Not the Best Week...

Basketball was supposed to start last Sunday. I wasn't feeling 100% so when our former neighbors, Al and Donna Smith, showed up at church, I made the decision to skip BB and we went out to lunch with them. Monday afternoon I played Mah Jong with intermittent coughing. I hope I didn't expose anyone to my upper respiratory infection. Tuesday, I woke up feeling awful so canceled my tee time. I went to the doctor and because my symptoms weren't bad, he prescribed Amoxycilian. Golf was rained out on Wednesday, which was probably a good thing for me. I spent most of the week reading "House Rules" about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. No fitness center since Monday! :-(

I was feeling better this morning so went to Beginner's Open Pickleball. I played for an hour and a half before deciding I should probably quit. I didn't feel great this afternoon so probably overdid it. I canceled basketball for tomorrow and will just take it easy one more day. Hopefully, I can get back to the Fitness Center on Monday.

Oh...I did go to see "Eat Pray Love" on Thursday with a neighbor. We decided it was a chick flick and our husbands wouldn't care for it. I had read the book several years ago and did enjoy the movie.

Back to Normal

Kadin and Gracie left a week ago. We have a memento of their visit as they left a plastic glass on the piano on which was printed "Tips are Exepted". Guess they thought the piano player should be rewarded for his playing. How cute!


ANTS! While the girls were here, I got many ant bites on my left foot as one evening we were following a toad in the grass. I had a flashlight but didn't see the anthill. Poor Kadin was sitting on the anthill and got many bites on one of her legs. Earlier this week, I was pulling weeds out of our front landscaping. I had on flip flops and this time got many bites on my right foot. They get quite itchy and after a few days look like zits. Fortunately, Arne had some calamine lotion, as well as some advice to wear shoes next time. :-)

We've had quite a bit of rain this week but nothing compared to Iowa. A friend sent us a slideshow of ponds and flooding south of Ames. I'm glad I didn't complain about being rained out on the 8th hole on Friday and HAVING to go to lunch early.

What a shame! In the PGA Championship, Dustin Johnson is charged with grounding his club in a "waste bunker." People were standing in the "bunker" which I guess is allowed on this course. I like that golf is a gentleman's game but I believe this is a sham and a shame! With all of the people standing around him, Dustin didn't realize he was in a bunker. Where were the officials to move the people back who were standing just a few feet from Dustin? Have I expressed my unhappiness over this decision????

They've Come and Gone!

Moondog, Nick and Daniel arrived at the house around 11 PM on July 20. On Wednesday, Aaron 2 came with his grandparents, aunt and uncle who live in the area. He had been staying with them for a few days. It was nice to meet them. We are fortunate that his adoption has worked out so well. As Lisa wrote in a poem when Aaron was a month old, ...you have twice as many loved ones as most other children have. We feel blessed that Aaron was raised by wonderful people and we are now able to be a part of his life.

On Saturday, the 24th, we all headed to Orlando. I had reserved four rooms at a motel that looked to be one of the original Disney World lodgings. I don’t think the decorating had been changed in over 30 years. But, it worked just fine for us, giving us all a bed and shower. Erik and girls arrived late Saturday night making the family circle complete.









Sunday and Monday were spent at Disney World. It was very hot and humid and at times tempers got a little heated. Lisa was intent on keeping everyone together. One problem...some wanted to just go on the “roller coaster” rides while others wanted to do other things. I was in the latter group and rode Space Mtn twice, Splash Mtn, Thunder Road, Mt. Everest twice, Tower of Terror and Aerosmith’s Rock n Roller Coaster.

Tuesday, the 27th, Aaron 2 and Daniel flew back to Phoenix, Lisa, Taylor and Moondog flew to New Orleans, and Nick, Erik, Kadin and Gracie came to The Villages. The girls went swimming EVERY day and loved riding in the golf cart. Friday, the 30th, Arne took Erik and Nick to Tampa for the Tampa Bay Rays and Yankees baseball game. They were hoping to witness history as A-Rod hit his 600th homer but was not to be. They had a great time anyway. The girls and I went to a movie and to Olive Garden.Saturday night, the 31st, we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner cooked on a hibachi grill around which we all sat. Everyone loved the presentation and the food was excellent also.




Sunday, August 1, Erik flew home, with Nick following on Monday. Now we had just Kadin and Gracie for five days. On Tuesday, we went to Pauly’s Pizzeria where the girls created their very own pizzas and dough knot desserts which we ate for lunch. In the afternoon, we all went to Line Dancing for two hours. That evening, we had birthday cake in honor of Arne’s birthday.Wednesday, the girls spent several hours in art lessons with Grandpa. I took them swimming for a couple hours in the afternoon.
Thursday, more art lessons, swimming and craft at one of the recreation centers. They each made a model golf cart.
Friday morning, water sports with races and diving for coins. In the afternoon, Arne took the girls to a Magic Show.Saturday afternoon, we headed for Orlando as the girls had a 4 PM flight to Albuquerque. I told Erik I felt like we had put the girls in one of those bank money tubes and sent them on their way. When he picked them up, they said the flight was sooo awesome! Guess they won’t mind traveling alone again.

Sunday, I was very blue as the house was quiet and the skies full of rain. I’m better today as I get back into the swing of Villages Life.

Second "Wave" Coming Tomorrow Night

We picked up Lisa and Taylor in Orlando last Tuesday. This was a working week for Lisa but I managed to get her away for a pedicure on Wednesday and lunch on Thursday. Taylor loves traveling around by golf car. I've taken him with me on lots of errands. He thought it especially cool when I pulled up to the bank ATM which was perfect height for the cart. I've taken him golfing several times after 7 when it doesn't cost anything. Last night we got a little wet as it rained but no lightning. Taylor thought it was great and a few times "slid" to his next shot.

Arne did quite a few things with Taylor last week...chipping & putting, movie, billiards and fishing. While fishing, Taylor was after an eight foot gator. As he threw out his line, the gator would swim toward the bobber. I wish Arne had had the camera. Taylor asked a stranger to be his bodyguard while standing near the water. Tomorrow, Arne is taking Taylor to the Air gun Range for shooting practice.

I rented a 4-seater golf cart for a week. The four of us rode it to Spanish Springs Saturday evening, about a 5-6 mile ride. Sunday, Lisa drove Taylor and I around the southern part of The Villages, probably another 7-8 miles.

Sunday morning, Aaron 2 stopped in. He flew in Saturday night and his aunt picked him up. He is spending a few days with them and his other grandparents before joining us on Wednesday.

Tomorrow night, Aaron 1 (Moondog), Nick and Dan arrive around 11 PM. They have to change planes in Houston and I have visions of Aaron getting off the plane and refusing to get on the next leg, saying instead that he will take the bus back to Phoenix. He hates to fly.

Squirrel Stole from My Golf Bag

While playing golf this afternoon with our neighborhood group, I spotted a squirrel with a bag of nuts. Since I had brought some nuts with me in a snack bag, I assumed they were mine and stomped toward the squirrel. The squirrel proceeded to pick up the bag in its teeth and carry it off so I just let it go. Thinking it had gotten away with my "fresh" nuts, I discovered that the squirrel had actually chewed the zipper on my golf bag and taken a bag of old "stale" nuts from my bag. Now, the pocket in which I keep my golf balls, and snacks, will no longer close as a tooth is missing from the zipper. :-( The good news for the day is that I hit my ball less than 2 feet from the hole on a par 3 and won $10 for the effort, which, by the way, was a well hit ball. :-) I was told that it was a monkey squirrel but I believe it was actually a fox squirrel, which is in the picture taken from the Internet. This looks like "my" squirrel.

Happy Fourth of July!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day. We had wonderful patriotic music at church this morning performed by the barbershop choir. This evening we went to the Town Square and ate pasta at Red Sauce. They had $7 meals until 6 PM. It included a salad and half their usual entree. We were both stuffed and wondered how anyone could eat the full entree. We then went home and watched the various Fourth of July celebrations. While my favorite was Boston Pops with Toby Keith, I've added a Fourth of July in Washington, D.C. to my bucket list.

Last night, Arne and I went to a concert at Temple Shalom. The performer was 18-year-old Adam Swanson from Shenandoah, Iowa. He just won the World Champion Old Time Piano Player award in Peoria, Illinois, for the third year in a row. He was phenomenal! His fingers moved amazingly fast over that keyboard. Check him out http://www.adamgswanson.com/Adam_Swanson/Home.html. I took my first piano lesson a week ago and experienced difficulty with the G7 chord. This gave me a true appreciation for his talent.

Swensen "Stimulus" Ending

The Swensen "Stimulus" is ending. On Friday, we picked up our new Yamaha gas golf car. That's not a typo. Here in The Villages, they're called cars, not carts. We are very happy with the way the cart turned out. Arne made great choices with colors. This afternoon I drove it to Wal-Mart, about 3 miles away. I was glad we have a Curtis Cab as I had more groceries than would fit in the basket. So I closed the passenger door after putting items on the floor and nothing could fall out on the ride home. I told Arne that I now feel like a Villager. Golf cars are a favorite mode of transportation here. In fact, we've been encouraged to let Sweet Tomatoes headquarters know that we want them to open their eatery in a cart-accessible location.

Yesterday we traveled about 90 miles south for the 50th wedding anniversary of friends, Jack and Bobbi Leahy, who've recently moved here from Sedona, AZ. The party was at the home of their son in Dover. Martha Stewart couldn't have put on a better party. Luann, their daughter-in-law, was a very energetic 40-something. Mike and Luann have the perfect home for a party and family reunion. Except for one grandson in the Coast Guard, all of the Leahy children (5) and their families were spending the week-end at "the compound" which has a large pool, BB court and separate house with pool table kitchen, etc. Just what my sister needs at the farm for Kalkwarf family reunions. :-) Luann gave each of the guest couples a gift basket which contained a bottle of wine with corkscrew, cheese and crackers with knife, apple with corer, and two chocolates.
We're watching the US Open and just watched Dustin Johnson implode with a triple bogey and his next tee shot went so far left, they couldn't find it within the 5 minute time frame. He's given Woods and Mickelson an opening. I'm afraid Tiger will be the one to capitalize. Wait a minute, Ernie Els just made a terrific shot and he's in contention. I would be happy with Mickelson or Els...anyone but Tiger.