Beach Time Baby!

We both woke up this morning shortly after four a.m. and hit the deck running! We got the sheets washed, dried and back on the bed, the bathroom cleaned, the rugs all down where they belong, the trees and plants watered and the food into coolers and into the van and, by 8 am., we were on the road!

I have been spending a few weeks each summer here at Estero Island Beach Club. My dear Papa Joe use to manage the time share resort and helped me get 3 wks. in the same unit and use to employ both of my kids so they would have summer spending money.

I don't think I have missed a summer since I first bought my units in 1985...this is my 25th. year!



Once E and I got married, we started inviting friends down and each, as they came, also bought a week. Kristen and Jill bought two weeks and alternate summers for our prime week: the infamous Week 29...next week.


This week is E and my week (we sold our 3rd. week to Rob as we had helped K get her week). We don't do anything we don't want to do but there is one thing we always do...go to the Cottage (one of the oldest places here on the beach). It is our reward for unpacking and getting settled into our unit. Today, we had grabbed sandwiches on our way to Ft. Myers so we sat out on the pool deck. I read the end of a book and E worked a cross word. We visited with old friends whom we only see once a year here and finally worked up an appetite.


So, we headed on down the beach to The Cottage and our traditional 'meal' of bacon wrapped shrimp w/a seasoned honey dip and beach bread with a beer chaser. We toasted 1) all the working people...the every afternoon Week 29 toast and then 2) all our good friends whom we wish were here with us!



Happy Monday!

Ahoy Matey!

I read in the paper last week that the Tall Sails Ships were coming to Tampa...and we had to go. We have taken an evening cruise on one of the smaller ones down in Ft. Myers but these babies were just huge! One has over 80 crew on board. The tours were amazing, the crews friendly (ahem)and we had a blast with Suzie, Justin and Buddy today.







Tomorrow's blog will come to you via the beach! Oh, and it was a hard decision to make today when we stopped first at the original Hooters for wings and buffalo shrimp and then later for an afternoon toddy...World Cup or Rays playing Cleveland. So we did like they do at tennis matches and went from one tv to another...Congrats to Spain and we left before the outcome of the Rays/Indians game...both went into over time!

Night on the Islands

We had had a full day yesterday with babies visiting us, trying to get the floors cleaned and the kitchen all spic and span so we almost didn't go last night. It had been muggy and sweltering most of the day, we were tired and were pretty listless. Then we realized we had nothing to fix for dinner so off we went to the Sponge Docks and Night on the Islands, which is a town sponsored event coordinated with our strong Greek population. And we had such fun.

The Docks had been magically transformed into any of the Greek Island waterfronts with tables decked in white and black or blue table cloths, Greek flags flying everywhere, live Greek music and lively dancing! A most welcomed breeze came up the river off the Gulf and the temps dropped inviting us to linger long after we finished our sandwiches. We sat on the riverfront and watched the boats before dinner and chatted with some of the staff at Mykanos' Restaurant during and after our meal. We eat there or at Dimitri's on the Water (both owned by members of the same family) often.








As the sun went down, small twinkling lights came on outlining the different "cafes" set up along the wharf and reflecting off the water. With reluctance we headed home but you can be sure we will be attending the next Night on the Islands in our very own little town. Want to join us?

Any one need a baby fix besides me?

Little Mama and the boys have been here most of the day...right now, all three are napping with Papa on baby alert. The kids dryer is broken, so we doing a few loads of laundry to get them through for a bit. E is going to grill some burgers and we have some of the mango salsa left from last night. And between helping with feedings and entertaining the boys so Mama can get a bit of rest, I have even gotten the last of some packing done!

Now I ask you honestly...are these not two cuties? More pics later! Thanks for letting this proud Nana brag!

Where did the week go?

We have been so busy running errands, getting our house sitter acclimated, taking care of last minute details that the week has just sped by. We met Becky and her neighbor, Sonia, for lunch at Lime N Coconut. Love the Mojo pork sandwiches muchly.

Suzie called after she got off work and we grilled red snapper with a mango chutney sauce and ceviche. She and Justin, E and I had a dip in the pool and then supper!

Today Little Mama is suppose to bring the babies over for a visit and E and I have plans to head to the Sponge Docks tonight for "Night on the Islands" festival with Greek food, music and dancing.

Tomorrow morning, we are heading to Tampa to the Tall Sails ships which are in town. Justin and Suzie are going with us. We want to head out early and hopefully avoid some of the heat and the crowds. The picture in the newspaper of the sails and crew of one was amazing. (memo to self: take the good camera).

I have a couple of last minute errands to run and then I am all packed for the beach. We have supper dates with some friends from Naples and are having our old neighbors whom we love over for supper one night too. I have a couple of lunch dates set up with Ft. Myers friends and our St. Louis pals will all be down before we know it.

I am only back one day before I turn around and catch a plane to Wisconsin to visit with my good friend, Pam Bennett (who just got a big promotion at A Cherry on Top and is now the lead designer for both the paper and digi design teams)Congrats to you Pam. We head to Chicago to join up with Janet M and other members of the ACOT design team and the owner for CHA. There is just such a big difference in seeing new products in person as opposed to on line.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Terrific Thursday

Happy One Month birthday to Nana's boys.



Yesterday I met Jackie at Rainbow's End where we could hardly contain ourselves with all the pretty ribbons, trims and fabrics. I had been wanting to try tufting woolen felt for embellishments for my altered projects and the owner, Michele, patiently walked me through the process. I am taking my new tufting tools and several pieces of the felt down to the beach to try my hand at this. Wish me luck.

After our shopping spree, Jackie and I headed to Sea Sea Riders in Dunedin for lunch. Jackie has a fantastic salad with goat cheese croutons (you have to try these to believe them) and I had the Mojo chicken and shrimp. Our portions were so large that I took half of mine home. Well, I would have taken it home, but when I went by Little Mama's after Jackie and I had lunch, I gave my half to her. E is going to try to find a recipe. I copies down the description of my meal so he'd know what went into it!





And more fun news. I will be teaching the All Dressed Up project at Posh Scraps on Aug. 28. It is now hanging in the store behind the check out counter and more info will be available on Michele's blog and facebook soon. A preview can be seen on my altered blog.

Today is happy haircut and color day for me. Taking a book to finish reading as I want to get all my library books returned by Sat.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Busy busy busy

Before we know it, it will be time to leave for the beach. Our house sitter comes by today for an intro to the house, cats, pool, etc. E has been packing up his cooking things and I have clothes all lined up and scrap supplies in a pile to be put into the xxl. I have WW weigh in this morning and, according to my scale, I have taken off the weight I put on the past couple of weeks and a lb more...let's hope that the WW scale shows the same results. It has been far too rainy here for E and I to bike and walk like we were doing daily but look out beach, here we come.

Jackie and I are heading to Dunedin tomorrow to lunch at Sea Sea Riders and shop a bit. And, of course, we'll be making a stop at Rainbow's End to stock up on trims and ribbons.

Thursday I have yoga and then my hair cut and color...can't wait. It is driving me nuts too long and I'm having her cut it short again for the beach. I need wash and wear hair!

Friday, Becky and I have a date for lunch at Lime n Coconut here in Tarpon Springs. It has been far too long since we got together and I miss her! Think we need to plan another road trip in Aug., Becky! I don't know if I'll be able to make the crop at Posh Scraps Friday night or not. Sure had fun last Friday! I do need to make a run by and see what new goodies Michele has gotten in.

I am going to miss hugging on my boys for the almost two weeks we will be gone but Kristen and Chris have promised me daily pictures and updates so Nana doesn't go through too severe a withdrawal.

Off and running! Hope everyone has a great day...oh, just saw our humming bird (not the moth) for the 4th. day in a row...hoping he /she is nesting in the preserve behind the house!

Yankee Doodle Dandies and a Question

Don't the boys look so cute all dressed up for the 4th. of July? We are about ready to eat and I wanted to get this picture up yet today! Happy 4th. from all of us to all of you!

And, what is this I caught a picture of? E says a hummingbird. We had an emerald green one drinking from our plants and flowers yesterday and a bit ago another one with more of a blue color came for a visit...and then this! The wings were fluttering like a hummingbirds, had the same shape and it was drinking from the flowers but I could not see the beak to make sure.It was not any butterfly I've ever seen if it is that. The wings were moving so fast that you can see the green stems "through them" and the tail almost disappears. If this was a hummingbird, it was tinier than the others who have visited and a bit more rotund...HELP please.

Many thanks

Star Spangled Saturday

First, a big shout out to my friend Janet who has been selected for yet another design team. Her unique style, her amazing machine stitching and her incredible (and yes...award winning...numerous CKU's and CKC;s for her heartfelt journaling and her creative cards) journaling have been recognized again! Bravo my talented friend! My hat is off to you! You can see Janet's work at A Cherry on Top and now at How Much is Too Much.



I got so much done at last night's crop at Posh Scraps in Palm Harbor and got to visit with wonderful pals as well. I finished this layout and another that is for my reveal at ACOT on July 19 and got about 3/4 done on three others. Good thing I accomplished so much last night as Kristen brought the boys over for a visit today and I did nothing but love on the twins...that and feed, change, rock, walk and play with them! They are both staying awake lots longer and loved the walk I took them each on to see the flowers in bloom. Speaking of our flowers, this morning our annual visit from the humming bird arrived. He was emerald and dined on several of our blooming plants. See you next year, little guy! lol


Whatever your plans are for the 4th., I hope it is a safe and fun one!

Left Overs Layout

E and I seldom have left overs more than one day. What he fixes for supper is generally what we have the next day for lunch. I adopt a similar attitude towards my scrapping. I am privileged to do design work for two incredible companies, A Cherry on Top and Simply Scrappin' Boutique. Both of these on line scrap booking companies generously supply me with papers, embellishments etc with which to design projects for their sites. In this layout, I incorporated some of the things that were left over from my projects for these places. Bits and pieces, one of a kinds and pieces of this and that were used to create this layout of my daughter and one of her sons for the baby's album.

Thanks for looking. Oh, and this also uses packaging in keeping with my altered objects challenge at ACOT for July.

Remember when you were a kid

and there would be an afternoon summer shower? I know what I did...I'd put on my shinny yellow boots and stomp in the water puddles! I need to make a list of things like this to do with my grandsons.

I had a delightful childhood as I think I have mentioned. I spent almost every summer with my grandmother in a small town in Iowa. I was summer friends with Sally and Susan Willison at the end of the block, played with Susan Loo who lived on the corner and had a good friend one block over (if I cut through the Butterfields' yard!).

During the day, I would ride my bike to the library or take the bus and meet my aunt who worked for the newspaper who then would bring me home in her little snazzy English Ford (oh how Aunt Momie did love to drive stick shift).

After dinner, the neighborhood kids would all gather on the boulevard that ran down the middle of Home Park Blvd. and we'd play badminton, kick the can and tag til our parents (or in my case, Nana) called us home.

I want my grand children to have this type of summer. I think it was easier then as I will have to compete with WII, computer games, DVDs, and who knows what by the time they are old enough to chase lizards and butterflies with me (no fireflies in Fl.)and make sand castles on the beach.

E and figured the other day that when the boys graduate from high school, we will be in our 80s...but the good news is that we are doing everything in our power to make sure we are the healthiest and most loving grandparents we can be.

Lunch on Lake Tarpon

Jo met both Gloria and Sandy when she was 'wintering' here last January and we all had such fun together with Marsha too. Marsha has returned up East but the four of us had lunch yesterday at Tarpon Turtle. While it was too hot to eat outside when we arrived, by the time we left, a nice breeze had picked up. The food, as always, was delightful. And the company...ooh la la! We've made some tentative plans for next Jan/Feb when Jo and Bill are back here in Tarpon Springs. I am going to miss Book Club this month as we will be a the beach so this was a chance to chat with Glo and Sandy before we go.






Speaking of the beach, we need to get our house sitter over for dinner so we can walk him through the pets' idiosyncrasies and those of the pool so he has a pleasant stay and is willing to come back for our Med. cruise as well.

I am trying to book friends in Ft. Myers for lunches to get caught up with them while we are down before all our friends from St. Louis arrive. I want to do Demo Day at Owl and Pussycat (or perhaps even a Sat. class?), meet up with some gal pals, have Ed and Deb out for supper and meet Dewey and Karen at our favorite restaurant in Bonita, Vencenzos. I also want to get down to Bonita Springs to visit with Janet D. I have not seen her store since they moved, Scrapooks, Etc.

Lots of friends are leaving this week...Jo heads back to St. Louis, Janet and Cynthia are returning to Penn. and my friend, Diane, is off on a cruise the end of this week. But it won't be long before we head out ourselves and two days after we return from the beach, I wing my way to Pam's in Wisc. and then we head to CHA for a wonderful reunion with our Cherry Gal Pals from A Cherry on Top online store. And meet up with Elizabeth, owner of Simply Scrappin' Boutique (my other "boss")! And sweet Michele, new owner of Posh Scraps here in Palm Harbor will be there too...yeah!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Sunshine and good friends

We had a delightfully busy day yesterday. Jo and I started the day with coffee and a variety of fresh fruits on the lanai with the Sunday paper. By ten am we were on our way to the Craft Fair in Dunedin, the little Scottish town just south of where I live. While we did not find the earrings we are both looking for, we did find...a hat lady! And nothing would do but for one of us to try on a few. I found this one particularly fetching...what do you think...is it me? lol




The sky was gorgeous...a splendid blue with white puffy clouds and we did have a bit of a breeze but the temps here have been horrifically high and yesterday was not exception. By the time we had walked the two blocks of the Craft Fair we felt like wilted lettuce!.


The car had cooled by the time we made our way down to the Pier in St.Pete and the Columbia restaurant where we met up with Janet and her enchanting grand daughter, Cynthia. Janet and Cynthia are down in Anna Maria preparing three condos that Janet and Bob have recently purchased for rentals. And yesterday they took a break from their cleaning and shopping and decorating to have lunch with us.

Here we are toasting to all those who could not join us (you know who you are!). The sangria, which is hand made at the table, is so yummy! We shared a flat bread and then had the 1905 famous house salad and the black bean soup. And Miss Cynthia has a decadent chocolate cake slice with chocolate mousse for her after lunch treat.'



I'll try to put up some of the pictures from our trolley ride through downtown St. Pete later. Our driver was a tour guide extraordinaire.

Today we are meeting Glo and Sandy (book club pals) for lunch and catch up at the Tarpon Turtle and finalizing the side trips we decided on last night for our cruise. We are only doing one tour through the cruise liner and have elected to do tours of several of our other stops with private drivers and vans and some we will do ourselves such as our day visit to Capri. It is so nice to be going with Jo and Bill whose expertise has proven invaluable...and besides, we have such fun with them.

Have a great day.

Nana's Boys

Spent the day helping Kristen with the twins as it was Chris' first day back at work. They have the boys on a flexible schedule that seems to work for them all. I got in major cuddle time.

Jo and I tag teamed and Kristen was able to get some things done around the house that she had been wanting to do (like brush her teeth? lol) and even take a short nap. Jo did some shopping for the cruise and brought us cobb salads for our lunch.

Last night we finalized our dinning plans for the cruise in Sept. and got some of our side trips decided. The guys shocked us both and have decided to rent tuxes for the two formal nights and I can't wait to see how amazing they are both going to look.

It is off to meet Janet M and her granddaughter, Cynthia in St. Pete for some shopping and lunch today and later decide on more of our side trips. We looked at a couple of houses for Jo over the last couple of days and will try for a couple more later this afternoon. We are having such fun...it will be hard to see her leave!

Jo is here, Jo is here.

She and I hit the road running after I picked her up from the airport. We stopped on the way home for a visit with the grandbabies and (alas)no pictures. We were both so busy hugging and cuddling with them, there were no arms free for a camera. I promise more when I help out on Sat., Chris's first day back at work. I am missing Ginni's crop this weekend which is my one regret!

E took us all our to eat at our favorite Greek restaurant here in town, Mykanos. Jo and I brought half of each our dinners home for lunch today. After supper, I addicted Jo to the Real Housewives. Last night was a rerun of the reunion of the New York gals and I have told Jo the New Jersey ones are much more entertaining. While we watched my 'guilty pleasure', we had a couple of scoops of Talenti Sorbetto (fresh raspberry) another of my 'guilty pleasures'.

Today we are shopping and looking at houses and rentals for Jo and Bill for this coming winter. Jo wants to get some things for our cruise and try to nail down the rental before she leaves.

Sat. is the baby day for me and more of today for Jo. E is fixing us the salad from the Columbia for lunch and will deliver it to K's...now that is what I call service!

Sunday we are meeting Janet M in St. Pete at the scrap store there and then having lunch to catch up. She is in Anna Maria refurbishing the condos she and Bob own. The three of us had such fun when Jo was down last.

Monday, Glo, Sandy, Jo and I are doing lunch at the Tarpon Turtle and getting caught up. And then some more running around for us.

If I don't get to blog for a day or two, watch this spot and I'll get caught up soon! Have a great weekend.

Cropping the day away

Jackie and Jean came over around ten this morning and we cropped and talked and solved the world's problems...ok with the exception of the oil spill but we are working on that one, okay? E fixed us the Central Grocery muffaletta sandwich for lunch which was, as always, divine We chatted about our various trips to New Orleans and discovered that Jean and her husband stayed in our favorite home away from hone in N.O, Place d' Arms and loved it as much as we do!

I got 2.5 layouts done. This one of Kristen at the baby shower thrown by her second grade team at her school last May and the title page for Landon's First Year album. I am doing one album of the boys together and doing a First Year album for each of them as well.





Cathy stopped by with my Mary Kay order (love these lotions)and she, Jean and I had a nice catch up talk. Cathy has a nice bunch of ladies she scraps with and I was delighted to scrap with them at her house not too long ago. What fun for all of us to do the Friday night crops at Posh Scraps to continue the tradition we started with Ruban Rouge! Becky and Diane, you were missed today!

Jo arrives tomorrow afternoon! More fun!

It's summer time and the living is

BUSY! I met Glo and Sandy for lunch at Rodies yesterday and we had such a nice time getting caught up with each other. When they heard Jo is coming to town, nothing would do but we all have lunch together while she is here. Jo arrives tomorrow and will be here house and rental hunting, visiting with us and the babies until the following Tues...not nearly long enough for me! We have picked Monday for our get together and will go to either Tarpon Turtle or SeaSea Riders.

Janet Miller is back on Anna Maria Island doing some redecorating in their rental condos this week and she, Jo and I are hoping to get together for lunch also. This may call for a road trip....hmmmmmmm! Look out AMI

I exchanged my Pandora bracelet that the kids gave me for my birthday for a slightly larger one and this one is much better for adding more beads and charms.

Jackie and Jean are heading to my house for cropping and lunch today. We will be shifting our cropping back to the store as soon as Michele is set up in the back room. Right now, she has all the sale things there at 75% off and card stock 3/1.00. I stocked up the day I was there. E is fixing up New Orlean's muffalatas with the Central Grocery recipe, of course. Cathy will be stopping by after 1 with my Mary Kay order and a visit too.

E is busy packing up his cooking things for our two weeks at the beach. I scrap for a hobby and he cooks. I take papers and cutters and supplies to the beach to scrap during the afternoon rain and he cooks and reads recipe books...lol To each his own. We are having our house sitter over for supper next week to fill him in on the cats and the pool.

We are planning all our side trips with Jo while she is here for our 12 day cruise and the days before and after in Barcelona. Bill will be our tour guide for that city as he speaks fluent Spanish and has visited there numerous times. Jo says it is one of their very favorite cities and the people are so friendly.

My sister and her boyfriend are coming up for the 4th. and we're working on plans to celebrate with some local friends. We met up with Suzie and Justin at a (new to us) place yesterday for an early supper. It was nice to visit with them.

Off and running! Hope you have a great day!

A Fantastic Day in Paradise

This morning, the Crew headed up to the 'soft' opening of Michele's lss, Posh Scraps and it is lovely. We met her mother, Mary and our dear Francesca was there working as well. Michele's husband Loui, is a delight and the store looks great. I showed some restraint but now have to live to be 125 to scrap all the wonderful things I want to scrap. And the good news is that Lisa will be teaching at least one class a month and will be doing the Sunday Crafters get togethers.






Today also, my friend Deb White, introduced me to one of her crafty friends via facebook and we have been chatting all afternoon. She is an amazing designer for Graphic 45 papers and her name is Laura De La Rosaa


I was inspired by her to do this layout of the boys for their mom's Twins album.

Happy Summer Solstice everyone