Monday, December 8, 2014

Shorts, t-shirts and crocs!

Driving from northern winter storms and cold nights to southern skies filled with sunshine instead of snow has been quite a relief for this snowbird!  Let me backtrack!

We spent a lovely fall in Maine through October. However, in November the weather started to get serious about winter. 


We wanted to stay but the cold was really becoming uncomfortable although the furnace in the van worked well.  One final thing we were able to do was to help Torrey transform her bedroom from a dark brown to a lovely dusty rose. It is fun being her Nanny and helping her learn to tackle any project she dares. Here with friend Cammmi!



Eventually, after almost two months on Chemo Pond, and a happy time with Katrina and Mike, we headed to Carrie's for an early celebration of Thanksgiving and Latona's birthday. Sari and Lyla love making a party for their Meme. Carrie and Jay really get into the party mode also. It was a wonderful happy time! They are so thoughtful!




I was able to get our blog printed and presented a hard-backed copy to Latona.

                                    
       


     After our great week in New Hampshire with the family, we started south!

   Time with my long time friends Janet(and son Damien) and Harriet was our first stop in Pennsylvania.


    We spent a few days with them before catching up with my siblings! Always nourishing to be with them. We love husband Nick too!

Because of our long trip last year, it had been twelve months since I had seen my sisters Dotty, Sherry and brother Joe, so I really looked forward to our time together.  My sisters and brother spoil us on these visits.  The first stop was with my youngest sister and her husband. 

We had our actual Thanksgiving Day with them and Forry's family in their Early American farmhouse.







They also treated us to a day in New York City. We visited Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Bryant Park, St Patrick's Cathedral, and a visit to Broadway to see the live performance of Kinky Boots. 
What a great day!  What a great experience to see and feel the energy of live theatre! What a thoughtful gift!



                          
      

Inside the Al Hirshfield Theater...

The visit wrapped up with a get-together with my other sister and her partner, her son and his family.


Although we had several more days planned with my siblings, we found out we needed to get going to Florida right away. We had talked to my mom that afternoon who asked us to come immediately. She just needed us. So it meant that we had a quick overnight with my brother and his family on our way through Harrisburg and then spent the next two and half days getting to central Florida.  Although still living independently, she just needed our help for several things. Her eyesight had been failing due to glaucoma and she will have surgery in a few days.

So here we are in Wildwood, Florida until after the New Year. I am cooking and doing some maintenance and Latona is doing dishes and helping mom with her hair. We will see the doctor tomorrow and make plans for my mom's surgery.  It is a privilege to be in my seventies and to have had my mother all of my life to this point!

We have no network here, so I am not sure how often I may be able to post on the blog.  So I want to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season! God Bless Us Everyone!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Where has time gone?

Hard to realize that a month has gone by since I wrote a post! 

We are in Maine one more week and then begin our journey south visiting family and friends along the way.  I want to share a few pictures of what we have been doing this past month. In addition to catching up with all our yearly medical check-ups, we have had lots of wonderful visits.  Our first stop in Maine, and our "home base" is Katrina and Mikes on Chemo Pond.


This always provides fun times with Torrey and her friend Cammi. Here they are on top of Cadillac Mountain during a visit to Bar Harbor.

Latona's family planned a get together and we had a chance to visit with her sister and brother and law, and...


    her niece and family, and brother and sister in law in China, Maine


Our friends, Joan and Lucille in Hancock, have an early Thanksgiving with the family and always include us!


When we visit them we have a hike to the ocean that we love.  
Always something beautiful to see this fall...



And of course, always a heart...


We went back to Hew Hampshire to see Carrie and the girls and to enjoy seeing them both
play soccer.  Here is Lyla,


With her team and mom, Carrie the coach.

And Sari with her travel team on a cold day in MA.  Brrrrrr....


Another visit we try to include when we are in Maine is a visit to the Orono Bog.  Torrey went with us and took this picture.


Another fun stop this fall, has been a visit to a place we heard about in Lamoine, Maine.
How about it...a road called Latona Lane, and right across from it, a dirt road that leads to


the Latona Spring. This is a source of pure water for the town.  What a thrill!!


Finally, I will share a beautiful sunset photo taken over Chemo Pond.  We are happy to be here, and also happy to think about starting south in a few weeks.


                                                 Big Pine Key, here we come!!!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Fun and more Fun!

After our visit to Carrie and her family in New Hampshire, we completed our loop when we arrived in Maine.  We spent the next week with Katrina and family. Here is a great picture of Tone and Torrey I captured when we picked her up from school.


At the end of that week, it was time to go to Blackwoods Campgound in Acadia National Park for the Second Annual Big Pine Key Reunion.  Last year we had six folks who came. This year we broke our record with fourteen participants.  Kayaking, biking, hiking, eating, and sharing around the campfire were the main activities.  Some of the folks participated in programs sponsored by the National Park and Stan motivated many of us to watch the sunrise (at least once) from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

The first night, Don and Pam hosted us at their campsite for roast port and sauerkraut.  We all brought something to add and we had an amazing feast...complete with SomeMores for dessert. 


We also enjoyed a group meal of crabmeat rolls one night, and a final dinner of Turkey/Eggplant Parmesan made by Rachel and Joel.  We topped that meal off with homemade Blueberry Pie.

Don and Pam


*****

One day we ventured to Eagle Lake. Part of the group biked while others of us hiked around the perimeter of the lake.

Rachel and Joel
                            

Stan and Alida


One end of Eagle Lake

*****
Another day, part of the group biked into Bar Harbor, while some of us walked the Ocean Path, and hiked Gorham Mountain.


Michel, Michele, me, Latona and Stan

*****
An early morning saw some of us join in the ranger-lead bird walk, Acadia's Birds.


*****
The morning I saw the sunrise, it looked like this.  (Stan and Alida saw it every morning and I finally was inspired to join them.)




*****
The final day, we joined Michele and Michel for a long hike along the shore of Jordan Pond, up to the  summits of Sargent and Penobscot, and down along the Jordan Cliffs.  A long day but a final great accomplishment for a wonderful week with our friends.






We had a great time renewing long term friendships and building new ones.  Don and Pam brought friends, Ed and Janet, and Rachel and Joel had relatives Steve and Lynne join into the fun. Our time together made us even more excited to be heading south soon.  It made us excited to think about going "out to play" again at Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge.