Posting from Paradise

They steal my heart on a daily basis

2012-02-10T17:45:00.003-05:00

We bring the boys Jello and cottage cheese (sugar free and low fat, of course) and they now know the J-E-L-L-O song...and the wiggle wiggle wiggle when you eat it ! Of course, lately these two fine gentlemen have wanted to be more independent and feed it to themselves...
and the slide...oh my the slide
And our little missy!

'nuff said! lol

Lots going on in our lives. Tomorrow I am teaching the second in a series of tech classes at Posh Scraps in Palm Harbor. This one is on faux backgrounds. Then, in the afternoon, I am heading to Stamp Fest with Jacque and Cynthia, my dear cropping pals. We are going to be missing our darling Di but she has family stuff and we understand.

Sunday, E is cooking Turkish for Jo, Bill and I to finish our culinary tour of our Med cruise. On Monday, Jo and I head south to St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota to meet our Janet for lunch at the Columbia and shopping. Tues we are celebrating St. V day with Jo and Bill and thurs is the Beach Concert at Sunset Park here in Tarpon Springs.

The month continues with Dinner Club at Suzie's on the 18th, Mardi Gras in Dunedin Fl on the 21 and the Cheeky Chics crop in St. Pete on the 24-26th...and I hear we are getting a surprise guest. Janet is hoping to come up the thurs before so she, Jo and I can have dinner ala E and an ol' gals slumber party!

I think Feb. has become my second favorite month

Here comes Peter (or Petunia) Cottontail...

2012-02-07T08:28:00.003-05:00

While we were waiting for our eyes to un-dilate after our visit to the eye dr, yesterday, we roamed the mall. And look what we found for our granddaughter, Leighton Kaye. Papa found the pretty little Easter Dress and Nana picked out the bunny outfit. Now to find some cute outfits for the boys.

Another Catch up Post

2012-02-04T15:09:00.005-05:00

Our lives have been a whirl wind lately and I've been prone to let the blogs go a bit. I promise to do better soon or at least I hope to.

Isn't this view lovely? It is the view where my sister was put up gratis at the VA hospital in St. Pete, Florida while her boy friend, Dennis, was having a heart procedure done last Wed. and Thurs. A friend brought them up from Ft. Myers as Janet could not ride in the van the VA would provide. They spent their first night in a hotel paid for by the VA and he was checked in the next day, Wed. I went to the wrong VA (I am now familiar enough with Tampa to be a cab driver btw) but found the right place eventually and it is beautiful

This is Fisher House, which is across the street from the VA hospital and within walking distance. There is a shuttle service that runs until about 3:30 pm each day. My sister was offered free accommodations at Fisher House. It is (and I could be wrong) privately funded and staffed by volunteers. It is like a Ronald Mc Donald house for the families and friends of vets who are receiving in hospital care which Dennis was. He ended up having a stint put in and an angioplasty done .

This, as I said, is a beautiful place. The grounds are immaculate, the staff friendly and helpful and the care, according to Dennis, excellent.

My sister and I got lunch in the Canteen and then ate it out here in a lovely courtyard.

I know we all gripe about our taxes but in this case, I no longer mind. These vets offered up their lives to protect us and anything we can do, as far as I am concerned, to make their lives easier is my tax dollars well spent. I also know that some of the more recent returning vets have had a horrific time getting their medical and mental needs met. This doesn't seem to be the case at this hospital from what I could tell.

And, yesterday, E and I booked our trip to Australia and New Zealand. It is a full year away but we could not pass up the sweet deal we got, thanks to our dear friend, JO (yes! the very same Jo who got us the unbelievable pkg to the Med a year ago). For the same price as a lower level balcony room, we got a free upgrade to a balcony suite with an extra large balcony, all the amenities that go with the upgrade which include things like cocktail parties, fresh flowers daily, champagne, preferred seating at dinner, and early boardings. We also got cruise paid gratuities, a dinner in the upscale restaurant of our choice on the cruise line and more. Oh, and on board credits as well. Because we got the insurance now, we also got what was called the Bling Bonus...I have $260.00 to spend at one of my favorite on line jewelry places, which is what the insurance cost us. Guess it pays to buy ahead, huh?

Making plans to hopefully connect with an on line friend in Melbourne, Helen, whom I've "known" for at least ten years and we will spending a week at the other end with our beloved Clare. Counting the months since there are far too many days.

Catching up

2012-01-30T15:35:00.005-05:00

I've fallen behind and I can't catch up...or something like that. These are a few of the pics from a week ago's Farmer's Market. I saw this bike outside one our little breakfast places in town and lusted after it. The rear platform has a beautiful painted hibiscus on it. Our veggie man here has the best produce and always has some samples to lure his customers. Doesn't take much to lure us.

The market has been moved back to Alt. 19 and Tarpon Ave in town from across from Tuela's and there are more and more booths.
This Sunday, instead of going to the market, we went out to lunch with Bill and Jo. We had thought that we had heard our Crab Shack place on the Coot River was still open but we heard wrong. We crossed 19 and headed to Cathers, Rum River Bar and Grill. The view is excellent and the food, though a bit pricey IMHO, was plentiful and tasty. Jo and I got the grilled fish with homemade chips, E got his fish fried and Bill got French Onion soup and a burger. I skipped the bun and sent half my chips home with Bill and Jo. We were all so full that none of us ate dinner last night.
Bill and Jo opted for an after lunch nap and we joined Suzie, Justin and a nice assortment of friends at Miss Vickie's for some late afternoon libations. While we were sipping and chatting, a boat on the river started smoking and the owner refused 2 offers of help from passing boaters. The Sea Tow headed out just as someone called 911. I kept waiting for the boat to explode but, thank heavens, it never did. The marine patrol and a fire truck were arriving just as we were leaving.
Our view at Rum River.
Today Jo and I walked Anderson Park for about a half hour. This is a lovely place bordering Lake Tarpon.

After our walk, we hit the antique stores in our historic down town here and ran into one of the gals from Book Club...life in our small village!

Oh, and before I forget, I announced the winners of the Trash to Treasures give aways on my altered blog. Congrats to all.

Trash to Treasures give aways

2012-01-28T18:19:00.003-05:00

on my altered blog

Awards

2012-01-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

are on my altered blog
Jules-atoasttoalteredart.blogspot.com

Nana/Papa/Auntie Jo day with the grands

2012-01-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

Jo, who says she will baby sit for E's cooking, has been a wonder at giving my honey a break since she and Bill have come for their 2 mo. winter stay. She arrives around noon and stays til Kristen gets home at 3:30pm. I have great company and she pitch hits when all three either need milk or shinny hinneys. Bless you dear Jo.

Bill and Jo are coming over for the second of our Spain dinners. We were in Barcelona, a city they were very familiar with for about 3 days during our Med. visit and cruise. E told them last year that he would cook at least one dinner for every port we hit. So tonight we(and I use that pronoun loosely ) are doing a spicy (but not too) chicken dish.

I so need to update He Cooks but we have been having far too much fun lately. I promise...soon, soon.
BTW: check out my altered blog. I was given an award and asked to pass it on...please check out the blogs I selected along with Kim, who gave me the award

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

2012-01-24T16:45:00.002-05:00

How can I thank you for the absolutely fun day at your house? Not only was the company superlative, the food divine but to leave with a piece of jewelry that (with a little help from my friends) I made!
Marcia is our winter friend from New Hampshire whom we met through Glo, whom I met through Sandy whom I met when she took one of my paper art classes way back when we first moved to Tarpon Springs almost five years ago. Now, all of us plus Jo when she moves here for two months every winter, are in Book club together. We discussed today how we all came together and how kindred spirits attract each other.Marcia had her friend, Sara Chadwick, visiting and, while Sara did not bead with us, she was studying up on her beads as her art gallery in New Mexico is going to start carrying Marcia's creations. Marcia was a silver artist among other careers and has now turned her interest to beads of all kinds. She was kind of enough to open her home and her beads with us and she and Glo shared their knowledge so generously.

I want to share the link to Sara's shop with you all...lovely lovely things . Be sure to check it out and tell her Jules sent you.

Marcia made the most wonderful chicken soup with a salsa by Sara
and here is our hostess with the mostess!
My necklace.
Sandy's necklace
L to R : Glo, Sandy, Jo, (hidding is Sara)and back to us, Marcia

I put a close up of my necklace on my altered blog. And, for those who are keeping count...Jo and I have 43 more toasts to go to make our 50 of our celebration of our 50 years of friendship.

Sweet Sunday

2012-01-23T12:53:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, E bbq'd pork steaks and ribs for us, made a wonderful oriental cole slaw and roasted baby potatoes. We pretty much just hung out and watched the kids romp and play.

Our little Landon spent the night and is currently napping after a busy morning filled with walks around the neighborhood, breakfast, a ride in the stroller through the park to the river, playing on the play ground in the park, waving at everyone who walked or biked by, lunch and playing on the lanai. Daddy picks him up after nap time and Nana and Papa will probably be calling it a day! lol

Busy week ahead with lots of fun things on the agenda. Hope your week is a good one. I can't wait to scrap the picture of Landon giving his little sister a kiss.

Decisions Decisions

2012-01-22T09:37:00.003-05:00

E and I have been doing our research and, while we have a lot more to do, if we book our New Zealand and Australia cruise before Feb 5, we can save some bucks. Now, this cruise is not until March of '13, we have always been big plan ahead people.
One of our decisions centers around how long of a cruise do we want this to be along with spending time with our Clare in NZ. The cruise is either a 12 night, 14 night, 17 night or 18 night with time in Bali. We would appreciate any input from those who have done this cruise before or one similar. E says if we're going to do it, we need to do what we want since the chances of us going on this one again are pretty slim. This is going to be a fun one whatever we decide. How can it not be with spending time with Clare and cruising with our good pals, the Millers.

Speaking of the Miller's, they are due down here Feb 5 and I can't wait. With their new house construction, they are delayed in their winter sojourn to Anna Maria. Janet and I have lots of scrappy plans including a scrapbook retreat with a lot of gals from Posh at the end of Feb. Hurry home, Janet!
.

Busy day today. We're biking into town to the Farmer's Market in a bit and then the kids are bringing the grands over around four pm for ribs, pork steaks, cole slaw and roasted little potatoes. Then our Landon is spending the night with Nana and Papa and playing here until after nap time tomorrow.

Hope you have a great week!

I could not have designed a better day....

2012-01-21T15:59:00.003-05:00

Oh, ok...winning the lottery might have topped this one. My class at POSH SCRAPS this morning was jam packed and the women were awesome. They shared supplies, ideas and incredible sense of humor! Love you all!

As soon as I got home, we called Bill and Jo and headed out to Miss Vicki's on the Anclote River. Due to the proliferation of the snow birds, there was not an empty table in sight...thanks to our friends, Mike and Kim, Fia and Frank we had a place to sit and good people to chat with.
We were entertained by a great duo...SPF40 who played 50s, 60s and up to the 80s wonderful hits...My Girl, Ain't Too Proud to Beg...etc. We will go back to listen to them over and over.
This is the 50th Anniversary for Jo and my friendship. Fifty years ago when we were about 14 almost 15 she and I met. We have decided before she and Bill return to St. Louis at the end of Feb, we will toast each other and our friendship exactly (if not more) 50 times. We need 44 more after today but we have days and days and evening and evenings to reach our goal.

This toast is to you...those of you and you dearest lifelong pal with whom you feel truly yourself...and to you, Jo!

Luscious Lushes Gift Exchange plus one

2012-01-16T17:22:00.004-05:00

While we have never set a price limit on what we spend, we buy small and wonderful gifts for each other. The four of us know each other so well, that our gifts to each other are always what we have wanted or what we know the others would love. It is about quality of thought not quantity.

Take the gifts to me from Pam B posted above. We recently painted the house and Pam found Vera Bradley (whom she knows I adore) napkins, cups, plates and even a photo album for my purse for the grand babies photos in colors that match our house. I am thinking Book Club here or lunch dates catered by our personal chef , E, with gal pals or...wait! I'll save them for when we are all together once again!

Janet, worrying always about one of us (CLARE) thinking she loves us the best, gave us all the same gifts with a twist. We each got these beautiful Vera hanging mini cosmetic bags but each one of us got a pattern that best describes us. And then, wonderful Coach key chains with wine bottles (of course...what else). I'll put my car keys on this one...as soon as I find them again. lol
(and yes! Janet does love ME best)! Just sayin'.

Clare gave us all fun gifts from our new most favorite store, www.typoshop.com.au

and she gave me this lovely charm for my Pandora...it was the fundraiser for the Christchurch, NZ earthquake rescue.
I can not wait to use my little mustache paper clips and the two Tramp Stamps (particularly the one I do not have facing upward)
And, today, Clare and I continued a long standard tradition that if we like something, everyone we love must be in on it. So, Jo, is now not only an antler wearing reindeer but able to laugh with us all just like when she came to the slumber party at my house with janet, pam, clare and me last year.
We are planning our reunions. In March of 2013, Bob and Janet, E and I are planning on heading to see our Clare and cruise through NZ and AUS. And then, in 2014, the Luscious Lushes will be rendezvousing in New Orleans. We have started planning the trip in pinterest and add to it often. At the rate we are going, we will have to stay 2 mo. to visit all the things we want to. Wish us luck

I could have laughed all night...wait ! I DID!

2012-01-16T08:11:00.005-05:00

Clare and I had experimented with the new Google + video chat before and were very impressed not only with the clarity of the voice and the no one sec delay but it was like she was sitting right across the table from me. We could even clink our wine glasses to toast.
So we had Janet M and Pam B down load the program and we set up our date for our Christmas in January gift exchange. Pam got on, invited the rest of us and the night was on...with one hitch. Janet got the invite, was in the system and could hear us but could not see us.
We feared all was lost but Pam B and her daughter, Laney, to the rescue. Using Laney's I Pad and the face to face feature, we had Janet with us ...at least until the I Pad's battery died. From then on, we had her via my phone and it was almost as good...almost!
Between the Angry Bird's hat Pam gave Clare and the 'reindeer feature' on the video chat plus a couple of glasses of a nice Merlot, I almost wet my pants laughing.

I'll put some pics up later of the wonderfully thoughtful gifts the 3 gals gave me...and E too (he got spices and a Haka hat!)

We will definitely be doing the video chat again and soon and this time Ms Janet will be on screen as well. I love how you can video chat with up to 8 people at the same time and how whomever is on the big screen changes when a) that person is talking or b)when you slide a little indicator at the bottom or c) when you click on one of the smaller pictures.

Now how much fun would this be for cyber cropping? Well, I'm going to find out soon since the Scrappin' Sisters of Cleveland, Moni and Pete, have also installed this and we're just looking for a good date.

Luscious Lushes Reunion

2012-01-15T09:23:00.011-05:00

It has been a year since Clare, Janet, Pam and I spent a wonderful week together and, while we are having our reunion this year, we are having to do it a bit differently. Thanks to Google Plus, Circles and Hangouts we are opening our gifts together in a video chat that can actually hold up to 8 people at a time. Clare in New Zealand, Pam in Wisconsin, Janet in Pennsylvania and me here in Florida will be opening our gifts to each other on camera so we can all see. It will be almost as good as being together. The Luscious Lushes shall be together again I am sure but this is going to be the next best thing..

I've spent a bit of time thinking back to our wonderful, wild and zany times and felt a bit of a review is in order to properly set the stage for our reunion this evening.

Clare flew in a couple of days early and I surprised her with a weekend crop in Sebring with our wonderful friends, Jacque and Di. We had the crazy in a good way Orlando gals at our table, our sweetie, Beth, and our lovely pals, Maria and her daughter, Adrianna. Could not have asked for a better table mix!

Pam flew in that Sunday and bright and early Monday morning we headed to Janet's beach house on Anna Maria Island where we had a wonderful dinner. Next day we were off to Captiva Island for four days of hysteria and our Captiva Christmas in January celebration.

Our first stop was the Lighthouse Restaurant in Ft. Myers just before the causeway and then it was off to the grocery store to stock up on necessaries. We even bought some food.
This was where the notorious four called home for our get together. Our two bedroom,two bath, full kitchen, living room and screened in lanai looked right on the beach and it is a good thing walls can not talk. We put up our little tree, hung out snow men lights around our front window and took off for a walk up the beach.

Drinks and even some food later, we talked, sipped, and played Left Right Center (I think) but mostly we laughed.

We took lots of pictures in the four days on Captiva

Looked for a husband for our Clare.
Ate our breakfast each morning in the resort dining room.
Had a drink or two at the cute bar with the wonderful fireplace.
Took a long walk one morning in our jammies (ok...I'm the only one who actually did not change clothes) and then had breakfast starting with mimosas.
Shelled our way back to our lovely cottage.
Shopped and went to a wine tasting
Tried to keep Clare from being deported. Attended a cocktail party pool side and sat on the bay side having a cocktail.

Went to another wine tasting Or maybe this was the same one...
Toasted our friendship again

Visited the local sites
Toasted the sun sets
and just generally hung out
enjoying each others' company.

I may never finish the Luscious Lushes Scrapbook Album or, if I do, it will be far too many memories for just one album.

Looking forward to tonight my dear friends. See you then!

Nana/Papa Play day with the grands

2012-01-12T05:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was our first day back on our regular Nana/Papa play date day with the grands. This was the first time we had all three of them by ourselves and we did quite nicely I might add. lol The boys just turned 19 mo. and Leighton is 10wks. The boys can make their needs known through sign and with some words. Leighton just yells when she needs us like all itty bitties do.

Landon is slimming down and getting taller. He is cutting his back molars and working on filling in the bottom teeth which is not always pleasant. He plays hard and loves to hug and be hugged.

Colvin is gaining weight and getting a bit taller too. His top and bottom teeth are filling in faster than his brother's and he also is working on those nasty molars. He loves attention and is quite the little mimic. He spent the day with just E and I not too long ago and we took a lovely walk almost all the way around our block. Soon, it will be Landon's turn for a little one on one time with us.

And here is the sweetheart of the gang. Leighton is an easy baby. She is holding her head up and staying awake longer and longer. She is very interested in everything that is going on around her. She is not really wild about the bottle and very much prefers mama.

Today is their first day at day care school for all three of them. Hope all goes well. I know the little guys will be glad to see some of their friends.

Our day was fun and went surprisingly smoothly...even though, I am still not sure how Chris does this single handedly two days a week or Kristen on Sat's? My hat is off to them. They are incredible parents.

Hope your week is going well.
Sign me,
One Proud Nana

HAPPY 40th. to my son

2012-01-09T17:14:00.002-05:00

Rob actually turned 40 on Jan. 7th. I have tried to remember that day forty years ago and I have some memories but mostly waking up about ten am in the hospital and having a nurse plop this wailing red child into my arms and saying, "here is your baby". I do remember having to undo the diaper to even find out if I had a boy or a girl....things were done a lot differently 40 years ago than now.

We had offered to take Rob out to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch on the 8th as he had to work til 7 pm on his b'day and had plans with his friends for that evening. He said he'd rather have brunch so we went to Clear Sky on the beach.
Clear Sky cafe on Clearwater Beach, Fl.
The food was amazing but the Sunday Bloody Mary bar even more so. This is truly Salad in a Glass (what our friend, Pam, calls a Bloody )

Rob's friends had organized the afternoon for him. They met up at a tiki bar on the beach and were heading out on a scavenger hunt (x rated btw) . We stayed for a couple of beers and then headed out although we were asked to join in the fun.

My son: mimosas on his day!

Finally...

2012-01-08T07:50:00.002-05:00

The pictures from the Blessing of the Fleet!

Yesterday was a great day. Not only did I not wake up coughing a single time during the night, but I felt so much better! Jo called and we took about a forty min. walk on the Pinellas Trail and then I scrapped my little fingers to the bone completing two layouts and 1 that just lacks a title. I had a fun time with the gals on the ACOT mb and also got to chat with my bfs Pam and Clare. E and I built a fire in the fire pit and sat in front of it for about an hour. The weather was just cool enough. We sure looked a sight though...in our flannel pants and long sleeve tees. Comfort is what it is all about, right?

Busy week ahead starting with today. We are heading to Clearwater Beach with my laptop to see what Rob can do to get rid of the malware. We'll take him out to lunch to celebrate his birthday and then home to chill out. I think I'll watch one of the Absolutely Fabulous (British comedy series) dvds that E got me for Christmas.

Jo and I have a walk planned for Monday. Tues I have WW and then Jo and I are headed to Dunedin for lunch and shopping. Tues evening we have company for supper. Wed. is our Nana/Papa date with all 3 of the grands and Thurs is book club. Sat is a private crop at Posh Scraps ...is it nap time yet?

Hope you have a great week.

Blessing of the Fleet

2012-01-05T17:22:00.002-05:00

I have been trying for over 45 min. to post the pictures I took today of the Blessing of the Fleet here in Tarpon Springs. This is a prelude to tomorrow's event, the Epiphany Celebration on Spring Bayou.

I give! E's computer is about 6 years old and, when we had the chance to install Windows 7 on it, he passed. About all the man does is play freecell and check out recipes on Food Network. But, since my laptop, which has all the bells and whistles, is down for the count til Sunday, I am struggling with his.

I would like to hope I had more patience but I am also battling bronchitis, fluid in my lungs and a sinus infection and I am plum out of patience. It should not take 45 min. to upload pics to a blog.

On the other hand, I had a delightful day with my oldest bestie, Jo, (aka Joey to Clare). This was our 3rd annual Blessing of the Fleet. Despite freezing weather, she and I have attended this small event here in Tarpon Springs for the past 3 years and were rewarded our first year with our picture on the front page of the St. Pete Time (now known as the Tampa Bay Times). This year, with fair weather, everyone and their brother turned out to be blessed.

We shopped our way up and down the Sponge Docks and then on to Dimitri's for the sampler platter and the chicken lemon soup...bliss!

My headache is back from the sinus infection or maybe just fighting with this archaic computer. Please all, good thoughts that my son can fix my laptop because if I have to return to the 'dark ages' (pre Windows 7) I may not make it.

Rough start to 2012

2012-01-03T07:51:00.002-05:00

The temps are dropping here and looks like we'll have to fire up the old furnace in the next day or two. The van quit on E yesterday so we need to arrange a tow and have our friendly and thankfully honest mechanics look at it. I have the respiratory infection E has with the added sinus headache from hell. And, our little Landon still has some residual upsets from the intestinal virus and he is back tot he dr. today. Hoping I can get in to mine as well.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to crop with the gals at Posh Scraps in Palm Harbor, Thurs., Jo and I are going to the annual Blessing of the Fleet and Sat. is my son's 40th. b'day...how did he get that old? We'll head down on Sunday to take him to lunch before he joins his friends who have a day planned for him and hopefully he can get the malware off my laptop for me.

Hope your year got off to a better start than ours!

Jan 1 2012

2012-01-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

Happiest of New Year's from our family to yours!

What are you doing New Years , New Years Eve?

2011-12-31T16:19:00.002-05:00

We started the day with a video conference with our dear friend, Clare, who lives in New Zealand. It was already 2012 there and we toasted to a new, brighter, more wonderful 2012 than even 2011 has been.
Then E and I biked through our lovely nature preserve and over the river through the sea mist. It was so much fun. A bit Twilight Zone -ish but so mystical and magical. It has all lifted by the time we headed back.
We met our pal, Bob, at Miss Vickies for drinks...the weather is a balmy 78 and accompanied by a refreshing breeze.

I'd do a recap of the year, but all you have to do is read the older blog posts. We had such a great year and some really sad moments with the death of our friend, Chuck who we all assumed would outlive us all. We went from the twin grandsons to the addition of baby Leighton Kaye who is such a gem. I went from 3 design teams to one and E is still cooking up a storm.

I could wax poetic and give you my philosophy on the slow skid to being 65 but ya know what? Life is what you make it. No one can make you feel bad unless you let them. While gossip is sometimes tantalizing, it is far more harmful. You can't change someone's opinion of you. An apology can make a difference and Yes, Virginia , there is a Santa Clause.

With these in mind, I wish you nothing but a wonderful 2012. I know mine will be because, with the help of my dear beloved friends, I shall make it so.

Happy New Year

Christmas Day at Nana and Papa's

2011-12-27T14:59:00.004-05:00

And what a wonderful day it was. Baby Leighton came dressed in the pretty outfit Papa picked out for his "Bella baby" and slept through most of the day.
Rob came dressed as Rob and one of these year's I am going to get a great picture of him. Kristen and Chris dressed as the slightly frazzled parents of 3 children under 18 mo. and E wore his bright red Christmas socks despite also wearing shorts. It was about 85 Christmas Day.
E fixed us the best prime rib, 3 cheese macaroni, green bean casserole and numerous other fixings. We fed the boys early and ate during their nap so Kristen and Chris could actually have a nice sit down adult meal. It was voted unanimously to repeat this next year!
The kitchen set and the shopping cart with the dishes and "food" went over far bigger than the rocking horse but the boys did warm to it towards the end of the day petting it but not wild about rocking yet.
As the afternoon went on, it got so warm we took the little guys shirts off and they were so happy. They woke up all hot and sweaty from their naps but cooled quickly.

Landon knew exactly what to do with the corn on the cob.!
The shopping card and the multi colored Mickey Mouse dolls were a big hit with the little guys.
and yes, they have learned how to open and close the sliders.
The day wore out Daddy and little Leighton and I love this shot of them napping together.
I found these stripped hats at Target and Colvin loved his...Landon, not so much.

Baby Leighton had a couple of big flower headbands in her stocking...too cute!

E and I had exchanged our gifts early in the morning and he gave me a beautiful pearls and bronze necklace and earrings and I gave him a nice sweatshirt that he had been lusting after and his new computer chair.

Life is good here in Tarpon Springs...hope all is well with you.

Christmas Eve at the kids

2011-12-27T07:21:00.003-05:00

Kristen and Chris had the whole family over for sandwiches, potato salad etc. on Christmas Eve. Leighton was wearing the onesie that Papa picked out for her and the boys were dressed in cute Christmas tee shirts. We bought them corduroy pants and sweater sets but the temps were in the mid 70s to mid 80s the entire two days.
The boys are climbing everywhere and believe the couch to be their Mt. Everest and laugh with glee when they conquer the summit. This is one reason the kids er ah Santa decided to bring them their new two story fort complete with stairs and a slide. Kristen showed us videos of them discovering it on Christmas morning and they are so much fun.
Santa's sleigh was pretty full for the short trip from our house to Kristen and Chris'.

The little guys had more fun taking the ornaments off the tree and handing them out as gifts to all of us. Kristen is not going to work too hard to get the rest of the tree down! lol Oh, and they loved the 31 storage bags I got each of the kids for their cars...and the little guys loved them too!
It really only took the three men about 40 min. to assemble the fort with supervision from Leighton, of course.
and speaking of her royal highness, the kids got her this darling chair for her room...doesn't she look downright regal?
Tomorrow I'll try to get up some of the pics from our Christmas day at our house. Hope your holidays were great.

What a wonderful way to start Christmas

2011-12-24T15:24:00.003-05:00

(technical error prevented me from uploading the pictures I had from our dinner last night with Justin and Susie ...same person as Suzie, which is how I spell her name!)

Last night we had the most glorious meal cooked by Justin and Suzie and had a chance to love on and be loved by their two boxer rescue dogs, Cloe (who could use holiday prayers as she is suffering from cancer in her hips and could use some relief through the holidays) and Snoopy who is the lover boy. Justin fixed us lobster in this amazing garlic/mayo stuff and, oh yes, he caught these himself. And then there was the grouper, the redfish and a 3rd fish that Suzie seared that just melted in our mouths. Sigh...happy happy. These two people are so precious to us...what more can I say.

This morning, Christmas Eve, E and I rode our bikes into town for breakfast at Toula's on the Trail and those oh so yummy trail fried potatoes (one of us got those and the other a too healthy seasonal fruit cup) and Eggs Benedict. We made a point of wishing everyone we ran into (not literally...we are pretty good bikers) a Merry Christmas and our favorite were a trio of women, Christmas tunes loud and clear and one had antlers on her helmet...what a joy!

We took care of some chores...fresh sheets on the bed, laundry, the last minute wrapping, and then went up to Loggerheadz to meet our dear friend, Bob, who is celebrating his 60th. b'day today. We shared wings, beer and friendship.

I left before E who is still there watching football with Bob (this is their football 'date' weekly but it got moved from Sunday to Sat because of the holiday) and headed up to my favorite store, TJ Maxx because it dawned on me all I had for E's stocking was the 3 year extension on his new computer chair...now don't you tell! It is safely hidden in the kids' garage. So I picked him up a variety of kitchen goodies and got a sweet but lonely snow man to join the rest of our crew. I could not leave that little guy in a store for Christmas.

We're off to the kids soon and then the fun really starts...wishing you all the merriest of Christmases and see you soon with lots of pics of, of course, the little kidlets!

And the presents were hung on the tree with care...

2011-12-23T16:42:00.002-05:00

If we hung the gifts we got the little ones this year on our tree, the whole thing would come crashing to the floor! I will be the first to admit, E and I have gotten a bit carried away this Christmas. The little guys are old enough now to have such fun and, hopefully, they won't just focus on how much of the wrapping paper they can cram into their mouths like they did last Christmas.

We shop all year long and put things into a big box on a high shelf in my closet. When we got it down this year both of us were flabbergasted. We put a few things back for the boys' and baby girl's birthdays but not much.

Then we spotted these cute Mickey and Minnie when we met the Millers at Disney for the Epcot food and wine festival in Oct...and then there were the Tonka trucks that Papa said every little guy needs and the stove set which took us almost four hours to assemble and it was an "easy to assemble" one...lol.

Now the big kids gifts are in this mound too. E does all the wrapping (one year he even wrapped his own boxed gifts...lol) as he has far more patience than I do and makes prettier pkgs as a result. And the shopping cart I found a 'real deal' on.
Now some of these gifts stay at Nana and Papa's house like the big bag of Mega Blocks, the grocery cart and the kitchen set (at the request of their parents who went a bit overboard themselves). And our baby Leighton has her fair share. I have started her her own Snowman collection!

And this was the Christmas gift our garden gave us today... this beautiful camellia and the bush is loaded with buds.

Tomorrow we are starting our Lemoncello with some of the lemons from our tree. I was told today that drinking Lemoncello at Christmas is a big Italian tradition but we did not start our own soon enough this year...it needs to 'ferment' a while to be really good. But, we do have a half bottle of some lovely Lemoncello we tried in Italy ten years ago and that our local liquor store carries. So E and I will toast each other with that and drink ours on New Year's Eve

Happy holidays and we sure can't wait to play Santa!

Scrapped the day away at POSH SCRAPS

2011-12-21T16:55:00.002-05:00

Diane had errands to run first so Cynthia and I settled in to scrap. Michele, the owner, had given me several sheets of the Kaiser Kraft papers to do some layouts for the store and this was one.
"Bella" is the nickname E has bestowed on Leighton Kaye because he says she is so beautiful...I agree!
I took a picture of the other layout but parts do not look straight so will fix it at the store before I publish a picture of it here.

Jacque surprised us and came by with wonderful news, her husband, Pete, is doing much better and will hopefully be home for Christmas after all. Diane arrived shortly after Jacque and we all headed out to Tony's for lunch in Palm Harbor on Tampa Road (best garlic rolls for miles and miles). We laughed our way there and all through lunch. Nothing beats good food and better company.

Hope everyone is having a great week! We're getting close to the big day!

Playing hookey!

2011-12-20T17:19:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, we decided we had had our noses to the grindstone far too long. We were moderately ready for the holidays with only a few cards left to address and mail and packages for home to wrap. So, we played hookey the rest of the day. When we taught, we called these days "mental health" days.

We headed to Dunedin (boy! I sure spend a lot of time in that city) to try a place we were introduced to at the Grape Escape, the fundraiser for the north Pinellas YMCA, that we attended a couple of weeks ago. The owner was giving out samples of their corn shrimp bisque, which btw, is to die for. This is the Olde Bay Cafe and Dunedin Fish Market.
We split a bowl of the other specialty soup on the menu, Mushroom and brie brisque...oh my. It is one amazing soup and we'll be going back to Olde Bay Cafe and Dunedin Fish Market for sure just for this. E and I each got the Catch of the Day which was grouper. When I first got mine, it did not look done to me. I like my fish flaky and a bit on the dry side. But, before asking the chef to pass it over the grill one more time, I decided to try it. PERFECTION. The fish is served cooked to your order on ciabatta with a fantastic mayo spread. And the chips taste home made.
The drink on the menu above is a white sangria and Jacque and Di, I have found us a new place for lunch but we'll have to take the Jolly Trolley so we can all have one and not worry about who is driving.

And then there is the view!
Today, we got all the jobs done we blew off yesterday including putting the little guys kitchen set together . But that is another story entirely.

Hope your countdown to the BIG DAY is going well. Take a deep breath and do something for yourself. Happy holidays.

The holidays are better in the company of family and friends

2011-12-19T09:08:00.003-05:00

Suzie and Justin were two of the first of our friends here in Tarpon Springs. We meet Suzie where we often had lunch at Snookers and she took us under her wing from almost our first encounter. She is just one of those women who are care takers with huge hearts. We have met so many wonderful people through her and Justin.
We exchanged wine glasses this year. The ones we are holding here match our dishes so perfectly and we thank them for their thoughtfulness.
Isn't this little chef that Suzie found just perfect.
The evening was pleasant enough for a fire in the fire pit in the lower lawn before E started his wonderful holiday meal for the four of us. Suzie drew our attention to our pine tree...it even had a star on the very top all dressed out for Christmas.
E fixed a favorite of ours, Mandarin shrimp over brown rice pilaf. I'll put the recipe on his blog, He Cooks, later this afternoon (LyndaKaye, here is one of the shrimp recipes you have been waiting for!).
He says to take great caution when you flame the shrimp!
We turned on the propane heater and dined al fresco. The lights reflecting on the pool water were so pretty.

And here is Suzie finding a home for the little chef fairy. E is going to build him a shelf between the two plaques on the wall that Suzie also gave us one Christmas.

We've been having such a lovely December this year filled with friends and family and love! Season's Greeting to all of you who read here and thank you.

I love a parade

2011-12-17T16:54:00.004-05:00

So, the Chamber of Commerce handout said 11:00 for the parade, the website said 11:00 so we show up at quarter til and guess what...the parade started at ten. We missed the Shriners with their clown outfits and their cars and motorcycles entirely. But that is ok. We'll have even more to share with the little guys and baby girl next year.
This wagon from Aunt Sarah's consignment shop along with the little wooden table and chairs we found there also were our best buys so far! Oh, and we got the boys bucket swings there too!

This is the award winning Tarpon Springs Performance band and the boys seemed to enjoy the drums so much we may just have to get them some for their birthday next year. Do you think their parents will appreciate that? lol
I love how the city employees get involved in the parade. Our friends, Tom and Katherine (who both work for the city) knew about 75% of the parade! I love living in this wonderful small town.

We ran into Kristen and Chris' friends from Mykanos (Our FAVORITE restaurant for authentic Greek food on the Sponge Docks) who had both their girls at similar times to the boys and then Leighton. They were making a date to all get together.

And here is Mr. and Mrs Clause. I've been working hard with the boys to teach them "What does Santa say, he says HO HO HO" but just realized that they have no clue who Santa is...I pointed and HO HO'd but maybe next year. They do Ho Ho Ho when you ask them though.

And this is our beautiful Craig Park down on Spring Bayou where the larges Epiphany Celebration is held each year. The park was decked out and so pretty.
We had our picnic on the shuffle board courts where there were benches for Little Mama and me. This is one of our historical museums in the back ground. Big Bear bbq was there and the boys and I split some bbq chickie and we gave mama the cheese and mac. Katherine was a god send and fed the boys the rest of their lunch so K and I could eat.
Here is one of our city's trucks all deco'd for the holidays. I remember when we would watch the light parade for Clearwater from Rob's old apt. front yard and all the sanitation trucks were lit stem to stern. Sure miss that parade.
We walked around a bit and finally headed home where Landon, Colvin, Kristen and Leighton Kaye all napped the afternoon away. E had made some awesome cookies and we did sample those, of course. Need to bike twice as long tomorrow morning as we did this morning and maybe, just maybe I'll be ok at weight in at WW on Tues.

Hope your weekend is lovely!

and Leighton Kaye slept through it all...

2011-12-17T06:46:00.003-05:00

While Kristen and E slaved away over a hot stove and the boys and I played and played, our pretty little girl slept away on the couch except when she wanted to eat. Here are a few of her in dream land.

While E bakes yet three more kinds of cookies this morning, Kristen, the boys, little girl and Nana are off to the Tarpon Springs Christmas parade. This is a small town parade and I've only missed one year of this fun event since we moved here. After the parade, Kristen and I have planned a picnic with the kids in Craig Park on Spring Bayou where there is a candy cane hunt and a visit with Santa. How tired the kids are will determine how long we stay.

Tomorrow is the Farmer's Market which we attend almost every Sunday. The veggie man is the very best! And then we have company coming for drinks around the fire pit and dinner al fresco, weather permitting.

Only 7 more days til Christmas and I am all done but the wrapping and the shipping of one pkg. that goes out Monday and only has to travel 3 hours south. Hope your holidays are a joy!

Our Chief Taste Tester and Nana's rival for the beaters

2011-12-16T18:36:00.003-05:00

While Colvin got his first cooking lesson from Papa, we all voted Landon our official taste tester.
It is hard to see but his little sweet face has remnants of chewy chocolate oatmeal cookies!

and Little Leighton Kaye slept through most of the cookie making and baking. Pics of her tomorrow. Poor little gal has heat rash on her face.

Tomorrow: the Santa Parade and Candy Cane hunt here, We're doing a picnic in Craig Park between the two events. The holidays have become so much more special this year now that our babies number 3.

And our friends ...we love you!

The Christmas cookie tradition lives on

2011-12-16T17:44:00.004-05:00

For the past 16 years at least (with only one or two years) E and Kristen have baked for the holidays together. This year, not only did they bake together but E initiated the next generation, Landon (the official taster) and Colvin (the assistant to the assistant baker). Somehow Landon's pic did not post so I'll just do another post with him!

Lamp posts in Dunedin

2011-12-15T06:59:00.003-05:00

Every year, many merchants in Dunedin, Fl., decorate the lamp posts in front of their stores. These are some of the more creative ones. The one with the house won an award in the contest. I love this fanciful idea and we had such fun yesterday roaming the town taking pictures of these.

Merry Christmas with my gal pals

2011-12-14T17:01:00.003-05:00

Cynthia, Diane, Jacque and I met up in Dunedin for our holiday get together today in Dunedin and we had such fun. We shopped til we dropped and then ended up at Bon Appetite and so glad we did. Two of us had the lobster roll with fresh fruit and and two of us had the 1943 salad...and then Cynthia ordered the dessert sampler for her treat to us. We also celebrated our dear Jacque's upcoming birthday (Dec 20) and raised our glasses to our friendship. We have decided that God put each of with the others for a reason; that each of us enriches the others' lives and to this we toasted.

Tomorrow I'll try to post the lamp posts in Dunedin...they are so funny. Each of the many stores decorate the lamp post in front of their store for the holidays. Tune in tomorrow!

Botanical Garden in Largo Lighting Display

2011-12-12T06:29:00.007-05:00

We read about the event in the paper and we wanted to go while Chris' mom, Jeanette, is still in town so last night was the night. And we could not have picked a better one. The temps were in the upper 60s perhaps even a bit warmer, the moon was full and the little kids were not cold at all.

This one of E and me is blurry but Chris took one with his camera that came out a lot better. We'll get it from him and perhaps incorporate it into our Christmas cards for next year.
This is the entrance to the Garden and the little boys eyes were so wide for our walk through. They loved the lights and kept pointing and saying "see, see". Leighton did open her eyes a couple of times but, for the most part elected to cuddle close to mama.

Nice family shot of Chris, his mom, Kristen, Leighton, Landon and Colvin. Somewhere in here is one of us. Again, I think Chris got a better one.
As much as the little guys liked the lights, the high light for them was the seniors playing 40s and 50s music and the old Christmas favorites. The boys were doing their very best to dance despite being strapped into the wagon. Next year, stage front!

Love these birds...I got down to the boys' eye level to take several of the shots.

The little boys loved the gator and the turtle!

The fountain was one of my favorites as it changed colors constantly and was back lit with the same green dots that we saw at the Garden Room fund raiser .
and I loved this tree reflected in the water.

Some of the displays moved but most did not. I loved this walk way all lit with the beautiful butterflies of all sizes and colors.

I may have duplicated this pic of the two little guys at the entrance but since they are twins and Gemini to boot, it is only fitting if I did. lol

There was a two dollar donation and believe me, they should charge much more. We were there for about an hour and half and it was wonderful. We drove by the Largo city park on our way home, and Largo has created a winter wonderland there as well with lights of red and white. Another must see here in Pinellas county.

Another treat posted on He Cooks

2011-12-11T13:57:00.000-05:00

It is E's infamous crab mousse! check it out here.

Yesterday and today

2011-12-11T12:24:00.002-05:00

The building that houses The Zone in Tarpon Springs dates back to the late 1890s and has gone through many transformations. The interior has been recently remodeled keeping the best (metal ceiling, beautiful etched glass, French doors to the courtyard and the wooden bar). We had a nice chat with the manager, Doug, who gifted us with a visit to the ball room upstairs and showed us the haunted area also up on the second floor. There are supposedly three or four such haunted buildings in our little town and it was kind of fun to get to view one of them.

Our season is not kicked off officially at our house until the Tiki god of beer dons his Santa hat. Now he is all decked out and ready to celebrate.

We're off to the botanical garden light display with the kids tonight...really looking forward to this! Hope your weekend has been a delightful one. We've been having a blast.

Food Truck Rally and Art Walk in Tarpon Springs

2011-12-10T13:40:00.004-05:00

We can not pass up a festival here in our little village. We hit them all or most all and today, despite the intermittent rain and my restart on Weight Watchers, this was one festival we could not pass up. One of the organizers of the event is a friend of ours and he was a bit disappointed in that of the 18 food trucks who had signed up to attend, only 8 actually showed. The other ten sure missed out...the rain stopped, the sun showed itself, albeit weakly and the crowds arrived, spent money and ate. I am hoping the artists did well. There were some beautiful paintings and art works for sale.

E and I ended up having pulled pork sandwiches with cold slaw under the meat (I skipped the bun and we are only having veggies and shrimp for supper) and from, Macalicious, we got the Works Tater Tots: not your ordinary tater tots...something extra in the coating, mac and cheese, scallions and sour cream. I could only eat about 3 bites but each one was heavenly!
While we did not buy any sweets, these gals were wonderful about me taking their picture even offering to come out of the rain to better pose for my camera.
I love how the motorcyclist accommodated he and his side car rider with a beach umbrella!

We went into the Zone Bar for a beer and ended up chatting with the manager, Doug, for about an hour even getting a tour of the ballroom and the 'haunted' area upstairs. But that is for another day!

Since the rain has abated and we have dry wood, off to the lower lawn with a nice glass of Chianti Classico, the love of my life, E and a nice fire!

Sat. and the little guys half birthday!

2011-12-10T05:45:00.003-05:00

That was then and this is now. Landon and Colvin are 18 mo. today and they are growing up way too fast for this Nana.
Happy Half Birthday to you both. We love you madly and forever!

Today E and I are off to a food truck rally and art walk here in Tarpon Springs. There is also a craft fair and the annual Christmas lighted boat parade but we have decided to forgo that event this year and are opting for a glass of wine by the fire pit before dinner.

Hope your weekend is a lovely one!

Happy Half Birthday to me!

2011-12-09T15:48:00.002-05:00

I only learned about half birthday celebrations recently but you all know me, any excuse for a party. This party is for counting my blessings as I approach the second part of the year towards turning 65!

I am so blessed. I have a wonderous husband, two great kids and one great son in law and grandkids to boot all who make me laugh and enrich my life so very much with their love.

I am so blessed. I have some of the very best friends a girl could ask for. They tolerate my off days, enjoy my company and seem to like my quirky personality. They revel with me in my daily life and enhance my very soul. These women ( and you do know who you are) are the epitome of integrity and honor and have set a high standard that has moved me in a more positive direction in my life. And, besides, they are funnier than hell!

I am so blessed. I have my health and am back to Weight Watchers which is the only program that has ever worked for me. I have gained over the past few months not going to the meetings as we watched the twins that day and went over the weight I swore I would never go over...155...by 8 lbs. Since the meeting on Tues, I have already taken off 3 of that! And E and I are back walking or riding daily. We both want to be around to enjoy our grandchildren as long as we can and weight management and exercise are the best things we can do.

I am so blessed. Not long ago someone offered up to me a piece of her soul in the form of an apology. I had a choice: I could make her feel as badly as I had felt or I could give both of us some peace of mind. I thought long and hard and, after two years of anger and regrets, we both have peace. Recently I had a chance to pass this on so I did expecting nothing in return. And I got peace just out of the effort. Amazing how that works.

I am so blessed. I've been given opportunities lately and have taken a careful look at where I want to invest my time and effort. I have closed some doors in order to open one or two others.
We shall see what happens out of those doors both opened and closed.

I am so blessed! Happy 64.5 to me!

A Walk in the Park

2011-12-09T06:07:00.002-05:00

We are fortunate to live close to the Anclote River that flows into the Gulf. The nature preserve is one of our favorite places to walk. Yesterday, it was too cool to bike ride so we bundled up and walked through the park out to the fishing dock and back. The birds were chirping, the trees filled with berries and color and the river shimmered like tinsel on a tree. Guess the park is getting ready for Christmas too.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

2011-12-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

Baby Leighton Kaye...who does she look like?

2011-12-07T06:28:00.002-05:00

Colvin?
or her other big brother, Landon?
We think she got the best of both! She is now 1 mo. old and the twins will be 18 mo on the 10th and she is up to a tad over 8lbs. Poor Landon has another ear infection and is back on meds.
Chris, Kristen, Janette (Chris' mom) and all the kids are coming over for one of E's great dinners tonight. We had planned on going to see the lights at the botanical garden in Largo but, with Landon's ear infection and cold weather on the way, we'll wait til next week some time.

Hope your week is going well.

Another week in Paradise

2011-12-05T06:50:00.003-05:00

Not the best quality pictures but the people sure were. And here is Michele and Gaylen reading the family/friend's annual Cajun Night Before Christmas.

And coming up this weekend: the Food Truck Rally and Art Walk in Tarpon's historical district and then the boat parade down on Spring Bayou ...all on Sat. Join us?

Holday Party Part I

2011-12-04T06:20:00.004-05:00

Last night was our Holiday Party. We had some gals and their husbands from Book Club, our Dinner Club and the gals I scrap with along with our local friends (some of whom fall into the other categories as well). All in all, through out the night, there were about 25 of us kicking off the holiday season.

E cooked up so many wonderful treats: crab mousse, spinach dip in a pumpernickel round, his goat cheese in sesame seeds with honey and raspberries, a Tuscan white bean dip, and a few more. I'll be putting a few of these on his blog, He Cooks, later today.

We set up the wet bar in the kitchen, the food on a small buffet table beneath the window to the kitchen and on the dining room table. In years past, we have set up tables through out the house but this year, put them all outside...3 inside the gate to the pool and two outside. The weather was so balmy, we didn't even need to turn on the propane heater.

By quarter of seven, our house was filled with lovely people and lively conversation. Part II later today. Thanks for looking!

Grape Escape at the Garden Room, Palm Harbor, Fl

2011-12-02T09:05:00.002-05:00

This was one amazing fund raiser for the YMCA SunCoast Greater Palm Harbor Branch. This was the 9th year for the event and, if this year's was any indication...ooh la la. We ate, drank, socialized and danced to lovely jazz that seemed to surround us in this winter wonder land that the designers and owners of the Garden Room Nursery created. The tables were like large blocks of ice, all lit from within. The out door rooms were warmed either by the propane heaters like the one in the Beer Garden section (see Suzie and I above) or by the fire places and fire pits.

Through out the venue, some sort of light threw these lovely green orbs all over. They also had machines that were red and white. The trees were all festooned with twinkling pretties and the food was amazing.

We went with Jason and Suzie and met up with Gaylen and Charo, who were celebrating their anniversary. We were later joined by Bob and Linda and had such a wonderful time.
The food was provided by Carrabbas Italian Grill, Mystic Fish, Mmmmm Delicious Cupcakes, Olde Bay Cafe (chatted with the owner and told him we have never been able to get in to eat at the place in Dunedin...and YEAH! they will soon be expanding ...the soup he served was to die for), JJ Gandy's and Co, Old Town Cafe, Tarpon Springs Yacht Club, MecaFresh, and Angel Cakes Gourmet. The wines were provided by Lueken's Big Town Liquors. Our all time favorite was one from Italy!

Watch this spot for updates on these places as I am adding them to the places to try list of local eateries.

Speaking of food. I have started a blog for E called He Cooks and put the first recipe up just this morning.

Happy Dec. 1

2011-12-01T14:21:00.002-05:00

Our temps here have been cool and brisk which sure gets me in the holiday mood. I made an angel for the top of our tree (see my altered blog), decorated the house, picked out our Christmas cards (notice I did not say addressed them), helped the kids get their lights and decorations up and put the Christmas music on the blog.

I dug out my holiday shirts and jewelry and feel that holiday spirit! We've even been drinking our wine out of our new Christmas-y wine glasses.

Most of the shopping is done save for a few things and now all we have to do is wrap.

But, before all that takes place, here is what is going on with us

Tonight: a wine and food tasting at Garden Room Nursery in Palm Harbor, Fl. with several of our friends. Suzie reserved a table for all of us, hopefully near one of the out door fireplaces.

Dec. 3 is our Holiday Party for several of our friends. This is the third year we have held this event and we so enjoy having everyone over.

Dec. 8 Book Club at Glo's. Can't wait...our guest author from last year, Sophia, is returning with lots of goodies her Cambodian women make and it will be shop til we drop for sure.

Dec. 10 is a fair in Tarpon Springs and the annual boat parade

Dec 13 (evening) is Posh Scrap's ' Open House and a couple of us on the design team will be doing make n takes (this date is almost certain).

Dec 17 is the annual Santa parade here in Tarpon Springs. I have only missed one year since we moved here. I really think the little guys will enjoy it this year so asking Kristen if she'd like to go with me.

And...some time inbetween:
Gong to see the lights at the Botanical Garden in Largo with the kids

And a bit of sad news...those of you who know me know that the little green neon tree I have had for eaons, Lucille, is no longer with us. Her lights dimmed and I had to find a new tree. Now the new little tree is still neon green and has the green lights on it but
it is not as robust as was our Lucille. Thus her name is Lucy!

Have a great first week of December.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-26T07:07:00.002-05:00

It was a chaotic, busy and absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving at our house this year. Rob swung by Kristen's, helped her load the kids in her van for the trip to our house. Chris had to work til 4:30 so we spent the remainder of the time playing with the kids, cooking (mostly E) and working on our printer and computers (mostly Rob) and chasing 2 little boys hither, thither and yon (mostly Kristen and me). Dinner was wonderful and E and I, despite sending home lots and lots of left overs with the kids, have been eating on turkey, apple pie, dressing etc ever since.

I hope to be able to post 3 of the 4 layouts I did at Posh Scraps yesterday but may wait til I put the finishing touches on the 4th one so it may be tomorrow before I get them up.

Hope your Thanksgiving has been a wonderful one.

Girls' Day Out

2011-11-22T17:08:00.003-05:00

Kristen and I have a tradition of my taking her out on her birthday for lunch. This year, due to the early arrival of Ms leighton, this lunch was delayed until this past Monday. We took our favorite little girl with us as we figured that the earlier we got her in to the lunch, shop routine, the better. Besides, how often do I get to dine with two such lovely ladies?

Kristen had never been to Bon Appetite in Dunedin but had requested some where on the water and this place fit the bill. It is where Glo, Sandy and I go every year to open the holiday season. Kristen and I both had the 1943 salad and Leighton had some Mama's Milk. She actually slept through most of our outing...are we that boring? lol
Here we are...three generations. Do you see any resemblance? And what is that expression on my face. I mean, I know I don't take very good pics but really?
Kristen got her wish...this restaurant overlooks Honeymoon Island and to the south, Clearwater...so lovely and excellent food
After our lunch out, we hit Jo's and Mike's looking for the perfect first tree for our little lady. Now it had to be pink and it had to be glittery with lots of bling. And we found a hot pink tinsel tree that fit the bill . Hope our little lady likes it.

I am hoping your week is going well!

and still more lovely gifts for the kids

2011-11-20T06:25:00.002-05:00

Our grand children are certainly going to make the best dressed kids list yet! Jill sent a sweet package to the kids and Kristen opened it yesterday when I went to help with the boys. The hats have the cutest little trucks on them and the boys looked pretty spiffy in them.
And check out these darling little pink things...the tights have ruffles on the bottom and the sweater is so soft. Thanks Jill for thinking of the kids!

Little Leighton Kaye managed to squirm out of her head-to-toe sleeper and then promptly went back to sleep!

We're off to ride into town this morning to the Farmer's Market for fresh veggies. We've been making a more concentrated effort to eat better lately. With all parties and celebrations coming up, we will certainly be challenged.

Hope your week is a great one.

2011-11-18T15:27:00.002-05:00

Leighton Kaye at two weeks and one day. She actually had her eyes open!

And the kid already has attitude! lol
Does anyone know what this bug it...it just struck me as really fancy; even it's feet are red.

Have a great weekend.

I am seriously thinking of changing this blog to

2011-11-16T16:53:00.004-05:00

Nana Postings from Paradise. lol

And, once again, Blogger decided to scramble my photos...so be it. The first is of E's pride and joy. Three years ago, we planted a Meyer lemon tree. We had great hopes of lemon chiffon pies and fish dishes garnished with these lovelies and I even thought lemoncello, though E said it was the wrong kind of lemons. The first year, we had two tiny lemons...the next year was the year without bees and no lemons. This past year, E took no chances, borrowed a small paint brush from me and set out to to pollinate the plant himself...and then the bees showed up and showed up again. Our tree has so many lemons I may have to open an lemonade stand in front of the house!

This is another picture of our beautiful Leighton, or, as Papa calls her, Baby Bella!

Yesterday was our play date with the little guys while Chris went to class. He had them dressed so cute and they did the booty dance for us more than once...lol. The table is a bit too high for the boys but Papa is going to make them one to fit...just as soon as we get the rest of the lights up, finish putting the outside heater together, find the ornaments and snow people...well, you get the picture.

I got my update from my dr. today and, once again, got a A+++. We are going to test in in 3 mo. for anemia and thyroid as I've been experiencing some fatigue and, for me, enui. In a conversation recently with four friends over 50, we all seem to be going through the same thing recently. My doctor said, perhaps I might want to take a bit of time out here and there and rest. HA! I can do that eons from now!

Hope your week is going well...

Feeding time at Nana and Papa's house

2011-11-13T20:28:00.002-05:00

It was Kristen's b'day dinner here with all the family in attendance. The boys had the most fun of all with the exception of us laughing at...er ah, with them. Their dad has taught them the ref's signals for Touch down and Home run and now those have been added to High Five, Fist Bump and my favorite, Hand Jive...nothing like a little sign language, right?

The clothes we bought them for Christmas are all going be good. I will have to hem the boys' pants but everything else fits fine.

Dear sweet Leighton slept through most of the days events but she did smile for Papa (I am not going to tell him it was probably gas! lol).

Hope your weekend was a good one.

Blues, Wine, and Art...oh and the Jolly Trolley

2011-11-13T09:19:00.002-05:00

Friday evening early, we caught the Jolly Trolley down on the Sponge Docks and rode in comfort to the Preview night for Dunedin's Blues, Wine and Art. Things were just getting started when we arrived so we roamed down the Trail and into Jolli Mon Grill. We got chatting with another couple on the trolley and they had recommended it. The food was very good...I had the seafood salad on a bun with black beans and rice and E had catfish fingers which he love
Jolli Mon's is a funky old Florida kind of place with most of the seating in the spacious courtyard. We will definitely be going back. The prices were very reasonable and, always a must with us, the beer was cold.

Dunedin was all aglow with decorated trees and lights and each store decorates the light pole in front of their store. Some are very amusing.

This is for Clare. He is a little young but he might be your way to a green card...lol. And I know how you love a man in a skirt...er, ah kilt.
We will be going back to Dunedin again for a stroll through the shops early next month. When we lived in St. Louis we would take one weekend afternoon and roam around Old Towne St Charles. There were international Santas roaming the street, Victorian singers and even roasted chestnuts on the street corners. We would shop, visit and sip our way from shop to shop and pick out a new ornament or three for our tree and then eat dinner at our favorite restaurant, Lewis and Clarks'. We have finally found a place here to recreate this tradition, Dunedin.

Kristen's b'day dinner is here today so look for baby, boys and family pics tomorrow. (this might be construed also as a warning to those who have O.D'd on my family...lol).

Hope your weekend had been fun!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter

2011-11-12T07:28:00.001-05:00

You are such a delight: a great daughter, amazing mother, and my dearest friend. Happy 36th. Love, Mom

Lunch at Pete and Shorty's

2011-11-11T13:19:00.002-05:00

Last Wed., Kim and Mitch called us saying they were on their way through town and did we want to meet them for lunch. OF COURSE! We picked Pete and Shorty's on Gulf to Bay right next to the Original Hooters. We love this old Florida style restaurant with its lovely beer garden and great food.

Mitch and Kim had the Frito Chili and E and I both ordered the pork tenderloin sandwich. I got a side of the great fries and he got the fried pickles...all so very very good. Oh and a beer each...how could I forget the liquid refreshments.

The first time E and I met Kim at the restaurant, I guess I somehow 'neglected' to tell her about the women's bathroom art. Of course, she lifted the leaf and set off the lights in the bar and restaurant itself. And, of course, the place was crowded and all the regulars know she looked! lol. My daughter, who took me here the first time, warned me about fig leaf! lol
Kim and Mitch are coming back through Tampa today and meeting us in Dunedin later for the Art/Wine/Blues festival going on there tonight and then they are spending the night with us....Yeah!

Hope your weekend is a good one. I have the Posh Scraps Holiday event tomorrow in Palm Harbor Florida. Some of my projects have been posted on my altered blog and the make n take I am doing from 10-noon. The goodies that Michele, the owner has put together, are amazing.
Tomorrow is also my daughter's 36 b'day. We'll be celebrating on Sunday.

Happy 17mo. b'day to the boys and one week yesterday

2011-11-10T15:08:00.003-05:00

to our darling Baby Leighton Kaye.

Been a busy few days here in Paradise and not much let up before Sunday. Watched the little guys here Tues, worked on projects for Posh Scraps on Wed., over to help Kristen with the grands today, Book Club here tonight, the Wine, Art and Blues Festival in Dunedin tomorrow night (and VETS day), the Holiday Event at Posh on Sat. (I'm doing make n takes from 10-12), Kristen's b'day dinner here that evening and I'd have scheduled my collapse on Sunday but we're heading to Homaosassa FL with Justin, Susie and a bunch of our friends.

Santa and Mrs Santa went shopping today

2011-11-09T16:50:00.002-05:00

and look what they got for Landon, Colvin and " Bella" Leighton Kaye. Oh, and Santa also found a cute little kitchen for the boys to go along with the rocking horse. Gonna be a great holiday this year!

Only our Suzie would think of this...

2011-11-08T17:15:00.002-05:00

And what does every little girly girl want and need? A purse and not just any purse but one that is soft and pretty and PINK and filled with a brush and comb for that someday when our little Leighton has a bit more hair. And the pillow ...ooh la la. Thanks, darling Suzie!

Speaking of our friend Suzie, she and her honey, Justin, are coming over for supper and E is cooking Chicken Ravioli Casserole and a salad and, were it just a tad cooler, we'd try out our new fire pit tonight.

We had the little guys today while Chris went to class and they get funnier every day! I love those wild ones!

Leighton was the surprise...

2011-11-07T07:49:00.002-05:00

Kristen's friends, Manina, Vicky and I conspired to throw a shower for Kristen. The kids needed a new camera so we shopped for that. Lots of friends went in on that gift and there were still tons of gifts to open. The shower was to have been a surprise for the kids but their newest kid surprised us all coming three weeks early. We offered to defer the date but the kids said they could make it ok...

The top gift selection is from my oldest pal, Jo in St. Louis. These outfits are darling and she even put in a couple of toys for our boys.

The second gift was from a wonderful woman I met through ACOT, Kara Clark. She sent this amazing package of goodies for Leighton. The darling little shoes were the show stopper.

E fixed a crab mousse and a goat cheese log with honey , sesame seeds and raspberries, Vicky a veggie tray, Manina crackers and cheese and some crostini. I ordered the cake from Sweet Bay and it turned out perfect. I had taken one of the napkins Manina had for the shower and the decorator took it from there. Manina did a wonderful job with the decorations, the phone calls and invites and made the event run so smoothly.

And the guest of honor slept through it all!

Baby Leighton Kaye comes home...

2011-11-06T05:45:00.002-05:00

We watched the little guys yesterday so Daddy could finish up some projects for Leighton's room and do some laundry and pick up Kristen and the baby when they were ready to come home. The little guys love the baby's room and the changing table has become a 'fort' for them.

Leighton is prettier and tinier than I remembered from seeing her just a day before. I don't remember the boys ever being this little when in fact, they were actually smaller than she is right now.

Landon and Colvin are fascinated with her and are very gentle. Kristen got them baby dolls of their own to care for and they are just about Leighton's size. Chris' sister sent them wooden trucks and Jo sent the boys toys that play sounds when you push different buttons...they were happy.

The boys are a bit confused about why Leighton does not laugh when they tickle her little toes. This is a game they play with each other with great abandon. Some day, she will...boys.
We are co hosting the UnSurprise Shower here today around 3...pics of that later. I do want to do a second post hopefully this evening with pictures of some of the lovely gifts Jo and Kara have sent. The little outfits and shoes etc...are so darling.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Introducing our beautiful grand daughter...

2011-11-02T20:02:00.004-05:00

She was born at 12:22pm, weighing in at 6lb. 9 oz and was 19inches stem to stern...and she is lovely. The little guys are staying with us and, thanks to Kristen's amazing friends, Maninia and Vickie, who volunteered to watch the boys while we went to the hospital, we were able to see her today. Our wonderful friend, Kim, is traveling all the way across the state tomorrow to sit with the twins so we can visit our pretty little girl again.

When we left, the kids had narrowed the name down to two...Leighton and Amelia with the middle name of Kaye (Kay is my middle name and also Kristen's) . E says it doesn't matter what they call our little girl, he's dubbed her Bella, beautiful.

Oh, and Kristen and Chris are doing great too...!

This Nana is worn out...the little guys routine has been upset and they took a long time to fall asleep which is natural. Hopefully they will get rested for our fun day tomorrow.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T06:12:00.002-05:00

The little guys don't eat candy or sweets so I gave them each a little red plastic chair for Trick or Treat. I actually got four of these and E is working on two tables...one for the kids and one for us here for them. My intention was to send the whole she bang home with them when the tables were done but Colvin had other ideas...and was trying to carry both chairs to the van by himself...lol.

The entire family went as farmville...Chris had class last night so their friend, Manina helped Kristen with the boys last night. Chris did get to with the family for the Trunk or Treat party at Kristen's school. Here is Landon in his little calf outfit.
And here is Papa with Colvin, the little piggy. E told the boys that when they are tired of being dressed in 'cutsey' costumes, he'll back them up...lol.
The boys Trick or Treated in our neighborhood after we all had dinner here. We hit about four homes and then the kids all met up with another family and Trick or Treated there.

We had about 30 Trick or Treaters last night and all but one child said Thank You. Nice, huh? and to the first daddy who was with his children and wife, E gave a special treat of a Bud Lite. That Trick or Treater was especially happy.

Hope your H'ween was a good one.

Busy Weekend and Busier few weeks ahead

2011-10-30T09:27:00.004-05:00

We've had a busy weekend here in Paradise. Yesterday was the garage sale at Posh Scraps and lunch with Jacque. I did ok at the garage sale and got rid of tons of papers and other items from my stash.

Today, E and I rode our bikes into town. The carrier for my health insurance changed and now, instead of getting my meds via the mail, I have to pick them up at a Walgreens. So that was our first stop. Then it was on to breakfast at Toula's Trailside Cafe in Tarpon Springs. I had the Eggs Benedict with their amazing trail fries and E had a scrambler with cheddar and scallions...both were tasty

Our Farmer's Market has been moved from Alt 19 and Orange to the parking lot and end street across from the bike shop and Toulas' so we walked across to check out everything. The veggie stand is always so tempting and, as you can see from the picture here, we showed little restraint. Biking home with an additional ten lbs of fruit and veggies slowed me down just a bit. The owner of the stand was a great salesman promising the large fruit that he propagates himself contains aphrodisiac properties...lol. We'll let you know...or maybe not! The corn is Silver Queen like E's dad use to grow back in Mo. It smelled sweet and maybe we'll have some tonight. Not sure what is up with the date on my photo...need to get it off the camera as I never date them like this...and wrong date to boot.

The market is still small, smaller than last years with some new vendors. Thank goodness our seafood guy was still there. His scallops are the best. Our plant people from last year are not there and I miss them but there was a new vendor with some pretty plants. We'd have been tempted but taking a bush or small ornamental home on a bike is iffy at best.

We're off to visit Rob at his new apartment down on Clearwater Beach later today. We're taking hammer and nails and will help him get pictures up on the walls. Now we know what to give him for Christmas...a tool box with goodies.

Monday Kristen and her friend Manina are bringing the boys over for dinner and Trick or Treat

Tues we have the boys here to play.

Wed. we go to the boys to play and the house sitter comes by to check on the cats for us. It sure helps to have one living just across the street.

Thurs. I am cropping with Jacque, Di and Cynthia at Posh

Fri I have a 9:30 dr. apt and an 11:30 hair color and cut

Sat. I am hoping to cyber crop with some old pals in Ohio

Sunday we have Kristen here for her b'day dinner (her b'day is the 12th)

on the 10th is Book Club here and on the 12th. is Posh's Christmas Gala event and I'm doing make n takes from 10-noon.

And on the 15th...we'll have our new baby granddaughter to hold and love.

and so it goes from now til the end of November. I had told a friend who was hoping to come visit us this month that the weekend of Nov 19 was our first free one, forgetting we have plans that weekend too as that is probably when Baby Granddaughter will be coming home with her mama.

Hope your weekend was a good one.

I found a few of the pics

2011-10-27T15:56:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful time with Mitch and Kim and they were the perfect host and hostess. They even let us drive Mitch's beautiful yacht, "Let's Sea". So here are the pics I have retrieved so far.

We are heading to Rob's on Sunday with my lap top in hand. He promises to fix all my latest problems and upgrade those things I need to upgrade...meanwhile, I am to click nothing, right or left and not to download anything. Aye Aye Captain Rob. Besides, we have not yet been to visit his new apartment on Clearwater Beach. Even the little boys have hung out with Uncle Rob at the Palm Pavilion!

And, thanks many many thanks to Kim and Mitch for an amazing weekend with kindred spirits!

Quick update

2011-10-26T16:30:00.002-05:00

Picasa ate my pictures...well, sort of. It shuffled them from this past weekend into at least four separate files and at this moment, I don't have the patience to look for them AGAIN. In the process, I did manage to delete about 150 bad, blurry or no longer wanted photos and refile others. Tomorrow is designated to clean up more and upload to web albums like a mad woman. I'll also be downloading the software for a reclamation program for deleted photos from memory cards. I thought they all might be in pictures but alas, nope! Wish me luck.

We've had a great couple of days with the little guys. Today, for example, we went for a morning ride (well, they rode in the wagon and we took turns pulling them), practiced our parade waves, played 'giddy up' (which means I work out my thigh muscles giving them pony rides), took a nice long nap (at least 3 of the 4 of us did), and kicked leaves that had fallen on the kids' deck from the sycamore tree behind their house.

If it wasn't for Survivor on tonight, I'd be nighty night or pretty close.

And I am loving the Christmas catalog deluge in our mail box lately. I've even ordered a couple of things for some gal pals!

Wish me luck tomorrow with the reclamation project. The light house pictures were so lovely...hope you don't have to just take my word for it.

2011-10-20T06:44:00.000-05:00

No pictures today...sorry. But, I promise a slew when we return from this weekend's upcoming adventure. It is happy haircut today and a meet up with a friend later this afternoon. I'll be right near the Christmas store so will look for a requested night light from my sister and check out the new ornaments as well.

We've been busy busy busy so this weekend's get away will be much appreciated. Thanks to Kim and Mitch for inviting us to join them on Mitch's boat /so looking forward to relaxing with the two of you!
House sitter in place and only ironing and packing left to do. No internet so happy weekend to all!

What a great weekend

2011-10-17T09:38:00.001-05:00

While it was a very busy and jam packed weekend, we did have tons of fun. Friday was the crop at ACOT , which just ended yesterday evening with a chat with Jenni Bowlin. I had the first shift with Pam B and, as always we had a great time.

Our friend, Bob DeLay, came over and we all hopped the Jolly Trolley to the Clearwater Jazz festival in Coachman Park. We loved Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parards. That young lady has the most remarkable voice and the band was a delight...oozing talent! And the we were mesmerized by the unbelievable Brian Culbertson. We had seen him before but if anything, he had gotten even better. It was cool to find out that his dad, who was a high school band director recently retired after 39 years, had joined Brian's group playing trumpet. I can see where Brian gets his talent!

Sat. morning, bright and early, I met up with Cynthia, Jacque and Di at Posh's parking lot to car pool down to the Colosseum in St. Pete for the fund raiser crop, Krop for Kids. Dee and her friend, Julie, joined us for a wonderful day of creating. I've been to some wonderful crops in my time but we were treated like princesses. Our trash was emptied regularly for us, we were brought snacks and drinks right to our table...and the goody bag of donated items was something else. I will definitely be going to this one again next year.

Sunday was my "I am not doing anything I don't want to do"day so I didn't. E watched one of the football games with Bob up at Lagerheadz and I read on the lanai and chatted on line with some of the gals who were still working the ACOT on line crop. E and I dined on left overs al fresco on the lanai.

And today is laundry day and catch up. I need to iron and sort clothes for our get away weekend with Kim and Mitch on his boat. We have the little guys all day tomorrow here (Chris has his study group to get ready for a test) and all day Wed. at their house.

I got quite a bit done at the crop : a mini album for Posh Scraps...all fall and fun. One layout for Michelle's big Holiday Crop on Nov12 and even worked in some time on my fabric and paper album I've returned to after about a years haitus...will post a couple of those pages on my altered blog later if you are interested.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Another day with our boys!

2011-10-14T06:15:00.003-05:00

Since I never know how blogger is going to load my photos, I'll let you play mix and match! lol In one, Landon doing the downward facing dog yoga pose, in another Colvin cuddling with Papa, a third one, the boys wrestling with Colvin on top, Landon with his wooden spoon (both boys are little chefs in training), and a shot Colvin deep in thought.

Another busy weekend for us. Today at three is the pre party at the TIKI BAR (3pm EST) at A Cherry on Top for the fall crop (tons of challenges, games, fun chatter and prizes...did I mention points and prizes?)which starts at 4 pm EST and runs through the weekend. Pam Bennett and I have the first shift and have some fun things planned. Come join us.

E and I and some friends are catching the Jolly Trolley here in Tarpon Springs and heading down to the Jazz Festival in Clearwater tonight. I am really looking forward to the headliner, Brian Culbertson. We've seen him perform at Jazz on the Green in Ft. Myers and probably own every cd he has made. Amazing performer.

Tomorrow I am meeting up with Jacque, Diane, and Cynthia at Posh Scraps at 9am and we are heading to St. Pete to one of the biggest charity crops around the Tampa area. It has grown and grown until now it is being held in the Coliseum venue. We're meeting up with some of our other cropper pals and can't wait for that fun to start. Janet was suppose to go with us but her daughter, Becca, has come down with mono and Janet flew home to be with her. We will miss you Ms Janet.

Sunday is wide open...isn't that nice to have a day to do absolutely nothing. Because next week is jammed full and we head over to the other side of the state for the weekend to cruise either to St. Augustine or the Bahamas for the weekend on our friends' big boat. And blessings to our house sitter for once again coming to our rescue!

Have a great weekend and watch this spot!

Last night at Disney

2011-10-11T05:51:00.003-05:00

Janet made us reservations at the German restaurant, a marvelous buffet with authentic German food. And boy! did we eat and eat. There was a Bavarian floor show and lots of polka dancing on the dance floor that was fun to watch. After dinner, Gene and I went to the concert in the park starring Taylor Dayne whom we had both loved to listen to. The concert was upbeat and the music entertaining!

For the second night in a row and my second visit to Disney I managed to miss the fireworks one more time! lol The last time the girls and I went, we could almost see them from the dock of the Wilderness Lodge so not sure if that counts or not.

Hope you have enjoyed my stroll through Disney. Come with us next time?

Dinner Club Oct 8, 2011 A Tour of Spain

2011-10-10T12:05:00.003-05:00

As usual, blogger has loaded my photos in the order it wants and not the order I had in mind...oh well.

Suzie and Justing brought a lovely appetizer of eggplant and salsa which we served with a Spanish aperitif sherry. E fixed Spanish Chicken with chourizo and baby potatoes, Seafood Paella. Bob brought a wonderful bean and rice dish with sausage and Suzie provided very tasty side salads...the dressing was out of this world. Michele and Kevin provided dessert: a double layer flan!

Suzie has the next Dinner Club and is trying to decide between Dec. (a busy month for everyone) and Jan.

Hope everyone has a great day!

More Epcot

2011-10-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

and the pic of the proud men in the skirts is for Clare!

One week ago today we were at Epcot

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and roaming through the 'countries', tasting wines beer, and food treats with the Millers. I think I can speak for Janet and myself: the frozen margaritas were FANTASTIC! We must have walked miles and miles and I believe E's favorite part was the boat ride through the botanical area. He and Bob tried to do the longer tour but it was filled. Just one more reason to return, right?

A couple more posts about our mad cap adventures in the land where dreams do come true and I'll return you to our regularly scheduled blog~

Liberty Square and riding the paddle wheeler

2011-10-07T15:09:00.001-05:00

This section of Magic Kingdom was one of the most relaxing. We walked around the area, decided that the line to the Haunted Mansion was a bit too long for two "oldies but goodies" like us and so we took the paddle wheel boat ride. Just what the doctor ordered. Bliss!

Disney: Frontier Land

2011-10-07T04:34:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite rides besides Pirates of the Caribbean and the plume ride is Thunder Mountain. I am not sure E realized what he was getting into but we roared with laughter throughout the whole ride. And Anne, we did not see your hat!

Magic Kingdom: the hat tradition continues

2011-10-06T07:10:00.002-05:00

We have a tradition of hats...big ones, small ones, some with ears...and we even added some new recruits to the Wild Hat Society!

Disney: Magic Kingdom

2011-10-05T16:19:00.002-05:00

After lunch on Friday, Janet helped Becca and Chris move into their room and Bob, E and I headed over to the Magic Kingdom which was decorated for Autumn and Halloween and so lovely. We took the train ride around the Kingdom so E could get an overview and then met up with Janet to watch the parade. I think this was E's most favorite.

We spent a lot of time talking about how much fun it will be to take the little guys here when they are a bit older. We may even let their parents come too. More to come from the Magic Kingdom.

And Clare, darling, we did NOT smooch on your Minnie

Our hotel: Coronado Springs Resort

2011-10-03T06:54:00.005-05:00

I had thought that E had been to Disney back in the mid 60s but was mistaken. This was his first trip to the wonderful world and he loved it. We stayed just down the way from Bob and Janet Miller, their daughter, her boyfriend and the Miller's grandson and the amenities of the resort were wonderful. I've stayed at the Polynesian (years ago), the Contemporary when the the kids were little, Wilderness Lodge with Janet, Clare and Anne and now this one. So far, the Wilderness Lodge is still my favorite but perhaps that was because we had such fun!

Our resort had a Spanish theme and the Pepper Market (the casual dining restaurant) had a very tasty selection of food from which to select. We all had lunch there on Friday before we headed to the Magic Kingdom.

I loved all the fountains and the detail work in the architecture of our resort and how pretty it all looked at night with the lights reflecting off the water in the lake.

Next stop: the Magic Kingdom

We are a Bi-family

2011-09-30T06:50:00.003-05:00

Bi-baseball teams fans, that is. Both of us spent the majority of our lives living in the burbs of St. Louis and one of the last things we did before we moved was to attend a Cards game with another couple. Now, we live in the Tampa area and, of course, also root for the Rays. This is going to be fun!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

An Amazing blog and Etsy shop DAY ONE

2011-09-29T08:00:00.004-05:00

I have a site meter and check it every few days to see where the people live who come to visit both of my blogs. This morning, on my altered blog, was a referral from a simply lovely blog. The woman is talented and generous as you will find out when you visit her new blog, Shabby Jen. And even better, she has an incredible Estsy shop so be sure to check it out too, Thats So Shabby.

I'm going to try to feature another creative blog at least once a week here. This blog, while it has less followers than the my altered art blog, get more daily hits and I want to really publicize the creative women out there with whom I've been inspired by and whose blogs are so enchanting.

The boys got their own pots and pans

2011-09-27T16:43:00.001-05:00

We had the best time today with the twins. They LOVED their own pots and pans and lost interest in Papa's right off the bat. They stirred and mixed and even 'cooked' up some Cheerios and ate them off the spoon and spatula...lol

I can only imagine how much more fun it is going to be when little grand girl gets here! E says she will learn how to fish and the little boys will learn how to cook. And I think it will be far too much fun!

Hope your Tues was a good one!

Nana has been Christmas shopping

2011-09-26T15:37:00.003-05:00

The little guys LOVE E's pots and pans and they drag them out of the cabinets and all around the kitchen. I told E that they will break the tiles but he thinks that is a good excuse to replace them...lol.

I came close to buying the Kids' Pottery Barn cook set last night when K and I went to the Baby Event and so glad I waited. The PB set was two pans (nice ones) and some utensils and a hot pad, maybe for $40.00. Now, nothing is too good for our boys but Nana has to draw the line somewhere.

Today, after discovering my good slim line camera was not working correctly, I headed to my favorite stores: Beall's Outlet, Big Lots and TJMaxx but my big finds all came from Big Lots.

And I found these darling pots and pans in fun retro colors for 4.00$ each and the utensils for the same price. They are about 1/3 the size of E's pots and pans and can actually be used for cooking although that is a bit of a ways off. E says he and the boys are making the holiday cookies together this year...I'll watch from a safe distance.

Other finds, 2 striped tees for our boys to keep at our house (2.50 each and they are Carters), 2 books for the little guys for Christmas (one is entitled "Papa does it this way" and is about fishing...how perfect..oh, and 2.00 each), darling bibs and wash cloths for new baby in lovely greens and PINKS and head band with OUTRAGEOUSLY LARGE flowers..another 2.50 each). Had far too much fun today...oh

and I got a cheapo Vivitar flip screen cam/video to get me through Disney for only 25.00 but E says he'll schlep the big cam for me anyway.

Look out Disney...here we come!

Friday's Cropping with the gals at Posh Scraps

2011-09-26T06:59:00.002-05:00

I'd had two of these layouts partially done so finished those up and did a third. It was use up my stash night for me. I need to do this more often.

My Thirty One party went well and thanks to all of you who came and/or ordered too. E fixed some great dips and spreads and I ordered three items. My favorite is the big tote!

Kristen got an invite to Kids' Pottery Barn's Baby Event so off to Hyde Park (lovely area of Tampa...lots of bungalow Craftmen type homes along with huge mansions by the Bay. There are restaurants and bistros on lots of street corners and fun shopping). There had been a big storm go through the area earlier in the day and that must have discouraged a lot of the attendees because K and I were the only two at the event. Picked up lots of tips about how to photograph babies from one of the speakers and won a free yoga class.

Getting my Smash book ready today for our weekend at Disney and then will take it along for the trip.

Hoping your Monday is a good one. Off to load my art bins with more stash papers etc. for Thurs. cropping at Posh Scraps!

September weekends are booked solid and Oct is filling fast

2011-09-23T13:18:00.003-05:00

I am off to crop at my favorite lss in the Tampa area tonight, Posh Scraps, with some of my favorite women. And tomorrow is the Thirty One bags and totes party with Beth Reed at my house. Next week is Tues., little guys here, Wed., little guys at their house, Thurs., cropping at Posh, and Friday? we leave for Orlando to meet up with the Millers, their daughter and her sweetie for a three day fun time.

Friday, we're planning on hitting the Magic Kingdom, Sat. is the Main Event: Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and Sunday, Animal Kingdom before E and I head back home. Our house sitter is booked and all that is left is to pack our bags!

We are staying at the Coronado Springs Resort at Disney. I've never stayed at this one before and E has not been to Disney since he was in college many many moons ago.

And that is just Sept.

In Oct, I am teaching my canvas 3d shadow box at Posh Scraps in the morning of Oct 8 and we have Dinner Club at our house that evening...OLE! E has decided on a cosmopolitan Spanish theme. Thinking longingly back to Barcelona!

Oct. 14th starts the online crop at A Cherry on Top and Krop for Kids, here in Tampa is down in St. Pete the 15th with Jacque, Di and Janet and a slew of other fine friends.

The following weekend, our poor house sitter is back as we head to the other side of the state for a visit to Kim and Mitch. Last discussion on where we are heading was either St. Augustine or the Bahamas.

And then we have those scary little boys trick or treating at Nana and Papa's for H'ween.

I truly do live in Paradise where dreams come true!

Cutie Colvin's Day on the Blog

2011-09-22T12:19:00.003-05:00

The boys are different as night and day which only adds to the fun and mayhem they manage to produce daily. Colvin is the thinker. He often looks solemn and deep in thought but don't let that fool you. He has a wicked sense of humor and when he woke up yesterday from his nap, laughed himself silly waiting for us to 'rescue' him from the crib. He is a sweetie, as is his brother, and both are such wonderfully affectionate little guys. Colvin inhales his food and eats almost everything put in front of him. He loves for us to throw a pillow on the floor so he can throw himself on top of it. I've told him "Awwwwwwww so sweet" so often when he does this, that now he throws himself down, hugs the pillow and says, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww". lol

This blog post is for you sweet boy!

Landon discovers corn on the cob

2011-09-20T07:23:00.002-05:00

With the rain on Sunday, we could not take the little boys swimming and they missed their afternoon nap so were a bit 'unsettled' by dinner time. We gave them each half an ear of corn on the cob just to keep them occupied so we could eat and LO! Landon fell in love, Colvin to a slightly lesser degree. Tomorrow is Colvin day on my blog. As a Nana of twins, I try to give equal opportunity! lol

Hope you have a great day!

Sunday in Paradise

2011-09-18T05:36:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful weekend this is turning out to be. I had to miss a crop I had wanted to attend but life is a trade off and things happen for the right reasons. After ten years of wishing each other good morning on assorted scrapbooking message boards, Kellee and I finally got to meet in real life. Having message board friends is kind of like back in the days of having pen pals and, if the opportunity arose to meet them, there was always a bit of uncertainty. Will she be as warm and kind? Will she be as funny and light hearted, will she be the friend you've come to know and love...and the answer is YES! Kellee and I had so much to talk about and laugh over and, of course, we just had to hit Posh Scraps, in Palm Harbor for a bit of retail therapy. I miss you already Kellee...next time stay longer please!

After Kellee, had to leave for the airport, I headed over to Kristen's for a day of shopping with the little guys. She had mega coupons for her hair products that were on sale to start with at JCPenny's. Of course, we had to look in the kids' clothes sections and got the boys a couple of things (swim suits for Nana's house)and just one or two little pink things for you know who! The boys were so good!

Blogger has been shuffling up my photos so I am hoping that the two above are of Landon and his new spiffy haircut. His hair was hanging way over his ears and often in his eyes and Nana bugged everyone until the kids took him in for his first big boy hair cut. Colvin, as you can tell from the two shots of him that follow (and doesn't he look cute in his Tommie coveralls that I found last summer for the boys?), he is not quite ready for a trim yet. He is cutting an upper incisor and drooling constantly. Is he too old for a bib? It doesn't seem to bother him.

I took another two hour Nana nap on the couch, had dinner and was sound asleep by 9 last night. I woke up feeling like only a slightly used person...rather than one who had been steamrolled by this cold. Hoping this is the beginning of the end.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. The family is coming over to celebrate E's b'day so I see swimming and lots of fun with good food in my future!
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Snippets from my life

2011-09-16T11:42:00.002-05:00

1. Tired of coughing
2. Getting some projects done WAY ahead of time
3. Seeing an old pal from the long gone Creating Keepsakes' Message board's Early Birds tomorrow.
4. Love Helmar and some new stuff of theirs I've been trying.
5. Need to schedule a class at Posh for Oct.
6. Only a bit over a week til my Thirty One bag party with Beth Reed, one of the regional directors and a fun gal.
7. Bought our tickets for Disney and looking forward to spending time with Janet and Bob Miller, Becca Who and her boyfriend, Who Who (not his real name, obviously)!
8. Tired of coughing (did I mention that)
9. My sister is done with her radiation and now gets a short break before she starts back in on chemo
10. Pete, my friend, Jacque's husband is doing well after his heart surgery
11. Landon got his first haircut last night and Little Mama said he sat nice a still for the stylist (his is much longer than Colvin's).
12. Gingersnaps did a little 'goodbye' slide show for me. Sweet and amazingly talented women...will miss you all muchly.

Justin's belated birthday celebration

2011-09-13T14:43:00.002-05:00

Last night we all met at Grill 54 to celebrate one of our good friend's birthdays belatedly. Happy B'day Justin and many thanks to Bob for transporting E and I to the festivities...we do NOT drive well after dark. Enough said on that subject.

We had the little guys today and poor little Landon...his appetite said yes and his tummy said no no no. He loves watermelon and even that was not settling well. I had forgotten what an experience a poor upset little tummy can have. Let's just say both Nana and Landon got a very intensive cleaning up.

I have been really tired lately and we did not even stay out that late last night. Thinking maybe I need to step up my vitamins. My old yoga studio is running a special and I'm going back to practices. I had more energy then. I've just felt kind of blah and not my usual self and no reason that I can find. It is almost time for my well woman check up so I am going to mention this to my dr. She is wonderful.

That being said, tomorrow is my honeys 66th. birthday and the kids and I chipped in and hired the nanny back for the day. As much as E adores those little boys, he should have the freedom on his b'day not to be responsible, not to be anything but what he wants his day to be. And, because the man is infuriatingly and increasingly hard to buy for, we thought this to be the perfect gift. We'll be celebrating his b'day and how much we love him on Sunday as a family...but tomorrow...well, it is his day!

Full Tilt Sataurday

2011-09-11T06:24:00.002-05:00

Kim and Mitch arrived Friday night around ten and we chatted for a bit before heading to bed. Early the next morning, we hit the road running. E had fixed his breakfast casserole with sausage, cheese, hash brown potatoes all baked in a dish and served with a side of salsa.

Our first stop was Kristen's to see the little boys. They have yet another cold and were not real happy campers. I think, because they stayed home for their first year with limited contact with other children, they are going to have to build up some resistance to colds etc. now that they are at day care school two days a week.

We headed to Dunedin and shopped and shopped and shopped. E had stayed at home to work on our evening meal (Spanish chicken with chorizo and potatoes and the 1905 ensalada from the Columbia restaurant cook book)but met us for lunch at Bon Appetite on the Gulf at the end of Main St. It rained most of the morning but cleared so we had a wonderful view of dolphins and sail boats.

Kim and I tried on some enchanting H'ween accessories including the spider ring. What fun. After lunch, we headed out to Miss Vickie's on the Anclote River and were joined by our friend, Bob. There was a wonderful breeze, plenty of sunshine and a great bluezy musician to wile away the afternoon. Then it was home for a swim and dinner.

More pictures to follow tomorrow!

Taking a moment to reflect on today: It hardly seems ten years have passed since that horrible day in American history and the attacks. Hoping we all take a few moments and reflect on how life changed for all of us that day but particularly keeping the families in mind of those who lost their lives.

My Sept Reveal at A Cherry on Top

2011-09-08T06:29:00.002-05:00

For my reveal this month, I worked with Bo Bunny's Et Cetera papers and embellishments. Love the line. To read my complete reveal, click here.

As always, thanks for looking and hope your Thursday is a great one!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T05:37:00.002-05:00

We spent most of Sat., cleaning up the lanai and the front porch area and we're very happy with how the house is looking. I worked on the sliders and the lanai furniture and wiped down the new fence, did laundry, finished a layout, ran errands. And on Sunday, we worked a bit more finally quitting around noon. We headed down to the Sponge Docks for an art and craft fair and came home with...lunch! The jerk chicken smelled so good and the free taste we were given was very authentic! We had stopped earlier at one of our favorite Greek markets in town, Katina's Mini Market for a bottle or two of our favorite Greek wine, Kouros Nemia. We took them all home and had an international lunch of sorts!

Monday morning I finished up another of the challenges from A Cherry on Top. This is Sunday Challenge #4 : Use three colors on a layout and pick up the minor color as your title!

Kristen, Chris and the boys came over after the boys' nap and we went swimming. It is so good to see them feeling better! One photo is of Colvin playing with the Bob the Builder Mega blocks here and the other is another of Landon, relaxing at home in their lounge chair! Landon was so busy busy busy at our house helping Papa in the kitchen I did not get a photo of him!

We are to expect rain all week thanks to tropical storm Lee but the temps are dropping some which is always good news. Hope your Tues is a good one!

TaDa! Our new and improved painted lady...the house

2011-09-05T06:33:00.004-05:00

There is about a day's worth of painting left but the front and lanai are done. I am loving the tropical look. It is so much better than that faded blue.

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Some of us at A Cherry on Top issued some challenges yesterday. Mine was a count down challenge:

5 buttons
4 patterned papers (or 3 patterned/1 card stock)
3 flower or other embellishment of the same kind
2 word title
1 ribbon

Several other gals posted challenges as well so head on over and check them out. We're giving everyone a week to complete as many as they can. Happy Scrapping!

Super Sat.

2011-09-03T13:05:00.002-05:00

Nana and Papa have been Christmas shopping and could not resist these for our baby granddaughter. We've been buying things in various sizes so as she grows, she'll still be Best Dressed! lol

The lanai is finished! The trim and the base colors were reversed per our friend, Bridgett's suggestion and it turned out great. Tomorrow we'll clean out there and put things back where they belong. E did this already in the front with the dragon flies on the front side of the garage and the door is painted one shade darker than the trim. I am one happy camper. The rest of the house should be done next week.

The little guys are feeling so much better. The meds ar kicking in finally. Dropped the Beall's ten bucks off coupon off for the kids and used mine on a pair of dress black capris. Original price 40.00, minus 1/2 off, minus an additional 30% off that and with my ten dollar coupon....4.28. Love a bargain!

Stopped by Posh Scraps and got to chat with a bunch of gals. Katherine and Diane from St. Pete are such neat ladies as are all the women I've met through the store. Katherine, hope to see you next Thurs and Diane, thanks for the lovely chat! Great minds do think alike, I am convinced.

Picked up some of the new G45 ABC Primer line to do some layouts for the owner and some other assorted papers for myself, of course. Thinking I'll do some scrapping today but first

POOL TIME

Hope you are having a great weekend.

So if yesterday was Thurs...then it's the WEEKEND!

2011-09-02T10:06:00.002-05:00

Diane and I met our pal, Jacque at O'Keefe's in Clearwater to give her a break from the hospital where her beloved Pete is recovering from his recent heart surgery. Quick healing, Pete.

I remembered the name of the restaurant because that is where the kids use to go to celebrate St. Pat's. We never made it that far south as we usually end up in Dunedin instead. So, this was my first time at O'Keefe's and it was a delight. I had the pork tenderloin and it was almost as good as the last one I had here in Florida compared to the Iowa sandwiches by which I judge all others. All three of us were very pleased with our meals and it was so good to see the gals again. Di has been cruising, E and I have been mad busy with family and Jacque has been taking care of her honey.

Speaking of family, the two little boys are sick with sinus and ear infections. Chris took them both to the dr. yesterday and he gave them their first dose of the meds right there in the office. Hope they feel good enough to come visit Nana and Papa for Memorial Day.

Hope your weekend is a lovely and safe one!

Welcome September...

2011-09-01T06:42:00.002-05:00

Sunrise this morning should have been accompanied by soaring music; it was so beautiful and kept deepening in color and intensity. WOW

While the painters are not done yet, here is a peek at our new house colors. I think I am going to really like it a lot!

A week's worth of my life

2011-08-31T16:28:00.002-05:00

SUNDAY: Rob over, Miss Vickie's on the River, boiled peanuts, rain, funnel cloud and computer glitches fixed.

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MONDAY: clean hours, do chores, run errands, help Chris with the last of the trim work. Shopping stops: Baby Depot for older boy toys and Fresh Market for...who remembers after seeing these roses.

Tues: boys over while Big Daddy goes to class. Bob the Builder rules at our house

and today is Wed...Nana and Papa day ...boys are still not feeling good so was a rough day for all of us...but we saw this wonderful butterfly. Life is good!

A day with Colvin and Landon

2011-08-25T07:56:00.002-05:00

Despite runny noses, a cough or two and a bit of fever now and then, the little guys still managed to keep us laughing for most of our Nana and Papa day with them. The kids had finally found a chair sized just for little guys. It is even a glider but oh my what a color thing does it have going on? lol. The boys love it and take turns crawling up into it and, as you can see, both have mastered the art of lounging. I see barcoloungers in their future and remote controls for sports tv.

Their favorite toys, besides the over sized lego blocks, are a race track and a popper. They know where the on/off buttons are and what switches make the sounds. They play quite nicely together with these and the logo blocks.

Probably because of their colds, but both boys would take breaks now and then from play and simply put their heads down for a minute or two then jump right back into the fun.

Their colds are not yet over enough for them to go to day care today so Chris took the day off to stay home with them. They are on their way over while he attends his Thurs. class at the university. He has some kind of arrangement with his work for release time on Thurs.

If I have any energy left after the boys leave this afternoon, I'm going to try to start some cleaning here in my work room so I can finish a few projects and get to work on the Alcohol Inks class I am co teaching with Britt at ACOT's next crop Oct. 13-15.

Time in a bottle...

2011-08-24T04:29:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy this past week, I've forgotten to blog. Lots going on like

1. playing with Landon and Colvin (they now come to play at our house for a few hours every Tues. while their daddy goes to his university class. And, we now have our Nana/Papa day with them on Wed.

2. getting the house ready to be painted brand spanking new colors. We've gone with a medium teal for the main color with a lighter teal for the trim except in the back where the colors will be reversed inside the lanai.

3. scrapping my little fingers to the bone...lol. I've done two altered projects and 8 layouts in the past week, HUGE amount for me.

4. visiting doctors (E) and dentist (me) and trying to squeeze in a hair apt.

5. making reservations for upcoming events like the Food and Wine Expo at Epcot with the Millers and thank you, Jacque, hotel reservations for the Krop for Kids coming up in St. Pete for her, Janet and me.

I promise to do better and will post more pics of the boys and of some of our adventures as soon as I can.

Hope your Wed. is a great one!

Presenting ....The Owens Boys

2011-08-18T15:36:00.004-05:00

In preparation for the boys' first day of day care school, E and I shifted our Nana/Papa day from Fridays to Wednesdays. And we attempted to follow the school's schedule as closely as we could. It was a bit rough on all of us but we did survive to play another day.

The boys had a bunch of fun with Papa's bucket hat. They would put it on themselves, each other and us. For the sake of tender eyes, I have only included the ones of the boys. I do NOT look remotely attractive in most hats and bucket hats are a big NO NO...but anything for the little guys' amusement, right?

The rest of the pictures are from last Sat when the boys came over to swim. They love the tin the LRC game came in (and this shot is for Clare...I am training them early, Auntie Clare Bear)!

Landon doing the 'hand jive', Nana's version. Colvin deep in play!

I just got off the phone with Little Mama who was worrying most of the day how her little guys were doing at day care school. The boys made it through the day with only one little problem and we all know it all will get easier day by day. Kristen and I have her room almost ready for school to start and I picked up the items at Posh to teach my class on Sat. Assembling the kits tomorrow and doing some much needed house cleaning.

Hope your day has been a good one!