Different Day, Same Stuff

 Not much going on other than doctor appts.  I have completed 4 ablations with follow up sonograms.  All is going well.  Lots of “sticks” along my leg but the wrapping tightly from foot to thigh is the worst of it.  

I did do a book signing for a Woodlands author with my Forum Sustainers.  What a lovely home!  And food! I bought two books of the 12 she has written but I haven’t started reading them yet.  

Uwe and Anna joined us for Easter dinner.  Smallest one I have ever cooked.  

Easter week was 3 ablation appts snd one PCP 6 month check up.  Everything checks out!  

We are making progress on the yard.  When we did our back fence, our “not good” neighbor wanted no part of having the common fence replaced.  The other side neighbor was agreeable.  We decided to wait on the two common fences until we could get them both done.  Our new neighbors are replacing their fence so our two common ones will get done at the same time and our new fence will be complete.  All neighbors honoring the good neighbor protocol!  

Anna is a sponsor for legal South Africans settling in our area.  This younger couple, both chefs, was not able to bring a lot with them so they are outfitting their new home a little at a time. When Anna said they had served them wine in a plastic yogurt container I had a great idea.  I had my very first set of china, 7 piece place settings, service for 12 plus 36 matching glasses that have not seen the light of day in two decades.  I got them all out of the cupboard above the refrigerator along with a new lidded sauce pot, crockpot, and several platters to help them out.  

Anna wanted to pay me and I told her those beautiful dishes had gone from OH to FL to OH, to MI, to FL again to TX and local moves in between.  One dinner plate and the sugar bowl were the only missing pieces.  I was only too happy to have them put to good use!  

The gentleman was reworking the oval landscape for Anna one day when we came home and we met them for the first time.  The next morning as he was spreading mulch I stopped and told him what a fine job he had done and discussed my wait for sod and cleaning up our plant area.  I thought while he was waiting for an answer on a job application, maybe he would like to earn a few dollars fixing my planted oval.  When I approached Anna she laughed and said he had just told her he wanted  to fix mine up for free if I will buy the plants.  So Tuesday we are going together to buy plants but he will NOT be working for free.  

Ted’s sister in law, Jeanne, died the day before Easter in Phoenix.  She will be buried there April 19 which is her 86th birthday.  I am unable to fly until May 8 so Ted is going alone.  He will get on Terry and Carol’s connecting flight in Houston, rent a car for the 5 of them (2 flying in from Cincinnati) and all stay at the same hotel.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had just purchased theater tickets for the night of April 19 for us thinking the funeral would be the week before!  So I wrote my friend who lost her husband last December.  She said she would love to see The Buddy Holly Story with me.  So she has her first date, with me!  

Next week is Canasta, neighborhood lunch, Shanghai, 5th ablation and sonogram.  Some things never change.  At least our bluebonnets have been consistently beautiful,this year!

Moving On!

Margaritaville in Kissimmee.  A nice shopping and dining area.  

Ford’s Garage

Tuesday was spent doing laundry and cleaning out the refrigerator.  Kristin brought lots from home in the way of condiments, fruit, drinks, etc. so she had several bags of groceries and we had a bag and two small coolers.  Once that was all finished we decided to go to Ford’s Garage for dinner and not mess up the kitchen.  There was a Margaritaville area close by so we started there.  It was chilly and at least an hour wait but no indication if it would be inside or out so we went across the street to El Jefe Tequilas.  We were seated right away and the food was good.  It was a pretty area so we walked a bit, stopping in a confectionery store.  I was given a small piece of praline and a bite of Ted’s strawberry cheesecake ice cream and it was out of this world!  But I stopped at just that one taste.

I woke up at 4 am and never did fall back to sleep. Ted heard Pat and Kelly getting ready to leave so he got up about 5:30.  They left about 6:15 and wrote back they were on the plane a little after 8:00 and eventually wrote again that they had landed. 

Meanwhile we and Kristin took off at the same time with all the towels in a heap in each of the 5 bathrooms, garbage emptied and dishwasher running. That was all we had to do. Ted dropped off the keys and we were good to go. 

We stopped at the exit in Tallahassee on the way over for fuel and a car wash. Next stop Dolphin Street in Destin, FL!  

We arrived late afternoon and walked the one block to the beach to see the sunset!  Very pretty.  Barb fixed dinner and we got caught up on family news. 

This house is huge!  Sleeps 24, 8 bathrooms, 8 burner stove, 2 dishwashers, 3 coffee pots, 9 TVs, pool and hot tub, parking for 6 autos and is one block off the beach.  

Terry and Carol arrived the next day and we sat around the pool and in the hot tub until we decided to go to MacGuire’s for dinner.  Barb and I split a chicken sandwich that I could hardly finish.  We went home and played cards.  I won!

Friday we headed east to Sandestin which is a bit more upscale in stores, housing and rentals.  We visited Topsail State Park and walked to the beach but rode the tram back.  Ted walked down as far as the tram station and waited with Kevin while Barb and I pressed on to the beach.  Terry and Carol rode the tram both ways.  

It is our favorite camping spot but is very hard to get reservations.  It has lovely sand dunes and is a different kind of beach beauty.  

From there, because it was Friday and no meat in Lent, we chose to take friend Tal’s suggestion to eat at Goatfeathers, the second oldest restaurant in the area.  The ambiance was fishing or beach shack, the view non existent, but the food was excellent.  I chose grilled mahi mahi, hush puppies and Brussel sprouts that were honey glazed and excellent!  The peach margarita was pretty good too!

After the long walk to the ocean since we didn’t take the tram down and then continued on the boardwalk to the ocean, plus a margarita, I excused myself from card playing when we returned home and I went to bed. 

Saturday was a pool day.  We all just hung out, went to church at 4:00 then to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  I was underwhelmed though Barb and Kevin really like it.  The raspberry frozen margarita I ordered was not frozen and must have been missing the Simple Sec, it was awful.  All 6 of us agreed it was terrible.  Ted gave me his drink and they brought him a frozen margarita to replace it.  Then we both ordered the same entree and received similar but different stuff!  Oh well, it was one meal of thousands I will have eaten in my lifetime!  

We went back and played cards and a game called Spinner followed by Shanghai cards.  We were all ready for bed before midnight. 

We were up early Sunday morning and on the road by 8:30.  We made it home right at 6 pm.  Monday was putting everything away and doing two loads of laundry.  At the last minute I was asked to sub in a Shanghai group and ended up last!

I finished up things on Tuesday because I had Dr appts on Wednesday and Thursday.  We plan to go to the Home Show this weekend!

Happy trails!  

Florida and Family Continues

Our Cincinnati neighbors who now live in The Villages came to visit on Saturday.  The kids took off to Kristin’s for various reasons.  The cats needed to be fed, Kara needed to print something off a computer, Bill was doing some measurement for whatever his next project at Kristin’s is and Pat needed to pick up his wind surfing kite.  I can’t remember why Kelly went other than everyone else was.

We had a terrific visit and Texas Roadhouse lunch with Marge and Steve. We lived next door to them before moving to Michigan in 1981.  They stayed from 11:30 until 5:00 when we needed to leave for church.  The kids ate while out, went to church at 5:00 and we all showed up back at the condo about the same time.  

I didn’t mention how nice this condo is!  There are 4/4 beds and baths with a half bath off the downstairs hall.  Everyone has a king bed and bath so we all have our own space, there is a fully equipped kitchen with seating for 10 to eat.  There also is a laundry room.  We have a balcony with lounge chairs and a back deck with an outside kitchen and seating for 6.  We are very close to Disney which is great but the traffic can be crazy until you learn the back roads which Kara knew.  

Sunday it rained all day.  Our plans were lunch at the Boathouse at Disney Springs.  We had umbrellas in the car and Kara had ponchos so we made do.  An entertainer Kara and Kelly follow was playing one of the dueling pianos and we got to sit in the boat!

 

We took Bill and Kara to the airport on Monday morning, Patrick was long gone to Cocoa Beach to ride his windsurf kite “thing.”  The girls, Ted and I decided to return to the orange groves to finish visiting what we had not seen when we had to leave for Kara’s work zoom call.  It is tough to be a VP and try to go on vacation!  

The Simpson’s, fresh from Universal Studios we surmised; also a turtle that CeCe will like.  She saw Hawaii photos of turtles and when talk of going there came up, she told us how much she likes turtles.  And most everyone recognizes the famous hostess of Cincinnati’s famous Frisch’s Big Boy!  The rest are just random shots.  Lots of things to occupy kids besides Mickey and Disney.

We bought Dole Whips and sat in rocking chairs in the sun!

And Another Adventure Begins

We left Wednesday morning, 2/7, as planned a little before 6 and drove straight through to Tallahassee not even stopping to eat.  We checked into a motel, walked next door to eat and went to bed early. We were on the road the next day before 7:00 and arrived at Kristin's right at noon. 

At the same time Kara and Bill were landing at MCO but they were renting a car so we didn’t have to pick them up. It was Bill’s birthday so he chose Giovanni’s for dinner.  We all had early starts so it was off to bed early again. 

On Friday, Kara and Bill left for their timeshare at the Grand Floridian and our plan for after dinner was to see The Boys in the Boat.  We made it all the way to the ticket counter to be informed that the last show was at 4, not 7 and sometimes the times don’t get updated in real time!  So we went home. 

Kristin and I did a Harry Potter scavenger hunt with two of her friends Saturday morning. All I know is we walked to clues for 2.5 hours and at the end the three decided on a murderer. It was wrong so I told them my thoughts and I was right!  Who knew?  

While we did that Ted went to MCO and picked up Kelly and Pat.  We ate a big lunch then didn’t have dinner.  The evening’s agenda was YeeHaw Bob at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort.  He is a hoot with a very energetic show for all ages.  It was a late night and I went to bed as soon as we got home  

Kristin was up early and went to church at 9:00 so she could have lunch ready for the four of us when we returned from 11:00 Mass.  I really like her church too.  She had prepared fajitas with steak or chicken, all the fixings, corn casserole, Mexican beans and tres leche cake.  It was all very good. 

I stripped our bed, did two loads of laundry and repacked our things for our 4:00 departure to Hilton’s Tuscany Village where we were spending 3 nights with our old FL friends who now live in Palm Coast, about 100 miles away. 

Our accommodations are exceptionally nice including a screened in balcony.  This is our view (through the screen).  

Ted learned there was a Super Bowl Party down at the pool so we went there to watch.  They were handing out red and gold Pom poms but we just sat in our lounge chairs across from the bar. 

It was a boring first half so we took our drinks upstairs to our suite.  The third quarter was slightly better but that fourth quarter and overtime were exciting.  So much back and forth.  Since my Detroit Lions were not playing I didn’t much care who won.  

Monday was Epcot!  We were to meet up around noon with everyone and we all ended up in line for the same tram.  We covered a lot of ground, stopping at 4:00 for dinner in the German pavilion.  It was all delicious but their potato salad was a disappointment to this connoisseur of good warm, German potato salad!  But there was so much I really was too full to eat it all anyway.  Then it was back to the venues.  It was almost 9:00 we staggered out to the parking lot while the 5 of them were staying until midnight!  Pat said at that point we had walked about 7 miles!  I could hardly move.  

Our friends from our days living in DeBary, FL arrived in our absence so we met them for breakfast on Tuesday before going to our Hilton presentation.  They had one for Hilton Head that was almost two years old while Tom battled bladder cancer (we both did MDAnderson at the same time) and they changed it to Orlando, so we got one since Hilton asked us to attend each time we made a reservation.  

We listened to the real estate guy, the manager and the closer.  Ted told them our time to travel is dwindling and it would not be a good investment at this time of life.  They gave us a $200 voucher for a Hilton stay and we left!  We drove to the Grand Floridian since they have never been there, showed them around and Kara had the sales manager show them the 2 and 3 bedroom units we stayed in last summer.  They were in a studio for just the two of them.  We went to Maggiano’s for dinner before calling it a night.

We needed to check out at 10 Wednesday morning while Tom and Eileen had another night at Tuscany Villa.  We had them follow us to Disney Springs where we could park for free (the parks are $25) and catch a free bus to Art of Animation resort.  Lots of cartoon things there!  We caught the Skyliner (free) and rode it over the Riviera Resort, the Caribbean resort onto Epcot where we walked around a bit before retracing our steps by Skyliner and bus back to Disney Springs.  We intended to take Bill, Kara and their things to the condo but they had moved everything to GF storage and went to Magic Kingdom!  So we just went on to the condo and got settled ourselves.  Ted went back later to get them and their things.  Tom and Eileen were returning to Tuscany but decided to just check out and drive the 96 miles back home.  

Thursday was a down day.  I did some laundry and we went to the grocery.  The 3 kids left for Hollywood Studios but Kara had a noon zoom meeting.  When she was finished she and Bill went to meet them at Hollywood Studios and we passed!  

Ted and I had a quiet evening and I headed to bed at a reasonable time, I am not sure when Ted came in.  Saturday was a slow morning with us all heading out to a farm/orchard looking for oranges!  We saw some animals, a butcher shop that used EVERY bit of the animal.  I was shocked at Sirloin Tip roast at  $49.95 a pound among other things like $15 a pound wild rice!

We tried another one and found fresh squeezed orange juice but no oranges nor the coconut candy I have been requested to bring home that is still being illusive!  Kelly had work to do so didn’t join us.  Kara had a 3:30 Zoom meeting so we made it home with 3 minutes to spare.

We ordered meatless deep dish Goridano’s pizza for take out at 4:30 so we could be ready to leave at 6:30 for a live production of “All Shook Up”, a cross over play with some Elvis music and Footloose story line.  Such energy and wonderful voices. It was an enjoyable evening. 

  

Our Time is Running Out

Friday’s weather was ok, not the normal temps but dry and not windy.  We had breakfast at the motel which was very nice then went to Bentsen State Park to check out a restaurant that has opened recently.  It was small with a limited menu but a pretty nice one beyond your fast food fare.  We didn’t eat there but drove into Retama to visit a few friends.  

Patty and Steve were our neighbors for several years so we stopped there.  They had just returned from the doctor and were ready to have lunch.  She is having a lot of health issues so after a short visit we headed to Marissa and Steve’s.  But they were not home and we thought they may have left for Nebraska because I think they came down only to pick up their motorhome.  She had been at breakfast and said Steve had fallen out of a tree and needed some surgery plus the chain saw hit him in the face!

Emily said Norm was at their place at Green Gate where he stores their 43 foot motorhome and has a workshop so we headed that way.  After that we returned to the motel for the rest of the afternoon.  Had the weather been better, people would have been outside and we would have seen many more.  

Saturday we checked back with Marissa and Steve and they had not returned home to Nebraska.  It is always interesting to visit with them.  Steve is a pilot and farmer. They own extensive land and all their children work in the businesses.  

We chose Mama Mia’s for dinner and laughed about the time we went there with Tom and Eileen for her birthday.  I had bought a cake so when it was time to sing I borrowed balloons from the birthday party next to us to have them in the photo.  I asked the birthday boy first and he seemed flustered and said “well, ok, I guess!”

It was time for card bingo so we returned to Bentsen Palms to meet Ornell, Faith and Rick.  You need groups of four and we were 5.  Luckily Beverly from Retama came in with two friends and Ornell recognized her.  5 + 3 = 8 and we were all set!  Over 100 people were playing so the pots were big!  But none of us won!  

Saturday we started getting our things sorted out.  Ted bought a big plastic bin to put all the things we purchased in because there were just too many bags!  We went to church with Fr. Roy and met the bingo group.  After Mass we all went to Danny’s Mexican.  We were going to a show at Mission West but none of the others were interested so we went alone.  We had seen this young lady before and she puts on a great show.

Sunday found us heading north to home.  We arrived mid afternoon.  We emptied the car but just put our feet up because Monday was a “”free” day and we had all day to get organized.  I actually had Tuesday free too except to do three loads of laundry.  I had invited Irene and John for dinner on Wednesday.  They are still not finished with all their renovating.  I think everyone enjoyed the food.  All plates were eligible for the clean plate club and John had seconds!

I made a BIG mistake!  I signed up for a Chair Yoga class.  Oh my!  After my second hip surgery I took classes with no problem.  My back is still killing me!  Our weekend was quiet.  Had dinner after church and came right home.  

Anna, my new neighbor next door, and I went to lunch Tuesday at a new restaurant, Rise Soufflé!  I had French onion soup, ham and cheese soufflé (it was written in French so I told the waitress I couldn’t pronounce it but I could translate it), and raspberry soufflé for dessert!  I enjoyed it but I doubt I would ever get Ted to eat there.

Thursday was Continental Breakfast for the Newcomers group so I signed up to attend.  There were 50 ladies in attendance.  I saw many friends and met a few new ones.  It sometimes is an effort to “get up, dress up, show up” but I am usually glad I made the effort.  This was one of those times!

I continue to clean out closets, cabinets and drawers.  My bad back has slowed me down.  It will be March before it all gets picked up by TX Paralyzed Vets.  I didn’t get the bags out quick enough in January, we are gone in February so hopefully I will get my act together for March!

We are heading out Wednesday the 7th, planning to arrive at Kristin’s in Winter Springs the next day.  We will be there until the 11th when we meet up with Tom and Eileen (from Palm Coast) for 3 nights at Tuscany Village Resort in Orlando then moving on to a condo with all 3 girls and spouses for a week.  When we leave there on the 21st, our next stop will be Destin, FL as we head for home.  Ted’s youngest brother has invited us to spend time at their beach rental.  Our plans are to spend 4 nights then head for home!

I will try to do better in keeping my posts current and shorter!  

,  

Made it to Mission

It was a busy week before leaving.  We played Shanghai with both groups (and I won in the Saturday night group!) before leaving for Mission.  I had a dr appt and attended Nancy’s neighborhood potluck and bingo!  Our next semester catalogue is out and I registered for 5 of 8 classes so far.  Gail, who was recently released from the hospital, was ready for us to start her meal train.  I offered Saturday because it was really the best day I had time.  I made a chicken pot pie and then added a salad, rolls and dessert to go with it.  We dropped it off before church because we went right to cards afterwards.  The next morning we left at 8:00.

We arrived around 2:00 or so and went right to Mexico.  We had lots of things to pick up and we don’t want to carry too much at one time through Customs.  We did some price checking for availability and determined where we could get all that we need.  

This is the bridge back to US.  At the peak of the bridge is the border of Mexico and USA where your passport is checked.  This is the first time we have encountered a tent city on this bridge.

We checked into our motel and eventually went to Arturo’s for a great Mexican dinner.  I got my favorite lonches progreso while Ted got a taco salad in a large shell.  We were in bed very early!

We had dentist appointments at 9 am.  It was 80 when we arrived Sunday and 33 at 8:15 when we left the next morning.  We both had our teeth cleaned, they took impressions for a new upper plate for Ted and told us to return in two hours.  Ted went to get a pedicure and I shopped for some things at Pancho’s until he was finished.  We had coffee and a cinnamon roll at Renee’s then hit the drug stores that had what we needed at the best prices.  When we were finished we went back to our motel because it was too cold to do anything outside and a nap sounded good (plus football was on).  

Finally there was a lull in the games so we went to the Blue Onion for dinner.  A stop at Walmart to pick up a few things we forgot to pack and it was back to the motel.  The weather was going from bad to worse, a misty rain and freezing temps.  Not  good.  Football was STILL on so I was typing this while Ted talked to the TV!  

Tuesday we were free, we did not need to return to the dentist until Wednesday. We made plans to have lunch with Dave and Karen then return to their park to play Mexican Train.  They ended up with their water frozen and propane just about out so that was out of the question.  Karen is a shopper.  I am not so after lunch when she suggested TJMaxx while the fellows shopped Academy I used the time to shop for CeCe.

We were due at the dentist at noon so we left a little before check out time to arrive with time to finish up our shopping and because it was so cold we decided to just wait at the dentist. No patients were there and Ted got right in.  Dr. Flores said to go get something to eat to test out the new plate so we went back to Rene’s for one last cinnamon roll and coffee. Ted did OK, we stopped by to tell the doctor his thoughts and he said to come right back if any fitting problem occurred. 

We had checked out of our Weslaco Inn and were moving on to the Hampton Inn in Mission. I had called Sue to see if she needed any vet pills for her dog from Mexico. She asked me to get one thing so after checking into a lovely suite, we went to Retama. Nile’s has been fighting cancer for two years. He is Ted’s best friend in Retama and Sue was my mahjong pal 3 times a week all winter long for several years. We were glad to see him home and mobile. We were invited to dinner with the old crowd the next night and we said we would join them. 

After a delightful visit we headed next door to Bentsen Palms to catch up with Ornell and Bill. We realized it was Margarita night so we met them at the clubhouse. We had a good time with the margaritas and karaoke. I was getting hungry so the group broke up but not before planning to come back for card bingo on Friday and then church on Saturday followed by dinner at Danny’s afterwards. All of a sudden our dance card was full because we are heading home on Sunday. 

It is Thursday morning and I am meeting the Breakfast Gals from Retama at 9. Ted will take me before going shooting with Dave and CoCo has promised me a ride back to the motel.  I have no plans before our 4:30 dinner with the gun group. 

It is supposed to be 74 today!  I keep checking our thermostat and generator on apps to insure all is ok at home. Both are displaying the proper temp and readiness to run so there has been no disruption at home. That is good to know!

Happy New Year a Little Late

I had been sick 2 or 3 nights at Kara’s.  I dreaded the flight home because of my “delicate” condition.  But I was ok and that night, I was up again.  Next day I felt good, took the Christmas stuff down and did 3 loads of laundry.  Tuesday night I was sick and Wednesday morning I put in for a telemedicine call with Dr. C.  The lady told me 1:15.  It wasn’t 10 minutes when he called back.  He has been my doctor for 20+ years and knows if I am calling, I really am sick.

I told him about how this has been going on most of December but the GI doctor to this day has not called me back.  He spent a decent amount of time with me and finally said I needed to give my GI tract a rest so bread and Gatorade for 5 days.  He also settled on an antibiotic that works ok with my other meds and my age! He reminded me I am getting old!  I started the med as soon as it was filled, lived on bagels and club crackers for 5 days and have not been sick since. He does want me to follow up with the other GI doctor whenever I can get an appointment.  He called me back on Monday to check up on me!  

We had dinner and played cards New Year’s Eve at our next door neighbors.  I told her if I left in a hurry to just carry on without me but all was good.  It was not a week filled with plans and that turned out to be a good thing.

I did some tax prep work, found out cashing Savings Bonds has to be done with forms from online and sending them to Dept. of Treasury yourself.  They started maturing in December but when I learned the work associated with cashing them, I took the whole lot of them, 85 in my name, 4 in Ted’s, got our signatures verified at the bank and they are ready to go but I want “signature on delivery, return receipt requested” or registered mail, whichever the USPS advises.  

We have had 4 deaths just since Christmas.  My deceased sister Karen’s  two daughters both lost their Mother in Laws within days of each other.  Carolyn and Jackie were both wonderful Christian ladies.  Jackie had 12 children, 35 grandchildren and 56 great grandchildren.   My elementary and high school friend’s daughter who suffered with cancer for 20 years died on New Year’s Eve and one of Ted’s shooting buddies lost his fight with prostate cancer.  Not a great start to the New Year.  Our neighbor who did not make the Christmas lunch and cookie exchange is still hospitalized. 

Monday was to be card club here so I went to HEB and got things for my friends to snack on but one by one everyone but two others begged off.  So many are sick!  So now I have a lot of fun stuff to eat when I am ready.  I don’t know the protocol but I consider my prep up to 3 hours before cancellation, is effective as having taken my turn!

Paralyzed Vets are coming Tuesday and I have a box and 4 bags for them.  I redid my pantry and made a grocery list.  Then I washed the FR outside windows.  So no major accomplishments but several little ones.  Tomorrow is a Dr. appt. again and the post office.  

Merry Christmas

Well it is Christmas morning and I am awake, alone with the Christmas tree here in Michigan. 

I am the only creature stirring!

We arrived Wednesday night around midnight with no travel problems. Our huge suitcase was already at Kara’s, complete with new black smears to enhance all the airline added dirt from the past!  But the service had worked fine and that is most important. Kristin’s evening flight kept getting delayed so arriving within the hour of us kept getting extended.  She eventually rescheduled for Thursday. Pat picked her up when she arrived the next day.

Kara has been extremely busy with work and some medical visits for Bill so we just tried to stay out of the way and helped out when asked. I stayed busy wrapping all the gifts I had sent there, doing my best to remember who got what. I had taken time before we left home to write out all the cards and checks so that was out of the way!  We were invited to Kelly’s for dinner so we were all together. 

Our focus on Friday was to continue preparations to keep 13 people fed and where they needed to be. With 6 cars available transportation was no problem but having the cars with a car seat for CeCe kept us in a game of musical cars at times.  

We had a 5:30 appointment for a visit with Santa.  The whole entourage was there.  CeCe seemed so overwhelmed we couldn’t get her to smile  She told Santa she wanted a dinosaur (!), read a book and sang Jingle Bells, but no smile.

Afterwards we all returned to Kara’s for dinner #2. 

That night I was sick. Carol and Tracy, Bills SIL and a cousin, came for brunch on Saturday and to see me.  I was too whipped to get up. Finally all my “innards” had calmed down so half way into their visit I went downstairs to visit with them. It was one of those “get up, dress up, show up” moments I make myself do. I was so glad I did and after some tea and toast I was ready to carry on. 

  

We all attended Mass at Kelly’s church where Pat was one of the lectors. He looked so fine in his suit and tie.  Afterwards we headed out to dinner at Picano’s, our favorite Italian restaurant since 1985.  CeCe matter of factly asked the waitress if they had “skegetti” as if she ordered for herself all the time!  She cracks me up. 

I have to post two photos because Ally is hidden in #1 while CeCe looks up and Ally is visible in #2 while CeCe looks down!   

Sunday was Christmas Eve and another flurry of food prep.  My contribution was cutting up enough vegetables to fill a gallon bag plus one quart of peppers and onions for Ted!  No carrots or zucchini for Ted.

Kara and Bill attended church in his old neighborhood before attending his family’s Christmas party. Ted and I joined the others plus Pat’s brother for dinner at a bistro before going to church for Christmas. Ally and Bidkar were feeling poorly so we collected CeCe to have dinner. She fell asleep on the pew half way through Mass.  Their plans for gift giving for their family fell apart, Ted wasn’t up to snuff so we took Kristin and Cassie home while Pat and Kelly delivered CeCe back home and Dan to his condo.  We came home alone and watched Survivor we had missed on Wednesday.

Later on Sam and Morgan arrived back from their father’s where they had all attended Susan’s church, had dinner at their home and exchanged presents.  Bill and Kara had a great time at their party and they decided to open their presents to each other and the kids in the interest of saving time.  We elected to not give or receive gifts until Christmas when everyone was there. 

True to form our company came between 1 and 3!  A request of 1-2 at the latest meant little to them.  We refer to it as Duda time!  Kara had everything ready.

It took a long time to open all the presents and dinner was not until 6:30.  

We helped clean up and sent them on their way by 9 pm.  We were all exhausted.

Every household had someone under the weather or were exhausted so Tuesday was a Christmas movie marathon for us at Kara’s. We saw very little of Sam or Morgan that day.  Ted scratched all the lottery tickets the young kids had given him, coming up with two winners, $20 and $2.  When he went to turn them in, he used the machine to check them all and he had missed a $500 and $100 winners!  Those little pictures in bonus boxes were hard to see.  So he collected $622!  The kids were excited for him.

Wednesday night was to be Bidkar’s birthday pizza party but we opted to get to the airport hotel before rush hour traffic and order dinner in. Kara’s family bailed on the gathering because all were getting sick so the party attendance was cut in half!  Pat drove us to our airport hotel and after checking in, we walked next door to Bob Evans which sounded better than Door Dash, on our return Ted watched football and I fell asleep.

Our plane was on time, we boarded and I realized my black cross body was missing.  I had it when I got on because Ted had gone to the restroom leaving me with three items, a small carry on, my Canopy satchel and that small black crossbody,  so I couldn’t board until he returned.  

I had removed my charcoal coat and the crossbody and then it wasn’t there!  We looked high and low with the lady in the middle seat using her phone light like I was doing.  I assumed it fell and got kicked as people boarded.  Ted sat behind me, also in an aisle seat, and he checked the overheads around us.  Luckily there was an AirTag attached to my small wallet inside the bag.  It indicated it was on the plane.  When we pushed back and moved, the bag moved with us, it kept indicating it was within 6 feet of me but because the plane was moving it couldn’t zero in on exactly where it was.  I locked both my credit cards just to be safe.  They made an announcement that a bag was missing and to check around under your seats.

As soon as we landed I turned on my hotspot and hit the locator.  It indicated the same 6 feet. When I could stand up I walked forward and it indicated it was behind me so I turned around and walked past my seat and hit the sound button.  Ted said he heard it, the lady in the window seat in the next row said she heard it in front of her.  Everyone is looking in the direction and the woman in the window seat of my row popped up with “oh here it is.”  Ted said she pulled it from between her seat and the fuselage!  I think she knew it was there and was going to go through it or take it with her.  She could even have lifted it from my seat, sitting on top of my coat when she first arrived, while we put our things up above.  Happy ending!

The big suitcase had been picked up Wednesday morning and last I looked yesterday, it was in Perrysburg, OH based on an Air Tag and I don’t expect it until after the weekend. 

I have lots of things to catch up on but my calendar is not too full so I will take my time and in due time it will get done.

On to Happy New Year!