Tue – 27 Dec/16

Charlotte walked to crafts today and arrived before 9 a.m. The sewing machine was not required today. The weather is still giving clear blue skies and 10-15 degrees above the average; however it will drop to a more normal 70F by the weekend.

We will call our oldest daughter, Kathleen, to wish her Happy Birthday; however, we will let her sleep in for a bit first. She is manager of a wine store and this is the busiest time of year. The last thing we want to do is disrupt her day to sleep in!

We put out the awning – for protection! The older section of the park has numerous “Live Oak” trees. The reason they are called “Live” is because they do not drop their leaves in the fall (like up north). They fall continuously all year. The other problem is the deluge of acorns. Ouch! They really hurt when dropping from a hundred or more feet up. This appears to be a year for a “Bumper Crop” from the tree above our RV.

An RV neighbour, few years ago, moved to the open, treeless section of the park to escape the falling barrage of nuts, which sound like a gun shot when they hit the RV roof. This was definitely not good for a vet suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome.

My task while Charlotte is at crafts was to empty the bedroom closets so they can be reorganized. I can’t believe how much we managed to stuff into such a small space. We always bring too much! Charlotte can help sort when she returns. The more “Wintery” items can be stored in an outside compartment.

We will be doing a little organizing and Spring (Winter?) cleaning each day for the next little while. Our New Year’s resolution is to try to relax and take it easy a little more than in the past.

ASAP (As Soon As Possible) has become WWFLI (pronounced “whiff-lee” - Whenever We Feel Like It).

Works for me!

At 11:30 I started preparing lunch. Today will be breaded Alaskan Pollock with Cheddar and Bacon Scalloped Potatoes and Baby Lima Beans (with plenty of butter). The potatoes will simmer; however I won’t start the Lima beans until I see Charlotte coming down the sidewalk. We are on St. Lawrence, the main street. I should be able to spot her turning the corner a few short blocks away. Today’s session was going past the usual noon hour departure.

I watched and didn’t spot Charlotte walking. Then I realized she was riding with Kathy Lee in her golf cart. I frantically started the Lima Beans; however she was getting home too quickly and would have to wait a few minutes for lunch to be ready.

After lunch we phoned Kat to wish her Happy Birthday. I am glad we waited – she sounded tired.

Then it was time to re-order the closet. It all arrived for travel together. Now it was time to put it all back in. At least now there is a “His” and “Her” side to the clothes and shoes.

We headed out mid-afternoon for a few items. First stop was Jo-Ann fabrics (Tavares, FL) for a few craft things for Charlotte. Then it was a little bit down the road to Home Depot.

Kat called back – the house was cold when she stopped in to see Max and Jesse. The programmable thermostat had no info showing. Kathleen would pick up a set of new batteries and call me back.

I didn’t find the style for what I was looking for (coat hooks) so it was a little more down the road to Lowe’s. They had a larger selection; however, not what I really wanted. I bought (5) that I will try tomorrow. If not suitable I will look on the internet. As I arrived back at the car Kat phoned again. No luck with the thermostat – so she was off to Home Hardware for to buy new unit. I installed the original thermostat when we bought the house (new) over 25 years ago.

Last stop was at Publix to top up our groceries. Paper towels, cereal, Keurig coffee cups, Turkey Pot Pie, a Woman’s World magazine, a Febreze refill and PowerBall tickets. Then we were on our way back to OMS.

Part way to the RV park Kat called to let us know the heat was back on at home.  Breakers were switched off, the old unit removed and the new unit wired into the furnace’s circuit. What can I say – I’m proud of my girls – they can rise to any challenge.

We arrived and unpack just in time to sit down to watch Jeopardy and finish the blog.

That will wrap up another day in the Land of Sunshine.