A Good Day

 This morning we headed to Mississauga for a visit to my eye doctor, Narendra Armogan, who might be the best in the world (you could look him up).   His first task was to examine the left eye to make sure that the retina was holding in place.  Check!

Then he turned his attention to the right eye and lasered it to remove some cell growth that my body had built behind the lens.  Check!

The retina reattachment took place last April, and the silicone oil that was injected to maintain pressure on the retina obscured the vision in that eye for several months..

The oil was removed in December to clear the left eye and that's the time that the right eye decided to build up some cell tissue behind the lens.  So it took its turn becoming useless, until now.

So, today is the first day in a year that both eyes are working together at the same time!  Pretty special!  An early birthday present from the eye doctor.  I'm like a kid with a new toy.  I'm a very lucky man!

Can't wait to test my vision on the golf course!  Bring it on!

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And my chauffeur for the day is on her last day of antibiotics.  Still coughing a bit, but much better.  I'm in love.  Life is good!

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So sorry to hear that Bo Bichette was booed in the Mets game.  He's 1 hit for 15 at bats.  I wasn't sorry that he signed elsewhere.  And now I'm glad he's gone!

In the meantime, his replacement at shortstop, Andres Giminez is hitting the cover off the ball.  And he's a much better fielder.

Even the  Colorado Rockies blowing the Blue jays away in tonight's game couldn't ruin my mood.

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In case I don't post tomorrow, Happy Anniversary to Roger and Lynn as they celebrate 11 years since she dragged him out of the Pacific onto Hawaiian soil.  All the best!

Stay well.

Baseball Season

 Mardi is still coughing, but says that she is feeling better - which I can confirm 😉.

The picture of the tulips that I posted yesterday was a bit of a failure.  This one is better.

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We're home and the Blue Jays season has started.  All is good.

We watched their pregame show which included the hanging of the  2025 banner...........

...................and the fact that this is their 50th season.

Andres Giminez drove in all of their runs and was rewarded for his effort by his buddies.

Really nice to be home for the opener.  If we were still in Florida it's not likely that a Toronto/Athletics game would have been shown.

Stay well.

 Mardi had her doctor's appointment yesterday and is now on antibiotics to resolve her coughing and congestion.

My eye doctor appointment is next week.  We'll "see" how that goes.

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I visited the greenhouse today and hugged the folks (except Alex's brother - we just shook hands).

No Easter Lilies this year.  They were always an issue re blooming time and also interfered with other plantings.  In their place Trillium has planted some baskets for another grower, a short term and simpler crop.  They'll be shipped out soon.

I picked up Mardi's plants that Sean had looked after for her and Sean added some tulips to cheer her up - which they certainly did.  She loves you Sean!

Showing up at the greenhouse after our Florida sojourn is always a lift for me.  Life is good.

I have a new project to keep me busy until gardening begins.  More on that later.

Stay well.

The Recap

 * When I first considered if we should go to Florida this year I must      confess to feeling some guilt.  But our fees for the year were paid      to Orange Lake and I didn't feel like passing up the eight weeks         we had booked back in April 2025.  Use it or lose it!

   And I decided that letting Trump cost us that money didn't make         logical sense either.  So we went ahead.

* From a general standpoint, 2026 was no different than 2025.               Nobody brought up politics and Americans were either friendly         or indifferent.  No change from normal.  No political conversations.

   What did change was the attendance of family and friends.  Other       than David's overnight stay after he drove me to Florida, we had         no visitors.  

   Fortunately, Lori and Frank adopted us for the months of January       and February, and Jill and Ron took us under their wing in March.     Thankfully, we had people with whom we could share our                   experiences and thoughts.

   Part of our enjoyment of being in Florida is sharing our places          with the folks who are special to us.  We were denied that this year.

* Some of the money we spent in the U.S. went to a good cause.          The restaurant industry, as in Canada, is in a bit of distress.

   Since Covid, and now with the economic scene, people are not           eating out as they previously did.  And it hurts the working folks         who need it most.

   For instance, our Mexican feed on the way home was served by a       very good waitress who, unfortunately, was completing her third         consecutive double shift, and she was really spent.  The restaurants     either can't afford to pay enough to attract good people or are             afraid to gamble on adding staff.

   An earlier visit to Wendy's confirmed the problem in a different         way.  At the counter I had to wait for a couple of minutes for the         young lad to bother coming over to ask what I wanted.  And his         long, stringy hair wasn't covered as it should have been.

   I ordered chili, but when he brought it to the counter he told me         that they were out of spoons, so he gave us forks.  You guessed it -     the chili had the consistency of soup.  Lots of meat, but few beans     and lots of broth.  Mardi managed by adding about eight crackers       to thicken it up, but I went back and ordered a burg.

   The outlet was advertising for help, but they obviously had to take     what they got.  Not a good look!

   Nevertheless, other than the Wendy's experience we were happy to     support the industry.

* We're going back next year.  We own the property, and we like the     winter heat (especially this year from what we've heard about the       Canadian winter).

  We'll start boking out time next month.  Think about joining us          next  year folks!  And if you don't want to spend money to support      the U.S.,  that's OK too - come anyway 😁.

Safe And (Relatively) Sound

 The aged invalid couple arrived home at 3:15 p.m.

Last night when we went to bed in West Virginia, the outside temperature was 30C.  This morning it was 10C and raining.  We dealt with drizzle all the way to I-90, where it turned into snow flurries.  But Stoney Creek was sunny.  Welcome home!

Mardi relaxed and fell asleep after we crossed the border.  Fortunately it was my turn to drive at the time.

I'll put together a summary of our thoughts on the trip soon.

Stay well.

Almost There

 Last night Mardi and I ate out at Bucky's Seafood in Walterboro.  South Carolina.

Mardi had the Snow Crab Boil and I ordered Whiting (fish) and Shrimps.  Food was great and the restaurant was fairly busy.

Interestingly, we were the only white folks in the restaurant.  But just down the street are a string of big white mansions (former slave owners?) so there is no good reason for those folks to avoid good food, except...........?  Life is sure different down here!

Apparently, when slavery ended a lot of the white folks moved out of the town.  Currently the approximate 5,000 population division between black and white is just about equal - and I'm guessing that they don't mingle much.

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While we were there we visited the famous Tuskegee Memorial.

During the second world war, and despite the need, the black and white barrier held strong.  So the black airmen stayed apart and over 1,000 were trained at the airport in this town.  They went on to post records that white pilots could only dream about.

As we finish the day we are in Sutton, West Virginia, just north of where highway 19 joins I-79.

We headed to the local El Gallo Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to us.  A great waitress and fine food.  I ordered the Hawaiian Shrimp and Rice, which had their own special dressing.  Awesome! 

Mardi ordered Camaronex A La Mexico, a different shrimp dish and "Oh my goodness" (her words) it was also great.

We'll be stopping there on future trips!

We should arrive home in the early afternoon tomorrow.  In time for Mardi and I to make our medical appointments.

Stay well.

The Party's Over

 Today's birthday wishes go out to Roger's Lynn, and my nephew Jeff  Marshall.  All the best!

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We started packing up this morning.  Tonight we headed to the bingo hall for the last time - and Jill, Mardi and I all came home with money.  Definitely time to go home!

So we leave in the morning.  It's been a good ride.

Stay well.

I'm Scrambled

 Our birthday girl today is Lillian Kopysh.  All the best my friend.

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Today we golfed with Jill and Ron in a scramble format.  The course was one of the prettiest that I've played on.

We saw some wildlife............

............including this wild and wooly wolf which is meant to scare off birds.

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..And we played a decent game, coming in at 6 under par, good for second place, mostly thanks to Ron who can hit it a tonne (in comparison, my max is about a kilo).

Mardi played most of the way, but her lingering cough took a lot our of her so she just played the short game for the last few holes.

Stay well.

RSV

 It's been pretty quiet at our house this week so far.  Mardi came down with a respiratory virus, we think it's RSV (the one where the cough just hangs on), so she missed the Canada Day celebration and has spent most of the time since then sleeping and/or coughing.

Four years ago the two of us volunteered to participate in a vaccine trial - they were trying to prove that their experimental vaccine would prevent RSV.  Interestingly, I used to get RSV almost every year, but haven't been hit with it since the trial - even though I 'was exposed during Mardi's infectious period the past two years, and RSV is very contagious.

They said that Mardi got the real vaccine too, but it obviously hasn't worked for her.

She has steadily improved though, with coughing fits very infrequent now.  We should be good to go golfing tomorrow, and water aerobics on Friday.

The weather has been really chilly the last couple of days so we didn't really miss anything.

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But, we can't let the day go by without wishing Jill a happy birthday.  We won't be walking down the street to say it inn person due to Mardi's situation, but all the best Jill!

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Stay well.

Canada Day?

 The South Resort held a Canada Day celebration today.  I got dressed in my shirt with the Tobermory Tromper crest........... 

........and a toque that Mardi knit for the Stoney Creek Food Bank.  Real Canadian eh?

Some people got their hair done especially for the day!

She rode an electric scooter to add to the effect.

Carts were dressed up........

........as was a francophone motorcycle.

And we were off!  

The parade went through the resort, to the delight of the throngs of people watching.

We were under surveillance, but no shots were fired.

A photo shoot when the parade arrived at the pavilion....

.......and we were treated to burgs and dogs at the end and entertainment was provided.

I really think that the whole thing was intended to be a celebration of Ron's 75th birthday (he and Jill are in the right foreground).  Definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon!

Stay well.

A Golf Day

 Yesterday, Ron and I played a nine hole course, while Jill and Mardi attended a Ladies Luncheon.  Mardi crashed for a couple of hours after the luncheon - must have been an exciting gathering!

Today the four of us played an 18 hole course.  Very scenic....

......and challenging.  I didn't break 100, although Mardi did and Ron 

had a 79 (I dragged him down on the back nine - he was even par after 9 holes).  After the game I had trouble standing up straight.  Need a few days off before we try that again.

Tonight it was bingo again.  No wins.

Tomorrow is Canada Day at the twin resorts.  Pictures to come.

Stay well.

Fishguts Anyone?

 I didn't accomplish a lot yesterday.  Avoided the pool aerobics because my body wasn't happy.  In the evening we let Jill and Ron win at Uno again.

But I did win some cribbage games against Mardi and had a two game lead (69 - 67) at the end of the day.

This morning we did take in the aerobics and my body held up almost to the end.  This activity had better do some good, because it hurts!  There were nine women and five men in the pool today.

This afternoon we took Jill and Ron's golf cart and headed to a nearby resort where some old guys were playing music.

The bagpiper who got it started was very good.

But the follow-up acts were definitely over the hill.

And the audience acknowledged their lack of skill by chatting with each other and ignoring the music.

Our Fishguts band would have crushed them.  Why Hang Up Your Spurs indeed!  Maybe it's time for me to take out the accordion again.

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The succulents at our place have started to bloom.  Nice to see!

And Mardi is keeping the Orchids alive.

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Tomorrow I'm playing nine holes of golf with Ron while Jill and Mardi attend a Ladies Luncheon.

First game of golf for me in about three weeks.  We'll see how that goes.

Stay well.

Exercise

 We headed over to the pool for the morning exercise routine.  There were 2 guys and 15 women - good odds!

A 40 minute workout.  And I need it.  We've been walking, but my upper body hasn't had much exercise and it needs help.  My arms are wasting away.

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After lunch we headed to Werner Boyce Salt Springs State Park, hoping to see some wildlife.  But with a high temperature and not much breeze the birds and animals were having a siesta.  

The only thing we saw were these mullets, in the Cauldron Spring stream.  Over 30 of them in this picture and I didn't get them all.  Guess that they like warm water.

We hiked over two miles in the heat - more good exercise.  The rye and water tasted just fine when we got home.

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Tonight we joined Jill and headed to another bingo.  I ended up $10 ahead.  May have to keep this up!

Stay well.

Go Jays Go

 Yesterday was quiet.  In the afternoon we headed to Hudson for an ice cream cone.  Last night we invited Jill and Ron for cards and playing the perfect hosts we let them each win a game.

Today was a Blue Jays day.  We got on our Blue Jays duds.........

........and headed to Dunedin in a pink school bus.

In Dunedin we stopped in to the VFW (Legion equivalent) for a hot dog before heading across the street to the game.

Kevin Gauzman pitched three clean innings.......

...........and Addison Barger got a home run and a single which resulted in a total of 3 runs.

Some of the new guys played well, including the submariner, Tyler Rogers.

Fun to watch!

The ride back was pretty rowdy.  Some of the folks dropped in the the VFW for a few beers (on top of what they drank at the game) before boarding the bus.

Tonight Mardi headed over to the clubhouse to join the euchre night.  I stayed home and published the blog.

Stay well.

A Routine Day

 This morning we headed over to Dunkin' Donuts to replenish our Keurig coffee supply.  And of course we had to have a coffee and donut or muffin while we were there.  Don't want to waste a trip.

Then we took a walk around this part of the Ja-Mar complex.  This is what you see from the shuffleboard court near the entrance.

We checked out the pool and saw the morning exercise class.  One man and several women.  Next time there may be two men.  What the heck, if I can cope with bingo the pool shouldn't be much of a challenge.  And I do need to be doing more exercising or I won't be able to dig in the gardens much when I get back home.  The muscles are disappearing as we speak.  The old man look is here and now.

Unfortunately, after the walk we had to put up with a next door neighbour who is building something.  Power tools off and on, every day (10 feet away from our window).  So getting out for a walk is about more than just exercise.

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Tonight we headed back to bingo.  Jill, Jan and Mardi took it seriously, with extra cards.   Jill and Mardi won money tonight.

I did the minimum number of cards and also won, ,and I ended up with a net $1 per hour bonanza!

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We have heard an owl here, but it isn't a Great Horned Owl.   The hoot cadence is different.  Haven't identified it yet.

Stay well.

Hats and Candles

 This morning I headed out to get a haircut.  The barber's name was Richard and he looked like he was about my age.  Did a decent job (no pictures).

Then we headed to WalMart for a bit of shopping.  They had a St. Patrick Day display and guess whtat.

It doesn't light up, but it only cost $4.79.

Then home to catch a few rays.  We headed inside when the rain started an hour or so later.

Both Jill and Ron will be celebrating birthdays this month.  And since Jan and Marty are only here until the weekend they invited us to join in a birthday "rehearsal" with cake, ice cream and strawberries.  

And then the old folks blew out the candles.

An thus ends another day in the Snowbirds lives.  We do enjoy ourselves!

Stay well.

Bealls and Whistles

 Mardi's favourite store down here is Bealls (pronounced Bells), and she found one that is going out of business!  Discounts on top of discounts man!

Several shirts and three pairs of pants later (confession, two pairs of pants were mine) we escaped.

A bit of sunbathing in the afternoon and tonight we headed to the clubhouse for some music by Dave and Daphne.

S

She has a great voice, and he was incredible on all six instruments that he played.  I've never seen hands and fingers move so fast.

During intermission they sell CD's and hats like these, that light up.

That's Mardi's cousin Jan with you know who.  Can't wait for Canada Day!

After intermission they encouraged folks to get up and dance.  Mardi and I led the charge and a lot of people joined in, including Jill and Ron.

An incredibly entertaining evening.  Great music enjoyed with family and friends.

Tomorrow is haircut day.  We'll see what else the day brings.

Stay well.

Beach Day

 We're getting comfortable in our new digs.  It takes a bit of getting used to when you move into a trailer park.  Neighbours are close on each side and across the "street".  In these circumstances everybody knows everybody and we got acknowledged and welcomed by everyone, even before we moved in.

Lsst night Mardi and I headed to a bingo with Jill.  No wins unfortunately.  They play different games here which take some getting used to.  We'll see how it goes.

Today Ron and Jill took us touring south and north a few miles.  Among other sites we saw a small beach to the south..........

.........and a manmade beach to the north.

A beautiful spot with wide white sand beaches where they do waterski training on weekends.  We'll be back.

Tonight we played cards with Ron and Jill and we'll be back to that as well.

No plans for tomorrow except getting some sun and maybe getting in a few steps.

Stay well.