Richard & Maxine,

I am battered and bruised, hurting and confused! I am the culprit who brought this Canadian Gift and I am paying dearly for it with your tongue lashing. LOL! Ok, OK, I'll take the blame here and bask in my great powers of magic with the weather. Hey, I actually wore a light coat when we met with Leslie for dinner tonight. Of course, I had to brush off the cobwebs and dust before venturing out in it!

Leslie said that her hands were so cold yesterday, on her way in to work, that they hurt. Even Bill wore a knit hat to keep his head warm. Me? Well, I was inside but wore a comfortable mu mu. Light cotton. I kept busy putting Christmas away and doing some cleaning. Finished that today and did three loads of laundry.

I'm glad that you have a grabber. They, along with that required step stool for short folks like us, are necessary tools for us. I carry that step stool around the house and it is just a part of me. I did climb up on it with this boot on and managed to get down, so I really gave it a workout yesterday putting trims away. I was slow on it, but won the battle.

I know that you will be happy with our end of the week weather of upper 70's. Oh, well, we can't have cool breezes forever!

Isn't that Sunshine Skyway beautiful? I was first on it in the early 50's and that span is the one that was knocked down by a freighter some years ago. I remember how horrible it was to know how many people were killed when that happened. When I was first on it, we watched the dolphins jumping in the water. They were so sleek and beautiful. The bridge itself is a beauty. The golden cables really shine in our sunshine.

You spoke of Indian burial grounds. Have you visited the burial mounds near Cedar Key? How about the Yulee Sugar Mill ruins in Crystal River? Wonderful places to soak up some FL history. For beauty, try Manatee Springs State Park. It is so green there and so relaxing. Our county seat, Dade City, has a lot of history as does Brooksville. Lots of Civil War history in both places and Dade City had the history of Fort Dade where the soldiers were overrun in an attack by Indians. There was just a re-enactment of that battle a couple of weeks ago. We also have Pioneer Days in Dade City and that is very interesting. Hey, I think that I'll start charging the county for my tourist information!

I am one lucky gal! I have been invited to NZ to escape our hurricanes a few years back and, now, I am invited to go to Canada to play in the snow! Yippee! Let's see, I can make the rounds of all of our friends and find perfect weather no matter where I go.

On your trips up and down I-75, drop in or give us a call to meet for lunch some day. I am having a hard time remembering what you all look like!

Lillian

My Dear Lillian,

Yes, this Canadian Gift is certainly one you should return! LOL Heck, as windy as it was yesterday you wouldn't have to brush cobwebs off anything outside. We saw many a toppled Santa and dodged our way around palm fronds.

The breezes are wonderful, it's simply the arctic blasts that are horrid.

Yes, yes, on the beauty of the skyway bridge. It's so nice that they kept the old bridge spans as fishing piers too. I often stop at the north end to stretch a bit. It's a wonderful view and there's almost always something interesting to see on the water--birds, boats or kite surfing too.

One day Lee spotted two whales before we were on the bridge. Isn't that amazing? I was surprised to learn how many spieces of whales are actually in the Gulf and that it was migration time to the birthing grounds.

We haven't been to Cedar Key in a while. That's on my list of things to do between Weeki and Live Oak. We hit the ones in Port Richey and Terra Ciea. Yes, we've been to the sugarmill several times. Been to Manatee Springs a while ago and many others. We haven't explored Dade City or caught pioneer days but we have been to the big re-enactment of Olustee several times. It's awesome!

Yes, you'll have some wonderful experiences in your travels from NZ to Canada, LOL We haven't had time to do anything during our journies lately. We've only landed, hugged the puppies and met Lee for dinner before we were on the road again. It simply wears me out. I was on the couch all day today but tomorrow should be better. I-75? They're nutz there! It must be all the drivers from Rt. 19 who travel there. We do the Suncoast and it's usually smooth sailing til just outside Tampa.

We'll be sure to catch up with you as soon as we land for a few days, probably toward the end of Jan. after hunting season closes. I need to get back up to Live Oak to finish unpacking. It's so nice there. I have a functional kitchen and even a dishwasher besides Lee. :-)

Blessings to all,
 ~m

Hi, all,

Well, I saw the family doctor today and he told me that I am sleep deprived. He looked at me and started asking questions. Yep, I am so tired all of the time; yep, my back is still killing me, now hurts all the way across (not just to one side); yep, hips are ready to give out and I know that they need to be replaced; yep, the sugar is up higher than we want it to be and YIPPEE! The blood pressure is looking good. Bless his heart, when he walked into the room, he looked at my boot and had a pained look on his face. He is such a good doctor and more like family. I'll go back to him in a month and will see the other doctor, the one who put the boot on, on the 28th. Till then, I am to be careful what I do and try to rest. Right!

Maxine: There is so much to see and do in the state! Well, we have found that no matter where we live, there is something to see, to do and to learn about. When we were moving around in the service days, we made it a point to take the girls wherever we could. Some fun places, lots of museums, the beaches (where they had them), the mountians (again, where they had them) and we learned all about the state and area where we lived. They were excellent students and still remember what they saw and learned.

I love learning about things, people, places and never get enough of museums and history. I wanted to be an elementary school teacher when I was a young woman and also wanted to study art. Another love of mine! The closest I got to those dreams were my teaching day care that I had for years and my art work. I did the drawing, painting on just about anything and even rubber stamping, which I still do. I also love to write stories and poetry. Hey, maybe I should go back to school and be something when I grow up! What do you think of that?

We are waiting for you to get to Weeki so that we can get together. Oh, yes, I forgot to tell all of you that Susan gave a digital camera to me for Christmas, well early Christmas. Actually, she got a new one from her hubby for Christmas and gave her other one to me. It wasn't an actual Christmas gift, I just call it that.

Lillian

 Bootz - A balmy 66 today, w/ a slight breeze and is there a peep about the weather from you? Nah! I think I'm gonna save my penny's and send you to Pittsburg next winter when it get's real cold and snowy. I'll get you there and back, but you'll have to convince your Sisters to put up with you ! LOL

Donna, The hot air balloons were awsome. I took off from Albequrque(sp?) one morning when they were having a balloon festival. What a sight, but no balloons like you sent.

So your still waiting on my tavelogue. I'm surpriswed, as it's been so long in some ways, and yet in some ways, I'm still traveling. LOL

Here goes.

Left here the 26th of Sept to Allentown PA. WITH a stop over in Atlanta, naturally. You don't fly anywhere on the East coast w/out going through ATL.

Maxine picked me up and on the way to Sunbury we stopped in Mt. Carmel at Matucci's. Yep, an Italian place, with the biggest servings of what ever you order, you've ever seen. Yummy, too. Of course having not eaten since about 9 that morning, cardboard would have been yummy, but Matucci's IS outstanding.

Friday we chilled out and got ready to leave for Cape May, NJ on Saturday.
Maxine's sister has access to free lodging in Cape May, so Saturday morning Sister led the way and we followed. We got on the Garden State Pkwy and had to stop at a service area, for obvious reasons. While there, sister Gin (Ginger) decided to get gas. We followed her into the pumps and found out it is UNLAWFUL to pump your own gas in NJ. When the guy came to the window, we explained we were following the car ahead and Maxine gave him a $10 to put on Gin's gas tab. Gin had put in $20 and the guy gave her $10 back and said gas was 1/2 price that day. Talk about a double take, jaw dropping Kodak moment on Gin's face. We laughed about that all week.

This would be too long to do all at one time, so the next installment will tell about Cape May, a quaint Victorian Village on the shore of south Jersy

Cape May, NJ

After unloading the cars, we headed for the 'beach' downtown. Time for Pizza by the slice by the seashore.
WILD Pizza place. All the 'regular' flavors and zuchini, eggplant, artichoke, broccoli, besides. Warm on the 'beach' even tho this was the 1st part of Oct. Boy, the city controls the sand, too. You have to purchase a 'pass' to walk on it. In that part of the country you go to , or walk, the SHORE, not the 'beach', like down here. Our BEACH's are FREE too.

Cape May was originally John Wannamaker's (of Wannamaker Dept Store, Philadelphia fame) shore retreat. Then all of his rich buddy's from Philly and NYC followed him. Wannamakers "PLACE" is still there, albeit renovated a few times and is now a summer retreat for some order of Sisters from Philly. It was originally built so that from one side of the house you could see the sun come up over the ocean, and the sun set over the Deleware Bay. Wannamaker either had a lot of friends or a lot of family as he built the place w/ 22 bedrooms.

The most unique thing about Cape May is that about 90% of the homes and probably 60% of the business buildings are renovated Victorian . Some of the Hotels on the SHORE are stunning. Many of the renovated homes are now B&B's ,offices or Boutique stores. The colors and Gingerbread on the buildings are true to the Victorian era and therefore most unusual. I made Maxine drive, as we went up and down the streets, so I could holler - look at that!, look at that! (She'd been there many times before) Besides I wanted to take picturess, too. The landscaping was beautiful too. All of the houses had real honest to goodness porches, that had swings, wicker arm chairs and rockers on them AND they were actually in use. Been a LONG time since I've seen gigantic porches like that, let alone in use.

Of course the ladies had to hit the shopping mall, which is right downtown, built in a walking commons style. Big broad commons to walk in and stores on either side, about 3 blocks long.The back side of the stores have parking area and there are a couple of CLOSE lots, so parking was not the problem I thought it might be, looking down the mall at the shoulder to shoulder shoppers. While they went off, I found myself a nice park bench and people watched, which is my favorite way to shop. They came back , ALMOST empty handed, so we ditched the pkgs. and went for a Hostorical Trolly ride. VERY interesting tour guide who knew the historical "skinny" on the homes.

On the way back to the house, we saw "ELAINES DINNER THEATRE" and B&B. Found out that Elaines is rated as one of the top 5 Dinner Theatres in the nation according to Food Network, and you KNOW Food Network is NEVER wrong. HOW could we pass that up. The stage was at one end of the dining area, so everyone had a pretty good view. Right down the center of the dining room was a table of 60 Red Hatters and they were whooping it up and having a good ol' time, as their charter calls for, from my understanding. There was a choice of about 10 entree's and the dinner included soup or salad and dessert. The food WAS outstanding. Maxine and Gin got tickled at me, when I took my 1st sip of coffee. MAN!! Best coffee, bar none, I've had in years. Lip smackin' good. Then the guy at the table next to us , exclaimed about how good it was, and the ladies said it MUST be good.

The play was locally written and was SO bad, it was good. You had to listen fast as the dialogue was FULL of puns, double entendre's, and quick one liners. We laughed till we cried.

That made for a full day - a REAL full day, so we went back to the house and hit the sack. I think I was asleep before I pulled the sheet over me.

Next time, MORE Cape May.

Richard,

Before I get to your travelogue......did you have tingling feelings in your brain and ears this evening about 5:30? Well, we came out of WalMart and, lo and behold, we saw your female counterpart! Honestly, there was a woman wearing shorts and a heavy sweatshirt type jacket that you pull over your head and zip up about a third of it. She was so bundled and huddled in that thing and I thought of you. You had said that you had to wear short pants and a t-shirt when it was so cold and here I was, face to face with someone elso just like you, clothing-wise. All of this and it was about 70º.

Now, to your travels. I could see and hear all that you wrote about. I hve relatives in Philly and in Wildwood By The Sea, NJ. My great aunt had a resort there for many years. Of course, she is long gone now, but her children were running the place, last I heard. My neice was a nurse in NJ and called the beach the "shore". I always laughed at that because she called our FL beaches....beaches. I guess it is a case of "when in Rome...".

I am enjoying your writings and can see what a great time all of you had. I love to see the old homes and learn the history of every place that I visit. Makes for good memories, too.

Can't wait for more...

Lillian

Our migrating whooping cranes are experiencing another weather related delay. This time, they are grounded in the Hiwassee refuge near Cleveland, GA. They lifted off for more of their journey to FL on Thursday, led by 12 volunteers and the ultralights.

The birds were grounded by bad weather at the Cumberland Gap in early Dec. and some of the crew went home for the holidays. Others stayed with the cranes and waited for the weather to clear.

Two other whooping cranes were spotted during a Christmas bird count, staying in a rural area just west of downtown Nashville.

Now, we wait for more word on when they will be sighted on their way to their winter home in Citrus Co.

Lillian

Edited by author 01-06-2008 02:41 PM
Ok, Richard is a happy camper/sit on the porch in balmy breezes, guy today. It is in the 70's and he can wear short pants and bask in the breeze.

Me? I have a ceiling fan on while I work on my stamping. Bill took a bike ride awhile ago and he enjoyed that.

I have made my meat mix and have 4 lbs. of it in the freezer to use in casseroles. All you have to do is use 3 lbs. of ground beef or ground turkey 1 lb. of sausage, hot or mild, some celery, garlic, onion and salt and pepper. Brown it all and put in packages for the freezer when it is cool. It is so handy for a quick meal such as Tator Tot Casserole or even Chili. Add what ever other flavoring to it when you put the casserole together.

2008 has started out with not much change in me, but more determination to be done with all of these problems. I do feel very optimistic and feel that this will be a great year for all of us.

My oldest (living) sister is 80 today and I called her awhile ago to give my best wishes. Her grand daughter was just arriving with her two little boys and so it will be a busy day for sister. They are active and busy little ones. She was the third child in our family and I was the fifth. Now, she is the oldest and I am second. She keeps asking, "How did I get to this age?" and I keep telling her that age is just a number.

Well, I just wanted to check in and say "happy Sunday" to all.

Lillian

We are home! And mighty glad to be here for sure! Had to cut our vacation short - but it's for the best. We can always "do" southern Texas and Mexican border towns another time. We had two glorious weeks with our granddaughters and their parents. The little one who will be 2 on January 24 - our 15th anniversary - has grown so much and talks so much.
And Alexis - 8 - is her "mother" -- it's totally amazing how she cares for Alyssa and plays with her and really understands what she wants more than Dawn does. Of course she wanted a sister for a very long time but no one knew it would turn out this good.

Our trip got off to a "fabulous" start. HA! The two nights preceding the trip I got 3 hours of sleep each night, the two nights before that I got between 4 and 5 so I was totally exhausted. We had planned an early start on Saturday (22nd) so as to beat the snow they were predicting. Wouldn't you know this time the weathermen were right on the money -- how often does that happen.? Well, I did not hear the alarm at all - David did but he turned over and went back to sleep. Can you tell where this is going???? We rushed out of here - luckily the car was packed already - and I slept for a good 3-4 hours while David drove. Woke up to a winter wonderland -- wow! was it snowing. David drove through several white-outs.
Cars were in ditches, in accidents, all over. We couldn't get into the rest stop for gas as there were cars all over blocking the entrance. Luckily he had enough gas to make the next stop on the Kansas Turnpike. What happened was that Kansas did NOT stay on top of the storm and did not get to clear the turnpike as they should have. Here in Missouri they start running the snowplows as soon as snow is predicted so they really pounce on it. Well we went 230 miles in 10 hours -- we usually make it to Frisco in 8-9 hours. Finally they closed the turnpike, routed all the cars off into a small town called Derby. NOthing there at all. It was already 8 pm. We had to backtrack about 30 miles to Wichita. David tried 7 motels - all booked - last one had one smoking room but he knew we couldn't take that because of my allergies. Finally found a room - quite nice - but no place to eat. We had a light breakfast at Starbucks (on the road) and that was it. Even McD's was closed due to the storm.
Next morning the sun was out, the roads were clear and we started out again hoping to make it that day.
Mid day I broke a tooth completely off -- WAIT -- it gets better.
We got to my son's - just so happy to be there - lots of hugs going 'round - so good to see them all again and to feel safe. We were going out to dinner -- food was very welcome at this point -- FJ had told David where to park our car - he and David were to drive together as they would leave from the restaurant to go to the airport to pick up my youngest who we haven't seen in almost 2 years - I was really excited. Dawn, the girls and I went together. Well, to make it short - FJ forgot that our car was there on the street, backed out at quite a speed, hit my Jag and took most of the back end off. He was so upset - kept telling him it was an accident but truthfully the car will never ever be the same.
Heartbreaking - but it could have been worse. We could have been one of those in an accident on the turnpike - David is a superb driver but who knows? I didn't fuss over it - it was done. He said he wanted "Driving for Dummies" for Christmas - he really felt bad. I didn't even go to look at it since it couldn't help anything.
His insurance should cover it all but they are saying at least $5000 and probably more. We took it to the body shop the insurance company recommended but they said 6-8 working days and they would be looking for second hand parts.
Well, didn't want that. David also said that if they take it apart and can't find the parts we could be there several weeks - Dawn and FJ kept saying Fine - but we didn't want to stay that long. So we negotiated and they will use our body shop here and also - supposedly - give me a car to drive since I cannot get up into David's truck any more and certainly can't drive it with my shoulders.
BUT the funny thing is that to drive the car he has to crank it up like an old Model T. Don't know what he does with wrenches and screw drivers but he has to turn off the battery manually so it doesn't go down - and then before we go anywhere, has to reverse the process. Between the car being so filthy from the snow (we couldn't get it washed - too much water would get in the cracks, etc) we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies the whole time. He managed to tape up the whole side but we came home yesterday with only one tail light hoping for no ticket -- I kept thinking that any decent cop would understand but who knows?
So with all this going on, decided just to stay with them and cancel the rest for another time. My daughter and her two kids came in and she kept saying we should go on -- but who can enjoy something under those conditions. I was just anxious to get home and get it in to the body shop - going Tuesday morning. Keep your fingers crossed that I DO get another car, please.

Other than that it was uneventful - but that was enough -doncha think?
And we did so enjoy the time we were there. It was fantastic to see Jeremy and to see our other two grandkids (teen-agers)- they are suffering so much from Julie's sudden divorce - just wanted to squeeze them to pieces. She couldn't have done this at a worse time for them. Wish they lived closer so we could make them feel loved.

So - we watched the two girls - everyone else had left by then - on NYE - Alexis steered me as to what to do for Alyssa -- for pete's sake, I had never put on a disposal diaper - they didn't have those with my kids - and I never was around the little ones when they needed them. But she helped me through it and then the next day sent me an e-mail (at her house) saying how much she loved us and wished we lived closer. So sweet.

We are glad to be home - feel almost like we are on a honeymoon now -- it's so quiet with just Patsy (picked her up today) and the quiet house.
No Barney movies, no teen-age movies and NO football day and night.
We had a wonderful time
And I hope that all of you had super holidays.
Happy New Year to everyone -- we wish you much health and happiness.
Rm

Rosemarie,

Your holiday vacation turned out to be quite an adventure! You are leading an exciting life and seem to be managing it fine.

Happy anniversary! That is a good day for an anniversary. My Dad's birtheay was on Jan. 15 and he was a really special Dad. He would be 108 this month; he died at age 84.

I'm so sorry about your car. I can imagine how your SIL felt, poor guy. I agree with you about not wanting the used parts. You never know what you are getting. Of course, new parts can be faulty, too. Things are not manufactured as well as they used to be. Sometimes I think that cars are meant to "self destruct" now. To have to pay a couple of thousand dollars for a fender is ridiculous. That's what it costs now. When we were hit in the rear door and fender, it was $2500.00 to repair/replace parts. That was about 7 years ago and it is more now.

Your grand daughters are like our girls were. Susan was such a little "mother" to Leslie and, being 7 years older, she just took her role seriously. The girls are best friends and really enjoy each others' company. The give each other advice and so much support. I am so thankful that they have each other. They are so alike in a few areas but definitely different in most ways, including looks.

I love your description of all that happened. You have made a very serious trip into a witty little story. Your description of being home in your own little quiet corner of earth made me laugh. It was like being there and seeing your whole vacation and then seeing the two of you, at home, relishing the peace and quiet. Our Christmas with the family was the same with plenty of noise. Our grandchildren are 24, 22 (this month) and 20. Mix in friends and more family and then, TV, of course and it is noisy. Our house is so quiet and relaxing.

I hope that all goes well with your car. Keep us posted. I'm just thankful that you had a safe journey.

Lillian

Hey RM -

Why do people have a tendency to laugh at others mis-fortunes? I'm sorry , But I HAD to laugh, at your story. If it wasn't for BAD luck you wouldn't have had any at all. Reminded me of that long ago comic strip, Lil Abner. Had a character in it who had a perpetual black cloud over his head. THINK characters name was Joe Blavitstick, or something like that.

Thank goodness David is a good driver and handy with spit, chewing gum, bailing wire and duk tape. "I ain't never saw a Jag held togather that-a - way!!!" I hope you send some pics to the Jag factory to show them "innovative engineering."

You and David certainly know how to make a trip exciting.

I AM glad that you had such a GOOD visit and that, in the end, everyone was safe and sound,altho it had to be a harrowing experience. One of those "nightmares" that MAYBE, someday, you'll be able to ;ook back at and laugh about. Must have had nerves of steel and a GREAT sense of humor, to weather it as you did.

Time with the family must have made it all worthwhile, for which I know you are grateful.

BTW - if you'd like , I'll check Goodwill to see if I can find any Barney movies to send you.

Sorry, my friend, if I made too much light of your experience. The way you related it just tickled me and I HAD to tease you

Richard:

Enjoyed your visit to Cape May, NJ and I am awaiting the continuing travelogue...Sounds like a really neat place to see. I could picture the large porches and just sitting there whiling away an afternoon. Of course, I'm sure your traveling companions made for a more enjoyable day..Glad you got to experience this before you had your accident.
Hope the ankle is healing nicely and you will soon be out of your boot. We have a balloon festival here in Plano in September each year and they have some really nice balloons and a few special ones, but the festival is not nearly as large as even Albuquerque and certainly not like the ones in the photos I shared with you. The only problem with the festival is that you get up before dawn and head out to the launching site which is one of the parks here in town and you get your lawn chairs all positioned (after you have fought the crowds to get in the parking lot) and then when the sun rises, you are ready with camera in hand and then they announce the wind is too strong for the balloons to go up. That has happened to us several times. They do inflate the balloons, but it isn't the same.

Rosemarie: What a ride! I was like Richard and couldn't help but laugh at all of your problems, but I know it had to be frustrating. Hope the Jag is in the shop and you have a loaner. Maybe your next trip to Texas won't have such pitfalls. How's the tooth?

Lilllian: Hang in there...2008 has to be a better year, healthwise. I know you are looking forward to the day the boot comes off and that shouldn't be that long now.

Maxine: Have enjoyed your posts...don't be a stranger.

The past few days have really been warm and as much as I dislike cold weather, I was ready for a little north wind and it came through early this morning as promised. It is in the 50's today with a north wind blowing so it feels cooler. Yesterday, it hovered near 80 degrees and that's a little warm for January. Think it is to warm up tomorrow and then they predict another cool front by the weekend. It is supposed to be cold on Sunday for the big football game between the Cowboys and Giants. Hope the Cowboys can pull out a win, but if not, the sun will come up on Monday morning as usual. James, Mike and I used to eat, sleep and drink the Cowboys, but that was when we were all much younger. Have you seen any pictures of the new stadium Jerry Jones is building? It is going to be one magnificent structure, but I think you will have to mortgage the farm to buy a season ticket. When we first started going, our tickets were $5.00 a seat and we were on the 45 yard line. Now they are pushing a hundred a seat and with the new stadium, it sounds like it will be even higher. I'll just sit at home and watch it on TV, thank you.

Hope everyone is having a nice day....

Donna

Donna,

I read your post with the same feeling that you had while reading Richard's travelogue...I felt that we were sitting on that porch and having such a nice visit. We have so many people here who write in such interesting ways. How fortunate we are!

So many towns/cities have interesting architecture. My home area in PA has many old, old homes and so many different styles of design. There are brick mansions from long ago (many were torn down years ago, while many were renovated and still stand). Mansions were built by the steel magnets and by doctors, etc. One old farm, Cook's farm, just outside my home town is still operating and has a large dairy herd. It was once Washington's headquarters during the Revolutionary War. My family bought all of our milk from them for many years. Last that I heard, my sister still does get her milk there. Some towns still have the houses built right up to the curb with only the front steps seperating them from the street; very narrow streets built in the old horse and buggy days. Of course, there are homes built right into the hills and they are picturesque, and very safe, I might add. They have stood for well over 100 years and still going strong.

I loved Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA for their stately homes, too. Lots of history in both places.

I hope that your Cowboys win their game. The Bucs lost to the Giants last Sunday, dashing the hopes of many fans. No, I'm not a fan, but I do like certain players. These guys, Brooks and Barber, to name two haven't been used much these past few games and what a loss for the Bucs. They are great players, but the "young" players seem to be the ones called up to play. Give me Tony Dungy any day as our coach! He was really great and he brought them to that Super Bowl playoffs before he was fired by the owners. That's when Gruden came in. Enough said.

I haven't seen the new stadium that you spoke of. I think that all of the teams are getting to be ridiculous with the damands for new stadiums. The taxpayers pay most of the cost and the team owners reap most all of the rewards. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays want a new stadium now...only $360 million and built on waterfront property. When people are in a stadium, they aren't there to see the waterfront! Heck, you wouldn't even know that it is there. They wanted $60 million from the state and the taxpayers would pick up most of the remainder. So far, the answer is NO. The state has already said NO. They can't fill a stadium with fans now, why do they need a larger one?

I really like NASCAR, but I won't go to the speedways to see it. I watch on TV where I can control the noise and not have the crowds, parking and cost that it would be to go. When we lived in CA, we were only a few blocks from the speedway in Riverside. The noise was horrible and, since it was on the same street where we lived, the traffic was something else. I didn't go there, either, even though I could have easily walked to it.

Well, I'd better start dinner. It's that time.

Lillian

HA! Wonder what happened??? I posted a message last night -- with a big HA HA to Richard and it's not here???? Story of my life -- one big boo boo after another. And Richard, you know - you can't ever go back -- can't even remember what I said but I know it was a "gem" -- HAHA!

Hey guys, you can laugh at my story -- we did -- otherwise we'd have to cry. David stays calm no matter what and it makes life so much easier.
It's one of those things that we'll look back on when we are old and grey -HA (like that's not today) and laugh at. We both tend to laugh a lot and let things just roll -- can't control, can't worry, can't sweat the small stuff. Do love your input though. But Richard -- please -- no Barney videos - go for something else that would drive me crazy.
I am so used to my two sons beating the you-know-what out of me in good fun that I can take anything. So go ahead ---

Got into a big broo-ha-ha with the insurance guy here - he didn't want the car to go in today until he checked it out at our house sometime in the next week or so. HUH? Don't think so - we made this appointment over a week ago. Finally took the phone from David and told Mick that we needed a car, I couldn't drive the pick-up (it's a big one) with my shoulders and that was it. No problem.
Took the car in - smooth as silk - we'll get all new parts BUT it will be at least 4 weeks, maybe longer. Estimate came in at a little over $5300 and they promised as good as new. We'll see about that - but this place does do good work that's why we wanted it done here as opposed to Frisco.
Got a little Ford Focus - new-ish, clean - that's all we need. The guy who helped us knew the adjuster from Farmer's and didn't think much of him, loved David's patch job and commented as he tore piece after piece off and threw it on the ground. He said the car wasn't driveable and we were lucky to get home. So there - Mr. Adjustor Guy!!!!
We do laugh a lot - no sense to moan and groan. Life is too short not to laugh at yourself. Everyone else does - LOL!
So another saga here over -- wonder what will be next???
 
So Donna -- why is the weather nice now that we are gone????? It was so windy in Frisco/Plano/Dallas that we could hardly stand up at times. And now it's nice, huh? Really envy you -- I could live in that area in a heartbeat. Of course, I could live in Florida, too. And California.
But my David - is a true blue Missouri boy - born and raised - and I doubt he'd be happier any where else. But I sure do love the states I mentioned.
My son is with Countrywide in upper management and the way the company is going, they may not be in Texas past this summer. Scary stuff but it's life. Luckily, he is still young enough to be good in the job market -- but something like that would sure change their lifestyle. So if they weren't there, maybe Texas wouldn't be that appealing.

Anyway, time to call it a night here - got way behind with e-mail today and trying to play catch-up. Have a good day tomorrow, everyone.
Rm

Rosemarie,

I really enjoy reading your posts. You know, when I first read Maxine's posting on A2Z, I laughed so hard at what she had written (can't remember now what it was), and I told her that she is a hoot. The name caught on and she is STILL a hoot, in person or on the QT. I love people who have a sense of humor. Now, Richard has also realized that I am a gulable old gal and he likes to pull jokes on me. Even Bill and the girls will tell me a funny joke and watch to see if I "get it" or if it goes over my head. Then I get the sign...hand moving over head with the "bzzzzzz" sound that goes along with it.

I have a brother, Richard, and he and our QT Richard should get together! They are both pranksters and love a good laugh. My brother will never be old!. He is now 72 and going on 20 at times. I'm glad that he is that way. It sure beats the grumpy old codgers that we sometimes see.

Your David is much like my Bill. Both are so calm and collected. I am the one who is quick to panic and he just keeps his cool. He always says, "don't sweat the small stuff". We do balance each other out: I am the organizer and planner while he lets things roll along.

Our grand daughter will be 22 on the 18th and it looks as though our birthday celebration will be held Sunday at a local restaurant (don't know which one as yet), since her work schedule and the wedding of a friend will be key factors. No matter where we gather, it will be a joyous day.

I don't know if you saw the news about the horrible accident (actually 10 of them in a 2 mile area) on our I-4 early yesterday morning. The fog was so thick and smoke from a fire added to it. A deputy was caught in it and was hit three times. He managed to get out of his cruiser and couldn't even see his feet, it was so bad. He heard the crashing and crunching of the vehicles and heard the screams for help. He couldn't see anything, but followed the voices and rescued several people. He had pulled his cruiser over to the side of the road and brought people over in that direction. Another man said that he couldn't see past his hand when he held it out in front of him. Anyway, the toll of this accident was: 4 dead, 38 hospitalized (5 in critical condition), 70 vehicles, 14 miles of interstate closed, 6 semi-trailer trucks burned, 5 cars burned, 0 visibility due to fog/smoke, 400 acres burned (90% contained as of 11:00 last night, and 75.500 vehicles that travel the affected area on an average day. The deputy was hurt, but not badly, and is upset that he couldn't save more people. He managed to get those that he did save away from that area just before the fires started.

This was such a disaster and the photos are horrible. Some cars were under the semi trailers, some cars were almost unrecognizable and there were burned out trucks and cars all over. Only God's hand kept it from being worse.

You really stood your ground about having your car fixed on time and I admire your courage in standing up to the insurance agent. Sometimes they seem to think that their word is law and you have to do as they say. It will be a long 4 weeks for you, but you will have all new parts and practically a new car. I loved your description of the mechanic pulling the duct tape off. Hey, David should be congratulated for his great work in taping everything together! He could do a commercial for duct tape, and its many uses, and make a mint. There you go! New job for David, more income!

When David is ready to leave Missouri, you can head our way. We'll enjoy your presence. I know that he wants to stay where you are, but we can dream, can't we?

Lillian

Rosemarie,

Sorry I didn't get to see your response that went "poof." Isn't that frustrating? Thanks for taking the teasing as it was meant.

Back to Cape May -

Sunday the girls got up and went shopping and left me sawing logs. I never even heard the shower or the hairdriers. Thankfully they returned soon after I got up , as I was 'hongry.' Went out to Sunset Beach to watch the water and have a bite to eat. Sunset Beach is the southern most point in NJ. In fact the mile marker on the side of the road says Exit Zero, followed by another sign warning you if you go any further south you'll get wet.

There's a Ferry that runs from Cape May to Lewes DE, several times daily and it was fun to watch them trudging back and forth as we ate. I mean these are serious car ferry's - 3 decks, crossing Deleware Bay.

Just off the beach is the wreck of the ship Atlanus. All you can see is it's stern sticking out of the water. For any 'landlubbers' that the rear end of the ship. In fact, you might say the ship is showing its *** !!!!
The Atlantus was the 2nd protype of a 3,000 ton, 250 foot freighter - made of CONCRETE. NOT from any PERSONAL knowledge, but from what I read, steel was in short supply during WWI. The Fed's commissioned 38 to be built, only 12 were actually built. Sounds to me like the Feds acted the same way then as now!!! The hull of the Atlantus was built of 5" thick concrete aggregate at a shipyard in GA. It operated for a FULL YEAR as a Gov. owned, privately operated, commercial coal steamer in New England. With the end of WWI, the 'fleet' was decommissioned and sent to the boneyard at Pigs Point, VA.In 1926 , the Atlanus was towed to Cape May to become part of the docking structure for the Lewes Ferry. During a storm in 1926, she broke loose from her moorings in a storm and went aground, and efforts to free her were futile. Since 1926 she has been slowly sinking in the sands due to the tides and storms. Pretty interesting. My 1st time to see a ship wreck up close and in person.

Just a little ways up the beach is a hull of one of the shore batteries that protected the coast during WWII, and behind that a concrete lookout tower used by the Navy/Coast Guard to watch fro German Subs. 76 ships were sunk by German Subs during WWII, between NYC and Cape May. OH, and Cape may is THE basic training base for ALL Coastguard recruits.

We got a chance to talk to an 85 yr old gentleman who owns the Sunset Beach property (more about him another time)and he is a fountain of info about the area and the sea. There is even a chapter in a book called, Interesting People You Should Meet, about this man.

By then it was picture taking time of the Victorian Homes/ Hotels and we finished out the day in that manner.

Next time MORE of CM

Night all