Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Another rainy day.  It was in the 40's for a good part of the day and then moved up to the 50's.

I went out this morning to get the newspaper and it was wrapped in one plastic bag (usually on rainy days they double bag it).  The paper was wet.  I called and they were very polite, but said they had run out of extra papers as I was the 350th person to call about a wet paper.  Is there a prize for being the 350th person?  Evidently not.

I took the paper and hung it over the chairs.  However, Terry was concerned since the chairs are wood that some damage might be done, so I hung the paper in the garage.

 

 

 

After lunch, we went to Beall's (not the outlet, but the "real" store).  I usually have good luck finding shoes there.  I wanted white sandals.

 

Terry spotted some white shoes and I tried them on - they fit and were on sale.  Next to them was a pair of multiple-colored sandals, also on sale, and they fit.  The question is what would you do?

 



 





 

Right, I bought both pairs!  The stock market had better make a full recovery!

Just remember this was Beall''s (not the outlet) so it is not part of my 12-step program!

We next went to Diane and Tom's so Terry could pick up her mail.  This is the first time in all of these years that her mail has beat my mail.  Mine left Elk Grove Sorting Station and is now ??????

We had a Chinese dinner at Cheng's, not too far from us, and have leftovers for tomorrow!

Terry has set her alarm for 9 p.m., so we can watch Shark Tank then!

Noses to the grindstone

Terry and I both worked a good part of the day.  In between, we did laundry, ate, etc.  It was a cool and rainy day so we actually did not mind working.

Terry's mail from last week has finally ARRIVED.  One can only speculate where it had been these past 4-5 days since it left the Elk Grove Sorting Station.





Maybe this was the mode of transportation used to get the package to Terry!

Rainy Day

Terry baked- she said a rainy day is good for baking!

We threw some clothes on and ran to Chase so I could make a deposit and then went over to Weight Watchers so Terry could weigh in.

Because she had finished the tax forms that she had to finish, Terry thought it would be a good idea to go to Eustes today, instead of tomorrow.  We went to Eustes so Terry could make a deposit at BMO Harris, rather than trust the mail.  That was the closest BMO Harris.

We don't trust the mails because it took 11 days for her last deposit to get posted.

Also,  her last package of priority-forwarded mail still has not arrived. Tracking says it left the Elk Grove sorting station. That was on the 25th!

We "toured" Eustis - that took five minutes!  We stopped at the Hurricane for lunch!  We each had a bowl of crab soup and shared a shrimp basket!  Last year, we were able to sit outside by the Dead River. Today we sat indoors and could see the river from there.

 

We stopped at AAA, in Sumter Landing to get some county maps and then stopped for gas before coming back to the house.


We read the paper and rested and Terry talked to Stacy.  She asked Stacy if Max (their dog) was properly dressed for the cold weather.  Stacy said he has a whole wardrobe and sent this photo of Jessica and Max.  You'll note that Max has a coat and hat. 

 

We will look for waterproof boots for him to finish off the outfit!

 

We had dinner and Terry worked on some tax forms that came in. I was reading.

 

We watched Shark Tank, again!  And a show about rich people.  As one of the designers said, money does not always mean good taste.

 

1099's

Terry was busy, a good part of the day, doing 1099's for The Paperwork Assistants' clients. That is the company she and Mindy founded.

We did leave the house about 2 P.M., to give her a break.

On Tuesdays, there is supposed to be kite flying at the Polo Grounds (starting at 1 P.M.), however, by 2 P.M., we only saw one lone man flying a kite.  It looked like fun, but we had errands to run.

One errand, was for Terry to get a slight adjustment made to her eye glasses.  So, we headed to the Colony Shopping Center.

Of course, Beall's Outlet and Anthony's are both in that shopping center.  We bought something at each place.  I may need to enter into a 12-step program, or have the stores bar me from entering (as addicts do at casinos)!

The weather was delightful - in the high 70's, and it was great to be out with the windows open in the car.

We came home for dinner and Terry went back to doing tax forms for their clients.

At 8 P.M., she took another break to view Shark Tank.  One inventor was offered $4 million for his company and turned it down.  The product was nasal screens that fit into the nostrils.  Three other "sharks" joined together to offer him less for a percentage of the ownership of the company-he took that deal.  They all turned down the pogo-stick company.






After Shark Tank, Terry went back to grinding out tax forms and I listened to the State of The Union Address.  It's always fun to see people you know in the audience.  Terry said she had it on while she was working.  Last year my friend, Ethel, preferred the Westminster Dog Show to the State of the Union Address.  Don't know what the competing program was that caught her attention this year.

 

I finally got my mail today.  It is supposed to come on Friday or Saturday.  Terry's still has not come.  She has a tracking number and it seems to be stuck at some sorting place.

Frustration and Happy Anniversary

Frustration was trying to get into the Internet this morning.  We've been having problems staying connected or getting onto the Internet from almost the beginning of our stay here.  However, today was the final straw.

I called Comcast this morning and was on the telephone with them for OVER ONE HOUR.  They finally determined that we had a bad modem and arranged for us to pick up a new modem at Comcast's office in Summerville (not far from us).  We got to Comcast and our number was 18 and they were on number 8 when we arrived.  However, it was not tooooo long a wait and we got the new modem.  Took it home and plugged it in and Terry called to "register" it and was on the telephone for about a half hour before they got it to work.  They did give us a nice credit, so that made things a little better.

We then got a call from Naomi saying that she will NOT be visiting us as her other friend, whom she planned on visiting, broke her leg.  Also, she just moved into her new condominium and is dealing with the new construction issues that one always has.  She also just came back from Las Vegas and a bridge tourney, so a lot is going on.  She said it was snowing in Colorado.

We headed to Legacy Club to have dinner to celebrate Diane and Tom's 52nd wedding anniversary!

There was a little wait so we sat on the terrace for our drinks - so pleasant!  Friends also had a reservation for dinner and stopped and took a photo of us with our cocktails.

 

 

We came back to our house for coffee and dessert and more conversation.

 

I  called into the Township meeting, where they were complaining about the COLD weather.  They said if I paid for the tickets they would come down and join me!  It was a short meeting as everyone was eager to get back to their warm homes.

 

I got an email from our Temple that all activities for tomorrow are cancelled and that the building would be closed after 2:30 today because of the frigid temperatures!

 

For our friends in the frigid north - stay warm!

 

 

Lazy, Lazy Day

We both did some work this morning, but at a very leisurely pace. 

We left the house and went over to Beef O Brady's for lunch.  We got to watch multiple screens with sports games.  One of the games was bowling.  It brought back memories of my watching professional bowling years ago on TV.  There were not many stations in those days! 

We took a ride to an area that we had not explored before - Lake Weir.  It is surrounded by some great-looking houses and some very run-down houses.

As it turns out, it is not too far from The Orange Blossom Opry, where we have enjoyed some great evenings of music.  BTW:  The owner of Orange Blossom Opry just died and I'm wondering if things will change.  She had fired one of the long-time musicians just before she died.  Hope he comes back!

We needed a few things at Tuesday Morning and Dollar Tree, so stopped there before coming home.

I spent the evening reading and Terry has been reading, texting Jeremy, talking on the telephone and doing laundry.

I Bet Your Life

We both did some work this morning and then we listened to Kathy and Judy (WGN) on my computer before leaving the house.

We drove to the Marion Flea Market to go to the Sun Glass Hut, as Terry needed new sun glasses that would fit onto her new eye glasses.

A lady worked with her to fit a pair onto her glasses (No. 52).  Who knew that they had numbers.

We walked through the other Dollar Store on the way to our car and Terry found another pair of sun glasses, (No.52) just a little cheaper, and bought that pair too.

We saw people eating ice cream and had to have a scoop. They were out of butter pecan, so we each settled for rocky road. 

We came back to the house for a little while and had cheese and crackers for dinner, changed clothes and went to a play at Lake Miona Recreation Center, called I Bet Your Life.  It was a cute comedy and we enjoyed it.

New World Record

Terry and I created a new world record for how late before we leave the house.  Today, we left at 7:45 p.m.

We never left the house during the day, as we were both working.  Terry was working all day.  I took a break and finished the book about The Villages.

We had dinner and changed clothes and met our friends, Tom and Diane and Jim and Joyce to see The Carpenters Tribute Show.  The singer, Pam, was good.  The fellow who played Richard was very annoying.   The rest of the band were excellent.  Below is one of our tickets and a link to the group.

 

http://www.thecarpenterstribute.com/

 

 

 

Terry is eating Skinny Pop (popcorn)  we cornered the market on it so if you have a taste for popcorn come on over, we are still up.

 

 

We wore heavy coats to the Savannah Center tonight - BUT, WE ARE NOT COMPLAINING.

 





Rock and Roll

We went to a Rock and Roll lunchtime event and even danced the jitter bug a little near our table.  Terry says I was her first dance partner - doing the jitter bug!  I think we taught the jitter bug to some of our boy friends from school.  The group today played music of our era.  They even did the stroll.  I think if I practiced, I could do the stroll again.

Diane and Tom Dancing by our table

 

 

 

 

I learned to take the flash off of my camera and got a clearer photo of the Rock and Roll group.  The fellow in white was the singer and he was pretty good.

 

 

We stopped at Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Publix, got gas and recycled our papers at the Temple

before heading home.

Terry is busy working and I'm busy thinking about working and reading my book about The Villages, that I got at the library - Leisureville.   It is an interesting book and has some funny stories of the people here and the early days of Lake County and Sumter County.  Also, a good insight into the politics of Gary Morse, who is the founder's son, and who has made a fortune giving us older people what we want.

Skokie Connection Plus

Terry needed to pick up her new eye glasses at Peppers, which is in the same shopping center with Anthony's and Beall's Outlet.  She's happy with her glasses on two counts,1) she can see out of them and 2) they were half the price of the glasses that she had to return to Skokie, because they were wrong.

Of course,  I had to look at Beall's Outlet since it was right next door.  I found a pair of slacks that fit and were the right length (pants are never the right length)!  Are you wondering if I bought them - of course - silly question!

We went into Anthony's but bought nothing.

We then met friends for  dinner:  Joy and Rob (he's our friend Elaine's nephew) and Skokie friends Bobbie and Herb.  Herb and I have known each other for years - in fact, at one time he was our condominium's attorney.  We were both involved in the Skokie Caucus Party for years.

Herb, Marilyn, Terry, Bobbie, Joy, Rob

We went to our favorite country club, Lopez Legacy.  Everyone said that their dinner was good and we had a nice time talking.

Everyone came back to our house for dessert and more talking.  Herb and Rob had an early tee time (golf talk) tomorrow morning so they left here about 10 p.m. to get their beauty sleep.

Reunion - minus two + Chicagoland Club

We met Rick at Five Guys for an early lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, Terry and I went to get our hair done at the beauty shop next door.  Rick decided not to leave today, but went to a movie and had dinner at Too Jays.  He leaves tomorrow for his Roads Scholar program.

 

 

We went back home and changed clothes to go to the Chicagoland Club.  Our friends Diane and Tom had arranged for us and four others to join them, and our friends Joyce and Jim, for dinner at the Chicagoland Club.  There were 260 people in attendance.  The club has 250 people on their wait list.  It is a very successful club.  The "Mayor" is a dynamo of a woman, with great organizational skills.  The entertainment was Mary Jo Vitale one our favorite singers in the Village. 

 

Here are our tickets

 

 

 

Mary Jo is the mother of a four year old and the wife of a minister.  Sorry that the photo is not too good, but the lighting was working against me.

 

Reunion - Day Three

We picked up Rick at his hotel and went over to Jeff and Judy's RV and sat around and talked.  Rick then set up his camera and we had a family photo taken.

We then were all hungry and went over to the The Original Water Bagel Company in the shopping center off of Hwy 441/27, which has an outdoor area, so Sirius could join us..

It was wonderful in the sun and Sirius ate half of my bagel and we got him a plastic take-out container for water and he was a happy camper.

Sirius

Terry and Jeff

Judy and Rick

 

 

 

 



After lunch was a first for me - we went to a doggie park.  The Villages have three doggie parks and I was able to find the one in the historic district just across the highway from lunch.

Sirius was making friends with other dogs and Jeff was also tossing a ball, which he would retrieved.

Can you see his white furry friend?

 

 

 

We all went back to our respective housing and took naps (that's what Glazers do best - eat and nap).

 

After our naps, we met at Sonny's for ribs (Judy had chicken) and did more talking!  We then walked over to hear the music at Sumter Landing, but it was COLD.  We walked into some stores, one that had doggie stuff was my favorite.  One of the shirts they were selling, for dogs, said "I Miss My Balls."

 

We then said good-bye to Judy and Jeff who are leaving in the morning for Disney.  Rick will have lunch with us before we go to the beauty shop and he leaves for his Roads Scholar program in Ft. Lauderdale.



 

Reunion - Day 2

We picked up Rick about 11:30 and went to the deli, Too Jays, in Spanish Springs, where we met Judy and Jeff.  It was not crowded and we got a booth right away.

After a yummy brunch, we went to the newer areas, in two cars, and showed them Brownwood, it was raining so we did not get out of the cars.  However, Judy saw some birds that she wanted to photograph so she got out her umbrella and camera and braved the elements to get some photos.  She saw some birds that are somewhat rare for the area.

We next went to Eisenhower Recreational Center, that was filled with people. 

Judy and Jeff

Rick

 

 

 

After leaving Eisenhower Recreation Center, Jeff and Rick took off and went back to Jeff's RV to watch some football playoff game.  Sorry to all of the football fans, but I don't know, or care, who was playing.

 

We girls went to Spanish Springs to Chico's, where Judy did a little damage. 

 

The weather cleared up and we went into Dunkin Donuts for a drink - it was happy hour and all drinks were half price!  We sat outside, in the sun, and it was quite pleasant.

 

Judy and Terry at Dunkin Donuts

Marilyn and Judy at Dunkin Donuts

 

 

While sitting having our drinks, we figured out how to close out the open apps on Judy's I-Phone, which she had updated to the IOS 7.

 

We left there and went to Picture You, where I bought a piece of jewelry.

 

We then went back to our house to visit and wait for the boys to call and say they were ready for dinner.

 

They called and we decided to go to Carrabba's for dinner.  We had thought that there would have been a line to get in, but it was somewhat dead.  Jeff and Rick already were seated and we got served right away.

 

 

Everyone 

 

 

Before we left the restaurant, the manager asked me to take a survey about my spaghetti and meatballs on her I-phone!  What a hoot, there is just so much one can says about spaghetti and meatballs.

 

 

 



 

 



Cousins Reunion

I had an early morning pedicure appointment, and while I was gone Terry baked some goodies!

We listened to Kathy and Judy (WGN) on my computer when I got back and had a quick lunch.

We then went to Dollar Tree to get a  piece of "Tupperware" for use when we bring dessert to the Chicagoland Club on Tuesday.

We stopped in at the sidewalk sale at Sumter Landing.  We bought nothing at Sumter Landing, but it was nice to walk a little.  It was warm in the sun, otherwise, it was a cool day - (50's).

We came back home and waited for our cousins to arrive.  Rick arrived about 5 p.m. and we had appetizers and drinks and caught up.  Judy and Jeff came a little before 8 (they left Bluffton late) and we had a Publix fried-chicken dinner, with potato salad, cole slaw, and salad.  For dessert, we had Terry's 7-layer bars (yummy).

We sat around talking and planning our day tomorrow.  The boys may want to watch a football game at 3:30 tomorrow, so we'll work around that.

Getting Ready

Getting ready to greet our Glazer cousins who come to The Villages tomorrow!

I did some laundry this morning and Terry did some this evening.

We had some errands to run and then went to the Blue Parrot Craft Fair and bought a few items.  It was cool out but the sun felt wonderful.

Terry had a new prescription from her eye doctor so she went to Peepers to order new glasses that should be ready on Monday.  The cost was 50% of what she paid in Chicago for glasses that she had to mail back because they were not right.  Fortunately, they gave her a credit for the returned glasses.

We went to Aldi's to get some canned goods, as a donation to a food pantry, which we will bring to the Chicagoland Club's dinner next Tuesday night.

We picked up some tickets for a play on our way home, and then went to Publix to pick up a simple dinner for the cousins for tomorrow night.

We had leftovers for dinner, from Barbara and Bernie's, that Barbara sent home with us last night.  Yummy!

Of course, Shark Tank was on, so we watched that!

I have to be up early tomorrow - so that's it for now.

Fun Day

We started out the day going to Beall's Outlet as Terry liked one the tops that I got there and wanted to see if she could find one that was similar.  Four tops later, she make a real haul.

We then picked up Diane and Don and went to Thai Ruby for lunch.  We've been saying that we had to try that place for a couple of years and today was the day.  The food was good and reasonable.  They gave us an appetizer, soup, entrée, and dessert for under $10 each!

We stopped at the Library, as they had sent an email telling me that the book that I ordered the other day had come in.

We then went back to Diane and Don's house for bridge.  I won!!!  Poor Terry, she never got to play a hand!

We then went to Barbara and Bernie's for dinner and had a delicious meal and a lot of conversation and laughs.

Terry just modeled her purchases and all are keepers!

Fashion Show

Today, Terry weighed in - still good, though up a touch.

From there we went to a Fashion Show at the Cattle Barron, in Spanish Springs, put on by one of the boutique shops in Sumter Landing.  The food was good and we had champagne - yum!

Seated:  Diane and Terry  Standing:  Marilyn, Joyce and Diane

 

 

 

 

Not a great photo, but it was dark in there.  We all went to high school together.  The two Dianes went to grammar school with us too.

 

Diane, Terry and I went to Anthony's.  Terry and Diane bought something, I did not.  They had a good time with the coupons that were in the newspaper.

 



Next month should be a better fashion show because Anthony's will be doing it.  The boutique in Sumter Landing, who did this fashion show, is too expensive.

We stopped to get some wine to bring as dinner gifts for tonight and tomorrow night.

Tonight, we went to Diane and Don's rental for dinner.  She had just enough dishes for six people and had to run the dishwasher to have dishes for dessert.  After dinner, we saw some old slides that they brought with them, and then played OH,HELL, a card game.   It was fun and we had lots of laughs.

It is cold here and I'm wondering if I have to wear Chicago clothes tomorrow - ugh!

Record setting day

Today, we set a record, we did not leave the house until 4:30 p.m.

We were both busy working, cleaning (Terry), and doing laundry.

Terry was frustrated with her computer this morning and said that when she is frustrated it helps her to clean.  How lucky am I, because I don't ever get motivated to clean!

We finally left the house to go to the new Library in a beautiful new building.  I renewed my library card and ordered a book (I'm on a waiting list).

Next to the library is the new shopping center in the newest area.  There is a Sweetbay grocery store there. open right now.  Other businesses are moving in and it should be fully operational in a few months.

Tonight was Market Night at Sumter, and we had not been at a Market night since coming down.

Fun to walk around, shop, listen to music, watch dancers, and watch the lines to buy liquor - 2 for the price of one!

Came home to leftover chicken and now watching Shark Tank. 

Homossasa

We all met at Diane and Don's for our ride to Homosassa which is a Florida State Park with animals.

 Tom, Diane, Don, Diane

 

Marilyn, Terry, Don, Diane

We got there in time to ride the little boat to where the animals are and were in time for the manatee feeding and lecture.

The manatees do well in warm water and there are four manatees in captivity here.

We next went to see the hippo, Lu, whose birthday is January 24th should you be in the area and want to celebrate with him.  When it was time for his feeding he was not interested and stayed in his laying position.  When Terry and I were here a few years ago, that was the only position that we saw him in.

He's a big boy!

 

 

Don't mess with me!

 

 

We were hungry after watching the manatees being fed and watching Lu, who refused to get up even though a banana and an apple were tossed at him by one of the park volunteers.

 

 

Diane and Tom knew of a restaurant called the Freezer that looks as if it was an old fish packing building.  The name is NOT on the building and we would have passed it up.  We had peel and eat shrimp and it was wonderful.  However, I tried the butter sauce, or I should say my sweater set tried the butter sauce.  I just washed it and you can still see the stains on the sweater.  Terry says we'll go to Michaels and get something glitzy to cover it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since our hands had been stamped, we could reenter the park.  So after lunch, we went back to the park and went to see the birds.

 

 

 

 

Lu decided to get up!

 

 

 

We drove back to Diane and Don's and all went our separate ways.  Terry did some work and I took a  nap before eating a salad.  I have a Township meeting tonight and will call in shortly.

 











Shopping, More Shopping and Bridge

We picked up Diane and Don, at their rental, and went over to Anthony's (Diane's favorite store) where she did some serious damage.  Terry and I bought something too, so Anthony's had a good day.  In order to use all of her coupons, Don had to purchase some of the items!

From there we went to Marion Market (Flea Market), where Diane found all-white Corning Ware , with white covers.  I had never seen all-white Corning Ware.  She said she had received some as a wedding present, many, many years ago.  She bought all three pieces and they gave her a reduced price for all three pieces and their lids.

Terry bought a few little things at the market too.  Don and I bought nothing.

We had hot dogs for lunch there (we eat in the best places)!

We came back to our house and Diane and Don tried to get into some of their stuff on our computers, they finally had to call Chase and get a special security number to access their accounts online.

 

 

After they got into their account, we played bridge. They said that Terry and I played very well and it was a lot of fun.  We then had dinner (chicken, sweet potatoes, green beans, and salad).  After dinner we changed partners and continued to play bridge.  Then had apple cake and ice cream for dessert and played a few more hands.  It felt so good to play bridge again! 

We then drove them back home and will see them again tomorrow morning.

Weather men are not to be trusted

Today the forecast was for rain in the afternoon, so we played the day by ear.

We started off by meeting Diane and Tom and Diane and Don for lunch at the Glenview Country Club about 11:30 a.m.

After lunch, we decided that the weather man was wrong and went to Mt. Dora and had a lovely afternoon walking around there going in and out of shops.  The total purchase of the group was a bar of soap and a sweater - both purchased by the visiting Diane!  I think Mt. Dora did not have an economic boom today because of our arrival.  Before leaving Mt. Dora, we went to the hotel for a drink and enjoyed looking at the water from the bar - it was a little too windy to sit on the rocking chairs outside.

We then came back into The Villages for pizza at Flipper's in Spanish Springs.  It was our first time there.  They had opened last year, but we did not get there last year.  It was pretty decent food.  While we were finishing dinner, the lightening started and the rain started pouring down.  The weatherman's timing was off, but it did rain, we'll give him that.

We waited for the rain to slow down and then ran to our cars.  We took Diane and Don home and then came home ourselves to read the paper, check email, etc.

Had a nice call from Mindy that she has been invited to speak (teach) at a national conference.  She's trying to figure out if her schedule will allow for her to accept the opportunity.  We are so proud of her!

Classmates

Today, we ran to Publix to get a couple of things for the weekend

At 1:30, we met Diane and Don, and Diane and Tom at the Lighthouse for lunch.  It was a beautiful day and we were able to eat outside!

We went to grammar school and high school with both Dianes!

 

Diane and Don, with Tom

 

 

 

Diane, Marilyn and Terry

 

Diane and Don had just arrived in The Villages and are staying in the Lifestyle houses.  That's where you try out The Villages and they hope that you will buy one of the new construction houses.  Tomorrow they have to meet the real estate agent and look at the model homes with her.

 

 

We will meet them for lunch and then, depending on weather, decide what to do next.

 

 

After lunch today, we all went to our homes and rested until we meet at Diane and Tom's for cocktails and nibbles before going to The Orange Blossom Opry.

 

As always it was a fun night at The Orange Blossom Opry.  The musicians are so talented and the singer, Laurie Gill, puts on a great show.  They always end with a religious song and then a patriotic song and wave the American flag!