Sharp's Travels

Gay Feb-18-12

2012-02-19T07:52:00.000-05:00

Not much going on today, spent our time with Kari as it is her last day with us. At 10:30 am we went over to Grandma’s to visit and I had Kari work on Grandma’s computer, installing Outlook Express for her e-mail. The new e-mail software that came with the new internet service was too hard for her to understand. She had an older version of Outlook Express on her old computer and we thought that it would be better to use Outlook Express as she was use to that. At 11:00 am we took Grandma with us to visit with Dean and Betty. Kari hadn’t had a chance to see them until today. We visited with them until about 12:15 pm and then it was time to meet Mike and Pam for lunch at Sunrise Eatery. We wanted Kari to meet our Life Group friends. After lunch we went back to Grandma’s so Kari could finish the work on Grandma’s computer. Grandma had gone with Carol down to the Rec Hall to see the park variety show. She got home around 4:45 pm and we all headed for Clearwater Beach to watch the sunset. With the late start I didn’t know if we would make it or not. I dropped them off at the beach and by the time I got the car parked I had time to take two pictures before the sun dropped behind the horizon. Kari took a lot of pictures as it was the first time taking pictures of the sunset with her new camera. She got some really nice pictures. I did take a few. We checked out the vendors on the pier. Cheri fixed us all a sandwich in the car before we started for home. We arrived back at Grandma’s around 9:00 pm. Kari sat down with Grandma and showed her how to use the new e-mail software. I walk on home to watch the end of the Bud Shootout NASCAR Race, very exiting but not the way I wanted to see the finish. Cheri and Kari came about half and hour later. It was time to turn in as we have to be up by 4:00 am in the morning to take Kari to the airport.

Grandma

Gay Feb-17-12

2012-02-18T06:30:00.002-05:00

Today was a wash out as far as the weather goes rain on and off all day and when it wasn’t raining there was a mist in the air. Late morning we went over to Grandma’s for a short visit and then Cheri and Kari headed off to Lakeland to do some shopping. I work on Grandma’s coffee table as it was coming apart. I cleaned up the joints, glued and screwed them back together. Then I headed home to do some more work on insurance, trying once again to get our refund going to direct deposit. Then I worked on cleaning out the basement until it started to rain harder, I got that project about half done. Kari called around 2:00 pm and said they were on their way home and to meet them at Grandma’s for a late lunch and early supper of hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill. Kari had taken us to one last year when we visited her in McHenry and they were excellent. After supper I had Kari fix a couple of things on Grandma’s new computer that I wasn’t able to figure out. We still couldn’t get the e-mail to work the way we wanted and tomorrow Kari is going to install Outlook Express so it will be the same as she had on the old computer. We played one game of dominos which Cheri and Kari won, it was a very close game and went down to the last hand to see who would win, makes for a fun game.

Gay Feb-16-12

2012-02-17T06:24:00.000-05:00

We took our time getting ready this morning, visiting with Kari. Cheri fixed a breakfast of pancakes. I got a call from Bud this morning and he was putting some chrome on his bike and had a problem, so I went down and helped him. From Bud’s I went up to Grandma’s to meet Cheri and Kari. Kari hadn’t seen Grandma for about five years. So we visited until it was time for Grandma to go out for lunch with her cousin that was passing through from Wisconsin. So we took Kari out to the flea market. Then over to Wal-Mart to have a new battery put in her watch, which they wouldn’t do because she didn’t buy the watch at Wal-Mart. Then Cheri and Kari wanted to go to Beall’s shopping. While they were in Beall’s I went to Tractor Supply (man’s store). Later Grandma called Cheri and told her she was home so we headed to her place and I dropped off Cheri and Kari. I went back to Wal-Mart and picked up a battery for Kari’s watch and came back home and put it in for her. Then I headed over to Grandma’s to visit and play dominos. Grandma wanted to have pizza for supper so I went to Papa John’s and pick up the pizza. When we got home we tried to watch some TV, but had trouble staying awake so we called it a night and went to bed.

Gay Feb-15-12

2012-02-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

Today was an interesting day, I had a motorcycle ride planned to leave at 10:30 am. Bud called me around 9:00 am and wants to have us get together for a picture and a little write up about our riding group for the paper, so we all met at down by the gazebo at 10:30 am. After we got done with the picture we had to go back to Larry’s to put some oil in the primary case on his bike as it was leaking. So it was after 11:00 am before we got started on our ride. We weren’t able to do the ride I had planned because we need to head for a Harley dealer so Larry could get a new gasket for the primary cover on his bike. All in all we still manage a 145 mile ride and were home by 4:00 pm. Just as we pulled in to the park we met Cheri and Bev headed out to do some grocery shopping. This forenoon Cheri and Denise went to Dade City shopping. At 5:00 pm we headed out to Tampa to pick up Kari (daughter) at the airport. She is going to be with us for a few days. We just got out of town when we got a call from Kari telling us that she was still in Houston TX. She missed her connecting flight and wouldn’t get to Tampa until 10:15 pm. So we turned around and went back home and watched TV until 9:00 pm and then headed for the airport to pick Kari up. Actually it turned out better because there wasn’t any traffic to content with. It was 11:30 pm when we got home. We visited for a while and called it a night.

The Old Hogs

Gay Feb-14-12

2012-02-15T07:27:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone, it was a special day for me as 45 years ago today I asked Cheri to marry me. While we were on our morning walk the lady that is secretary and treasurer for the park stopped us and asked me if I would set up the new workout equipment that they have installed in the gym. As long as Cheri and I use the gym I couldn’t very well say no. So my morning was spent getting that project done. Cheri’s quilt gathering was at 9:00 am this morning because the Wisconsin park potluck was this afternoon. We picked up Grandma at 12:45 and headed down to the Rec Hall for the potluck. A good time was had by all with a lot of good food and games. This evening Paul and Bev went with Cheri and me to the Longhorn Steak House in Lakeland for a great steak dinner to celebrate our 45^th engagement. On the way home we stopped at Harbor Freight, I can’t pass this store without stopping. I did buy a couple of containers to store screws in. I had bought one last week and Cheri laid claim to it for her sewing machine gadgets. When we got home we played one game of dominos with Paul and Bev. The girls were too much for us and won big time.

Gay Feb-13-12

2012-02-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

It was another cold morning around 37 degrees. It did warm up later in the day to be out and about without a jacket. At 7:45 am we went over to Grandma’s to take her down to the Rec Hall for breakfast but when we got there she was still in bed and had forgotten about the breakfast. We walked over and to Dean and Betty’s and Betty went with us. After breakfast we walked back up to Betty’s to visit for a bit and Betty wanted to do the Poinsettia quilt project that Cheri started last Tuesday. So Betty got out her material stash and they picked out the colors they needed to do the project. Then Cheri and I headed home so Cheri could get the things she needed to help Betty. I worked around the 5^th wheel dumping the black water tank, putting water in the fresh water tank as the water is going to be turned off one day this week. I also got the water softener regenerated. Then I got the tools I needed to fix Carolyn’s toilet and headed over to her place. She said that it wouldn’t flush. It turned out to be the flapper cord was broke, so I headed over to Home Depot and got a new one. After putting it in I noticed that when I flush the toilet it would leak between the tank and stool. So that met another trip to Home Depot to get all new insides and gaskets, now it is just like new. On the way home I stopped at the VA clinic and made an appointment for my yearly physical. It was after 4:00 pm before I got home. Cheri was already home and had done some cleaning and laundry. I made a call to the VA in Tampa for an appointment to have my hearing aids adjusted; they are too loud and have to be reprogrammed. Larry and Denise came up this evening to visit and we ended up play one game of Hand, Knee and Foot. Larry and I thought we were going to win the game because after three hands we were ahead by over 12,000 points. Well it didn’t turn out that way, Cheri and Denise really put to us the last hand and won the game (very happy girls).

Gay Feb-12-12

2012-02-13T06:33:00.002-05:00

The forenoon was pretty much the same as all other Sundays. We picked up Grandma 9:00 am and went to church, then after church eleven of us went out for lunch at Red Robin’s. Cheri and I each had soup and split a chicken wrap. The soup was very good and hit the spot as it was cold out. Out temp this morning was 34 degrees and windy, the high for the day was around 55 degrees. After lunch we made plans to go to a movie this afternoon with Mike and Pam. They picked us up at 1:40 pm and headed over to the theater to see Big Miracle. It was a very good family movie about trapped whales in Alaska. It was based on a true story. After watching the beginning of the movie I remembered when this happened back in 1988. After the movie Mike and Pam came to our place and we played Hand, Knee and Foot. We played two games, took a break and ordered in pizza from Papa John’s. We had to play one more game to break the tie. It was a tough battle but we guys came through with the win. It makes up for the last time we played, when Pam and Cheri won every game we played. It was a great day God made for us to spend with him and our Life Group friends.

Cheri Feb-11-12

2012-02-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

Our day began with breakfast at golden Corel with Sandy & Greg at 8:30am. We’d bragged about the breakfast there so they wanted to check it out. Needless to say we did not go away hungry!

Greg had never been to a Harbor Freight so that was a must stop for them when we reached Lakeland. Sandy & I waited for them in the car. An hour later they were ready to leave, so off we went to Bok Tower in Lake Wales.

The tower is located on Iron Mountain. At the elevation of 298ft, this is one of the highest points in Florida.

They began construction of the Bell Tower in 1927 and was completed it in 1929. It was built as a centerpiece to the gardens for the Bok family. It stands 205 feet high. The outer facing is of pink & gray Georgia marble & Florida coquina (a limestone of shell & coral fragments).

It houses the 60-bell carillon. The bells weigh from 16 lbs to 11 tons. They give a concert at 1 & 3pm Thursdays through Sundays. They also play taped music during those days.

The tower has 7 levels, none that are accessible to the public.

The 1^st level is The Founders level, 2^nd The Archives, 3^rd Maintenance Workshop, 4^th Carillon Library, 5th The Carillonneur’s Studio, 6^th Keyboard Room, and 7^th The Carillon (60 bells).

We strolled through the gardens, while listening to the music, took in the view from the scenic overlook and then headed for the Pinewood Estates.

The Estate was built in the early 1930’s, as a winter home for Charles Buck, President of Bethlehem Steel. It is one of Florida’s most outstanding examples of Mediterranean Revival architecture.

The staircase features a different tile pattern on each riser. Also, there was lots of tile on the walls that was all brought in from Cuba. It had striking decorative doors and tiled fireplaces. The house was furnished with original 1930’s pieces from the Buck era, including the pottery and chandeliers.

We strolled back to the museum and checked it out, and checked out the movie on the Bok Tower.

I had to check out the gift shop of course, they had such beautiful things but I just looked and didn’t buy!

We made a slight change in our return trip home, we grabbed a quick burger and then headed for Parksdale for one more Strawberry Shortcake before Sandy & Greg had to leave for home. We had never been at Parksdale at 5pm before. We couldn’t believe the line waiting to be served. It was a nice way to end our day. Sandy and Greg leave in the morning; we sure enjoyed their visit and hope they come back next winter.

Gay has uploaded pictures of the day, click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Bok Tower and Pinewood Estate

Gay Feb-10-12

2012-02-11T07:17:00.002-05:00

Sandy and Greg came over for breakfast at 9:00 am. Cheri fixed eggs, toast, and sausage and I made the coffee. After visiting for a while Greg and I headed north with a stop at Russell Stover’s candy store to buy some candy bloopers (seconds) which doesn’t hurt the taste of the candy. Then we headed to the big truck chrome shop. I figured that Greg would like this as he is a trucker and all truckers like to dress up their trucks. Then a stop for lunch at McDonald’s before we headed up to Ocala to H & B Cycles. I have mentioned before about this used parts and used cycles that he has for sale. Greg couldn’t believe all the used parts he had. Greg has restored a few old Harley’s and started talking to him about the old bikes and I asked him if we could see his museum of old bikes. So he took us out back to a building that must have had around 150 motorcycles, 99 percent of them where Harley’s and one from each year back as far as the 1930’s. When we got done we thanked him and he then said next time you come back I will show you the rest of them. He said we only saw half of what he had. It was unbelievable. After that it was time to head for home. Cheri and Sandy went to Dade City to visit the Pioneer Village Museum. Then they went out for lunch at the Village Inn. Then they did some shopping. Cheri had put a pot roast in the crock pot this morning with carrots, onions, and potatoes. So that was our supper along with fresh baked biscuits. Another great day God made for us to spend with family.

Gay Feb-9-12

2012-02-10T08:39:00.000-05:00

We had a busy day today. Greg and Sandy came for breakfast at 9:00 am. After some visiting and breakfast we headed over to the flea market by the airport. While we were there we also got to see some sky divers. I bought a six deck card shuffler, Greg bought some leather punches. After the flea market we headed to Plant City for a lunch of strawberry shortcake, which was excellent. Then to the power plant to see the manatees, which I was surprised there were so many do to the warm weather we had. After visiting the Manatee museum it was time to head to Clear Water pier 60 to watch the sunset. We stopped for supper at KFC a couple of mile before we got to the pier. I didn’t think the sunset would be much because it was so cloudy, but it turned out to be pretty good. We also watch some fisherman feed the fish they caught to the pelicans. It was fun to see them fight over the fish. We didn’t get home until 8:00 pm. It was a great day that God made for us to spend with family. I have uploaded pictures of the day click on this link http://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Clear Water Pier 60

Gay Feb-8-12

2012-02-09T07:27:00.002-05:00

There were only three of us Old Hogs out for the motorcycle ride today, John and Gary had other commitments today. We rode north to Leesburg and made our stop at the Harley dealer for coffee and Bud bought another piece of chrome for his bike. Then we made our usual stop at McDonalds for lunch. I did find a couple of new roads we hadn’t been on before which is always good. After lunch Bud wanted to know what which we were going back home. He said that he saw a motor home for sale along the road and wanted to go back to look at it. So that’s what we did. It looked pretty good from the road but when we got up close it was in really bad shape. We teased Bud about buying it and taking it home to Joyce. We put on 150 miles and were home by 3:00 pm. Cheri took Grandma to the doctor for her B-12 shot and then to Wal-Mart to pick up groceries and Grandma’s medicine. When she got home she checked with Denise to see what she was doing and she came up to visit with Cheri. This afternoon she was cleaning house getting ready for Greg and Sandy who were coming tomorrow. When I got home I see a car in our yard with Ohio plates on it. I couldn’t figure out who it was and when I went inside I see it was Greg and Sandy. That was a surprise because they weren’t going to be here until tomorrow and that they are form Maine I was fooled by the Ohio plates on the car. As it turned out they rented a car to drive down. After visiting for a while we went to eat at Golden Corel and then back to our place for more visiting. Another perfect day God made for us.

Gay Feb-7-12

2012-02-08T07:27:00.002-05:00

It was a down day for me. I was supposed to go for a motorcycle ride today, but the weather didn’t cooperate. It was overcast with a light mist all day. I did go out after lunch and was going to clean out the basement. There was cool breeze blowing so all I did was take the garbage up to the dumpster. I spent the rest of the day reading on a novel I started some time ago. Cheri on the hand was pretty busy all day. She did some laundry this morning and had her quilt gathering at the Rec Hall this afternoon. Twelve of the ladies are working on a new project called Point seta matting. It was after 4:00 pm when she got home. After supper we made a trip over to Wal-Mart to drop off a subscription for Grandma. Then we headed up t Mike and Pam’s to play cards. Pam and Cheri were the big winners, we played two games of Hand, Knee and Foot and two games of SOB and we guys didn’t win anything. I have a motorcycle ride planned for tomorrow if the weather will cooperate.

Gay Feb-6-12

2012-02-07T07:29:00.002-05:00

Not much going on today. It was mostly cloudy with a 30 % chance of rain. Cheri had laundry going before we headed out for our morning workout and walk. I wanted to put on the slide out coating but with a 30% chance for rain I thought that might not be a good idea. So I cleaned out the shed and found the roof coating that I used on the old 5^th wheel. I had look for it a few days ago and couldn’t find it and thought that I must have gotten rid of it. I opened the can and it looks ok, so I can take back the coating I bought at Lowe’s. At 12:30 pm we headed to Lazy Days to visit Johnny and Paulette (Alaskan rally friends) and teach them how to play Hand, Knee and Foot. The girls beat us guys really bad. Then we got together with Louise and Paul and the six of us went out for supper together at Cracker Barrel. After supper we said good bye to Paul and Louise and headed back to Johnny and Paulette’s to teach them how to play SOB. We played on game and then it was time to head home. It never did rain where we were but we did hear some thunder so the rain must have been close by. It was a wonderful day that God made for us to spend with friends

Gay Feb-5-12

2012-02-06T07:38:00.002-05:00

We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed for church. After church there were ten of us from our Life Group that went out for lunch at Wendy’s. After lunch we dropped of Grandma and headed to Publix’s (grocery store) to pick up some goodies for the Super Bowl party at Mike and Pam’s. We rested and checked out the new book that we picked up at church called The Reason for God written by Timothy Keller. We also got a study guide so we can use it for our Life Group. We headed up to Mike and Pam’s at 5:30 pm for the Super Bowl party. We had a good time watching, discussing, and complaining about the outcome of the game. Well some of us were happy with the outcome. Some of the girls played cards as they had no interest in the football game. Everyone brought some goodies and drink. Pam and Mike had barbeque and a cake in the shape of a football and also had the decorations up for the game. Thanks Mike and Pam for inviting us, it was fun and we had a good time.

Gay Feb-4-12

2012-02-05T07:06:00.000-05:00

We had an interesting morning, after our morning workout we were doing our walk and some of the early risers were setting things out for the park wide yard sale today. Well we had no plans on checking out any of it until we came around a corner where a guy had a lot of things already out. So we stopped to look and ended up buying a big box of Christmas ornaments. He also had a lawn mower for sale that I checked out and bought. So we walked home to get the money to pay for our new finds. Then we walked the rest of the park to see what else we might find that we didn’t really need. Cheri bought some playing cards holders. Later in the morning Paul and Bev stopped by to see if we had bought anything, I showed him the mower I bought. It is a walk behind John Deer self propelled with electric start and bagger, all for $30 dollars. I noticed that our neighbor had his lawn mower setting out for sale. I figured he saw that I had bought one because I used his to mow his and our lawn. Well as it turned out he also bought a different lawn mower. We had a good laugh about it and had to put the new mowers side by side to compare them. At 1:00 pm we left to meet our Alaskan friends for strawberry short cake in Plant City at 1:30 pm. Then we headed back to Lazy Days for the rally and a lot more visiting. Spike (our tour guide) had a great meal of barbeque ribs and chicken catered in for us. There were around two hundred people there, the largest group they ever had. It was tough saying good bye to everyone knowing it would be another year before we would see most of our Alaskan friends.

Johnny, Paulette, Cheri, Mary Jo, Ron, Louise, Paul

Charlie, Paulette, Cheri, Patti, Mary Jo, Louise

Paul, Johnny, Griffin, Patti, Ron

Gay Feb-3-12

2012-02-04T08:26:00.002-05:00

Right after breakfast I went to work on chalking the bedroom slide. I didn’t do the prettiest job but at least there are no leaks. We didn’t have any sun this morning so it made it nice doing the chalking but the roof on the slide never dried enough to put on the roof coating. Maybe tomorrow I can get it finished. By the time I got done with the chalking and cleaned up it was time for lunch. Then it was time to head for Lazy Day’s for our Alaskan Rally. We did our Alaskan trip back in 2008 and every year they have a rally here I Florida. It is a chance to see the people that we went on the trip with. Our group was much smaller this year as there were only eight of us there today and tomorrow we will have one more couple joining us. It sure was nice to see everyone and catch up on what everyone has been doing over the past year. Spike had a pizza party along with all kinds of desserts. They also had live music for dancing. While Cheri and I were dancing I said it’s been a long time since we last danced. She looked at me and laughed and said it has been a year as we danced last year at the rally. After more visiting we headed home and look forward to more visiting at the rally tomorrow.

Gay Feb-2-12

2012-02-03T07:22:00.002-05:00

So according to the ground hog we are going to have six more weeks of winter, if the weather stays as nice as it has been this winter we can handle the extra time of winter with no problems. After our morning walk and workout we headed over to Wal-Mart at 7:30 am to get our groceries before it got busy, sure is a lot nicer shopping there early in the morning. We got a call this morning from Cheri’s sister telling us that they are coming to Florida to see us in a couple of weeks and we also got a call from Kari (daughter) that she is coming to Florida to see us in a couple of weeks. So we will have a busy time while they are here, look forward to seeing all of them. Cheri worked on doing laundry and some early spring cleaning. I worked on the bed room slide. I removed all the chalking and clean the roof of the slide to get it ready for some roof coating. Around 1:00 pm I took a break for lunch and then I dropped Cheri off at Bud and Joyce’s so she could let their dog out as they left early this morning and wouldn’t be back until late. I went to Lowe’s to get the roof coating for the slide outs and back to removing the rest of the old chalking. It was around 5:30 pm when I got done, so tomorrow I will work on putting in the new chalking and coating the roof of the slide out. Around 6:00 pm we walked down to get the mail and drop off Bud and Joyce’s key. Then we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos. It was another great day in the neighborhood that God made for us to spend with friends.

Gay Feb-1-12

2012-02-02T08:41:00.002-05:00

Wow! The first month of 2012 gone already, time really flies by when you are having fun. I planned a ride for Cheri and I to go to the airport south of Lakeland to check out where it was as I have a buddy jump coupon and wanted to see when they do there jumps. So as it turned out Larry and Denise along with Bud went with us. Bud wanted to go to Brandon Harley so that was our first stop. Bud and Larry each bought something for their bikes. Cheri and I were good shoppers not buying anything. Then it was on to find the airport. It turned out to be a very small county air port with a grass landing strip. They do their jumps on Fridays and Saturdays. So I have to call ahead to make a reservation. We are busy the next two weekends so maybe sometime late in February. When we got back to Plant City Larry, Denise, Cheri and I stopped at Burger King for a late lunch, Bud went on home. After our lunch Cheri wanted to stop at a craft and furniture store. There was a Tractor Supply store right next door so that was where Larry and I went. When we got back to Zephyrhills we stopped at an automotive store as Larry was looking for an air filter cleaning kit. They were all sold out of them, so that will be a trip for another time. We made one more stop at Radio Shack as Larry wanted pilot light for the motorcycle and there was a TJ Max store next door so that was where Denise and Cheri headed. After the girls got done shopping we headed home and Larry and Denise went to the grocery store. We saw Bud and Joyce outside so we stopped to see if Bud put the chrome on his bike that he bought today and he said no he was going to wait until tomorrow. It was another perfect day in the neighborhood that God made for us.

Gay Jan-31-12

2012-02-01T07:29:00.000-05:00

At 9:30 am Larry, Denise, Cheri and I headed out on the motorcycles to Lakeland to take in the Snowbird Extravaganza. We got to park right up by the main entrance, parking area just for motorcycles which was very nice. The place was packed with people who made it hard to check out the vendors. By the looks of the vendors you tell it was geared for us old people. There were vendors that deal with foot pain, back pain, energy drinks, special beds, special chairs and mobility scooters. We signed up for chance to win a free cruise and many more things. They also had a lot of entertainment which we didn’t stay to watch, all people we had never heard of before. When we left we headed to the Harley dealer so Larry could pick up the parts he ordered for his bike. Then we headed to Olive Garden for a late lunch of soup and salad. It was after 1:00 pm when we got there and we still had to wait half an hour to get in. When we left there were a lot of people still waiting. When we got home we stopped by Bud and Joyce’s to visit and get a key for their house so we could let their dog out while they are gone on Thursday. It was near 6:00 pm before we got home. Supper was very light because of the late lunch. Larry and Denise came up this evening to play cards. We played two games and the girls won one and we guys won the other one. It was another great day that God has made.

Gay Jan-30-12

2012-01-31T07:16:00.002-05:00

First thing this morning I had to make a call to the insurance company as we got a letter in the mail Friday saying there was a problem with Cheri’s Medicare part D. We had both filled out the paper work and sent it in back in the first part of November. The letter said we had to do something by the 30^th or Cheri wouldn’t have any drug coverage for this year. So I got all the paper work out and made the call. I know that these calls usually don’t go well. Well today things went better. After about 10 minutes on the phone with a very nice lady everything was taken care of and Cheri will have drug coverage starting Feb 1^st. Today was motorcycle ride day. John, Bud and I took a short ride over to the Harley dealer in Port Richey. Then we stopped for lunch and headed home, I actually found a couple of roads that we hadn’t been on before. After a 95 mile ride we were back home by 2:30 pm. Cheri worked on income taxes today and was ready for a break when I got home. So we went up to visit with Paul and Bev, they both have been sick with bad colds and we hadn’t seen them for a couple days. Larry and Denise came up around 8:00 pm and we made plans to go to Lakeland tomorrow to the Snowbird Show. I will tell you more about the show tomorrow.

Gay Jan-29-12

2012-01-30T07:27:00.000-05:00

We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed to church. After church seven of us from our Life Group went out for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. As usual it was after 1:00 pm before we got home. Cheri went to work on her quilt and I headed over to Wal-Mart to pick up some oil and gas for the new generator. I wanted to get it started and try it out. Well it runs great and I plugged a couple things into it to see how it would manage under a load. It passed the test with flying colors. All Cheri has left to do on her quilt project is to bind it. She has struggled with this project and I think she will be glad when it is done. We got a call from Pam and Mike inviting us up to their place to play cards this evening. Pam told us tonight was her night to win at cards because she didn’t win any the last time we played. We played two games of Hand, Knee and Foot which we guys won. Then we played two games of SOB, Cheri and I each won a game. Poor Pam who has been sick the last week and we had no pity on her, maybe next time Pam. Thank you God for another wonderful day to spend with close friends.

Gay Jan-28-12

2012-01-29T06:55:00.002-05:00

This morning I worked on making some screen prints to help Grandma with getting into her e-mail as it is some different than she had before. I took them over to her and had her follow the screen prints a couple of time and I think that will help her. We planned on going to the Kumquat Festival in Dade City this afternoon with Paul and Bev. We got a call from Bev saying Paul was sick and went back to bed and they would be going today, knowing Paul he has to be really sick to miss a car show. So at 2:00 pm Cheri and I headed to Dade City to take in the Kumquat Festival. Cheri doing the vendor booths and I headed to car show area. I missed having Paul along to talk about all the cars. It didn’t take me very long to look at all the cars. So I checked out some of the vendor’s and was looking for Cheri. Well with 20,000 people coming and going I figured I would never see her, but after about 15 minutes I found her at a jewelry vendor (not a surprise). So I walked with her while she shopped and then we tried to find the quilt show. After asking several people and a lot of walking we found it. It turned out to be a disappointment as there were only a few quilts. We were done with the show and home by 4:30 pm. Cheri went back to work on her quilt and I watched some videos on how to install the remote starter kit on my new generator. At 5:30 pm we headed down town to the car show which I didn’t think would be that good because of the car show in Dade City at the Kumquat Festival. Boy was I wrong; there were a lot of cars. Some of them were cars that I saw in Dade City, but also a lot of cars that I hadn’t seen before. We were back home by 6:30 pm and settled in for the evening. I have uploaded a few pictures from the car shows. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels than click on album: Car Show Jan 28 2012

Gay Jan-27-12

2012-01-28T07:38:00.002-05:00

It started raining around 4:00 am; the hard rain was pretty much over by 6:30 am and then rain showers off and on until 1:30 pm. Then it started to get cooler as a cold front was coming though so our highest temp was this morning, 67 degrees. At 10:00 am I headed over to Grandma’s and worked on her new computer. Around 2:00 pm I had everything done with some help from Darren as he did a remote into the computer to fix something I screwed up. Grandma and I set down and I showed her how to use it. She is having a hard time but with a little more training and some written instructions she will be ok. When I got home I see the generator I ordered sitting outside. I had forgotten that it was coming today. So I was like a little boy at Christmas time. I got it unboxed and looked it over and that was all the time I had with it. Cheri had called Pam and Mike to see how Pam was and if they wanted to go out for supper and some cards afterwards. Cheri did laundry and work on quilting her quilt. She is having a time with it but I think she has a handle on it now because it is looking really nice. We picked up Mike and Pam at 4:30 pm and headed to Dade City to eat at Kafi Kokopelli which offers some great food and unique atmosphere. Then we headed back to Mike and Pam’s to teach them how to play Hand, Knee and Foot. It is kind of funny because Mike and Pam were the ones that taught us how to play Hand and Foot. It was another wonderful day God made for us.

Gay Jan-26-12

2012-01-27T07:03:00.002-05:00

I left at 9:45 am and headed to Tampa to get my hearing aids. This is something new for me and was excited to see if they are going to help. They are the type with no volume control on them. Everything is programmed and set up by computer. They really make a difference in my hearing. I have to wear them for a month and then go back to have them adjusted if they need to be changed. I know I have had them for only a half a day but I think that they need to be turned down a little, the high frequencies hurt some. It was after 1:00 pm before I got home. Cheri was working on her quilt project and is still having problems with the quilting part. I guess she needs a quilting machine. We had a late lunch and then I went over to Grandma’s to work on the computer. I just got started when Cheri called and said Larry and Denise were here and want to go for a motorcycle ride down to Plant City for strawberry short cake. Let’s see do I work on the computer or go for strawberry short cake. I guess that was a no brainer, half hour later we were on our way to Plant City. It was the first time we have had strawberry short cake this season. I didn’t think that the strawberries were as good as the ones we had last year, maybe it is just the early berries. We took a longer route home and had a nice ride. This evening we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play dominos. We played two game and the girls won both games.

Gay Jan-25-12

2012-01-26T07:34:00.000-05:00

It was a perfect day for our motorcycle ride. There were only three of us Old Hogs today. Larry had to help his brother with some work and Gary was having a problem with his arm. So Bud, John, and I headed for Crystal River. It is one of my favorite rides here in Florida as it takes us through a lot of back roads, hills and lots of corners. We left at 10:00 am and arrived at the Harley dealer around 11:45 am. After looking around there for an hour, Bud bought a couple pieces of chrome for his bike. Then we headed to Burger King for lunch. After lunch and visiting for a while it was time to head for home. We made a stop about half way home for a rest and an ice cream bar. We made one final stop at the Florida National Cemetery. Riding through the Cemetery seeing all the crosses gives you a new respective of all the men and women that fought for our freedom. Everyone should have to visit one of our many National Cemeteries. While we were at the cemetery John set up his camera and tripod and took a timed picture of us three so we all could be in the picture. John e-mailed me the picture so I could add it to our blog. Our ride today was 153 miles. Cheri, Denise, and Bev headed out at 10:00 am to a fabric shop in Lakeland that they just found out about a couple of days ago. All three of them came home with some more fabric and sewing supplies. About 4:30 pm Cheri and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s and my medicine. There was a long line and I had waited for 30 minutes when I remembered that we have new drug insurance and had to go to a different line to get that taken care of before I could pick up my drugs. The lady I was standing in front of said she would hold my place in that line. Long story short she got to the counter for drugs before I got done giving them my insurance information. The insurance lady took care of me and had me go to the front of the drug pick up line. So all in all it took over an hour to get the drugs. Larry and Denise came up this evening to play cards.

Gay, Bud, John

Gay Jan-24-11

2012-01-25T06:28:00.000-05:00

Our little boy is 33 years old today, Happy Birthday Darren. It was another very nice warm day in the neighborhood. I went down to Ed and Loraine’s and helped Ed put together their new patio swing set. Then I went up to Grandma’s and worked on her computer until 1:30 pm. I got all the e-mail contacts in and corrected (81 of them). Then home for a late lunch. Cheri and Denise left at 12:30 pm for their quilt gathering down at the Rec Hall. At 2:30 pm I took the motorcycle and headed to Tampa for the MRI on my back. My back has been much better but I still wanted to have the MRI to find out what is going on. By the time I got back to the park it was 4:45 pm and made a stop at Ed and Brenda’s. Brenda was walking by Ed and Loraine’s when I was putting together the patio swing and wanted to know if I would come by their place and hook up the digital converter to their TV’s. She said they can only get two TV stations. Long story short I got them hooked up and now they get around 30 TV stations. When I got home Cheri had supper ready, she had put a turkey breast in the crock pot this morning. The smell of it cooking in the crock pot makes it even taste better. After supper we called Darren to wish him a happy birthday and he was telling us about the trip he wants to take to South America this spring. Sounds like a lot of fun. This evening we went down to Larry and Denise’s to play Hand, Knee and Foot. The girls beat Larry and me really bad. It was a good day to help and spend time with friends.

Gay Jan-23-12

2012-01-24T07:23:00.000-05:00

It was 50 degrees this morning and warmed up to somewhere around 80 degrees. Got to love this kind of winter weather, I guess we do have some colder weather coming at the end of the week. We had a couple of appointments today and some things that I wanted to get done. Our first stop was at the eye doctor’s to drop off some paper work. Then we stopped at Lowe’s to return a piece of oak plywood that I didn’t need. Then it was time for our appointment with the quilter as Cheri as a couple of quilts ready to be quilted. From there we stopped at Wal-Mart to get a few groceries and to pick up Grandma’s medicine. I waited in line for the medicine while Cheri did the grocery shopping. When my turn came they looked and couldn’t find the medicine than he came back and said it was on back order. So I asked him when it would be in and when he came back he said that it was here and it would be ready in 15 minutes. So 10 minutes later Cheri called me telling me she was ready to check out. I said I have another 5 minutes to wait for the medicine. Then the guy comes back and tells me it is going to be another 15 minutes. Well I had waited long enough and told him we would pick it up later. As it was we didn’t get home until 1:30 pm and I was supposed to be down at Ed and Loraine’s early this afternoon to help Ed put together a lawn swing set for their patio. On the way into the park I see them sitting outside so I stopped and told them I would be down after I had lunch. Ed said let’s wait until tomorrow morning when it wasn’t so hot. So after lunch I was going over to Grandma’s to work on the new computer and get the caption back on her TV. Paul stopped me on the way and he was looking for some screws to hang the new TV they got. So I headed back to the 5^th wheel to get the screws and then helped him get the wall mount up and the TV mounted. By the time I got done with that I didn’t have time to work on Grandma’s computer but I did get the caption working on the TV. Cheri did laundry and continued to work on her new quilt project.

Gay Jan-22-12

2012-01-23T08:06:00.000-05:00

We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed to Church. Pastor Dean gave us the Nook so Grandma could read the sermon but the font size was too small and she had a hard time reading it. After church there were eleven on us that went out for lunch at Chili’s. It is a time that our Life Group gets to catch up on what everyone has done over the past week. It was a little past 1:00 pm before we got home. We changed clothes and took Cheri’s quilt down to the Rec Hall so we could lay it out on a couple of tables, we squared it up and cut the back for it. When we got back to the 5^th wheel we both didn’t feel like doing anything else so we watched some TV and napped for a while later we played a game of Hand, Knee and Foot. This is the first time we played by ourselves. It is a good game for two people also. We called our granddaughter this evening to wish her a happy tenth birthday. Coz and Nikki had a birthday party for her a motel where they had swimming pool. She said it was a lot of fun.

Gay Jan-21-12

2012-01-22T06:46:00.000-05:00

We took our time getting around this morning as nothing was happing until 10:30 am. Then it was time for a motorcycle ride. This was also wives day to ride with us. It was a perfect day for the ride, John & Arlene, Larry & Denise, and Cheri & I headed north to Sleepy Hollow. It is a biker’s bar out in the middle of nowhere. We have been there before and they have the best steak feed for $5.00. Plus they have venders and live music. After we eat, we visited for a while and then headed on down the road by way of a slow scenic route. We made a stop in Dade City for ice cream and more visiting. 105 miles later we were back home by 3:30 pm. Cheri and I rested and relaxed the rest of the day. I have uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels than click on album: Sleepy Hollow Jan 21, 2012

Gay Jan-20-12

2012-01-21T06:58:00.002-05:00

Cheri and Denise left at 10:00 am and headed for Lakeland to shop. Larry, Gary, Bud, John, and I headed out for a motorcycle ride at 10:00 am. We headed north to Ocala and stopped at a Burger King for lunch and then we rode over to H & B Cycles. The last time we were there the owner was telling us about all the old Harley’s he had, we wanted to see if we could look at them. Well as it turned out he was very busy and he was the only one in the shop so he didn’t have time to show us the bikes. So we headed over to the Ocala Harley dealer and looked around before we headed back to Zephyrhills. We got back at 3:45 pm and 153 miles later. When we get back we always stop at the entrance of the park to talk about the day and make plans for the next ride. While we were there Denise and Cheri were just getting home from their shopping trip. After I got the bike put away Cheri was telling me how much fun they had shopping, not sure where all they went but she did tell me that they went to Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Fabrics. She said that they had lunch at Olive Garden. We went up to visit with Paul and Bev and to see if they wanted to play dominos this evening. They said they already had plans for the evening. So after supper Cheri and I sat down and watched a little TV before we fell asleep in our chairs, so we called it a night and headed for bed. It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood that God made for us to spend with friends.

Gay Jan-19-12

2012-01-20T07:43:00.000-05:00

I got a call from Darren this morning while he was on his way to work and said to call him around 9:30 am. So I headed over to Grandma’s to work some more on setting up her new computer. I was having trouble copying her contacts over to the new computer and I had called Darren yesterday for some help and left a message on his voice mail. So I called him at 9:45 am and he said that he couldn’t help me right away because he had some problems at work that he had to fix first. Long story short I was able to figure it out myself. I still had to go through the contacts on the new computer and add the name of the contact. Around noon Cheri, Denise, and Larry stopped over to see how I was doing. They wanted to go for a motorcycle ride this afternoon. So I worked until 12:30 pm and told Grandma I would be back later. She still has use of her old computer so everything is ok. We left at 1:00 pm for our motorcycle ride and headed to the Manatee Museum south east of Tampa. It is right by the power plant so when it is cold the manatees come by the power plant discharge where the water is warmer. Larry and Denise had never been there before so they were pretty excited to see them and Denise was taking a lot of pictures. On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart to stretch our legs and decided to go into Wal-Mart at McDonalds to have supper. It was 6:30 pm and dark when we got home, the ride from Plant City was a little cold. At 7:00 pm we went down to Larry and Denise’s to play Hand, Knee and foot. They had uploaded the pictures Denise took today on to their digital picture frame. Denise had a lot of really great pictures. Larry and I did win the card game.

I took a few pictures at the power plant. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels than click on album: Manatees Jan 2012.

Gay Jan-18-12

2012-01-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

I left early this morning to work at Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers. I had some wiring to do in the attic and wanted to get it done before it got too hot. Later Jay came to do more carpenter work and to move a couple of switches. I helped him figure out how to wire a switch without running new wire. My part of the wiring is all done and now all I have left to do is some computer work showing switches and receptacles on a site plan with the circuit breakers they are on. I got home at 1:30 pm and Cheri was gone. So I grabbed an energy bar for lunch and headed over to Grandma’s to work on her new computer getting it set up for her. I tried to copy her contacts on a travel drive from her old computer and install them on the new computer, no luck on doing that, it is a different format. I called Darren to see if he could work me through it. I got his voice mail so I gave up and headed for home. Cheri had been up to Paul and Bev’s visiting. She also worked on her quilt today; I think she is ready to take it down to the Rec Hall so we can square it up. It was cloudy this morning and late this afternoon we got a hard rain while I was at Grandma’s and then another rain late this evening. We really need the rain as it is so dry and have to worry about wild fires.

Gay Jan-17-12

2012-01-18T07:46:00.002-05:00

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a little cool this morning but warmed up to be a perfect winter day. Cheri was busy doing laundry and I went over to Grandma’s this morning as Tom from Bright House came to hook up the high speed internet and telephone service. While he was doing that I started hooking up a new computer for Grandma. I moved the old computer on to the table and set up the new one on the computer desk. I worked on it until noon and still have some things to set up on the new computer. I told Grandma that she could use the old one and I would be back tomorrow to finish the project. Cheri and I had a quick lunch and got ready to go for a motorcycle ride with Larry and Denise. We rode down to New Tampa and stopped at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Denise needed some thread and as it turned out they didn’t have the thread that she needed, but they both (Denise and Cheri) found something they thought they needed. While they were in Jo-Ann’s Larry and I went to Staple’s. I was looking for some dry-erase pens. I was telling Larry on our last ride that I wished Harley made a map pouch for my bike. I write all the turns on a piece of paper and tape it to the gas tank. He pulled out a dry-erase pen and said use this and write on the windshield. Boy does that work really nice, I wrote each turn across the top of the windshield and there it was nice and easy to read without taking my eyes off the road. I ended up buying five of the pens. I am going to give one to each of the guys in our riding group. We made another stop at Sam’s and we bought a membership. We had a membership many years ago and didn’t think we needed one because we are full time RVer’s and don’t have the room for bulk items, but now that they have many more things that we can use. It was a short ride of about 45 miles but it was still fun when you can share it with friends. This evening we were invited up to Pam and Mike’s for supper and games. Pam’s best friend Peggy from Illinois is spending a week with them. So we played dominos (Mexican Train) and showed Peggy how to play. It was a fun evening to spend with close friends. Thanks Pam for fixing us supper.

Gay Jan-16-12

2012-01-17T07:22:00.002-05:00

Today was just like yesterday only it started out 10 degrees warmer. Cheri work all day on her quilt and is having a hard time getting it the way she wants it, She has taken it apart a couple of time and also downsizing it to a size she wants. I went to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers to finish up the wiring but ran into a situation where I needed a couple of splice boxes in the attic to finish the wiring. Also the fan on the porch quit working so I was checking it out and had to take it down and it got away from me when I was coming down the ladder and broke one of the fan blades. On the way home I stopped by three different stores to see if I could buy new blades for it, no luck on that as it is a special type of blade. I did buy a piece of quarter inch oak plywood and I am going to see if I can make a new one. As it turned out I wouldn’t had to take it down as I found a broken wire behind the wall switch. So as you can see it wasn’t a very good day for Cheri and me. Larry and Denise came up this evening and we played a couple of games of Hand, Knee, and Foot. Larry and I won both games.

Gay Jan-15-12

2012-01-16T07:17:00.000-05:00

It was a cold morning with a temp of 34 degrees and there was heavy frost on the windshield of the van. I went out and started it up about 10 minutes before we left for church to get it cleared off. I don’t own an ice scraper anymore, shouldn’t have to have one in Florida. Well it did warm up to be a very nice day with a high around 75 degrees. After church there were 12 of us that went out for lunch at Olive Garden. I always look forward to the Sunday lunch as it a time to catch up with our Life Group friends. When we got home Cheri worked on her quilt project and I installed the Winegard Sensar Pro TV signal meter. It took me a couple of hours to finish the project and I am very happy with the way it works. It gives you a chance to find the TV stations and get the antenna pointed for the strongest signal and it shows you what channels you will receive. Then you turn on the TV and do a channel search and your done and ready to watch TV. Larry and Denise came up for a visit this evening. Then it was time to settle in and watch the Green Bay Packers play the New York Giants, what a disaster it was, it was the worst game the Packers played this year. Well football is about over but NASCAR racing will be starting next month.

Gay Jan-14-12

2012-01-15T07:19:00.000-05:00

We had a very productive morning. We did our work out at the gym, our morning walk and a trip to Wal-Mart for groceries and back home before 8:00 am. It was only 40 degrees here this morning and there was frost on the windshield of the van. Of course by the time we eat breakfast, drank a pot of coffee, showered, dressed, and read the Bible it was 10:00 am. That is the great thing about being retired, no time table. Cheri cleaned the 5^th wheel (inside). The outside of the 5^th wheel is all mine to clean and that is a project I need to get done. I went over to Grandma’s this morning to work on her leaking bathtub faucet. It is 25 years old and I took the chance that I could get new parts for it at Lowe’s. After searching through all the faucet parts they had, I finally found something that looked like it would work. Long story short everything went together without any problems. I was so glad that I didn’t have to change the faucet out because it met removing the kitchen stove to get to the back side of the bath tub and maybe even the hot water heater. It was 1:30 pm when I got home and Cheri was working on a new quilt project. After lunch Cheri went back to work on her project and I did some searching on the internet for a generator. After attending the RV Show in Tampa where I look at a few generators I found one that was a good deal but it was just too heavy to be moving around. I had found one a year or so ago on the internet and have been comparing everything to that one. Well when I checked they were having a big sale and it was a newer updated model. Long story short, I order one and it should be here in a week or so. After I check it out and give you an update and pictures of it. Mike stopped over as Pam told him that I had a lot of plumbing to do at Grandma’s and he came to help. I told him I was done, so we visited until it was time for us to leave and pick up Grandma and head down to the Rec Hall for the pot luck supper. There was a lot of good food and I ate too much once again. I think we need to move farther south because out high for the day was 56 degrees and it suppose to get down in the 30’s tonight. Here is another reason we go south for the winter, check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xkk7DX0l95A&Lid=12

Gay Jan-13-12

2012-01-14T06:39:00.002-05:00

Let’s see, it’s Friday the 13^th, is it a lucky or unlucky day. I believe that any day that we can get around and are in good health is a good day. We went over to see Grandma this morning and talked to her about getting her telephone, TV and internet service all from Bright House where she now gets her TV. It will save her some money in the long run and have much faster internet service as she only has dial up service right now. When we got home we were trying to decide if we wanted to go back to the RV show in Tampa. While we were having lunch Larry and Denise came up and said that they want to go back to the RV Show. Well that made it an easy decision for us. So by 12:30 pm we were on our way to Tampa. I am not sure if it was a good idea or not as I spent some more money. I picked up some black mark cleaner, if you have ever owned an RV you know how hard it can be to get the black marks off, so I am always looking for something to make it easier. I also bought the Winegard Sensar Pro. It is a meter that goes in the antenna line so you can tune the antenna to get the best signal. We looked at several motor homes and 5^th wheels. I think if we could take a little from each of them we could make one that would work and last a long time. Many of the floor plans will not work for full time RVer’s. I also checked out the generators, sure would like to have one but not sure I can justify the price for no more than we would use it. Maybe if we got one we would do more camping without hookups which would help pay for the generator. It was around 6:00 pm before we got home and when we stepped into the 5^th wheel we could smell the soup Cheri had going in the crock pot. Boy did it smell good and tasted good on a cool jacket type of day. It was another wonderful day in the neighborhood the God made for us.

Gay Jan-12-12

2012-01-13T07:28:00.003-05:00

I put in a bad night and was up at 3:30 am. I think I had too much caffeine last night. Our morning was the same as other days, gym workout and our walk. Cheri did a couple loads of laundry and spent the rest of the day helping Denise with her quilt and they did do some grocery shopping. I planned a motorcycle ride for the day. Bud, Gary, Larry, John, and I headed for the Blue Springs Park near Orange City by way of Clermont to stop at the Harley dealer. Bud had bought a signal light converter for his new motorcycle and it had quit working so we stopped to get a replacement. Then we made our usual McDonald’s lunch stop. After lunch we continued our trip to Blue Springs Park and when we got to Mount Dora we made a stop in the park by the lake and I told the guys that this was as far as we were going for the day as we didn’t have enough time to make it to Big Springs Park and be able to get home before dark. We decided to do the Big Springs Park run later in the year when we have more daylight. So we turned around and headed for home. We hadn’t gone very far when Larry had me pull over to let me know that Buds bike wasn’t tracking straight (the drive belt). So we went back by way of Clermont to have it checked out. The mechanic said it was ok and nothing to worry about. I think they just didn’t want to do anything about it as the drive belt was not running true. We plan on checking into it tomorrow. We still had a good ride of 162 miles and got home around 4:00 pm.

The Old Hogs

Gay Jan-11-12

2012-01-12T04:41:00.002-05:00

I went over to Grandma’s at 8:45 am to pick up the van and she was up for the day, I was surprised to see that she was up already. At 9:30 am Cheri and I picked up Larry and Denise and headed to Tampa fairgrounds for the big RV show. Oh yes it was raining this morning and a little on the way to the RV show. While we were going through the inside venders it rained so hard that it was hard to hear inside the building. So we spent some extra time with the inside venders. I was looking at LED lights to replace the standard ones we have. I found four different venders that were selling four different makes. I had bought some last year and planed on buying more from that vender which was in a different building. When we got ready to leave the building it was still raining so Larry took the information and goodies we had collected and went to the car to get our umbrellas and jackets. Well wouldn’t you know it stopped raining and the sun started to come out before he got back. So off we went to check out the motor homes and 5^th wheels. I stopped by Excel to see Bryan Tillett president of Excel to talk about the problems we are having with our 5^th wheel. Long story short he is going to talk to Jack at the repair center and have him contact me. We checked out the venders in the other building and the people I got the LED lights from last year weren’t there. So after looking at a few more motor homes and 5^th wheels we were ready to head for home. On the way out I decided to go back to one of the other venders that had the LED lights. I ended up buying enough to do all the main lights in the 5^th wheel. On the way home we stopped at Golden Corral for supper. It was 7:00 pm by the time we got done with supper and Cheri said take me home my love I am very tired. I said something about going shopping and all of a sudden she wasn’t tired anymore. We stopped at Kmart, TJ Max, and Beall’s for the girls as Denise was looking for a single bed sheet to use on the back of the quilt she is making. They couldn’t find one the right color so we headed home. It was a fun day to spend with friends.

Gay Jan-10-12

2012-01-11T06:20:00.000-05:00

Today was a perfect winter day, no wind with a lot of sunshine and a high of around 75 degrees. Cheri did laundry and I detailed the motorcycle. I started a little after 9:00 am and took a half hour break for lunch and then back at it and didn’t get done until after 2:30 pm. Ron stopped over to drop of f the cooler that he had bowered and visited for a bit. Cheri, Bev, and Denise had their quilt gathering down at the Rec Hall this afternoon. When I got done with the motorcycle I went down to see what Larry was doing and he was just about done cleaning Denise’s motorcycle. The girls got home around 4:00 pm. I am not sure what Bev was working on but Denise got the quilt she was working on ready to put the batting in and do the quilting. Cheri has the pillow project almost done; I think all she has left to do is put the pillow in it. She also finished a throw project and has it ready to take to the quilter. So it was a very productive day for all of us. I got the grill out and grilled up some chicken and pork chops for supper and another meal. We watched some TV and called it a night.

Gay Jan-9-12

2012-01-10T07:38:00.003-05:00

We picked up Grandma and we went down to the Rec Hall and had a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, toast, French toast, juice, straw berries, sausage, all for $3.50 per person. Larry showed up without Denise as Denise isn’t a morning person. Larry said that they had the quilt laid out on the bed and wanted us to come down after breakfast to check it out. What they have done looks very nice and now Cheri and Denise have to go to the quilt store to get some more material for it. Cheri took Grandma for her 10:30 am appointment for her B-12 shot. She also wanted to get her hair cut but couldn’t get in with the lady that she likes to do it. So she has an appointment for another day. I also saw John at breakfast and he said that he was taking his bike to Lakeland to have a couple things check on it and that Bud was going along and wanted to know if Larry and I wanted to ride along. Of course we couldn’t turn that down. I headed home from Larry and Denise’s and worked on putting the running boards on the truck when Larry showed up and wanted to know how to change the brakes of his bike. As long as we were going to the Harley dealer Larry said he was going to get new brakes for it. He also had to have some special sockets to get the old brakes out. Cheri and Denise got back from the Zephyrhills quilt store just before we were ready to leave on our ride to Lakeland. When we got to Lakeland John headed for his appointment at the Harley dealer and Larry, Bud and I made a stop at Harbor Freight so Bud could get a set of torx wrenches. Of course I found something that I thought I needed. Then a quick stop at Sears so Larry could get the sockets he needed to work on the brakes. When we got to the Harley Dealer John was all done and they couldn’t find anything wrong with the bike. Larry got the new brakes and we headed for home. While we were gone Cheri and Denise decided to go to Lakeland to Jo-Ann Fabrics and got back about five minutes after we did. After supper the four of us went down to the Rec Hall to cut the material that they bought today for the quilt Denise is making. As you can see it was a busy day in the neighborhood.

Cheri's pillow project

Gay Jan-8-12

2012-01-09T06:25:00.002-05:00

Church time for this year starts 15 minutes earlier than last year. We picked up Grandma at 9:00 am and headed for church. After Church it was just Grandma, Cheri and I that went out for lunch as the rest of our group at other plans for the day. Larry and Denise have a new carpet cleaner and they cleaned their carpet this morning and after lunch they brought it up to our place and cleaned our carpet. Cheri and I got everything off the carpet for them. Larry worked very hard doing the cleaning and Denise was right behind him wiping down the walls. It was about 2:30 pm when we got done with that project. Then the four of us went down to the Rec Hall, where Larry and I help Cheri and Denise cut out and square up material for their quilting projects. Denise is working on a queen size quilt and Cheri is working on a couple of throws. We needed the extra room to lay out the material and we had to out of our places so the carpets could dry. So we worked until 5:30 pm and got done what Denise and Cheri wanted us to do for them. When we got home the carpet was pretty well dried and we put everything back in its place. After supper we went up to Paul and Bev’s to see how Brit (their dog) was doing and they have him medicated to the point that he isn’t very active right now. We played a couple of games of dominos which we split. It is so nice to have great friends to help us with projects and to have fun with. Yes it was a little cool this morning but turned out to be a beautiful warm sunny day.

Gay Jan-7-12

2012-01-08T06:52:00.000-05:00

The temp was in the mid 40’s this morning which made Cheri feel better about walking and working out at the gym. We took our time getting around this morning; I guess we had a bit of laziness. I went over to Grandma’s to pick up the van and see if she was going to church with us tomorrow. We had to pick up Mike and Pam at 11:00 am. We stopped at the Village Inn for lunch and then headed to Tampa to drop them off as they are taking a five day cruise that their kids got them for Christmas. When we got back to Zephyrhills we checked out a 55 plus community that a lady in Wal-Mart told Cheri about. The lots were big which we liked but the houses were old and it was off the beaten path. When we got home we see Paul and Bev outside with Brit. They had taken him to the vet this morning for blood work and while he was there he had one of his seizures. The vet gave him some shots that made him walk around like he was drunk. The first Saturday of the month is the car show in Dade City and we always go to it with Paul and Bev when they are here. They said that they weren’t going this time because of Brit. Just as we were heading back to the 5^th wheel we see Larry and Denise coming up the road. They were checking to see what we were doing. We asked them if they wanted to go to Dade City to the car show with us. Of course that was great idea with Denise as Cheri is helping Denise to design a queen size bed spread and they wanted to go to the quilt store to get material for it. So it was a win for the girls and a win for Larry and me. Cheri called me just as Larry and I were getting done looking at all the cars, so it was time to head for home and have supper. After supper we went down to Larry and Denise’s to play a game of Hand, Knee and Foot. Larry and I were lucky enough to pull out another win. God made another wonderful day in the neighborhood for us to spend with friends.

Gay Jan-6-12

2012-01-07T07:55:00.000-05:00

It was 41 degrees this morning much better than the last couple of days. It warmed up nicely for our motorcycle ride today. When I got up this morning I couldn’t remember if I had tightened the handle bar clamp on Bud’s bike after putting on the handle bar set back. So I left early and stopped by Buds and asked him to get the allen wrench to check the bar clamp and sure enough I hadn’t torque it down. Then I went and filled up the bike with gas and then back to Buds for our ride. I decided to wear my lighter gloves and I had forgotten them in the 5^th wheel. So told Bud I was going back home to get them. Just as I got them out of the basement Larry and Denise pull up on the bike. Larry was dropping of Denise so she and Cheri could go shopping. Well I looked at Larry’s bike and said your back tire is low on air, which would have been a disaster if I hadn’t seen it. We pumped it up and just got done when Bud, John and Gary came looking for us to see what happened. I had prayed for safe rides this morning and I know it was God letting me know that I needed to check Buds handle bars and telling me to go and get my gloves so that I could see that the tire on Larry’s bike was low on air. As we were leaving for our ride Cheri and Denise were leaving to go shopping. We rode for about 30 miles and made a stop to make sure Larry’s tire was ok and everything was fine. So we continued on and made it to the St Pete Pier which was our designation. We had lunch there and I took a few pictures and then headed for home. We arrived at home around 4:00 pm and 163 miles later. It was a great ride. Cheri and Denise weren’t home and Larry didn’t have keys to get in their motor home so he came up to our place. We sat down and were having a cold beer when they came home. This evening Mike and Pam picked us up and we went out to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers where Ron had a surprise wedding anniversary party for Sandy. It was a wonderful time to spend with close friends. I have uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link to see pictures. https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels/StPetePier#

Gay Jan-5-12

2012-01-06T06:48:00.002-05:00

It is still cold but one degree warmer this morning than yesterday, 29 degrees. This is supposed to be the last cold morning. Cheri didn’t want to walk again this morning and I didn’t ether. I was getting ready to reinstall the running boards of the truck when I got a call from Ron wanting to know if Cheri and I could come over to Green Acers and help him do some cleaning. So we headed over to give him a hand. We could only help until around 1:30 pm as Cheri had to take Grandma for groceries and medicine and I had told Bud I would put the GPS on his new bike. Actually I was late getting to his place but we got the GPS mounted plus the other things that needed to be done. The new bike is done and ready to ride. So he was going to fill the tank with gas which would be his first ride on it. I have a motorcycle ride planned for tomorrow and Bud wanted to be ready for it. Cheri had planned on working on her pillow project but that didn’t happen because of everything else going on. I don’t know why but we were both super tired this evening and didn’t last long watching TV.

Gay Jan-4-12

2012-01-05T07:01:00.002-05:00

Cold, Cold! It was 28 degrees this morning and when Cheri got up she said that it was too cold to walk and I had to agree with her. There wasn’t any wind so it warmed up to be a nice jacket weather day. Cheri had told me that Grandma said that the water in the bath tub was dripping, so I went over to check it out and when I get more time I will take it apart and see if I can put new guts in it or have to install a valve. I called in a prescription for Grandma and it will be ready tomorrow and she said that would be fine because she needs to go for groceries. At 12:30 pm we picked up Larry and Denise and headed to Lakeland to shop at the quilt store for Cheri and Denise. Then we made a quick stop at Home Depot to see if I could get the stainless steel washers I needed for the truck, no luck there so on to Harbor Freight where I bought some more tools that I needed (wanted). Then one more stop at Tractor Supply where I found the stainless steel washer I needed. It was after 5:00 pm before we got home. Cheri and I decided to go to the 6:00 pm movie to see War Horse and called Larry and Denise to see if they wanted to go and would pick them up in twenty minutes. So our supper was a big bag of popcorn at the movie. The movie was ok but we didn’t think it was anything special. When we got back to drop off Larry and Denise Larry said how about a game of Hand, Knee and Foot, of course we couldn’t turn that down. I won’t tell you who won, but Cheri and Denise weren’t happy.

Gay Jan-3-12

2012-01-04T06:09:00.002-05:00

Cold! It was 41 degrees this morning and a very stiff wind most of the day, not sure it got above 50 degrees. My painter was supposed to be here at 9:30 am and didn’t show until 10:30 am. He got the truck running boards done and the rest of the paint chips done. The truck really looks nice, now all I have to do is reinstall the running boards and give it a good wax job. I thought I was going to freeze while watching them do the painting. I found myself a place in the sun and out of the wind which helped keep me warmer. It was 1:30 pm before the painter finished and then I took him down to Larry and Denise’s motor home. Larry had a couple of spots that he want repaired. So while the painter was doing that Larry and I worked on his sewer hookup so it would drain better. Plus a couple of other little projects. It was 4:00 pm by the time the painter got done with Larry’s project and it looks very nice. Bud went to get his new motorcycle today so Larry and headed down to see it and stopped by the Rec Hall to see Cheri and Denise as today was their quilt gathering. Cheri helped Denise with her table cloth and all that is left to do is quilt it and put on the binding, sure is pretty. Then we headed on down to Bud’s, John was there checking out the bike when we arrived. It looks really nice and now when the weather warms up I will install the GPS for him. This evening we were invited up to Paul and Bev’s for dominos. It was a split this evening as the girls won one game and we guys won one, made for a great evening.

Gay Jan-2-12

2012-01-03T06:18:00.002-05:00

At 6:45 am Cheri and I headed for the gym and did our work out and then our morning walk. It sure felt good getting back into a daily routine. I washed the truck again this morning getting it ready for the guy to come this afternoon to finish the painting. Then it was time to restring one of our day night shades, it is project that I don’t really like to do but once I get started it’s not so bad. After lunch Cheri and Denise went to Dade City shopping at the quilt store and Big Lots. Bud stopped by and said that he called the Harley dealer in Clermont and made the deal for the new bike. I told Bud I would come down to his place to help him remove the parts that he is going to keep for the new bike. Well I got a call from the painter saying that it took him longer in Lakeland than he thought it would. So long story short he said he will be here tomorrow at 9:30 am. Bud had plenty of help with the bike as Gary was already there when I arrived and a little later Larry showed up. We had everything removed by 4:30 pm. When I got home Cheri was helping Denise with a quilted table cloth. It was 7:30 pm before they quit working on it and then we ordered in pizza and took it down to Larry and Denise’s. After the pizza we play a game of Hand, Knee and Foot. It was a really close game until the last hand and then the girls took control and beat Larry and me pretty bad.

Gay Jan-1-12

2012-01-02T06:32:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to one and all, I hope all your prayers and dreams come true for 2012.

I would like to start the New Year with the following prayer that I received in an e-mail.

APAP means “Always Say A Prayer”

God, our Father, if it is your will, walk through my house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family in Jesus name,

Amen

Cheri and I haven’t gone to the gym or walked the last couple of weeks because of my back. It is much better and we are going to start back to the gym and walking tomorrow. Paul picked me up at 8:00 am and we went to Bushnell to the car show and swap meet which is the first Sunday of each month. So this was the first one for Paul and me this season. We had a good time and I was the only one to buy anything. I spent a whopping three dollars on some stainless steel bolts for the mud flaps on the truck. The original bolts were rusty and didn’t look very good, now I will have nice shinny bolts. Cheri and Bev work all day on their pillow quilt project. Larry and Denise move back into the park this afternoon and they walked up to see us late this afternoon, good to see them and had a nice visit catching up on the last two weeks that they were gone. They will be here for the next three months. I tried to cook a pizza on the grill this evening and that didn’t turn out so good, Cheri had to finish it in the oven. Our grill was too small for the pizza and the wind was blowing and the grill never got hot enough.

Gay Dec-31-11

2012-01-01T06:36:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful day we had, a warm 75 degrees and lots of sun. Cheri did a load of laundry and I did a few honey do jobs. Cheri called Pam to see how she was doing as a couple of days ago she went the hospital emergency room with a drug reaction and diverticulitis. We said we wanted to bring in lunch for them and Pam said that she was having cabin fever and would like to go out for lunch so we picked them up and headed to the Village Inn in Dade City. After lunch we went back to Mike and Pam’s to visit for a while and then home so Pam could rest. Cheri and I sat and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I started reading a new book, time to get back to reading as it has been about six months since I have read a book. This evening we went out to eat with Paul and Bev at the Chowder House to celebrate the New Year. The food was excellent and we each had food to bring home (wonder what we will have to eat tomorrow). When we got home Cheri and I settled in for an evening of TV. By 10:00 pm we were in bed, said Happy New Year to each other, rolled over and went to sleep.

Gay Dec-30-11

2011-12-31T06:56:00.002-05:00

Cheri and I were at Wal-Mart a little after 7:00 am this morning doing our grocery shopping. It is a great time to getter done; there weren’t very many people out and about that early. We didn’t have to dodge any shoppers and no accidents with other shopping carts. It was almost fun (can’t believe I said that). We also use Wal-Mart for our ATM service and we needed to replenish our cash as we used all we had to pay the guy that did the painting on the truck and needed more today to pay him for the rest of the painting he was going to do today. He was going to be here at 10:30 am to finish the truck and he still wasn’t here at noon. So I called him and got his voice mail and left a message for him to call me. He was going to clean up and paint the running boards, so I worked to get them removed. I had to heat a couple of the bolts to get them to come out. I went to Lowe’s to see about getting some new bolts to replace the ones that got damaged when I remove them, no luck at Lowe’s. So I have decided to wait until Paul and I go to the car show and swap meet Sunday and see if I can get what I want there. I also checked into ordering new wheel covers for the truck. All I need are the front ones as a few years ago I scraped a large rock with the right front wheel and put a large dent in it and then this summer I hit a cooler that was laying in the highway that I couldn’t avoid with the left front wheel and put a big dent in it. So as long as I got all the stone chips fixed I need the new wheel covers to make the truck look new again. Later this afternoon I see Paul washing his truck so I went up and talked to him and Jack came over and told me he got a call from the painter saying that his truck broke down and wouldn’t be here today. He didn’t have my number so that is why he didn’t call me. Cheri worked all day on her pillow project, looking better each day. The rest of my day was doing odd jobs. We played dominos with Paul and Bev this evening and we guys were the big winners.

Gay Dec-29-11

2011-12-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

It was 41 degrees this morning but the sun was out and warmed up to 52 degrees by 10:30 am which was the time Bud, Gary and I left for a motorcycle ride. My back has been feeling much better the last few days and today was the test as far as riding the motor cycle. We rode over to the Kissimmee Harley shop and met Larry there. We visited for a while and Bud didn’t get anywhere trying to buy a bike there. Then we made a stop at McDonald’s for lunch and more visiting. Then it was time to head to the Clermont Harley shop by way of some new roads we haven’t been on before. Bud check out the bikes and found one he liked and sat down with the salesman and got a price, now he has to make a decision on what he is going to do. He said he was going to sleep on it and then make them an offer. It was 4:30 pm and 130 miles later when we got home. I wore my back brace while riding and didn’t have any problem with my back, which was great news because I have missed riding. The Mobile Paint and Body guy came and looked at our truck and gave us an estimate on getting the stone chips and some rust on the roof where the paint was coming off repaired. He was working on our neighbor’s car yesterday and I liked the work he did. So long story short he was working on our truck when I got home. What he got done looks very nice and after seeing what he had done he is coming back tomorrow to do the running boards. Paul was my overseer while I was gone. So at 5:30 pm Paul, Bev, Cheri and I went to Sunrise Eatery for supper. Cheri and Bev worked all day together on their pillow project and what they have done looks very nice, pictures to come later as I think it will be a few days before they finish.

Gay Dec-28-11

2011-12-29T07:06:00.002-05:00

It was a cool morning, jacket weather. After getting around this morning I asked Cheri what she was going to do today. She said she was working on her quilt project. I was waiting for it to warm up a bit before I tackled the job of washing the truck. About 10:00 am I said to Cheri, for some reason I am really hungry. About that time Cheri got a call from Mike and Pam as they were taking Jenny and Rick out for brunch at Sunrise Eatery and wanted to know if we wanted to join them. Of course we couldn’t say no to that. They serve breakfast all day and I had been akin for a big breakfast. After we eat we all got in Mike’s van and took a ride out to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers to see what work had been done. Then Mike took us through some different subdivisions looking at houses. It was 1:00 pm before we got home and it was time to tackle that project of washing the truck. It took me until 4:30 pm to just get the outside washed and I felt like a whipped puppy when I got done. The inside will have to wait until another day. While I was finishing up Cheri said she was going up to Paul and Bev’s and I told her I would be up as soon as I cleaned up. So Paul and I visited while Cheri and Bev went over the quilt project they are working on. This evening we were invited over to Dean and Betty’s for cards and dominos. Grandma went with us and Rick and Janis were there also. Dean, Betty and Grandma played dominos and wipeout. Rick and I were partners and beat Cheri and Janis really bad at a game of Hand and Foot. Cheri and Janis usually win at anything they play so Rick and I had to rub it in. We also played a game of SOB that I won. It was a good night for the guys.

Gay Dec-27-11

2011-12-28T07:27:00.002-05:00

Cheri, Bev, and Betty had plans to leave and head to Dade City for the sale at the quilt store. Cheri got a call from Bev around 7:30 am to tell her that Brit (their dog) was having another seizure and wouldn’t be able to go. But that didn’t stop Cheri and Betty from going and were on the road by 8:45 am. I went up to check on Brit and he was starting to come out of the seizure. An hour later he was back to his old self out running round looking for squirrels. It was cloudy and cooler this morning so I worked on getting the Christmas lights taken down and then washed the roof of the 5^th wheel, couldn’t believe how dirty it had gotten. I just finished up when it started to rain which was great as it gave the roof a nice soft water rinse. The rain didn’t last long and then it turned to partly cloudy and warmed up nicely. When Cheri got home she had to tell me about her great buys and how much money she saved (wonder where the money is that she saved). I went to see if I could get another prescription for the pain medicine I am taking for my back and was told that I would have to call Tampa to find out. So I called and was on hold for several minutes and then sent to another recording and was told the hours and then disconnected. I am frustrated and think I will wait until tomorrow to try again. I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up another medication that I had called in the day before and told me it would be ready by 10:00 am today. I was there at 12:30 pm and it wasn’t ready, so I waited about half an hour for it, it does frustrate me but what else do we retired people have to do. When I got home Cheri was already done with lunch and ready to leave for the quilt gathering at the Rec Hall. After lunch I tried to work on the computer but my mind wasn’t into it so I just sat down in the recliner and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We went up to Paul and Bev’s to play SOB, Paul won the first game and Cheri won the next two games. I asked Cheri if she felt guilty winning two games while Bev and I had won any. She just gave me that look and laughed (guess she didn’t feel guilty). It was a fun evening to spend with friends. You can never have too many friends.

Gay Dec-26-11

2011-12-27T06:40:00.002-05:00

It was another day of rest for us. For some reason we were both tired and lazy today. Not sure what the reason was for it, maybe it was all the good food we had yesterday. We did go out for a late lunch with Paul and Bev to celebrate Bev’s birthday which was on Christmas day. We sat and visited when got back at Paul and Bev’s. It wasn’t long before Cheri and Bev disappeared down to our place going over their next quilt project. We were invited up to Mike and Pam’s for supper and cards this evening. Their daughter Jenny and her husband Rick were there from Tennessee. We had never met Rick before, what a great guy. It was a fun evening playing SOB.

Gay Dec-25-11

2011-12-26T08:09:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to everyone, take time to thank God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. Remember everything is possible through Jesus. We didn’t have church today as there were three Christmas Eve services and it was nice that everyone could spend the day with their love ones. After a slow process of getting cleaned up and ready to face the day we headed down to the Rec Hall to put our dishes on a table so we would be sure to have a seat for the big Christmas Dinner at 1:00 pm. Then we walked up to Paul and Bev’s to wish them a Merry Christmas and Bev a happy birthday. After our visit with them we walked down to Bud and Joyce’s to wish them a Merry Christmas and have a glass of wine. Then on the way home we stopped by Ed and Loraine’s for a short visit as it was time for Cheri to get home and prepare the baked beans that we are taking for the Christmas dinner. We picked up Grandma at 12:45 pm and headed for the Rec Hall. I didn’t eat much this morning so I was ready for the big Christmas Dinner. There were over 160 people from the park attending the dinner so there was a lot of good food and no one went away hungry. After dinner we went back to Grandma’s and played cards, SOB which she likes to play. We only played one game as my back was hurting and need to go home and rest. Of course that met having a nap to settle the big Christmas dinner. We call Kari and had a nice visit with her; she was getting ready for the Green Bay Packer game party. Our evening ended watching the Packers win their football game. In the beginning the Bears were pretty tough on the Packers but the Packers prevailed in the end.

Gay Dec-24-11

2011-12-25T07:18:00.000-05:00

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood with a high temp around 78 degrees and lots of sun. We are so blessed to be where we don’t have to fight the cold and snow. Cheri and I took our time getting around this morning and my lovely wife fixed me a big breakfast of eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, now that what a call a real Christmas treat. First thing this morning we got a call from Cheri’s girlfriend Pat from Maine wishing us a Merry Christmas, they will be down in January to spend the rest of the winter. We look forward to seeing them and playing cards and dominos. After we got around, Cheri got out her next quilting project and needed to go over to Staple’s to have some copies made of the project. It is going to be a pillow and she and Bev are each going to make one. I won’t tell you anymore about it because when it comes to the quilting projects I am not with it. As I learn I will keep you posted. After Staple’s we stopped at the new Five Guys Burger place. We decided it was too expensive and when to Chili’s for soup and salad which is always very good. We also had to get a prescription filled for Grandma at Wal-Mart and not a place to be at today. I waited in the car while Cheri when in to get it and was back in short order without it. They said that they were out of it and we have to go somewhere else to get it. After we got back home we got a phone call from our granddaughter telling us everything she got for Christmas. She was very excited, we also got to talk to the rest of the kids and they are having a good time spending Christmas together. We walked down to get our mail and stopped to visit with Marline and Norm as they were sitting outside. We left early this evening for church so we could stop at CVS and drop off Grandma’s prescription and they told us it would be ready when we came back from church. We got to see all our fiends at church and wishing them a very Merry Christmas. The church program was amazing and the church was packed for the first service. After picking up Grandma’s medicine we made a stop at DQ for a Christmas Blizzard treat. After a little TV we headed to bed so we could have sweet dreams about what Santa was going to bring us.

Cheri's note book folder

Gay Dec-23-11

2011-12-24T06:59:00.000-05:00

I got up this morning with more back pain and I am running out of the pain medication that the doctor gave me and it’s a no refill prescription. I am trying to stretch the medication on until next week. Cheri gave me a much needed hair cut this morning, glad to have that done. Bev called and wanted to know if I had a skill saw Paul could use as he was remodeling a closet for the microwave. She wants to have more counter space to cook on. I told her I would bring the saw up and help Paul but she said she would come and get it as he wasn’t sure how he was going to do it. Late morning I took the garbage up to the dumpster and decided I would walk down and get the mail. Dean and Betty were sitting outside so I stopped and visited with them for a while. Then on down to get the mail when I met Bud with the golf cart. He gave me a ride on down to the post office and home which was really nice because the old back was beginning to hurt more. When I got home Cheri had started another quilt project which she worked on all day, not sure what you call it but I will have pictures of it when she gets it done and some details to post. Mid afternoon I replaced the wind sensor on the awning, sure hope that it will work the way it was designed, so now I have to wait for some wind to see. This evening Paul and Bev picked us up and we went to Wiregrass to see the Christmas light play to music. It only last about ten minutes but it sure is something to watch all the dancing lights on the big Christmas tree. There were over a quarter of a million lights.

Gay Dec-22-11

2011-12-23T06:56:00.002-05:00

The reading didn’t help any so I watched TV until 4:00 am and then went back to bed to sleep for about an hour before I was up again. Today is the first day of winter, here in sunny Florida we had a very warm day with a nice breeze, my kind of winter day. This morning I headed over to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers to work on the wiring. I finished up at 1:00 pm and got the wiring ready for the carpenter to remove the kitchen wall. It was hot working up in the attic. When I got home Cheri had moved to the living and dinette area cleaning the carpet. After a late lunch I sat down in the recliner to rest. A little later Mike stopped by with some Christmas candy for us and a gift for Grandma. After our visit with Mike we tried to watch some TV but within a few minutes we were both asleep. I woke up about 5:00 pm and it was time to get the grill fired up to do some lemon chicken for supper. Later we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play a couple of game of dominos which Paul and I won. I think it is the first time we have won this season. We called it an early night because of not getting much sleep last night. So long story short we were in bed by 10:00 pm.

Gay Dec-21-11

2011-12-22T01:07:00.002-05:00

Another night that I can’t get my mind to quit working so I decided to get up and do the blog. I still think it is the medicine I am taking for my back. I had a good day and the back didn’t hurt that muck so tomorrow I am going to back off on the pain medication. I had a 7:30 am appointment at the VA audio clinic to get fitted for hearing aids which I can pick up 1-26-12. I am excited about getting them and sure hope they help. On the way home I stopped by Camping World to pick up the wind sensor for the awning for a total of $262.00. I am going to try and send the old one back because it never did work. When I got home Cheri was doing complete cleaning of the bedroom carpet, closet and all the drawers. We had an early lunch and then I headed over to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers house. Ron and Jay (the guy that is doing the remodeling) had some questions on how to move some electrical wiring. After some discussion I told them I would lay out a plan for them. When I got home Cheri and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries and it wasn’t a good place to be this afternoon. The store was packed with people and had to park clear out at the end of the parking lot, won’t be making that mistake again. When we got home and got things put away we rested until it was time to meet Mike, Pam, Ron, and Sandy for supper at the Flaco’s Café, a good place to eat and very reasonable. As soon as we got home it was time to go up to Paul and Bev’s to play a couple of games of SOB. Paul and Cheri each won a game. We watched TV until 11:00 pm and then to bed. So now it is 1:00 am and here I am setting at the computer. I guess I will try reading to see if that will slow the mind down.

Gay Dec-20-11

2011-12-21T04:45:00.002-05:00

Not much going on today. Cheri and I did a few errands this morning. Talked to Paul and Bev and their dog Brit was acting funny this morning and took him to the vet and they said that he has a tumor in his brain. It is very sad and they gave them some medication. He would be fine running and playing and the next thing it was like he was drunk, not walking right and a glaze in his eyes. It would last about five or ten minutes and then he was back running and playing. I had to go and get a couple of tanks of LP and Paul also needed a tank filled so I took their tank with me while they went to the vet. At 12:30 pm Cheri and Bev left for a quilt lunch one of the ladies had for the quilt instructor. Paul and I went to Lowe’s so I could get a piece of plywood to put between the mattress and box springs on or bed. The mattress and box springs are starting to break down and thought that it might help my back. We see what happens with that tonight. After that project was done we sat and visited and a little later Cheri and Bev were home. At 4:00 pm we headed back to the 5^th wheel to relax the rest of the day. We got our candy and cookie care package form Nikki yesterday and now we have been on a sugar high that will last for a few days. We really don’t need it but it is soooooo good. She does this for us every Christmas since we retired. Before that Cheri and Nikki would spend a long day making cookies and candy to give away to all their friends and family.

Gay Dec-19-11

2011-12-20T06:42:00.003-05:00

I was up at 3:15 am this morning, another night I couldn’t sleep, I think it is the back medication that is causing the problem, still have more pain than I can handle without the medication. Cheri had a follow up appointment for her eyes at 9:30 am. Everything is coming along nicely. She has to do drops in her left eye for two more weeks and four more weeks in her right eye. She doesn’t have to go back until next November and her eye site should be at 100 percent, great news. Thanks for all the prayers as she has went through the long process. After her appointment I dropped her off at CVS so she could get her eye drop prescription filled and I drove over to make a follow up appointment for my back. When I got back to pick her up she was still waiting for the script to be filled. It was noon by the time we left there and stopped at DQ for lunch. We each had a burger and treated ourselves to a Blizzard. We took it easy the rest of the afternoon and tried to catch up on some TV shows we had recorded earlier. This evening we went up to Paul and Bev’s to play cards. We taught them how to Play SOB. They like the game and we need to play more so they can get used to what cards to play. All we ever played before was dominos and this will make for a nice change. Then we told them we would teach them how to play Hand and Foot. It was a cool 42 degrees this morning but warm up to be a very nice sunny day.

Gay Dec-18-11

2011-12-19T04:33:00.000-05:00

Grandma went to church with us this morning; several of our Life Group was out of town for Christmas or sick. So it was just Grandma, Cheri and I that went out for lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s. I was disappointed in our meal as it wasn’t that good and pretty expensive. We dropped Grandma off at home and we were home by 12:30 pm. I settled in to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Kansas City Chiefs, not a good game as the Packers lost. They never were in the game and were out played by the Chiefs on every level. Cheri finished her paper quilting project this afternoon. We didn’t have any supper this evening because of the large lunch and settled for a couple of pieces of toast with peanut butter. Bud stopped by to tell me that they weren’t going on the motorcycle ride tomorrow and are going to wait for my back to get better. Sure nice of them to wait, Bud said they couldn’t go without their leader, made me feel good. I was feeling pretty good last night when I went to bed so I didn’t take a pain pill. I guess that wasn’t the best idea because I got up this morning with quite a bit of pain. I took three pain pills throughout the day and my pain level was still above a four. This evening Paul came down and wanted to know if we wanted to play dominos this evening, of course we couldn’t turn that down. We played two games and Cheri and Bev beat us really bad, no pity at all.

Cheri's Paper Piece Quilt

Denise's paper piece Quilt

Gay Dec-17-11

2011-12-18T06:41:00.001-05:00

I was awake at 1:30 am this morning not able to sleep. I am not sure what the problem was, maybe the drugs, my back pain was very low so it shouldn’t have been that. I finally got up at 3:00 am sat and read in the Bible. At 5:00 pm I went back to bed and slept until 8:00 am. I can’t remember the last time I stayed in bed that late, but I didn’t care. Cheri also slept in a few minutes later than I did. Long story short it was after 10:30 am before we were ready to meet the world for the day. We went down to say our goodbyes to Larry and Denise as they were about ready to pull out. We sure are going to miss them for a couple of week because we have done a lot of things with them the last month. Then we walked up to see good friends Paul and Bev. They arrived last night from Ontario. We had coffee and visited with them until 100 pm and then home for lunch. After lunch Cheri worked on her paper piecing quilt and I went back up to Paul and Bev’s to hook up their Direct TV. Bev was across the street visiting and when she returned and I told her Cheri wanted her to come down so she could show her the quilt projects that she was working on. They also visited and planned the projects they are going to work on this winter. After getting the Direct TV hooked up Paul and I sat down and visited until 4:30 pm. When Bev came home we visited a little longer and then I headed home and Cheri was working on her quilt so I went and got the mail, looking for the candy and cookie care package from Nikki and Coz, but it didn’t come today. The only bad thing today was I wasn’t able to go on a motorcycle ride with the boys. I needed to rest the back. So you can see that it wasn’t a very productive day for me. Actually I kind of enjoyed it.

Gay Dec-16-11

2011-12-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

Today started out much like yesterday. I had a lot of back pain and I did walk over to the gym, didn’t do much as the back was hurting too much. I walked straight back home and Cheri continued with her walk. Cheri massaged my back before I took a good hot shower and it seem to feel little better. Larry stopped by to drop off the oil filters and motorcycle cover I had ordered. The place we order all our motorcycle stuff is going out of business, so no more great deals. While Larry was here Bud stopped by and said that John wants to go for a motorcycle ride Monday to the Saint Pete Pier. I told him that I would have to wait and see how the back was on Monday. Cheri took Grandma for her doctors back appointment this morning. It was noon before she got home and a little while later Denise came to finish her paper quilting. They are moving out of the park tomorrow and won’t be back until January. I walked down to the park office to fax some paper work to the insurance company. Well the walk was almost more than I could handle, didn’t think I would make it back home. When I got home I told Cheri I was going to the doctor. I got to talk to the nurse and she told me I should go the emergency room at the hospital. So at 3:30 pm Cheri and I were heading out of the park when we met Larry and Denise coming in. We stopped told them where we were going and they wanted to come with us. I had to wait about 45 minutes before I got to see the nurse and then I waited another 45 minutes for the doctor and he told me that there was a MRI to be scheduled for my back. Then the nurse came back in and gave me pain killing shot. A half hour later I was feeling pretty high and the nurse took my vitals and told me I could go, had to stop by the pharmacy to pick up some pain killer to take while waiting for the MRI. It’s hard to tell when that will happen as with the VA some things take a while. It was near 8:00 pm by the time we got home. The shot of pain killer kind of upset my stomach, tried to eat something but that didn’t help either. At 10:00 pm I was feeling better and ready for bed.

Gay Dec-15-11

2011-12-16T07:37:00.000-05:00

Today was going to be a down day for us as we needed some time to relax. Well this morning shortly after I got up I turned wrong and got instant pain in the back. I have been having trouble with my back anytime I would bend over. It has been bad enough that I have to lie in bed in order to put on my socks. This morning when it was time for us to go for our work out and walk I only got as far as the street and told Cheri I couldn’t do it. So Cheri went on without me. By 10:00 am I was able to walk and feeling some better. We took Grandma to Wal-Mart for groceries and medicine. Cheri picked up a few things and I looked at back braces. I found one that I that would work. As soon as we got back home I put it on and it did help. Then we headed over to the eye doctor to get some copies of the bills so we could send them in to the insurance company. We got there at 12:05 pm and they are closed from 12:00 pm until 1:00 pm. So we drove over to Wal-Mart to see about getting tires rotated on Grandma’s van. Our timing was just right as they did it right away, so we sat outside and waited. Then we headed home for lunch. After lunch we went back to the eye doctor to get the paper work we needed. Then home to finish filling out the insurance papers and put them in the mail. Cheri did some laundry and cleaning this afternoon. I took it easy, reading and napping. This evening Larry and Denise stopped by with a gift basket for Cheri. It was for the help Cheri gave Denise on the quilting projects. Then we played a game of Hand, Knee and foot, we really like this game better then Hand and foot.

Gay Dec-14-11

2011-12-15T06:42:00.002-05:00

We five Old Hogs did a motorcycle ride today; it was another ride that I planned. At 10:00 am we headed for New Port Richey and stopped at the Harley dealer. We spent quite a bit of time there as Bud was pricing out a new bike. I had on a tee shirt that was from Wisconsin and one of the salesmen asked me if I was from Wisconsin. I said yes and he said that he was from Wisconsin also. So we had a nice visit and learned a lot about the different models of bikes. When we left the Harley dealer we headed north to Hudson with John leading because he used to live in Hudson and wanted to take us to a place to have lunch that was right on the Gulf, the lunch was very good. Then John led us through some back roads in the area until we got back on highway 52, then I lead the rest of the way home. It was an enjoyable 115 mile ride and most of it was in short sleeves. It has been a while since we could ride without a jacket. We got back home around 3:30 pm and Cheri and Denise were still doing the paper quilting. From hearing them talk they won’t be doing any more paper quilting after they get this project done. After Larry put his bike away he came up and we visited until it was time to go down to Bud and Joyce’s has they were having a pizza party for us Old Hogs and our wives. It was a fun time with a lot of laughs and storytelling. It was another great day to spend with friends.

Gay Dec-13-11

2011-12-14T07:20:00.002-05:00

Larry, Denise, Cheri and I headed for Lakeland to go to Sam’s. Larry has been taking an over the counter medication for joint mobility. It has 1500 mg of Glucosamine and 1500 mg of MSM. Larry has been taking it for years and has helped him. Another friend, Lyn told me that he has had good results with it. So when we got to Sam’s we couldn’t get in until 10:00 am. So we went on downtown to the quilt store for Denise and Cher. Then stopped back at Sam’s on the way home. As it turned out I was looking for the medication, ink cartridges and playing cards, they didn’t have the medication or the ink cartridges. The playing cards ended up costing us over $60 dollars as we found some other things we thought we had to have. We were home just before noon and had a quick lunch and then took Denise and Cheri down to the Rec Hall for their quilt gathering. Then I went and picked up Grandma for her 1:00 pm knee appointment, it was after was after 3:00 pm before we got back home. After dropping the van off at the Rec Hall for Cheri and Denise I headed home to get ready to go for a motorcycle ride with Larry. We made a couple of stops in town as Larry was looking for some special exhaust pipes so he can install the baffles in the motorcycle exhaust pipes. Then we headed over to Sam’s in Wesley Chapel where I found the meds that I couldn’t get in Lakeland. It was a little after 5:00 pm when we got home, nice ride. This evening we went down to Larry and Denise’s to play cards, the girls won.

Gay Dec-12-11

2011-12-13T06:56:00.002-05:00

After we got our morning chores done we made a trip to the post office to mail out a package. From the look of the parking lot and the line of people inside I think the whole city of Zephyrhills was there. Cheri needed to pick up some Christmas cards so we stopped at Walgreens on the way back home. As we were driving into the park we saw Ed and Lorain setting outside so we stopped to visit with them. It is the first time we have visited with them since Lorain had her gallbladder removed. She is having a rough time but is on the mend. After lunch I headed over to Ron and Sandy’s Green Acers. Ron told me after church yesterday that the outside security light wasn’t working. I told him I would check it out; I thought maybe I had done something while tracing out the electrical circuits. It turned out that the blubs were burned out. I was just about done when I got a call from Cheri telling me the man that does the lawn spraying in the park was there (1:30 pm). He was supposed to be there until sometime between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. I asked her to see if he could do Grandma’s lawn and also spray inside. When I got back to Grandma’s he just got done with the inside and was starting on spraying the outside, good timing on my part. Cheri worked all day on Christmas letter and cards. I printed off the letters for here and by 5:00 pm she had the Christmas card ready to mail. This evening I grilled up a steak for supper and some hamburgers for tomorrow. Around 7:00 pm Larry and Denise stopped by for a visit and I was saying we wanted to play some more Hand, Knee and Foot before they move out of the park. So we headed down to Larry and Denise’s place and play one game which we guys won.

Gay Dec-11-11

2011-12-12T07:50:00.000-05:00

After church eight of us from our Life Group went out for lunch. We eat at Chili’s which is the first time with our Life Group at Chili’s. After lunch we said good bye to Ron and Sandy as they had to baby sit their grandson this afternoon. The rest of us (Pam, Mike, Michelle, Craig, Cheri and I) got in the van and we headed to Tampa to visit the Henry B Plant Museum. It was a step back in time around 1891. It was their 30^th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll. Inside each room highlights an intimate detail related to the hotel. Outside we enjoyed the peaceful view of Plant Park while sipping hot cider and cookies on the veranda. We also got to watch two groups of bell ringers doing Christmas music. I really enjoyed this as I have only seen this once before. Then we made our way to the Grand Ball Room. What a spectacular room. We even climbed the stairs to the top and had a grand view down on the ball room. At 4:00 pm it was time for us to make our way back to the parking lot by the church to drop off Mike, Pam, Craig, and Michelle. As soon as we got home we started watching the Packer game that I was recording. The Packers must have learned a lesson from last week as they played a great game and looked a whole lot better than they did last week and the playing by the defense was the best they have played all year. It was a wonderful day that God made for us to spend with special friends. For more information on the Henry B Plant Museum go to this web site http://www.plantmuseum.com/

Gay Dec-10-11

2011-12-11T06:55:00.000-05:00

Today was our park wide yard sale with lunch and crafts in the Rec Hall. We always go to the gym and do our walk before 7:00 am. Well when we got done at the gym people were already setting things out for the yard sale. So on our walk Cheri found a couple of things to buy, two cooking bowls with covers and a bag of craft things. After we got done with our showers and breakfast we headed out to check out the rest of the yard sales. We were down by the Rec Hall when Joyce Avery came pulling up in her golf cart. I was teasing her that she needed to get out of the cart because Bud sold it to me. She laugh and said that would never happen, then she said we could use it while she was working in the Rec Hall. So we took it on the rest of our adventure of yard sales. Cheri also found some jewelry at a couple of places and I bought a 30 lb LP tank for the 5^th wheel. After the yard sales we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries and some cash as we spent all we had that the yard sales. On the way back in the park Ed was putting up some Christmas lights so I stopped and helped him with the lights while Cheri took the groceries home and picked up Grandma to go down to the Rec Hall for lunch. This afternoon we headed up to Mike and Pam’s. The four of us went to the First Baptist Church in Dade City to see the musical I’ll Be Home for Christmas. It was about family and hope in the golden days of radio. It was so good that the two hours just flew by. Then it was time to go for supper. We ate at Kafe Kokopelli! and it was excellent. Then it was time to take in the Dade City downtown Christmas stroll. They had all the streets blocked off and all sorts of Christmas activities going on. All the stores were open so Cheri and Pam did some shopping while Mike and I visited and waited for them at each store they were in. Then we headed back to Pam and Mike’s to play some cards. They taught us a new game they call Paws and Claws which is another form of Hand and Foot. I thought it was a lot of fun because Mike and I won. We also played one game of SOB which I was I won. It was a wonderful fun filled day to spend with friends.

Gay Dec-9-11

2011-12-10T06:39:00.002-05:00

The temp this morning was 55 degrees, much better than the 39 degrees yesterday morning. It was a very nice day with a high near 80 degrees. Cheri did some cleaning and laundry this forenoon and I went over to Grandmas to work on her computer. She wasn’t able to get on line. She had her user name and password missed up. I couldn’t remember what it was and had to call Kari to find out what it was. After I got that done I sat down with her and showed her how to send and receive e-mail on her I-pad. I got a call from Ron and he wanted to meet for lunch before we went to Green Acers to work on the electrical wiring. So I headed back home to get the bike and Larry and Denise where there talking to Cheri. I didn’t have time to visit as I was supposed to meet Ron in 30 minutes. I guess Larry was heading for another park to help a friend build some steps. So Cheri and Denise worked on some more quilt projects, something about paper quilting. After lunch Ron and I headed to Green Acers. I had all the wiring traced out and to which breakers except for some outlets and a light in a closet that didn’t work. After some more testing I opened up the wall where I thought there should be a light switch and sure enough I found a switch box that had been plaster over, that took care of the light problem. After making three more holes I founded the wiring that went to the outlets had been cut and plastered over. Mike stopped by to see what we were up to and hadn’t been there for some time to see the improvements that had been done. It was after 4:00 pm when I got home and Cheri and Denise were still sewing and making patterns.

Gay Dec-8-11

2011-12-09T07:39:00.000-05:00

Wow! 39 degrees and very breezy this morning and if you are a Floridian, that’s cold. I had a motorcycle ride planned for today leaving at 10:00 am. Well it was 42 degrees at 10:00 am and we decided to wait until 10:30 am when it would be warmer. Yep a lot warmer, the temp was up to 44 degrees. Two of our riding group didn’t go, one said it was too cold and the other said his arm was bothering him, bet if it was warmer his arm would have been ok. Well Bud, Larry and I headed north to Ocala and back. Our ride turned out to be 190 miles and got back at 5:30 pm, it was just getting dark. The high temp for the day was around 60 degrees and the wind died down and turned out to be a great ride. Cheri and Denise work on Denise’s table runner and they got it quilted and all they have left to do is sew on the binding. Looks really nice and they were still working on it when I got home. Later we walked over to see how Grandma was doing with her knee after the shot Tuesday. She said that it felt some better which is good news. After all the cool air from riding I had a hard time staying awake to watch TV. Cheri’s eye is coming along nicely and is getting better each day. She said that she was able to thread the swing machine needle without glasses.

Gay Dec-7-11

2011-12-08T06:18:00.000-05:00

This is a day in history we should never forget. It was a test to see how strong our country was and how everyone worked together for our freedom. I wonder if our country is strong enough today if we were ever tested like we were back in 1941. I pray for our country. Our politicians need to be doing what the people want instead of what they want, enough of that. Cheri had an 8:15 am follow up appointment for her eye this morning and everything is going according to schedule. I took Grandma for her B-12 shot and to the bank. On the way back to the 5^th wheel I see our friends from Ontario, Lyn and Pat have arrived. Lyn was working outside so I stopped to visit for bit. At 12:30 pm I headed for the VA hospital in Tampa where I had an appointment at 2:00 pm for my shoulder. The good news is there isn’t a tear in rotator cuff. The bad news is the joint is full of arthritis. If it gets any worse I will have to have surgery to have it cleaned out, something I am going to put off as long as I can. Before I left for Tampa I uncovered the motorcycle so I could do some cleaning on it. Well while I was gone it clouded up and was raining when I got home. So now I have a wet and dirty bike to clean. Cheri did do a load of laundry today and then rested like she was suppose to do all day.

Gay Dec-6-11

2011-12-07T06:44:00.000-05:00

Cheri had her surgery at 7:15 this morning and we were back home by 8:30 am. Thanks for all the prayers as there were no problems with the surgery. Tomorrow she has an 8:15 am appointment to have the eye checked to make sure everything is ok. So please continue to pray for her. After I got her settled in her chair for the day I went and trimmed Paul and Bev’s palm tree. It had grown a lot over the summer and it would have been hard to get in their front door. I was just finishing up when a lady came over and wanted to know if I would trim their palm tree also. So those two projects about did me in. I also filled the house batteries with water, another good job to have done. I went to see Bud about a motorcycle ride on Thursday or Friday and I guess it is going to be on Thursday so now I have to get a ride planned. This afternoon I left at 1:00 pm and headed to McDill AFB to have a MRI done on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure where I was going so I left early in case I had trouble getting there. I did have to stop at the visitor’s center to get a pass to get on base. As it ended up I was a little over an hour early which was ok as I needed to unwind from the drive down. After I got done and headed for home the GPS said I would be home at 5:30 pm. Well I was right in the rush hour traffic and it was after 6:00 pm before I got home. It was a stressful day not knowing how everything was going to turn out. I needed to put more faith in God.

Gay Dec-5-11

2011-12-06T06:22:00.000-05:00

It was a perfect day weather wise, high 70’s and some clouds. It could stay like this all winter for me. We did our early walk and work out at the gym and then we got lazy as we took our time getting around. I did take the wind sensor off the awning and made a trip to Camping World to see about getting a replacement. It is going to cost around $280; I of course thought it would be around $100. The dollar doesn’t go very far anymore. I tried to get it fixed when we were at the factory for other repairs on the 5^th wheel, but they ran out of time working on our 5^th wheel and now it is out of warranty, which is my fault for not following through with it. We made a stop at Lowe’s to get a new light bulb for Cheri’s sewing light that I rebuilt a couple of days ago. She is very happy and likes it better than the original light. How about that I took something old and made it better that it was when it was new. I checked the air in tires on Grandma’s van and had to add air as they had leaked down over the summer. I was going to detail the motorcycle today but I am having a lot of back pain and didn’t think I could handle it. As it turned out the bending to air up the tires about did me in. I grilled up some burgers and pork steaks for supper and enough for a couple more meals. This evening we tried to call Bev and Paul Web to see when they are coming to Florida. No answer. They called us around 9:00 pm and said they plan on leaving Ontario on the 15^th. They said it was cold and are looking forward to getting here. Cheri has the cataract removed from her other eye tomorrow morning and I would like to have everyone pray for her to have a successful surgery.

Gay Dec-4-11

2011-12-05T07:36:00.000-05:00

We played hooky from church today as we had motorcycle ride planed with Larry and Denise to ride up to Webster for a motorcycle flea market. It was an all day event and interesting to see all the used and some new things that was available for motorcycles. It was near 4:00 pm before we got on the road and headed towards home. We made a stop at two different restaurants to eat and they were closed. So we rode on back to Zephyrhills and had pizza at Pizza Hut. When we got home we settled in to watch the Green Bay Packers play the New York Giants. I had recorded the game because I wasn’t sure what time we would get home. Sure glad I did because it was a great game and a real nail bitter at the end. The Packers pulled out a win with only seconds left in the game. God made another wonderful day to spend with friends.

one of several rows of bikes

Denise and Larry. Larry thought maybe he needed a cap for the Florida winter

Four cylinder Indian

Show bike

Gay Dec-3-11

2011-12-04T07:34:00.000-05:00

This morning Cheri and I went to the flea market near Lakeland and it turned out to be a bust, not many vendors and the ones that were there didn’t have much to sell. On the way home we stopped at DQ for lunch, Cheri still has coupons. When we got home we decided to go over and visit with Dean and Betty to see how they made out on their cruise. They said that they had a good time and when they got to their cabin it was all decorated for their 65 wedding anniversary. Rick had made the arrangements to have it done, what a nice surprise. While we were visiting Cheri got a call from Janis and she wanted to bring her sister over to see Cheri’s quilts. So we headed back home and they came about 2:30 pm. We guys visited while the girls looked at the quilts. This evening Cheri and I went up to Dade City for the car show. We got to see a few different cars that we hadn’t seen before. I never get tired of looking at the old cars and trucks. I keep dreaming that someday I will have one. Come to think about it I guess I did have those 50 years ago. The only different is the ones I bought 50 years ago cost me between $200 and $400 for them. Now they want between $20,000 and $40,000 for them. I guess I will have to settle for just looking and dreaming. When we got home we watched the Wisconsin Badgers play football. What an exciting game it was, the Badgers won and will be going to the Rose Bowl. It was another beautiful day that God made for us.

1924 Model T

1955 Ford Ranchero

Gay Dec-2-11

2011-12-03T07:42:00.000-05:00

After some house cleaning this morning we went shopping over to the Wire Grass Shops. We were looking at Nooks at Barnes and Nobles. Then we stopped by the church to drop of some goodies to be sent overseas to our guys in uniform for Christmas. When we got back in Zephyrhills we stopped for lunch at DQ. Cheri had a coupon for a two for one lunch, so burgers it was. Late this afternoon Michelle and Craig Hanson picked us up to go to Mount Dora to do the Christmas walk and see all the Christmas lights. The first thing we did was to have supper at Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill, pretty good food. They had the down town streets blocked off and all the stores were open for the evening. So we had nice stroll through town and down by the water to see all the Christmas lights. There was a large choir singing Christmas songs in the park and also a group of singers in one of the stores front window. There were also a group of drummers doing their thing at one of the intersections. We managed to do a few stores and Cheri was a very good shopper as she didn’t buy anything. It was a wonderful evening, thanks Michelle and Craig for taking us. I have uploaded some pictures of the lights. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Mount Dora.

Gay Dec-1-11

2011-12-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

Wow! Don’t know where November went. It’s hard to believe we have been here for a month already. December arrived with a cold night as it was only 41 degrees this morning. Cheri had her eye appointment at 9:30 am. Her left eye is doing better than expected. So they have her set up to have the cataract removed from her right eye next Tuesday. After her appointment we went to Wal-Mart to have a prescription for eye drops and Wal-Mart did have it so we headed over to CVS and they had what we needed. After all was said and done it was after noon, so we decided to go the Cuban restaurant for lunch. We both had a taco salad. When we got home I got the lawn mower out. I figured it would be a job getting it started as it has been used since April. Well it started on the first pull and ran better than it has the last two years. Cheri’s sewing light quit working yesterday so I headed over to Lowe’s to get a new fluorescent light tube which didn’t work so I did some voltage checking and turns out that the ballast transformer is bad. So I had some extra parts lying around and I made it into a regular lamp with an indecent bulb. Cheri took Grandma for her 2:00 pm eye appointment at the same place Cheri had her appointment this morning. Denise came over to at 3:30 pm to work on her table runner. They work on it until 7:00 pm and have it almost done. After supper we went done to Larry and Denise’s to play more Hand, Knee and Foot. It was another fun night.

Gay Nov-30-11

2011-12-01T07:39:00.000-05:00

Today was play day for me and Cheri. Cheri worked with Denise all day helping her with her first quilt project. They were still working on it when I got home at 5:30 pm. Cheri said she had fun doing the project with Denise. I am not sure what it was supposed be used for, I think it was a large table runner. It was supposed to be sunny and 50 degrees this morning. Well it was very cloudy and the temp was better at 55 degrees. It was a little chilly for a motorcycle ride. But if you dress for it it’s not too bad, much nicer if the sun is shining. I had a long ride planed for the today so we were on the road at 8:30 am (John, Larry, Gary, Bud, and me). Our first stop was in Leesburg at the Harley dealer for a break and a hot cup of coffee. The sun came out just before we got there and we all had cold hands so the coffee felt good to warm our hands and to take the chill out. After our 20 minute break we were back on the road heading for the Harley dealer in Daytona Beach, actually the dealer is located in Ormond Beach. It is one of the world’s largest Harley dealers and has a large complex with other stores in it. We arrived there at 11:45 am and I told the guys we had to be on the road home by 2:00 pm. After another cup of hot coffee we check out everything in the Harley store and then headed a few buildings away to J&P Cycles. It is a huge store with all kinds of accessories for all kinds of bikes from 1936 to 2011. They also have a lot of clothes. It 1:30 pm we headed over to Burger King which is in a service station so we could fill up the bikes with gas and ourselves with a burger. We were back on the road for home right on time, 2:00 pm. We made one more stop about half way home to rest and then back on the bikes for the final push to home. We got back in the park at 5:15 pm and road 250 miles, a big day for the Old Hogs. This evening we went down to Larry and Denise’s for cards. They taught us a new twist to Hand and Foot. They call it Hand, Knee and Foot. You get an extra had hand of cards to play and the rules are similar to Hand and Foot. We enjoyed it and plan on playing it again. Then we taught them how to play SOB which they liked. So it was another wonderful day to spend with friends.

Gay Nov-29-11

2011-11-30T06:11:00.002-05:00

Another busy day, at 8:30 am Cheri and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries. At 10:00 am Larry and Denise picked us up to go the flea market on the south side of Zephyrhills. We all managed to find a few things that we couldn’t live without. We were back home by noon. After lunch I got all of Cheri things that she takes to the quilt class loaded in the van. So at 12:45 pm we picked up Denise and went down to the Rec Hall. After I got Cheri’s things in the Rec Hall I went to see Bud and discuss our motorcycle ride we are going on tomorrow. Then I headed back home to do a little cleaning on the motorcycle before I had to take Grandma for her doctor’s appointment at 2:00 pm. It was 3:00 pm before we got in to see the doctor. Grandma has a really bad knee and has bone on bone which gives her a lot of pain. The doctor gave her an injection in the knee and has to go back for two more shots a week apart. When we got home she said that it felt better. It was 3:50 pm when I got done with Grandma. Then I headed down to the Rec Hall to pick up Cheri and Denise as they were done at 4:00 pm. After we got home I did a little more cleaning on the motorcycle and then took and filled it up with fuel. When I got home I fired up the grill to do a steak for supper. At 6:30 pm we headed out for our Life Group Gathering. It was another great time. We got home at 9:00 pm, relaxed for a little while and then headed to bed. Yes we did our morning walk and work out at the gym.

Gay Nov-28-11

2011-11-29T06:51:00.002-05:00

We had a busy day. I took Grandma to Wal-Mart so she could get the new lens for her glasses and some groceries. While she was getting her groceries I got her and my medicine. While I was doing that Cheri and Denise went down to see Marline to find out what the first timers were going to be doing at the Craft gathering tomorrow. Denise wants to learn how to quilt and so when I got back with the van they went to the Dade City quilt store to get the material that Denise needs for the class tomorrow. I made a quick trip back to Wal-Mart to get new wiper blades for the van. I got them on just before it started to rain. I knew the rain was coming and I had a lot of driving to do and the old wipers were pretty bad. Larry, Denise, Cheri and I went to pick up Mike and Pam a little after 2:00 pm to take them to the airport in Lakeland. Mike and Pam’s nice passed away unexpectedly, so they are headed back to Illinois for a few days. As long as we were on the south side of Lakeland Cheri and Denise wanted to stop at the new Hobby Lobby store. Denise had never been to one before and had a good time looking around and buying a few things. Cheri also found a few things she couldn’t get along without. Larry and I sat and talked while they shopped. Then we headed to the north side of Lakeland to our favorite Chinese restaurant. This is the first time we have been there this season and was really looking forward to a good meal. Well it turned out to be really bad. So I guess we won’t be going back there again. We also made a quick stop at Best Buy so I could return the printer that I was trying to make work with the I-pad 2. Then we had to make one more stop at the man’s store (Harbor Freight) for me and Larry. Cheri and Denise waited in the van while Larry and I looked around. I guess you could say we were good shoppers because we didn’t buy anything. It was around 7:30 pm when we got home. I was sure glad I put on the new wipers because it rained all afternoon and evening.

Gay Nov-27-11

2011-11-28T07:18:00.001-05:00

We picked up Grandma at 9:15 am and headed for church. The church has started a campaign that is to last for the next three years. Last Sunday was the first day for it and wanted to have a large offering to get it started along with every ones three year commitment. Well today we found out that we exceeded our goal. The cash offering was 130 thousand dollars and the three year commitment came to 1 million 300 thousand dollars. It just goes to show that with audacious praying anything is possible and this above the normal Sunday giving. Most of our Life Group had something going on for lunch today, so there were only five of us that went for lunch at Golden Corral. It is the first time we have been there to eat since we got back to Florida. I love going there to eat, the reason we haven’t went is because I always over eat and I am trying to lose some of the weight that I put on this summer. I just don’t have any will power when it comes to Golden Corral. When we got home I worked on putting up our Christmas decorations. Coming from Wisconsin it just doesn’t seem right to be putting up Christmas decorations when everything is green and it is 80 degrees out. After being here for the last 6 winters you would think I would be over it, guess some things never change. It was a different Sunday for me as the NASCAR racing is over for the season and the Packers played Thursday night. Late this afternoon Larry and Denise came up for a visit and to see how Cheri was doing. She is coming along nicely and is about over her cold.

Gay Nov-26-11

2011-11-27T06:39:00.000-05:00

Not much going on today. Cheri’s cold is better which is a good thing and she spent the day resting and trying to read which she has a hard time doing. I worked on the I-pad today, still trying to get it to print. The way things are set up here in the park with their wifi it’s not going to work unless I pay for a hook up for the printer. I have decided to forget the printing part and will take the printer back to Best Buy. They told me if I couldn’t make it work I could return it so now we will see how that goes. I washed the front of the 5^th wheel getting it ready to put up some Christmas lights. This afternoon I took the I-pad over and gave it to Grandma. It is going to be a learning curve for her. I showed her how to play solitaire, how to access our blog and photos. I told her to practice different things and that she couldn’t hurt anything. While I was at Grandma’s she told me the light by her chair didn’t work. She said the bulb was burned out and wanted me to replace it. Well the socket inside the lamp was bad and wouldn’t hold the bulb any longer. So I headed over to Lowe’s to get a new socket and bulb. After I got the new socket and bulb in it still didn’t work and I found that it was unplugged. It was a good thing because the socket was bad enough that it could have started a fire. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the Wisconsin Badgers play football. It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood that God made for us.

Gay Nov-25-11

2011-11-26T06:29:00.002-05:00

We are still doing our morning walk and work out at the gym. Some of the things at the gym Cheri can’t do right now because of her eye, no lifting. Cheri did do some work on her quilted apron project. It is hard for her to see to read as her old glasses were rimless so they couldn’t remove the lens from the eye that she had the cataract. She doesn’t want to get new glasses right now because she wants to have the other eye done in two weeks. So they gave her a pair of a pair of 1.75 magnifications and took out the one lens. I worked over at Ron and Sandy’s green acres house tracing out more of the electrical circuits. I think one more day and I will have everything done. It was around 4:30 pm when I got home. I spent some time putting in the computer the information that I found today. I have never been in a house where the wiring was so disorganized. I still need to draw up a house plan showing all the lights and outlets. I still haven’t put up any Christmas decorations, just can’t seem to get in the Christmas spirit. I have several jobs started and I would like to get some of them done before I start anymore. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Gay Nov-24-11

2011-11-25T07:32:00.003-05:00

Cheri's iron tote bag

open it up and you have a pad to iron on

Happy Thanks Giving to everyone. Please take time to give thanks to everyone that is fighting for our freedom. Also give thanks for our country, it may be in bad shape right now but it still is the best place in the world. Cheri woke up with a sore throat this morning, not something she needed right now. Her eye is doing good and said that she can see the TV clearly, but reading is hard for her, I guess it take a lot of time for that to get better. The park is having a big Thanks Giving feast down at the Rec Hall at 1:00 pm. The park is furnishing the turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing. Everybody is to bring a dish to pass. At 10:00 am I took Grandma and my plates down and got a table with Ed and Loraine. Cheri isn’t going because of her sore throat, so I filled a plate and brought it home for her. This afternoon we watched the Packers play the Lions; it was a very good game to watch. The win was the eleventh in a row for the Packers this season and the first time in franchise history that they have done it. That’s really good since the franchise started in 1924.

Gay Nov-23-11

2011-11-24T07:28:00.000-05:00

Cheri had a follow appointment at 8:15 this morning with the eye doctor. Everything looks good and her site has really improved in the eye that they removed the cataract from. They told her she can drive now. She took it easy the rest of the day, although she did do a load of laundry. I didn’t get my walk and work out done until after we got back from the doctor. I walked over to Dean and Betty’s for a visit and to give them a wedding anniversary card, they have been married 65 years. Then I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up Grandma’s medicine and a stop at Public’s to pick up two pies for the Thanks Giving potluck tomorrow. After lunch I worked on the computer doing the work up on Ron and Sandy’s electrical circuits at Green Acers. I also had bought some new software on Home and landscape. You can design a new house or remolding an existing house. It is going to take me a while to learn how to do everything but looks like it may be fun to do. After supper we settled in for an evening of TV. Thank you for all the prayers for Cheri, please continue to pray for her.

Gay Nov-22-11

2011-11-23T05:32:00.002-05:00

I took Cheri in for her cataract surgery this morning at 10:00 am. She had to fill out some more paper work and they finally called her to go in at 10:30 am. I headed back home because it could take from two to four hours. Well I got a call an hour later and she was done and ready to come home. Her eye was taped shut and couldn’t take the tape off for four hours. So while she was resting I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. At 4:30 pm we took the tape off her eye, what a time I had getting it off. Then we put drops in her eye. She has three different kinds of eye drops. Two of them four time a day and one twice a day. Her vision is cloudy and has double vision right now. She has a follow up appointment tomorrow morning at 8:15 am. I grilled up some brats and pork chops for supper. Cheri may be down but she not out as she watched Dancing with the Stars. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for Cheri. Please continue to pray for her to have her eye sight return to normal. It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood that God made for us.

Gay Nov-21-11

2011-11-22T06:39:00.002-05:00

At 10:00 am I went for a motorcycle ride today with Bud, Gary, Larry, and John. We are known as the Old Hogs. We are too old to be known as the Wild Hogs. We had a very enjoyable 204 mile ride south and east today. We did manage to make a stop at the Harley dealer in Bradenton and our lunch stop at Mc Donald’s. Once again I was the Road Captain and part of the ride was through about three miles of rain. Just enough to get pretty wet and I did hear about that when we took a break. It was all in fun and we all had a good laugh about it. I told them that I thought that they were pretty hot and needed to be cooled off. It was around 4:30 pm when we got home. Cheri finished her iron project. It is a case to carry her iron in when she goes for her quilt class. You take the iron out of it and unfold it and you have a surface to iron on, pretty neat. I will take a picture and post it tomorrow. She is also working on a quilted apron. I would like everyone to pray for Cheri as tomorrow she goes for cataract surgery at 10:00 am. This evening Cheri watched Dancing with the Stars; I fell asleep in the chair so I headed for bed. It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood that God made for us.

Gay Nov-20-11

2011-11-21T06:48:00.000-05:00

Today was a repeat of last Sunday. We took Grandma to church with us and then after church we went out for dinner at Olive Garden with our Life Group fiends, there were ten of us today. After dinner we headed back home and brought Grandma over to our place to watch the Green Bay Packers play Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I didn’t think the Packers played very good but was good enough for the win. They play again on Thursday against the Detroit Lions and I think that is going to be a very hard game for the Packers. After the game I took Grandma home and them I watched the last NASCAR Race of the season, hard to believe the there is no more racing until February. I think NASCAR has got the point system right as it came right down to the last race and last lap to see who was going to be the champion. It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood that God made for us.

Gay Nov-19-11

2011-11-20T06:39:00.002-05:00

The weather report for the day was for scattered rain showers. We have a motorcycle ride planed for the day with Larry and Denise, do we go or stay home because of the weather report? Well we decided that if it did rain we wouldn’t melt. We left and head for Sleepy Hollow for their steak dinner. Larry and Denise had never been there before so they had a good time looking over all the motor cycles, air boats and venders. Then it was time to head to Lakeland so the Cheri and Denise could go Jo-Ann Fabrics. They both had a 60 percent off coupon that was burning a hole in their pockets. While they were in Jo-Ann’s Larry and I went to Best Buy to get some more answers on hooking up the printer to the I-pad. I talked to a person that I need a signal extender and I was pretty sure that it wouldn’t work, so I walked over to the Geek Squad and talked to them and now I think I can get it set up with E-Print and not Air Print. On the way home we run into a little rain shower, actually I think we just skirted it as we only got enough to get a little damp. We were home by 4:15 pm and Mike and Pam picked us up at 5:15 pm to go out for supper. After supper we made a stop at the Dollar Store so Pam could get a few things. We didn’t need anything but still managed to spend $10.00. Then we went over to Staples so Pam could get a new ink cartage for their printer. Once again Cheri and I didn’t need anything and managed to spend $40.00. Then it was back to our place to play some cards. We played one game of Hand and Foot that we guys won and one game of SOB that Mike won. It was a great day to spend with our friends.

Gay Nov-18-11

2011-11-19T07:28:00.002-05:00

I spent part of the morning on the computer paying bills and getting our dental insurance set up for next year. About 10:00 am Larry stopped by and said that he couldn’t get any signal to their TV and asked me if I knew anything about the antennas. So I went down to their place and Larry had his antenna all apart. We did some checking and couldn’t find anything wrong so we went and took our antenna down and put it up on his motor home and the TV worked. So we figured that his antenna was bad. He took ours down and installed his and the TV was still working. Long story short, Larry hadn’t done a channel search and just by luck the TV was set for a channel that was available here. Larry felt pretty bad as he had went through a lot of work trying to get it to work. This afternoon Grandma had a doctor’s appointment and I had to drive Cheri and Grandma as Cheri can’t drive until she gets her eyes done. When they came out from the doctor, Cheri had a prescription for a rolling walker for Grandma. We had to go to two different places before we found one. Then Grandma said her new glasses weren’t right so we took her over to Wal-Mart to have them checked we had to wait over an hour before she got in. They retested her eyes and are going to make new glasses for her. It was after 5:00 pm before we got back to Grandma’s. We got the walker set up and showed Grandma how to work it and fold it up, She was happy to get it. Then Cheri and I walked over to Dean and Betty’s. Dean had stopped by our place this forenoon while I was down to Larry and Denise’s. He was having a problem with some of his electrical outlets. It turned out to be they have some ground fault outlets and one had to be reset, an easy fix. We visited for a while and then headed home.

Gay Nov-17-11

2011-11-18T07:38:00.000-05:00

I was pretty bummed out this morning as it was foggy, cloudy and rain was coming, we had a motorcycle ride planned for today and was going to leave at 10:00 am. Well it was raining at 9:00 am. So now I had to change my plans for the day. I had prayed this morning for a nice day and by 11:00 am the sun was shining and fluffy clouds floating overhead. So by 11:45 am John, Larry, Bud and I were on our way for a 145 miles ride. I had a smile on my face all day as it turned out to be a perfect day, Thanks God. Denise came up and picked up Cheri and they went to Lakeland shopping at Jo-Ann Fabrics. We both had a wonderful day and it ended on even a better note as we had a thanks giving dinner at church this evening. We got to meet more new friends along with a very nice program.

Gay Nov-16-11

2011-11-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

We didn’t have time to get our morning walk and trip to the gym done today. Cheri had and 8:45 am appointment with the eye doctor to see about having cataracts removed. She has been talking about it and wanted to wait until we got back to Florida to have it done. I was surprise how bad her left eye was, she couldn’t see anything out of it. One thing about Cheri is she never complains about any of her problems. I on the other hand let everyone know what’s wrong with me. We had to pay for the operation before she can have it done next Tuesday. We have an HRA account with over $3,400 dollars in it and planed on using that to pay for it. Well when they run the debit card it wouldn’t go through so when we got home I made a call and was told there was a zero balance and that is way the debit card wouldn’t work. They told me that they would look into it and get back to me in 5 to 9 days. So I had to go back to the doctor’s office and pay with a different card. Just as I was leaving the park I saw Larry and Denise, good friends of ours coming in from Ontario for the winter so when I got back I picked up Cheri and we went to see them. We spent a little time visiting and then left so they could get their motor home set up. Late this afternoon we headed up to Mike and Pam’s. Pam and Mike had a few little jobs for me to do. When I got them done we went to Dade City for supper at Francesco’s of Dade City, it a neat little Italian restaurant. It has been a couple of year since we have been there and had forgotten how good it was. After supper we went back to Mike and Pam’s to play cards and dominos. We played two game of SOB and Cheri won one and I won the other one. Then it was time for a game of dominos which the girls won by a lot of points. I was a fun evening to spend with close friends. It was a great day in the neighborhood that God had made for us.

Gay Nov-16-11

2011-11-17T07:43:00.000-05:00

Gay Nov-15-11

2011-11-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

I spent another day at Ron and Sandy’s tracing out more of the wiring. I still have a little more to do as I found some outlets that don’t work and some switches that don’t seem to turn anything on, more investigation for another day. Cheri and Pam went shopping and out for lunch. Cheri said that she had a lot of fun shopping with Pam and told me about their great lunch. This afternoon was Cheri’s quilt gathering down at the Rec Hall, something else she likes to do. I got a call from Cheri at 4:15 pm wondering where I was. I told her I was on my way home and would be there in about five minutes. She said we are supposed to meet Mike and Pam at the Sun Rise restaurant for supper at 5:00 pm. So when I got home I had to hustle around and take a shower and get dressed, we did make it on time. We had a wonderful supper. The Sun Rise is my new favorite restaurant. After supper the four of us headed over to Ron and Sandy place for our Live Group gathering. Ron and Sandy are gone on a cruise and left keys to their home with Pam. Pam was our Life Group leader for the evening; she did an excellent job and it was very enjoyable with a lot of input from everyone. Thanks Pam.

Gay Nov-14-11

2011-11-15T06:40:00.002-05:00

We are still doing our morning walk and work out at the gym which is making us both feel better, although I haven’t seen any results on the scales. I worked over at Ron and Sandy’s house that they bought and are fixing up before they move in. The electrical wiring is in disarray as the last home owner did his own wiring and didn’t use the right wiring and a lot that is not labeled. So I am going through everything and labeling each circuit with the correct information. I worked all day there and didn’t get home until near 5:00 pm. Cheri took Grandma for her doctor’s appointment and had a long wait to get in. Then she went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for Grandma and us. When I got home she had her paints out and doing some painting on a mirror for Pam and Mike. The colors of the flowers on the mirror needed to be changed as it didn’t go with the décor of their new home. I checked out the new printer we picked up yesterday and I don’t think it is going to work with the I-Pad 2. I still need to do some more reading and investigation before I will know for sure. Cheri settled in this evening to watch Dancing with the Stars and I headed for the bedroom to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Vikings. At half time I came out and Cheri was just getting done with Dancing with the Stars. So we watched the second half together on the big screen. It was a great game and the Packers won. It was almost midnight when we crawled into bed. It was a beautiful day with a high in the low 80’s.

Gay Nov-13-11

2011-11-14T06:50:00.002-05:00

Grandma went to church we us this morning and after church we went out for lunch with several of our Life Group friends, there were nine of us. After a long lunch and visiting it was time to head home. We dropped Grandma off and decided to go to Brandon to return a printer we bought for the I-Pad 2 at Best Buy a few days ago. When we were there I asked the sales person what is different between Air Print and E-Print. After she got done explaining how each one worked we decided that we wanted the printer for Air Print. She shows us one that would do the job for us, I said this is the one for Air Print and the directions will tell me how to hook it up and she said yes. Long story short it didn’t work when we got home because it was for E-print only. So when we got to Best Buy I asked to speak to the store manager. He got us to a person that knew what he was talking about and found us the right printer with Air Print. It was 4:30 pm when we got home. I had enough with printers for one day; maybe tomorrow I will check it out. I sat down and watched the NASCAR Race that I had recorded. Cheri spent her time reading the Sunday paper, she loves looking though all the sale papers. It was much warmer this morning and a beautiful sunny day.

Gay Nov-12-11

2011-11-13T06:53:00.000-05:00

Well the refrigerator door up north is still open because it was 43 degree this morning, but it did warm up to be a very nice day. By the time Bud, John and I left for our motorcycle ride at 10:30 am it was already up to 60 degrees. We rode north to Sleepy Hollow Bar. It is a gathering place for bikers on the weekends. They will get between 200 and 300 bikers on Saturday and Sunday. They have a band playing music and have a steak dinner special. It is fun looking at all the motorcycles. The place is also on the river and a lot of air boats come in. The steak dinner consist of a steak done on the grill, baked potato, and corn on the cob, all for $5.00. After we eat we looked at some more motorcycle that came in after us and then headed back home by way of some roads that we haven’t been on before. It was a wonderful 104 mile ride and was home by 2:30 pm. Cheri sewed on her quilt and has the top done and now I have to help her square up the material for the back. At 3:00 pm we took a walk down to see Ed and Lorraine. We sat outside and visited with them for an hour and then checked our mail and then headed home. Cheri fixed pancakes for supper which was a treat as it has been a while since we have had them. The rest of the evening was spent watching TV.