Catching Up

Wonder how many times I'll use that title.

Last Thursday I joined some other neighbor ladies for lunch. They saw the 10:30 showing of "Julie & Julia". I had planned to see it but had a minor financial issue which required a trip to the bank. By the time I got back it was too late to catch the movie, but I heard all about it at lunch. Which is why I dragged (Not really) Arne to see it Friday afternoon. We both enjoyed it, in spite of the noise coming from the storm outside...rain and thunder...and obviously lightning as we read in the next morning's paper about yet another house fire due to lightning. Oh, I just remembered. I was going to check on lightning arrestors for the house. All has been calm for several days and thus, I have forgotten. Has to be the calm and not my age.

Saturday afternoon, we headed over to Foxy Rug and Furniture Galleria. We brought home a rug we liked and tried it out over the week-end. Monday morning I called and told them we'd keep it.It seemed to brighten the room and gave me an accent color...not brown.
Monday, we drove to Orlando and visited several furniture stores. We thought we had found, at a great price, the perfect sofa for our living room, but once we got home and drew out the tape measure, we discovered it much too large. So, we are now doing some shopping online to avoid driving all over the state.

Our bedroom is about 90% complete and I don't think I've posted these pictures.


Tidbits from the Local News...

A couple is charged with homicide after the death of the 20-year-old woman's 2-year-old, strangled by 8 1/2 foot python. This happened July 1, about 10 minutes from here. The 32-year-old boyfriend's snake "escaped" from its 2' x 6' glass aquarium which had no lock.

I also read how druggies are now making their own meth out of cold tablets and some "noxious" chemicals. As I read this, I couldn't help wondering if the removal of God in schools has led us to this. When I was in high school, I never heard of drugs, and alcohol wasn't a big deal. We had prayer in school. That was removed a decade later and now it seems like drugs and alcohol is prevalent with high school kids. Could there possibly be a correlation? Just a thought...

Around 7:30, I headed out for a walk down by the lake and didn't even get to the garage as the clouds were very dark gray and beautiful. The wind picked up, lightning and thunder, and now it's pouring rain. The lawns are looking very lush with all this moisture. I'm actually beginning to enjoy it.

Memories

I'm working on pictures for my Memories wall. This one reminded me of how close Jan, Marla and I got to the top. If only they hadn't made me turn around, we could have posed for a picture like this. Opportunity lost, as I know we'll never go up there again. Right, Ladies?

A Little Gem

Between phone calls from the kids and the back 9 of the PGA Championship on Sunday, Arne and I drove 1/2 mile to a little county park. Arne had talked of walking down there for fishing but we were surprised to see that there was a little beach and swimming area. That'll be great if our granddaughters come for a visit next summer.They LOVE the water.

We had brought lawn chairs so we sat and enjoyed the serenity of the afternoon, watching three families and their young children exploring the sand and water. You don't see them in this picture because I "borrowed" it from the Sumter County website.

Enough Already!

We have experienced heavy thunderstorms the last four days. While Arne loves them, I say enough already...at least for a while. Unfortunately, the forecast shows thunderstorms most of next week.

On Wednesday afternoon, we had lots of thunder and lightning. Thursday moring while outside to pick up the newspaper, I smelled smoke. I thought it strange for August but we are in a semi-rural area and non-Villagers do have burn piles, much like the farm I grew up on in Iowa. When I opened the paper, there on the front page was a story of a home which was destroyed by fire after a lightning strike. I just read this evening on "Talk of the Villages" that lightning caused a gas explosion in the attic. While we were wanting gas initially, now I'm glad we weren't able to get it.

Thursday afternoon I was over at a neighbor's house with 11 other ladies playing a card game called Hand and Foot, based on Canasta. Around 3:15, the heavens opened up and we were deluged with rain accompanied by wind, thunder and lightning. Power went out in the neighborhood but not our particular location. I heard we had 5" of rain. Unfortunately, Arne hasn't decided where to set up the rain gauge I gave him for his birthday. By the time he makes up his mind as to where to set it up, we'll probably have snow falling. :-)

Friday, I had my nails done at Noon, returned about three items to various stores and was headed for an oil change when the sky became so dark that I decided to skip the oil change and head home. We didn't get much out of that particular storm so Arne and I headed to the movies to see "The Proposal." Cute movie, lots of laughs.

Today Arne and I went to the Market at Marion, a big flea market. Since we weren't certain of its location, we headed north on Hwy 301 and passed through some absolutely beautiful country with horse farms and palatial homes. Arne said it seems as though The Villages were plopped down between Fort Dodge and Ames, Iowa. We do feel like we've gone back to our roots (Iowa and Illinois.)

We spent about 3 hours at the market and brought home 2 orchids and lots of fresh produce...plums, apples, bing cherries (very sweet), bananas, green pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, pink grapefruit and vine-ripened tomatoes...all very reasonable. I also bought some Green Bags which I'd seen on TV. Someone told me they really work so decided to give them a try. They're supposed to keep produce fresh for up to 14 days. As they say, seeing is believing. These bags only cost $4 so not too big of loss if they don't do as advertised.

We arrived home from the flea market in time to see Tiger tee off in the PGA Championship. There was a severe weather warning going across the screen indicating a storm moving into the area from which we had just returned. It suggested moving into an interior room in case of tornado. Arne and I decided our pantry would be the safest place in our house. At least there's food. I guess I'll make sure I always have water stored in there as well. :-) Just a reminder...If caught in the open during a (lightning )strike and the hair on your head or neck begins to stand on end (this really happens) go inside the nearest building. If no shelter is available, crouch down immediately in the lowest possible spot and roll up in a ball with feet on the ground. (DO NOT LIE DOWN.)If really needed, I will remove the brooms and recycle bin so we have more room to sit cross-legged and cover our heads. Yeah, right!!

Expanding Horizona

On Tuesday, I took a lesson in MahJong. It's challenging but I think I'll enjoy it once I've learned all of the rules and can keep the Craks, Dots, Bams, Flowers and Dragons straight in my mind. My dear friend Marilyn in Arizona suggested I give it a try as a way to meet new people. She was right. There are certainly lots of ladies around here who play it including some neighbors who are looking for another player.

Saturday, Arne and I went to the softball game at 11 AM and cheered the Miona Shores team to victory. People were complaining about the heat but they've not been to Arizona in August.

At 4 PM we went to Fiesta Bowl for a BMS (Bridgeport at Miona Shores) party. I won $5 for ladies high game at 174 and another $5 in a game played after dinner. Arne and I then went to the neighbors behind us, Norm and Polly, who had invited us over for cards. They taught us a form of Canasta called Foot and Hand. Seems couples around here like to get together and play cards so our brains should be getting some activity. We didn't get home until 11:30, way past my Arizona bedtime but I've been staying up later here since it gets dark so much later.

It was a good week. Several times I found myself feeling like I'd died and gone to heaven. This place is so peaceful and there's so much open space with cattle and horses. I know those who live here can understand what I'm feeling but for those of you who've never been here, you'll think I've lost my sanity. I don't believe that to be...

Happy Birthday, Arne!

Arne didn't want to acknowledge another birthday but I did it anyway. I gave him a book on "Nature of Florida" along with "Florida Weather" and a rain gauge. He was interested in meteorology as a youth and has loved the thunderstorms we frequently have here.

I told Arne I was taking him out for dinner to a place of his choosing. He chose Crispers where he had tomato bisque soup and large Greek salad. He said it was delicious. For dessert, we drove to McDonald's for a hot fudge sundae.

We then decided to "explore" and drove down a road we'd not been on before. It was a beautiful drive and just minutes from the shopping strips. On the left side of the road were homes in The Villages and on the right side were cattle, acreages, and horses. At one time, this area was mostly pasture and known as horse country.

We no sooner walked in the door than the phone started ringing with birthday wishes. Cousin Eileen called from California. Lisa called from Mesa and got Erik on the line so the four of us could talk. Aaron finally got through. He had sent a text message and an email earlier in the day. It was nice to hear from all of them.