We leave for home two weeks for today. There’s a lot to do before we head back.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, from some standpoints, I am ready to go home. We’ll miss our Florida friends, the activities, and the lifestyle, but we have some up-north responsibilities that are nagging at us.

We realize our 20+ year old home in Michigan needs up-dating (floors, counters, paint, and a replacement roof). Our place is lovely from many standpoints, but when I think of what we are looking for in a Kings Point condo, we realize our place in Michigan needs some of those upgrades. So I’m getting itchy to get going on some of the projects that I envision.

Today we went strawberry picking on the other side of Wimama. Strawberries were beautiful, and we couldn’t believe the price: 25 cents a quart (for you-pick). We picked ten quarts. Now we need to do something with them.

We spent time at the pool this afternoon and saw many of our favorite friends. The water temperature was perfect! Tonight I was with Mom (who was a little better).

It was a perfect day.

Three posts ago, I added Sue Sussman’s video of “Middle-Aged Woman.”

Last night a “comment” about the video was posted to the youtube site which is where the video of Sue’s performance is actually “stored.” (Most of us don’t have the tools on our websites to provide videos without youtube or a similar service. You can view Sue’s video from youtube or my blog.)

The comment was from Sue’s granddaughter.

She said, “cant believe my grandma’s on youtube. you go grandma.”

What a way to bridge the generations!!

When my mother was well and lived in Sun City Center, she would call me and complain about all the snowbirds who flocked to the South during “the season.” She’d whine about the lines in restaurants, the lack of parking places, and other inconveniences. I was never very understanding. Now that we’re here and in the midst of that time of the year, I understand why my mom complained.

This week it has been so crowded at the South Club pool that, even going early didn’t assure that we had a place to sit. The parking lot has been jammed, folks wander around looking for a seat, and when one is vacated there’s a mad dash by the masses. Today we finally admitted to ourselves that the guests have crowded us out.

After we ate lunch at the Friday South Club “pool party,” we went to the North Clubhouse pool. The water was considerably cooler and it’s not nearly as pretty, but we had lots of space and quiet. It was heavenly. We will probably go back there this weekend.

We have heard that a lot of folks rent places for the first three months of the year, so next Tuesday (April 1st) many of them will probably be gone. I’ll be looking forward to going back to the South Club but it’s not fun to have to jockey for a place to relax.

I haven’t added to my blog since Saturday (the day before Easter) and here it is Thursday. Admittedly stuff has been piling up.

Let’s see — what has been happening?

I’ve spent a lot of time with Mom. She’s not doing very well. With my mother’s alzheimers, one of her major health issues had been loss of weight. For at least three or four years, getting her to eat had been a chore. She didn’t want anything except sweets. About six months ago, her doctor found the right appetite stimulant and suddenly she was hungry. She’d eat everything put in front of her. It was such a refreshing change that the staff just kept giving her more and she packed on more than 20 pounds.

Last month, the doctor felt she was gaining too much weight so he took her off the medication. Without the stimulant, she doesn’t seem to remember how to chew and swallow. Again it’s really work to get her to eat anything. After a few calls to her physician, we have her back on the medication. We hope she’ll respond to it again. She is developing other health issues (swelling of her legs and feet, fixed stares, etc.) It is possible that these symptoms are not related to the dietary issues, but it’s coincidental that this all happened at the same time. She seems to be slipping away.

After Busch Gardens on Friday (Good Friday), we had a cool and rainy Saturday, and cool Easter Sunday.

Lots of routine stuff took our time earlier this week: John had our vehicle and our golf cart serviced, golf cart inspected, I sold some instruments on my dulcimers.biz website, normal stuff like laundry and house cleaning. I also had to straighten out an error by our credit card company. They took a payment for the full balance of our credit card, which was a larger than our normal balance, out of both our credit union and our bank so they were double paid! As a result, we had a credit coming of over a thousand dollars!! Don’t know how you would feel about that, but I’d rather have the money in my account earning interest for me rather than in my credit card company’s hands. I had to get them to reverse the payment from the bank account. It’s all fixed now.

The cool weather continued through Monday and Tuesday, but yesterday (Wednesday) and today have been warm and wonderful. We were at the South Club pool both days. It looks like many families are together because of the Easter holiday. It’s been crowded, so finding a lounge chair on the pool deck has been difficult, but we managed.

Wednesday was especially busy. We spent a couple of hours at the pool and Wednesday night we went to the Elks Club in Ruskin and joined a big table-full of friends. Great spaghetti and friendships.

I also had a “wardrobe malfunction” at the pool. It seems my favorite swimsuit decided to deteriorate on me. Yup, it became see-through on the backside. Chlorine does that to some fabrics. I had been really careful too. I always hand wash my suits after I get home, but it still happened.. I was oblivious to the problem until a friend (Nancy) quietly mentioned to me that the rear of my suit was transparent and I was able to cover myself with a towel. It’s now in the trash. (And I realllllly liked that one too.) (Ladies, this is a warning. Hold them up to the light before you go out in public and make sure they haven’t become see-through.)

Tonight was karaoke night at Rockin’ Rendezvous. Kings Point has lots of talented folks. We enjoyed them. One singer did “Proud to be an American.” By the end, everyone was on their feet, singing in unison. It was really moving and felt good!

We have less than three weeks left before we’ll be heading back to Michigan. Days like today make us aware of why it’s so much fun down here! We had perfect pool temperatures, wonderful weather, a good time with friends tonight. Couldn’t have been any better.

Later I’ll post some photos of tonight.

On March 13th, Rockin’ Rondezvous featured a lip sync contest which I mentioned about five or six postings ago. Sue was the hit of the evening with her rendition of “Middle-Aged Woman.” I included the lyrics in that earlier posting about the evening so after you watch the video, you can scroll down to catch any words you may have missed:

We thought we’d beat the Easter Weekend crowd by going to Busch Gardens on Friday. Well, we were wrong! Traffic heading to the park was horrid. Once we got to the park, although it was more crowded than we’ve seen before, they can accommodate the masses, so it wasn’t too bad.

John and I saw the Irish Thunder show again and this time we had the best seats in the house (center front row). We also got great seats for the Herman’s Hermits show with Peter Noone (4th row center).

Peter and the group really got the crowd going. It was amazing to see the huge audience singing “I’m Henry the 8th I am” with gusto. Their music may be more than 40 years old, but they still have a following.

Here’s a small clip from the show:

We also went to the Budweiser Brewmaster Club presentation which was an interesting and enjoyable visit. We’d recommend. (Wish they didn’t make you wait 30 days to return. We plan to revisit to Busch Gardens in April for Charo, but that’ll probably be April 4th which is only a couple weeks from now.)

The traffic on the return trip home discouraged us from a shopping trip to Brandon which we’d planned to include in our day. Oh, well.. it was a fun full day.

Today we finally got our 813 area code phone number. Our new number is 813-944-3129. Any of the folks we’ve met here in Sun City Center can now call us as a “local” call. We need to inform Mom’s facility, accountant, vet, etc.

Now that we have Vonage service and we’ve been fully transferred to them, let’s hope it works as advertised!

Tomorrow we’re heading back to Busch Gardens – our second visit this year. We’ll get to see Herman’s Hermits and take in the wonderful park. Should be a beautiful day! Not too hot and since it’s Good Friday, we think it’ll be less crowded.

Tonight we were invited to a street party on Inverness Greens Drive here in Kings Point. Bill and Donna Markland and Bob and Sue Bemis hosted it. It was billed as “A Night With Elvis” and sure enough “The King” was there. It was a fun time, with music, food, dancing, and lots and lots of friendly people. We estimated the crowd to be about 150-200 folks. Everyone had a fun time.

After the party, a local realtor, Pam Reno, gave us a tour of the condo next to the Markland’s. It was lovely and is definitely on our short list especially with such great neighbors!

On our way home, John and I also stopped at Sifield Greens Drive where we learned quite a bit about some vacant units from couple who lived next to the units. We were even invited in to see their place which had a perfect view.

The pool has been heavenly for the past three days. Today it was a tad windy, but the water and air temperatures were perfect. 75-85 degree temps are predicted every day for the next ten days.

We have less than a month left before we head back to Michigan. We’re going to savor every remaining day!

Tonight, after dark, we went back to the South Club pool. We’d enjoyed near perfect water and air temperatures all afternoon and it was just as enjoyable this evening. It was nearly empty. There were a few party people in and near the hot tub but the scene was lovely and tranquil. We didn’t get home until after 9:00.

The only minor problem were some flying insects (sorta like locusts).

They weren’t so bad that they broke the mood. We loved the evening.

Susan Sussman did the cutest “lip sync” at the Rockin Rondezvous contest night. She was a hands down winner!!!

You’d have loved it.

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The lyrics:

I’M A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN

I’M A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, AND I’M REALLY IN MY PRIME
I’M A MIDDLE-AGED BROAD, AND I’M LOOKING MIGHTY FINE
MATURE AND SEXY, HEALTHY AND FIT
NICE AND RIPE, AND I CAN’T REMEMBER SHIT

I’M IRRITABLE AND CRABBY, AND MY MOOD IS ON THE SWING- YES, IT IS
MY CYCLES ARE IRREGULAR, AND MY UNDERWEAR CLINGS
MY THERMOSTAT HAS REALLY GONE AWRY
I’M SWEATING LIKE A PIG, WHILE MY CHA CHA IS TOTALLY DRY

OOOHHH, I’M WORKING ON A HOT FLASH
YEAH, I’M ON THE VERGE
BUILDING UP STEAM FOR A POWER SURGE

HOT FLASH
NOW MY FACE IS RED
LOOKING FOR A TOWEL TO MOP MY HEAD

HOT FLASH
OOH, IT COMES ON QUICK
MY CLOTHES ARE DRIPPIN’ AND MY SKIN IS SLICK
(PANT PANT PANT) IS IT WARM IN HERE?
(PANT PANT PANT) IS IT HOT IN HERE?

HOT FLASH
AT THE GROCERY STORE
JAMMIN’ MY HEAD IN THE FREEZER DOOR

HOT FLASH
200 DEGREES… (spoken) WHAT ARE YOU LOOKIN’ AT?

I’M PERIMENOPAUSAL, AND I CAN’T REMEMBER SQUAT
THERE’S A RINGING IN MY EARS, AND I TEND TO FART A LOT
A 5 O’CLOCK SHADOW WASN’T IN MY PLANS
EVERYTIME I SNEEZE, I FRICKING PEE MY PANTS

I CAN’T SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT, MY LIBIDO’S OUT OF WHACK
I’VE GOT BIFOCAL CONTACTS, AND I’M SWEATING MORE THAN SHAQ
I’M FEELING REALLY ANXIOUS, MAYBE I COULD SCORE SOME CRACK
OR DRINK SOME BLACK COHOSH TEA (bleah, ick)

I’M A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, I SUDDENLY DON’T REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE
I MUST BE A MUSICIAN, BECAUSE I’M PLAYING A GUITAR
YES, I’M MIDDLE-AGED, HERE ON THIS STAGE
I’M MIDDLE-AGED, COMPLETELY CRAZED
I’M A MIDDLE-AGED….
(DON’T MESS WITH MY SOCIAL SECURITY!)
MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN!

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The person who wrote it (I believe her name is Lisa Koch) really did a great job poking fun at conditions all mature women relate to. Sue’s rendition was awesome.

The evening was a mixture of fun and so-so time.

One thing really upset us was that, for the first hour of the evening, there were several tiny kids (2-4 years old) on the dance floor and to me that’s totally inappropriate in an adult drinking setting. If a child gets hurt by being bumped by someone who can’t see them at knee level, who will be sued? Is it appropriate for tiny toddlers to be subjected to adults in a drinking setting? Twice I saw adults walking across the room carrying a tray of drinks and a near miss occurred. The tiny kids were obscured by the tray and didn’t pay any attention to the adults.

The seating was also at a real premium. Although they aren’t supposed to, folks saved seats all over the place. We arrived early and found our places, but it was a mess because by the time the event was scheduled to start (at 4:00), all seats were taken. As folks arrived, they didn’t appreciate finding 3/4’s of the chairs reserved for folks who hadn’t arrived yet.

We were in the midst of folks we didn’t know at all. They were very nice, but it wasn’t as much fun as last week.

When the lip sync contest started, it didn’t matter who we were sitting by. We all enjoyed the efforts of the four acts.

We left as soon as it was over.

We have so much that we want to cram in before we head back home.

This Saturday, Sun City Center will have “Funfest” which is a total community involved festival. We’ll be part of a dance demo which will be put on by Bernice and Art May, the folks who provide us with our dance lessons. It’s just two short dances, so very easy.

We want to go to Busch Gardens.

We have a dinner to attend Saturday and a party on Monday. (Guess that leaves Sunday for Busch Gardens.)

We have looked over the bus trips that we could take before we leave for home on April 15th. We have one in mind on April 4th, but it’s hard to commit to a day away from Kings Point when we could kick ourselves because the pool here is so lovely.

We want to take in all of the Thursday Rockin’ Rendezvous, and I want to be with Mom for her evening meals. There are dance lessons, Friday Pool Parties, get togethers, meetings, dances, parties, etc. It’s hard to crowd it all in.

This whole phone transfer business has tested our patience. We are FINALLY scheduled to be completely moved to Vonage VoIP telephone service on Thursday, March 20th. The process was delayed and our regular phone number wasn’t operational for about two weeks. But at least Vonage has given us a month’s credit for our trouble. We were able to get Speednet to restore our old phone service until Vonage takes over. I don’t know who to blame for the problems we’ve had but there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m anxious because, once we have our regular phone number transferred to Vonage, I’ll subscribe to a second “virtual number” here in the Florida (813 area code) so folks down here can call us with a local number. We should be able to receive both our 989 and our 813 phone numbers seamlessly on the same phone. It’s not really “forwarding” but it’ll work that way.

I LOVE techie stuff. Can’t wait to be able to play with all the features which will be available to us. Waiting until the 20th will be a test of my patience but at least folks can reach us on our regular number now.

Last night we went to a Kings Point Ballroom Dance Club dance at the main clubhouse. It was a nice evening. We sat with enjoyable folks, the music was good, and we had fun dancing a lot. I wore a dressy dress (the one I wore New Year’s Eve) and John looked great. It was fun!

Today from 12:45-1:45 we are taking a swing dance lesson and it’ll be warm enough for the pool when we finish. Tonight there are spaghetti dinners at the Ruskin Moose and Elks Clubs – maybe we can go.

In addition to our phone problems this week, we also had electrical problems with our golf cart, but John was able to fix it.

Life is good!!

Back on February 16th we attend some real estate open houses of residences that are for sale here in Kings Point. Last night we got a call from a Keller Williams realtor.who informed us that we’d won a $50 gift card. We’d signed up for the drawing at the condos we toured. Obviously it’s not the lottery, but we’ll enjoy spending it.

Kings Point has dozens (actually hundreds) of homes/condos for sale, but there’s a “no sign” rule so it’s hard to discover which ones are available. Keller Williams uses a small inconspicuous placard that has been deemed “acceptable.” It’s actually hard to spot, but hopefully it will be adopted by all realtors.

We’ve found that word-of-mouth is probably the best way to learn about available units, but even neighbors aren’t always aware when a place goes on the market.

We already have the condo where Mom and her husband lived so now isn’t the time for us to buy. We will have free use of this place until Mom is gone. We’d be stupid to take on the expenses associated with a second condo, especially since prices are still going down, but it’s tempting because there are so many available and there are deals to be had. We’re keeping out eyes open and making a list of the ones we prefer. If/when something happens to Mom, I hope we’ll be able to find the perfect place. (Notice I said “I” because John’s not totally convinced that we want a place down here.)

The past weekend was chilly (60-70) but today it’ll warm up to about 75 and by next weekend it’ll be about 80-85!

Still no phone service. It looks like Speednet hasn’t released our number so it can be moved to Vonage.

We were invited to play for an outdoor BBQ at the Episcopal Church and really looked forward to it. We had a polished list of 32 of our favorite tunes ready to go. I don’t know about John, but I felt really good about how we sounded and was sure we’d do a great job and leave a great impression. I could see all kinds of opportunities coming our way because the hammered dulcimer is so unknown around here. It would have been a good way to display the instruments.

When it came to our performance, the best way to describe it was “blown away!” We arrived about 1:40 for our 2:00 performance but the winds were so strong that they recommended that we should forget about it. We hung around until about 2:30 and had to agree that there was no way we could play. It was about 62 degrees out and the winds were gusting to about 35 mph. (Flags were straight out which is an indication of high winds.)

Graciously they still give us a BBQ’ed pork dinner which we’ll enjoy tonight. (We tried refusing but they insisted and it was obvious that the crowd would be down from what they’d planned so we thanked them and accepted their offer.)

They’d decided that sound equipment wasn’t workable in the wind because the mics would just pick up wind noise, so they’d put away the amplification.

There was a band playing when when we arrived — all horns and a drum. They were good. But with the wind, even their sound died out 25 feet from where they were playing.

We didn’t even try it. John’s hammers would have ended up in the next county and we’d have been playing for ourselves because no one could have heard us. The tent was empty. No one stayed to eat there because it was so cold and windy. We were relieved that they didn’t insist because the situation wasn’t good, but I’m disappointed. We were ready and we would have blown them away, instead we were.

Our phone problems will (hopefully) soon be resolved. We have the Vonage phone service now, but we’re using a temporary number because our Saginaw (989-781-0849) number hasn’t been “ported” (transferred) yet. Once it’s working, I can set up an 813 number so people down here can call us as a local call.

It’s been a busy week.

Last time I wrote was a week ago.

Saturday, the 1st, was John’s 70th birthday. We went to “Little Harbor” for lunch and sunset. It was cool but lovely. We left about 6:40 p.m. so we could make it to “The Follies,” a big production put on by residents of Kings Point. It was a fun show, a tad long, but enjoyable. Dancers, vocals, more dancers, cloggers, all performed. No hammered dulcimers or other instruments. (Only instrument was a guitar.)

Tuesday, the 4th, we drove down to Sarasota where we had a lovely dinner with our friends, Wayne and Linda Conklin. The food was grand, the conversation lively, the friends “the best,” and the wine super. For me it was a great 66th birthday!

Wednesday we took a Romance Riverboat Cruise down the St. John’s River leaving from Sanford, FL. It was a fairly long bus ride, but the scenery and meal made it worthwhile. Yup, the food was fantastic (prime rib). We were back by 4:45, just in time for me to be with Mom for dinner.

Thursday (yesterday) we were busy. I spent a couple of hours in the beauty shop having my hair done and had to apply for our annual Kings Point badge. With our situation being fairly unique, it takes forever to fill out the paper work.

We went to Rockin’ Rendezvous last night and had a fun time. We sat with (cute) Brenda and John, who we are getting to know. They’re dern nice folks. We’ve watched them across the room and I’ve always commented that she looks like she’s having so much fun. This time we were part of it.

Tomorrow, Saturday, the two of us are going to perform for a picnic/BBQ at the Episcopal Church. It should be a fun, informal play. It’ll be our first real performance down here.

Last night we had an ok time at Rockin Rendezvous at the South Club. It was a karaoke night so we enjoyed watching folks do their thing. It was a cool night as we drove back, but I stopped and took a photo of the lovely scene.

Today it’s warmed up a bit and over the weekend it’s going to be into the 80’s.

We finally had our phone service restored, but we’ve already decided to leave Speednet and go with Vonage. It’ll still be a VoIP (voice over internet phone) but Vonage has lots of extra features and is a little cheaper. This past week has showed us how vulnerable we are with Speednet’s phone service. At least with Vonage, we can do a lot from the internet such as: turn off voice mail, check messages, see who has called, change our phone to forward to our cell phone, have 911 service, and for less than $5 monthly get a second “virtual” phone for this area code so folks can reach us here without calling long-distance. It took me all morning to get everything straightened out and get it set up.

It’ll take up to 10 days to move our regular Saginaw phone number to this number, but in the meanwhile, we’ll be able to use the phone through Speednet. We’re looking forward to those extra features.

If anyone is trying to reach us by phone, they’re going to get our voice mail.

We use a voice over internet phone (VoIP) which requires a special “box” plugged into our high speed internet. It works both in Michigan and here in Florida so the same phone number rings no matter where we are. We really like being able to answer Saginaw calls seamlessly. It’s much cheaper than cellphone service and allows us to have a couple of “house phones.” Unfortunately yesterday our phone system “went out” and we can’t receive or place calls.

Therefore if you try to phone us, you’ll go to voice mail. Speednet (our Michigan internet service) has told us they are working on the problem.

Today it’s very windy and cool so we won’t be doing anything outside. I had planned to do some telephoning. Need to make some appointments and it would be a good time to talk to friends. Unfortunately it’s not possible.

Oh, well, there’s lots to keep me busy and no excuses. The condo needs cleaning. I also need to do laundry, organization, sewing, filing, and lots of stuff I’ve been putting off. I’m also way behind with the stuff I need to do for the Evart dulcimer festival. This afternoon we take our next foxtrot dance lesson.

So, if you leave a voice mail message, be aware that we won’t get it until Speednet’s system problems are resolved.

What’d we do this week? Don’t know where the time went… the days flew by, and we were busy every day!

The high points included: pool on Monday (see my previous post of that day); the raffle for bus seats on Wednesday (we’ll be taking a river boat cruise on March 5th); a dance lesson Wednesday; Rockin’ Rendezvous at the South Club and a “Family Night party” with my mother at her facility (Courtyards at Aston Gardens) on Thursday; Friday bus trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa, the huge annual Garage Sale held at Kings Point Friday and Saturday, and more time at the pool yesterday (Saturday) until we were rained out. Today we’ll go to dance practice and shopping.

Friday at Busch Gardens was a great day! Perfect weather, great shows, and lovely grounds with flowers that were breath-taking.

We purchased two-year passes so we can return frequently. It was physically exhausting to try to take in as much as we did (we’re out of shape) but would have been even worse, if we didn’t know that we can go back and catch what we missed.

The shows we saw included Irish Thunder, a talented Celtic group with dancers, singing and fiddling; two musical shows, one vocal and one instrumental; a honky tonk piano player; and a great animal show which featured cats, dogs, birds, pigs, and even a skunk.

I loved the flamingos. They were incredibly colorful.

And we were both mesmerized by the primates, especially the gorillas.
Sometimes it felt like we were the captives and they were enjoying us.

We will make it back at least once in March. We’re looking forward to it!

Yesterday was way tooooooooooo crowded with a gazillion grand KIDS at the KP South Club pool. We struggled to find a lounge chair and then fought the kids constantly. Guess it had something to do with today being Presidents’ Day and the fact that kids had a three-day weekend. We were so frazzled from avoiding them, that we were ready to just skip the pool for the rest of the season. They splashed us (intentionally), dove in (barely missing me), cannonball jumped in (with wild splashing), and were total nuisances. But we found that kids are “fair weather friends.” Today was cloudy and threatening but we headed that direction shortly after noon. It was fairly empty and as the clouds moved in, more folks left. But just before the rain, it was heavenly to have a tranquil pool where we could converse with friends and float around unimpeded. Tomorrow the temps will be even cooler (probably too cool for us although John is saying “maybe”) but by Wednesday it should quite warm again. (Pssss — Please don’t tell the kids!)

The whole day was perfect.

We hit “the sale” which is the fund-raising re-sale shop in downtown Sun City Center early today. I found a whole cache of paperbacks (25 cents each or 5 for $1). I bought 10 for $2. I then discovered a pair of cute new stretchy white knee-length shorts and some other stuff. I spent a total of $3 more. John got a couple of items for less than $4. We were both totally satisfied. Then we headed to Wal-mart. Shampoo and a few other items were on our shopping list. After a stop at Taco Bell, we were home by 12:30.

This afternoon, starting at 1:00 there were open houses of condos for sale in Kings Point. We attended about six of the open houses and enjoyed seeing what was available but viewing that many in a short time blurs their distinction. Princeton Greens Court seems to be our favorite area. We found one we like there which we added to our “wish list” which includes one we already viewed on that street and an adjacent one we know is available. We really like that association. We’ll keep watching what’s available.

We got to the pool about 2:30.

The South Club pool was unbelievably crowded but perfect. The temperature couldn’t have been better. After struggling to find a lounge chair (which is your oasis amid Kings Point residents), we floated around on noodles*, chatting with KP friends. At about 4:15, I mentioned to John that I should get back to the condo to change, so we left.

I was visiting with Mom by 4:45. At 5:50, I was heading back home to have dinner with John.

A busy, perfect day. Tomorrow I hope for the same.

Weather was flawless. Friendships perfect. Lots to do. What more could we ask for?

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* Noodles are the foam tubes we all use to enjoy the pool. Most folks use a style that is about 2.5″ in diameter but we have two monster tubes about 4″ in diameter. Everyone has a noodle or two. We have four but need to replace one of our small diameter ones. It’s lost it’s ability to keep it’s shape. Nothing more disappointing than a floppy noodle when you want to stay afloat in the pool.

John and I attended a Michigan Club pizza party the other day. The entertainment for the evening was a men’s chorus from here in Sun City Center, Florida.

When the group took the stage, John and I looked at each other and said, “Morrie?”

Yup, there in the second row was a fellow who looked just like our Evart festival friend, Morrie Holloway, who is the sound man for our huge summer dulcimer event.

Here are photos of the two guys and I’m sure you can see the resemblance. Which one is the real Morrie?

Give up? That’s our Michigan Morrie on the left and even Morrie said, “WOW! He really looks like me.”

I wear hard contacts and have for years. The ones I wear now are “state of the art breathable bifocals” but still hard lenses. I love them and see wonderfully well.

Today I put my lenses in and my right eye started tearing. I took it out, cleaned it again but it kept irritating my right eye. It was awful. John was anxious to get going, so I finally toughed it out and put it in and we left the condo. My eye was a mess by then, but I was able to see pretty good. Nevertheless it wasn’t comfortable.

We were gone a couple of hours and it was getting worse and worse. Finally, while we were grocery shopping, I popped it out and saw a hairline crack on the edge of the lens. I could feel it with my fingernail, but I kept thinking it was probably some eye grunge.

When we got home, I quickly removed that right lens. I was trying to feel if it really had a crack and the lens fell a part in two pieces! Guess there’s no doubt it was breaking.

I consider myself lucky. What if it had broken in my eye? I don’t know how I’d have gotten the pieces out without hurting my eye.

Thank heavens I have some old ones with me and I can get by until a new one can be made and sent to me.

I can get by. I actually was relieved to put the old ones in. At least they didn’t hurt like the one that was breaking did. I can’t see as good, but I can manage.

But if I’d had those two pieces of broken lens in my eye, it sure would have been rough getting them out. I don’t know how they would have been able to be popped out.

Anyway that was my today excitement. It’s been cool and cloudy. Not nice as it has been. It rained part of the day but tomorrow it’ll be better and by mid week we should be back in the low 80’s.

I just realized, I haven’t posted since we found out that our sweet dog, Willow, (a 5 1/2 pound long-coat chihuahua) has a heart problem. It’s cost us a fortune to have her diagnosed and get the medications, but she seems to be doing better. We found out Tuesday, she has a bad heart valve so some of the blood is going the wrong way and filling up her chest cavity. Her heart’s enlarged and she coughs a lot because it’s causing fluid to build up in her lungs. (Her coughing keeps us awake most of the night. It’s been awfully hard on everyone.)

Hopefully we can get her condition under control and she’ll do ok. She’s now nearly 12 years old. Hopefully we can give her a few more good years. (The vet said he often has dogs with this problem who have survive in good health for 4 to 6 additional years.) The vet here is wonderful. We are fortunate to have even better vets down here than at home. We found a veterinary hospital nearby a year and a half ago when Willow got “bruised” (she walked under John’s feet in the kitchen).

The vet has been really attentive with this heart problem. He said it’s very common with small dogs. He’s called us at home several times to talk over what he’s found out. We’re not used to such excellent service from our veternarians. It’s not cheap but they are really good and we trust them.

I just updated my video taken the South Club Pool. Originally I put it on Youtube in November, but I’ve replaced that one with one taken yesterday (February 3rd). It was busy yesterday and a lot more “typical” of what goes on at the pool. I’ll be adding some other videos to this blog area. Watch for them.

Check it out.

Yesterday we enjoyed the company of nice folks in a lovely setting at the Venice jam session. The music was so-so which is sometimes what happens when folks play together for the first time. The place was beautiful. Unfortunately hearing each other was tough and sometimes you could only hear someone playing with a beat all their own. But we’re glad we went.

Above is a photo of the gathering. You can see John and me to the far left. John’s next to the lady with the red shirt and white hair, and I’m next to him. Our good friends, the Conklins, also attended. It’s always fun to be with them.

Another great week.

We had two or three days of “pool worthy” weather so we took advantage of it. Saw the Temptations Tuesday night (quite disappointing) and had a typical fun time at Rockin’ Rondevous on Thursday.

The Rockin’ Rondevous crowd is always fun. There’s cute Sue, adorable Brenda, and good friends Jim & Sissy. The whole bunch is animated and enjoyable to be around. Everyone seems content with where they are in life.

The crowd is broken into two bunches: the inside “dancing” crowd, and the outside “chatting” folks. Normally we’re inside, but the rest rooms are close to the outside folks, so we always get that far and spend the next half hour laughing and enjoying the company of Pat & Paul, Peg (I and II), and lots of others. (You always have to allow time for these conversations.)

This next week it’s supposed to be in the low 80’s!!! Sunshine, here we come!!

As I write this, we’re heading south on I-75 on our way to Venice. There’s a music jamboree at a restaurant called “Snook Haven.” We’re supposed to meet up with some Michigan folks. Should be a good time. It’s been so long since I’ve played that I’m sure I’ll feel rusty. Down here in Florida our music definitely takes a lower place among our priorities.

Willow (our cute little chihuahua) hasn’t been feeling well. She kept us up most of the night coughing. We hated to leave her, but she seemed fine this a.m. I’m sure we’ll cut our day slightly shorter than we’d originally planned so we can get back to her. That might allow me to be with Mom for her dinner this evening too.

I’ve been trying to fulfill my commitment to create three websites for a Michigan music group (Sonas). They hired me to do a main site for them (SonasMusic.com) with two sub-sites. I’m still working on one of the sub-sites, but this weekend I should finish it up. That’ll be a relief.

I also need to get busy organizing the workshops for the huge Evart Funfest. I’m way behind but having too much fun to think much about that commitment.

We’re nearly to Venice. I’ll write more later and I’ll include some photos from Rockin’ Rondevous. There are some attractive folks who are fun to photograph.

Half of today was spent with my mother in the outpatient facility at the local hospital. She needed an ultrasound test so I accompanied her.

All went smoothly although I don’t have the results of the test.

I picked her up at about 8:30 and we rode her facility’s bus to the outpatient center. We had quite a wait.

I noticed she was looking at me closely and I asked her if anything was wrong. She said “no” but I asked if maybe she’d like to fix my hair for me. She took my comb and fussed with my hair like I was a child. Mom doesn’t remember a lot, but those old memories are sometimes there. It felt good to let her be my mother. Our relationship is obviously reversed, but for that moment, I was her little girl again.

It was interesting. The place was packed with loyal supporters. It was much better organized than what I witnessed back about 25 years ago when Jimmy Carter was running for re-election and visited Saginaw Valley State University (where I worked). Back then, we were given the day off. It was a mad house. People pushing and shoving. Security this time as much better.

I’ve been asked how McCain looked (older? younger?) I’d say he looked exactly as I’d seen him on TV. He was a good speaker. His answers were concise and impressive.

We have been really busy.

I wrote the following on Tuesday (the 22nd), but somehow it didn’t show up on the blog. It’s now Thursday.

When you read what I wrote, please consider that it was posted Tuesday. It’ll then make sense.

I said. . . .

We just got back from the pool. John dropped me off so I could change my clothes and he scooted to the grocery store. He’s getting the food for dinner and when he gets back I’m taking off to go see Mom. He’ll fix dinner while I’m gone so we can eat fairly early.

Today was beautiful and warm (about 75). It had been too cool for the pool. The warm up today was really welcome.

We have been so busy it’s unbelievable. We go to dance lessons or dance practice two or three times a week, we’ve had dinners, dances, and gatherings.

Wednesday nights it’s Spaghetti night at the Elks Club so tomorrow night we’re going to be at the Elks Club with Dale and Trudy (neighbors) and some friends of theirs. Thursday nights are the most fun here because it’s Rockin’ Rondevous at the South Clubhouse. Friday noon there’s a pool party and Friday nights are fish fry nights.

We now belong to the entertainment club known as the Pelican Players and last October we joined the Michigan Club.

We have attended Kings Point Dance Club Dances and we’re on their waiting list to become a member of the KP Dance Club. We also attend some Baby Boomer Club and Golden Oldies Club events but we don’t really belong to those groups yet. It’s easier to just play a couple dollars more for a non-member admission fee to an event than pay $40 or so for an annual membership since so far we haven’t been able to attend that many events.

Last Wednesday when we went to the “raffle drawing” for the seats on the bus trips. The drawing was a huge, well-organized event. Everyone put their resident badges in a barrel (couples put theirs together so when one was drawn they both were.) All of the badges were drawn out one by one and announced. We were drawn early and we chose to go to Busch Gardens on February 22nd. Kings Point only provides you with the bus trip. The admission is extra. We’re buying an “annual” admission so we can go back every month or so on our own without paying again.

We are also on the waiting list for another trip on February 2nd to a craft fair in Sarasota.

I love it down here.

Our neighbors here on Fallow Court petitioned all of the condo owners in this association .. As a result, they changed our association’s rule about “no pets” in part because of our dog Willow. The rule change now makes Willow a legal resident!

We’ve been here for a little over two weeks. We’ve gone through several temperature extremes and this week the prediction is for cool temps for at least a week. (Darn!) We had beautiful days for the first few days, then for or five days of cool, followed by several days of lovely, and here comes the cool again. By cool, I mean it’ll be in the 60’s… certainly not pool weather.

I guess it’s to be expected since January is Florida’s coolest weather. February it should start warming up. We’ll be here until April so we can afford to waste a few days.

We have lots going on: tomorrow (Tuesday) morning a condo owners meeting, a dance in the evening, a potluck Wednesday evening, Rockin’ Rondevoux on Thursday, Friday a pool party. We’re hoping to get seats on the bus so we can go to Busch Gardens in February (they do it by a lottery this week) and maybe go to an art fair in Sarasota.

I’ve been trying to get some of my business chores done. I agreed to create a website for a music group, and it’s been hard to fit it into our busy schedule but I have things shaping up at: SonasMusic.com

Today I lost a good share of our social calendar which was stored on my computer. Somehow a shutdown corrupted the datebook file and it wouldn’t boot up. I have restored most of it from an old (mid-December) back-up, but it took a lot of time I didn’t have. I hope I haven’t forgotten anything that we’d added since mid-December. I vow to be better at doing back-ups. (How’s that for another New Year’s Resolution to add to what I’m already working on?)

I’m really fitting into this “good life” life-style. John’s fighting it, but I think he’s reluctantly enjoying it too.

Yesterday was another lovely day at the pool followed last night by a great spaghetti dinner and dancing in Ruskin at the Elks Club. But the day had started dismally with the news reports of a horrid accident on I-4 in Polk County (northeast of us). Four people were killed in the 70 car pile up, the result of zero visibility fog/smog at about 4:30 a.m.. When we got up at 8:00 a.m. we were horrified as the news broadcasts showed cars and large trucks still burning while helpless rescue helicopters were forced to wait until the fog cleared before they could go in and move the victims to hospitals. Four deaths and 36 injured were finally tabulated. The highway is still closed. (Note: a week or more later another victim died bringing the death total to five.)

We also looked at a few more condos. We only went inside one of them. The owners are an older couple with some health problems needing to move north to be close to family. The place showed promise but would require some renovation to make it work for us. If we could get it for under $130,000 and put $20,000-$30,000 into it, it would probably be a great. The price they’re asking is higher. The setting was lovely in a neighborhood we really like. Oh, well… we’ll keep looking.

The other day we visited a condo that really impressed us. I guess I mentioned it in my last posting. It was just perfect. Both of us keep thinking about it. We will probably go back and talk with the owners again yet we know this isn’t the right time for us to find something. This place is beautifully decorated and comes with all the furnishings. It’s “possible” for us to get it now, but we’d need to negotiate. It’s probably best to “just say no” but it sure is tempting.

In Michigan, our normal indoor thermostat during the winter is set to about 68 degrees and at night down to 55. We are comfy.

Here in Florida, where buildings are poorly insulated, we have the inside temperature set at 75 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night, and it’s darned cold. I’m bundled up in an afghan.

Record-setting cold is predicted for tonight here in Central Florida. We had a high of about 50 degrees today with a record-setting low predicted of 28 tonight. We’ve loaded all the extra blankets on the bed and plan to snuggle in. Up in Michigan we’d be celebrating a heatwave of 50 degrees with a 28 degree freeze. Sure doesn’t feel good down here.

This afternoon we looked at “for sale” condos. We toured about a half dozen and found one that’s perfect. It’s not a new unit but it’s been renovated and decorated beautifully. Everything is first class. Lovely furnishings, color, style, simplicity, total taste. We can’t find anything that we don’t like about it except the price. We aren’t ready to buy yet, so maybe the price will come down or it’ll be sold to someone else so it’s not on the market when we’re in a position to purchase. At least we can see what’s possible to do a lot with an older unit. This unit had large ceramic floor tiles throughout, a spacious bar in the kitchen, excellent lighting, with exceptionally lovely furnishings (which would be included with the place). It even had four large screen TVs including a 58 inch LCD in the living room. A fantastic master bath including a see-through glass-type lavatory sink could have been a poster for decorating excellence. The kitchen was flawless – stainless with the black granite counter tops and some custom features that have been used in advertising brochures. The lanai faced a golf course. It was really a show-place which we were in awe of. I wish we could buy it now, but it doesn’t make sense. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. John was equally impressed. We could buy it, but it would make things difficult financially. Yet it’s sooooo nice. We can dream!! I can’t imagine finding any place more perfect.

After visiting the “for sale” condos, we stopped and visited our buddy, Bob Taylor, and then came home. It was too cold to be outside riding around on a golf cart so we came back and warmed up. Next weekend it should be warm enough for the pool, but not today.

Last night we celebrated the incoming year with friends at an “Oldies but Goodies” club party. It was great fun.

We had arrived on Saturday. It was the roughest trip we’ve ever made. Traffic was heavy and that rain I described continued until we got into Florida. It was hard to see and really stressful for John. When we finally got out of the rain, we ran into a major traffic jam as the result of a three car pile-up north of Tampa. But we finally made it about 3:30. The temperature was about 85.

At 5:15, I broke away from the unpacking long enough to go see Mom. I had expected that for sure this time she wouldn’t know me. I came in during dinner. She looked up and I couldn’t tell what she thought. I sat down beside her and said, “Hi. I’ve sure missed you and I’m sure glad to be here.” I didn’t know if she was aware of who I was, so I said, “Do you know who I am?” (I had been careful NOT to call her Mom or to give her any hints.)

She answered firmly, “Yes, you’re Sharon.”

Last time I had to give her hints. In September, I reminded her by saying “Am I your daughter? Who is your daughter, etc.”

But this time she said “Sharon” without a hint or a clue and I was awed!!

I said, “You’re right. I sure do love you.”

And she said, “I love you too.”

Then we went into our “routine.”

I said, “How. much?”

And she said, “A bushel and a peck.”

and I asked.. “And……..????”

And she said, “And a hug around the neck.”

It’s an old old old song from the 1940’s, which we both remember. (The lyrics are: “I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck, a hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap, a barrel and a heap and I’m talking in my sleep about you… about you. Yes, I love you a bushel and a peck, you bet your pretty neck I do. A doodle-oodle-ooh-doo, A-doodle-oodle-oodle-ooh-doo, A-doodle-oodle-oodle-ooh-doo, A-doodle-oodle-ooh-doo-doo”)

I said, “Mom, there’s nothing more in this world that could have made me happier than you remembering me and telling me you love me.” And then I started crying. It was so special. Everyone was laughing and hugging us. MOM KNEW ME!! I know it sounds trivial, but it was the best thing that could have happened. I can’t remember being so happy.

At least for that day she was so much better!

I was over to visit her Sunday and yesterday. Neither time was she was sharp as she’d been Saturday. She didn’t remember John’s name and had a fixed stare on Saturday. Yesterday I couldn’t get her to wake up and talk with me. I’ll soon go over to see how she’s doing.

Sunday, we hung out at the pool. It was fun seeing dozens of our Kings Point friends.

Yesterday was cloudy and rainy so we didn’t do the pool thing, but instead took a list of available condos and when “shopping.” It was fun. We got home late afternoon in time to get ready for the party.

So far, it’s been a great visit.

I’ve made some resolutions which I vow to keep. They include losing about 15 pounds, exercising more, and being a better wife house keeper.

Happy 2008!!

We’re near Chattanooga, TN. We’ve been driving through a horrid rain storm. Blinding conditions, fog, and heavy traffic. It’s been scary but John always seems to keep his cool so I feel surprisingly safe even in a bad situation like that. It lets up for a while, and then hits us again.

We have about 190 miles before we get to our second night destination in Macon, GA.

Last night’s motel was very convenient but it had one negative quality: cigarette smoke. We had requested a non-smoking room and when we got there, it was fairly fresh smelling. But last night, while we were relaxing and watching TV, smoke came in. It was like a half dozen heavy smokers were in our room. It would come and go. I have a feeling there was a ventilation connection between our room and a smoking room and whenever they’d light up, it was pumped into ours. I’d give it another chance, because maybe it was just a fluke and maybe our Room 115 had the problem.

Dinner was at a better than average Cracker Barrel.

Tonight we’ll have steak at Logan’s Roadhouse. We’ll be ready for it, because we didn’t really eat lunch. We’d stopped in Knoxville for gas but decided it was a tad too early for lunch. Then we drove into that lousy rain storm — which right now is hitting us again extra hard. Our lunch consisted of cashews, some potato chips, and a peanutty brownie.

The sky is a little brighter, so maybe we’re nearly past this rain storm.

Again, we’re headed south to Florida. We got through the holidays and now it’s time to be in the sun.

Our weather this morning is gray and dismal. It’s sorta spitting snow or something, but very lightly and it’s not affecting travel.

We will over-night at a new-to-us motel in the Lexington/Richmond, KY, area. We were prepared to leave either today or tomorrow, so I booked rooms both nights and we’ll cancel what we don’t use.

Our choice of motel is decided by several factors. We keep looking for the perfect itinerary. Last time we came down John was recovering from surgery so our daily distance covered had to be carefully monitored. We stayed in Lexington which we found balanced out “Day 1” and “Day 2” better, but it was kind of a low-class place. We had a run-in in the parking lot with a resident who appeared to be doing a drug deal or something shady, so we decided to pick a new first-night stopping point a tad further south. Besides this one is close to a Cracker Barrel and John likes their food.

Christmas was very low-key. Since I’d received my big gift (a high end digital camera) a month ago and John just got small stuff, there wasn’t a lot of suspense in the gift area. Christmas day, to avoid a massive “left-over” situation, we skipped the large turkey feast in lieu of a tasty roast beef dinner. It was great but not “tradition.” Christmas night I took the tree down, while John prepared the house for our four-month absence.

This trip south is becoming “routine.” I used to feel my role was important and I needed to keep us on the right track, but now the truck knows it’s way.

Snow cover on the ground is skimpy – it melted Christmas Day. We did enjoy a few weeks when we had quite a bit, so at least I can feel that I experienced some Michigan winter. Now, hopefully, we can enjoy some southern sunshine.

Yesterday we enjoyed a family Christmas dinner in Owosso for John, his five siblings, spouses, and one of his nieces for a total of 12 close family members. Family is important during the holidays, but John and I spend Thanksgiving and Christmas Day alone. Our children are too far away (in distance or life) to be with us. Some folks feel we’re disadvantaged, but I don’t.

Actually we have dozens members of our music family who have spent part of the holiday season with us. These people are close to us… closer than most folks feel about blood relatives.

Sadly since July, we’ve lost four of them and another isn’t doing too well.

And then their are our newer but equally special Florida friends. Our buddy, Bob, called the other day, and New Year’s Eve we’ll be with three couples that are really special to us.

Most folks would think, “these folks are just acquaintances, blood relatives are closer.” But relatives are in your life because they are born into your family. Our friends are folks we’ve met along our journey who choose to seek us out and be in our life.

I didn’t mail many Christmas cards this year, but many of those we received were from friends. Like Grace, the 90+ year old music fan who looks forward to our summer performances. And there are lots of others.

These close friends are our family too – maybe not by blood, but by choice. We are blessed.

We’re about ready for the holiday (which will happen if we are prepared or not). Actually we have very little left to do. Most of our preparation has involved our performances which are winding to a close. We have only one club play left on Friday afternoon, and then we can put away our Christmas music until next year. (Whew!)

My cards have been mailed, and packages are on their way. We still want to do some shopping and get some “for us” gifts. But that can be done the next time we’re out and about. We really don’t make a big deal about gifts between the two of us. Instead we usually get what we want, when we want it.

I’ve been gathering items for our return to Florida. We’ll take our tree down on the 26th, pack for our trip on the 27th, and take off on the 28th.

We have tickets for a New Year’s Eve party in Sun City Center which should be fun.

Let’s hope the weather stays decent. We had about 10 inches of show last weekend so it looks like it’s out of Mother Nature’s system.

We’ve been so busy that I haven’t started my Christmas shopping.

Our dear friend, Al Lietz, passed away last week and Monday we went to Tawas City for the funeral. That was in addition to about a half dozen performances, lots of practicing, the Flint Banjo Club’s Christmas party, and a holiday luncheon.

Last night we drove to Elsie, MI, to perform at a private Christmas party. When we were hired we were told about 20 folks would be in attendance but it was closer to 40. That was fine, but they were primarily old friends and relatives of John. Playing for familiar faces makes for a lot of stress unlike what you’d think. (It’s lots easier to play for those who don’t know you and who you’ll never see again.)

We did ok, but it was the trip home which was truly challenging! We ran into blinding snow and slippery roads. We crept home at under 30 mph. It was truly a white knuckle trip!

The remaining holiday performances are easy ones: Friday we’ll be in Bridgeport, MI, at a Pioneer Christmas with our club; Monday John and I play background music at an open house in Frankenmuth; Saturday we are planning to go to the Jolly Hammers club sing-a-long; and Friday the 21st we will be with our club at a nice senior independent living apartment complex for their holiday party.

Just hope I can get everything done so we can relax. My primary concerns are to shop for presents that need to be mailed and get them in the mail by Friday, get the house ready for company (the Conklins are staying over Friday night), write out our Christmas Cards this weekend, and before Christmas get a party dress for New Year’s Eve. It’s all doable. Just need to get at it.

Once or twice I’ve stubbed my toe and really hurt it badly to the point that I figured it was broken.

Back on October 8th, I wrote about running into a ladder and having my toe go at a 90 degree angle to the other toes (so the middle one, which I hurt, was pointing at the little one). It has really been painful. It didn’t quit hurting after a week or two or even three. I’ve heard that if it is just bruised, it’ll be ok within two weeks. If it’s longer than that, it’s a break.

I talked to my friend, Dr. Doug Jackson, an orthopedic surgeon who plays with our dulcimer club about my injury. After looking at it he said he thinks it’s healing well. It may not have been broken, but more likely dislocated which has about the same healing time. He said I should expect discoloration, swelling, and some discomfort for the next year until it heals completely.

That was “Dr.” Doug’s diagnosis on Sunday. Sunday night I tripped over John’s banjo case. It was dark in the dining room. I didn’t turn on a light. My left little toe caught on his hard case sitting on the floor. That’s the same foot that I hurt in October. As usual, I was barefoot.

The whole top of my foot is now dark and the base of my little toe is black. I hope it’s just badly bruised. I’m having trouble wearing shoes, but it isn’t as uncomfortable as the middle one has been.

But as Doug said when he saw it last night, “Yup, you did it again.”

And then today I stripped the bed to launder the sheets. I was carrying an armful of bedding to the laundry room and I stepped on the corner of the sheet which caused me to trip and… yup, you’re right, I ran my little toe into the dresser… again it was my left foot pinkie.

This time at least I had on slippers and the sheet sorta protected the toe.

But it’s throbbing. I’m sure a glass or two of wine will help but right now it hurts.

I’m feeling like a total klutz. We perform a three or four times this next week, and we need to get our Christmas tree. It’s going to be rough doing those things barefoot but wearing a shoe is going to be tough.

I’ve just received my wonderful new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital camera. What a wonderful example of photographic engineering excellence!!

I plan to use it extensively to capture photos for this area. It’s going to make the previous pictures I’ve taken look pretty shabby.

I will really appreciate your understanding as I learn how to use this tool! Mastering the learning curve is going to be challenging. I’m a old dog learning new tricks, but I’ll do it!

By the end of the week we’ll be only one month from returning to Florida. I can’t say that I’m ready to turn around and go back. It’s just that I haven’t accomplished anything here. We have been so sick that everything was on hold. Now that we’re beginning to feel human again, it’ll take a while to get back on track.

Thursday’s Thanksgiving and I’m hoping I can feel inspired. I’d love to get the house looking spiffy for the holidays. Holiday time has always been special.

My cold had really shut my ambition down. Time to get busy and catch up.

Yup, it’s on order and hopefully on it’s way to me.

I will have time to work with it and get comfortable using it before the holidays. I hope I can take a few of the Frankenmuth Music Day we have planned for November 24th.

And when I get back to Florida, I hope to capture lots of the wonderful clouds that seem to love the Tampa Bay area as well as the lovely people.

It’s on its way to me now!!!

And I should be able to take nice photographs of my lovely mother who is my reason for being in Florida. She was once really pretty but even though alzheimers has robbed her of most of her beauty, there’s still a quality I hope I can capture.

Note added Nov. 20:
Ahhh but that purchase didn’t work out. I had ordered the camera from a cheapie website. They cancelled my order (said it was out of stock), so I have replaced the order with Amazon. Now I don’t expect to receive it until about December 3rd.

At least three times, I dropped my four year old digital camera and it’s now history. It’ll still take photos, but there’s about a 1/4 inch separation in the seam and it’s just a matter of time before it dies completely.

I have always loved taking pictures. The camera I’ve been using has been perfect for grabbing a quick shot. It would fit into my smallest purse so I almost always had it with me, but now I’m looking at something that will allow me more creativity.

At one time in my life, photography was an obsession. I do mean obsession. I’d take a camera and a few rolls of 35mm film, and disappear for a day at a time. That was in the 1970’s and early 80’s. I was a SLR competitive photographer and member of the Photographic Society of America. I wonder how much I can remember about f-stops, etc. I want one that has a good auto mode, so my results won’t be embarrassing while I re-learn how to do it manually.

I have narrowed it down to two choices. I’m not considering a camera with removable lenses because I’ve gone that route (and at this time they’re lots more expensive). I want something that will do it all without toting a huge camera bag filled with various focal length lenses. I’m thinking of a super/large digital.

After posting the video that was taken at the South Club pool (see the posting on November 6th), I realize I’d like better video capability. Maybe I should just buy a separate video camera, but I’m hoping I can find a digital camera that will take great pictures in various light situations plus it’ll let me take awesome videos.

Of the two I am considering, one is better for videos in that it’ll zoom and do everything in either video or still mode. The other choice has the lens which will meet all of my needs including close-ups, wide angle, and telephoto. I am leaning toward the one with the impressive lens. About it’s only limitation is that it won’t let me “zoom” while I’m shooting the videos, but maybe I won’t take all that many anyway. (Up ’til now, I’ve gotten by very limited video capability so I won’t know what I’m missing.)

It’s funny, but writing it out makes the decision easier to “see.” Maybe I’ll buy it today so I can get it and be comfortable with it before we play in Frankenmuth and before the holidays.

I called my mom’s caregiver today (Mercedes) and found out Mom has avoided our extreme colds and illness. I was so afraid that, since I caught it from her, she’d be as sick as we are, and she wouldn’t survive. But Mom’s fine. She’s been better’n ever. I was pleased that she’s now able to feed herself and she’s still gaining weight. I am so relieved. Mercedes said she has everything she needs and for her, life is as good as can be expected.

John and I went shopping today. We needed to get “provisions” but it was tough. We were both out of it and didn’t have the strength that shopping takes. We hit about a half dozen stores and we were exhausted but we got through the day. Tonight we are taking it easy while we continue to recover. I can’t remember that we’ve ever been this sick together (when he couldn’t take care of me or I couldn’t take care of him.)

Hopefully next week will be a new beginning.

I just uploaded a video of the South Club Pool so you can see where we hang out when we’re in Florida. A video says it better.

Check it out.

We are home.

Arrived yesterday about 3:00. My cold has been horrid and now it seems that John is catching it. Wouldn’t ‘cha know!! and this weekend we need to be sharp. Tonight we have our first holiday music practice with our music club and tomorrow we’re scheduled to play for five hours at Warmbier Farms for their Christmas open house.

If we can make it to Sunday, the two of us can then curl up in a corner somewhere with a monsterous supply of Kleenex, nasal spray, Vicks, and Advil.

Being sick takes the luster off the otherwise wonderful past two months.

It seems that every time we come down to Florida, I catch a cold. Usually it’s early in our stay and I’ve about decided that my symptoms are actually allergy-related and not a cold, but this time it’s different. I was feeling perky until late Saturday. This time there’s no doubt that it’s a cold and I even know how I caught it. Mom and four or five of the other residents in her unit have had bad chest colds. Mom was one of the last ones to develop the symptoms, but about a week ago, she got it bad. Her cough is awful. Of course, I continued to visit her so I shouldn’t have been surprised that I now have a/her cold.

Since Sunday, I’ve been taking Zicam (which is that new stuff claims that you’ll get over your cold faster). It also supposedly lessens the severity. So far, it’s main side effect is that I haven’t been able to sleep my normal seven to eight hours. Last night I got three hours sleep (awake until 4:00 a.m.!!)

As I write this, we’re headed back to Michigan. We left the condo about 8:40 a.m. It’s now a little after 10:00 a.m. Our next stop will be just across the Georgia border where we’ll stop for gas and a quick lunch. Tonight’s destination is Locust Grove, GA.

Our trip was pleasant. Weather was wonderful. Pool time was grand. I’ll be ready to return in late December.

Yes, King’s Point has senior citizens, which most would think of as “old folks.” But somehow my impression of senior citizens has changed as a result of the life we’re experiencing here in Sun City Center, Florida.

For example, would you think of this lady as a “great grandmother”? Well, she is.

My previous impressions of a Florida “retirement community” definitely been altered. What we have here are fun folks, living life to the fullest. It’s like the aging process has slowed down.

That photo was taken at Thursday’s Halloween party. Tonight we’re going to another one.

Last night it was a “Michigan Club” wine and cheese party.

We just may be too busy to go home. I need to start packing so we’ll be able to pile in the car on Tuesday and head north. At least the weather has been less enticing because it’s been cooler and we’ve had some rain.

We’re wrapping up this visit. We leave a week from tomorrow for Michigan. Between now and then, we’ll try to soak up all the wonderful weather because when we get back here after Christmas it’ll probably be cool. For the next week, we will be at the pool whenever possible.

Friday we took a bus trip down to Cape Coral to attend an Oktoberfest. It was hot and the day was too long.

This week our plans are to attend a family night at Mom’s facility, go to the music club on Wednesday afternoon, attend Rockin’ Rondevous on Thursday, a Michigan Club wine and cheese party on Friday, and a Halloween party on Saturday. We’ll probably go out to dinner a couple times and, of course, I’ll try to be with Mom as much as possible. At least we know it won’t be long before December 30th when we’ll be back.

We have less than three weeks left before we’ll be heading back to Michigan for the holidays. Between now and our departure date our calendar is really filling up. We have Rockin’ Rondevous every Thursday; a benefit concert Friday the 12th (tomorrow night); a dinner at the Elks Club Saturday the 13th; a dance Sunday the 14th in the afternoon plus birthday party Sunday evening (Martie’s); a swing dance lesson next Monday; a music club meeting every Wednesday at 1:00; a bus trip to Coral Gables for Oktoberfest on Friday the 19th; and Halloween parties the 25th and 27th. We also like to go out for spaghetti at the Elks Club in Ruskin on Wednesdays.

Between all those activities we need to get our music all brushed up for our performance on November 3rd, at Warmbier Farms, right after we get back home.

We’ve discovered two music groups: the Country Music Club and a banjo club called the Polk County Plunkers. We haven’t attended meetings for either group, although John has visited with the leader of the banjo club. It should be fun to go next Wednesday.

The weather is cooling down from the 90’s to the 80’s so getting to the pool won’t be quite so enticing.

Life doesn’t get any better than this!

John handed me a folding chair that was stored in the condo attic. I grabbed it and stepped forward only to ram my middle toe (left foot) into the base of the attic stairway. When I looked down my toe was no longer pointing forward but instead was at right angles to my foot pointing leftward. I “rearranged it back into place” as it cracked and pained. It was either dislocated or broken. It’s now a beautiful burgundy shade and twice it’s normal size.

Today, we were scheduled to take a swing dance class. Sounded like a good idea when we signed up. But dancing with a sore toe is tough.

It’s painful, but I should admit that I’m also “milking it.” It looks so horrid and uncomfortable that I don’t hesitate to point it out to get the maximum in ohhhhs… and “you poor thing” comments.

We had a great time, then to the pool for a few hours of perfection in the pool. It was incredibly wonderful weather. It couldn’t have been nicer. Breezy but warm. We were in the pool and out and either place, we were really comfortable.

Here in King’s Point folks frequently say, “Isn’t this a tough life?” “What did I do to deserve this?” It just doesn’t get any better than this!” (I heard comments similar to those at least four times today.) They’re right. This is paradise. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been (even counting Hawaii, the Bahamas, and Rio de Janeiro). I prefer King’s Point.

The folks are fun. We have friends, although they’re not crowding us. We have lots of activities which we can participate in or ignore. We have a climate that’s been incredible (high 80’s with low humidity). Beautiful blue skies. Warm pool water. Someone said they miss the ocean, but personally I prefer a clean pool. The ocean/bay is only about 10 miles away, but we’re content here.

We’ll head home in about three weeks. I won’t be able to wait to get back.

It’s a great life, even with toe trouble.

Willow, our dog, has never been afraid of storms. She ignores them, unlike other dogs I’ve had. (My childhood dog, a dalmation, used to try to squeeze behind the toilet bowl, under the tank.) Willow, takes storms in stride. But here in Florida, the thunderstorms are really something. We’ve had several. Last night was the loudest. It crashed and boomed for a couple hours. Things are a little soggy. Even Willow has wanted to be held when the thunder rolls. The storms we’ve experienced have been really severe.

Actually they’ve had a lot of rain this week (about 6″). Ditches are filled, puddles are deep.

The other day, we took our golf cart and headed to Walmart. It was a pleasant, cloudy late afternoon. We parked at Publix, which is as far as you can legally drive your cart. Walmart is just across the highway. Carts can’t legally cross the highway but we walked, so we were ok. It’s a little distance, but it was nice out and we didn’t mind. John even thought to bring along a little wheeled shopping cart so we could haul our purchases back to the golf cart. But while we were shopping, it started to rain. We were ready to head back at about 4:40. As I waited by the door for the shower to let up, a pleasant gentleman headed out in the direction of the Publix parking lot. He said he’d done the same as us… walked over. He commented that he had a towel to wipe off the seats and he’d be fine. He asked if we had “sides” and I said, yes, but they weren’t rolled down.

When we finally dashed for the cart, the curtains were down and the seat had been dried off. That’s the kind of folks we meet all the time down here.

Today a gentleman at Taco Bell held the door for us. I thanked him but paused to let his wife go ahead of us. We were all trying to be polite. It was funny.. “you go first, no you, no you.” It sure isn’t this way most places, but Sun City Center seems to have an over-abundance of nice folks.

I was concerned, as we were coming down here, that we’d run into love bugs, but they weren’t at the Florida-Georgia border, as I’d expected. Instead they were waiting for us here in Sun City Center. They’ve been getting worse.

I’ve previously described love bugs. They have
no natural enemies except for cars. They fly around “joined” together with the female pulling the male. Unlike flies, they’re easy to swat. That can be a blessing or curse, because when you’re sitting by the pool, you end up with squashed bug bodies around you and stuck to your towels, etc.

They don’t bite, they don’t buzz. But they are soooo plentiful. Someone said, they also contribute to the local economy by providing car washes with extra business.

I’ve read that there are two hatchings each year: May and September. Supposedly they only last a couple of weeks, but it’s early October and they were worse yesterday than in September. It feels like they’re here to stay.

Today was hot (over 90)! We soaked in the pool after enjoying “Fun Friday” but we were still HOT!

We started the day buying the toilet for our guest bathroom. Guess we got a little over-heated unloading it and moving it around so it was hard to cool down. John installed it after our pool time. Nothing fancy.

We also bought some plants: two hybiscus for our yard and an anthurium for use as a house plant.

Plants here in Florida are dirt cheap. The three (large) plants cost me only about $16 total. The two hybiscus (very large and slightly smaller) and either would have sold for three to five times that much at home.

Mom’s eating more than before so that pleases me. I spend at least one meal a day with her.

It’s been perfect. Pool temps about 85, air about 85-89. Crowds are still small. We did get the TV problems resolved. (Whew!)

Folks are drifting back: Bob’s here, Carl, and we’ve met a few other really nice residents.

We went to dinner at the Elks in Ruskin tonight. It was good. Carl and Suzanne and another couple sat with us. They’d invited us to join them but three couples didn’t work and we felt a little isolated.

I’ve been taking pictures of the Florida skies. Here’s one of my favorites:

Back on September 15th we had our Brighthouse TV and internet service installed by two installers. End of story, right?

Nope, it didn’t work so the repair folks were supposed to return on the 15th, then on the 16th but it took until the 17th before someone finally showed up. The install was so defective, that repair person said they’d need to start over with new cables throughout the whole house and he scheduled two installers to re-do the job. They came that Monday afternoon (the 17th) and stayed most of the day. The job wasn’t complete that day so on the 18th two more came back to finish the job By then we’d had seven installers/repair people. On the 22nd, we had one repair person (number eight) who was scheduled to figure out why we weren’t getting all of our channels.

Yesterday we worked with the Hitachi expert to find out why our new HDTV had a loud background hum and wouldn’t allow us to turn on close captioning. He checked out everything and isolated the problem in the cable box. So today Brighthouse was supposed to send out a repair person to replace our cable box. The repair person was told to call us a half hour before he would arrive. (We gave him our cellphone number.) We knew he was scheduled between 2:00 and 5:00 but figured we could go to the pool because he’d be calling and we had our phone with us. (I also put a note on the door.) When we got home at 3:35, the note had blown off and guy number nine been here at 3:30 without calling us first.

Our appointment is re-scheduled for tomorrow between 2:00 and 5:00. Guess we can call that person number ten! Will the saga ever end?

To my dear husband, a Saturday in September (or October or November) means football.

Yesterday we’d picked up our new HDTV in Bradenton. We couldn’t set it up because I couldn’t be counted on to lift most of it (88 pounds) and move it from the back of the truck inside. But today we had to have another repair person work on our TV again. (We’d lost about 1/3 of our cable channels and couldn’t bring them up.) When he came, he helped us move our new TV in and set it on our new TV stand. He was a truly nice and helpful guy and hung around to make sure we got it working. It’s awesome!

So John’s had his nose buried in the new TV enjoying the HD signal. He swears HDTV was invented for football games.

I spent time with Mom tonight. I fed her dinner to her. I think she’s forgotten how to feed herself. I was there a couple hours and she ate a large dinner.

We didn’t get to spend any time at the pool, but there’s always tomorrow.

Saturday, the 15th, we had an appointment to have our high speed internet and HDTV cable installed. To make a long story short, after the installation by two incompetents, we didn’t have workable service. The company acknowledged nothing was working and said they’d send a repair person out immediately (Saturday and then again on Sunday they were supposed to send someone). It took until Monday before we got someone to come and look at our situation. When he did, he said it would never work, so we had to be totally re-wired. Two installers showed up Monday afternoon to start the installation. Finally Tuesday things were completed. We had five different service folks and a total of about 15-20 hours of labor but now it’s purring. Our reception is better than we’d imagined, and we have 100+ channels.

We have purchased a new HDTV and will be picking it up Friday or Saturday in Bradenton with a stand.

But the most exciting thing is that our high speed wireless is allowing us to use the box we bought from Speednet in Saginaw to receive our Phone by Internet. That means folks calling us at home will reach us here seamlessly. We can also call anyone with no per call expense. It’s wonderful to be able call folks in Saginaw just as if we were still in the same locale.

One problem getting a new HDTV is that the TV weighs 88 pounds. Although John is doing fine recovering from his hernia surgery, he still can’t lift anything, and I can’t manage that much weight. We have the names of a couple handymen who advertised on the bulletin board in the clubhouse. We’ll probably try to get them to come over and help us set it up.

John also needs help with the guest toilet. It’s not working so he needs to wrestle it around and possibly install a new one. I want him to hire it done. He said he’ll see if he can at least diagnose the problem, and then we’ll decide.

Tomorrow we’ll have been here a week.

We’ve been to the pool numerous times but it’s always empty. It’s been hot, although today was quite comfortable.

When I say empty, I mean EMPTY!!

Monday we had a birthday party in the special needs unit for Mom complete with two cakes and candles (one ice cream cake and one sugar free for the diabetics). We had about 20 folks and Mom felt special.

She’s sure not doing well.

Tonight I was there for her during dinner. I fed her and got her to eat more than she would have. Mercedes, the healthcare “companion” I have hired for Mom, is with her from 10:30-1:30 so she helps during lunch time. I will try to be there often for the evening “shift.”

We’ll be busy for the next few days. I will have my hair done tomorrow a.m., we’ll visit Mom and go to the pool mid-day, and to Rockin’ Rondevous tomorrow evening – they’ll be having a karaoke evening. Friday we’ll be at the pool for a hamburgs-on-the-grill lunch, and we’ll try to pick up our TV in the afternoon. Saturday we want to go shopping early and there’s a dinner at the Moose.

We still haven’t seen our buddy Bob, and we haven’t run into Paul and Pat or many of our other close Kings Point friends and I’ve hardly had time to say “hi” to Loretta, our lovely next door neighbor.

But we’re relaxed.

We arrived at the condo about 3:00 Thursday, September 13th. It was 93 outside AND 93 INSIDE! Yup, the A/C wasn’t working. We called the repair service that handles the maintenance on the condo and they came over about 4:30. In the meanwhile, I’d unloaded most of the stuff from the truck. Talk about heat exhaustion. It was awful!

The problem ended up being easy to solve. A dead ant had blocked the electrical connection and the compressor wouldn’t kick on.

By 5:30, we had things pretty much under control and the temperature was down several degrees. We decided to go to Rockin’ Rondevous. (Ok, I pushed John because I was anxious to see old friends.)

Well, no one was there. It was depressingly empty. None of the people we hang around with were there. We had a beer, cooled off in comfort, and headed home about an hour later. The condo was still hot, but by 11:00 p.m. it was down to a normal level. Whew!!

Today, we visited with Mom, ordered a birthday cake for her, shopped for a TV set, and went to the Fun Friday by the pool. (Fun Fridays consist of music and hamburgs on the grill.) We dipped ourselves in the pool enough to cool off. I read while John soaked up a little sun. But that was short-lived because it started raining.

So we headed home. I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing stuff in the condo. It’s now comfortable and looks nice.

It’s cool and comfy. But our friends are among the missing. Sure hope they get here soon! It’s lonesome without the folks who have made it fun.

We’ve nearly reached the point we are attacked by unlovely love bugs (at least during our past two September trips south). Even though I detest them, I watch for them as a signal that we’re getting close to our destination. They’re usually all everything when we stop just north of the Georgia/Florida border for gas.

While looking for love bugs, I also watch for the first palm tree as an indication that we’re really in “the south.” It’s one of my “things-to-do-while-driving-in-an-area-where-I-can’t-get-internet.” (I lose my connection for about 100 miles, from about 70 miles north of the boarder, to 30 miles into Florida.)

Weather is in the mid 80’s (at 10:30 a.m.) and rising rapidly. I heard that Michigan was only 40 degrees this morning.

We’re less than 10 miles from our gas stop and still no bugs. Could we have “lucked out”?

No bugs! We stopped for gas and there weren’t any. John said he thinks maybe we’re a week or two early for them. Could be, but they were thick in May when I was down, so I began to think they’re full-time residents.

When we passed into Florida, the rest area was landscaped with dozens of palm trees. Yup! We’re here.

===============================================================

Little later….

We’ve stopped twice today so John could stretch and walk With only about two hours to go, I doubt that we’ll stop again.

Unloading the truck is going to be a hot job. It’s about 95 degrees out there now. Rain is expected this afternoon, but no cooler temps for the next week or so.

Tonight, after dark, I’d love to drive around in the golf cart. It always feels so good with the warm evening breezes blowing past.

I haven’t been able to connect to my blog site even though it looks like I have a connection. I’m writing this and will “copy it in” when I’m finally able to connect.

We’re into our second day on the road. We’ve been making good time, even though we’ve stopped more frequently so John can stretch his legs.

Last night we stayed in Louisville, KY. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the motel in London, KY, but at least we were able to stop earlier. The caliber of guests left a lot to be desired. We had a run in with a whole van load of unsavory people who parked in the parking lot for hours at a time, but didn’t seem to have a “room.” I couldn’t help but wonder if they were trying to sell drugs or do something else illegal. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but nothing happened, and it wasn’t as noisy as we’d feared. Nevertheless, it sure wasn’t the same quality as the accommodations in London.

At London, they also give you a complimentary breakfast (freshly-made Belgian waffles) but there were no such perks at Louisville. Of course Louisville was about $10 cheaper, so this morning we stopped at a Waffle House and spent our savings on breakfast.

Last night we had good hamburgs and beer at a place called Horseshoes Saloon. It was conveniently close-by. Tonight we’re looking forward to a nice steak dinner at a Logan’s Roadhouse near the Macon motel which is tonight’s destination. Tonight we’ll celebrate our anniversary with a nice dinner.

This trip is broken into “laps” of 425 miles, 440 miles, and tomorrow about 400 miles. Personally, I’d like to go to Rockin’ Rondevous tomorrow, if we arrive in time. Of course, I know we’lll have to unload the stuff from our truck before we can go anyplace since all of our clothes are packed. But even if we don’t stay long, I’d like to go see who’s around. (Just mentioned it to John, and he sounds agreeable.)

The most unpleasant (stressful) part of our trips south (or north as the case may be), is getting through Atlanta. We’ve run into problems that have included getting off at the wrong exit (twice), going down one-way streets the wrong way, and being stuck in traffic for long periods.

We should get through that area before the heavy traffic times.

We’re just passing the “We’re Glad Georgia’s on Your Mind – Welcome!” sign. Outside temperature is 82. Traffic is moderately heavy. Lots of construction. Just once, we’d like to hit it at a time when all the road work is complete.

With the doctor’s approval regarding John’s health, we are headed to Florida. Our 22nd anniversary was yesterday but we were busy packing, so our celebration will wait.

Tonight we’ll over-night in Lexington, KY. Normally we stay at the same Red Roof Inns every time we make this trip, and the first night is usually London, KY. But we revised our schedule so today won’t be quite as long. Lexington is still a good piece from Michigan but about 90 miles closer. We’re supposed to stop frequently so John can stretch his legs (to avoid clotting). We’ll soon be at Beverdam, Ohio, where we’ll have lunch, walk the dog, and stretch.

Unfortunately John won’t be able to “soak” in the pool for a few weeks. He can dip himself to cool off, but until he’s better healed, the doctor suggested that he avoid the soaks.

Ohio is greener than previous trips. I know they’ve had a lot of rain which has even resulted in flooding in some of the area.

Traffic is kinda heavy for to Tuesday, but the truckers travel this route every day.

When we get to Florida, I want to plan a party for Mom’s birthday Monday, the 17th. I also have some banking to take care of for her, and some shopping to do. But this trip is going to be laid back and lazy. ‘ Least that’s the plan.

It’s Saturday night and I’m really tired after an exhausting day getting ready for our trip. John’s much better after his surgery, but he isn’t supposed to lift over 10 pounds and isn’t allowed to drive. A lot of our preparation required lifting. We/I loaded the truck and picked fruit (grapes, apples, and pears). I’m not complaining because John usually does most of the heavy work, but I’m just not as strong as he is and admittedly I’m out of shape. But now most everything is done. He’s even decided to make some pear wine tomorrow.

Today was also our subdivision “garage sale.” We didn’t participate but we visited a few neighbors to see what they had for sale. It was late in the day, so everything was picked over and we bought very little. (Thank heavens. We already have enough junk.)

Tomorrow (Sunday) we’ll finish packing, make the wine, and I want to do another load of laundry and clean house. Monday we’ll finish up everything, we’ll do a little last minute shopping, and John will have his pre-departure check-up by his surgeon. We should be ready to leave by 8:00 a.m. Tuesday.

I’m a little stressed. It’s my responsibility. John needs to recover from his surgery so I don’t want him to have anything to worry about.

Yesterday John had his hernia surgery. He’s still not back to his old self, but doing darned good. We’re preparing to leave Tuesday a.m. (He goes to his doctor Monday to get the go-ahead.)

He’s restricted to lifting only 10 lbs. so he really can’t pack or get us ready to go so it will be my responsibility. I’ll do it.

I’m anxious to get down there. I miss Mom and I think we’ll have a great time down there. This will be the first time we’ve ever been able to go without extra distracting “baggage.” (The last time we stayed with my mother’s husband’s (Hoagie’s) daughter for over a month and when she left, she took much more than she was entitled to.) Before that, our place was really depressingly dirty and we lived in the guest room. This time it’s been renovated and we have the whole place so we can just relax and have a good time.

I haven’t mentioned “Comfort Keepers,” the caregiver service I’ve hired. I’m really pleased with the lady who is helping with Mom in my absence. I pay her for three hours of care five days a week. It sounds like Mom’s doing much better with the extra stimulation of someone who is there for her.

We’ve talked with our buddy, Bob, who also returns to Florida this Thursday. My good friend and neighbor, Loretta, is looking forward to our visit. So when we arrive we will have friends to spend time with and a comfortable place to call “home.”

I hope we get there Thursday in time for Rockin’ Rondevous from 4:00-7:00. Can’t think of a better way to say “we’re here!”

John’s groin injury Friday was uncomfortable and swollen for the rest of the festival. He went to his internal medicine doctor Monday and was sent to a surgeon Wednesday. He’ll have hernia repair surgery next Tuesday, the 4th. We’ll be able to leave for Florida the following Tuesday (the 11th) which is a week later than we’d planned but that’s certainly ok. His health is paramount. He won’t be able to lift anything before or immediately after the surgery. I’m so darned puny that it’s tough to think of packing without his help, but I’ll get it done.

It’s good that we aren’t leaving this Tuesday. John’s grapes aren’t ripe. There’s still packing to be completed. And we’re still in slow motion after being exhausted from the festival.

We arrived at the Midland Dulcimer Festival on Wednesday, August 22nd. It was hot and a little rainy that day, but the evening was flawless for our Haithco Concert. About 200 showed up in our audience and over 30 musicians. We enjoyed a lovely event.

Thursday was a hot and rainy day but busy. The evening potluck turned out great. Food was plentiful and everyone went away satisfied. Music was played well into the night.

Friday more folks arrived and there was more rain. The festival aims at 100 campers and we passed that level so we should do ok. Music was still going strong at 3:30 a.m. and chatter until well after 4:00. Friday was a tough day. A friend had a health crisis, another camper died (a cancer victim who wanted to be at the festival) and John hurt himself with a muscle tear.

Saturday was really hectic. Morning rain ended. The sun came out. Temperatures dropped to a comfortable level. The workshops all weekend were well attended. I was emcee for the Saturday evening show which started with a huge crowd. (Next year it will be shorter so folks won’t leave before it’s over.) We turned in about 1:30 and most of the music quit earlier than the previous two nights.

Sunday we got up, and spent the day packing. It was time to head home but before we left six of us went out to dinner. A nice finale.

So now we’re back at home.

In a week we should be packed so we can head to Florida. We’re tired.

Humble John should be really satisfied but he’d never toot his own horn. He and Margaret Loper did a great job organizing this event. When the finances are computed we’ll know how successful it was but regardless, it was a wonderful time.

Seems we’re always packing. This time it’s so we can head to the Midland Dulcimer Festival. This time is a fairly easy chore (unlike Evart when we take everything imaginable). I also find it easier when we use our trailer because so much is already “in place.”

We’ll be leaving tomorrow (early) for the fairgrounds in Midland. That’ll be Wednesday. We’ll stay until Sunday. Festivals are always as much “work” for us as they are “fun.” For this one John’s in charge so he has a lot of responsibilities. I don’t have anything official to do except organize and emcee the Saturday night stage show. I also hang around our campsite so I can monitor the copy machine. John, on the other hand, works really hard. He’s always on the go.

Oh, yes, and we also have the Concert tomorrow night at Haithco Park in Saginaw Township. The Concert is kind of the kickoff for the festival and it’s our baby.

We’ve been kind of worn out all day today. Yesterday we were on the local TV channel (TV-5) during their morning show. It was a live broadcast so we had to be up at 3:55!! We were on the air several times between 5:15 and 6:45 – yup, that’s A.M. We promoted the Wednesday concert at Haithco Park and the festival.

When we get back from the festival, we’ll start thinking about our trip to Florida. We leave two weeks from today. I’m determined to simplify our Florida preparation. I want it to eventually just take an hour or two to pack. More and more stuff stays at the condo and we don’t need to bring it back and forth. We’re getting it down to a science.

We got home from the U.P. on August 4th, so what’s gone on since then?

Well, we’ve installed a beautiful kitchen sink with lovely new faucets, and new garbage disposal. We’ve done lots of laundry, and I’ve spent at least a couple or three days totally redesigned two of my websites: (http://sub-strings.com and http://dulcimers.biz.

Why the sudden interest in my website designs? We were notified by TV-5 (WNEM-TV) that we will be interviewed Monday, August 20. The interview will focus on the August 22nd Haithco Concert and Midland Dulcimer Festival. John will be playing, I’ll be talking. The websites for Sub-Strings and the Folk Music Society (festival) will be mentioned on the TV-5 Website for reference. They need to look top-notch and professional. I hope you agree, they look pretty good now.

On the 20th, we will be interviewed live three separate times 5:45, 6:15 and 6:45 a.m.!! That means we need to leave by 5:00 A.M. so we can get to Haithco. Each interview will only be 30-90 seconds. But apparently the audiences are in excess of 200,000, so it’s worth the time.

I’m tired just thinking about it.

Next week is the Midland Dulcimer Festival. It’ll run officially from August 23-26, but we will need to be at the Midland Fairgrounds on the 22nd or earlier.

Today. I’ve been organizing my part, the Saturday Night Stage Show. John’s been ordering porta potties, water fountains, canopies, and golf carts. We’ll be ready, but it’s always a challenge. We need to get some copy paper and pick up the copier and have lots of other stuff ready.

I need to get busy packing the trailer which was “stripped” after we got back from Evart. It’s a mess!

When we get back from Midland we’ll only be home about a week before we head to Florida for September and October.

Next Monday, as an example, we need to go to Haithco for the 5:00 a.m. interview. We also need to meet with Mom’s financial advisor to discuss on her security which will take two to three hours. In the afternoon, John must set up the areas for workshop and other canopies at the Midland Fairgrounds. Oh, yes, and Bill Kuhlman has arranged for us to donate our time playing for an ice cream social from 5:00-7:30 p.m. (and I’m lactose intollerant). Just a typical day.

John and I have been practicing three tunes for the three times we’ll be interviewed Monday. We’ll do “March of St. Timothy,” “Angle Worm Wiggle” and “Pig Ankle Rag.”

“‘Ain’t’ life grand?” I love being busy. I love having challenges.

The U.P., to any Michiganders, means the Upper Peninsula of our great state.

It’s Saturday a.m. and we’re headed home. We packed and winterized the place in record time (90 minutes) and were on the road by 8:30. John has a performance with the Flint Banjo Club at 4:00 which means he must leave home by about 2:30. We should make it home about 2:00. It’ll be close, but we’re on-schedule.

Highway 2, which we’re on headed east, has little commerce with the exception of a few mom and pop motels, an occasional small restaurant, and a once-in-a-whilel work-from-home business but mainly it’s woods and undeveloped land. The traffic’s light. We’re still quite a distance from the Mighty Mac (the Mackinaw Bridge which joins the Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

The word “bridge” is a little frightenng this week, with the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge into the MIssissippi.

When we get home and un-pack, we need to start packing for the Midland Dulcimer Festival. John’s a co-chair of that event so he’ll be busy for the next couple of weeks making final arrangements. We’ll probably at the fairgrounds in Midland, where the event is held, from about the August 21-26.

Then as soon as we can get ready, we’ll head back to Florida for September and October.

We seem to be always on the go, but I’m not complaining. It’s a great life!

Whoever thinks that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a cold area, should be here this week. It’s been hovering around 90-95 degrees since we arrived Tuesday. Hopefully it’ll cool down tomorrow. I’m tired of sitting in front of a fan to feel a miniscule amount of relief from the heat.

It’s been a really disappointing visit. We never know what it’ll be like up here and this year, getting into the water (Lake Michigan) is impossible.

When we bought the place about 16 years ago, we had a wonderful sandy beach with about 200 feet of frontage and maybe 25-30 feet of sugar sand beach. We spent most of our time in the crystal clear water swimming or floating around or walking the beach. But for the past seven or eight years, the whole Great Lake’s area has experienced a drought. All of the Great Lakes have much lower water levels. That means that the area that was once the shallow water close to shore is now dry land. The water is much further out. And because it’s so low, there’s been a lot of vegatation that’s washed up and caused a gunk along the water’s edge. This year it’s the worst.

From where we used to sit at the water’s edge to where the water is now is probably more than 150 feet!!! Most of that is high grass or cat tails. For about the last 50 feet, it’s just muck. There’s no way we can wade through it to get out to the clear water. So we can see the water from our deck, but not enjoy it. Last year we were able to clear about a 15 foot beach. This year, because of the muck, we can’t do anything about it. About the only solution would be a dock out about 75 feet! Of course it would have to be removed at the end of the season because the winter ice would break it up. So construction of such a project isn’t going to happen since we don’t get up here much.

So we’ve been depressed about the water table. Everyone says the Polar Ice Caps are melting and sooner or later the lakes will be rising, but it hasn’t happened yet, and instead because of global warming, we’ve got this drought and subsequent mess with our beaches.

When we bought the property with the trailer, it was really cheap. As the years went by, water front property like ours really went up in value. We were tickled that our property was worth about five times what we paid for it. We thought we really had a treasure. But now I doubt anyone would want it.

John works hard when we’re here. Just opening up the place is always a chore. When we arrived Tuesday, a line from the pump had a hole, so he fixed that. And then later he had a hard time getting the water heater to light. About bed time, he went to plug in our electric coffee maker and it shorted out all the power in the house. Actually that was an easy problem to solve. We just tossed out the coffee maker and used one that works on a burner instead (and the coffee has been GREAT!)

John cleared the driveway in to our place. The grasses and trees have really filled it considerably since last year. He used a chain saw to chop out some of the encroaching trees. If we didn’t come for a year, I doubt that we’d be able to get in. I don’t do well around the cutting of grass and weeds because of allergies, so I am stuck in here when he mows.

We do have a window air conditioner which we could put in our kitchen window and it would cool the place, but if we did, we would end up staying inside all the time with the windows closed. At least the way it is now, we leave the doors and windows open, and when the sun moves around the trailer, we’ll be able to sit on the deck and enjoy the view.

I know my whole blog message has sounded negative. There are some nice features of this place.

The view of Lake Michigan from our deck is fantastic. The sunrise photo at the top of this page is from our deck.

The number of hummingbirds is phenominal. I put out a hummingbird feeder today after I had one of the tiny birds hover about three feet from me and I could tell he was begging for some sugar water. It didn’t take long before he was feeding from our feeder, but I haven’t seen the half dozen or so that we had last year.

It’s really quiet and tranquil. Only the waves and the birds break the silence.

We can tell that this spring we had about eight showy ladies slippers this spring which are wild orchids. We still have a few wild raspberries growing in the woods around our place although it’s past the peak season. There are also other wild flowers and the other vegetation is plentiful. John dug up a pretty white pine to take back to our place in Saginaw.

So although the water table is low and our property on Lake Michigan no longer represents a wonderful swimming get-away to us, it is still lovely from many aspects.

Today is Thursday. Tomorrow night we’ll go out for a good fish dinner and we’ll head home Saturday. We have have only seen two other humans since we pulled into this place Tuesday: our power company meter reader stopped by today and someone walking the beach went past but didn’t see us.

I’d just as soon be back on Lake Cecil in the lower peninsula in Saginaw County where we live, but this visit will make us appreciate what we have at home: air conditioning, comfort, fewer bugs, and no musty smell.

We’re on our way northward (to our place in the U.P.).

We’re only been home from Evart for nine days, but it seems like it was a looonnnng while ago.

We got home on Sunday (the 22nd) and Wednesday (the 25th) we played music for our monthly Haithco Concert with our club (Saginaw Subterranean Strings). It started out iffy weather-wise, because it was raining until about 30 minutes before we played and therefore our audience was small. But we had a pleasant evening.

One of our performers was Ralph Beyersdorf, the “character” of our club. He’s the kind of guy who loves to get under your skin but everyone enjoys his humor. Ralph was in fine form Wednesday at Haithco.

Thursday about 9:30 a.m. we got a call from Ralph’s daughter. Her dad had died of a massive heart attack that morning. We were in shock.

Wednesday morning we’d lost the husband of another member (Carol Ellis’s husband, Dick, but that had been expected because he’d waged a long battle with cancer, but with Ralph there was no warning. He was the picture of health Wednesday night and gone Thursday morning. Ralph was 67.)

So within the past few days we’ve had two funerals for friends: Saturday was Dick’s funeral, Monday was Ralph’s.

We’d just as soon have stayed home and gotten some stuff done, but we haven’t been able to visit our place yet this summer, so we figured we’d better look in on our investment. Today’s Tuesday. We’ll probably head home Saturday a.m.

A couple weeks ago, I posted to this blog and said the Evart FunFest would soon be starting. Now here it is Sunday, July 22nd, and we’re headed home.

As usual after one of these events, I’m filled with affection for the festival crowd, basking in the warmth that is shared. It’s a wonderful event, steeped in tradition.

We had a grand time. Was it the best time ever? No, but it was much better than the last few have been and I attribute that to a change of attitude on my part.

There were sad parts: Rick Thum’s dad died during the festival so he left quickly and I found that a dear friend has lung cancer that has metatistized and spread so he said his “good-byes” to me which tore at my heart. He was so brave when he told me he won’t be back to Evart. I could tell that he’d enjoyed the festival and those memories were going to be savored. When I kissed him on the cheek, he said, “That helped.” So I did it again.

The music is always special. Our friend, Judi Morningstar wrote a beautiful new aire. It was a high-point of the festival, especially when played with Cece Webster (on harp) and Renzo Hutchinson (on flute).

Saturday I had kind of a mystical experience: a monarch butterfly took a liking to me. I had just put on perfume so maybe that lured him. He stayed on my hand and my shoulder for about an hour. When we went to dinner, I was concerned about him flying down to the ground and being stepped on because the crowd was huge, so I took him over to the fountain which is surrounded by flowers and placed him on one of the blossoms. He returned to me twice before I could convince him to stay. He was gone when I checked about a half hour later.

We had a lot of long conversations and enjoyed listening to a lot of music but really didn’t have time to make much ourselves. As usual the time before the festival was best.

My job as workshop coordinator was complicated by 18 or 19 class cancellations by instructors. All reasons were understandable, and I was able to “fill most slots” with substitute instructors who stepped up and volunteered. I’m sure some of the fill-in classes were better than those originally scheduled. There were a total of 208 classes.

I was distressed by some rule changes that seem arbitrary. For instance the golf carts are now so restricted that I’m really wondering about the cold heartedness of some of the board members. (No help for handicapped, no rides for newcomers, etc.)

Hopefully these things will be reviewed at the fall meeting.

We’re tired and ready be home. It’s nearly 7:00 p.m. It’ll feel soooo good.

A week before the start of the festival.

It’s been a cool day and right now it’s raining. Hopefully the weather will improve before the start of the festival.

The Tent City area, where we camping, is still pretty empty. We’ve been here for five days. No one has arrived since we came in. I have a feeling that’ll all change tomorrow. Lots of folks will arrive after then get off work tomorrow. We’ve enjoyed playing with the Conklins, who are next door. Today I spent the day practicing the dulcimer, which I rarely play. It was fun.

I’ll write more later.

it seems that we’re waiting for the fun to begin. Many of our Evart friends haven’t arrived yet and although we needed some down time, we’ve now rested up and we’re “READY.” Since it’s only Wednesday, we still have at today and tomorrow before folks will show up.

We went to a jam in the Swine Barn last night. (John had also participated Monday evening.) It was a nice gathering. I counted about 20 dulcimers and 10 other instruments. Many of the musicians were the ones who had been at Rose Wark’s Florida gathering in March. We played about an hour and 15 minutes.

The weather was hot the first few days we were here, but today the outside temperature (at 9:30 a.m.) is only 61 which is a tad chilly. Actually we’re going to have a few cool days, and then a gradual warm-up to the start of the festival in about a week. Next Wednesday and Thursday (which is as far out as the weather forecast goes) show temperatures in the low 80’s with over-night lows down to about 60.

I have a new digital recorder which I’m looking forward to using. I tried it out last night, but really haven’t had a chance to see how it worked.

Yesterday afternoon, Wayne and Linda Conklin spent the afternoon playing music under our canopy. It was fun.

I’ll write more later.

“Headin’ to Evart”

There’s a tune by that name written by our friend, Bill Robinson. But as I write this, those words accurately describe our destination. We’re about 15 miles from home and finally on our way to the biggest festival we attend. It’s also the event where we’re in charge of workshops. (I say “we” but technically it’s my job, nevertheless, without John’s help, I couldn’t do it.)

It’s always a chore to get ready. Yesterday we were busy all day picking up the workshop programs and the copy machine, getting the paper for copies plus all the other stuff that we need to make the workshops run smoothly.

This morning we were up about 7:30 and by 8:00 we were packing. It took us until 4:30 of steady, hard, physical work.

My old body isn’t up to that kind of abuse. I’m plum tuckered out!

We didn’t even stop to eat so all I’ve had is a 2” x 2” brownie, and a few chips washed down with a diet ginger ale.

We definitely take more stuff when we go to this event than when we traveled across the country, and also lots more than when we go to Florida.

But we love the whole Evart experience. It’s like “going home.” Many of our best friends are there, we get to enjoy the most fantastic music imaginable.

==============

I wrote the above in the truck while riding. Haven’t had time to post it before now (Wednesday the 11th). We are now at the fairgrounds relaxing in anticipation of the festival. I’ll write a more current up-date shortly.

The month of June is almost past.

John played for a wedding reception yesterday. I stayed home getting our fifth wheel ready for the huge Evart festival and double-checking the Evart Workshop Program so it can head to the printer. Summer’s nearly 1/3 gone!!

This afternoon, John will be playing for a parish picnic in Hemlock. I will be going to Owosso to have dinner with his siblings.

We’ve been really busy but I’m sure not complaining.

Our big festival, Evart, is nearly here! Yeah!

Here it is June 9th and I’m headed back to Michigan. I was down here (in Florida) for ten days but didn’t take time to post anything to my blog because I was really, really busy. I canceled a bank account for my mom and did other banking chores, got a new insurance policy on the condo, I hired a five-day a week three-hours a day companion for Mom who will start Monday. I visited Mom a lot! (Usually twice, sometimes three times a day.) She had to go to the doctor to have the stitches taken out of her face (she’d suffered a bad fall.) I met with the folks from Courtyards but I even found time to go to the pool three or maybe four times and to two Rockin’ Rondevous on Thursday nights.

I didn’t have time to get much accomplished on the Evart Workshop Program so I’ll be busy this next week playing “catch-up” since I should have had it ready to go by now.

The weather here in Florida has been hot with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. I’m sitting in the Tampa terminal right now waiting to board my plane. I’ll be going through Chicago and will be home before 10:00 p.m. tonight.

I love the fact that Tampa has free wireless access in the terminal. It’s a really fast connection so I figured I’d take advantage of the opportunity. While in Florida I’ve been able to get email via my cellphone but at a snail’s pace so I haven’t done much on-line.

During my visit, I did a little “condo window shopping” but I didn’t find anything I would prefer to our place.

Well, I suppose I should get busy and work on the workshop program.

I leave tomorrow a.m. at 8:18 out of Tri-City Airport en route to Florida. I’ll be down there by 12:50. I’ll pick up my rental Buick Lucerne from Alamo and head “home” to Kings Point.

I’m packed and ready to go. John won’t be going with me so I’m already feeling very insecure and lonesome. He’s my strength.

I’ll be down there for nine days. I’m sure I’ll be busy with responsibilities taking care of my mother (who has alzheimers), but I’ll also socialize. Mom had a bad fall so I need to check on her. We have lots of Kings Point friends that I’m anxious to see again. There’s Loretta (our super sweet next door neighbor), Sandy (who has been wonderful to me), Ruth – the Webmaster (a kindred spirit), Linda – the Brit (who is nice as can be), Pat & Paul (our all-inclusive friends), Dale & Trudy (helpful neighbors who are always there for us), Bob the Worm King (our true and genuine friend who we dearly love), Paula (Bob’s significant other), along with lots of others.

I have a mentally prepared schedule that will keep me active most of the time. And I also have a lot of workshop preparation to do for the Evart Funfest. My responsibility for the Funfest is a huge so my solitary evenings will give me the opportunity to work on getting it ready to go to the printer for that event July 19th.

I also love to read by the pool, so I have a bunch of books to absorb me.

During the day, my golf cart will be on-the-go as I visit Mom, shop, and head to the South Club for lots of sun time.

Thursdays are Rockin’ Rondevous loud get-togethers in the South Club, Fridays noons are pool parties at the South Club with burgers and beer, and there are other activities which I plan to attend. There’s a “rummage sale” event on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. On the 8th there’s a big “34th Birthday Party” for Kings Point.

I love Kings Point, and it’s all an “adventure” but I’d have a better time if John could be with me.

Oh, well… I guess we only go-round once, so I better enjoy this opportunity to see what it’s like to be “alone” in Florida. A first for me.

I’m becoming an expert on another “growing” area of internet use (or more appropriately “misuse”)… phishing schemes. Over the past year, four times dulcimers.com has been hijacked by phishing scheme hackers. I think I’ve finally eliminated the problem but it’s been a nightmare! I believe the source of the problem (which became a backdoor access for hackers) was the other blog I had on my website (for Rochelle DeAnda). The script I used for her blog was called pMachine. pMachine had been closed to further development (unlike this program called WordPress which continues to have “updates” to close areas of weakness when they are discovered.) In September 2005, I used pMachine to create Rochelle’s blog, and there was no way to move her contributions to another script without starting over.

The phishing scheme hackers got in to my site and sent thousands of emails to unsuspecting folks. Those email recipients were told they’d lose their Bank of America account unless they verified their account information. It happened in May 2006, July 4th, 2006, April 2007 and on May 9th, 2007.

The last time, approximately four hundred folks followed the instructions and tried to get into the fake website.

Finally I think I have figured it out, and the hole has been plugged. The pMachine script has been eliminated.

Whew!

I’m getting ready to head south again on May 30th. It’s still about a month away, but I’m anticipating the visit.

This time I’m flying in, renting a car, but I’ll be without John. Mom fell and I need to check on her. It won’t be as much fun, but I’ll enjoy time with Mom, lounge at the pool, and make the best of it.

I put a few pictures of the renovated condo up for my daughter to see. If you’re interested, you can go to

As we ride along, we’re enjoying lovely springtime vistas. The peach trees are in bloom as are the red buds and flowering crab apple trees. It’s really pretty. Down here the trees are that light shade of green that we usually experience about early May in Michigan.

Weather’s been grand so far. Yesterday we had temperatures near 80 even as far north as Locust Grove, GA, where we over-nighted. This morning at 10:30, it’s 62 degrees. Not bad.

We’re near the border of Georgia and Florida headed home. The time flew by We enjoyed the newly renovated condo, but both of us were ill a good share of the time and we were incredibly busy getting all of Mom’s stuff straightened out. I still have lots of paperwork to complete so Mom will be able to get a portion of Hoagie’s pension, but I hope to have the proper papers at home so I can finish it up and mail it out.

We enjoyed the condo and the amenitites more than ever before. It felt good to think of the place as “ours.”

We are thinking that after Mom’s gone, and we don’t have access to the condo, we will probably want to buy a place in Kings Point. It’s an easy relaxing life. For now, our concern is Mom, but we if given the choice, we’d still want to come down to this community.

We need to divest ourselves of some of our responsibilities. If we can work it out, we’d like to spend about six months in Florida with Mom and six months in Michigan. We’ll see.

Yesterday was the first time we’ve felt that we had the condo to ourselves.

Connie and her husband left for home yesterday (Saturday) before we got up. Her daughter had stayed until Thursday a.m.

It was difficult with them here. In the small condo, we felt crowded and intruded upon, but at the same time we tried hard to be understanding. We knew it was hard on her, especially since she had just lost her father. We put forth effort to make it work.

Things didn’t turn out as we’d expected and we were definitely “taken advantage of” but at least we are now the sole occupants of the condo and it’s a refreshing change.

I wish now that I’d taken a photo of the way the master bedroom was decorated after the “renovation.” Sadly Connie took nearly everything removable out of that room and the adjacent bathroom when she left. After Hoagie died, all furnishings in the condo were willed to my mother. Connie apparently didn’t see it that way. What a disappointment. We’ll go to Brandon today (my birthday) and replace the items we need in order to get by. The place still looks nice and we’re just happy to have it to ourselves. We still have about two weeks before we head home.

I’m finally over my cold (well, except for a little stuffiness). The weather has turned cool with highs only in the mid-60’s, but by about Tuesday, it should be nice again.

Next weekend, we hope our friends, the Conklins, can come over.

We’ve straightened out our status with the management of Kings Point and officially John and I are listed as the condo “residents” so we won’t have problems entering and leaving the gate.

Hoagie, my step-father died this morning at about 8:30 a.m. It came as no surprise.

His daughter (Connie) is still here and tomorrow her husband and daughter are flying in and will join her. Her husband will ride back with her to her home in Alabama. They’ll leave about Friday and take Hoagie’s ashes up to Ohio where there’ll be a graveside service. Their daughter will only stay for a day.

The renovation is the pretty much complete. The carpet cleaners will be coming Wednesday. John is finishing up a few things that the workers didn’t do.

There’s a chance that it will rain tomorrow. If it doesn’t we’ll try to hide out at the pool while all the folks are here. The condo is small and with Connie and her family, the Duffy’s and us, it’ll be too hectic.

I’m fighting a rotten cold. I’ve had it about four or five days. Or maybe it’s just allergies. Whichever, I hope it’ll soon go away!!

Hoagie, had a long happy life. He was 97-years-old. He married my mother when he was 80 and she was 68! He made her very happy. His patience with her as she was developing Alzheimers was remarkable. He has begged for relief from life for many years. Today there was a lot of reflecting back on his long and successful life.

That’s what’s happening down here. When everything calms down and Connie and her family leave, we’ll still have about two weeks which we’re going to try to fully enjoy. We’ll then pack up and head home. We probably won’t be back until September.

The condo still isn’t quite finished but maybe today … or tomorrow … or next Wednesday when the carpet cleaners come through.

We’re making the best of it. Connie came back after about a week and is staying until her dad dies. We expect the end to be soon.

The weather the past few days has been perfect.

Mom was in the emergency room of the hospital all day yesterday. Nine hours without answers. Her breathing had been labored so her doctor had her go in for an “evaluation.” It was a loooooooonnnnng day. We got home about 9:30 p.m. The final word was that she isn’t active enough and her lungs don’t have a chance to fully inflate causing some problems.

The Kings Point “garage sale” was last night and will continue today. I got a set of white dishes for the condo.

Today’s plan.. visit Mom and then go to the pool. It’s been so crowded that it’s difficult to find a chair. We want to enjoy this perfect 75-80 degree weather. (So much nicer than last week’s high of about 50.)

It is paradise.

It’s hard to “catch up”.

We arrived Thursday, February 1st, at my mother’s condo in Florida. Here it is Sunday evening, the 11th,…. more than a week has passed, and so much has happened. We came down to care for Mom who has Alzheimers.

When we arrived on the 1st, we were surprised that Hoagie’s daughter , Connie, was living here at the condo where we normally stay. Hoagie is my mom’s 97 year old husband. Connie was hard at work with Carol Duffy (Hoagie’s financial advisor). They were in the midst of a major renovation of the entire condo. Connie left Friday, the 9th, after staying over a week with us.

Hoagie isn’t well at all. Connie was here to see her dad and the whole situation has been very difficult for her. While she was here, she decided to start a major remodeling project of the condo we all have been sharing.

The condo is going to be a lot more comfortable, so I sure can’t complain. We’ve all painted, stripped wall paper, washed, scrubbed, cleaned. It’s actually looking very good. We can have folks come over and we can be comfortable.

So far they’ve bought all new kitchen appliances, all new small appliances, painted everything. They have new towels, bedding, window treatments, light fixtures, and the rest of the package.

Connie’s a nice person. I like her.

Hoagie is very close to death. We know he’s not going to live long – he’s 97 and has been asking for relief from life for many years.. It was tough on Connie. I have been going to see him and over the years we’ve become very close as we shared the difficulties associated with Mom’s care. I’ll miss him.

When Hoagie’s gone. The condo will continue to be my mom’s for her lifetime, so this whole renovation project is going to benefit us.

Connie left this past Friday morning. Her brother, John, is coming to visit (provided Hoagie is still alive) on the 19th. It’s doubtful that he’ll stay here, but he’s welcome. Connie may also return, if Hoagie’s condition worsens.

We, especially my John, worked our butts off. Actually there wasn’t a lot for me to do except look lost and stay out of the way.

We missed that awful tornado that hit Florida. It was north of us by quite a distance.

After driving the 1,300 miles from Michigan to Florida, we didn’t unload our well-packed truck for over a week. Much of our stuff just stayed there, including our bird, Charlie. It wasn’t comfortable, but we are now settling in. Things look grand. The place is nearly complete and we’re pleased with the effort that everyone has expended.

We went to Rockin’ Rondevous (at the clubhouse) Thursday (the 8th) and saw Pat and Paul, Bob (our “worm king” friend), Carl, Marilyn, and a few others. These events are always fun times and we look forward to them. Some of the regular group were sick with a bug that is going around. It was a quieter than usual R.R. but we look forward to next week’s get-together.

We’re enjoying Florida citrus fruit. Carl gave us a couple dozen grapefruit and our roofmate has brought over oranges twice.

Weather’s been cool. Tomorrow should be nice (low 80’s so maybe we can get some pool time in). We’re hoping!!!

Our Florida visit hasn’t been quite what we expected, but we now have a renovated condo and it’s very very attractive and comfortable thanks to the hard work of a lot of folks. (It’s not complete, but should be in a few days.)

We’ve run into every kind of weather imaginable, but right now we’re in Florida (about two hours north of our destination). It’s 75 degrees and partly sunny. I still haven’t seen a palm tree, so I don’t feel as if I’m in the “South.”

When we get to the condo, we’ll quickly unpack the critical stuff and dash over to Rockin’ Rondevous about 5:00. We won’t stay late, but we’re anxious to say “hello” to all of our Florida friends, and since the next few days will be cool and rainy, we won’t be seeing them at the pool. Thursday nights at the Clubhouse are always the most fun of the week.

I might get over to see Mom between our arrival and our trip to the clubhouse, but it might take a while for her to remember me, and I don’t want the disappointment, if that doesn’t happen. Mornings are generally better for her, so I may wait until morning to visit her for the first time.

Last night we discovered a nice restaurant in Macon, GA, Logan’s Roadhouse. The food was excellent, and the atmosphere fun.

Our windshield washer problem solved itself. Apparently it was a frozen line because once we got into Georgia, where it was above freezing, it worked.

This morning the problem was heavy rain which made visibility difficult. We were glad we didn’t have to go north because reports were that they had freezing rain and sleet.

Won’t be long now.

After yesterday’s experience in the slush, our beautiful black truck (actually it’s a dark dark gray), is dirtier than it’s ever been. It appears to be spread with white frosting. It’s hard to believe that it’s a dark shade.

As we drive along, we’re able to pick out the other cars that came from Michigan. We all bear the same telltale coating. Our overnight stop will be in Macon, GA, and we should arrive about 4:00. John’s going to try to find a place to get our vehicle washed.

Today it’s still cool (29), but beautifully sunny. We’ll be stopping for a light lunch when we get gas. Fuel prices are much better than previous trips. Yesterday’s price was $2.179 for diesel and today we’ll be paying $2.219. That’s about 20 cents cheaper than home. And when I think that a year ago, during our cross country trip, we ofter paid more than $3. Hopefully it’ll stay this way. (I can’t believe that I’m actually happy for gas that’s more than $2 a gallon!)
I’ll write more later.

It’s January 30th. We’re in northern Ohio on our way to Florida where we’ll stay until the end of March.The only problem we’ve encountered so far on this trip has been our truck’s windshield washers. They aren’t working.The roads have been messy and we’re struggling to see.

John had checked out the wipers and washer solution before we left, so we fear it’s more serious than that. We stopped and he checked the fuses, and the hose.We’ve tried two places to buy a bottle of the washer solvent but no one has any. We’ll keep trying.

We find that semis often throw up enough slush so it washes off the windshield, but here in Ohio the snow’s not quite as deep and hence there’s less slush on the roads.We aren’t making very good time.

Tonight we’ll be staying in London, KY. Temperatures are going to be in the teens. Temperature right now is 18 degrees. Sunny Florida sounds grand, but unfortunately, according to weather.com, the whole east half of the country is chilly (including Florida).

Seems that during 2006 we were always getting ready or recovering from a trip. It was a year of travel for us. We figure we logged 9,000+ miles on extended trips. This year (2007) our travel plans are much more modest. We plan to go to Florida on January 30th and stay until March 20th (we’ll be home by the 22nd). We’ll probably go camping a few times, to a couple festivals, to the Upper Peninsula, and back to Florida from mid-September until Late October. There’s a chance that we’ll spend a week in Branson, MO, in May, but that’s iffy at best.

With so many trips under our belt, I’m getting pretty darned good at packing. Today I’ve spent the day in “phase 1” of our preparation for our January 30th departure. Yes, we have over three weeks, but since I know the last week before we leave we’ll be totally pre-occupied with Snowfest (our huge two-day concert in Frankenmuth, MI), I’m starting now to pull stuff together.

My clothes are ready. That’s the biggest job. I’ve set aside a corner of the basement where I can bring everything that will need to be loaded into the truck. My plan is to have it all done two weeks from today.

Did I ever mention that during the years I was employed, my job was that of “planner”? (A hospital planner.) I guess I’m still at it.

We’ve finished out 2006. Our next “adventures” will be some local music performances, and then, at the end of January, we’ll be heading back for Spring 2007 in Florida.
I’ll try to keep my blog advised of things of interest. Not that our life is so astounding, but keeping this “diary” is therapeutic. I enjoy putting down my thoughts, and it’s also a way I can stay in touch with family and friends. They can always check in here to see what we’re up to.

I generally feel a let-down right after Christmas. When the excitement fades and the presents are all unwrapped, I usually experience a case of the blues. It seems so long until next year, and my expectations for the holiday always fall a little short.

This year, John and I promised each other that we’d skip individual gifts and instead replace three of our kitchen appliances. We picked them up Monday and they were fully installed by Christmas Eve Day. Of course that meant that there’d be no Christmas surprises. Add to that a weather forecast for gray weather and temperatures in the mid-40’s, I was sure that my normal Christmas blues would be even worse this year. But it wasn’t that way at all. We had a wonderful day. John surprised me with a small gift and I got him something he didn’t anticipate. It was a great day! Our grand mid-day dinner was flawless (the first meal prepared on our new range).

We watched a fun movie on TV and just relaxed.

January will be busy as we prepare for our huge Snowfest concerts (January 27 and 28) in Frankenmuth, and then on the 30th we’re taking off for Florida.

I need to get down there soon. Mom’s mental state is worse than when we left her in October. Today she had forgotten how to use the phone so I couldn’t even wish her a happy holiday. But when we get down there, I’ll work with her, and see if I can’t bring back some of her responses. I miss my mom.

But except for the situation with Mom, the holiday was nearly perfect.

Do you ever think about miracles? I mean those kinds of situations that can’t be explained that change your life?

Here are two miracles that I’ve experienced:

Brain Tumor Survival: In 1981 I discovered I had a brain tumor. It was a rough time for me: divorced, two children, new job, just met a nice man. But the tumor surgery was extremely successful. It was performed in Los Angeles, CA, since no doctor around here would perform the procedure. I was offered spiritual support by Sister Mary, my new boss. Of the eight patients who had the same procedure, there were only two of us who came out ok. Sister Mary’s mass the night before my surgery had to have helped.

Finding my Brother: I was unaware of my brother Jim until March 20, 2005. It only took me until March 29th to find him and what a great guy with a wonderful family he is. You can read the whole story by clicking here: family matters.

Those just two I’ve experienced. True miracles. Life is filled with wonderful experiences. I hope you’ve had your share.

I just realized how long it’s been since I’ve posted to my blog. I promise that you’ll hear lots more from me in February and March (when we’re heading to and we’ll be in Florida) but until then, you’ll have to be content with occasional posts that don’t say much.

We’ve been really busy playing our line-up of Christmas gigs. The first one was November 4th. We have been “at it” a couple times a week since then and still have six more Christmas performances before the 25th.

When I say stuff like that, I don’t want anyone to ever think that I am complaining. Heck, we choose to be busy. We could say “no.” We could find other stuff to do. The only negative that I feel about “life” in general is that it’s not long enough. I want to live forever!!

Today we found out our joint Christmas gifts have arrived! We ordered three major lovely G.E. stainless kitchen appliances (a luxury range, glamorous refrigerator, and totally desirable dishwasher) and they’re in!! Great! but now we need to get them home and we only have five days before we start paying a penalty. Since we’re hosting a Subterranean Strings Hammered Dulcimer Club Christmas get-together and dinner Friday evening, we don’t really have time to do it until Monday. But Monday we’ll do it and I am personally glad that they’ll be here before Christmas. It’ll seem more like we’ve actually gotten each other something!!

I know I’m violating my feminine qualities by being content to get a range, refrigerator and dishwasher as Christmas gifts, but our current ones (from 1986) have had it and I’m really anxious to up-grade. I can’t think of anything I’d rather have. (Of course Santa better remember to put “something” personal under the tree — but I don’t take chances, and I buy lots of stuff throughout the year, so I am not being neglected. Believe me!!)

During this season, I tend to review the whole year.

One of the most notable events of 2006 was getting to know my new brother. (Please read the family story which you can get to from the link in right most column, under the heading “Links”, next to the most recent blog entry.) It has been wonderful to discover a whole new family I didn’t know existed.

But there have been disappointments too. The festivals were tarnished this year with things that were sad (illnesses, deaths, tragedies). It was hard to be up-beat. It’s surprising that we enjoyed them at all, considering all the difficulties we dealt with.

Our six-week trip in April and May across the country was a trip of a lifetime. Both John and I think about it often and wish it had lasted longer. I’m sure we’ll do another trip maybe in 2008. The people we met were super. We were astounded by this grand country. (Funny but, although we had seen all the photos, we weren’t prepared for the scope of our land.)

I’ll write more before the end of 2006. Enjoy the holidays.

It’s Thanksgiving Day. We’ve been home for nearly a month.

The two of us have enjoyed a very nice holiday. Dinner was fantastic with a 12-pound turkey, dressing,mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes with caramelized apples, cranberry salad (my specialty with strawberries, pineapple and pecans), scalloped corn, hot rolls, relishes, two different pies (apple & pumpkin praline) and wine.

This month, since returning home, we’ve been busy. We’re hosting our music club here at our house for a holiday party. In January we’ll have about a dozen house-guests for the huge Snowfest weekend. In preparation for those two events, I’ve been tackling those jobs I normally try to ignore: Window washing, china cabinet clean-out, closet rearrangement. There’s still a lot to accomplish before we open our doors to guests, but I feel like I’ve made a dent in the work that I need to accomplish. It’s tough when you’re gone as much as we’ve been gone this year.

Our trip home (north) has been fairly uneventful but not perfect.

Our first problem came up when, even with trusty GPS, we made a mis-cue while going through Atlanta on I-75. We ended up heading on I-85 east instead of north on 75, but we eventually got on the 275 loop which at least got us back on track. It added probably 20-30 minutes to our already long day and John wasn’t happy.

We also had a problem with sand burrs. It seems Willow got a little frantic about needing to stop at a rest area (she’s on medication and it has affected her thirstiness and subsequent output). There was no place to stop and we recognized her urgency, so we pulled over on the shoulder of the highway near a truck weigh station.

As soon as I stepped out on the shoulder I was ankle deep in sand-burrs. I had on sandals and there were probably a dozen between the sole of my foot and my sandal. These were really sharp buggers and not like the gentle kind I’ve seen in Michigan. I sat Willow on the only clear spot I could find so I could get them out from between my sandal and the sole of my foot. While I was busy pulling them out of my foot, she took a step or two forward into a thicket of them. Of course her little feet were immediately in agony so she rolled over, yelping. John came to her rescue and soon his chest was covered with burrs where Willow had transferred them to him. They also impalled his sandal clad feet (but not under his soles). Thankfully all were easily (but uncomfortably picked off).

But other than that, our trip has been fairly uneventful.

Florida and Georgia looked like summer, although the temperature had dropped dramatically. Tenessee had the very few colorful trees, but Kentucky was cloaked in a beautiful fall display what I’d consider “peak color.” In Ohio, there was still some color, but it’s definitely well-past peak. There were a lot of bare trees. Michigan is about the same.

Temperature is currently 49. Overnight both Monday and Tuesday, it was below freezing. This a.m. the grass was definitely frosty in Florence, KY.

We should make it home by about 2:30 this afternoon. We’re just crossed the border into Michigan so we have only about 130 miles to go.

I’ll probably write a little more, when we get home

It’s a gloomy cloudy day so I don’t feel as badly as I would if it we had bright sunshine and the promise of perfect weather.

We will overnight in Locust Grove, GA. The 1,300 mile trip, when divided over three days, isn’t bad. Of course, we’ve heard the reports of the bitter cold Michigan is experiencing, but I am looking forward to a fire in the fireplace, and relaxing in our comfy living room then bedding down in our own bed.

Yesterday I said good-bye to Mom and it bothered me a lot. I made her promise she’ll remember us when we return in February. There was a little problem in the unit, so the residents were restricted. Therefore I wasn’t able to stay as long as I’d planned, but we did have two visits with her. and brought her a milk shake. The rest of the day was glorious. We spent several hours in the pool chatting with “friends.”

Last night we took another golf cart “night ride.” This time we took Willow with us. We toured much of Kings Point, but it was a little cooler than Saturday night. Nevertheless it was a nice final evening outting and I’m glad we did it.

The golf cart was a wise purchase. It was so much easier than using our big diesel truck. We figure we put close to 300 miles on the cart just going back and forth to the pool and to Mom’s facility.

But now it’s time to get back into Michigan mode. We have some fun stuff coming up that we’re looking forward to.

‘Ain’t life grand??

=========

Later:

We’re here in Locust Grove, Georgia, and a frost is predicted tonight! Until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, they expect it’ll be about 32 degrees. what a difference from yesterday’s 89 degree pool time!

We’re about ready to head home from Florida to Saginaw, Michigan. I can’t begin to tell you how nice the people at Kings Point in Sun City Center (Florida) are or how welcome we’ve felt.

Last night it we were invited to a concert at the Methodist Church by our new friends, Gary and Darlene. Friday noon we lunched with Sandy and went with Gary and Darlene to a Pennsylvania Club Party, Thursday it was the Rockin’ Rendevous at the South Club, Wednesday a gormet dinner at Bob’s house. Every evening it’s been a fun time.

Both John and I love Michigan and our Michigan friends can’t be equaled but this Florida adventure has been really awesome! There are beginning to believe there is something about the conversations shared in a warm swimming pool that brings about a special openness.

I must admit that we’ve discovered a different lifestyle that is really fun for us.

Tonight, long after dark, I talked John into a “night ride” in our golf cart. It is a fun experience. The warmth of the evening is enveloping. We drove through different areas we’d been curious about. It was fun. John said he wished we’d done it before. (“Why’d we just discover this when we’re heading home?” he asked.) We have only one more night left.

Tomorrow we need to finish packing. But I also want to spend time with Mom, and a long soak in the pool is MANDATORY! Then tomorrow night, I’m hoping for another “night ride.”

I can’t imagine how life could be better. Our friend Bob, who has experienced a lot, frequently says, “It just doesn’t get any better than this.” I’m beginning to believe him.

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One essay sounds just like Kings Point complete with golf cart and the guard at the gate:

The child wrote:

“We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house but Grandpa got retarded.

“My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out so they can visit their grandchildren.”

Ok, so we wear name tags, ride golf carts, no one cooks, and all of us wear hats in the pool (’cause very few really swim, most of us just soak and want to keep the sun out of our eyes), but most of us are retired NOT retarded.

They seem to have followed us. Last year we ran into them in Georgia and northern Florida, but none were in this area. This year, they seem to be enjoying the hospitality of Kings Point.

Again, for clarification, what are love bugs? I found this technical explanation:

The love bug (also known as lovebug, march fly, honeymoon fly, telephone bug and double-headed bug) (scientific name Plecia nearctica) is a small flying insect common to the southern United States, especially along the Gulf Coast. It was first described in 1940 in Galveston, Texas, and was said to be invading Texas and Louisiana. By the end of the 20th century, however, it had spread heavily to all areas bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and other parts of Central America.

The female is the larger one on the right.

We find them floating in the pool, and in the air around it. They don’t bite, but there are just too many of them. And the fact that they are so obvious about their passion makes them like lovers who have no consideration for the priopriety of keeping their bedroom antics behind closed doors.

John said he fears that they’re spreading to this part of the state, but today at the pool, it was said that they’ve been here for at least 19 years. Guess we were just lucky last year. I don’t miss them, when they’re not here.

Time here in Florida flies. I suppose it’s because we’re having fun.

Last night we hung out at Rockin Rendevous in the club house. It was a lively bunch and we enjoyed ourselves. Folks are really nice – as are our Michigan friends.

I looked around last night and came up with a few rules old folks should observe when it comes to a “senior dress code.*” Some things just don’t go well together:

1. Nose ring and bifocals.
2. Spiked hair and bald spots.
3. Pierced tongue and dentures.
4. Miniskirts and support hose.
5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads.
6. Speedos and cellulite.
7. A belly button ring and gall bladder surgery scar.
8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor.
9. Midriff shirts and midriff bulge.
10. Bikinis and liver spots.
11. Short shorts and varicose veins.
12. Inline skates and a walker.
And lastly(and most scary)….
13. Thongs and depends.

* Credit should be given to Mary Perdom from “Senior Connection,” Tampa Bay’s award winning magazine, who came up with these 13 items.

Today at the pool we saw a fellow who came close to violation #6. He had to be 90 and he was in a skimpy speedo. There is also a guy who swims in his whitey tighties. Yup, his fruit of the looms are his choice for a swim suit! Look away, Girls, no fair peeking.

John and I fit in but we’re not in the extreme. We dress appropriately. I’ve mentioned that down here I’m more aware of my wardrobe and definitely have decided that (FOR SURE!!!) before February I’ll lose some weight. Last night we saw everything. Old men with younger women, younger women with really old guys. And on and on.

Last night several of us realized we don’t have one answer… We are puzzled. Are there any rules when it comes to which ankle on which you wear your ankle bracelet? We’re afraid that we could be giving the “wrong signal.” Maybe there’s some code we don’t know. We looked around and most wore them on left ankles, but is there a difference? Does it mean anything? Now we’re concerned. (Don’t laugh. I looked on the internet for an answer and apparently others are concerned about the same thing. We all wonder if we are not “in enough” to know the signals given for a left or a right ankle.)

Ahhhh… such are the mysteries of life.

Today it’s a bit cloudy, but it probably won’t stop us from enjoying the pool after we stop to see Mom. (I’m pretty much over my cold.)

I haven’t mentioned one of the must-haves at the pool: a foam snakey looking thing everyone uses for floating in the pool. We call them noodles. Noodles are mandatory. Everyone has one. We started with the popular variety which is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. One day we stumbled across two that are a larger version in the Goodwill store. It’s probably close to 4 inches across. I love the larger one because it keeps me high enough in the water so my hair doesn’t get wet. We float for hours at a time. The pool is the social spot. We meet folks, enjoy lively conversations, and relax. No store locally sells the big ones, so with our big noodles, we’re the envy of everyone at the pool.

Below you can see both the smaller ones being used in an exercise class and John using one of ours. (Mine is a pretty royal blue.)


.

The cold’s still with me. It seems slightly better today so hopefully it won’t hang on too long. I’m still hesitant to visit Mom. I’d hate to pass it on to her.

At 2:00 we’re going to go look at a house like Mom and Hoagie’s that’s for sale here in Kings Point. Probably late this afternoon, we’ll find time to hang out at the pool.

It’s a weird tempo around here. Things like lunch at Taco Bell become “outtings.” A trip to Walmart is a day’s excursion. Since so little time is spent doing “work,” doing the laundry or cleaning becomes an accomplishment. It’s an adjustment to get used to 24/7 relaxation, but we’re managing.

We only have three weeks left, and then we’ll head home and start planning for our February return visit.

When we get back to Michigan, we need to be ready for holiday plays. John’s taking every opportunity to practice Christmas carols, and does it ever seem strange. The temperature is 90 but he’s playing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”

I was down here right after the first of the year in 2005. It amazed me that there were Christmas lights decorating homes. It felt like someone had mistakenly left them up into the wrong season. For me Christmas includes snow and cold weather. I guess I’m a died-in-the-wool “Northerner.” I love the crunch of snow underfoot. I love the drifting of snowflakes past the window while enjoying a fire in the fireplace. I love to wrap up in a cozy warm robe or afghan while enjoyng a nice glass of wine. We have scheduled things so we’ll have the best of both worlds. We’re darned lucky!

(Later in the evening:)

We did take Mom in the golf cart about 3:30 for ice cream but skipped the pool. (I figured it would be hard to blow my nose when neck deep in water.) It was a beautiful day. Feeling punk didn’t fit the setting. I dressed nicely in crisp white pants, black off-the-shoulder top, and a big-brimmmed straw hat with black band. At least I looked ok. Generally that’ll perk me up but it didn’t work. I felt red-nosed and yucky.

Mom is much more alert than when we arrived. She expresses herself more. Today she asked me to sit beside her and talk, but I explained that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to avoid spreading my germs to her. She seemed to understand. We said we’ll see her tomorrow or Tuesday. She was ok with that.

Tomorrow there’s a sale at Beall’s and I want to go shipping. I have a totally different-than-Michigan wardrobe when I’m here. The hot item at the Rockin’ Rendevous are fitted white cropped pants. I need some! It would be great if I could just leave my summer clothes here until we return in February, but after our experience with all the stuff being taken from the condo when we arrived, I won’t take a chance. So we’ll haul them home and I’ll bring them back. Between now and February, I’d like to shed about 10 pounds. Nothing like bathing suits to make you aware of your body.

I hereby vow I’ll be in better shape when we come back.

When I last wrote, it was Thursday and we were anticipating Rockin’ Rendevous, the weekly clubhouse dance.

We enjoyed the evening. This time it was held around the pool. Normally we’re tightly packed in the lounge, and we missed feeling of closeness that is present when it’s held inside, but the crowd was huge so it wouldn’t have fit in the normal lounge/dance area anyway. It was kinda neat to see dancers around the huge pool, and at sunset, the sky was unbelieveably beautiful. I could kick myself for not having my camera. It was fantastic. Against that background, the dancing couples looked like a postcard.

We sat with Bob and Marilyn and had a nice time.

That was Thursday. Friday after visiting with Mom, we enjoyed more pool time. Friday evening we went out to dinner in Ruskin.

Today’s Saturday. I have a miserable cold. It’s at that drippy stage and I’m feeling rotten. We therefore we didn’t go to see Mom or Hoagie today. It wasn’t wise to infect them. We did hang out at the pool from about 3:00-5:30 or so. I’m going through kleenex like mad.

I can’t believe I have a cold. I know they are caused by viruses and you can catch them anywhere, but it seems so wrong to catch one when you’ve just come from Michigan to Florida. I hope it’s one of those I can over-come in a day or two.

I am still functioning, but have a headache and my drippy nose is making me feel lousy.

Yuck!

Tuesday night we were invited to dinner at the home of a fellow we met last year. He’s a widower. I think he’s kinda lonely. We spent a nice evening with him, and the meal was super. He’s an interesting guy who has a million stories. We both like him.

Tonight we’ll go to Rockin’ Rendevous in the clubhouse. Friday there’s a noon pool party/barbeque.

It’s really nice down here. Yesterday it was over-cast, but it didn’t stop us from spending a couple hours at the pool. Today it’s supposed to reach 86 degrees and should stay under 90 for the next week.

When we drove in our golfcart back from Bob’s house it Tuesday night was about 8:45. We couldn’t believe how there was no one on the streets. We saw two or three other golf carts, but in the two miles or so that we traveled through the complex, the roads were empty. Normally the traffic is really heavy. But these old folks must be in bed by 9:00.

We’re about ready to head over to see Mom. We’ll be back here by 4:00 so we can go to the South Clubhouse for an evening of fun. Hopefully we can crowd in a visit to the pool before then. We’ll try the main pool. Since we started going to the South Club, we haven’t gone back to the main facility. I guess it’s been remodeled and it’s lots closer.

The cart is really working out perfectly for us. 20 mph sounds slow, but when buzzing around, it’s warp speed.

Our new (to us) golf cart is getting quite a workout. About 1:00 we picked up Mom and took her out for a milk shake at Java Cow (a new business in town). Mom rode willingly but did complain that the sun was hot. She woofed down her shake and really seemed to enjoy it. We took her the “round about” way back to her nursing home.

After leaving her, we decided to drop in on her husband, Hoagie. He’s miserable, not because his care isn’t top notch, but he feels he’s totally lost control of everything. He wants to make decisions and be free to come and go. He’s 97, can’t walk, and is in no condition to be on his own. Previously he lived in the assistant living part of the same facility, but he had no one to interact with him. Now he’s in a secure unit, with people around him. He’s forced into a “community.” It is actually a better set-up for him but the decision to be moved wasn’t his. He’s mad. He’s resentful.

So we took him out. Getting him in the golf cart wasn’t easy, but we managed. We drove him back to the condo complex and he visited with some of his good friends. He’s especially close to his friend, Dale. He talked out some of his frustrations, and we found some ways to make him feel more in control.

When it was time to take him back, he didn’t complain. I think he felt we’d given him the opportunity to be “in charge” and to make some decisions. He felt he had some of his dignity back.

Over the next month we’ll give him lots of chances to go out with us. If we can get him to tell us where he wants to go and what he wants to see, maybe he’ll realize he can have some “control.” I’m sure he’ll feel better about his situation. At least I hope so. He’s a proud man. He needs his dignity back.

Visits with Mom and Hoagie took up most of the afternoon. We also needed some groceries so it was about 4:00 before we finally got to the pool for our daily dip. At 4:00 the sun was low enough that we didn’t have to worry as much about getting a little too much like we did yesterday.

It was a fun Sunday.

As I’ve stated several times, we make two trips to Florida each year: one from mid-September to late October, and the other from early February until late March. The February-March visit is peak season and the crowds then are huge. Everywhere you go the snowbirds have the place straining to capacity. In February-March, we must arrive at the pool early in order to secure two lounge chairs. And you can be sure that every available chair at the Thursday evening Rockin’ Rendevous will be taken.

This time of the year the absence of the majority of the snowbirds is noticeable. This picture was taken Wednesday afternoon with temperatures about 90 degrees. Today (Saturday) there were a few more folks, but definitely not like we experience during the spring. (If you scroll way down, you can see a photo taken in March and I’m sure you’ll see the difference.)

The Thursday night dance had a crowd that was down by about 75%. We left early because “nothing was happening.”

This afternoon we were pleased to run into our friend, Bob Taylor. We call him the “Worm King” because he made his fortune selling night-crawlers to fishing outlets all over the mid-west. He’s a sweet, single widower, and a really down to earth guy, dispite his “very comfortable” financial situation. He’s interesting with quite a remarkable history in his 75 years. It was great to see him looking tanned and relaxed.

When we left in the spring, Bob was having a new home built. He’s since moved into it. We missed his house-warming party in April when he had 125 guests.

Bob was especially pleased to see us because (like us) he’s finding that a lot of his friends are still up north so he feels a little deserted. He invited us to come over to his place Tuesday evening for small dinner party (six of us). Sounds like a fun evening.

I’m anxious to see his new glorious “digs.”

Yesterday we bought a golf cart:

We’ve been struggling with the problem taking Mom places since our only available vehicle is our four wheel drive diesel truck. There’s no way we can get her up into it. And it’s so large that it’s difficult to manage it in crowded parking lots. So Thursday we purchased a used golf cart and we picked it up yesterday afternoon. It’s fun. We can get nearly anywhere in Kings Point and Sun City Center. There is a grid of golf cart trails that take you from one end of town to the other. In 1999, there were about 9,500 residents and 4,000 registered golf carts. There are probably twice that many people now and an equal ratio of golf carts. We’re now part of the “in crowd.”

Before we bought it, we took Mom for a spin in it and she did fine. As you can see above, it’s a four seater. We had a seat belt installed for the front passenger seat and the back seat directly behind so we can buckle her in and maybe even take Hoagie with us. It also has a full “enclosure” so we can close it in if the weather is bad.

Tomorrow we want to take her for a milk shake, Tuesday we’ll be taking her to her dentist. We’ll get on the cart trail and be there in less than 10 minutes.

It’s fun being Florida old folks.

Mom knew us!

We visited her the first thing Wednesday a.m.

Her glasses were broken so she had to squint to see, but I asked if she knew me and she said, “Yes, you’re Sharon.” I was so relieved.

I said to her, “You told me you’d remember me and you did. Thank you!”

And then to make things better she said, without prompting, “Hi, John.”

She’s gained a little weight. She had just had her hair done and she looked lovely.

I see a real improvement in her from day to day. The stimulation of family and the extra attention brings out the best in her. Today she looked at a photo I’d brought her of her siblings. She recited their names, all seven of them!

We had the bow replaced on her glasses, tomorrow there’ll be shopping for some new clothes for her, Tuesday we have a dental appointment for her. Being a daughter in this situation is a full time job.

When I last wrote we were fighting the love bugs. It was Tuesday. We were somewhere north of Sun City Center.

We got to the condo about 3:30 and expected that we’d move in and relax.

Nope! It wasn’t to happen.

We were locked out. The locks had been changed in April and we weren’t advised. So we stood outside in the 90+ heat waiting for a lady who had a key. Needless to say, we were upset. They knew we were coming but no one told us about the lock change and provided us with a key.

But the problems didn’t end there. We found the place had been stripped of a lot of the stuff that was here when we went home in March. It wasn’t theft in the genuine sense of the word, but we felt victimized.

My mom and her husband (Hoagie) had lived in the condo for 16 years before they were moved into the nursing home where they are now cared for. It was “his” place when they got married, but when they combined homes much of the stuff was Mom’s.

We have been using the condo regularly for the past two years (four times for a total about a month to six weeks each time). Hoagie’s daughter is the only other one to use the place. She comes about once a year for a weekend.

She came down in April to take possession of Mom and Mom’s husband’s car. (That’s another story.) While she was here she cleaned the place out. I’m sure much of it went in the trash. A lot of it she was entitled to and I have no problem with her taking. Things like crystal that was her dad’s should have been removed, but she went well beyond that.

She may have felt all the food stuff was all old and out-of-date, but much of it we had purchased. We had left behind lot of staples that wouldn’t spoil. It’s all gone. When we went home in March, we left a fully stocked house and now nothing is here including toilet paper. At least she left the furniture, but Mom’s dishes, towels, most of the silverware, everything is gone! And we didn’t bring the stuff we knew we left. Things like the toaster, mixer, spices, etc. etc. are missing. We’ll be here for six weeks and we will have to buy lots of essentials.

It’s maddening! I should explain my mother has a “Life Estate” in the condo. It’s a legal term that is written into the deed and says that for her whole life, the place is hers to use (or rent out) or do whatever benefits her. We feel our presence is the best thing for her.

She and her husband jointly owned the condo for a period of time, then she deeded it over to his trust so that eventually it’ll be inherited by his kids (which is only fair), but during her life-time it’s hers to use. The presence of that “Life Estate” provision gives us the right to be here.

But Tuesday our problems didn’t end with the discovery of the missing items.

Let me describe the condo. It has two bedrooms, two baths, a small kitchen, dining area, living room, and then across the back there’s a glassed in “lanai.” Connecting to the lani is a small room normally used as a golf cart garage and next to it a laundry room which has a door leading to a workshop. The golf cart garage was used for storage of lawn furniture and had a couple of cabinets for miscellaneous items. There’s also an extra refrigerator.

When we opened the sliding doors between the living room and the lanai the overwhelming stench of mold hit us. The lanai isn’t air conditioned but it is carpeted and is arranged like a living area. Normally the door between that room and the golf cart garage is closed, but it was open. The golf cart garage roof had leaked and the place was a disaster. Things had molded all over them. There had been a bag of charcoal but the bag had dissolved! An animal had gotten in and there were feces all over the place. It was sickening.

Then it started to rain hard and the roof in the golfcart garage roof leaked.. not a tiny drip, but like a facet turned on. We brought out buckets and tried to catch it, but the carpet was soaked from previous rain storms.

What a mess.

But we’re here.

We just left Tifton, GA, after enjoying a nice “brunch.” complete with pecan waffles. We had a few showers last evening in Macon, Ga, and now we’re just ahead of huge black clouds that are in the forecast for the area. Hopefully we can out-run them.

We’re wondering if we’ll run into love-bugs. Last September, when we came down, they were really bad near the Florida/Georgia border.

And just what are “love-bugs,” you ask? They’re harmless flying critters that seem to do nothing but mate, multiply into vast hordes, and then aim their duo-linked bodies for your windshield and headlights. Last September the infestation was especially bad. In a restaurant near the Stephen Foster National Park in northern Florida, we asked what they were, and the waitress explained that they are a real nusiance. If not washed from your vehicle, they can corrode the paint. They’re just nasty. She said they sweep them up several times a day. They’re always mating even when they fly, hence the name.

Along the roadway, Georgia has planted a lot of decorative grass. It’s the really tall, heavy tassled stuff. They use it along the highway right of way fences.

So what are our plans while in Florida, beside visiting with Mom? We want to hang out at the pool, go to Rockin’ Rendevous at the South Clubhouse every Thursday (it’s a fun friendly dance), go to the Moose for grouper on Friday nights (it’s fish that’s not as good as Michigan walleye, but not bad), and just take it easy. In mid-October, we need to get busy practicing our holiday tunes for our first Christmas gig at Warmbier Farms on November 4th.

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At the 18 mile marker (near Valdosta, GA ) we spotted our first palm trees. Yup, if the ya’alls and grits had convinced us that we’re in the south, we now have visual proof.

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The forecast for the Sun City Center area of Florida is for a few days of showers. Hopefully they’ll be spotty enough so we can enjoy the pool.

We’ve established a pattern of two extended (about six week) trips down here to Florida; one in February-March and one in September-October, so we kind of know what to expect. This time of the year, there aren’t the crowds of “snow birds” that we experience during our spring trip. Lots of folks who spend part of their year in Florida wait until right after the holidays to come down. We’ll probably have some hot weather, but not any worse than a Michigan summer. We just passed a couple of large campgrounds which were nearly empty. It’s definitely not like the February-March period when everyone wants to be down here it the warm climate.

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Well, we hit the bugs. We stopped for gas at the 2 mile marker just before leaving Georgia and there they were, flying in tandem. The female appears to drag the male along. She’s definitely larger and stronger. They’re totally black except for a little red on their heads. They were so thick that you found yourself batting them away as you walked. Take my word for it, they’re yucky.

By the end of 2006, we’ll have been away from home 40% of the time. Our travels included the cross country adventure to visit my daughter in California, attendance at festivals, camping trips, trips to the U.P. and trips to visit my mother (who has alzheimers and lives in Florida).

This morning (September 17th) at about 9:15 we started out for Florida. We’ll be down there approximately six weeks (returning on October 26th). This is the fourth time we’ve driven down since February 2005. (Each time we stay from 4 to 6 weeks.)

Mom and her husband, Hoagie, both reside special needs units in a lovely assisted living facility, Aston Gardens.

Mom’s life certainly isn’t what I’d have wished for her, but she’s comfortable and her deterioration seems to have slowed down considerably. She has a lovely room, nice care-givers, and great food. In her condition, there isn’t more I can wish for her.

Folks often ask why we don’t bring her back to Michigan, but 97-year-old Hoagie her husband of 17 years is down there, and she’s doing well. We have been told that consistency is important so she will probably live out her life there. Besides, the facility is actually less expensive than similar places in Michigan.

The condo that they lived in is empty, except when we or Hoagie’s daughter visit.

It’s a two bedroom, two bath duplex, in King’s Point, a gated community. The place needs major up-dating and remodeling. We love the King’s Point community where it’s located. There are lots of fun people, activities galore, and facilities (pools, club houses, exercise rooms, etc.) and a luxury resort feel. The neighbors are super nice people. We feel more welcome there than at our home in Michigan.

You can see the King’s Point South Club Pool here:

If anything ever happens to Hoagie (he’s 97 and has had multiple strokes, we know it’s always a sad possibility), we may buy the place so we can continue to visit Mom. We can’t imagine a nicer community to live in.

We will arrive in Sun City Center by Tuesday mid-afternoon.

Our over-night stops will be in London, KY, tonight and Macon, GA, tomorrow night. (We’d thought about taking a more easterly route rather than going straight down I-75, but we’ve decided that we’ll go directly down, but maybe, on the return trip, we’ll schedule some extra time and come back through the Smoky Mountain National Park since the color should be excellent according to the Foliage Network website , which provides an archive of previous years’ color patterns.

Last time we visited Mom, one of the nice people we’ve met (Sandy), organized a lunch cruise out of Clearwater. It was great fun. That evening we ate at a beach front restaurant as the sun set.

Should be a nice stay. Today is Mom’s 85th birthday. I will be calling her shortly to remind her that we’re on our way. Sadly she won’t remember when we hang up that we’re coming, but hopefully she’ll still know me.

I’ll write more later.

Only about a week and a half and we’ll be on our way south to Florida.

Our normal trip (and we’ve been making a slew of them since Mom developed Alzheimers about two years ago), has taken us straight down I-75 to our destination. Since we’ve made the trip a half dozen times down and back, we figured a change of scenery is in order, so we’re thinking about going down I-75 through Kentucky, and then heading through Tennesse, North and South Carolina and into Florida before coming back to I-75 and to Sun City Center. Our diversion will add about 90 miles to our trip, but we’ll see the Atlantic (which I haven’t encountered).

We haven’t cancelled our reservation for an over-night in Macon, Georgia, and a fairly straight shot down, but we’re probably going the longer but diverse route.

Should be interesting to go through the Smokys and see some new sights.

I’m sorry.. I got so busy at the Midland festival that I never found time to write down what was happening, and then we took off for a week of camping at Rifle River. That’s where we are now.

With it being Labor Day weekend, the campground is fairly crowded. We have a near perfect campsite. The back of our trailer is within a few feet of the riverbank. Weather is in the 70’s but cool at night (low 50’s).

It’s been muggy and threatening all day, but at 2:10 p.m. it’s not raining, and we’re hoping that it’ll hold off. Workshops are large. I took a ukulele one that had 39 students! Margaret Loper has really arranged a bang-up line-up of talented instructors.

We miss some of our “regulars”: Jim Rathbun, Linda Foley, Dotty Decker, Judith Lindenau, are among the missing, but we have lots of new folks and it’s definitely a successful event!

Tonight I will be emceeing the Stage Show so I’ve been practicing up a couple jokes that I can use as fill-in if needed.

It’s a fun festival. John and Margaret should be proud.

We’re at the Midland Dulcimer Festival. We arrived yesterday morning. It’s been busy and hectic. John and Margaret (co-chairs) are over-worked as usual. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. The water coolers were late being delivered, the weather has been rainy, but music is prevailing.

Right now I can hear a dulcimer in the distance and the thump of a bass.

Folks are preparing for the big community potluck. It’ll start in less than an hour and the smells of cooking food have whetted our appetites.

Great news! We’ve passed the 115 mark in registered campers and 100 would have been considered a success.

I’m sure I’m not the only list maker.. I love lists. I love planning everything out in detail.

Next week we’ll be at a festival, the following week at a campground, and on September 17th, John and I will be heading to Florida to spend six weeks with my mother (who has advanced alzeheimers). I’m going through the list making process. I’m the best list maker you’ll ever run across because I’ve had more practice. But this time I’ve created a “universal” list.

My perfect packing list is nearly 200 items long and consists of multiple columns. There is a main “stuff to be packed” column which lists everything we need no matter where we are. We don’t take everything every time we travel. Some of the stuff only gets used at festivals, or only when we’re in the U.P. or strictly when we head to Florida. Following the main column are four columns: one for “Festivals,” one for “Camping,” one for “Going to the Upper Penninsula,” and one for “Florida.” If there’s an “x” in a column, the item must be packed for that trip. Some items have four “x’s” and some have only one. No matter where we’re headed that one packing list works. I can isolate only those items for any of the four types of vacations. I can continue to improve on it and groom it to perfection.

Of course next week, we go to the Midland Dulcimer Festival AND afterward go to Rifle River for a week (nine days) of camping. But I’ll be prepared. And when we get back, I’ll sort by the Florida column and start parking for our six weeks in the South.

I love our life. Yes, we’re busy, but it’s wonderful! And arriving with everything we need makes it that much more comfortable.

I’m sure glad my career was as a hospital planner. It qualifies me as a good list-making retiree.

….a few days later….
PS I’m writing this post script at the Festival and guess what, despite my wonderful lists, I forgot some stuff. My battery tester, replacement night light bulbs, and my extra hammered dulcimer hammers. Probably I’ll discover more stuff too. Ok, so I’m not perfect, but maybe by the time we head to Florida, I’ll have it perfected.

Monday my two brothers met: my brother I’d known since he was born in 1949; and Jim, the brother I didn’t know existed until March of 2005.

It was astounding. Denny’s short and stocky, Jim’s tall and more slender. But they recognized the similarities: baldness!

Other than that I couldn’t see many features where they were the same:

Denny’s talkative.
Jim’s quiet.
etc..

But somehow they were immediately “brothers.”

We yacked. Denny and I talked and talked. Yup, I’m guilty of being a talker too.

But the best part of the evening was when Louise took me aside and told me how much Jim is enjoying the discovery of his new family.

Ok, so some of you have just stumbled on this part of the story. To read the whole tale, go to the entire narrative at: http://dulcimers.com/family.html

It’s great!

We’ve been pretty busy since returning from the Upper Peninsula.

This week we’ve been outfitting our deck with stuff that we have wanted for years but we hadn’t bothered to buy. The end of season sales are wonderful so we got a deluxe eight-burner grill, a small outdoor fountain, a nice table and eight comfortable chairs. We also bought some extra plants and we’re busy sprucing up things. We’ve lived in this house for over 20 years and for the first time we’re using the deck the way we envisioned using it when we built the house.

Here’s an observation: a six-foot grill is a bit overkill for two people. We cooked two hamburgs last night and a chicken breast tonight. Almost lost the meat on the vast expanse of our new grill. It’s grand. We could prepare a whole pig in it.

Monday we’ve invited company over. Wouldn’t ‘cha know it, with our wonderful new outdoor setting, the predictions are for clear skies until Monday, then RAIN!

I’m sure if you look closely at this photo, you’ll see steam. It was so hot today! (90’s) We spent quite a bit of time in the water and at water’s edge. The lake’s really shallow in front of our place, and was so warm that it may has well have been bath water, but we survived the day and hopefully it’ll be cooler tomorrow.

Last night we had a severe storm hit this part of the U.P. (Upper Peninsula for non-Michiganders (and, yes, it’s Michigander NOT Michiganians – Michiganian is a new term that’s just shown up in the past few year years).

Yesterday was incredibly hot for this part of the country. It was in the mid-90’s with humidity as only Michigan can produce it. During the day we picked a few berries but most of the time we hunkered down inside in front of a fan since it was at least five degrees cooler inside than out. It was miserable. Late afternoon we headed to town in part because the truck was comfortably air conditioned. The Moose Club where we went for a fish dinner last night didn’t have A.C. (as is often the case up here), so we suffered through a hot dinner. When we got back home a major thunderstorm warning was out for the county. We got the edge of it and quite a bit of rain.

Today it’s much more comfortable.

We went to the beach to see if we could find a sandy area suitable for swimming. A few years back it was picture perfect here with a hard packed sand area that extended about 100 feet from the tree line. It was the best for swimming and enjoying the water that you could imagine. But the past six or seven years, with a drop in the Great Lakes levels, we’ve seen a major change. The beach is now weed infested and the edge of the water is mucky where some black alge stuff washes in. If we were here more often, we could probably clear away an area for swimming, but it’s hard physical work, and since we’re headed home Wednesday it hardly seems worth it. John is going to chop and mow some of the weeds this afternoon so we don’t lose any more ground, but it’s depressing.

Al Gore’s global warming predictions suggest that there’ll be a major melt that will raise water levels in the Great Lakes but we have seen the water table drop and it’s doubtful that in our life-time we’ll have the pretty beach we had ten years ago.

Even though tempertures are comfortable today, it’s muggy. Guess I’ll go read a book, or let the woodticks gnaw on me. Seems only right.

We’re heading up to our place in the U.P. The U.P. where it’s tranquil and lovely with mosquitoes at night that can carry you away and ticks that gnaw on you.

I’ve never quite figured out why we go north to this spot on Lake Michigan. It’s certainly not because of the accommodations. It’s just an old 1960’s vintage trailer. It’s not because of the beach, which has been non-existent the past couple of years due to low water levels. It’s not because of the wonderful fresh air smells because the trailer is old and musty. But nevertheless it is captivating. The view from our deck out to the water is lovely. The quiet is profound. We often go a week with no one around so it’s totally silent except for the wave and gull noises and the music that we make.

We have a swarm of humming birds that come out when we bring out the simple syrup and keep us entertained.

This should be raspberry season up there. We’ll crash through thickets to grab a few tiny berries but feel richly rewarded when we have enough for a dessert or addition to pancakes.

We look for wild flowers. Our nearest up-north neighbor, Helen, is an expert and presented us with a book where she’d carefully marked those we could expect to find. We try to be prepared by scouting out all those in the vicinity, and like successful pupils, we recite our discoveries when we see her.

The tempo of life up north is different. We don’t wear a watch, we get up whenever we feel like it, we eat when hungry. It’s a lazy life.

We could do the same thing at home. We could set on our deck and watch the water because at home we live on a lake. We would be more comfortable and this weekend cooler (it’s supposed to be in the mid-90’s), but we’re on our way north. And as the familiar landmarks indicate that we’re getting closer, we’re just a tad more relaxed.

I had these great plans to keep up my blog while at Evart. But when I got there, the time was so limited and I was so over-worked, that it was impossible to keep it up. But now I’m home and I can reflect on this years’ 2006 Evart Funfest.

It wasn’t great. It was a lot of work, and little pleasure. Maybe other years’ high energy successes have set the bar unrealistically high, but I’m sure that’s not the whole story.

It just wasn’t as much fun as other years.

We understand there is an undulating flow of good times (the really highs) and low points. Not all years are equal. We don’t expect every one to be the best. But this was definitely the “lowest.” My daughter commented that it’s “burn out” but I don’t think that’s it. I really think it was caused by situations beyond our control.

I only hope that next year returns to the fun time we’ve enjoyed every other year previously.

So what was the difference? After analysis, it seems like it was the problems of our friends.

John and I have never felt better, nor been closer, but so many of our friends were suffering: health problems, deaths, traumas. There were festival political arguments where I hadn’t noticed them before. Lots of complaints and bickering.

The year that John lost both of his parents in a two month period from May-July, was horrid, but somehow this year was more disappointing. When his parents died, we anticipated that things would be bleak. We had our friends to pull us through it and the festival part of our lives didn’t suffer.

This year, we went into the festival optimistically anticipating the grand time we have always had, but it was different.

As I said, it wasn’t our pain or our misery. It was that of friends we care about: heart attacks and strokes, cancer, other illness, parents dieing. Horrible things to deal with. It seemed that every day it was a new challenge for them and ultimately for us. Yes, we probably take on more than we should with the workshops, the one-on-ones, the program, the website, etc. but that’s all stuff we know we can handle. We know we can produce good results in those areas, but we can’t fix health, deaths, pain and misery. So we suffered with our fiends.

And the heat made it all intollerable. We were miserable!

That’s not to say that there weren’t some wonderful fun experiences. Early in the week, there was a sweet jam with Marcille Wallis and Chuck, Chuck had a beautiful slow jam Wednesday night, there was the list reception, and the wonderful feeling when I realized Judi had written a fun tune with my name in the title. There were crowded classes, and inspiring one-on-ones. A great feeling of success in that area! There was my “new” brother, Jim, and his lovely wife, Louise coming to the festival Saturday night and the time we spent together. There was some fantastic music like the tunes played by Bill Robinson (I love his new one) . There was fun girl-time when we all chatted in the pool, and got better acquainted, but all in all it wasn’t what we had hoped for. It was a disappointment.

In the past, the wonderful times filled all the days and evenings. This time, those memorable experiences were fewer.

But we have the Midland Dulcimer Festival August 24-27. A popular concert planned for next Wednesday. In less than a week, we’re heading to the U.P. to pick raspberries and get away from it all.

And in just about a month and a half, we take off for Forida for six weeks to be with Mom. Life is great! No complaining. Who has it better than me? No one I know!!

Are we going to be depressed? Heavens no! Life’s too short. There’ll be a festival in 2007 and optimistically we’re expecting it to be better’n ever. Betcha’ it will be.

The fun at the festival is still at a manageable pace. It’ll get bumped up to a higher intensity by Thursday. These days are my favorite. I love the chats and the “sit-around” time. The music is less frantic and things are less chaotic. There’ll be time for high-energy, wear-you-out playing when the actual festival starts, but now’s a lazy period.

Here’s a photo of a small jam taken before last night’s rain.

We’re here at the wonderful hammered dulcimer event, the ODPC Funfest. It’s our favorite destination. We love the folks, the music, the whole Evart experience.

Folks who have previously attended will be amazed at how the fairgrounds looks. It’s now surrounded by a very attractive white fence. There is an area across the street on Recreation Blvd. that has some new camping areas. The new restroom looks great (although we haven’t really checked it out.)

As far as the camping, there’s been a shift.. folks who want to stay cool when it’s hot, aren’t heading to Thompson Park. Instead they’re finding sites with 30 or 50 amp wiring so they can run their air conditioning units and most of those are in the main campground area. As someone said, if it gets “hot” we won’t see anyone around those units. They’ll all be inside.

Thompson Park is nearly empty. There are a few of the die-hards but it’s down to only a handful.

This is going to be a great festival. I can feel it!!

I need to take some photos, which I’ll post. Check back!

Feels like “home” when we get to the Funfest in Evart, MI. It’s the world’s largest hammered dulcimer festival. We arrived mid-afternoon and established our campsite. We haven’t put up the big canopy yet for the workshop leader rest area and only one other unit is located in Tent City, but the rest of the fairgrounds is surprisingly full.

I’ll be posting lots of photos of this haven. We love it here!

Stuff continues to happen – good and bad.

Our Wednesday concert was great fun. We had 150 in the audience and 21 musicians, despite cool weather, showers and forecasts warning there’d be a major storm.

Our good friend, Wayne Conklin, is in the hospital with heart problems. It’s always sad and scarey when folks you care about have health problems. He’s one of my workshop leaders, so I’ll need to replace him, but more important is his health. I just want him well!!

Today our small group (Live Music) played for a wedding in Bay City. It was hot and storms were predicted. It dripped a few drops mid- day, and a bird “dumped” on John’s dulcimer, but things worked out and we did fine.

Wednesday, at our concert, I had an exciting experienced. My brother, Jim, showed up with his family. So what’s the big deal about a brother? Well, until a year ago, I didn’t know he existed. Under the main heading “Links” on the right side of this screen (there’s a link to “family”) you can read the wonderful, unbelievable story. Or go directly here:

It feels so good to have the Evart workshop program in the hands of the printer. (I’m the workshop chairman and organize the 221 workshops into a 20-page three-day program.) From the time I ask the leaders to start submitting their classes, in December, I feel a high level of stress. I know I need to get the information organized – it’s always hanging over my head. Ideally, I’d do it as the classes come in, but generally I end up organizing it when I have about 80% of the necessary number of classes (so that is about May). The last minute ones fill in the slots that are open.

Nevertheless, it’s been over six months of preparation and worry about what needed to be done. Now everything is complete. It’s time for a breather. (I figured out my time, and it took roughly 70 hours since mid-May to get the program ready.)

Tonight John and I will be playing at Subterranean Strings Haithco Concert. It’s a fun group of friends so we always look forward to getting together. Each summer since 1993 we have hosted these concerts. We host one per month during June, July and August. Audiences are generally the “white haired” set. We love ’em. Unfortunately it looks like rain. If so, we’ll move the event to Wescourt senior residence facility. Either way, it should be a fun evening.

Saturday afternoon, our small group called Live Music (four of us) will be playing for a small wedding. It was a last-minute hire, so we have had to really hussle to get our music ready. There’ll be another practice tomorrow.

Our packing for Evart has barely started. I figure once we get the concert and the wedding out of the way, there’ll be time (Sunday-Tuesday). We’ll leave for the festival Wednesday a.m.

So I’m still stressed, but compared to the period before the Evart workshop program goes to the printer, this is heavenly.

I’ll let you know how the concert goes.

You start by going to each room, and clearing it out. (That’s how I pack for Evart.)

My reputation of “being the person at Evart who you can go to for anything you need” means that I bring along things no one else even dreams of. In addition to the stuff I use in my role of Workshop Chairman, like boxes of programs, felt tip markers, sound equipment, and push pins, I also drag along a commercial type copy machine, 10 reams of copy paper, and my computer with a colored printer. But I also go around the house looking for other stuff people might need: fans, extra outdoor coffee pot, extra chairs, office equipment (staplers, hole punch, clips). We bring along bandaids, scissors, sewing supplies, extra batteries and light bulbs.

We used to bring along an extra tent (just in case) and a cot, but we ran out of space.

Of course, Evart is a music festival. We’ll bring three dulcimers, an autoharp, tenor banjo, whistles, tenor guitar and harmonicas, but no upright bass this year. (Last year ours never left it’s case and it’s a pain to deal with.)

Preparation/packing is a PAIN. We’re leaving in one week and four days. Between now and then we have a lot to do: Program needs to be mocked up and prepared then delivered to the printer; the copier needs to be picked up; we’re attending a family dinner, we’re performing at a wedding; we’re hosting a major concert; and most of all we’re packing for a two week time away from home.

Does it sound like I’m complaining? Not at all!! I love our life. We’re so fortunate. We’re healthy, comfortable in every way, and we have this fun (sorta wacky) hobby/lifestyle/diversion/obsession.

Countdown to Evart is nearly complete!

Time to catch you up on what’s been happening since we returned home from our cross country trip on May 10th.

It felt good to be home but there was very little time for relaxation. The grass was in need of attention. The grapes and apple trees needed spraying and the garden planting was overdue. So John got busy. He also had a major banjo performance on May 13th with the Flint Banjo Club at Banjorama.

I was busy inside.

Before we’d left on our trip, I’d confidently thought that I’d be able to organize the hundreds of ODPC Workshops while on the road. But the wonderful scenery we encountered as we drove across the country added to my responsibilities as navigator took my full attention, so when we got home, nothing was complete. It took more than two weeks of solid work before I had the schedule ready to post. I finished the program and bragged that it was ready. Wouldn’t ‘cha know it… the next day I had several cancellations so I had a lot of reorganizing to do. (I now believe it’s ready, but the program won’t go to the printer until next Monday, so there could still be changes.)

Over Memorial Day weekend, our dulcimer club (Sub-Strings) played at the Lumbermen’s Festival in Frankenmuth. It was a hot but enjoyable weekend.

June 9, 10, 11, we were at Lake of Dreams Campground near Merrill, MI, again with Sub-Strings. We had great weather and a wonderful turn-out. The food was also spectacular.

That brings us about up to date. On June 15th, we headed to the Upper Peninsula. We have a place on Lake Michigan which is very remote.

We had closed it up on August 5th, 2005, so we needed to look in on it.

This is the view from our deck toward Lake Michigan.

Every season up here has it’s features. In the spring, it’s smelt runs in Dead Horse Creek. In early summer the ground is covered with flowers including dwarf lake iris and lots of violets. In late summer, we enjoy wild raspberries. This time of the year, we have a clump of the most beautiful showy lady’s slippers. These are protected, delicate, rare, wild orchids.

You can see how they grow here (notice several are in full bloom):

But what do they look like close-up?

Most of the summer months we also endure wood ticks. They’re crawly ugly creatures that love waist bands, socks, cuffs, and places you can;t easily reach. When you go through tall grass you can expect to find at least a tick or two crawling on you. And they aren’t easy to do away with. They won’t squash easily like a mosquito or fly. These aren’t the ones which carry lymes disease, but they can cause an uncomfortable infection if they “dig in.”

We’re heading back home today. We only have about two weeks before we leave for Evart and there’s lots to prepare beforehand.

We’ll be back here in the U.P. on July 27th.

We’ve been home a little more than a month and I’ve been hearing lots of comments about my 6,000 mile travel blog. I was amazed that so many liked following our trip. And I have to admit it was great fun writing my “on line” diary. I enjoyed documenting our travels probably more than you enjoyed reading them.

Now I’m finding that I’m suffering from blog withdrawal. So I’ve decided to resurrect my blog..

You can find our travel chronical under the “West Coast and Back” category. Now I’ll be adding current day to day stuff. It may not be on an every day basis, but fairly often. As time goes by, some postings will be travel documentaries. (We go to Florida twice a year.) And I have a feeling, since our last trip went so well, we’ll head out on another major trip within the next year or two. We go camping, we head to the U.P. We have concerts, we have family drama, and music stuff. Maybe you will find it boring. Maybe I’ll be the only one reading it, but that’s ok.

Just how interesting can the life of a 64 year old woman be?? We’ll find out.

We made it! 6,000 miles over five weeks. It was wonderful, but would we do it again? Wellllllllll……… not for awhile. We need to recover.

Our house is dusty but everything, with the exception of our garage refrigerator, did just fine without us. The refrigerator (which wasn’t doing well before we left) died. It’s pretty bad because some frozen meat has thawed but nothing valuable.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this travel blog. If you have any comments, you can email me at skaryds@dulcimers.com. We’d especially enjoy hearing from the wonderful people we met along the way.

Last night (Wednesday), we slept like babies. Willow is smiling, and Charlie (our cockatiel) won’t shut up.

Before I sign off, I need to answer a question that’s come up frequently” Where did I find the beautiful sunset photo at the top of the blog? Actually it’s a sunrise, and it was taken from our deck at our place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

It was wonderful to see the country, but the view from our living room window is pretty nice and it’ll keep us content for some time to come.

This is from our living room window. Notice the red-bud is in full-bloom.

Home! There’s nothing like it.

When we started this adventure, I signed up for an email list (RVing-Moose-Parking) which is especially for Moose members who travel with RVs and want to stay over at lodges. The database they provided me was super. (In return I’ll be writing reviews of the lodges we visited.)

Last night we stopped in Davenport, Iowa, and following the guidelines in the database, we parked behind the lodge where they had installed electric hook-ups for RVs visiting their facility. The lodge itself was large, clean, and not smokey!

We met very nice people, especially Kathy and Wayne who sat next to us. Before long we felt like they were long-time friends who were warm and genuine. The Governor and Past Governor of the lodge also made us feel welcome.

At 5:30 they served enchilada dinners which were fabulous and only $5 for a complete and very filling meal.

Our travels the past five weeks have pointed out that the United States is rich in natural beauty, but more than anything else, we’ve met wonderful, warm, caring people, like the ones in the Davenport Moose lodge.

By about 8:30, we were in our trailer. A fairly severe thunder storm hit the area about 10:00.

It’s now about 10:00 a.m. and we’re somewhere in Illinois. It’s the last day of our trip. I’m feeling nostalgic. What an adventure! We’ll be glad to be home, and we aren’t anxious to travel again for a while, but maybe, just maybe we’ll try a more northerly trip to Yellowstone and into Canada sometime in the future.

And when we do, we’re hoping we can stop in the Davenport Moose lodge. We have left-over tokens redeemable for beverages which we’re saving, just in case.

Reluctantly we left Estes Park yesterday morning. The curvy road from Loveland to Estes Park had been rather intimidating when we saw it on the map before visiting the area, but as we drove from the park, we were in awe of the engineering feat and the beauty of the cliffs and crags. This lap of our trip was definitely a highlight, and to think we almost skipped it.

Monday was a long day on the road. John drove well over 500 miles. Much of the time we witnessed a lovely rainbow that stayed ahead of us for quite a while. We didn’t make it to Lincoln, Nebraska, until about 7:30 p.m. When we reached Moose Lodge #175 we were tired and hungry. We met Kathy and Rick. Rick, was working in the kitchen. He made us a couple wonderful hamburgs while his wife, Kathy, quenched our thirst and made us feel welcome. They sure are great host and hostess of a lodge that was definitely the nicest we’ve seen as well as one of the friendliest.

As we were finishing up our meal, a thunderstorm hit. The rain came down in sheets, but Rick fixed me up with an “improvised raincoat” and we spent the rest of the evening in our trailer, safe and dry.

John apparently had fixed the leak which had dampened things a few days earlier. It was perfectly dry and as hard as it rained, that was a test, if there ever was one.

Now we’re in Iowa. We just ate lunch in a rest area. Surprisingly it had free wifi available to travelers. Other states should follow that lead.

The scenery in Nebraska had been flat and boring, but Iowa has a lot of rolling hills.

Tonight we’ll overnight in Davenport (Iowa) at (you guessed it) a Moose lodge. We hope we run into more nice folks. The people who have welcomed us, have truly been one of the best parts of this trip.

John and I had a nice day in the park. It’s incredible.

Unfortunately I came down with a cold. One of those sneezy, stuffy ones that really has knocked me for a loop. I have been toughing it out, but it did put a damper on the day for me.

We took the more southerly roads through the park today. On the advice of park hostess Linda, we went to Sprague Lake and hiked around it. We ran into a little snow, but not enough to justify boots (although I had bought some new warm ones in Estes Park). This area had once been a lodge owned by a gentleman named Sprague. It’s wonderful that the National Park Service is restoring the whole area to it’s untouched state.

After our hike, we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch.

The whole area is touristy, but you feel that people who would choose to visit the area love nature.

Here’s a view of Estes Park at the base of the mountains.

In the morning, we’ll head out. We’ll be driving over 500 miles tomorrow, overnighting in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tuesday we’ll go as far as Davenport, Iowa. Wednesday, we should be home.

This is an area we highly recommend. The beauty of it humbles you.

After lunch, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. What a treasure! I can’t begin to describe the majesty of the mountains. As we went up higher, we ran into deep snow (6′ in some places) on the sholder, but the roads were clear and dry. Quite a few of the areas had opened today.

I’m sure most Americans don’t know what a marvelous country we have. I know until this trip, John and I would could never have understood what treasures abound. We’re in awe.

Here are some of the views we enjoyed today:

Tomorrow we plan to return for the rest of the national park. We met a really nice hostess at the Fall Creek Visitors’ Center. Her name is Linda. She gave us wonderful advice that included coming back tomorrow and bringing a picnic lunch. So that’s what we will do. We want to see the more southerly loop of the east side of the park. Her advice and directions worked perfectly today, so we’re prepared for another great day tomorrow.

The weather was flawless. We had temperatures that were in the mid-60’s with low wind and lots of sun. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Tomorrow we’ll bring along boots and gloves, since we’ll be in the snow area and we want to take a gentle hike. It’s sure pretty!

If I had to pick a different place to live, Estes Park, Colorado, would be on my short list. What scenery!

Yesterday we went into town and shopped a little. It’s early in the season, so a lot of things are closed.

The campground is nice. Folks are friendly. Here’s our campsite:

We’re planning to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park this afternoon. It’s only five miles.

We’ve seen elk grazing right down town in Estes Park. Hopefully we’ll see other wild life in the Park.

We waited around until about 10:00 a.m. and I called the campground again. Reportedly the weather is about 40 degrees and overcast, but not raining (a distinct improvement from 34 degrees and drizzle in Cheyenne). We decided to head toward Estes Park. At least we’ll have full-service hook-ups and can take a long hot shower. It’s near the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

If we’re forced to stay inside, we’ll practice our music. I feel really “rusty” since I haven’t had a chance to play for the past month! And John needs to get ready for Banjorama which will occur the Saturday after we get home (a week from tomorrow).

We’re on our way. It’s only about 80 miles between Cheyenne and Estes Park but the last 25 or so mile stretch is apparently a challenge.

It’s Friday and we’re in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at 8:30 a.m.

We ran into a blizzard yesterday on I-80. Visibility was down to less than 1/4 mile and it was horrid driving. The wipers started building with the wet snow. Huge snowflakes were blinding and it was all mixed with fog.

John’s an excellent driver, but the conditions really challenged him. It finally cleared just before we got into Cheyenne.

At the Moose Lodge they let us park next to the building so we have electricity. We’re warm and comfortable.

Our plan for today was to drive the 80 miles from here to Estes Park, which is right outside the Rocky Mountain National Park, and camp at the KOA campground. The last 30 miles before we get to our destination is an extremely curvy road where maximum speeds often are below 30 mph. The weather.com forecast says they’re having snow in the Estes Park area. It’s foggy here, but expected to clear later in the day with warmer temperatures anticipated.

I’ve called the campground hoping to get the current conditions. Got an answering machine. I’m waiting for a call-back.

We’re discussing our options. If we skip Rocky Mountain National Park, we’ll have to forfit our $35 deposit, but obviously the approximate 160 miles we’ll drive south off I-80 will cost us so it may be wiser. We’re certainly not in any hurry to face driving conditions like we encountered yesterday. If we go to Estes Park, we’ll have full hook-ups and showers, but since it is supposed to get down into the 20’s we could easily freeze up.

We’ll wait to hear from the campground.

We found a place to stop for the night at a Wal-mart Super Center last night (Wednesday night) in Evanston, Wyoming. They were very willing to let us stay which seemed like a great find. But as evening approached, it seemed that every trucker in the vicinity had made the same discovery. We carefully positioned our RV so we were the last unit in the row, guaranteeing us that we couldn’t be “boxed in” by semis. Quickly we discovered that we hadn’t selected the best spot. We were on the end near a drive and the edge of the Wal-mart property, but right at the edge of the property were railroad tracks and about every 15 minutes a train came through. So we spent the night parked between a running diesel truck and the near constant trains. It was a toss-up which was noisier.

It got down in the low 40’s but we were warm and comfy under our comforter. Most of the night it rained.

When we got up this morning, everything seemed to go wrong. Willow wasn’t feeling well. She definitely looked uncomfortable and wasn’t interested in eating. Then John discovered that we had a leak in the living room. It was dripping from a seam in the ceiling. The rug by the door was pretty damp, and my HP all-in-one printer which I’d hauled along so I could do our music club’s newsletter and print or copy anything we needed was wet. John had built a table to cover it but the water ran over the top of the table and down onto the control panel. We dried it up as good as we could, but it’ll have to dry out a lot more before I can use it.

It’s 8:30 a.m. We’re on the road to Cheyenne, Wyoming, with over 300 miles to go. The rain we’d had in Evanston has turned to snow now that we’re at higher elevations. I’d say there’s a half inch of fresh snow. The view is shrouded in fog which isn’t bad in the valleys, but gets pretty thick when we’re higher.

For the past two nights we’ve boondocked so we haven’t had electric power. Hopefully tonight, at the Moose in Cheyenne, we will be able to borrow a little electricity. Even if it’s just enough for a small heater and/or my curling iron, we’ll be happy.

Tomorrow is Friday. We will be at the Rocky Mountain National Park. Hopefully the weather will improve because with overcast conditions like this, there sure won’t be any “views” to enjoy.

There’s a steady stream of semis passing us. (We hold a steady 60 while they push the 75 mph limit.) We’ll be stopping for gas at Rock Springs. Gas prices are down from what we encountered in California where it was $3.20-3.13. Hopefully we’ll be able to fill up for $2.939 /gal. and it should be even lower ($2.869) in Cheyenne. (I check the Flying J website every a.m. for the latest diesel prices.)

I miss the lovely scenery. Right now, the mist and fog makes it pretty hard to see in the distance.

Write more later.

Last night (Tuesday night) we stopped in Wendover, Nevada. It ended up being a good choice. Wendover is the last chance to gamble in Nevada before crossing into Utah. The town was very RV friendly. A huge parking lot was posted for semi and RV overnight parking. They even had a shuttle that would pick you up at your RV and take you to the half dozen casinos. It wasn’t really quiet for sleeping, but we’ve encountered worse.

We went to two of the casinos — Ate dinner at the Red Garter and we were mesmerized by the Rainbow. The Rainbow was a mind-blowing display of lights. The entire ceiling was reflective. There were areas of burgundies, purples, blues and others with turquoises and greens. It seemed everything was neon. It was actually more gaudy and sensational than anything we encountered in Las Vegas or Reno.

We’re in Utah about an hour west from Salt Lake City. It’s gray and rainy. First bad weather we’ve encountered while driving. Roads are nearly empty and smooth. With this wet weather, we may not spend much time sight-seeing in Salt Lake City. Our plan was to find a parking spot and walk around, but the rain may change that. Our hope is that we’ll drive out of the rain. It appears that it’s brighter to the east so hopefully.

We really have no plans for today and tonight. We’ll play it by ear.

Our plan was to stay in Reno for two nights at the KOA park, but things weren’t quite as we’d expected, so we left this morning after only one night.

It’s not that we’re hard to please, but this KOA was one of the more pricey nights on our trip and therefore we expected things to be pleasant. I’d made the reservations a couple of months ago and at that time, I requested that we be placed as close to the casino as possible. One of the reasons I selected the KOA was that they advertised free wifi service.

As it turned out, after we had checked in and set up, we found wifi wasn’t available for us. Our campsite was too far out. Not only was it as from the casinos as possible, we were also beside a noisy road.

It would have been one thing if the park had been full, but it was only about 15-20% occupied, leaving many empty sites in our “price range.”

Apparently they were “saving” those prime spots for longer stays or for folks who just drove-in without a reservation. It was a little maddening to walk ½ mile past vacant sites to ours which was in the back-most corner.

So this morning (Tuesday) we packed up and left. Our destination is Wells, Nevada, where we can stay in a Flying J. It’s supposed to be pretty chilly tonight (low 40’s). When we get to Salt Lake City tomorrow (Wednesday), we will probably resort to boondocking again. We just can’t see paying camping fees when we pull in late and pull out early. Thursday our plan is to stop at a Moose Lodge in Cheyenne, WY.

Moose lodges have been great! Except for the first one (in Brazil, IN) we have met nice folks who really rolled out the welcome mat. Brazil was our first night out, and we hadn’t learned how to break the ice. The best by far was Albuquerque. They even gave us a small gift to remember them by. Bakersfield folks were also welcoming. Wish we could find a lodge tonight, but I don’t think there’s one in the area.

When I wrote yesterday, I was concerned about the weather. As it turned out. In Reno, it was about 80. The early evening was about 65 degrees. We were very comfortable. And we got rid of one blanket when we slept.

After dinner last night, we went “downtown” and checked out the large hotels. Looked like small version of Las Vegas. We finally tried a couple of slot machines, just so we could say we’d done it. Gamblers would have laughed at us agonizing over our penny and nickle bets. At one point I won 16 cents and John hit it big and was ahead 50 cents. We found we could make it last by going from machine to machine. The $3 we spent was “cheap entertainment” and kept us busy for about an hour, but gambling just isn’t our thing. We had enough sight-seeing by about 9:00 so we were back in our place petting the dog.

Right now where we’re driving there are mountains in the distance, but the scrub land on either side of the road is flat and dry looking, interspersed with salt flats. Actually the scenery keeps changing. Sharp and rocky looking mountains in some areas are replaced with more gentle ones. In many areas the mountains on the horizon have snow on them.

I’m a little concerned about Estes Park, Colorado, where we plan to stay for three nights this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s in the Rocky Mountains, and I forgot my snow boots. I keep hoping I won’t need them, but it’s looking more and more like there’ll be snow. The boots were on my list, and I thought I packed them under the bed, but so far I haven’t found them. John has his and we do have a winter jacket and gloves, but when we saw there was two to four feet of snow in the Sierra-Nevada mountains, I realized early May in the mountains still means snow! I’ll worry about that when we come to it.

We’re becoming experts on the condition of roads by state. When we were in California, I-80 was patched, washboard, and horrid. In Nevada, for the most part, I-80 is smooth and newly resurfaced. Traffic is light the day is beautiful. Temps in the mid to high 60’s.

Only about an hour until we reach Wells, NV.

==============

Well, we decided not to stop at Wells. It was a little too early to “call it a day” when we don’t have electricity so we’re heading on down the road to Wendover. Guess it’s right on the border between Nevada and Utah. Since Nevada is kinda wild, and Utah very conservative, it’ll be interesting. We’ll be that much closer to Salt Lake City. Tomorrow, we’ll get up and take off for SLC. If we find it interesting, we’ll hang around for the day.

The temperature is down to 61 degrees. (It was near 70 all day.) Maybe it’ll be slightly warmer when we get down out of these mountains.

The scenery has changed again. This stretch we’re driving through has tree covered mountains. First time today that we’ve seen trees.

When I got up this morning in Seaside, CA, it was the start of a beautiful day. The ocean fog hadn’t burned off, so it was probably about 67, but I dressed for hot weather (capris, a sleeveless top, and sandals). By the time we’d reached Sacremento, on our way north and west, it was about 85. I quickly shed the jacket I was wearing and was glad I’d been wise enough to dress for the warm weather.

But right now I’m looking out the window and there’s probably a two foot blanket of snow! We’re headed to Reno on Hwy. 80. The elevation over 7,200 feet. It’s definitely still winter. The outside temperature is 63 degrees, but a short ways back, we passed a lake still covered with ICE!

Somehow I’m not feeling so wise about my choice of dress.

A quiet but enjoyable weekend was spent with my family. Sunday night, we had a nice Chinese dinner in celebration of Kris’s up-coming graduation and birthday. (Kristofer is the older of my two grandsons.)

A nice capper to a very enjoyable stay.

The Big Sur area was buried in a fog bank, but that didn’t stop us from having a lovely day. Kelly allowed my grandson, Kris, to get off school (he’s a senior and most of his classes have wound down), so there were four of us.

The drive is awesome. Every view south along Hwy. 1 is lovely. We were impressed.

Kelly found a picnic spot for us (below): quiet, with a river flowing beside it.

We walked through a state park to a small waterfall with a scenic view. Probably one of the prettiest places we’ve seen.

The bridge below is featured in countless ads (especially for cars). Looks like someplace in Europe.

All in all, it was one of the nicest days we’ve enjoyed. Such fantastic scenery!

We only have two days left before we head home.

The weather’s definitely not been very cooperative so we’ve had to find “inside stuff” to do.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we went to the Monterey Aquarium which is considered the best in the world! We spent most of the day. My favorite exhibit displayed jelly fish. They’re beautiful!

Today was the best (weather-wise). John and Kelly have been doing yard work. She really likes having “Dad” around. They went for a long walk this a.m. I should explain that Kelly is a brown belt karate practioner and her husband a black belt. They’re really into physical fitness. Tonight John’s going to attend their sensei (class). I have begged off, because I know I can’t keep up. I have a feeling John’ll be plum tuckered out when he gets home.

Not a lot of music.

Tomorrow we’re going to Big Sur. I have been there before and remember that the drive is awesome. The weather is expected to improve, so I’m sure it’ll be a grand day.

Yesterday and today will be spent with the family. I can’t believe how grown my grandsons are. At nearly 18 and 15, they are young men.

My daughter has two very large but well-behaved dogs so Willow is living in the RV where she’s comfy.

We are enjoying this leisurely pace. John says it’s the best sleep he’s had since leaving Michigan.

The couple of times we’ve gone where we had an ocean view, it was lovely. This next week we’ll have lots of time to sight-see. We’ll be here until a week from tomorrow.

Yesterday I received a message from California Bob Rowland. He invited us to stop in and say hi as we’re heading toward Reno next week. (FYI Bob is a super nice guy who often drives across country to attend the Evart festival in Michigan. He always introduces super great tunes – like “The Gale.”) We’d like to visit them. We’ll see.

We’re in California!

Last night we over-nighted in Bakersfield, CA, at the Moose Lodge. Again, nice folks who were very welcoming. Unfortunately they didn’t have anything going on where we could get food, so we walked (too far) to a Taco Bell. We were back in our trailer for a quiet evening of TV and relaxing. Went to bed about 10:15.

This morning, bright and early, (6:30) we were awake and soon packed and back on the road. We’re now about 100 miles south of Seaside, where my daughter lives.

She’s a little panicky about our RV fitting in her driveway, but one way or the other, we’re here and we’ll just have to find a way. (All along she’s said there is room, but now that it’s for real, I think she’s concerned.)

The temperature here is only about 60 and isn’t expected to get any warmer today. But at least, for right now, the sun is out.

John’s impressed with the vineyards. Miles and miles of grapes growing is heaven to him.

We’ve stuck closely to our schedule and we’re arriving about when we said we would. When we get to my daughter’s we’ll have driven over 2,900!

My advice to anyone doing this is to get a GPS. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS and it has been a God-send. The setup I use requires a laptop, but it was something like $80, which sure has been worth it!

I have a camera full of photos so I should download them and post a few. I’ll see if I can do it before we arrive.

We got here (at Vegas) yesterday and decided to take a walking tour.

It’s really a jaunt from hotel to hotel. I believe we walked more than at the Grand Canyon. Saw a million slot machines but didn’t spend a penny in one. (We’re definitely not gamblers.)

Last night we went to the Freemont Experience which is a phenominal light-show. There were talented street acts. Certainly quite an experience. The “hands” photo below was actually projected many feet above us using millions of lights. Quite impressive.

We’re going out to dinner tonight. Won’t be doing much more walking. We’re pooped!!

Some places just don’t live up to their hype, but the Grand Canyon is much more than we’d imagined.

After the sunrise service, we returned to the trailer for breakfast. By mid-morning we’d boarded a shuttle bus to head to the east most area where we took photos galore.

This evening we want to go view the sunset from the west most end of the park.

We’re here at the Grand Canyon and it’s Easter Morning.

At 5:45 we were at the Easter sunrise service. It was lovely. A native American flute provided much of the music. Very appropriate.

The sunrise service

Never, never again. When pulling a trailer in Flagstaff, we encountered all kinds of problems. There’s a town ordinance against over night parking. If you’re a semi, they have “auto parks” but RVers are just NOT welcome.

We had planned to stay in Winslow, Arizona, and we would have been much better off, but it was early and we figured we were good to go, so we continued on. Next city is Flagstaff. We wasted an hour or so trying to find someplace to just stop, fix a meal, and stay until morning.

Finally we gave up and drove on up the road to a rest area on Hwy 40. Would have been ok, except that a semi parked immediately next to us, ran his engine all night. It was really loud. John said, not as bad as the Flying J the night before, but I felt it was much worse.

While in Flagstaff, we encountered an extreme dip in the temperature (45-50) coupled with winds of 35-40 mph. It was bitter cold. Right now it’s 43 degrees, but at least the wind has died down. It’s currently 8:35 a.m. We may have a problem when we get to our campground (Xanterra). I just re-read our reservation request and it says we can’t check in until 4:00.

We should be at the Grand Canyon National Park in a few minutes. I’ll write more later.

We left Albuquerque about 9:00 and stopped for gas. Got on the road west at about 10:00. We should pass into Arizona in about an hour. It’s a little past 11:00. We’re now 130 miles from the Petrified Forest National Park which will be our next stop.

The scenery has been fantastic. Flat topped mountains all around us. Road is new and really smooth. Traffic light to moderate. Temperature about 65 degrees.

I’ll have to post some “scenic” photos as soon as I get a chance to take them out of my camera. Right now I don’t want to divert my attention from the beautiful scenery.

I’ll write more later.

LATER:

The Petrified Forest was really interesting. We stayed several hours and found it really mesmerizing. I took a gazillion photos. Here’s one:

When I head back to Saginaw, I plan to report to our Moose Lodge that the friendliest Moose Center in the nation has to be in Albuquerque, NM. The folks were warm and receptive. We felt like we belonged from the minute we walked in the door. By the time we left, everyone knew we were “the folks from Michigan.” We kidded that we’d heard about their Thursday night hamburgs and that’s why we were visiting. The hamburgs really were great. But the people…. no way to explain how the welcome one receives makes a difference.

We actually considered staying an extra day just because of these folks.

The perks here included electric hookups and a convenient faucet. Can’t ask for more!

We did have one slight problem. Our RV battery leaked acid and it sprayed along the side of our unit. The paint was affected, but we have cleaned it up and a little paint should make it like new.

It is hot here in Albuquerque and the big news is a fire north from here.

It seemed that quite a few of the folks we met were Native American Indians, or of Mexican descent. All were long-time Albuquerque residents. All were welcoming, nice folks.

The worst Flying J we’ve ever experienced was the one in Amarillo, TX, on Hwy. 40. We just left there and vowed, never again. Rest rooms in disarray, pre-pay at the pumps, cramped and hard to maneuver. When we tried to get back on, there was gridlock with the semis coming in. What a mess! The only good thing was we paid $2.579 for a gallon and it’s now $2.699.

As we approach New Mexico, it’s a gradual but consistent up-hill grade. We’re at about 3,940 ft. elevation and climbing. Not only that but there’s a fierce wind, so we’re getting lousy m.p.g.

We’d like to stop and have lunch but it’s 86 degrees, and there’s not a shade tree to be seen.

…..little later….

We found a “rest area.” Consisted of three or four picnic tables. No restrooms, no trees, nothing. Had a quick bite to eat in the trailer and resumed our trip.

We’re now in New Mexico. The scenery has changed considerably. Totally different country.

We were surprised at the hills in the area of Branson, MO, but this area has flat topped mountains all around us. Temperature is 88. Elevation about 4,250 ft.

Traffic is comparatively light.

I’m hoping that in the Albuquerque area, I’ll be able to use my cell phone again to go on line. Lots to catch up on. I need to post these entries to my blog and monitor my sales site. (dulcimers.biz)

“Texas Hold ’em” has new meaning. We have noticed that in Oklahoma and now Texas, there are very few rest areas. So we’re playing Texas Hold ’em as we drive along.

Last night we stayed in Sayre, OK, and for me, despite the truck noise, it was a great night’s sleep. Cooled off nicely overnight and in fact, before morning we had a blanket over us.

Nothing special planned today. We’ll get to a Moose Lodge in Albuquerque tonight. I think they even have electricity. Great! Nothing but wide expansive ranches around here. Temperature is only 78 degrees but it’s 10:00 in the a.m.

I am finding that cellphone reception isn’t great. Thanks to my Wilson trucker antenna, I did get an important call from my mother’s nursing home a short while ago. Mom was taken to the hospital last night because they were concerned about a urinary problem. She’s back at her nursing home and will be going to the doctor today. (Mom has Alzheimer’s and I have power of attorney and am responsible for her care and needs.) Hope it’s nothing too serious.

Gas prices just continue to rise. It always seems that the station we passed up ends up having had lower prices than the one where we gas up. Oh, well.. It’s just a gamble, and we aren’t very good at gambling.

Twenty more miles and we’ll be in Amarillo, TX.

Gas prices have been horrid.

We’re now on Hwy. 40 which will take us across the country. Traffic is moderate but gas prices are frightening. We just filled up at $2.529 for diesel (not the worst price we’ve paid).

We spent a couple of hours with Bob and Pauline Bedard. They have to be two of the nicest folks I’ve ever met. Sure wish they lived closer. Pauline and I share a love for hand crafts (crocheting, etc.) She even gave us a lovely crocheted doily. Hours of painstaking work. It is perfect!

Bob gave us a tour of his hammer workshop where he makes quality hammers for playing the dulcimer. The smell of the wood was grand.

Lunch couldn’t have been better: taco salad (with Pauline’s special dressing), ice tea flavored with home grown mint, hot Texas toast, and freshly baked blueberry pie. It was hard to stop and I’m still full.

They’re the kind of people you immediately like and feel at home with. I’m so glad we stopped.

We’re a tad behind schedule. We want to be at Sayre, OK, for the night and Sayre is about 115 miles west. John wants to be at our destination each night before dark (no night driving) and it’s 7:00 p.m. right now. Only good thing about being a little late, is that the temperature might drop a tad. Tonight, without power, we can’t run the air conditioner, and with it being 90+ we sure won’t be cold.

Here it is Wednesday, and we’re in Oklahoma on a toll road, about to get to Bob Bedard’s house. He invited us for lunch but we won’t be there until about 2:30 so we’ll be eating a bit later than usual, but we’ll survive.

Yesterday, in Branson, was a fun experience. We hit a bunch of gift shops, a dulcimer store, and then in the evening went to a dinner/theater to see “Magnificant Seven” variety show. It was very impressive from vocal/dancing cast of five men and five women plus an eight piece on stage band.

For me, Amanda stole the show.. She was a multi-talented 18-year-old, who could belt ’em out like the best of the professionals. The costuming was great, dancing up to speed, band “right on” and the vocals super. We were impressed.

Today we left Branson about 9:00 and found an RV salvage place at exit 22 on Hwy. 44. They had a rebuilt hot water heater, so we got it and John installed it there, where he could ask questions, if needed.

That stop delayed us so I hope Bob understands. (I have kept him advised by email and called him when we crossed into Oklahoma.)

Temperature is 83 with a little haze and some fluffy clouds. No rain is predicted.

When we leave Bob Bedard’s, we’ll still have 250 miles to go before we stop tonight, so we want to be back on the road at about 4:00. (It’s 2:03 right now.)

Billing themselves as “America’s Best Campground” really sets them up for failure, but this “ABC” Campground” (here in Branson, MO) is really nice. The bathrooms are super clean but available by door code only. (More of a nusiance, than security.) The availability of wireless internet and cable TV really speaks well for the place, and “escorts” when you’re coming in and looking for your site is a nice feature. Each site has a graveled level spot for an RV with a paved patio at the “front door.”

The campground is only about 1/4 full, but it’s early in the season. I’m sure at peak times, the place is packed.

We were eligible for a couple discounts and ended up paying about $25 nightly, which isn’t bad.

We took it easy today. After setting up, we just lazed around.

John took out the water heater. The tank is split from end to end. I think it’ll have to be replaced, but he’s optimistically hoping we can find a welder who can make it water tight again. Since the heating part of the unit is still functional, he may be right. We’ll see tomorrow. We did find a “salvage” RV place nearby and might resort to picking up a whole replacement unit there.

Tonight we were going to leave after dark to see the “lights” of Branson, but John’s asleep, and I’m in no mood to leave our cozy place.

Weatherwise today was perfect!! Daytime highs were in the mid 70’s. Tomorrow’s predictions are expected to be higher than today. Moving from tempterature zone to temperature zone requires multiple layers both in dressing and sleeping. We’ve switched from our down comforter to a lighter weight one for tonight’s sleeping. It should be about 50 instead of about 30 tonight.

Pizza and wine made a lovely dinner.

We might go see a “show” tomorrow, but all the good deals require the purchase of tickets in advance, here at our campground, and we aren’t sure what we want to see. We will probably drive to Branson without tickets and figure out what we want to do when it’s too late.

We really aren’t into viewing shows anyway. We love to perform, but being part of an audience isn’t as appealing. Seems like the thing to do when in Branson, but we may just sight-see.

Tomorrow’s our only full day here, then leave early Wednesday…. and on our way West.

Hi all,

We just left Rick Thum’s workshop and we’re headin’ to Branson, MO.

Yesterday we enjoyed Rick’s hospitality. He gave us a really interesting tour of his workshop. I’ll post photos, as soon as I have a chance. Quite an operation!

(Note: For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rick Thum, he’s the supplier of instruments I sell on http://dulcimers.biz. He’s been one of my workshop leaders since I started doing workshops at Evart 11 years ago.)

Rick’s workshop was a marvel of planning and forethought. He has really created an efficient operation. The attention to detail is impressive. The results show. Her’s a photo of Rick hard at work:

After the tour, he invited us to his home. He’d suggested that we stay there, with him and his lovely wife, but since we have Willow (our dog) with us and we are comfortable in our place, we declined his invitation. The house is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen! On second thought, it was THE most beautiful. What a place! A marvelous view, wonderful hardwood floors, huge spacious windows, decorating that is perfect, and wonderful touches like a church pipe organ. It is over 5,000 square feet and just perfect!

Toward the front door/entry was just as impressive:

Not so humble bath area:

It’s not totally complete, but truly impressive!

For dinner, the four of us went to a Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed a pitcher of margarettas and great fajiatas.

We were back at the fifthwheel about 8:30.

But our evening didn’t end then.

We were all set to hook up to electricity and water, but unfortunately the best laid plans didn’t work out. Out hot water tank, which we hadn’t used since last fall, had ruptured over the winter. (Yes, John had carefully winterized it, but something apparently didn’t drain, and the tank has a major hole.) We will wait until we get to Branson to see about getting it fixed or replacing the tank. We’re not going to let it affect our trip. Just a small glitch. At least at Branson, we will have wonderful facilities at the ABC campground, so we can shower there, until it’s fixed.

Oh, and about the title to this posting.. We just stopped at a gas station and the on-ramp we took said “To Cuba.” You never can tell where this trip will take us.

Just found out that a dear, sweet friend, Mary Lou Orthey, and passed away this a.m. Words cannot express my sorrow. I found her to be one of the most beautiful and charming people I have ever known. Losing her takes the shine off a beautiful day!

I’ll write more about the trip, when I have time to digest this.

This first day, we only went 390 miles and we’re over-nighting in Brazil, Indiana, at a Moose Lodge.

We’d hoped for the availability of an electric outlet, but that didn’t work out. They do have an empty level grassy lot adjacent to their parking lot so there’s lots of room for us.

The only person we’ve talked to (a lady Moose hauling out the trash) was pleasant. We probably won’t spend much time in the lodge. We went in to use the restrooms but the place is a blue haze of cigarette smoke, probably because they had a bingo this afternoon. With my allergies, going in there just isn’t a good idea.

We had dinner downtown which is within walking distance. Nothing fancy just a little hamburg joint with about a dozen stools at a lunch bar. Kind of a throw back to the 50’s.

It’s 6:20, the TVs on (running off batteries); my cellphone and digital connection seem to be working fine. We tried the furnace out and it came on.

This first day hasn’t been very exciting, but at least we’ve started our journey. Can’t say we’ve seen any glorious scenery, but we can now brag that our trip included an excursion to Brazil! Wow!

9:18 a.m. we left our house and we’re officially on our way.

Our destination tonight is a Moose Lodge in Brazil, IN. Never having taken advantage of a Moose Lodge’s hospitality, this will be a first. As I mentioned in a previous post, we plan to do a lot of “boondocking” (free camping).

There’s a dusting of snow on the ground here (Lansing) area. But the sun’s out and there’s barely a cloud in the sky.

…And miles to go before we sleep.

After weeks of planning, the day after tomorrow, we’ll take off on our great adventure.

John laughs at me because when we ride, I’m “wired.” I’m generally holding my laptop which is outfitted with a GPS (Streets and Trips) with the sensor suction cupped to the windshield. The laptop is plugged into an inverter so I always have power. I have my cellphone in one of the computer’s USB ports with a data cable which allows me to get my email wirelessly. (A Wilson trucker antenna assures that I have maximum cellphone reception.) This whole setup is great, but I’m always in danger of hanging myself when I get out of the vehicle. The maze of wires is rather daunting. It’s been known to take me several minutes to “escape.”

Today we’ll try to finish up our packing. We’ll polish up all the details tomorrow.

John and I will be heading out in a few days. We’ll have Willow, our long-coat chihuahua; Charlie, our cockatiel; and our musical instruments. We’ll be driving across the country with many stops along the way. We’ll spend more than a week with my daughter, Kelly, and her beautiful family in California. Our return trip will again be punctuated with lots of sight-seeing.

We’re staying at some nice RV parks (in Branson, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and Reno). You can find their websites in the “Links” area on the right side of this page. But we’ll also be boondocking quite a few of the nights. (Boondocking is when you camp for free. It’s often done in parking lots, rest areas, etc.)

We can’t see paying camping fees when we’ll be pulling in after dark and hitting the road at dawn. At those times, we’ll pull into places that allow overnight parking: Walmart, Moose Lodges, or as a last resort, Flying J Truck Stops. (Flying J’s are popular with long-haul truckers who run their big rigs all night so they are horribly noisy.)

We are planning to travel 6,000 miles over five weeks. We’ll take Hwy40 for the most part as we head west and Hwy80 as we come back. We plan to stop at Branson (2 days), Petrified Forest Nat’l Park in AZ, Grand Canyon (3 days), Las Vegas (2 days), and stay 10 days in the Monterey, CA, area parked in my daughter’s driveway.

Our more northerly return trip will be by way of Reno, NV (2 days), Salt Lake City, Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park (3 days), and then home by way of Lincoln, NE; Davenport and on home to Michigan.

Our vehicle is a 2003 charcoal gray GMC 3/4 ton Duramax diesel. We’ll be pulling our ten-year-old 28-foot Jayco fifthwheel with a dining room/living room slide. Our set up may not be “top of the line” but it has beautiful oak interrior and provides a wonderful home away from home.

I’ll post lots of pictures and keep this blog as a diary.

If you recognize us from our rig with Michigan plates, or because we’re playing our hammered dulcimer music, with our little black and white dog and bird, please say “Hi.”

Packing is a pain. I sure don’t want to forget anything critical. I am an over-organizer. I make lists and then lists of my lists. Plus I double-check them. But I have been known to forget and leave my list at home. I hope we’ll be well-prepared. We purchased Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS so we can find our way; added a Wilson Trucker cell phone antenna so we can stay in touch; and I have it all figured out so I can wirelessly email and go on line whenever we get a signal. Unfortunately I’ve discovered Verizon coverage isn’t solid from coast to coast, but we’ll get by.

Lots of last minute stuff to do: today Willow had her vacinations updated, tomorrow John gets new truck tires. We hope the weather improves ’cause it’s rainy and cold, but rain or shine, we’ll be hitting the road April 8th.