Cinco de Mayo

Hope everyone had a happy Cinco de Mayo. I played 9 holes of golf (par 3's) and then we drove home in rain. After a thunderstorm with lots of rain and lightning passed over, Arne and I went up to the town square and met a couple from Illinois. We first met them at a Super Bowl party. Hal worked for the same company as bro-in-law, Carl. According to Hal, Carl was a "rock star" inside Colonial Hospital Supply, the company for which they worked. After sipping a margarita and listening to the entertainment for about 90 minutes, we headed to a restaurant, TGI Fridays, for a bite to eat. They were serving free enchiladas and tacos. So, another margarita, small salad and free entrees. :-)

This morning, I worked with three Hispanic ladies to improve their English. In the afternoon, a neighbor and I went to our line dance class. We were taught a cha-cha line dance with which I was having great difficulty. I finally realized I was doing a step touch when I should have been doing two steps. Made a world of difference once I figured that out. Our teacher goes to the town square every Monday evening to lead beginners in line dancing. I hope to go next Monday.

Derby Week

Arne and I took a road trip last Wednesday. Granddaughter Kadin had asked me to take Flat Stanley to the beach. Rather than going to one of the popular beaches near Tampa, we chose to take Stanley to a fishing village on an island in the Gulf of Mexico, about 100 miles from The Villages. While Cedar Key is not a place we'd ever go again, we're glad we checked it out. We did get pictures of Stanley on a "beach" and I cleaned up the "beach" in Photoshop. I also added a "pirate ship" as Arne came up with a tale of Stanley getting captured by pirates, tied to a tree and then getting away to hide behind a bench. We hope it made it a little more interesting for Kadin's third grade class.

Friday while playing golf, I spotted this turtle on the cart path. It was trying to get back to the pond from which it had wandered.

Saturday afternoon we went to the Miona Shores Derby party. The temperature hit 90 degrees and everyone was seeking shade. Super Saver was one of my horses but unfortunately Jeff, who was taking the bets, talked me into a Quinella. (What's that again?) You have to pick two horses for a Quinella so I put Super Saver and Lookin at Lucky. Big mistake! If I'd bet on them individually I would have won some money. Oh well, live and learn. I've never been very good at gambling.


Since the party started at 3 and the real Derby wasn't until 6:15, we could bet on the Miona Shores Derby. These were wooden cutouts of horses which advance one or two spaces depending upon what's drawn, like Bingo. I didn't place any bets on these races. There was also a hat contest for best man and lady's hat as well as most unique. There were some very pretty ladies' hats. I just made a bow for one of my golf hats. I asked Arne to take a picture of my hat and below is what he took. Doesn't show my nice bow! Arne walked into the kitchen Friday, when I was trying to make a bow with Bowdabra from Joanne's,and he asked if I was doing something domestic. Doesn't happen very often for this jock. :-)

Sunday, after church, I practiced basketball and volleyball. I'm slowly getting better in both sports. In the evenig, we had Roger and Nancy for dinner. They are neighbors who will be going to their Michigan home for the summer. Roger brought over his new iPad. It looks like a giant iTouch. I'll bet Arne will be getting one of them soon. It's pretty neat and not much smaller than my laptop screen.

Where have I been?

It's been three weeks since I've posted. Did you miss me? Probably not, but that's OK.

Not much to report from here...same o' same o'. Fitness center, golf, MahJong, teaching, etc. I did "win" another medal for basketball two weeks ago in The Villages 2010 Senior Games. Today Arne and I went to a luncheon for the athletes but didn't stick around for the "Torch lighting" ceremony. Instead we went to see a very funny movie, "Date Night" with Tina Fey and Steve Carell.

The last of 140 lots in our village is now being built. It happens to be next door to us so hammering has been my alarm clock for the past couple weeks. (At least they don't start before 7 AM.) It's amazing how fast these houses go up. Of course, there's sometimes more than a dozen guys working on it. They started when I got home from Arizona and today were putting the shingles on the roof. Lots of trucks on the street and around the house. Oh well, they should be pretty much done by my birthday. :-)

Back to Arizona

Flew to Phoenix on Wednesday, March 24. Stayed with Lisa that night. After dinner, we went to Nick’s new home, a house he is renting with a friend.

Thursday, Lisa took me to meet my dear friend, Marilyn, with whom I stayed the next three nights. I spent an hour with Al and Barbara Taylor, who bought our Terravita house. I enjoyed seeing how they had made use of the space and pleased to see that they hadn’t made any major changes as they liked what we had done in our remodel. I really miss the floor tile and would love to have it in our Florida home. Barbara was amazed when I told her that Arne had installed the wall tile in the guest bath. I pointed out the other things Arne had done and she continued to be impressed. After lunch and a visit with Jane Frisch, Marilyn and I went to the driving range to practice for the Sonoran member-guest tournament in which we would be playing on Friday and Saturday. Thursday evening we went to Carefree Station to join four other friends for dinner.

Friday and Saturday, Marilyn and I played in the tourney. Friday was very cold! I had not brought the right clothes as I thought it was going to be in the upper 70’s and lower 80”s. Thus I had shorts and sleeveless shirts. Not appropriate!! Marilyn gave me a windbreaker belonging to her husband, Tim. It didn’t fit too badly but was a little large. I didn’t really feel comfortable in my swing until Saturday afternoon when I was finally able to shed the windbreaker. While we didn’t play well, actually coming in DFL in our flight, I saw lots of friends so it was a fun time. Also, the tee prize was a $50 gift certificate with which I bought a hat, glove, and cosmetic bag. We also got an Arizona charm bracelet. Marilyn and I did get some money back by sharing a 3-way tie for second place in the putting contest. :-)

Sunday, Jane took me to meet Erik and girls. We went to Mesa where we checked into the Marriott Mesa for four nights. Sunday night, Lisa, Erik, their children and I went bowling.

Monday, I watched Kadin and Gracie as Erik and Lisa had meetings for their new business. The girls swam for two hours in the morning. We then went to Subway for lunch and McDonald’s for dessert and playtime. Back to the pool for another couple hours swimming. In the evening, we went to Lisa’s for dinner.

Tuesday, I took Kadin, Gracie, Taylor, Brock and Nick to Jumpstreet for two hours of jumping on the trampolines. They had a fun time. Nick ended up with burns on his elbows and knees. He also hurt his shoulder and he’s only 23! Guess it’s not an activity for people over 20.

Tuesday night we met Mark, Marla, Andy, Drew and Kayley for dinner at Manuel’s in celebration of sister Marla’s birthday.


Wednesday, I took Kadin and Gracie to the Phoenix Zoo where we met Marla and her grandkids. We had a couple good hours together before the kids started to get tired. Took Kadin and Gracie to the pool for a couple hours in afternoon.



That night, all three of my children and all 6 grandchildren gathered at Dave and Buster’s in Tempe to celebrate grandson Daniel’s successful completion of his GED. He had high scores and we’re very proud of him. D&B’s has a big arcade so after dinner the grandkids had fun playing games and then picking out their prizes. Gracie was a big winner and went away with 3 stuffed animals.

Thursday was a travel day for me as I flew back to Florida. Arne was glad to see me and had the house in A-1 shape.

Friday night Arne and I went to Lake Sumter Landing for the Corvette show. It was a beautiful evening and a long time coming after a very cold winter.

Today we cheered on our neighborhood softball team in the AM and in the PM we watched part of a beach volleyball tourney with professional players. Wish I could jump and spike like these girls!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This evening Arne and I went to the Town Square for the St. Patrick's parade and some corned beef and cabbage. I had a green beer which wasn't very appealing but still tasted like beer.



Volleyball is taking its toll on my fingernails. Sunday I broke one nail and last night I lost three nails. NOW, if I were hitting the ball properly, my nails wouldn't be breaking.

My First Gold Medal

Yesterday I participated in the Good Life Senior Games near Clearwater. I was part of The Villages basketball team for age 65-69 . My dear friend and Iowa Wesleya teammate, Lori, drove up from Bonita Beach to play with us. We played three games. A team from North Carolina who've played together for several years beat us 23-18 because we missed 12 free throws and also they had a 70-year-old lady who could sink it from the 3-point line. We then played a Clearwater team in their early 50's. They beat us 40-26 with one 6' gal scoring all of their points. She's the Tampa Police Chief and played for University of Tampa in the late 70's. We won our third game by 20 points against another Clearwater team. We won the gold medal because there were no other Florida teams in our age bracket and the North Carolina team doesn't qualify. Now I know how some people have so many medals. :-) We also now qualify to play in the Florida Senior Games in December.

This afternoon I went to basketball and volleyball practice. (A neighbor who had gone with me the last two weeks, fractured her index finger last Tuesday night so her volleyball days are probably over.) We are preparing for The Villages Senior Games after Easter. I hadn't planned to play volleyball but the coach said she wanted me to play to get some experience.

I played 18 holes of golf on Tuesday. Shot 98 which would be good for me on Terravita but not on these courses, which are less yardage. Wednesday morning I went to my chiropractor for an adjustment. I think it helped as I was hitting the ball quite well on Wednesday afternoon when I played in a neighborhood 2-person scramble. My partner and I won first place. That makes me 5 for 5 in money winnings for Wednesday neighborhood golf. :-)

Busy, Busy...

Finding time to update this blog has been difficult the past week. I'm sorry I still don't have any pictures. After looking at new cameras, Arne suggested I check the Internet for a new battery charger. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I know my sister would have checked the web right away. Anyway, I ordered a new charger and another battery for less than $50 so should have some pictures in my next post.

Tuesday night a neighbor and I tried the co-ed volleyball group which plays from 5-8 PM. They are more tolerant of inexperienced players than is the Sunday afternoon co-ed group. We're going again this Tuesday.

Wednesday I spent the day cleaning house and baking as I had 17 women coming on Thursday to play Hand and Foot. I had ladies at the dining room table, kitchen table, a card table in the living room and even set up a card table in the master bedroom. It was a good time.

Friday night we had three neighbor couples for dinner. They were here from 5:30-10:30 and everyone told me over the week-end that they had a great time.

Saturday we stopped in at The Villages Golffest which was held on the Polo field. Annika was the headliner at Noon. We got there around 1:30 and someone coming out gave us their passes so we saved $20. We looked at golf carts and then watched a trick shot golfer who was sooooo funny. My sides were aching from laughing so hard.

Sunday night we went to a '50's party in the neighborhood. There were about 50 people reminiscing and reliving their youth. A large screen on the Lanai and the television in the family room were showing video of Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly, Big Bopper and Richie Valens. Lots of fun.