OOPS!

Sorry! Last night instead of blogging, I crashed and went to bed early. So, now it's Wednesday and we are almost ready to get in the car to go home for the holidays. We'll be seeing you all real soon. The refrigerator is defrosted. I was using the hair dryer on the freezer part of the frig, when this big chunk (30" x 24" x 4") fell from the bottom of the freezer onto the shelf, scaring the daylights out of me. It looked like an iceberg floating in the marina after John tossed it in the lake. I'll bet it freaked out some of the people around here to see a big chunk of ice like that just floating around. Anyway, we are all packed. It looks like we are moving back permanently with all the stuff we are bringing with us. See you soon.

Monday, November 28, 2011

We worked toward being ready to leave here on Wednesday. Two more days!!!! John washed the boat, covered the dinghy and I washed and did the ironing, so that we have clothes to pack. Then, we washed the car. While we were out, John bought and gave me a Christmas present early. He bought me Neat Receipts for my computer. It's a portable (it fits in my computer bag with the computer) scanner with software that reads and sorts receipts, documents, and business cards. I am really excited about using it. I hope to be up to snuff by the time we get back to Florida in January, so my paperwork will be easy for taxes next year. I'm hoping this makes me better organized and able to find documents and receipts when John asks for them. It should also allow us to toss a lot of the paper in our files.

Tomorrow, it's time to defrost the refrigerator. Yuck! Then begin packing. We'll be home before we know it.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

John and I got up and got ready for Church this morning. We went to All Souls, but there was one problem, we had the Mass schedule confused in our brains, and we got there almost a half hour too late. God knows we made the effort. The next Mass was a Spanish one, which meant we wouldn't understand a thing that was being said, so we went back to the boat. Later this afternoon, we went to Wolfy's to watch the Cincinnati - Cleveland game. Who Dey!!! They won. There was a couple sitting near us rooting for Cleveland. They were nice.

Only 3 more days!!!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Norm arrived back at his boat last evening. He came to our boat and we sat on the aft deck and visited for awhile, catching up. It was nice to see him. We went out for breakfast this morning with Norm. After that, we just kind of fiddled around doing this and that, trying to remember what all we have to do before we climb in the car and drive home. We had Happy Hour tonight, for the first time in a month or so. We keep meeting new people on the dock. Today we met a man (Andy) and his son (Evan). They seemed like nice people. At one point, there were more than a dozen fishing boats trying to get out of the water at one time. Apparently, there were four foot waves out on the lake and everyone decided to come back at the same time. We did not, however, get the rain they were predicting for today. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Well, the good thing about making a turkey is the leftovers. Yummy!! We should have enough leftovers to last until we leave for home. I understand that the weather is pretty nice at home, as it is here. We are expecting rain tomorrow and Sunday, but the weather reporters are right about as often as they are at home. The forward air conditioner should get fixed over the weekend. John was mistaken when he said we are leaving here on Thursday. We are leaving on Wednesday, the 30th. I guess he was thinking that there are 31 days in November. So, we get to subtract 2 days from John's countdown. There are 5 more days until we leave!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Carol and I (yes I know how to blog too, Carol just does such a good job) enjoyed a relaxing day today. Carol prepared a meal fit for a king with all the trimmings for a thanksgiving feast. The boat smelled really good with the turkey cooking in the oven. It was pretty windy today. One boat in the marina went out and came back quickly because the lake was very rough. Because of the wind, he couldn't get back into his slip and ended up on the face of the dock for now. We did hear from our kids and grand kids today and are counting the days (7) until we head back home for the holidays. Till later ......

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Today was a pretty busy day for John.  He first worked on the toilet and was successful in attaching the hoses.  Hip hip hooray! Shortly after finishing with the toilet, Al arrived to work on the air conditioner.  It turned out to be a faulty high pressure switch.  So, Al is coming back over the weekend with the switch, to fix the salon air conditioner.  Fortunately, today was very comfortable and tomorrow is supposed to be in the high 70s as well.  (Yesterday was hot and muggy, but the aft air conditioner is working and so we were able to sleep comfortably.) 

We want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The part for the toilet arrived today and John went right to work on it.  It turned out to be a hose clogged with calcium deposits from the salt / water.  He struggled to get them apart and then struggled to get the new hoses put together.  Right now a 3 piece section of hose is waiting to be attached to the toilet and under the sink, but that's for tomorrow to work on. 

You know how things go along for a while and then things break.  Well, today the front air conditioner quit working.  One minute it was working and the next, nothing.  So, I'm hoping that the usual string of three bad things happening in a row, doesn't hold true.  Two things are two too many.  It would be nice if everything is in working order when we leave to come home for the holidays. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

I don't know what happened yesterday.  Tonight when I went to begin blogging, I realized that I forgot to blog last night.  What was I thinking?  Maybe it's because I was so distraught over the Bengals loss to the Ravens.  John and I went back to Wolfy's to watch the game.  We met two other couples who were also watching the game.  They were a lot of fun and I think we'll probably see them there again next Sunday.  Both of the other couples left before the game was over.  We watched the whole thing.  The bar had a Texas Hold'em Tournament going on during the game.  John was torn between the football game and the card game, but he stayed with me and watched the game. 

Today I did my Thanksgiving dinner shopping.  It will be a very different Thanksgiving this year.  Not only aren't we near any of our family, Norm and Sue are both in Cincinnati.  So, it's just going to be the two of us.  So far, we haven't heard of anything special going on here at the marina.  They are closing the street Thanksgiving day, so we are thinking that maybe there will be a parade or something.  We need to check that out.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

This morning, John and I went to Flea World.  There are so many empty booths at this flea market.  Supposedly they are open from 9:00 until 6:00.  We arrived at 9:30, and over half of the booths that had merchandise in them, were not open yet.  By the time we left, around 12:30, the booths were just coming to life.  If we had run our business that way, we wouldn't have been in business for very long.  I went back out to Joann Fabrics for some supplies to finish making Christmas gifts.  I had a 60% off coupon.  How exciting is that? 

Last night, one of the people who live on this dock, came knocking at the door with leftover spaghetti and sauce from their Church.  He stayed and visited for about an hour.  We enjoy getting to know people on the dock better.  We were hearing rumors of a  dock party, but no particulars as yet.  Probably it will be while we are at home.

Friday, November 18, 2011

We heard from my Mom a little while ago.  She said we have a new great-nephew, born today.  His birthday is shared with my brother Bob.  That will be easy to remember.  Congratulations, Cara and Tony.

John is getting the van ready for the trip home.  He changed the oil and replaced a fuse for the inverter, so he can use his computer while I'm driving on the way home.  I spent the day working on Christmas presents.  I'm getting closer and closer to being finished.  Since we are coming home earlier than I thought, I have less time to finish all of my shopping, wrapping, and sewing.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

We had a nice visit with Jeff and Susan last night.  They left here bright and early this morning.  It was so early that John and I were still in bed.  We saw Al today. You remember Al.  He is the mechanic who replaced our fuel tank.  He was here working on a boat and stopped by to say "Hi".  It was in the 80s today and at 7:45 P.M., it's still 75 degrees.  It's nice to not have to run the air conditioner.  We have changed our plans about when we are coming home for the holidays.  Before we thought we'd come home on Dec. 8th, but we have decided to leave here on Nov. 30th. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

John and I went for a nice drive today.  We wanted to look at a couple of marinas that we passed on our way  in our boat.  We came to the conclusion that we chose the right marina to spend the winter in.  Monroe Harbor Marina is by far the nicest marina in the area.  Not only that, but within walking distance of so many shops, restaurants, and the library.  We are happy to be here.  Now the countdown begins for the trip home for Christmas.  There is a lot of shopping, sewing, and wrapping  to finish before going home.  I'm certain it will get finished in time.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Sunset on the cruise

Ice sculpting demonstration

Atlantis

Carol singing karaoke

Friday night the water was very rough and it was difficult to walk.  That's Gina's story and she is sticking to it.

 

Today it was return to real life.  We had a good time cruising with the kids, but now it's over.  It was strange going to the same places we visited on our boat this spring.  It was a total different perspective.  Jeff and Susan are going to stay with us overnight on their way back home.  We are looking forward to that. 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Well, it's back to normal, whatever that is. We had a great time on the cruise with our children and children-in-law. We ate some wonderful food, shopped in Nassau. gambled in the casino, saw some shows, sang karaoke, watched the Bengal's lose to Pittsburgh, and read books by the pool. This was our first cruise on Norwegian and I really liked it. This cruise was called free style because there were no set dinner times in the dining room. I personally liked that a lot. You didn't have to worry about getting there at a certain time. I already miss the kids, but it won't be too much longer before we'll be home for the holidays. Here are some pictures from the cruise.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

One more day!!! Jeff and Susan are here. We are so glad to see them. Tomorrow is the day, 11-11-11. We will be on the Norwegian Sky for the weekend. That means this will be the last post until Monday.

When Jeff and Susan got here, we walked into town for dinner. The second Thursday of the month, they close the main street again for their Alive After Five Celebration. They had gobs of booths set up. Some of them had seafood for free, some had seafood for sale, some had art, or jewelry, or drawings for solar power, and there were lots of bands. They really have a lot of community sponsored events. We really enjoy all of the outdoor events.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Two more days!!! Jeff and Susan will be here tomorrow night and then we will see the rest of our children on Friday. Woo Hoo! This morning I went out and bought a new suitcase on wheels (as opposed to an old suitcase on wheels). John was getting tired of lugging the luggage. Ha! It really is quite heavy.


John and I went dock walking this evening and took these pictures of the moon and the dock. It's like Halloween revisited.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Today I spent the entire day sewing. Christmas presents are getting done. I still have about six more things to make, but I've finished eight things. So, I'm more than half way there. John walked up to the ship store and picked up our mail. It's always so much fun to get our mail. Gina boxes it up and sends it every two months or so. We pay our bills online, so most of the mail is fun stuff, like magazines, invitations, pictures from grandchildren, and a few ads that Gina thinks we might like to look at and that haven' t expired yet. We got magazines and our license plates sticker this time. It's all good. Three more days until the Cruise!!!! Watch out Bahamas, here we come.

Monday, November 7, 2011

I spent the morning doing chores, trying to get my work done before we go on the cruise Friday. We walked into town, just to walk and there was a rooster just walking around on the sidewalk. I didn't have my camera with me, so there are no pictures. Sorry. There is a new boat on the dock this morning. The people are here for the winter and from Rochester, New York. They seemed really nice. There was talk of a dock party on Sunday night, but it never materialized. It would be fun to get to know everyone better. Four more days!!!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Today is Sunday and the Bengals played Tennessee and they WON!!!!! Who Dey!!  There is a bar named Wolfy's that is right next to the marina.  They have the NFL package and we watched the game there today.  How convenient is that?  It's exciting to watch the Bengals this year.  Oh, by the way, UC won this weekend too.  They are 7 and 1. Go Cincinnati!!

Next weekend we will be on a cruise with our children.  The ship has NFL package and the Bengals play Pittsburgh.  It will be fun to watch it with the kids.We are really lookin forward to spending next weekend with them.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Mom and Dad left this morning.  We were sorry for them to go back home because we enjoyed having them here so much.  We didn't quite know what to do with ourselves after they left.  The Church we have started attending here is having a fall festival all weekend.  So, John and I went there for awhile.  They did not have nearly as many games of chance as the festivals at home in Cincinnati.  They had a 50 /50 raffle, a major award, a very small silent auction, and bingo.  However, they had many, many more rides for the kids.  It would have been so much more fun if our grandchildren had been there with us.  We would have spent so much more money if the grandchildren were there. 

We put air in the tires of the bikes we got at Palm Coast.  We pulled them out of the van and John started working on them with the WD40.  They need new seats and some oil and then we'll see how they are.  I have to learn how to ride a bike with hand brakes.  I've never ridden that kind of bike before, so it will be  interesting. 

Friday, November 4, 2011

We had a really good time today with John's parents.  We watched as Norm's boat was returned to the water and back in it's slip next to us.  It was drizzling out when Luke (the harbor master) piloted the boat just like the pro he is.  He did a wonderful job.

We walked around the harbor and watched as the Romance cruise boat pulled away from the dock for their lunch cruise.  It's amazing that this boat can maneuver in the small amount of space it has available to it.  Then after our afternoon bridge game,we walked back into town for an early dinner at our favorite German restaurant The Willow Tree.  Yum Yum!  The picture above was taken after we walked back to the boat and our guys sat down for a minute.  I guess we wore them out.  They were revived after a short nap and we played more bridge.  John and Mom played (not bid) a grand slam on the last hand of the evening.  Dad and I could not hold any good cards that last game.  Needless to say, we lost big time. Oh, well, it's just a game.  Didn't Sam Wyche get in trouble for saying that about the Bengals' football games?  Til tomorrow........

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Scarecrow, Mom, and Dad.

We are so happy to have John's Mom and Dad visiting with us for a couple of days.  We walked into town for lunch at Willow Tree (German restaurant) and then walked around town a bit. Lunch was wonderful.   We returned to the boat and played bridge.  The cards were really strange today, but we had a good time.  We had a nice dinner on the boat and now we are ready to play cards again.  So, I'll tell you tomorrow how well or how poorly I played.  Til then......

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

We are looking forward to John's parents arriving tomorrow for a couple of days.  It will be nice to see them. Late this afternoon a group of sailboats had a sailboat race.  Apparently, they do this every Wednesday.  They started out around 6:00 and got back around 7:00 as it was getting dark.  This is the last Wednesday they are doing this because the time changes this weekend and it will be dark even earlier. 

We received a video email this evening of our granddaughter Kate, who is 19 months old, jumping.  It was hilarious.  She bends over, swings her arms, and lifts one leg off of the floor.  She made us laugh really hard.  What a doll baby!  Then we got to Skype with her tonight.  She couldn't take her eyes off of herself.  She sang and danced for us.  We miss those grandbabies so very much.

On a sad note, we are sorry to say, but Norm's mother passed away this morning.  Fortunately, Norm and Sue were able to spend the last few days with her.  Our hearts and prayers go out to their family.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

John and I went to the grocery store this morning.  From the time we left "home" until the last item was put away was 4 and 1/2 hours.  Jeez!  But, we are well-stocked at the moment.

 It's cooler and windier out than it had been.  We are getting tossed about a bit at the dock.  It's wonderful sleeping at night.  It's nice to have the air conditioner off and be able to cook without blowing a circuit breaker :)  We are looking forward to having guests during the next couple of weeks and then going on the cruise.

 Looking at the choppy Lake Monroe.

 We got to Skype last night with our family.  It was great seeing the grandchildren in their Halloween costumes.  It is always great to see the grandchildren, costumes or not.  We are looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family and friends.