Dateline Thurs. Two Days til Cruisin' Time

Jill arrived on time at the Tampa airport and we whisked her away to our little home tucked in our little town. She and hit the road as soon as she was settled in and headed for Dunedin where we shopped away the day. Our first stop was at Q's on one of the side streets and, for locals, if you have not been to Q's, it is such a wonderful place. I found a great bracelet with lovely strands of beads tied with vintage ribbon and Jill found the perfect purse for her dress up night outfit. We also found these lovely sun glasses for Jill and this charming sun hat for me...stunning, right?

Around 1 ish we hit the wharf and Bon Appetite which site out over the water with a view of Caladese Island (spelling?). The food was fresh and tasty and the view to die for. The service was slow but I think maybe our wait person just had too many tables. After a side trip to Ruban Rouge (how can anyone come to visit here and not got to RR is beyond me) where we picked up the latest papers and some cool things that Maria (LOVE Maria)found for us.

On home to a wonderful panzanella salad and steak with boursin merlot sauce fixed by our personal chef, E. This was followed by Blackbottom Pecan Cheesecake pie...lo cal of course...lol.

Had great news waiting too when I got home via an email from Memory Makers magazine requesting one of my layouts for the "Life without Kids" Gallery in the Sept/Oct. 08 issue. Kip took the picture and will be given full photo credit too. I filled out all the forms and did all the required lists and, after Kip signs the release, will get this in the mail to the magazine before we leave for Anna Maria Island for lunch with Janet and then on to Ft. Myers for an evening with Barb, G-a, Susie, and Jayne.

Watch this spot for updates to the next adventure of the wild women!

Packed and ready to go

Kits are loaded, clothes are packed and I managed to cram in all my shoes too! lol. We ate an early supper at Molly Goodhead's in Ozona (thanks Bill and Jo!) and then headed home for a glass of vino on the lanai with the cats (they don't drink, anymore!).

My work room is a disaster area but am working slow but sure to clean a space there too so it doesn't look so bad. We're vacuumed, windexed, pledged, shiny and pretty with an abundance of roses in vases about the house!


Jill gets in tomorrow a.m. and then the fun begins. Thinking we'll head to Dunedin and have lunch on the wharf, shop the fun places there and head home to sit on the lanai until E has aromas wafting from the kitchen. I do lead a charmed life...don't think I don't know it or appreciate it.

Later!

Spring is in the air

and here are two of the layouts I did for KnK (www.knkclub.com) with the kit for this next month. Can you say "sparkly"? Can you say "pretty"? Well, if those are two of your favorite words, mosey on over to the site and sign up for the kits!

Counting the Days....

My clothes are all organized and stacked neatly to be packed; my kits are almost complete and will pack up that and any supplies I'll need for G-a's and Kip's classes and I picked up a couple of paper backs for top deck reading...the boat leaves Sat. and I just might make it! lol

I helping in Kristen's classroom yesterday for a while but had an upset tummy and a fever off an on most of the day so hit the sack as soon as I got home. Feeling better today so back to my check list.

Jill gets in early Thursday morning and am thinking we'll head to Dunedin for the afternoon. E has something yummy for supper and early Friday am, Jill and I will pack the van and head to Kip's. We're planning on stopping for lunch with Janet M on Anna Maria Island so Jill can see Janet's oh so lovely beach house. Then on to Ft. Myers to meet up with G-a, Barb, Jayne and Susie....look out Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios! The girls are on the way.

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL AND TO MY SISTER....

HOPPY BIRTHDAY. We'll call and sing the birthday song when the kids get over here this afternoon and we'll celebrate when you, Jen and Kaela get here next month. Love to you!

For my Northern Friends

My friend, Pam, in Wisc. told me they got over eleven inches of snow over the past couple of days and my friend, Chris, in Ill., tells me how cold it is where she lives. These roses from our garden are for my winter bound friends and all others who are yearning for Spring!

Love to all

Lovin' Small Town Livin'

When I was a child and would spend summers with my grandmother in Waterloo, Iowa, I lived a charmed life. I could ride my bike to the library and take a bus to go out to lunch with my aunt who worked for the newspaper. I had friends nearby and we would swim every day at the local pool. Evening were my favorite as all of us in the neighborhood would play games on the boulevard and hide and seek in the alley. At least once a week, my grandmother and I would walk the two blocks to Burn's Park for an evening band concert or drive out to the airport to watch the planes land and take off.

Living here in Tarpon Springs brings back so many of those wonderful memories. I ride my bike to town to the library or up the street to get my hair cut. We've walked to the grocery store and try to shop locally in our little town. From Feb. through November, there are band concerts held in Sunset Park which is a tiny place with a beautiful view of Howard Park and the bigger beach on one hand and Anclote Key and the light house on the other.

Last night's band concert under the stars was our first but will certainly not be our last. The group performing, The Fiddlers Matrix (hope I got that right) was a good group of American/Irish fusion and, had we dressed warmer, we'd have probably stayed through the whole concert. We left at intermission.

The whole event was so wonderfully small town with everyone from all ages represented from snowbirds to locals. The sunset stole the show though and the full moon peeking through the cotton candy clouds put the cap on the evening. We were also entertained by kite surfers who wove in and out of the waves and even performed some acrobatic feats for us.

Fun time and we will be back as often as we can!

Rainy day here

Just as the night blooming jasmine started wafting in through our bedroom window, I started hearing pitty pats on the sun window in the bathroom. The pitty pats got louder and louder as the night went on. It is still overcast here and sprinkling. Sure hope it stops by tonight as we have plans to go to the once a month concert on the beach at Sunset Park.

The Foot is doing better. It is still a rainbow of bruises but is a bit less swollen. We got into the pool yesterday and it felt great on The Foot! Still going to take it easy for the next few days.

I need to pack up some RAKs and finish off a couple of circle journals and get those in the mail too today. All of this was suppose to happen the day I rammed The Foot into the drawer so hope everyone will understand.

Nothing much else on the agenda except trying to stay on South Beach. We're doing pretty good so far...the first week is always so boring but we get shrimp for lunch which always makes me happy.

Off to read some blogs. BTW: the challenge at Quietfire this week is to paint, ink etc. on either Grungeboard or Chipboard. Hope to finish my challenge by tomorrow and get it up on my 'art' blog. These challenges have been fun and I've produced some pieces for use on other projects! Check them out if you have time.

Have a good one!

Great day in Paradise

It is balmy and the sun is out. Our night blooming jasmine wafted in our bedroom window all night and wow...thanks Jill. We are loving this! I behaved myself yesterday and stayed off my sore foot. Can't tell exactly but it looks less swollen and I'll do a repeat of yesterday today. No big errands that have to be run besides a trip to the bank to make a deposit.

E and the accountant finished with our taxes and now all we have to do is wait. We are getting something back this year, for a change! We've been trying to decide what to do with the amount that will be left after our deposit into our Europe fund and the deposit into savings and will probably pay off a couple of bills with the rest and do some more work down in the lower lawn.

E took down most of the fig tree that stood at the end of our front porch. He plans on extending the porch to the end of the pillars and then putting in my white fence across the front and one side. I hate the bushes in front of the porch...always afraid something creepy crawly is hiding there. The fences I've seen on similar houses look so clean and neat and pretty.

This week's challenge at Quietfire (see link ) is another good one. I had such fun with last week's with Glimmer Mist that I can't wait to get started on this one! I posted last week's on my 'art'blog.

G-a has the black boards for sale in her store from Cosmo Cricket...run do not walk to order these. They have been the talk of the town for eons so order them now (before I buy them all up)! and wait til you see what she has coming in from Page Frames and Sunday International...oooh la la. (www.knkclub.com)

NOT on my "to do" list for yesterday....

I had a long list of things I needed to get done yesterday like get the last of the DT things done for KnK and prepare my technique for the first of the month but this...see feet photo...was NOT on the list. In my hurry to accomplish everything I wanted to do, I ran straight into the corner of an open file drawer. This is the same foot I put my bike's kick stand down on about 3 wks. ago. The swelling and discoloration from that had finally ebbed and now this. Years ago I had a stress fracture on the top bone on this foot and E seems to think, because of the rapid swelling and black and blue that appeared so fast this time, I may have redamaged the bone. There is little that can be done besides elevation and ice which I what I am doing. I will NOT miss the cruise no matter what!

I did have a great mail day yesterday with many thanks to Rusty Pickle. I had used their chipboard circles in my Italian Journey album. Although there was no note in the most generous package, I am assuming this is their thank you for listing their product when the album was published in Somerset Memories. I was not expecting this but many thanks to Lance and all the folks at RP!

Happy St. Pat's

A picture (or two) is worth a thousand words!

Happy St. Pat's to one and all!

It was such fun having Janet and Bob visit. We tried to eat outside at Miss Vickie's on the Anclote on Sat. but the winds would have carried our food out to sea. The view was great as always. Bob got the 25cent tour of Tarpon Springs even though Janet only had 23cents in change with her...lol. E fixed us some lovely Greek for supper and we had a nice time relaxing on the lanai and catching up on our lives.

Sunday, E fixed us us his version of Eggs Benedict with potatoes o'Brian and it was so yummy! Janet and I inflicted a bit of damage at Ruban Rouge where we ran into Michele and her mom, Miss Alice. Always good to see them! Both of Michele's cruise roomies are down sick right now and we're hoping both get better fast!

We headed over to Rusty Bellies Restaurant at the end of the Sponge Docks and tried to wait for the big table on the end of the outside porch to clear but two people were nursing a half glass of vino (the waitress told us they had been there for an hour and a half and had seated themselves despite the Hostess Seating sign)! So we settled for a table inside with a view. The empty chair is for the Kipster who was suppose to join us but still was not feeling tip top. This place is famous for its fresh fish and onion straws.

Janet and Bob had to hurry off to a wedding at the Vinoy in St. Pete and then planned on heading back home to Anna Maria Island. We hope to see them soon.

E and I are errand running this morning and doing some yard work but will be donning the green later in search of some corn beef, cabbage and green beer for a late lunch.

Have a (green) great one!

Hey Kip!

Janet says this one is for you! We can't wait to see you tomorrow at Ruban! Be there or be square! Hope you are feeling better. Love, The Girls

Company Comin'!

Bob and Janet should be here around noon today and, if they would like, I think we're going to head out to Miss Vickie's for lunch. It is a casual place on the Anclote River and we can watch the boats head out to the Gulf while we enjoy some good food. Tomorrow, Janet and I will hook up with Kip at Ruban Rouge (if Kip is feeling better) for some shopping, a light lunch and lots of chatter.

While my work room is a mess, the rest of the house is clean and shiny! I've been working on some projects for KnK and can't wait for the Reveal on April 1. The kit for April is so pretty and offers so many wonderful scrapping possibilities. I'll probably just shut the doors to this room!

Can't wait to see Janet's door sign for the Guest Room (aka Kip's Room). It was Janet who started the trend for those who stay in the Guest Room to make a room sign but Janet did not have time to create a personalized one like others have done when she first stayed in the room and her paper and pencil one has been lost. We are taking pictures of everyone holding their signs and will turn these into sepia in 'vintage' frames to hang around the closet doors.

Off to tidy up a bit more...maybe even do a bit of cleaning in here...gasp!

TGIF

I looked out yesterday afternoon and there was Jack, sprawled out IN the planter back by the hot tub where we have placed the star jasmine Jill gave us. He seems to have adopted this spot as his look out for guard duty. Not sure what he is going to do when the jasmine grows through the trellis and fills out in the back but thought it was funny.

The roses are in bloom. This was one of two batches I harvested yesterday. These sit next to our bed and the others are on the pass through bar between the kitchen and our dinning room...delish!

When two of the amaryllis bulbs did not grow and flower during the holidays, I just let them simmer in their pots. One has come full bloom. This is the peppermint stripe that we bought two years ago and is a lovely burst of color out on the lanai.

Enjoy your weekend. We have Janet and Bob coming for a short visit tomorrow through Sunday. Bob has not had the 25cent tour of Tarpon Springs so we'll head out to Miss Vicky's on the Anclote River for lunch and then tour the town. E is cooking Greek for the four of us Sat. night and Sunday, Janet and I are meeting up with the Kipster at Ruban Rouge...probably get a bite to eat before Janet and Boby have to get going to a wedding near the park where the Crawfish Festival was held last weekend. It will be good to see them, as always.

Beautiful day here in Paradise

The sun is out and the surf is up. E is working on the yard today and I need to move some laundry, finish up a couple of projects, visit the library (pay fines and get new books) and maybe take a nap in the sun.

Hope whatever your plans are for this wonderful gift of a day, you have a good one.

Ready to Rumble...or at least cruise!

I have my claret red dress (and a pair of black heels from bygone days), a cute daisy print skirt with a sweet yellow tee and a silvery top for dressy if needed and these great elevated tennies for my cargo pants and tee and then...could not resist these wonderful roped brown shoes to go with last years skirt and top. All I need are undies and I am set to go! lol

I've started hanging things on the wardrobe so I won't forget them. I need a strand of black beads for the red dress and some cute daisy earrings for the skirt set but if I don't find them...no biggie.

RUN DO NOT WALK TO CREATIVE SCRAP SHACK...Carman is holding a 60% off everything sale. I got my order in for sure!

And wait until you see the April kit at KnK....be still my heart!

Quietfire's challenge for this week is to use buttons on something, post it to your blog and link through the yahoo group. If you are not a member yet, you should be. These women do some of the most amazing art. You can join through the site which is listed on the left. I'll post my finished project in my "art" blog.

Have a great one!

Yeah! Blogger is fixed!

and I can finally post my pics from Sat.'s Crawfish Festival in St. Pete. The first couple of pics are the St. Pete waterfront. This is where the pier is (an inverted pyramid with the wonderful Columbia restaurant)and the whole area is just a delight. For my St. Louis readers, this is a bit like a cross between the Basin at Forrest Park and Central West End.

The there is the pic of Walt and Sandy dancing. Cute! and the zydaco band which was wonderful!

Today is volunteer day for me at Kristen's school. Not sure exactly what she has me doing today but I know I have to work with a couple of the kids on goal setting in math and reading and helping them to update their folders.

I found the dress for the cruise for those of you who have been waiting with baited breath (tic here) to see if I was going to have to wear Glimmer Mist and a few Prima flowers to the Captain's Dinner...lol. Actually, E found it and had me try it on against my better instincts. Low and behold! It was wonderful and I bought it. Now to find some strappy red heels and I am good to go.

Have a great one!

Still unable to load pictures

I have tried so many times yesterday and today but will give it another shot later as I was able to add one pic to my 'art' blog successfully.

The Crawfish Festival was fun. It was blistery but only got colder right before we left around 3. The food was ok. I guess I was expecting some more authentic Cajun. While my Cajun Shrimp was tasty, E's red beans and rice were just that...tasted like a can of kidney beans had been dumped onto some rice and heated a bit. No hurricanes either, just wine or beer.

The vendors were scarce which could be due to the roaring winds the night before which ripped the main dance and band tent. Because of this (I guess) there was no admit cost which saved us $30.00. We saw many of the same vendors at both Mardi Gras and at the Blues Festival and all we bought were tee shirts! lol

The band was the high point of our day...that and the walk from the parking garage down to Vinoy Park along the beautiful waterfront of St. Pete...what a pretty site.
I even took a dance lesson from what Sandy says is one of the most renown Cajun dance instructors. He was funny and quite patient. We found Sandy and Walt near the impromtu dance floor near the band and spent a nice bit of time hanging out with them. I have some great shots of all of this to share when Blogger gets its problems all worked out so watch this spot!

Have a great day!

Try try again

Blogger has been giving me a service error message for two days now...what's up with that? Will post pics when I can.

Through my garden gate...

For those of you who were wondering (all 2 of you), yes, I am doing an album of the resurrection of our lower lawn. I have been documenting this whole long term reconstruction process step by step and decided to actually get some of it into an album. I could not find one I really liked, so I made my own. The covers are chipboard and are infused with Glimmer Mist. I am still not sure I like the holder for the album title but it will remain until I come up with something else. I'll cut the pages later as I need them and, until I have all the layouts I want/need, I'll use rings to hold the album together. When I'm done, I replace those with pretty vintage-y ribbons.

I spent most of yesterday on a fruitless search for a dress for the dress up night on the cruise. I have lost 5 plus lbs. now and am about 9 lbs. thinner than I was on the last cruise. This has put me into the 'tween size that no one makes. Or if someone makes it, the top is so skimpy, I am exposed. I have one summery dress that will work if I have to but when E says go shopping, I do! Nothing...nada, zero and zilch. Not even my favorite store had anything. The quest continues today...wish me luck.

Thurs....it is Survivor night.

I haven't been able to get into American Idol, Big Brother, or any other of the marathon reality shows this season. But, I never ever miss Survivor...ok, I missed one episode when we were traveling back from CHA but caught up quick. Would I make a good Survivor candidate...hell, no! First of all, I hate snakes and every episode they show one of the those creepy crawlers slithering over a branch, poking out its icky tongue. YUCK. Another reason I would not make a good Survivor is that I can't go without food very long or I turn into a raving maniac. I eat at least 5 times a day to get a balance in myself. Long experience has proven to me that this is how I function best. Has something to do with blood sugar, I've been told. And a third reason I'd be a total failure is that I really don't like to be dirty and the thought of not being able to brush my teeth and shave my legs, etc. would drive me right up the wall. Now who can concentrate on out playing, out lasting and being the Survivor when she is worried about bad breath? lol

More yard work on the agenda today. Our friend, Jill G, sent us two wonderful jasmine bushes which arrived yesterday. One is a night blooming jasmine and the garden man who deivered these advised us that it would be great outside our bedroom window. The other is a star jasmine and is starting to bloom. We are putting this one in a big pot on rollers and placing it right near the hot tub...can you imagine how divine that is going to be? Thanks Jill! We had jasmine at three of the corners of our house in Ft. Myers and I was missing the lovely aroma here.

We went up to Home Depot to get potting soil for the new plants and the store had just gotten a new delivery of roses since yesterday. We bought a beautiful red one called Mr. Lincoln and a lovely fuscia colored rose that opens almost like a calla lily. Will take pics when we (ha...E) gets these in the ground.

Other than that news, it is just another beautiful day in Paradise!

The lower lawn...the saga continues

It rained here in Paradise off and on most of yesterday or I would have had these up much earlier. But, today the sun is out and the surf is up and the day is a lovely one!

The second picture is the old set of furniture we had on the paved patio part of the lower lawn. We bought this set when we first moved to Florida in 01 and it is just now starting to rot out on the legs of the table. We'll keep it here in this undeveloped place in the lower lawn until one of the legs finally falls off. We are working hard to create spots of interest all over the area with a winding path down through the gate, over to the patio and the rose garden.

We picked up the geraniums the other day for the new flower bed on the lower side of the arbor, gate and fence. Chris was tons of help to E getting the gate leveled and the pavers in place.

While I was gone, E bought me 4 new rose bushes and we now are back to having a cut bud in a vase next to our bed every day...these smell so wonderful. We plan on about 5 more total plus the two from under our window to be replanted.

And here is the new lawn furniture...such a bargain from Big Lots...nice stuff too! and comfy! We won't replace the fire pit until late next fall.

Finally, meet Jerome the Gnome. E gave me a colorful garden gnome for Christmas last year and, as we were checking out at Home Depot, low and behold, he bought our other gnome a garden pal.

Off to plant some more flowers, spread some more mulch and see where this adventure takes us.

Lunch at Ozona Blue

Sandy and Walt had been telling us about the sunsets and the food at Ozona Blue Restaurant and we finally tried it. We treat ourselves to lunch or supper out to celebrate the arrival of our pension checks into our accounts and we chose this place as somewhere we had not been before.

There are several seating areas from which to chose. We took an elevated deck that had a great view of Honeymoon Island in the distance. The restaurant is located in a marina and the tall masts of sailboats was so pretty against the blue of the sky yesterday.

We had been told by more than one or two people that the food was great but the service was often unpredictable. Our service was fair to middlin' but the food was amazing...tasty and plentiful with blended flavors that teased our taste buds. I had the pork tenderloin and E had the grouper. He said it was one of the best grouper sandwiches he had had in a long time. The restaurant even has a pool and hot tub for use by the boat owners and the patrons of the restaurant! What fun.

After our lunch, we headed up to Big Lots and picked up the four piece outdoor patio set they had for sale on the front page of Sunday's ad. It took us and hour plus to assemble it but it looks super on the paved patio on the lower lawn. We had G and T's down on the patio to try it out. It works...pics tomorrow!

Have a great day!