Monday of week two

I can't believe it's week two already. The thought of packing up for the drive home at the end of this week is just too much to think about. The weather is spectacular and for the next five days, it's going to be in the low 80's. Wonderful!!

Today we headed to Largo, hoping to see Roger and Maureen; however, Mike isn't into phoning ahead and as a result, we found their driveway empty and only the golf cart standing guard. I also missed out on getting Maureen's coupons from Joann's which she wouldn't be using anyway. Seeing them gone, we headed to Dunedin to Rainbow's End which was on my wish list for this trip. I haven't been there before and I know some of you have...also I haven't been to Keepsake Quilting. You may or may not agree...Rainbow's End is one beautiful quilt store. After doing some damage there, we headed back to Largo and one or two more checks at the Smith's abode with no luck. Then to Sweet Tomato for a great lunch. The last time we were there, I met a lady dragging a bag behind her which contained her late husband's ashes. She volunteered this information to me, in the ladies room!! It was my chuckle for the day. Nothing like that today but we had a great lunch and headed back. Great traffic again today. WE have been lucky the past two days.

Tomorrow we are having lunch with John and Judy in Kissemmee and then to Maggianos with Chris and Laura. That will put Tuesday in the bag.

I am pretty well done shopping till Maine. Getting a bit weary of the stores and seeing the same things in many places. I have bought a few things: Ann Taylor of course; some capris and shorts and of course, a few shirts. A few home things. I still have to go to Whole Foods to check off a few things and in Maine I will get the pablano peppers. The list goes on; in Maine I am looking for fabric bargains. I got none of those today so I will deserve a few when we get there!!

Hope your day is great. HOpe the snow is gone!!! The holiday continues.

Do-dads!

These are going to be very handy for workshops and cutting small pieces. I got a fabulous new book on miniature quilts which I can wait to get into. They are lone star quilts and perhaps that workshop I wanted to do next year on lone stars will turn into a mini!!

Rainbow's End

How's this for pretty? It's not easy to find sixteen pieces of fabric in this combination...a green and then five colors, with three pieces of each one. You have to be in a great quilt shop and Rainbow's End in Dunedin is just the place. I have never visited Keepsake Quilting which I understand is the ultimate quilt shop but this one is great too. On the other hand, I would not want to walk into RE and not know what I was looking for. It would be one of those Deer In The Headlights moments that we all hate. This array is to make the background of an applique quilt for our Baby-on-the-way. Probably her Christmas gift as there are a few quilts in the queue this spring/summer/fall.

I am going to add the other pics separately as the blog is giving me a few problems today. Be right back!!

Jocelyn turns two!!

Jocelyn's birthday was a great day with a house full of friends and children. We had lovely visits with people we have met over the past two years and ate barbecue and cake and lots of treats. We drove home in what I call loose traffic at six-thirty and it was the best drive back we have had in the past week. That must be the magic time.

Mommy and Daddy and toddler were all pretty tired at the end of the day after so much preparation. Laura is very imaginative and creative when it comes to decoration for a party. She is a scrap booker and has a lot of the do-dads to make place cards and lettering...She did a beautiful job of carrying out the Minnie Mouse theme for the party. She made a scrapbook for us with Jocelyn's birthday pictures and I will post some of those in a day or so. Clever Mommy. She and Chris also made the cake and the centerpieces.

Tomorrow will be a road day; off to Largo to see Roger and Maureen and maybe a couple of others if we can find them at home. We hope to see John and Judy on Tuesday and then, dinner at Maggianos!! We love that restaurant!

Looking like a busy week but we can rest up later in the month!! Hope you all are having a good week and hanging in there!! Thanks for looking in!

Just a couple of pics this time

These are from the Strawberry Festival. Mike took them so unfortunately he isn't in any...will get more of the whole group tomorrow at the party.

Saturday's report

I suspect that it was as warm as or perhaps even warmer in NS than it was on Friday morning in the Sunshine State. It was a beauty to look at but a bit on the chilly side, somewhere between seven and ten celcius. It was a jeans day and I hate wearing jeans when I am here. We headed to Daytona in the morning traffic. Where we are situated is a bit south and a bit west of the city of Orlando and we were headed north and east to Daytona, on highway 4, which is right through/over Orlando. It clogs up here and there and some places have four or five lanes but most often, four. It's fast but it can be stop and go. We had both yesterday morning. March is a busy month here with so many people taking advantage of Break time and then the rest of us are just tired of winter, I guess. So... DAYTONA!!! It's more than cars and this week it's bikes.

I can't really begin to describe what Daytona is like with these thousands and thousands and thousands of bikes and the people who ride them. Picture the stereotypical biker and his babe.....they were there....by the thousands. Some were beautiful and some were tacky. It was quite a mix and they were from states in the union, far and wide. We went to a bike show in a stadium, where we saw customized bikes that were outlandish or mind boggling. Then we went into the city itself and walked along one of the mustering roads. That was something. From there to the Daytona International Speedway where it was bamboozling to see the thousands of bikes and bikers and vendors and everything you could imagine and more related to bikes. We thought we had reached the saturation point and headed to the Orlando Visitors and Convention Bureau to get Chris. Heavy traffic on the way back. More than we expected but we are finding that to be the case most of the time: you think you can do the trip in 30 minutes or 50 minutes and it takes that and half again.

Visited with Chris and Laura and Jocelyn. Got a few cute pics of her and of Chris; I thought they would go in "here" but they popped in at the top of my entry...still a learning curve with the blog!!! We watched the latest Delta rocket mark the evening sky as it carried it's spy satelite into space.

So that was Friday...today was quiet and now Mike is at the pool for a read and a rest. His cough is improving but the antibiotic is taking a lot out of him. He takes no medication whatsoever so when he is on something, he is hit hard. We will head to Luge Lane tomorrow morning for the big party. This morning we found a Flea Market and it was the biggest one we have ever attended....once more, Florida Amazing. Got a few fleas and the bag of things to bring north is filling up. This time next week, we will be packing. Can't bear the thought!!

Thanks for dropping by today. It has warmed up from this morning and it a lovely day. I can't even think about the cold...this is another shorts day. Another coming along for tomorrow.

A day for the record books

Well this one is almost done and it was a dandy. Mike has been coughing his head off for a few days and for some reason today he agreed to go to the doctor. Now going to the doctor in Florida is not quite as easy as it sounds but not as difficult as you might think either. We went to the pharmacist in Publix and asked if there were any doctors in the vicinity and she gave us the card for a lovely practice nearby. I then called our insurer and that took about thirty minutes to get straightened out. Off to the doctor...the insurer sent his information to the practice and as we went out the door...Mike left the keys on the counter. Now I had a spare car key but not a spare key for the shack. We had to do the first things first so off to the medical clinic. We got a computerized tablet with every question you could imagine to be answered on a touch sensitive screen...another 15 minutes; then the wait; then the nurse; then the wait; then the doctor...three prescriptions and off to the pharmacy. But first...how to get back into the shack.

Called Chris and told him to send an email to the owner. I had her email address but what I didn't have was the "what to do book" which was INSIDE. So Chris sent an email and we then waited again. A long story short...got in with the key which was in the bottom of my bag. DON'T EVEN ASK. This really doesnt' sound like much of a day but let me say, there were a few tense hours in there.

So back to the pharmacy for $128 worth of drugs. The patient is already quite impatient but at least I am off his case. That alone should be worth the $128.

All of this happened after a morning of rain and a lot of shopping. We were pretty tired when the whole drama commenced and now, over a glass of chianti it almost seems bearable.

More on the shopping trip after the wine. Come back!!