A Pregnant Pause?

The last post was sent from my Mother's house after her successful glaucoma surgery. This should mean that she will retain the sight she has for her remaining years.  We are all grateful to Dr. Jeffrey Sheridan who said he would treat her as if she were his own mother! He did a wonderful job and his very caring nature added much to our confidence and her healing. 

The flower bed is an annual project.  Here it is in January.

January 10 we arrived in the Keys after moms recovery.  Our gang of friends at Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge planned a wonderful joyful welcome and we were so touched by the love and happiness we felt. We looked forward to our time with our friends and a chance to get into better shape.  It was also good to go to the sunrise group each morning and one day I captured a heart in the clouds for Latona.

Little did we know that Latona's daughter Katrina was developing a very dangerous infection in one of her legs.  We heard on January 17 that she had emergency surgery and with a lot of help from our friends Pat and Jean who live in the greater Tampa area, we were able to leave the van and to fly back to Bangor on January 19.  We hope we were some help to her in practical ways, but I am sure the most important reality was that her mother was with her for support and care. 

After she made a partial recovery, she encouraged us to go back to the warmth. So we made plans to return to Florida. She got the flu after we left unfortunately, and has a slow recovery since then. The doctor has talked her into staying off her feet for a while.  She is certainly in our hearts and prayers constantly.

We returned to the Keys by Valentines Day and planned to return to the Seven Mile Bridge for one of our favorite hikes. We included a dinner at the Sunset Grille to finish off a special day!

We were looking forward to February 21! Carrie, Jay, Sari and Lyla were coming to spend a week vacation with us at BPKFL.  The flights were nightmares but other than that we had a perfect week.

In addition to many good evening meals out and about, we enjoyed a day in Key West, saw the many street performers, and visited Mallory Square for the sunset.

We spent time in the pool at BPKFL...

And enjoyed time with the Key Deer...

We visited Bahia Honda State Park beach, and on our first day there we were visited by this Yellow-crowned Night Heron...

We hiked the nature trail and beach at the Fishing Lodge with the girls and explored a boat used by Cuban refugees.

And spent time with the whole family fishing from one of the bridges. 

Daddy love it as much as anyone!

It was a happy week. When they left on February 28 to return home, we too packed our stuff and on March 1 started our return trip from the Keys.  

As usual, we made a first stop in the Everglades, with a visit to the Anhinga Trail. Saw some old friends there...

The return route we take is along the Gulf side so that we can make an annual stop to see Debbie and Linden and family.  We enjoy their company and hospitality so much. It has become one of the high points of our journey.  

Pat and Jean hosted us again and we had fun. The pool they have installed in their home is beautiful and we enjoyed a swim. We squeezed in an oil change at a local Mercedes dealer! And then it was off to visit Mom for another week. And here we are.  We fixed the flower bed again since the plants had outgrown their space!

And we are enjoying time with them, cooking and reading, etc. and we know tonight will be Lawrence Welk night!

There has been a long lapse of time since I posted before. As you see, we have been busy with our families. Mom is doing fine now and she and Chick continue to amaze us with their vitality. Carrie and Jay have returned to their lives and we appreciate that they shared a vacation time with us. We continue to hope and pray for complete recovery for Katrina and feel grateful for her and her family.

              We are blessed this day! Thank YOU for sharing with us along the way.