New Year's Eve

It's almost 2019 - hard to believe.  Terry and I have been coming to The Villages for 11 years!

This morning we were moving slowly. I answered student questions, had breakfast and finished the crossword puzzle in the paper (Monday is always easy).

After breakfast, Terry and Mindy had a conference call for business - end of year stuff.

We had lunch and then went to the Dollar Tree for some things we had forgotten the other day.

Went into Kohl's too and I bought something, not sure that I am in love with it, so will still be looking.

Came home to celebrate New Year's Eve with champagne and shrimp on the patio.

Terry made us a delicious steak dinner with salad and sweet potatoes.  She also bought me a personalized piece of pecan pie.  She doesn't like pecan pie, but she knows that I do.

We are both resting and catching up with emails, blogs, etc.

A beautiful day in Paradise

Another beautiful day in The Villages.  In the 80's for most of the day!!

We both had somethings we wanted at the Flea Market (Market of Marion) and took a ride over there.  It was very quiet there. given it was a Sunday.  Of course, the snowbirds are not down yet.

We had lunch there (gourmet eating).

Stopped in at Beall's Outlet on Highway 42 and each bought something.  Terry got adorable sandals for a steal.  I got a top that I have not tried on with my slacks as yet.

I needed makeup so we stopped at Belk's.  Also looked around, but bought nothing else.

As we left Belk's we saw this car.  It was a Honda CRV.  Terry may have to buy some paint to doll up her CRV.

Needed to get a prescription filled and went to Walmart to pick it up.  Bought a few other things while we were there.  We needed copy paper and they had it, while Terry could not find it in  the other Walmart we went to yesterday..

Came home to do the mundane, eat leftovers, take out the garbage, Terry doing laundry, and both of us reading.

It's a tough life, but someone has to do it.

Color Us Exhausted

We got up fairly earliy.  Marilyn checked her student's emails and Terry checked our shopping lists.

We had nothing to eat for breakfast so went to the local place, Lil Bits, for breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked over to the nail salon and made an appointment for manicures and pedicures for January 2.  Later that same day, we go for haircut and dye (grey-grey go away).

Next stop was Dollar Tree for some household items and some personal items.

Walmart was next and we took two carts and were phoning each other as we shopped.

Came home to have a small bite of lunch and to rest for the next round.

Our caretaker said to go to Rohan Recreation Center for our credentials.  When we got there, they said no, not here!  So, as we suspected, we went back to Sumter Landing and got the credentials.  I think our caretaker got confused.  There is a pick up at Rohan after the new year at an event for new renters.

Got gas, and the price was so good, Terry had to take a photo.

Only once on the road did we pay over $2.00 for gas.

We next went to Publix and Terry went in to speed shop (she did not need me slowing her down).

We came home and had Publix yummy fried chicken for dinner.

We are reading two days worth of newspapers and I did laundry in between reading.

Driving Between Rain Drops

We left Atlanta in  a drizzle, it was raining hard when we looked out of the window before going down to breakfast.

Had to waive my hotel room key to get out of the parking lot.  Paid $10 a night for parking -that's a first for us.

Hit I-75 and it rained on and off for most of the ride.  Sometimes a drizzle, sometimes a downpour, and sometimes the sun tried to shine through.

Stopped at a McDonald's for lunch and the rain had stopped.   Got back into the car and it started again.

It stopped any time we had to go to the Rest Area and stopped all together when we hit the Florida line.

Stopped at the Welcome Center and got some brochures.  Dashboard said 84 degrees!

About 35 minutes from our exit, there was a tie up.  The overhead sign said 90 minutes to where we were to get off.  GPS got us off in Ocala and we took back roads to the house.  Of course, everyone else's GPS was telling them the same thing - SLOW GOING.

We finally arrived at the house and Clem greeted us.

We unpacked the car and I took some photo of how tight a squeeze it was in the car.

The trunk was full to the height of the seats in the back.

The back seat was that full too, as was the floor of the back seat!  That photo did not come out.

Went to Beef O'Brady's for dinner - we both had shrimp (Terry grilled and me fried)

Once we got Comcast to turn the Internet on and get the TV's working, I was in a foul mood.  That should have been done before we arrived.

Terry is unpacked, but I haven't really started.  Had to sign checks for the Township, etc.

Traffic, Mountains and Rain

We woke up early and got dressed and went down for breakfast.

We left at 7 a.m., Chicago time and 8 a.m. Eastern time.

There was a little rain,but nothing too awful. 

Terry drove after the mountains and was in the back-up traffic on I-24 before getting on to I-75.  Every years it's the same.  No reason for the back up, but always one.

Marilyn drove the rest of the way into Atlanta.  It started to seriously rain as we got off of I-85 to our hotel, Hyatt Place, Atlanta Airport South.

$10 to park - a first for us at a Hyatt Place.

Fortunately, they have a limited menu and WINE and we ate in their lobby as there was no way that we were going to get back into the car looking for food.

Terry had a little gastro problem before we left Chicago, so she was eating lightly on
Christmas and while we are on the road.  She says she is fine now!

On the Road Again

We left Terry's about 9 a.m., and everything fit into the car - a miracle!

We usually stop in Merrilliville, IN at the Holiday Inn Star Plaza or Denny's.  Guess what isn't there any more?  Just empty ground!

Found a McDonalds and used their washrooms.

Terry was trying to fix the seat and mirrors to her satisfaction and to her dismay, managed to get the side mirrors into the car wash position.  We had to read the book to undo that.  Also, had to read the book to get everything adjusted for her!

It got to be lunch time and we stopped at another McDonald's and it was so busy, no human was taking orders and they were 1/2 hour behind on filling the orders from the self ordering machine.  We left and ate some crackers that we had in the car.

By the time we got to Elizabethtown, KY, we were hungry.  Dropped our bags at Baymont Hotel and went across to the steak restaurant..  We had to send our steaks back, as they were not cooked properly.

We are getting ready for bed and it is only 8 p.m., KY time!

The weather looks like rain for the rest of the trip to Florida.

Family Christmas at Stacy's

We had a wonderful Christmas at Stacy's house.  She, Jessica and Mark had the house decorated for the holidays and it looked lovely.  Stacy made three lasagnas for 10 people!  Lots of food - yummy!

We exchanged white elephant gifts using a game Mindy developed - she made up the rules as we went along!  We did laugh a lot!!!

We also exchanged gift cards and Mindy developed a game for that too - that game went a little better.

We played another game - Would You Rather, that Mindy and Miranda purchased.  Strange game and we lost interest fast.

Below is a photo of the family (I hated the photos I was in so am just showing this one),

Our Christmas Holiday Starts

Our Christmas Holiday starts with lunch at Malnati's (instead of our usual Chinese dinner in a crowded restaurant).  We had a great lunch, with leftovers to take home.  They were not crowded and we lingered to exchange our scratch-off lottery tickets.  Ida was the big winner - $25 scratch off!

California Highlights

Friday - June 15, 2018.

American Blue picked me up and then Terry to take us to O'Hare for our trip to California.

Sonni Helmer meets us at the Airport and prepared a wonderful lunch for us, in her beautiful new home.

She took us to Budget Rent a Car and we picked up the Chevy that would be our transportation for the next few days.

We made our way to Woodland Hills to the Holiday Inn Express.  A just okay hotel.  Our GPS took us via the beach, and into the Topanga Cannon roads.  Less painful than the Freeways and much more scenic.

We walked across the street to the Mexican Restaurant, but it was dark and noisy and we decided not to eat there.  We went to the Wendy's next door and had a gourmet dinner.  I was not going to have a Frosty, because it was chocolate and that's when Terry introduced me to a vanilla Frosty-who knew.

We watched TV (after having to have someone come up and show us how to use the two remotes) and then slept.

Saturday - June 16, 2018

Woke up early and went down for breakfast.  We had a nice breakfast (including their famous cinnamon rolls).

Picked up Betty and squeezed her walker, and me, into the backseat.

Went to the Westfield Mall and sat in the Food Court and visited.  Then saw Lauren on her way into work!

Drove over to Red Robin for lunch and had a nice time visiting.

Took Betty back to The Commons and went on to The Garland Hotel, via the 101 Freeway. 

We registered at the hotel and ran into the parents of the bride - cousins Barbara Jean and Howard!  Called Judy and saw her too on our way to our room.

Our welcome bucket from the family

We changed clothes and went to the cocktail party.  Everyone was very casual and we were the most dressed up of the group.  The cocktail party was out on the lawn and it was COLD.  We sat around the fire pit, drank and caught up.  They passed little sliders and grilled cheese minis.  Forgot to take photos.

We got a recommendation, from the hotel, for a restaurant and we along with Judy, Jeff, Barbara Jean,  and Howard Ubered it to the restaurant.  Good food and lots of catching up.  Late night!

Sunday, June 17, 2018

We met Judy for breakfast and sat at the bar since it was Father's Day and they had a lot of reservations for the tables.  We had fun catching up.  We had the buffet, which was very good.  Judy had french toast and ordered food to go for Jeff, who slept in.  We picked up the tab, as Jeff had been paying for the Uber rides.

We rested in our room and then dressed for the wedding.  We Ubered over to the wedding and back, with Judy and Jeff.  We wanted to drink and did not want to drink and drive.

The wedding was lovely - at the Wattles Mansion.  The dinner was from a local deli that Andy (the groom) loves.  The buffet line was long, but family and wedding party went first.  We told the caterer how he could move the line faster (remove the lids on the two chaffing dishes and he took our advice.

The mansion

Ready for the guests

Howard walks Dori down the aisle

A friend officiates and does a great job

Married

Cousin Emily, Maid of Honor, on the right in the dark dress

 Tables for dinner

The bride and groom speak

Judy, Marilyn, Terry and Jeff

Barbara Jean, Marilyn, Terry and Jeff

The bride's grandparents were there in spirit.

The engagement

 Our cousins

Howard and Barbara Jean - Bride's parents

Monday, June 18, 2018

We woke fairly early - got dressed and made our way to Budget to drop off the car.  Our GPS, again, took us on surface streets and it was a trip down memory lane.

At Budget, we dropped the car off and got onto their shuttle.  It was a slow ride to the airport.  It dropped us off at the baggage claim area and we had to make our way upstairs to the check-in.

Got our bags checked.  Found that our flight was going to be late in leaving.

Since we had not had anything, but orange juice and a couple of small cookies for breakfast, we went to a sit-down restaurant and had wraps for lunch.  We then sat in the airport for hours.  We did not take off until after 3:30 p.m.  It was a fairly smooth ride to just before Chicago.

Got a American Blue home and it was LATE.

We spent the whole day travelling.

Home

Got up at the crack of dawn (I thought it was an hour later) and started answering student questions.

Terry woke up shortly thereafter.  We did linens, towels, dishes, and cleaned out the refrigerator.  Had breakfast and made ourselves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take on the plane.

Jeanne came about 10:15 a.m. to check out the house.  She and Clem are taking care of the car transport getting my car.  We left the car in the garage.

At 10:30 a.m. the car, from Elite Transportation, came to pick us up for our ride to Orlando.

We arrived at the airport about noon, gave our bags to the curbside check-in and got our boarding passes.  The passes said "priority" - that just meant that the line to check our ID, with a security person, was a shorter line.  The security line, however, was a zoo.  We had to put our sandwiches in a security bin - really!!!!  We did not have to take off our shoes as we are old!!!

Sat in the terminal until boarding - ate our lunch there.

Flight was okay, a little bumpy, but okay.  Fortunately, we both had aisle seats.

At O'Hare, American Blue picked us up.  We decided to both go to Terry's as Mindy and Miranda were coming with Terry's Civic inasmuch as Glenn has not finished detailing Terry's new car, which is still in Stacy's garage.

Mindy and Miranda brought over dinner, from Panera, and we had a nice visit.

Glenn came a little later to pick them up in their van.

Terry took me home.

My smoke detector battery is chirping, but I cannot reach it (even on a 2-step step stool) to change the battery.  Tall neighbor came home and came in to change the battery - he did not need any step ladder.

It is COLD and there is supposed to be snow tomorrow - welcome to Chicago!!!!

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Packing

We spent the morning packing.

After lunch, Terry discovered that the suitcase she was checking at the airport had a hole in it.

So, we went to Beall's Outlet and she bought a suitcase - bigger than the one she was replacing.

We went to Sumter Landing to walk in and out of the stores and checked out the vendors.  We bought nothing but enjoyed the warm weather.

After dinner, we walked over to Arlene and Joan's for a goodbye hug.

High School Reunion

We got up, dressed and ready for the cleaning lady's arrival.  She was about a half-hour late.

I worked and read, and Terry went outside to get out of the cleaning lady's way and out of the air conditioning.  She was sitting on the front porch and had a little visitor.

We then traded places and he came out to greet me too.  We think he is a Gecko.

When the cleaning lady left, we went over to Diane's and met up with Diane, Joyce and Evie for a little high school reunion.  We drove over to Eaton's Beach for lunch and sat where we could all look out at the water!  Lunch was delicious.  We sat and talked for a long time, until Evie's oxygen had to be recharged, which we did in the car on the way back to Diane's.

Came home to start some packing up and conference calls.

Joan came over for some coffee (they ran out) and some salad dressing.  She took the magazines that we had for Arlene too.  She also brought a tote that we will put in our car for her.

Terry on a conference call with Mindy and their staff, and me the Township's Board Meeting.

My meeting was very short and Terry's went on for quite awhile.

Harbor Hills Country Club

Got up early to answer student questions, so I could play for the rest of the day.

Terry slept a little later.

We picked up Arlene and Joan to go to Harbor Hills Country Club.  We had read the ad and had driven by so thought we'd go there for a final joint meal.

We got there a little early so sat outside.  We took some photos from there.

Lake Griffin is in the background

Joan, Marilyn, Arlene

Joan, Terry, Arlene

Terry and I actually look tall in these photos!

Came home to relax.  Believe it or not, we had dinner (salad, with leftover chicken for Marilyn and leftover salmon for Terry).

We packed up a box to leave in Diane and Tom's garage.

Terry put some things together (leftover wine, etc.) to give to Diane and Tom.

I'm doing laundry.

We have lunch tomorrow with Diane, Evie, and Joyce after the cleaning lady leaves and then we start to pack.

Hope to hear from the transport about when he will pick up the car.

We've made arrangements for a car to pick us up on Wednesday morning, and to pick us up in Chicago.

February has been beautiful and we hate to leave.

Patchouli

After working and eating some breakfast, we picked up Arlene and Joan to go to hear Patchouli at the Bakery.

It was a beautiful day (no hand warmers for Julie and Bruce).  Unfortunately, Terry went inside to order lunch and got into the bakery line instead of the deli line, and she missed the entire first set.  She had ordered a chicken salad  sandwich which she and I were originally going to share.

However, I decided to get a brat and let her share with Arlene, so Arlene did not have a similar wait as she cannot eat brats.

Joan and I had brats and they were yummy.  The brats are ordered from an outside booth, so you can still hear the music while you wait in line.

Julie and Bruce will be going to Bath, England in May, and then China later in the year.  They are having an exciting year.

We stayed for alll three sets and then left to get ice cream at Mystic, however, they were closed.  So, we took Arlene and Joan into the consignment shop next door.  No one bought anything.

Still looking for ice cream, we tried McDonald's at Colony, but we could not find a parking space because they were that crowded.

We finally ended up at McDonald's near us and all had hot-fudge sundaes.  Yummy!

Came home and rested, read the paper, and Terry made some salmon for dinner.

She also talked with Betty, who is having a stress test later in the week.  We'll check with her again after the test.

Lazy Girls

Our mother is rolling in her grave, poor woman.  She would get up, get dressed, and be ready for the day.

We did not get dressed until after a late lunch.  We had been up late watching the Olympics and ice skating.  Unfortunately, the Americans did not do well.

Clem (the caretaker) came with the new cable box for the kitchen TV.  He struggled with programming it until he called Comcast to find out they needed to activate the new equipment - ugh!

Finally left the house to run some errands.

Recycled newspapers at the Temple.

Make a donation at Goodwill.

Dollar tree for a few things.

Got cash from those nice people at Chase.

Color Catcher from Publix.  Color catcher allows you to mix lights and darks in one wash and the colors do not bleed. Great invention.  We had run out of them, so had to buy some more.

Came home for dinner and doing some work.  Kind of listening to the Olympics, but not really interested in some of the sports happening tonight.

Discovered, while Judy and Jeff were here, that there was a "cousin" that was a second cousin DNA match to both Jeff and Terry.  He is an attorney in England, originally from Wales.  He was shocked to learn that he is 41% Jewish.  It will be interesting to see where this all goes.

Joy and Resale

After working in the morning, we went over to Lil Bit's to meet Joy for lunch.  Again, we forgot to take a photo of her.

After lunch, we became the resale queens.  We went to Marie Rose Consignment Shop and Marilyn bought two tops.

Next stop was the hospital thrift shop, where Terry bought a top.

Then Joy told us about another resale shop, so we had to check that one out too.  Terry bought a top there and I called the Township from their parking lot.

We stopped for gas and for butter (the only thing that we ran out of early).

We had our wine and cheese outside again and then came in for dinner.

We will be watching Joyce's granddaughter, Bradie Tennell, skate tonight at the Olympics.

Celebration

We were both a little blurry eyed since we stayed up to see the women's figure skating.  I slept late.

Worked, did laundry, had breakfast and lunch and then left to go to Celebration (a Disney town outside of Orlando).  We always try to do some sightseeing while here, and had not been to Celebration.

We got into town and got caught up in a school-pick-up line.  I guess we could have picked up a kid (they were all so cute).

Went over to the center of town near a body of water and a park.  We walked around, though we stopped into two women's stores, most of that area was restaurants of every stripe.

One of the funky buildings in Celebration

Came home and sat on the back patio for some wine and cheese and the newspaper.  It was so pleasant out there.  This was our third night sitting out there.

Terry's mail, that was scanned on January 31, was in our mailbox TODAY.  The tag said it was tagged on Feb. 16.  More than two weeks after Terry was alerted that the mail was being forwarded.  To think they just raised the cost of stamps!!!!

Mah jongg and Olympics

Started the day working for Marilyn and Terry fighting with the USPS (of course-an annual event).

Marilyn ran to Chase Bank to make a deposit.  Yes, Mindy, I know I can do it without leaving the house (I even have the app) but it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  Bark Bark.

Set up the house for mah jongg - had a quick lunch and the ladies where here.

at 4:30, the caretaker, Clem, was here to fix the faucet, but he did not have the right tool, so will be back tomorrow.

He took the cable box for the kitchen TV with him.  We had considered going to Leesburg to switch it out and then decided to let him do it.

After everyone left Terry and I sat on the back patio and had some wine and appetizers. 

We had some dinner (chicken, etc AGAIN). It's a good thing that we like chicken!

We are watching the Olympics.  Bradie Tennell, Joyce's granddaughter, was the first to skate and fell during her performance.  Feel so badly for her.  We will watch the rest to see how she places.

Talked to or friend, Naomi, who is in Colorado and she is busy traveling and visiting with her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.

Judy and Jeff - Day Two

We did some work and then went to pick up Judy and Jeff at their hotel.  We wanted to show them the new area of Fenney.

We drove down to Fenney and walked on the trail.  There was a crock in the water, that Jeff said would have been lunch for their resident crock.

First Cousins

The Girls

We sat in the recreation center and talked for awhile and then went to TooJays, in Brownwood.

We sat for hours talking and laughing and then being Glazers - we all needed a nap (except Judy).

Leaving Too Jays, we saw this woman on a bicycle with a box and an ubrella in the back of the bike - her dog was in the box!!!


We took them back to their hotel and came home to rest.

They came to the house a few hours later for our trip to Oak Wood Express for ribs (chicken for Judy).  As we thought, Jeff loved the place!

Came back to our house for dessert and more conversation and laughs.

We are watching ice dancing in our bedrooms -one of the American couples fell!

Judy and Jeff Arrive

We spent the morning working and reading.

Ran to Publix to get dinner for tonight.

Judy and Jeff got settled into their hotel and arrived shortly after.

Terry and I had cocktails out on the front porch waiting for them to arrive.

We then moved to have our drinks and appetizers out on the back patio - very pleasant.

Moved inside for dinner - chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, rolls.  Dessert was cupcakes and a chocolate bobka that Judy and Jeff brought.

Jeff then went to play on his telephone while we were brought up to date on our ancestry records that Judy has been working on.  Terry and Jeff both did the DNA test, with Ancestry, and Judy showed us how it showed them as a very strong match!!!  So exciting.  Another person showed as a strong second cousin match for both - Judy has emailed that person - stay tuned!

Jeff checking his telephone in the background, while Judy bringing us up to date on her ancestry finds.

Kitchen cable box not working (on Tuesday we'll take it to Leeburg), so we are each going to watch the Olympics in our bedrooms, when the skating comes on.  Right now it is skiing.

Three Tenors + One

Terry and I both worked most of the morning.

Had lunch and got dressed to pick up Arlene and Joan to go to the Sharon to see Three Tenors + One, at the 3 p.m. performance.  Meet Ethel and Steve there.

We had great balcony/center seats in the second row KK 4-9.

We went to the little Oakwood Restaurant, on Hwy 301, for dinner.  We got a table right away and all had the full slab of ribs, except for Arlene who had the combo of ribs and chicken.  Everyone enjoyed their dinner.

We are watching the Olympics and doing laundry.

Shabbat Shalom

After working this morning, and Terry busy writing the post office and filing lost-mail report, we left to go to the beauty shop.

I returned the slacks that I bought yesterday to Beall's Outlet.

We had a lunch of leftovers.

I went to the postal station and my box was there.  Not one piece of mail for Terry.  This is getting serious.

Had our chicken leftovers from yesterdays lunch for dinner - yummy!

Changed clothes and picked up Arlene and Joan to go to Temple.  We met Ethel and Steve there.

The Rabbi is on medical leave and the Ritual Committee did the service.  The choir was better than last time.

Everyone was friendly during the Oneg.

Watching the Olympics.

Chico's Fashion Show

Woke up early to do laundry and answer student questions.

Terry got up a little later and had a busy morning.

We went to Spanish Springs and Katie Belle's for a Chico's Fashion Show.  This year was a much better show, with both Chico's and Soma exhibiting clothing.   Lunch included salmon and chicken, we brought our chicken home and will have it tomorrow.

A nice lady, from Seattle, by the name of Barbara, joined our table.

Ethel, Arlene, Joan, Terry, Marilyn, Barbara

An email from Temple told us of the passing of a friend from Sisterhood.  Rest in Peace Adrianne Daskal.  She was a lovely women and we will miss her.  Spoke to her a few weeks ago and she was very upbeat, but lost her battle.

We did not go to Chico's after the luncheon as it was a zoo.  We did wander among the vendors at the farmers' market.  There were vendors selling jewelry and I bought a black and white necklace.

Made a stop at Ace Hardware to finish a project and also at Beall's Outlet, next door.  Terry bought a top and some shoes.  I bought a pair of tights, but they are too long and I'm going to return them.

We also went to Sumter Landing, Market Night, and Terry got some more bracelets like those she bought the other day.  I think she now has a bracelet for each outfit!  I got a pair of black/white earrings to match the necklace I bought at the Farmer's Market.

Came home to eat leftovers from our dinner yesterday.

Terry is having problems with getting her mail, which she decided to just have forwarded instead of using Priority Forwarding.  She has not had mail in days and is furious as she knows there are pieces of mail that were sent that she has not received.  Good job Des Plaines Post Office - NOT- AGAIN.

Watching the Olympics - luge and downhill (waiting for men's ice skating).

Valentine's Day

I was working on my computer when Terry exited from her bedroom to announce that she was in a “pissy mood.”  Seems she had not slept well and then someone was removing bushes near her bedroom window.  Well, Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!

We gave each other cards for Valentine’s Day.

Clem came to put in a light bulb in the kitchen and worked on the leaking faucet.

After he left, we went shopping – I went to The Dollar Tree and Terry went to Walmart which is next door to the Dollar Tree.

We came home for lunch.  Terry found Paczki at Walmart, I had never had one and was thrilled to be eating one.  Terry is used to crème filled, this was jelly filled.

At 6:30, Joyce, Diane and Tom came over for dinner.  We had brie and crackers and shrimp for appetizers.  Lasagna, rolls, salad and cupcakes, valentine candy and Paczki.  We were all stuffed.

We played a card game that Diane and Tom call Go.  Tom Won!

Tom did a little repair for us and also gave us card holders that he makes for Samba.  I think they want us to learn Samba!

We set a lunch date for when Evie comes at the end of the month.

Carol and Harry = Day Two

We had a quiet day of reading and working.

We picked up Carol and Harry at 4 p.m. to go to Riccardo's, in Bellview, for dinner.  We were meeting their cousin Ethel there. Bellview is about half way between our two homes - she's in Ocala.

We had a nice dinner in this little hole- in- the- wall place.  It got good reviews on Yelp and that is how I picked it.  It was in a little strip- shopping center, near the Markets of Marion.

We had an early dinner since I had my Township meeting to attend at 8 p.m.

Tonight, it was two pizzas for the price of one and we ordered a second pizza for Ethel to take home.  Terry and I had not had pizza since we've been in Florida. It was thin pizza and was pretty good.

Harry just had a bowl of chicken soup, as he was not feeling 100%.  Carol had a shrimp dish that she loved, and Ethel had blacken chicken over pasta which she enjoyed.

Came home to participate in our Township meeting.  Tony Lundin, one of the Trustees, was not in attendance and I got a text later from him saying that his company got called to a Metra accident (derailment) and his cell lost its charge.  He owns a local towing company.

Watched the Olympics and couples ice dancing until we could not keep our eyes open any longer.

I was in bed, when I remembered that I had not written the blog!!!!

Carol and Harry Visit The Villages

Got up early to do laundry, answer student questions and prepare for a Political Affairs Committee that I was going to call into..

I participated in the meeting where we interviewed three of the five candidates for State Representative in the IL 17,  including a candidate that I support - Jennifer Gong Gershowitz.

While I was on the call, Terry went to Publix and Walmart to do some shopping for tonight's dinner.

I had to get off of the call before the meeting was over to go pick up Carol and Harry.  Carol is our friend Fran's sister.  Fran passed away two years ago in March.

We took them for lunch at Mallory Country Club and then took them on a tour of Fenney and the property that will be developed between the existing Villages and there.

Unfortunately, it started to rain so we could not get out of the car to show them the recreation center and cafe at Fenney.

We drove past Sumter Landing as the musicians were getting set up, but it was raining!

We dropped them off at their hotel so they could rest.

They came here for dinner of salad, chicken, sweet potato casserole, veggies, and rolls.  Dessert was chocolate donuts (as close as we could get to the Polish dessert - Paczki).  The dessert is served on Fat Tuesday, which is tomorrow.

Took this photo to text to Carol's kids as her son, Bill, was texting Harry to make sure that they were okay.

Also sent the photo to Ida and Bevi so they would know that we had been with Carol and Harry.

We are now "watching" the Olympics.  We are not as invested in downhill as we are in the skating.