March 30th, 2013

Oh it’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood!! Water is like glass, sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky and the air is warm and fresh; pretty darn perfect is all I can say.  The manatee have rolled in this morning for a feed along the docks where the some boats have already pulled out for their trip home up the inter-coastal waterway. It is amazing how manatee, so big and awkward can move so gracefully through the water.  It is a quiet morning and as I sit and write this blog I can hear the splash of water as the birds hit the water diving for fish. The song birds are singing with a cheerful lilt as if they are happy that spring is here even in the south.

Today marks one week until we head home and leave this wee bit of paradise. Let’s hope spring is present in Manitoba when we arrive. We are off to the Saturday market on the waterfront for fresh vegetables for tomorrows Easter supper with friends. There’s nothing like fresh baby asparagus and new garden carrots. Yum!!

We have returned from the market with our goods and ready for a nap after being in the hot sun this morning. Although, the pool is calling my name so perhaps I will go for a refreshing dip instead. Yup, the pool wins out. Off to the pool I must go.

As we eat up the rest of our food, start packing up a few things, and clean as we go I can’t help feel a little excited about going home. It will be great to see everyone and get ready to enjoy the yard, BBQ’s and other summer fun. Don’t get me wrong I will miss this southern living, but Canada is still the best place to live….no doubt about it.

See you all soon as we should be home by the 10^th of April. Happy Easter to all!

 

March 23rd, 2013

Hello everyone. I guess by now you figured I might have given up the blog as it has been awhile. No, I just lost track of the days, and weeks, living life as Floridian. Somehow life has taken on its own form here and believe it or not we are very busy. The days continue to fly by and we are now on the countdown to return home.  It has been a great winter with much activity and we have made many new friends and tried many new things. We miss everyone back home, but I do hate to leave the warmth and sunshine. I will miss looking out the window every morning to see the boats in the water. Today the water is very calm and there is only a slight ripple as the tide comes in creating a rippled reflection of boats and condos in the otherwise glass like marina.  The sun is bright as it gleams down on the boats and the birds are chirping away singing their spring songs. I will enjoy this bit of paradise a little longer and hope the snow has melted away by the time we get home.  

We enjoyed the company of Barb and Frank for a week earlier this month and now we are on our own until we head back. Last night was the snowbird farewell party at the club house and it was a roaring good time. Food, drink, music and dancing, can’t get much better than that. There is nothing like a live band to get people moving and shaking. Yes my feet are sore this morning from all the lively dancing but oh how much fun it was.

Many of the people here are of Italian background coming from New York and New Jersey. To my advantage I have acquired a few good Italian recipes and the coveted recipe for real Lemoncello. I hope when I make it at home with the store bought lemons it as good as with fresh lemons and tangerines here. It takes a week to steep and then magic, it is delicious. I have only made one batch and it turned out amazingly. I can see myself drinking lots of lemon drop martinis this summer on the patio.  Rosa our mentor is going to give us Tuscan cooking lessons next year making sure we know how to make the perfect sauce for any pasta or recipe. She also thinks we need to know how to make perfect Italian bread and buns. Should be fun!

Today is the brunch and Fashion show at the club house and I hear they have 50 people signed up to come. The cost is only 2 dollars for mimosa, quiche, fruit, dessert and the fashion show. Apparently there are some good door prizes as well. It is only from 11:00 – 1:30 so there will still be lots time to get to the pool today and take in a little sun and exercise.

 It is a hot weekend with temps today to hit 29C and tomorrow 32C.  There is nothing like walking into that glorious refreshing pool when it is hot out.  Perhaps I was a fish in a previous life, or better yet a lovely mermaid! Either way I am drawn to the water.

Book club is winding down and we are on our last book. It is a great read called Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. It is a wonderful endearing story and such a lovely book to end our winter book club. We have laughed ourselves silly at that book club as we discuss the books we have read, even the ones we did not like. We have melded well as a group and our different backgrounds and life experiences have made for good exciting conversation. I will miss our bimonthly  meetings for sure.

Roger has been painting up a storm here and will soon have to stop to let the paintings dry so he can pack them up to take them home. We should be home by April 10^th as we leave here on the 6^th . We will see you all soon. Take care all.

Carol

Feb. 24^th, 2013

A beautiful sun filled week here in Florida with blue skies and light breezes. The temps have been in the 25-29 degrees C. all week making it just perfect for  lazy days at the pool. Although the days are filled with sunshine and water the evenings are busy with social activities every night. Roger has his painting class twice a week, there is game night, jewellery making, thirsty Thursdays at the clubhouse, fish fry Fridays, and pancake Sundays. We certainly do not lack anything to do right now, that is for sure. I still try and do pool exercise once per day, although it is tempting to just float on the beautiful clear blue water looking beyond the waving palms to the eternal blue sky.  A little piece of heaven right here on earth!

The upcoming week should be more of the same with a few extras thrown in.  Lunch out with the girls, a little shopping and lot of laughs as we encouraged each other with our crafts. Life is good, simple, and joyful!

Take care all.

Carol

February 16^th ,2013

Another week has past and we are half way through our time here in Florida. We took Brenda to the airport on Tuesday after a 10 day wonderful visit. We had a fun time with great dining, lovely pool time, card making, jewelry making and even time go shopping .There was a day for a wonderful airboat ride through the swaps to see alligator and lots of large nesting birds which we  all agreed was a highlight of the visit.   We had hot weather while Brenda was visiting so that was an added bonus.

We have had a couple of days of rain this week and  the temps this weekend are cooler. This short cool spell will end on Monday with temps getting back up to normal in the mid 20’s C.  We must be getting soft in our warm climate when we think anything below 20|C. is too cool. Tonight’s sunset was beautiful with a wonderful orange glow that lit the clouds and turned them an orangey coral color. It looked like the sky was painted with a soft brush. Just breath taking.

Another busy week lies ahead with book club, bead class, pool time and aqua exercise.  I think Wednesday is game night at the club house to play left right center so I had better count my quarters.  

Roger is busy painting up a storm here with many canvases on the go. He is enjoying his new art class and has started working on the new technique. He will get quite a collection once he is done.

Take care all and talk to you soon.

Carol

 

February  3^rd, 2013  (late posting, oops sorry)

Weigh hey! The fishing trip is now over and what a trip it was. The ocean was a little too rough for us prairie girls. The guys seemed to be able to overcome the rocking of the boat as it rolled with the swells creating an up and down and round and round motion.  I seemed to fair best with only a few trips to reinvent my breakfast, however, poor Norma and Brenda, suffered long and hard at the hands of the ocean. No one caught any fish we could keep although we had lots of catch and release. The have very strict rules on which fish are in season and which are not.  We have had many laughs, now that we are on dry land, about our great fishing expedition.

We have had a busy week with Norma and Russel and seem to have been on the go most every day. Roger and Russ made it to a NHL hockey game in Miami to see the Panthers vs the Jets and had a great time. The Jets lost but they had a good time anyway sitting in their last minute seats (purchased online) at center ice 7^th row. They were able to get tickets for $31.00 a ticket. Unbelievable!

Roger and Russ also had a round of golf at the Indian River Golf course and had a few entertaining moments as they made their way down the fairways. Roger awoke a sleeping alligator when his ball landed in the water. Roger figures he must have hit him in the head or something, but up came the eyes and then the head.  It did not come out of the pond so perhaps he is used to a few golf balls splashing around him.  Next Russel’s golf ball got trapped in a palm tree trunk, nicely wedged into the tulip type bark. There may be no bears on the course like Clear lake, but there a definitely a few hazards.

We had a wonderful evening and supper at Brenda and Tom’s condo at ocean village. We laughed so hard our sides hurt and the pictures are a testament to the fun we had. Tom and Brenda were great hosts and we hated the evening to end, but we said our good nights and laughed all the way to the car.

This week we also took a trip to the Backus Art Gallery which is a well-known gallery here in Florida.  The pictures were beautiful and the history of the art and area was very interesting. We also walked through the Art Mundo gallery and art studios which displayed art forms of different media.  It really portrayed the artists of the area and they talent is amazing.  A jolly wood carver, sculptor and wood turner gave us a tour and amused us with his stories. A particular interesting artist is a woman with Down Syndrome that is a fabulous artist of women fashionistas. She has amazing talent that is continuing to developing with the tutoring of a local artist. She is very well known and has sold paintings around the world. Her name is Katie Henderson.  www.missKatieskreations.com

Norma and I managed to get a little shopping in when the guys were golfing and found our way to the pool several days. Norma did get a little sunburned even with her 50 sunscreen, but by the time she left I could see a few more freckles appear and even darken up a bit.   

As they move on to Disney we pick up my good friend Brenda at the airport. It should another great week with fun and sun on the horizon.

Stay Warm,

Carol

 

 

 

 

January 24^th, 2013

It is a beautiful morning with the sun again shining brightly with no clouds in sight. There is a breeze but not too strong and although the temp is slightly lower than it has been, I will take it.

There have been a few boats cruising by this morning taking a look at the marina on their own little sightseeing cruise. The last 2 were open catamarans so I assume they are from just down the inlet. The water is calmer today bringing the small boaters in to sightsee and the fishermen on the big boats out to sea to fish. It is interesting to watch who comes and goes and who stays on their boat overnight and who will be washing their boat and who just stands and looks at it.

Today will be a pool day after I finish the laundry that I have put off far too long. I also hope to take some pictures later today as I have hardly had my camera out at all. The light here is great for taking photos so I guess I had better get at it. One day just runs into another here and before you know it a week will have gone by.

The super bowl is fast approaching (Feb.3rd) and with it comes the parties and celebrations. Americans are football crazy here and the Super bowl is a big event. There will be a party at the club house with a potluck supper and they have brought in a 60 inch TV and huge speakers.  It is better to say nothing when they talk football than say you don’t even know the teams, otherwise you get the whole lowdown on the season.  Yup, best to smile and nod!

The pool beckons so I best go and get a few things done around here. Norma and Russ arrive on Saturday and we look forward to a fun filled visit. I see deep sea fishing on the agenda again this year so bring it on, and the Gravol. Lol. Weigh  hey and up she rises…..

Cheers!

Carol

 

 

January, 22^nd, 2013

Here we are starting our fourth week here in Florida. Today is a reminder of why we love it here so much. I look out over the balcony and see the boats gently rocking, the water rippling as the tide starts to move out and the sun shining with only a few wispy white clouds in the sky. The fresh morning air awakens my senses as does the rich brown coffee I hold in my hand and sip while enjoying the moment. Awe yes, life is good here.

Last night was book club with an amazing group of people. There is a variety of ages and different backgrounds with women from different parts of the world. This was the first meeting of the club and everyone melded very well. Although we all loved the book it was interesting to hear the different perspectives on the plot and characters. The book was excellent read called, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.  I had read the book a couple of years ago, but really enjoyed reading it again. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction will love this book. It was a lovely evening of  good conversation, food and wine.

We have spent some time the past few days helping my brother Tom and his girlfriend Brenda; settle into their condo about 3 miles away. They are here for three weeks and so far seem to be enjoying themselves. The weekend was a bit cooler here with lots of rain on Saturday which was really the first real rain we have had since we arrived. A good day for housework and groceries. The forecast now is for sunny days with a bit of cloud. Temps seem to be hovering around 23- 24 C. which is slightly lower than we have had ,but I am not complaining as I  have still been to the pool and out for walks.

We are looking forward to our company arriving and sharing in our Florida experience. There is so much to see and do here and I know that deep sea fishing is again on the list of activities that is a must. ( this involves a lot of Gravol and no lunch)lol.

We here that the weather is brutally cold at home so we send you warm thoughts and hugs.

Take care all!

Carol