Decadent

We left this morning around 9, after checking out with Jennie and Clem.

Beautiful day, in the 70's all along the route.

Stopped at Subway for lunch and gas.

Some construction around Atlanta, but, otherwise smooth sailing.

We are at the Hyatt Place, Smyrna, GA.

Dinner at Carrabba's at the end of the hotel's driveway.  Nice not having to get back in the car.

Here's our dessert- thought to take photo after half gone.  Terry and I split the dessert!

Brownie, chocolate mousse, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  OMG. Right to the hips, I'm sure!

Resting on the couch watching TV!  Love Hyatt Place Hotels, so comfortable.

Cinderella

Here is how most of the day went:

Here's a photo of the car packed up last year.  Not too different this year- packed to the gills and my car is now black.  We just have to put our overnight bags, computers, and coats in the car.

It was a beautiful day and we had cabin fever, so headed for Spanish Springs Town Center to walk, listen to the music, and watch the line dancing.

Terry took this photo looking toward the pavilion.

We are watching the Oscars but don't know too many people and have not seen the nominated movies.

Fran was moved to Rainbow Hospice Ark. Resting comfortably, but not aware.

Frustration

After breakfast, we went to the Target parking lot thinking we'd participate in the free shredding event there.  It was a zoo and people were lined up for blocks.

We went to the post office thinking we'd fill out a "moved" card.  Long line so we left.  We put a note in the landlord's mailbox.

We still had Terry's client stuff to shred.  She called Staples, and they said they shred.  However, they were in the same shopping center with the free shredding and I did not want to get into that mess again.

So we drove to Office Depot, where Terry had shred in the past.  There was one shred machine and a man with boxes of shredding.  Scratch that.

Home for lunch.

Terry wanted to get her eye glasses adjusted again at Peepers.  Since that was at Colony Plaza, I took the book I wanted to sell back to them.

We agreed to meet at Beall's Outlet when we were each done with our respective errands.

When I got to Beall's Outlet, Terry was already there.  It seems that Peeper's is NOT open on Saturday!!!

We went down to Anthony's also.  Bought nothing at either place.

Terry started shredding with her shredding scissors.

We picked up Arlene and Joan and met Ethel and Steve at Giovanni's at 4:30 for dinner.  Ethel commandeered a table for six and we had a great Italian dinner.  Including tax and tip dinner was about $11 each for salad, roll and an entree.

Since we had some time to kill and had leftovers to refrigerate, we went back to our house.

Terry entertained and amused everyone showing them how her shredding scissors work.

From there we went to Temple Shalom for a Jerry Herman concert.

Some very talented people in The Villages.

We said good-bye to everyone.  Arlene and Joan leave on March 17.  We hope to have dinner with Ethel and Steve in Elizabethtown.

Flea Market

We both did some work in the morning, had a bite of lunch and went to the Markets at Marion.

We bought a few little things.  I was disappointed that the ice cream place was closed.  I had a taste for a waffle cone with butter pecan ice cream - feeling deprived!

Ran into Diane and Tom and said our good-byes AGAIN.

Than saw them again as they were driving out of the parking lot and we were walking to our car.

Stopped for gas, before heading home. I was driving on fumes!

We had a clean-out-the refrigerator type of dinner.

Have been texting information about hospice to Fran's niece as that's the next step.  She'll be moved on Sunday, I think.

Terry and I have both been very sad!

Eggs Benedict

Arlene and Joan heard that SonRise Cafe had good eggs Benedict.  They invited us to try it out with them, as a thank you for being their "tour leaders/social directors." How nice was that!

We came back to our house for mah jongg.  We played two tables, one with three players, one with four players.  Ethel, Joy  and Diane joined us too.

Joy had to leave early to finish her dental work.  We then decided to play with one table and two people rotated out after each hand.

Terry and I cleaned up the snacks and headed for Sumter Landing and market night.  It was cold and we did not stay too long.

We than dropped off Joy's mah jongg set.  We went to Colony Plaza, where I hoped to return a book.  They were closed.  I'll take the book home and either sell it or donate it.

We had a late dinner.

We've been in touch with Ida, and others, with news about Fran.  We are very sad as the news is not good.

Rain, Education, and Friends

Terry was busy a good part of the day putting together a chart of what the Des Plaines Post Office owes her.  She's shared the finished product with Jan Schakowsky's office.

After lunch, I was on an interesting webinar, with Township Officials of Illinois, about programming.

Today is the anniversary of Phil's death, and we called Betty to tell her that we were thinking about her.  She's had a cold for a week!

We spoke to Ida and she told us that Fran now has pneumonia and that they are "keeping her comfortable."  We are very sad.

It rained on and off for most of the day so we did not go out until it was time to go to Joyce and Jim's for dinner and cards.

Also there were Diane and Tom, Evy (who was a year ahead of us in high school), and Joyce and Jim's neighbor Sandy.

Sandy brought an appetizer of crab and shrimp salad in little shells.  That was good and not hard to make.

We had a yummy dinner of fruit, ham, baked beans and a mac and cheese dish.  We brought a chocolate cake that was very good for dessert.

We played Wizard, which is played with a special deck of cards. You have to say how many tricks you will take.  Everyone starts out with one card, the next round with two cards, until the last round where everyone is dealt six cards.  Lots of laughs.

Forgot to take photos!

Talked to Stacy on our way home - all is good with her and Jessica.

Strawberries and Lovely Evening

Today was the Brownwood Strawberry Festival.  For the past couple of years, rain cancelled or delayed it.  Today, rain was in the forecast, but we decided to brave it.  As we made our way down to Brownwood it started to rain, but by the time we got there the sun was shinning.

We bought some strawberries, after looking for parking for 15 minutes.  Walked around and left.  Lots of carnival food and games.  Strawberry shortcake booth had a line 12 deep.

We came back home to read and rest until it was time to pick up Arlene and Joan to go to Ethel and Steve's for dinner.

Shush......Ethel "cooked" a lovely chicken dinner.  I don't want her repution ruined.  Since Publix made the chicken and Ethel warmed it up, I think her status in the "we don't cook" club is safe.

We solved the world's problems and then came home.  It was after 10 pm and we made it home quickly on Hwy 301.

Oh So Pretty and Sad

We went to the beauty shop in the morning.  I don't know about the "Oh so pretty" caption, but, they did the best they could.

From there, we went to KiKi's for pancakes.

I ordered a small stack of three chocolate chip pancakes. Terry ordered the large stack of plain pancakes!

She took half home.

Walgreens had her prescription ready! Yea!

We talked with our friend Fran's friend Sandi, who told us "the end is near."  We are so depressed that we are so far away.  But, considered flying back if Fran would know we were there.  We are told that she would not know.  

Weather on our route home is not good for next day or two.  So, we will leave next Monday as scheduled, as the weather is predicted to be good.

Since the weather was nice, we headed to Spanish Springs to walk around Market Night.  Bought nothing.  

Stopped in at another Beall's Outlet, as we had a $5 off coupon, and we each bought a piece of jewelry that was already on sale.

Tonight, after dinner, I had a Township meeting via Google Hangout, and Terry had a AADMM conference call.

Delightful Day Mixed With Concern

We headed out, on this lovely day, for the Sumter Craft Fair.

We did not buy anything!  Lots of vendors but nothing we needed or wanted.

Then worked our way to Havana Country Club's Hemingway's Restaurant.  A photo of Ernest greets you as you enter.

Here's our view from the patio, where there was a gentle breeze and we could see people practicing their putting.

Since Hemingway's is related to Legacy's Nancy Lopez Country Club Restaurant, they honored the coupon we had for a free appetizer.  We had Lavosh - Havarti cheese on a crust served with salsa and guacamole. 

Terry had a Cuban sandwich that was okay.  I had a deli sandwich that was excellent.

We had leftovers and took them home to refrigerate and then went to Beall's Outlet.  I bought two tops and a pair of fancy flip flops as my old pair bit the dust.  I generally only wear them to get a pedicure.

While I was finishing my purchases, Terry got a few things at Publix.

A good part of the evening was spent communicating with friends of Fran's trying to get a handle on her condition.

Brought a mutual friend's daughter, in New York, up to date. Our mutual friend is deceased.

We are all very concerned.

Glorious Day

We picked up Diane and Tom to go to Yalaha Bakery to hear Patchouli.

The weather was ideal and it was crowded.  Other groupies were there - we all have the shirts to prove it.

After the Bakery, we all went to the Polo Grounds for a pretty lame craft fair.

We then went to Walgreens for Terry to pick up a prescription - she has to go back tomorrow.

I think people from the Des Plaines Post Office are now working at this Walgreens.

We had dinner and we were checking email.  Melanie sent photos from our Valentine's Day spent with her and the BJBE Villages group.

Post Office from Hell

We both worked all morning.  I did three loads of laundry.

After lunch, Terry discovered why the tracking number the Des Plaines Post Office gave her yesterday did not work.  Her package didn't go out on Wednesday, but, late on Thursday.  It did arrive later today.  However, someone else's mail,and their premium forwarding directions, were in Terry's box.  The woman is in Naples.  Terry called her.  She's supposed to get a premium forwarded box every week until the end of April.  So far, she's had two boxes (out of 5 weeks)!

Terry and I went to the post office in Lady Lake and Terry sent the woman's mail to her.  She also sent her forwarding instructions back to the Des Plaines Post Office.  Over $40 in postage!

The Des Plaines Post Office has caller ID and won't pick up if they see that Terry is calling.  So, I called and put Terry on the telephone.  The Postmaster is to call her. We are not holding our breath.

When I called the Skokie Post Office, yesterday, they could not give me a tracking number.  A new person did not record it.  Also, I had to call back three times and was put on hold for a total of 40 minutes.

Today, the package arrived and looked like it was in a war.

It's been a very frustrating winter.

After the post office and Dollar Tree we came home to pick up stuff to take to Diane and Tom's.

Dinner was a mystery dinner.  Everyone got a list of words that were clues as to what was for appetizers, salad, entree and dessert.  Some words were also silverware and beverages.  You had to use each clue at least once.  One clue was 90% of body (water).  You could put a clue in each category if you wished. Terry and I put 90% of body (water) for each course so it wasn't taken away when the course was cleared.

I think Terry had rice and beans with her dessert.

Jim wound up with dessert as his appetizer.  I only had a fork once - ate my entree with a knife and fingers.

 It was fun.  Joyce and Jim were there and two couples we had not met before.  Carol and Stan. Pat and Cary.

Terry takes the plunge

After working and having lunch, Terry and I went for pedicures!  It was Terry's FIRST pedicure!

Here she is looking a little nervous!  She survived!

We then changed clothes to go for dinner at Arlene and Joan's.  Joan put hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill.  Terry had a big fat hot dog and said it was delicious.  I had a hamburger (which Arlene had handmade) and it was yummy.

Ethel and Steve were there too and the conversation flowed and it was time to leave before we knew it.

Car Gets Checked Out

We had a 10 am appointment to get the car checked out at Plaza Cadillac, in Leesburg, before we head home to Chicago. Anti freeze in the windshield washer fluid. How depressing is that?  Bought new wiper blades. Oil change was free!

Before we left the house, we got a text telling us that our friend, Fran, just went back into the hospital.  Our prayers are with her.

From there we went to the Hurricane, a restaurant on the water and had shrimp baskets.  A couple was just finishing eating and she asked if we wanted her to take our photo.  See below.  I asked if we could reciprocate.  She said "after 50 years of marriage,  we do not need a photo."  I said "that's a long time."  She said "not when you are married to a terrific guy."  How sweet is that?

Terry has her visor on.

On the water - sitting outside! Cannot get better than that.

We came home for a little while before walking around Spanish Springs and trolling the vendors at market night.

Just had salmon for dinner.  It's a fish day!

A Tree Grows in Central Florida

After working, and having some left overs for lunch, we headed out the door to enjoy the sunshine.

We decided to go to Lake Griffin State Park, home to a large oak tree.

We paid our $5 at the entrance.

We then drove down to see the camping sites.  They are large and shaded.  We discovered a sign later that indicated that the road was for registered campers only!

Oh well, we wanted our $5 worth.

We then parked in the parking lot and hiked a trail to see the oak tree.

Have you seen the redwoods in California?  This tree pales in comparison.

We then went down by the boat launch area.  Some people were fishing.

We took photos of the boat that goes out on Saturdays.

One of the signs said Florida Environmental something so Terry photographed it and sent it in a text to Jeremy.

After the excitement of seeing the oak tree, we went to Publix.  Terry went in to pick up a few items while I talked to the Township.  While talking to them, I somehow set off the car's alarm!  That was good for a few laughs.  This keyless-entry system is challenging!

We came home to change clothes and leave for dinner at Bonefish with Arlene, Joan, Ethel and Steve.  Fortunately, we had a reservation, as it was packed.  

All of the ladies had the Tuesday 3-course special.  We had salad, entree and to-kill-for desserts.  Steve opted for just an entree, off of the regular menu.

We came home and Terry watched Finding Your Roots and Shark Tank.

I've been on some business calls and handling some business emails, and, of course, doing the blog.

Jammie Day

We had a quick breakfast with Melanie before she took off for Tampa.

Shortly after she left, Clem (the house caretaker) came over to fix a part in Terry's toilet.  He also tried to fix the vacuum cleaner, but could not.  He took it with him.

Terry was doing laundry - den linens, and towels for the balance of the morning.

After lunch, I did laundry.

Are you excited yet, me either.  Warning it doesn't get more exciting.

I have been trying to catch up on reading - 3 days of newspapers and months of Good House Keeping magazines.

Still have Better Homes and Garden Magazines and 2-3 novels!

Hopefully tomorrow the sun will be out, it will be less windy, and warmer!

We did not leave the house all day in celebration of President's Day.

Did catch up by phone with some Chicago friends so the day was not a total loss.

Visitor

We worked this morning until our guest arrived.

Melanie arrived around 1 pm and we picked up Arlene and Joan for the Glazer/Sachsel tour of The Villages.

We went south and then North into the historic district.

Arlene and Joan had not seen the Rohan Regional Center or the walking area at the preserve.

We dropped Arlene and Joan off to change clothes.

At 6 pm everyone was back at our house for salad and a spaghetti dinner.

Terry out did herself!

Our guests: Joan, Steve, Ethel, Melanie and Arlene

A bad selfie of all of us.

Delightful Day

We both spent the morning paying bills and working through our weekly box of mail.  Terry's box is supposed to come next day air- never comes next day.

We sent something to Fran that she had requested.  Had to take it to the Pack and Ship as the Post Office closed five minutes before we got there.

Also ran to Chase Bank.  Yes, Mindy, I have the Chase app, but it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  Bow wow!

Picked up Arlene and Joan to go to The Ice House Theater, in Mt Dora, to see Funny Money.  Great actors - funny play.

Went to Lakeside Inn Hotel for an early dinner.  Nice view of the lake from the bar until the blinds were drawn as it was too bright for those at the bar.

Gave Arlene and Joan a tour of Mt Dora, by car, as it was too cool to walk.

Sunny Day

We decided to take a ride to the Lakeridge Winery, in Clemont.  We went mainly to go to the craft fair.  There was music (people brought their own chairs to sit and listen to the music)

We did not have time to do the wine tour or tasting.  Terry bought a pair of earrings.  We split a warm pretzel!

Note to self:  Don't wear open toed shoes.  We both came home and had to shake the sand out of our shoes and wash our feet.

We paid the $2 entrance fee which went to a charity.

We parked on grass at the bottom of a hill.  They had golf carts taking people to and from their cars.  Pretty bumpy ride, but, nice service.

We came home to change clothes for an early dinner at Cheng's with Ethel and Steve and Arlene and Joan.  The place was very busy and lots of takeout orders.

We then all went to Temple Shalom for services.

WARMER

Today, the sun was shinning and it was a little warmer.

We worked, had lunch and headed to Publix to finish our grocery shopping.

Put the groceries away and read before having a quick dinner.

We then picked up Arlene and Joan and went to Mulberry Grove Recreation Center for a program that Terry and I have enjoyed the past couple of years.  

A  husband and wife portray the Presidents and their First Ladies.  This year they did Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

We plan to listen to the Democratic Debate tonight.

Music, Music,Music

I was on a web conference call for a good part of the morning with the Illinois and National Association of Realtors.  It was a training session for the members of the Congessional contact teams.

Terry too was working at her computer for the morning.

The overnight package from the Township came and I spent part of the afternoon working on that.  With Terry's help I got it scanned.

By then it was time to change clothes, go to the post office and pick up Arlene and Joan.

We went to Tierra Del Sol Country Club to hear the singing waiters.  We met Diane and Tom and Barb and Bernie there.

While at dinner, I got a text from Barb and John with a photo of the BJBE Arizona group.

Is anyone left in Deerfield?

Mardi Gras

Brrrrrrr. It's cold and windy and the words wind chill keep being said.

After lunch we stopped at Laurel Manor to get a visitor pass for Melanie who will be here on Sunday.  She's on a cruise right now.

We then went to check out Mardi Gras at Sumter Landing.  We each put some beads in our purse.  We left the masks and other beads in the car.  Too cold to really get into the spirit.

Generally, on a nice night, people would be saving the tables for their friends.  Plenty of tables with no people at them!

The night at Spanish Springs had been rained out - so Mardi Gras has not been a success this year.

Game booths, food booths, and bars were open but a sparse crowd.

Terry had her ear muffs on, as did some others.  We went into a number of stores and then left.

Some ladies were dressed for the night with furs and sandals!

After a stop at Dollar Tree, we went to Sweet Tomato for dinner.  Yummy!  Ended with chocolate fudge cake, topped by soft-serve ice cream topped with carmel sauce.

Came home and watched a Ted X talk that Ida's niece did on the prison system.  Very impressive!

I'm watching election results from New Hampshire.  Terry is watching Finding Your Roots in the den.

Busy inside day

Worked all morning, including a long telephone call with the new Education Director for the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors.

 We then played mah jongg with Arlene, Joan and Ethel.

We arranged the mah jongg game on the spur of the moment.

Terry had a number of mah jonggs- I had none!

We connected Arlene and Joan to our WiFi so in a pinch they can check emails.  Their landlord has them using a neighbor's WiFi and it has been unreliable.

Had dinner and then I had a Township meeting via Google Hangout.

After the meeting, I did some follow up emails and now I am trying to catch up on the magazines that I brought down with me.

Terry was busy catching up with some of her Chicagoland friends.

She's reading the book that we bought at the authors' showcase.

Cool Day But, Sunny

After working, and doing laundry, I was ready to go exploring.  I talked Terry into going to a Flea Market, in Mt Dora, called Renniger's.

Our GPS got us there and once there, and parked, we were disappointed.  Prices were higher than the Marion Flea Market.  We got a flavor of it and left.  Long ride for nothing.

It is huge, as you can see from the above.  There is an arts building, an antiques building, and the flea market - inside and out.  Because it was cold we only did the indoor flea market.

We then picked up Arlene and Joan to go to another fund raiser for the Wildwood Food Pantry/Soup Kitchen.  This one was at Hope Lutheran Church and Mary Jo Vitale was the entertainer.  She sang with Josh Legitt also.  It was a wonderful program!

During the program, she wore a sign that said "due March 4th, not twins, a girl, and YES, we are sure."

Her husband, the Associate Pastor at the church, introduced her.  As part of his introduction, he said she had good taste in men.

She wore three-inch spiked heel shoes!

This is her last public engagement before the baby is born.  She has a son who is about 4 or 5.

We generally see her a few times a season and could not understand why her website was void of engagements.  We thought that her MS might have flared up.  Just recently found out that she is pregnant.

Since it was Super Bowl Sunday, it was not as crowded as last year.

Speaking of not crowded, we went to Mallory Hill Country Club for dinner.  There was one person at the bar and 3-4 tables of people in the whole place.  By the time we left, we were the only table!

When we dropped off Arlene and Joan, we went in to try to figure out why Joan was having trouble with the Internet connection.  They are on a neighbor's wifi.  They don't know which neighbor!  We could not figure it out.

Terry is reading and doing laundry.  I hope to start reading soon.

Rainy Day

Another rainy, cold day.

We both worked in the morning, had a bite of lunch, and went to the book fair at Lake Miona Recreation Center.  It's a author showcase that we go to each year.

We bought a book:

The author is from Illinois.  She and her husband had moved to Tennessee.  She moved to The Villages three years ago after her husband's death.

We had planned on going to the chilli cook off at Sumter, but it was raining and we are wimps!

We went down Rainey Trail and found a hospital that was written up in the local paper.  We had never heard of it or seen it.  Discovered a lovely park area on Lake Miona and some beautiful homes.  Also two non-Village developments.

We next went to Aldi's for some staples.  Did I say we?  I stayed in the car while Terry shopped.

After dinner, Diane and Tom picked us up to go to Temple Shalom, for a Dixieland Jazz concert (fund raiser for the local pantry/soup kitchen).

After the concert, we came back to our house for coffee and dessert.