Blood Money

 An interesting day.  Gave (a small sample of) blood twice today.

First was to determine if my rat poison prescription was doing its job in thinning my blood.  The second was at our RSV vaccine trial visit.

At the trial visit we each received $300 cash.  Four times $50 for phone "visits", and $100 for today's in person visit.  Nice way to spend a half hour!

Something that may interest the folks on this list - they are having another Moderna vaccine trial for a low dose Covid vaccine that is intended to combat the new strains of the disease.  We aren't eligible - can't be in two trials at once.  But if anyone else wants to participate we can put you in touch with the clinic.  

Sounds like a no brainer to me - probable protection from Covid and presumably getting paid for taking it.  You need to have had at least two previous Covid shots to qualify.

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In between those two visits I headed to the greenhouse to return Sean's golf clubs.  Talked to Sean and David for a while but escaped before they put me to work.  They're in the middle of packing and shipping the Easter Lilies - not an easy task!

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Stay well.

Home Again

 Arrived home safely at 3:30 p.m.  No traffic issues until we reached the QEW.  Sound familiar?

We stopped this morning at Grove City Mall, which has been a favourite stop for us on our trips south and north.  Big disappointment!  

The Haggar store that I was looking for is closed as are about a third of the stores in the mall.  The rest aren't going to last much longer either.  Very few shoppers are showing up.

So, that will likely be our last trip to Grove City.  Unfortunately, Covid, which fostered on-line shopping, has made it irrelevant.

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Getting home early gave us a chance to read three months of mail.  Needed a second drink to get through it.

We're still solvent, but we need to make quick plans to renew our driver's licenses, which expire while we're in Europe, and will require us to attend "group support" sessions.  Getting old is really fun!

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We've got three busy days in front of us before we fly away to the Netherlands on the 30th.  Life is really tough!

Stay well.

 We're in Washington, Pennsylvania tonight.  It's been an interesting drive.

Started with drizzle and rain all through South Carolina, then an hour of heavy fog in North Carolina, before sun took over.  Very strong winds in the West Virginia mountains, continuing into Pennsylvania, which made the driving a bit challenging.  

But the traffic was virtually nonexistent, which reinforces the thought that leaving Florida on a Friday is a smart move.  Have to remember that next year.

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We headed to the Bacon, Bourbon and Beer Pub for dinner.  But 2 ounces of Bourbon over ice was going to be $17 so we settled for a glass of Pinot Grigio for $8.

That's all the news for today, so I've added a download that I received from John Buckley.  Hope it works.  Enjoy!

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=7483712618&attid=0.1.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1761384910079048667&th=1871b23e55febbdb&view=att&disp=safe

And stay safe.

Blythewood

 We made a good decision - to take three days to head home.  Took all the time pressure off and, leaving on a Friday, we avoided the heaviest traffic from Snowbirds migrating north.

Note for Matt:  Maitland Road veers off from 429 near Mount Dora.  It takes you to I-4 between Orlando and Sanford and avoids most of the I-4 parking lot, except for the short stint from 27 to 429.

Traffic was heavy on I-4 but, in usual Florida fashion, it was moving at 10 mph over the limit.  We arrived at I-95 in an hour and a half.

And, now we're in Blythewood, South Carolina, arriving about 6 p.m.

For dinner we headed to the Doko Station Pub and Eatery, which used to be the Doko train station.

Doko was a small village that was absorbed by Blythewood.

We had a delightful waitress, Emilie.

She's in second year Pre-Med, hoping to work in plastic surgery and nerve repair, inspired by her dad who needed such repair after serving in the military.  She'll do well!

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Stay well.

Watch Me

 First, a follow-up on the watch issue.

The watch is a 42 year old Seiko Quartz, battery operated, that tells the time, day and date.  It honoured the first 25 of my 37 years at Dofasco.  

Until we arrived in Florida it was operating perfectly.

But a few days in, the piece that marks 12 o'clock came loose and jammed under the hour hand.  So, I took it to a jewelers and they put the piece back in place.

But, when I got it back, the hour and minute hands were not coordinated.  They were about 10 minutes out of sync.  So, I took it back again.

They synced the hands and I brought it home.  But, the next morning, the day wheel was jammed (as you can see in the above picture).  I dealt with it for about four days, winding the day into position each time.  Then I took it back (on February 11).

They gave me various stories about when it would be ready, but the final word is that Seiko no longer support that watch.  The part needed could not be found.

So, I went back today and, although they had promised, the watch was not there.  A two hour wait (I went shopping) and I finally got my watch back.

Now I just have to hope that a Hamilton location will be able to find the part I need.  I'm not sure now which watchmaker is currently supporting Dofasco watches.

The saga will continue.

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We headed to Disney Springs for one last time, to see Jeff Howell.  Wasted trip!  He wasn't there.  So the four of us headed back to the ranch and played cards.

We're mostly packed for the trip home.  We're planning a more leisurely three day run this time.

Stay well. 

Near The End

I went to the jewelers this morning to see if my watch was fixed and ready.  The answer was no.  I'll report on this fiasco tomorrow when it should come to a climax.

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We played our final 2023 Florida golf game today.  I've finally got a swing back, but it hasn't helped.  I beat Mardi by two strokes but I still lost money.  I just don't get it.  I think that she's taking advantage of an old man - but I still love her (I'm desperate after all!).

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And the ladies crushed us at Skip-Bo again tonight.  It's time we headed home.

Stay well.

Dali

 We had a great day, which started with the retrieval of my credit card from the golf course.  Then we carried on to St. Petersburg and the Dali Museum.

What a place.  What a strange, but brilliant man.

Is this a surreal image of Abraham Lincoln?

No, it's a nude looking at the sea through a portal.

Is this a skull face?

No, it's not.

I noticed something strange about the torsos of these women, but I was all the way home before I figured out that they had faces on their chests.  Can you see them?

A man's body draped over a tree, with a bass fiddle in his hand.

Quite an exhibit!  He went from true to life painting, to the examples above.  A real genius.

But, Dali's paintings weren't the only strange things we saw today.  How about the woman who lived in a shoe?

The gardens outside the museum were great as well.......Mardi wore his mustache.

The garden included sculptures that Dali had done.

An extraordinary man!

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He didn't make this bench, but it does fit in pretty well with his work!

We had dinner with our good friends at a restaurant on the waterfront nearby.

Quite a special day!  Sort of like driving from Stoney Creek to London in stop and go traffic.  But it was worth it!

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But, the ladies took the shine off our day by thrashing us at Skip-Bo.  We had a tense and dramatic final hand but they won the day.

Golf tomorrow.  The last game here for Mardi and me.

Stay well.

Humble Pie

 Birthdays to celebrate today are Roger's wife Lynn's and my nephew Jeff Marshall's.  Congratulations to both!

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Today is humble pie day for Mardi and me.  We just got back from retrieving the jacket that she left at Sakura last night.  And, tomorrow we stop off at Cleveland Heights Golf on the way to the Dali show so that I can retrieve the credit card that I left there on Thursday.

We need adult supervision!  I've asked Maureen and Matt to keep us on a shorter leash for a while.

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Played the Deer Creek course today.  I finally won my first round in 2023!  Shot bogey golf and beat my lady for $4.

This is one of the reasons that I was able to beat her (and I didn't put it there).

My first victory in 2023!  One more game to play before we head home.  Wish me luck!

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But tonight the ladies demolished us again at Skip-Bo.  The tide appears to have turned.

Stay well.

Sakura (cherry blossom, spring rejuvenation, optimism)

 Today's birthday girl is Barry's wife Lillian.  All the best!

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Played cards and dice today.  Mardi is a bit miffed because I didn't report that the ladies finally won a game of Skip-Bo a couple of days ago.  Didn't seem important to me 😏.

Then we headed to Sakura Asian Fusion for dinner.  Great food as always.  We asked to sit at one of waitress Joy's tables.  She's just like her name - a bundle of fun.

And, as you can see, the food is enjoyed.

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Tomorrow is a golf day.

Stay well.

Winter Garden

Headed to Winter Garden for the farmer's market today.  It's pretty sizeable, taking up about four blocks from a centre point.

 Lots of craft booths, food booths, and a couple of market areas.  Well worth the visit.  And I found my own particular brand of soap!

We had lunch at the market.

My choice was a Blue Cheese and Sweet Onion Empanada.  Very tasty!

The following picture is for daughters Jo-Ann and Kathryn, who gave me a couple of Dunkin' Doughnuts gift cards.

Thanks ladies!

My computer has been freezing up quite a bit while I put this together, so we'll call it a day and see if we can figure out what the problem is.

Stay well.

Winding Down

Happy St. Patrick's day.

But it's been a quiet day for us again.  Seems like a day of golf requires a follow-up day of rest.  But, Matt and I continued the Skip-Bo shutout of the ladies.

As we near the end of our vacation we've done most of the things we wanted to do.  A visit to the Winter Gardens farmer's market tomorrow.  Then we have golf scheduled for Monday and Wednesday and, in between, a visit to the Dali exhibit  on Tuesday.  Thursday evening we'll make our last trek to Disney Springs to see Jeff Howell perform.  After that we have nothing left in the activity jar.

So then it's time for packing, but we're not complaining.  We've had a good time here and apparently missed the winter from hell back home.  Hopefully, winter will be done by the time we cross the border on the 26th.

Then we've got four days to get organized before we leave for our Netherlands river cruise.  Life is a bitch right?

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Stay well.

Golf

 Headed to Cleveland Heights Golf today, to join Jill and Ron and their friends Heather and Al.  Nice folks.  But the only picture was this one, taken by Mardi, of a GBH.

We had dinner at the golf course.  A nice finish to a good day.

Stay well.

Queen Crab

 Dreary day, chilly and overcast.  Cards, dice and shopping.

So we cheered ourselves up by heading for Joe's Crab Shack for dinner.

The Queen Bee went under an alias tonight.

And, based on that upside down wine bottle, Maureen had a good time too (thanks for sharing, M & M).

Good food, good friends!

Stay well.

Lettuce Alone

Beautiful day today, mid 70's, nice breeze, low humidity.

We played Deer Creek again.  I had a better score, but so did Mardi.  Another pretend $5 down the drain!

They greeted us with Impatiens on each tee.

Nice touch, but a bit bedraggled though.  Pretty obvious they didn't come from Trillium Hill!

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A couple of items in the news down here these days.  The big one is that the states that draw water from the Colorado River will be having their rights reduced.

For years, they have been drawing more water than the river can deliver.  For evidence you just have to look at Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam to see the bleached rock where the lake level used to be.  

If this was to continue, eventually the dam would not be able to operate and thousands would be without electricity.

The water withdrawal reductions will have a direct effect on agriculture.  The primary crops in the U.S. southwest are alfalfa (to feed the cattle), broccoli, and lettuce.  The land that can be irrigated will be dramatically reduced, and farmers will have to make a choice as to what crops they grow, and produce prices will escalate.  So your winter lettuce prices are going to continue to be high - get used to it.

If they ever run out of water, then the arid land that was never supposed to be settled in big numbers in the first place would eventually revert to what it should be.  And people would have to move to areas that could support them.  One of the side effects is that we'd have to cut back on our beef and lettuce consumption (no complaints about the broccoli or alfalfa).  We'd also have more folks moving north to share our land.

The other item on CNN today is that illegal border crossings into Canada have doubled in the past year.  These are mostly people from Mexico and other Central American countries, passing through the U.S. and wanting to live in Canada.  What is counterintuitive is that, at the same time, Mexicans are flying into Canada and illegally crossing into the U.S. 

The migration of peoples will continue to escalate in the years to come - get used to that as well.

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The boys continue to dominate at Skip-Bo.

Mardi thinks that I should mention that the ladies do OK at dice (probably because she has crushed us in that game for the last two days).

In any event, stay well.

Rain

 Rainy day.  No news.  Stay well.

Puffy and Tender

The baseball left an imprint on the side of Mardi's knee but, unfortunately for me, it didn't hurt her game.  I lost another $4 today at Deer Creek.  

Mardi says its puffy and tender, but I'm not sure if she's talking about her knee or my butt that she kicked on the golf course.

No other news today.  

Stay well.

Dunedin

 We headed to Dunedin today to take in a Blue Jays game.  But first, a stop at the Farmer's Market.

I'm carrying a Cantaloupe and a Cucumber.  Matt bought some caramel corn which I am in the process of eating while I compose this epic.

Saw this beauty while we were there.

From there we headed to the ballpark and parked just across the street at the American Legion.  

Parking was $20, but a hot dog, fries and a beer were just $8 (which was the cost of a lemonade at the ball park).

So, across the street we went.

During the game, George Springer hit a home run (as did newbie Orelvis Martinez).  A good sign for the season.

Our Jays beat the Orioles 8 - 6.

During the early innings, a foul ball came over our heads, bounced off several hands and ended up in the lap of this young lady behind us.

Later in the game, another foul ball hit Mardi in the knee (it ended up five rows ahead of us - the ball, not the knee Al) and she needed EMS help.

But she appears to be OK tonight.  We'll know better in the morning.

Blue Jays won the game 8-6.

Terrible traffic on the way home, but it was worth it.

Matt and I then proceeded to beat the ladies tonight at Skip-Bo.  The perfect ending (well, the warm apple pie and ice cream dessert helped) to a great day.

Stay well.

No News

 No news today.  We just vegetated and played cards.  So I'm not going to bore you tonight.  Instead I've included a picture that Barry sent with the question "See what you're missing Bud and Matt?"

Beautiful picture Barry, but I'm not missing it.

Stay well folks.

Barbers, Blues and Battlegrounds

 The local barber showed up this morning.......

.................but I forgot to give her a tip.  

Nevertheless, she says she still loves me.  

I asked her why she loves me, and she replied "because of your sense of humour".

Me: "I thought it was because I was so good at sex."

Mardi: "See, you made me laugh again."

                                         (Thanks for that one Joyce)

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Cleaned out the car today.  Then Mardi and I did a shop at Bealls (pronounced "bells") and I bought a plug-in car vacuum for $14.99.  I'll be better prepared next time.

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Tonight we headed to the House Of Blues to see and hear Jeff Howell.  Wasted trip!  They were hosting a private event and he wasn't there.  Just this guy rolling around on one wheel.

So we watched some other musicians for a set........

.........and then headed home.

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You know, there are times that I would like to go up to a mike and tell the American audience about how their politicians once made the same mistake that Putin has done.

Putin thought that the Ukrainians would welcome his troops with open arms.  Back in 1812, the U.S. politicians thought that Canadians would do the same to their troops.

In 1813, at the Battle of Stoney Creek, they found otherwise, and we chased them out.

But, I am convinced that, in the long run they will invade us once again.  As climate change makes vast swaths of the U.S. uninhabitable there will be a huge migration to the north.  And it will spill across the border.  

As Canadians, we will welcome these new immigrants.  But, being Americans, they will eventually try to annex Canada.

Trudeau's great grandson will be Prime Minister then, and he will appeal to the Chinese who installed him in that position to help us fend off the takeover.  Don't know how that will end up.

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In the meantime, it's wonderful here in the sunny south.

Stay well.

Cooking

 While the ladies were out for their massage, I helped Chef Matteo make chicken soup.  It's pretty easy!

Cut up some stuff.

Dump it in the pot.

And stir.

I didn't realize that cooking was this easy!

I celebrated by jumping into the pool for a swim, bolstered by a rye and coke.

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Played games after dinner.  Busy day!

Stay well.

Crane Chicks

 Today we played the Reserve at Orange Lake, using up the last of the vouchers that I bought after our timeshare presentation.

We're not going to talk scores 😖.

But I beat Mardi by a stroke and took a pretend $1 off her.

Matt and Maureen are hitting it a ton.  We all had a good day.

And you will remember that I said we'd see some Sandhill Crane chicks in March.

This couple had two chicks.  We stayed a fair distance away so as not to worry them so the zoom photo is not too clear.

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Tomorrow is a massage day for the ladies.  I doubt that they will provide pictures though.  

They do need help of some kind because Matt and I have been crushing them at Skip-Bo (I probably jinxed us with that bit of bragging).

Stay well.

Miller's

 A quiet day as we recovered from the golf.  The ladies did a bit of shopping.

The highlight was a dinner visit to Miller's for the Monday special - $14.99 for a full rack of ribs.  Matt's favourite.

Then to Walmart to replenish the liquor supply.

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Tomorrow it's back to golf.

Stay well.

Deer Creek

 Our adventure today was golf at Deer Creek RV Golf Resort, which is an executive length course about two kilometres from the house.  It's a huge property with several "neighbourhoods", having everything from overnight rental spaces for trailers and RVs to quite impressive manufactured homes.

The golf course, which is just over 3,000 yards, is quite pretty and challenging.

...with surprisingly wide fairways, and nice brick pathways.

I started my round with a "Kopysh" (green in regulation and three putts), a feat that I repeated one more time.  I also tied Mardi on score, but still lost $3.  It was a nice day (even though it was really hot) and we'll be back to that course again.

We all jumped in the pool upon our return.......

..........and I swear - I did not knock Mardi out with that noodle.

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Tonight the folks let me win at the dice game.  

Stay well.