Beach life with snowbirds

Life is Good!

Dinner at Silver Sands

Last weekend we drove down to New Smyrna Beach on the east coast of Florida to hook up with some of my old (and I say that lightly) high school friends. They are some of the "snowbirds" that migrate to Florida to get away from the winter cold. Most are from New York state, while one of my closest friends, Connie, and her husband Ralph live in Maryland outside of Washington D.C. Connie, Ralph and I have known each other since 10th grade, and Joe and Ralph have developed a nice friendship. Despite opposing political views, they manage to discuss a lot of interesting topics. There are also other friends from highschool vacationing here - Joan, Shirley, and Auggie among them. The weather has really been pretty brutal this year in most of the country, and they got down here right after Christmas and will be staying 2 or so months. We are having a wonderful time reminiscing, telling stories, discussing a variety of topics, and just enjoying each other's company. Yesterday, we had lunch at "Down Under" and had great seafood (see photo below) Today the weather is beautiful - about 75 degrees, with a clear, blue sky. I can hear the waves and surf hitting the beach as I write. The water is a beautiful blue-turquoise and this morning, while Joe and Ralph competed on the tennis court, Connie and I walked on the beach looking for sea glass and taking photos of different birds on the beach. This is a great area for shelling, golfing, eating good seafood and just relaxing in the sun. We will travel from here to Sebring, Florida to see another close friend of mine that was a neighbor when my family lived in Hagersville, Ontario Canada. We're looking forward to several more days of warm, sunny weather. Wish you were here!!

The Ya Ya Travellers

Today, the Ya Ya Travellers of Carrollton, Ga (or "Ya Ya's" for short) met for lunch. I, being a faithful member, attended. The main criteria for membership in this group is to have a love of travel and to do so at every opportunity that arises (and that one can afford). Then when we get home, we meet for lunch and talk about our travels - or just meet to discuss previous travels. As most of you know, I go whenever and wherever I can. Different ones of us have travelled together at various times to a wide variety of places. As a group we have pretty much covered all the continents in one way or another - South Africa, Viet Nam, The British Isles, Greece, Australia, Fiji, the Baltic States, and many others. It's fun to compare notes from one visit to the next, and to learn about other countries by living vicariously through the stories of others. We have been considering a group trip or cruise that we could all do together, but so far the logistics have proven to be too much. Some of us still work at various jobs and so it is difficult to schedule something for all of us at once. Looking forward to our next "meeting" I remain, ready to go ........

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Women

A week has passed, and I STILL don't have all the Christmas decorations put away!! I worked three full days this past week on curriculum (and got a lot done I might add), and then this weekend at my other part-time "job", testing RN students. It would appear that I, for sure, have "failed retirement." I did get the decorations down, but as you can see from the pics, they are not packed neatly away - which was my original plan. I got about half put away, and when I realized I didn't have enough time, just took everything down and put it on the bed in the back bedroom - hopefully I will get it boxed up tomorrow. The laundry still isn't done either- but fortunately, we still have enough clean clothes to make it a few more days. Have had a couple of long talks with my kids, so that was good quality time that takes priority over some of the mundane stuff anyway. It'll be waiting whenever I get around to it. Hope everyone is doing better than I in getting into the groove of 2009!

Better late than never

Well, as I said in a previous entry, I have regressed into some of my old behaviors (can't really say "bad", but just old). Last Thursday and Friday I spent most of the day getting my annual holiday newsletter together. I had lots of photos I wanted to include after such a busy year. I had a little difficulty honing it down to a reasonable size. Finally ended up with two legal size pages of a collage (or I guess it is two collages), and then added another regular page of additional stuff I wanted to share. I can tend to get a little windy at times, but oh well. Fortunately the total package was under an ounce so I was able to use the Christmas stamps that I had purchased over a month ago without adding additional postage. We found a printer to do the work at a reasonable price and managed to get the newsletter out on Saturday morning. Anyone reading this should get their "Christmas" or more correctly named, "news" letter soon in the mail. What a relief. I have to get back to writing curriculum on Tuesday. I am determined to get all those Christmas decorations packed away and the laundry done before then. Thank goodness I don't have to take down a tree! I knew that would be a good idea. Still looking for a nice "on sale" artificial tree in anticipation of the 2009 Christmas celebration. FYI today I am the mother of a 44 year old son. A week ago, I became the mother of a 47 year old daughter. How is that possible???? And, what does that make me???? Old?? Never!!! I like the terms "wise" or "mature" or "experienced" much better. However, they are both huge blessings in my life, and I am thankful to be around to call and sing "Happy Birthday."

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2009

Thoughts for a new year - May God make your year a happy one! Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain, but by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes. Not by making your path easy, but by making you sturdy to travel any path. Not by taking hardships from you, but by taking fear from your heart. Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, but by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows. Not by making your life always pleasant, but by showing you when people and their causes need you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help.

Hopefully everyone had their fill of black eyed peas and collards today! We certainly did. Everyone needs all the good luck they can get. God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead. Happy New Year to all, and may 2009 treat us better than 2008 did!!


BTW I love Mama Mia and ABBA music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qCRQqOz63s