Wednesday - 30 Dec/15

Record highs with some places nearby hitting 87 F and the overnight low at 70 F will also be record setting. Record highs again tomorrow. Cool spell with rain Saturday and Sunday.

Charlotte was off at 9 a.m. to sewing. Today she continued fusing the T-shirt squares. The large are about 17" x 17" and the small about 4" x 4". There are a few more large to fuse and the small have to be cut in equal sized squares.

The internet was miserable again this morning. It took a few hours just to do the routine tasks of emailing and banking. Again - a provider, not a park problem.

Charlotte was back a bit early. It took me just a few minutes to finish making our dinner: Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes; Baby Sweet Peas and Ground Chuck Hamburger Steak.

The noon news had the usual (for down here) round of drive-by shootings, homicides, convenience store robbery videos, Interstate closures due to accidents, vehicles hitting buildings and drownings caused by vehicles \(for unknown reasons) going off the road into the water.

The rest of the country has blocked Interstates due to snow, ice, floods, avalaches and landslides. Down here they effectively close the Interstates by accidents. Last night closure for several hours was caused by a pickup going the wrong way. The crash killed 5. Accidental shooting of the day: Mom shot daughter; mistaking her for burglar.

The other big news item was unexpected health bills received by "Fully Insured" clients. In Florida, unlike some other states, hospitals are not required to inform patients that they are being served by "Out of Network"  providers. Health Insurance companies only pay fees for service providers that are listed "In their Network".  Otherwise, they only pay a very small portion of the charge.

Even if you have read the "Fine Print" and ask, an "In Network" provider may not be available. In an Emergency you may not be able to ask, or have a choice. So much for "Full Coverage" insurance! Imagine getting a $10,000 unexpected bill for emergency ambulance service (one example given). Anybody get the feeling the insurance companies aren't working hard to close this loophole? (grin)

Watched more Bette Davis B/W and Hitchcock classics this afternoon.

Not a particularly good TV night down here - maybe a movie from the collection to end the evening.

Tuesday - 29 Dec/15

Previously I mentioned that Tuesday is a "Nothing Day" because there are no scheduled activities on the park scheduled today in which we participate.

This is exactly what we did today - nothing!

Actually, we did a few things.

Phoned a youngster to wish him Happy Birthday (Ron is exactly 6 months younger than I).

I used internet banking to pay due bills.

We watched TV and Movies. I worked on the computer and Charlotte did some embroidery.

I think we have just realized that we are actually retired and are allowed to do "Nothing" without feeling guilty.

That's it for today - I didn't even take a picture!

Monday - 28 Dec/15

The heat wave continues. It is now Officially the Hottest Year in Florida - ever. The average daily temperature for the year is 74.9 F. El Nino (warming of the Pacific Ocean at the Equator) has shifted the prevailing winds causing unusual weather all over North America (and the world).

A quiet routine day today.

Charlotte went to crafts this afternoon and created a "Shrinky Dink". Shrinky Dink material is a transparent material on which you trace a design and then colour. This design was traced from one of Charlotte's full sized adult colouring book then coloured. The material is then heated (a fellow crafter brought a toaster oven) and it shrinks. In this case the original design was about 8" x 8". It shrank to 1/3 of the original size giving a true miniature of the original design. It can then be trimmed to any desired shape. Neat!

My main effort today was completing the Route 66 jigsaw puzzle that Charlotte and I started yesterday.

It was also a routine TV evening starting with Jeopardy and Family Feud and ending with Scorpion and NCIS Los Angeles.

That's it for today!

Sunday - 27 Dec/15

CBS Sunday Morning as usual.

Charlotte made French Toast w/Maple Syrup for breakfast...mmm good!

Phoned daughter Kat to wish her Happy Birthday! We are blessed by our two girls every day of the year!

Movies and odd jobs are all that are on the day's agenda.

After a few Hitchcock classics we decided to start the Route 66 Jigsaw Puzzle. We will have to finish tomorrow.

That was it for today.

Saturday - 26 Dec/15

Like CBS Sunday Morning, I have a favourite TV program on Saturday morning. It is "The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation". Although aimed at the younger generation, it has facts that are interesting to all ages. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI is one of the best in the world. If you are in the neighbourhood plan on spending a few days if you go.

We didn't watch the whole program today because we wanted to head out to the Market of Marion (Flea and Farmers Market) before it got too hot. There are more than 1,100 booths full of inventory of all types. There is something for everyone! They are open year round on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m.to 4:00 p.m.

We parked near the last indoor section: "H". Our pattern is to work down the center and do the aisles that extend out on the one side. We then do the other side of the main aisle and the side extensions on the other side on the way back.

Good News. We finally found Tupelo Honey. It is in short supply again this year. It is the gold standard by which all other honey varieties are measured. For two weeks every spring, White (Ogeche) Tupelo Trees in the Southeastern swamps bloom with fine sunburst-shaped flowers that glisten with nectar. Tupelo Honey has buttery undertones and a mellow, clean-finishing sweetness. It's like a thick, slow-moving river of liquid sunshine. Tupelo Honey complements a variety of foods
but it's so delicious, it is a treat just by the spoonful! It is the only honey that will not crystallize and is also the best for diabetics.

Since 1898 L.L. Lanier & Son's Tupelo Honey have been harvesting Tupelo honey from hives in the Apalachicola River swamps. In the spring of 1996, award winning director Victor Nunez purchased a jar of Tupelo honey from the Lanier's stand in downtown Wewahitchka. He then drove to their house, explained that he was planning to make a movie about a beekeeper, and asked Ben and Glynnis to help. Before he knew it, Ben was teaching actor Peter Fonda how to handle bees, and Glynnis, L.L. and Martha were cast as extras. Some of Ben's dialog was used in the script, and he worked with the film crew in an effort to make the beekeeping scenes in the film as true-to-life as possible. All of the swamp lands and bee yards in the film belong to the Laniers. The old truck where the money was hidden in the film, "Ulee's Gold" is still there! It is a good flick. Worth watching if you can find a copy.

Shopping in the Vegetable and Fruit section Charlotte found several items to purchase.

A regular stop of ours is at the booth that sells kitchen utensils. We always pick up a supply of bag clips that are great for sealing bread bags. The clips have a round center hole that is much better than the flat clips that are often used for potato chip bags.  This vendor makes the 4 hour round trip every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from her home in northern Florida. She brings her dogs with her. She is 80, yet doesn't look 60! She says keeping busy keeps her young. We will miss her next year. She will transfer her booth closer to home in May.

Charlotte finally found a pair of red baby socks. She now can make a hat for the smallest member of her snowman family that guards our Christmas Card table.

This is one of the larger markets and it took us almost 2 hours to check out all the booths. I finally found a business card holder. It is similar to the solid case credit card holders. Leather doesn't do the job because the cards get bent unless the case is solid. (Sitting on it will do that.)

It was cool enough when we came to go "Topless" in the Del Sol; however with the temps now in the mid-80's and the humidity even higher we left the top on and enjoyed the A/C on the way back.

Lunch was at Chili's. We made a stop at Publix for grocery refills before returning to OMS. We had thought of going to the 50' and 60's Record Hop in the Rec Hall from 7 until 9 pm; however we decided to relax and end the day with movies instead. "The Pelican Brief", "Flightplan" and "Now You See Me" rounded off the evening.

Friday - 25 Dec/15

This was the warmest Christmas Day ever! (at least since they have been keeping records) Temps all around the region were in the mid-80's F. More record setting days are coming according to the forecast.

The Rec Hall was packed for Christmas Dinner at 1 p.m. The potluck was excellent as usual. OMS provided the ham (it was so good) with mashed potatoes and gravy. Everyone else brought items for the potluck. Unlike some RV park potlucks, there is always enough food for seconds here at OMS.

We had the pleasure of sitting with folks we have shared a table with previously as well as another couple from Michigan who we were meeting for the first time. The friendly atmosphere at these events makes the festivities even more pleasurable.

Nothing planned for the day. We returned to the motorhome after the meal. Made afternoon phone calls to family back home to wish them  Merry Christmas. Like much of the Northeast, they had unusually warm weather. Folks were even driving around in their convertibles with the top down enjoying the unusual winter heat. Not to fear - snow will be arriving back home in a few days. After all, we do live "Half Way to the North Pole" (in the summertime - grin).

Once again, Merry Christmas to All!

Thursday - 24 Dec/15

Charlotte decided to skip sewing this morning. We had some missions to undertake.

The first stop was for breakfast at Umatilla Inn just down the road from the RV park. Always a good standard type breakfast at a fair price here.

Parked next to a rare Crosley which was just departing s we were leaving.

Our next stop was the Lake County Flea and Farmer's Market held at the Lake County Fairground in Eustis, FL.

Inside one of the halls Charlotte found a handmade basket at a booth that we have purchased from previously. The vendor sells his wares for a more than reasonable price.

Once outside we made a few more purchases including fresh green beans for the Christmas Day Potluck at noon in the park rec hall.

Charlotte then coerced me into going to Harbor Freight Tools (grin). The store in Leesburg is closer; however, the ride to the store in Apopka is on much less busy roads if you go "The Back Way". A section of the route we take has greenhouse lining both sides of the road. Virtually all specialize in growing Orchids.

Harbor Freight Tools have good prices that become ridiculously good when they are on special. I had a few good coupons that expire today.

Our final stop was at "The Orange". Like Florida's citrus industry, the big orange had fallen on hard times sitting hidden in the woods south of Renninger's in Mount Dora. About 3 years ago a crane lifted the big orange out of the woods after 30 years of withering away, placed it on a lowboy hauler and moved it to Sunsational Citrus in Umatilla where it now sits next to their new Citrus and Gift Shop just off SR-19.

A few items later we left for the RV park; but not before taking a picture of Charlotte next to a Real Florida Christmas Tree decorated with oranges.

The rest of the afternoon/evening  was occupied viewing (you guessed it) a few more Bette Davis B/W movies between Christmas phone calls to family and friends.

Tonight a rare Full Cold Moon will brighten the sky on Christmas day. This Lunar event is the first in 38 years and it won't happen again until 2034. It is called a "Full Cold Moon" because it occurs during the beginning of winter. This rare celestial event will peak at 6:11 p.m. for the first time on Christmas Eve since 1977.

Merry Christmas to One and All!

Let us all  Pray for Peace on Earth!

Wednesday - 23 Dec/15

Nights are 20 F above normal at 70+ F. Record or near record highs in the mid-80's; but this is not the Sunshine State. It feels more like dusk all day long due to the heavy cloud cover caused by the warm, humid air from the south. Despite the high humidity there is virtually no chance of showers today as the rain clouds are on both sides in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, not over the land.

Charlotte was off to sewing this morning. It was so humid droplets were forming on surfaces even though it was not raining. Charlotte will be working on placemats today (not Christmas ones) made from material she bought last week. This will give us a pair of placemats to use when the current set is in the laundry.

A lot of little routine jobs on my agenda this morning. I will do fine tuning adjustments on the Day/Night blind we just fixed. I had to adjust the end of the valance which was not all the way up against the ceiling on one end. It was also time to dump the black water tank (sewage).

I had enough time left over to make lunch. I always "Cheat" on the recipes by adding more whole milk and butter and less water. I like extra creamy sauces rather than thin, watery mixtures. The hardest part is cooking things to be ready just as Charlotte returns from sewing.

Lunch was cheddar scalloped potatoes, baby lima beans in butter and tube steaks (hot dogs - grin). Dessert was Claxton Fruits Cake.

Charlotte just has a little hand stitching to do on her new placemats. Each side has a different pattern. I love the colours. Another neat craft completed.

Charlotte picked up the mail after crafts. We have never had so much! Some business mail along with a bunch of Christmas Cards.

Daughter Kat always finds the funniest cards (for every occasion).

Liz, Nick and Marty's card is a hand drawn Christmas modification of their business logo. Neat!

Other cards were from friends Angele and Bob and our cats - Jessie and Max. They will decorate our snowman family table.

Another piece of mail was a cheque from my RV insurance company. I paid for the RV windshield replacement to speed up the process as we were in the USA when the window was damaged. I waited until we arrived at the RV park so as not to interrupt our trip to Florida. We would have been delayed on the road for over a week (costly) while a windshield was shipped, received and installed.

Safety windshields are made up of two layers of glass with a plastic middle layer. Being tempered causes the glass to fragment rather than shatter and the middle layer keeps the pieces together. Only the outer layer of the glass was cracked. It was also on the passenger side (our large RV windshield is in two halves) so we decided to travel on. The cracks did radiate a bit; however it remained in place all the way to our destination.

The insurance company cheque was for my cost minus the deductible; however, it was in Canadian Currency. I do have an account at the RBC Bank in the USA; however, it is a virtual bank without physical branches. I have a Canadian TD Bank VISA so I pondered going to the TD Bank (USA) that has a branch in Eustis, FL only a few miles down the road. I thought they would cash the cheque; however I would pay a substantial exchange fee to convert it to American dollars.

iPHONE to the rescue. On a hunch I checked the internet. The Royal Bank (RBC Canada), as of December, has an APP by which I can deposit cheques. (These apps have been available from US Banks for a few years.)

I downloaded the app, accessed my account, signed the cheque and took a picture of the front and the back, entered the amount and made the deposit into my RBC Canada Main Chequing Account remotely, by phone, all from the comfort of the motorhome here in Florida. NEAT!

All the time I was setting up and doing the deposit Charlotte worked on laying out the blocks of her new quilt project on the motorhome floor.

This quilt will be made up of almost 3 dozen large and 2 dozen small graphic cutouts from T-shirts collected during our travels over the years. Charlotte first irons the graphic onto "Fusible Web" material. This will allow them to keep their shape when quilted.

Another Bette Davis B/W movie to tide us over until Jeopardy, etc. You know, the usual evening fare. This turned out to be a busier day than we thought it would be.

Tuesday - 22 Dec/15

Socked in with fog this morning. Being Central Florida the high humidity, as usual, burnt off by 9:30 a.m.; however it remained cloudy and in the mid-80's F.

After being busy yesterday we decided to take it easy today. Charlotte helped once again and we finally re-installed the Day/Night Blind after a few contortions and adjustments.

Again, a few more Bette Davis B/W movies while we did odds and ends. There are still a few more in the collection to view.

I add the January OMS events to our daily calendar then continued working on the movie database program I am designing. I am adding the actors to the movies so I can search by name. Down to less than 20% of the 4000 movies to complete.

Charlotte worked on finalizing her Fabric Christmas Ball decorations by adding a festive gold bow. The picture doesn't do them justice.

A half dozen are now hung throughout the RV making it even more festive.

Charlotte's saucy meatballs w/rice for supper, Mmmm good!

Jeopardy, Family Feud and NCIS/NICS NOLA (New Orleans - locals just call it NOLA = New Orleans, LA)

That's it for another day in the Sunshine State. (even though it has been cloudy).

Monday - 21 Dec/15

Winter begins here tonight (11:49 p.m.) - 10 F above normal - night time temps will be in the 70's F - daytime  in the mid-80's F. At this rate Marty will outgrow his snowboard boots before he gets to use them (grin);

A few white clouds; but mostly sunshine until more clouds come in this afternoon. Even the locals are complaining about the heat.

A relaxing morning. Charlotte enjoyed the warmth of the sun while sitting on the patio. A half hour was spent chatting with a fellow crafter and neighbour who had just returned from spending a few days with their grandchildren in Sarasota. Our central location means Disney, the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico are all only a little more than an hour away.

Charlotte left for crafts after lunch.

My task today was to repair the dual Day/Night window blind over the dinette window. The string broke. Getting the blind out to work on was an hour long frustrating experience. Some of the screws were in a position that could not be seen and had to be removed by feel. Restringing was also quite a process.

The string I had on hand was not suitable. Needed was a cord of specific size and strength. The string I had would have worn out in the less than the 11 years the original lasted. I phoned the Ocala Camping World and they had a few repair kits in stock and put one aside for me.

I picked Charlotte up at crafts and we were soon on our way to Camping World. We arrived by 4 p.m. and were back at the RV before 5.

We worked until 8:30 and finally got the blind restrung. Because this is a large (almost 5 feet wide) day/night blind it required two of us at times. I couldn't have done it without Charlotte's help.

We will wait until tomorrow to try to get the blind and valance back in place. Hope it doesn't take more than the hour that was needed to remove it.

Nick (our son-in-law) is an RV Tech (Nick's Mobile RV - He is the best!) Now we know why he tells customers it is cheaper to buy a new blind than it is to pay to have one restrung. He's right! This is a time consuming job,

I finally took the time to check the mail that Charlotte picked up at on the way to crafting. The park Post Office is next  to the craft hall. There was a nice Christmas Card from the park staff and the OMS January newsletter.

Best of all was a Christmas Card from our friends, Helene and Ron, back home in Canada. Helene's handmade cards are a treat we always look forward to and appreciate receiving. They are so unique and creative. If she had a boutique in NYC or LA she could easily get $100 a card for her wonderful creations. To Helene, it is her hobby - a hobby that brightens the day for anyone who receives one of her special cards.

Tonight will be Scorpion on TV before we zonk out.

Sunday - 20 Dec/15

CBS Sunday Morning (as usual) to start the day.

A treat today - Diane (and Alberto) - friends living near Vera Cruz, Mexico phoned. Diane has been a friend of Charlotte's since school days. We called to wish them a Merry Christmas and got the answering machine. We left them our new cell phone number and Diane called this morning.

We really miss visiting them; however they advised not to come as travelling, even for locals, has gotten much more dangerous in Mexico these days.

They are planning to visit Canada again this year where we live - halfway to the North Pole. Between visits they keep in touch through phone calls.

Overcast today; however the clouds are light not dark. No chance of rain and temps in the low 70 F range. It will be back up to mid-80's F in a few days.

The 70 F range is more like our weather back home in the summer.. It was a good day to visit a flea market. We left with the top off; however the side windows remained up today.

Our choice for today was Renningers Mount Dora Flea Market and Antique Center. It is the largest flea market that is close to the RV resort that is open on the weekend.

Two large buildings and a number of open air shopping areas house a wide variety of dealers from produce stands, clothing shops, and oddity vendors, to high quality antiques and collectibles. We regularly visit here.

I stopped at the Lost Art Leather Group booth and had Tom craft a new belt. My old belt was down to it's last notch. I did not want another $5 special as they only look good. The $5 leather is poor quality and soon looks shabby after just a few uses. Tom only provides top quality leather that lasts for decades, not weeks. Tom soon had the nice piece of black leather I chose custom finished with a classic end. He also gave pointers on how to condition the belt as he did just that to the finished product. It is harder and harder to find good hand crafted items these days. Tom did a fine job.

We have a few regular vendor booths that we visit. Sweet Oasis Honey is one of those booths. They have become our choice for Tupelo Honey. Unfortunately, they were out of this popular choice and would not have more until just into the New Year. Charlotte decided on a small container of local raw honey to tide us over.

We continued on through the aisles and soon stopped at another regular indulgence. We bought a bucket filled with a few dozen (not saying how many) mini-donuts. Half were cinnamon coated and half powdered with confectioner's sugar.  We ate as we shopped. So much for lunch!

We thought of making a few more purchases; however we decided to forego the tempting items. We did indulge in a small sample size of "Boiled Peanuts". We were too stuffed from the donuts to buy a regular size. This booth sells Charlotte's favourite. They win the honour because they are "So Salty".

Well that killed off a few hours and gave us exercise. We probably didn't "Break Even" on the calorie count due to our donut indulgence.

Charlotte did a little more hand stitching (Swedish Weaving) while watching (listening) to a few more B/W Bette White classics from our collection. These "Guest Towels" make nice gifts which she often uses as a "Thank You".

Supper was our Cream of Mushroom Soup "Special". Bet you thought we had an Andy Warhol Print! (grin) We use regular Campbell's to which we add only whole milk, a half pound of fresh sliced mushrooms (fried in butter) and salt and pepper, to taste.

Finished the day with movies rather than TV.