Too much to do, too little time

How come being retired is not the restful time I thought it would be? Seems like I've filled the days with activities and then just become a couch potato after seven at night. I have decided to say no to some things - those I really don't care whether I do or not and even some I really don't like. (Like my Red Hat group - filled with half people I don't like (shame on me) and half that I do like but I get to see other places. Time is too short to stay with them so January I'm no longer going to go to lunches with them. So there!!!! Boy, does that sound awful!

Somehow the pictures of the inside of the house with new tile have disappeared. Here are pictures of the dining room/kitchen and going out to the Florida room... Looks so much bigger.

House outside

Well, even the outside gets a new coat of paint. It sure looked awfully green but when we added the white brick it turned out pretty well.

Pirates again !!!

This time it was the annual Scrapbooking Treasure Hunt. Twelve stores from Hudson to Lakeland to Sarasota and in-between. You know Jana Maples and maybe Janey Ball. The other lady is Lynn Bartlett, a fellow scrapper. We sure have fun and what an assortment of paper and stuff to spend money on. I stocked up on Disney paper and stickers. Wonder why??!!

Can you find us....

Elton John

Billy Joel

One of 20,898 !!!

What a concert !!! Billy Joel and Elton John playing together and then each of them separately for an hour each. Then they came back again together.. over 3 1/2 hours of sheer energy. We were in the nosebleed section ( for 99 dollars each) but had a nice view of the stage and the big screens were right in front of us. Debbie, Cristi and I went. (This was last Thursday....)

Oh my gosh - not again!

Yep, we are doing the back Florida room... same tile, second verse. So once again the house is like a war zone. Furniture and knickknacks all over the place. Seems even worse this time because some of it is in the front room which hasn't had a thing out of place since that renovation. And, the office is once again piled high and wide so it is claustrophobic time when I am on the computer. But it will be worth it in the end.... she says !!!!

A friend of Uncle Loren (and Kirk and Irene) sent me this little thank-you note. It was written by Grandma Hastings to her son when he was in the fifth grade for a Christmas towel.. Isn't it strange and wonderful to have a touch of Grandma just show up. ( I know it isn't very clear but....)

ITS DONE !!!!!!

The living room is finished and it is so beautiful.... if I do say so myself. Seems really a lot bigger and brighter. And no carpet to vacuum. In case you can't tell, the walls are light brown and the tiles are lighter.

Crazy old folks

Ho, Ho, Ho and a bottle of rum!!!!
Fran and Howard, Diane , Bill and I went out on the Starship and became part of the flotilla for Gasparilla. It was really neat... we had an inside window table so we could see almost everything. The ship did go by us on the other side but most everyone was outside so Bill and Howard just enjoyed the view through the picture windows.
The top deck was full of the wild and crazy folks. Thousands of boats come out to accompany the Jose Gaspar and they were also crazy but we had a nice sane but truly fun morning. (We also had no problem with traffic either going or coming - thanks mainly to a dryrun last night and two smart sheriff deputies that sent us the right way out of the parade mess. )
Would we do it again? Yes indeed, matey.... Ahoy!!!!!!

The old rug out for the trash.

Aufwiederzehn, adieu

Did you recognize the song from Sound of Music? Being my normal crazy self, we have also said a really fond farewell to the carpet in the living room. Al ( the handyman) took the old rug and the padding, the tack pieces and the little tile at the entry way and it is now in the garbage heap.
With the furniture out and the baseboard off it just seemed like a great time to paint the room as well.
Imagine if you will, Bill with his walker going through the house normally. Now put all the furniture scattered through every other room in the house and it is a real maze. All the Indian books are in boxes in the garage, chairs are in the front room and the Florida room, the bookcases in the study, the couch is in the kitchen and odds and ends on every other surface. And this will probably go on for a week !!!!!!! Can I come and live with anyone???

Goodbye, so long

Well, the chain link fence along the backyard is gone. It took three days, lots of manpower (someone else's) and money (mine but from the insurance claim money from the fallen tree branch). Next comes eight new sections of fencing ( I priced the beautiful white vinyl fencing but at $125.00 a section I will be using plain old wood stockade. ) It can't help but look better than the old metal with the falling apart wooden fence from Margie's. Will send an update when the new fence is in. Probably next week since this week is supposed to be cold and rainy.

LIFE WITH THE BELLS AND BAKEWELLS

BILL'S ON THE MEND
We are really moving along. Today (Friday the 30th) we actually went to Keegan's for supper! It was our first venture for Bill to get out of the car and walk to the restaurant.
He gets up every morning and gets his own breakfast and then reads the paper till I get up. (The only thing I have to do is get out of bed first and go outside and get the paper - that is only acceptable because I get to crawl back into the warm bed afterward!)
We plan to go to church Sunday - hard to be good enough for shrimp and not for God.