Well it is almost time for the new year to begin. We will have a quiet celebration to ring out 2010 & ring in 2011. This will be a party for two. Maybe three if you count Foxy. We have packed all the Christmas decorations away & I think we might actually be ready for 2011. It's coming whether we are ready or not!
Like everyone else we have to get everything ready to do our taxes. It seems that no mater how much we prepare there is always that stack of receipts, bills, & assorted papers that managed to get filed in the proverbial shoebox/junk drawer/ misc. file. That has been gone through & is semi-organized.
We also went over our bills from 2010 & our budget for 2011. Like I have said before, 2010 was our retirement celebration year & the bills showed it. 2011 will have a much tighter budget while we finish paying for 2010 & put away money for 2011 & beyond. It's always nice to have some extra cash put away for some extras or a rainy day.
So, anyway, this our Happy New Year to everyone & a wish for a healthy & prosperous 2011 from our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
#142 Whew!
Well Christmas is officially over. The presents were bought, wrapped, delivered, & opened. Everyone was happy with what Santa brought & are enjoying their gifts. Dinner was delicious, quiet, & spent with good company. Now it is time to relax & contemplate all the good things in our life as the year comes to an end. I can not believe that 2011 is almost here. Where did 2010 go? And what does 2011 have in store for us? We have our health, our family(especially the grandchildren), & all our friends that we consider part of our extended family. We have our RV lifestyle & a future of surprises down the road. We couldn't ask for any more.
Now we are looking forward to & planning for 2011. First of course will be taking down the Christmas decorations. After that there are a few things that we want to do around the rig. Mostly maintenance along with a few upgrades. We have the State Fair, the RV Super Show, & the Strawberry Festival coming up. We also have a list of places we want to go with our friends from Indiana. Add to this we will still be doing our volunteering at school. All this with a departure date of April 1st means we will be busy the next 3 months.
After April 1st we will hit the road. We plan on seeing family before leaving Florida & might be heading to Texas for our first Habitat for Humanity build. Our next destination is Pigeon Forge Tennesee. As I have mentioned before we will be working at Dollywood over the summer & possibly into the fall. I guess we will be busy the first 3 months of the year & beyond. I still don't know where all my free time has gone or where I found time to hold down a full time job before I retired.
Well we hope everyone has had a wonderful & merry Christmas. We also wish everyone a safe, happy, & healthy New Year. And all this wishes are coming from our home in Largo because...
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Now we are looking forward to & planning for 2011. First of course will be taking down the Christmas decorations. After that there are a few things that we want to do around the rig. Mostly maintenance along with a few upgrades. We have the State Fair, the RV Super Show, & the Strawberry Festival coming up. We also have a list of places we want to go with our friends from Indiana. Add to this we will still be doing our volunteering at school. All this with a departure date of April 1st means we will be busy the next 3 months.
After April 1st we will hit the road. We plan on seeing family before leaving Florida & might be heading to Texas for our first Habitat for Humanity build. Our next destination is Pigeon Forge Tennesee. As I have mentioned before we will be working at Dollywood over the summer & possibly into the fall. I guess we will be busy the first 3 months of the year & beyond. I still don't know where all my free time has gone or where I found time to hold down a full time job before I retired.
Well we hope everyone has had a wonderful & merry Christmas. We also wish everyone a safe, happy, & healthy New Year. And all this wishes are coming from our home in Largo because...
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Friday, December 24, 2010
#141 It's Here!
Well Christmas is here. Christmas Eve was celebrated at our oldest daughter & son-in-law's home. Our youngest daughter brought her husband & of course the grand children. It was very nice to be able to get together with family. In fact it might be the best gift of the season. Tomorrow we go over to the grand kids home so they can open their gifts on Christmas morning.
We also had our traditional Christmas Eve trip to the mall. Our shopping was done but we still went just because we could. Mary was amazed the first time I took her to the mall on Christmas Eve to show her that the craziness that everyone talks about is just a myth. Also since the weather was absolutely beautiful we decided to ride the bikes.
Tomorrow we will open presents & have dinner with a few close friends. It is Christmas & we plan on enjoying it. We also hope that all of you have a wonderful & happy Christmas. So until the next blog, Merry Christmas to one & all from our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
We also had our traditional Christmas Eve trip to the mall. Our shopping was done but we still went just because we could. Mary was amazed the first time I took her to the mall on Christmas Eve to show her that the craziness that everyone talks about is just a myth. Also since the weather was absolutely beautiful we decided to ride the bikes.
Tomorrow we will open presents & have dinner with a few close friends. It is Christmas & we plan on enjoying it. We also hope that all of you have a wonderful & happy Christmas. So until the next blog, Merry Christmas to one & all from our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Sunday, December 19, 2010
#140 Only 6 More Days!
Can you believe it? Less than a week until Christmas! Heck, where did 2010 go? It has been one heck of a year but it has gone by so fast. I will not regret the fact that time is going by so quickly, I will just look forward to what life has in store for us next. So far I haven't been disappointed & hopefully it will continue. That will give me more to share & keep blogging.
Time going by also means that we are done volunteering at the grand kid's school until after the New Year. We are having a blast & we feel that we are appreciated by the teachers & their students. We are looking forward to getting more involved with the kids & making a positive difference.
Now lets talk about the weather. It has been cold but we did get a really nice day this past Friday. It was time to fire up the motorcycles & just enjoy the day. We rode down to the beach for the first time this snowbird season. It was our first view of the new John's Pass bridge & the first time over the Belleair Bridge. After driving up & down the beach & seeing how much it has changed over the years we stopped & had lunch at PJ's in Indian Rocks Beach. PJ's is a little seafood restaurant with extremely fresh seafood at a reasonable price. The weather is going to take a turn for the worst again so we enjoyed the day for all it was worth.
This final week before Christmas we will spend time making those homemade gifts that seem to be appreciated by all. Mary will be baking cookies & I will make homemade bread. We also will be cooking some foods to share with friends & family through the holidays.
So we will be busy cooking & baking for the holidays in our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Time going by also means that we are done volunteering at the grand kid's school until after the New Year. We are having a blast & we feel that we are appreciated by the teachers & their students. We are looking forward to getting more involved with the kids & making a positive difference.
Now lets talk about the weather. It has been cold but we did get a really nice day this past Friday. It was time to fire up the motorcycles & just enjoy the day. We rode down to the beach for the first time this snowbird season. It was our first view of the new John's Pass bridge & the first time over the Belleair Bridge. After driving up & down the beach & seeing how much it has changed over the years we stopped & had lunch at PJ's in Indian Rocks Beach. PJ's is a little seafood restaurant with extremely fresh seafood at a reasonable price. The weather is going to take a turn for the worst again so we enjoyed the day for all it was worth.
This final week before Christmas we will spend time making those homemade gifts that seem to be appreciated by all. Mary will be baking cookies & I will make homemade bread. We also will be cooking some foods to share with friends & family through the holidays.
So we will be busy cooking & baking for the holidays in our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
#139 This Is Florida?
Has anyone else noticed the temperatures lately? We, & a lot of other snowbirds, come to the Sunshine State for the weather. Needless to say we are disappointed with the temps of the past weeks. Winter coats, scarves, hats, & gloves are not normally attire seen in tropical climates but that is what we are wearing. Also it is just a bit too cold for motorcycle riding. Even the Canadians are cold! Hopefully we will see a break in this cold & get closer to the normal temperatures for the area.
I mentioned before how well we have done with our Christmas shopping. I also mentioned that it doesn't matter because we can always find something else to buy. We went to Walmart to return 2 items & bought 8 more. We went to Pennys to return 1 item & left the mall with something else & spent more money at the Hospice tree. I am not complaining though, everything was something we either needed or will put a smile on someone else's face. And the Hospice tree is one of those charities that we remember every year for the help they gave our families in our times of need.
Well the shopping is pretty much done so that means that the wrapping must begin. It took us 2 1/2 days, numerous rolls of wrapping paper, & yards of tape to wrap everything.Well everything that we have bought. I am sure that there will be more to wrap, especially whatever Santa may be bringing Mary. After all Santa is a man & everyone knows that men wait until the last minute to do their shopping.
I am going to call it a day & get off the blog, so we are going to try to keep warm in our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
I mentioned before how well we have done with our Christmas shopping. I also mentioned that it doesn't matter because we can always find something else to buy. We went to Walmart to return 2 items & bought 8 more. We went to Pennys to return 1 item & left the mall with something else & spent more money at the Hospice tree. I am not complaining though, everything was something we either needed or will put a smile on someone else's face. And the Hospice tree is one of those charities that we remember every year for the help they gave our families in our times of need.
Well the shopping is pretty much done so that means that the wrapping must begin. It took us 2 1/2 days, numerous rolls of wrapping paper, & yards of tape to wrap everything.Well everything that we have bought. I am sure that there will be more to wrap, especially whatever Santa may be bringing Mary. After all Santa is a man & everyone knows that men wait until the last minute to do their shopping.
I am going to call it a day & get off the blog, so we are going to try to keep warm in our home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
Thursday, December 9, 2010
#138 What Free Time?
Where did all the free time go that I was supposed to get when I retired? Time is getting away from us & that is the only reason for the time between blog posts. The hecticness that comes with the holiday season along with our volunteer work & doctor visits has filled our calendar.
We did start our volunteer work at the grand kids school. 2nd grade was a challenge so we moved down to 1st grade. This was better but we still felt a little awkward so we regressed to kindergarten. We found our niche!!! Apparently we were made for gluing popsicle sticks. Actually we did well in all grades and were pleasantly surprised at how advanced each grade was compared to when we attended elementary school. We are having fun & look forward to more time in school until we leave in the spring.
Hopefully our medical visits are winding down. Mary's tests are showing negative results, which is good, but still requires treatment that is much less invasive than was originally thought. My tests are another story. The gastric problems I've had over the past couple of months necessitated an EGD & colonoscopy(AKA throat-cam & butt-cam). For those who have not had the pleasure the throat-cam requires fasting after midnight & leaves you with a scratchy throat for a day. On the other hand the butt-cam is a whole 'nother experience. First there is the indignity of the bowel-prep or as I like to call it "extreme pooping". Think 4-6 hours with your butt needing to stay within several feet of the toilet. Also fasting for almost 24 hours. Not only do you get hungry but family members (my loving wife) feel bad about eating in front of you & if they do the smell is torture to the fasting victim. The day of the test is the final insult. Even though anesthesia is used they still shove what looks like a 40' hose up your butt. After the test is done you feel like a Macy's Day balloon and spend the day spouting enough gas to put holes in the ozone layer. Sounds like fun doesn't it? All looked good & it is now over so I can look forward to not doing this again for at least a few years.
As far as Christmas we are doing very well. We actually are just about done with our shopping. As I've said before, grand parents are not finished until December 24th or the money is gone. We are grand parents & proud of it. Now all we have to do is wrap a garage full of presents. We also plan to get together with friends & family this holiday season so the calendar is still very full. This is Christmas & we wouldn't have it any other way. My only question is how did we get this done before we retired?
Well it's time to do some wrapping so goodnight from our winter home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
We did start our volunteer work at the grand kids school. 2nd grade was a challenge so we moved down to 1st grade. This was better but we still felt a little awkward so we regressed to kindergarten. We found our niche!!! Apparently we were made for gluing popsicle sticks. Actually we did well in all grades and were pleasantly surprised at how advanced each grade was compared to when we attended elementary school. We are having fun & look forward to more time in school until we leave in the spring.
Hopefully our medical visits are winding down. Mary's tests are showing negative results, which is good, but still requires treatment that is much less invasive than was originally thought. My tests are another story. The gastric problems I've had over the past couple of months necessitated an EGD & colonoscopy(AKA throat-cam & butt-cam). For those who have not had the pleasure the throat-cam requires fasting after midnight & leaves you with a scratchy throat for a day. On the other hand the butt-cam is a whole 'nother experience. First there is the indignity of the bowel-prep or as I like to call it "extreme pooping". Think 4-6 hours with your butt needing to stay within several feet of the toilet. Also fasting for almost 24 hours. Not only do you get hungry but family members (my loving wife) feel bad about eating in front of you & if they do the smell is torture to the fasting victim. The day of the test is the final insult. Even though anesthesia is used they still shove what looks like a 40' hose up your butt. After the test is done you feel like a Macy's Day balloon and spend the day spouting enough gas to put holes in the ozone layer. Sounds like fun doesn't it? All looked good & it is now over so I can look forward to not doing this again for at least a few years.
As far as Christmas we are doing very well. We actually are just about done with our shopping. As I've said before, grand parents are not finished until December 24th or the money is gone. We are grand parents & proud of it. Now all we have to do is wrap a garage full of presents. We also plan to get together with friends & family this holiday season so the calendar is still very full. This is Christmas & we wouldn't have it any other way. My only question is how did we get this done before we retired?
Well it's time to do some wrapping so goodnight from our winter home in Largo because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
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