we get back to Michigan, we’ll have to get busy so our club will be ready for some performances.

I’ll be back in June for a week and a half, but John won’t return until September. I’ll miss this life-style.

Yesterday we went to Busch Gardens and saw the Fifth Dimension. It was a super show. I’d like to have gone back again, but today was their last day and we were busy doing a demo dance for the Sun City Center Funfest, a community festival.

It was fun re-hearing their many hits. The music from the mid 1960’s really brought back great memories. At the end, the whole audience stood, swaying with arms in the air singing “Let the Sunshine In.” It was a moving tribute to another era when life was easier.

Most of the time Rockin’ Rondezvous which is held every Thursday night at the South Club is the high-point of our Kings Point week. Since we’ll be heading back to Michigan soon, I’ve been looking forward to Thursday nights even more than usual but tonight’s was disappointing. The crowd was small and late to arrive. Friends were missing, and I had a head ache.

Maybe it’s because I was anticipating a great time, but it was definitely lacking it’s usual zest for us.

Tomorrow we’ll go to Busch Gardens and see the 5th Dimension. Should be a fun day.

I’m blessed with naturally thick healthy hair. But for the second time in a few months someone has asked if I wear a WIG. In fact, I’ve resorted to letting them pull my hair as hard as they can, but after they’ve run their own tests, they still seem to be doubtful.

Believe me, on my head there’s no wig. I pay good money every six weeks to have my hair cut and colored. I go to Looks Beauty Shop in Saginaw and in Sun City Center, I have been using Sue’s Salon. (I sure wouldn’t need to have someone cut my hair, if it wasn’t “growing” as natural hair grows.)

I know those who question my hair are in effect paying me a compliment, but somehow thinking that my hair appears fake is hard to take and a gentle affront. I feel that I need to prove to the doubters that I’m the real “McCoy.”

Yes, I use hair color, but in more than 60 years, I have never had a perm and my hair is healthy and extremely thick. I wear it at a moderate length, smooth, and with a sort of under curl like a page-boy. That apparently looks artificial to some people. (I cover it with hats to keep the sun from it, I don’t over shampoo and I treat it gently.)

My hair is MINE, all MINE. Not because I paid for it, but because I obtained it the old-fashioned way: I grew it out of my scalp.

If ever I decide a wig is necessary (chemo and aging sometimes require a wig) I will buy one and wear it proudly and without reservation, but for now my head of hair is my own – naturally. Please don’t think my hair isn’t a growing part of me.

Any questions?

John’s sister, Suzie, has been visiting for the past eight days. She’ll be leaving tomorrow. Most of our days have been spent at the pool. We’ve had perfect weather.

She’s been busy: a potluck, dances, Rockin’ Rondezvous last Thursday, luncheon, late night golf cart tour, and shopping.

Last night we took her and our friend, Richard, to Goodson’s Market for pressed Cuban sandwiches and strawberry shortcake. We then went to the beach at Little Harbor to watch the sunset. The photo was taken from the breaker down the beach from the Sunset Grill. The weather was flawless. We walked the beach and had a lovely evening. We came back to our place for a little wine and conversation.

Tonight we’ll top things off with a St. Patrick’s Day party at the South Club. It should be fun. Lots of beer, corn beef and cabbage, Irish music, Irish trivia, and everyone dressed in green.

Right now it’s cloudy but it’s totally dry around here so we wouldn’t mind some rain.

Today: laundry, a few house chores, and tonight the party!!!

Suzie has been a great guest.

Maybe eight hours is a tad overdoing it, but we’ve been at the pool about that long for the past couple of days. It’s been beautiful weather and we’re taking advantage of the balmy temperatures and sun.

Tonight we’re taking it easy. We’re looking forward to Tuesday’s St. Patty’s Day Party at the South Club.

John’s sister, Suzie Skaryd, (who is really cute) arrived Monday mid-day. Since she arrived, we’ve been on the go. In fact after we picked her up and had her eating at a potluck within a couple hours. We’ve shopped, gone to the pool, hit the resale shop, joined our condo association for a luncheon, viewed the manatees, gone to a lovely dance, joined some friends at the spaghetti dinner at the Elks in Ruskin, and last night attended Rockin’ Rondezvous. That’s all within five days! She’ll be here until next Wednesday (which means she’s about half through her visit).

Yesterday we were up at 4:15 a.m. At a little after 5:00 a.m. we left the condo to take my daughter, Kelly, and her friend, Dottie, to Tampa International to fly to Monterey, CA. We got her there before 6:00 so she could leave at 7:00 a.m. We came back and zoned out all day.

Our final couple of days had been as full as we could make them. Tuesday we went to the street party at Bill and Donna Markham’s and had a very nice evening. Wednesday we were at Busch Gardens all day. It was fairly warm weather and fun (but exhausting).

Getting up at 4:00 a.m. yesterday (Thursday), was tough. The rest of the day we lounged at the pool and took it easy. Last night we went to Rockin’ Rondezvous and sat at a table with Brenda & John and Sissy & Jim, four of our favorite friends. As tired as we were, it was still a great night. We got home fairly early.

Today, lots more pool time.

Kelly called to say she made it safely home to California and is fitting back into the groove of her life. She’s the daughter every parent would love to have: smart, hard-working, fun, considerate and adorable in every way. I miss her already.

I am so glad she brought her friend, Dottie, with her. Dottie is super sweet and really easy to be around. They had a grand time and so did we.

Now the house seems quiet and empty.

I’m glad Kelly loved our place and the entire Kings Point complex. It was nice to have “family” to show it to. The fact that she could so easily see why we like it, made it seem “right.” It was like she gave it her stamp of approval.

Suzie, John’s younger sister is arriving Monday for nine days. I’m sure she’ll fit right in here.

Weather is flawless. We have a busy weekend planned.

My daughter, Kelly, and her sweet friend, Dottie, have been visiting since Thursday, February 26th. We still have today and tomorrow to cram in lots of fun and memories.

We had two warm, and flawless days on Friday and Saturday so we took advantage and spent those days at the pool, but it turned cool Sunday. We’ve tried to make the most of our time despite the weather. Sunday we went to Roarin’ 20’s Pizza place in Ellenton, FL. It is a popular spot with a large theater-type pipe organ. The music was fun, the pizza super, so it was a good choice for John’s birthday. Yesterday (Monday) we went to Apollo Beach to watch the manatees in the warm water near the power plant in Tampa Bay. After a little bit of shopping we returned to the condo for a nice dinner and a movie. This afternoon we’re going to a street party/potluck at the home of some friends. It’s bound to be fun. Tomorrow, Busch Gardens.

I wish I could claim that this video was done here at Kings Point. It wasn’t, but it’s of an 80+ year old lady who is definitely inspirational. The first part is great, but the second segment is astounding.

I see some amazing people here in Florida, but I’d like to know how she does it.

I love my life! I have a great husband. I have a sweet dog. I enjoy the good life here in Florida in the winter and a equally great time in Michigan in the summer. We are worry free. Life is grand.

How can I stretch it out? Days fly past. I realize I’m on the downward slope of my lifespan. I know I’m well past the half-way mark. I want to savor every moment and take it all in. I want to put on the brakes and make time stand still – or at least let it go slowly past.

Here in Florida, time is not just rushing past, it’s at sonar speeds. Every week gains momentum. When we arrived we had three and a half months. We wondered if maybe it would be too much time down here. Now we’re looking at March which is just around the corner, and we leave in mid April. It’s just too soon.

No, it’s not our “thing” but we admire those with the talent to take the mic… even those who do a less than perfect performance.

Tonight’s lip sync was fun to watch. This afternoon we purchased tickets for the Kings Point Follies (a residents’ talent show.), There was a display of art at the main clubhouse.

All of these activities (the lip sync, the paintings and artwork, and the Follies) are examples of the zest for life that is exhibited here in Kings Point.

Temperatures were a tad cool for the pool, but it was a good day.

Last week we had some “perfect” days, weather-wise. They were flawless with blue skies, no wind, and balmy temperatures of about 78. We greedily took them in.

This week we expect a cool-off. It wasn’t bad today, but as the week goes on it’ll be cooler and by Friday, definitely COLD.

Today it got up to about 74. It was also Presidents’ Day which meant all the grandparents would be baby sitting their grand children. So we went to the pool today but we selected the smaller, quieter, Nantucket Pool. It’s a little further from our place, but they keep it several degrees warmer and they only allow children a couple hours a day.

It was blissfully quiet. We enjoyed the afternoon.

The South Club’s pool is more enchanting, but with the extra kids today, we were glad to have a sanctuary.

Tonight we’re just having a quiet evening, but every night the rest of the week we have things to do. I love it here in Kings Point.

Another rockin’ time at the South Club in Kings Point, Sun City Center. Maybe you were there and can spot yourself. I try to capture everyone having fun.

We’ve been enjoying fresh grapefruit and I believe I over-did it yesterday. I had several during the day and one last night. When I ate it, I could tell it didn’t set well. I’m not feeling up to par today but hopefully after lunch, I’ll do better.

Tonight’s a Rockin Rondezvous and it’s always lots of fun. Gotta get feeling better.

Maybe you were there, maybe you missed it. It was a typical “Rockin’ Rondezvous” the Thursday night gathering at the South Club at Kings Point, Sun City Center, FL. It’s a fun way to meet other Kings Point folks and stay in touch with those you already know.

Yesterday we went to Venice to Snook Haven (a riverside restaurant and resort) where we combined with about 40 other musicians to entertain a nice audience. It was a tad chilly (probably 60-65). We had our friends, Wayne and Linda, follow us back to our condo where we all “warmed up.” Last night we had lively conversation late into the evening, but today we made music. By early afternoon I suggested that we take the golf cart and see what “ourside” felt like.

We went over to the pool (not to sun bathe, but to check it out). We found that it was crowded and warm. We drove around a bit more. After about an hour outside, we came back and played a little more music, then had a lovely dinner.

It was a nice weekend.

Tomorrow it’s going to be mid-70’s and even warmer toward the middle of the week. I’m so ready for some pool days!

The temperature today wasn’t hot. But folks at the pool seemed to be enjoying the sun. Tomorrow I plan to be there!

It’s been so cold since we got down here, that we’ve barely ventured “out.” Last night we had a fun time with friends at the South Clubhouse. It was like we all emerged from our hiding places. The event was Rockin’ Rondezvous which means conversation, dancing, food, and liberal libation.

Tomorrow a.m. we’re heading to Venice (Snook Haven) to play music with lots of other “snowbirds.” We attended last year and it’s a lovely place. We will be playing outdoors. It is supposed warm up into the mid-70’s by late afternoon, but when we start playiing (11:00 a.m.), it will be a tad chilly (65).

Our friends, Wayne and Linda Conklin, are down here too (in Sarasota.) The plan is that they will follow us back to our condo. We’ll make a little music and they’ll stay over night. Maybe we can head to the pool on Sunday. (It’s supposed to be about 77.)

So if the weather warms, it sounds like a fun weekend.

We sure had a fun time watching the Super Bowl thanks to Brenda Wiley and John Berbard. They hosted a Bowl party last night which featured nice people and great food.

We bought a few chances on John’s “pool” which was very affordable at 50 cents per square with quarterly and final score winners ($5, $10, $5, and $30). Funny thing was that our hosts each won one of the quarterly scores. We teased them about how it must have been rigged, but it was a “blind” board meaning no one knew what order the scores would be assigned until the whole board was sold and the numbers were added by drawing cards. Therefore it was totally fair and luck of the draw.

Here’s Brenda holding up her “big money” ($5) for having the first quarter score.

Last time I wrote it was Thursday and we’d just nicely hit the road on our “return trip” back to Florida.

We experienced lousy conditions in Ohio. One massive traffic jam was caused by the roll-over of a vehicle which was pulling an RV.

As we got into Kentucky, it was obvious that the ice storm which had blanketed the area Tuesday was even worse than we’d imagined. The trees were still ice-covered and badly damaged. We saw dozens of abandoned cars off on the shoulder of the road. Power was still out in much of Kentucky.

All day we saw lots of acidents where cars had slid into each other and one car went into the median while the other went off the other side of the road.

As we approached Knoxville, there was another major traffic jam. We found out later it was because of a bad accident.

We finally got to our room in Knoxville about 7:30, enjoyed a good dinner prepared in the microwave in our room, and relaxed.

Friday we took off early. Again we ran into a third traffic jam where everything ground to a halt. This time a car had hit some guard rails as it spun into the median and it was totally burned out!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We got to our condo at about 7:00. It has been chilly here in Florida, but we’re settling in.

Last night we went to a lovely dinner dance put on by the Michigan Club. It was a class act. The huge room was made cozy and lovely with dozens of large plants and palms around the room. The wonderful dinner was cornish hens. We sat with Mary & Ron, Terry & Robbin, and some of their friends. It was a nice evening.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. At 4:00 we’re going to a party at Brenda and John’s. Should be fun with lots of food, and “the game.”

Since I haven’t unpacked yet, I should get busy.

After two days of delays because of the weather, this morning at 7:00 we finally left home to head south to Florida. We’re now over two hours into our trip south. Roads are clear and traffic moderate. It’s a balmy 19 degrees. We should arrive in Kings Point about 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

I’m able to go on line, but the connection speed is less than snail’s pace. Nevertheless it’ll keep me busy.