Columbus Visits Pensacola

Replicas of the Pinta and the Maria are docked at Pensacola Bayfront.  How interesting it is to see these ships.   They are certainly nothing special - and you can't imagine crossing the ocean on these small ships.  Little space, no comforts - ugh!  But so interesting.

The masts are a puzzle of ropes.

Not me!  No way! No lack of sleep, blisters, and seasickness for me.    But it was great visiting the ships.   And then I went home and had a cup of hot coffee from our Keurig, sat in my comfy lazy boy chair, and later slept in my own bed.  And I did not even experience any seasickness!   

Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful Christmas season and I think Sage and Kacey would agree (even though Kacey wishes Sage would quit chasing her around the house.  Kacey is 10 years old and Sage is under a year and 7 times her size.)  Dave and Ron came for a full week - that was a gift for us in itself. 

Christmas morning started with a sausage and egg casserole.  Then on to the passing out of gifts.  Keurig coffee maker, many sweaters, shirts, hats, crock pots, shoes, were opened but the prize possession was the remote helicopters given each to Ron and Dave.
The joy of flying helicopters - it must be a guy thing because they all loved it!

 

Christmas dinner included turkey, dressing, yams, - you know, all that good stuff including Dave's speciality of deviled eggs.  So yummy.   Our neighbors shared our Christmas feast with us.

Later in the week, we drove over to Fort Pickens and YES, it was a chilly day.  (In the sixties.)   Not many shells on the beach - where oh where have all the shells gone.   I guess they will just roll in some day after a storm hits in the gulf.

Oh Dave - don't shoot that cannon at your brother!

I love our tree.   Over 7 feet tall and every ornament on the tree has a memory.

Christmas is family and having our whole family together for the week was wonderful.   Dave and Ron are driving through Indianapolis as I type this so they will be home soon.  I do wish they could of stayed until after the New years.
I will leave this blog with some things heard in the Kaiser house during the holidays:

* Sage, leave Kacey alone.
*  Another helicopter just crashed.
*  Eat the pie!  We have too much pie!
*  Whose turn is it to drive?  Not mine!
*  Where are we going for dinner?
*  Sage, LEAVE Kacey alone!
*  Aren't you done with your shopping yet?
*  I'm Mom's favorite.   (Ron says that all the time.   Wishful thinking.)
* SAGE, LEAVE KACEY ALONE!!!!!!

     Every Christmas Eve Dad reads the Night Before Christmas.  So I will leave this blog with
Merry Christmas to All, and to All A Good Night!
      from Peggy, Elaine, Ron, Dave, Ron, Kacey, and Sage
             SAGE, LEAVE KACEY ALONE!!!

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday was extra special for us this year.  Family members Tom, Stacey, Holly, Rich, and Leta came in from Texas and Indiana.  We had a special, old fashion "Thomas-Kaiser" Thanksgiving holiday.

I am thankful for family.

Fun Fall Activities

What a beautiful fall day at the beach.  The water was a bit chilly but not too cold to go into looking for shells - which by the way, I found very few of.   The days include errands, swimming at The Club, giving private lessons, and doctor's appointments.  
Last Saturday Dad and I went to the Air force Open house.  We went though some gun ships.  Wow!   talk about computers! 

This is the airplane that our friend Lamont flys.

How would you like these guns aiming at you?

Isn't Halloween fun?  Well, I think so.  Here is my little bumblebee but she might not of enjoyed her costume as much as I did.   We have lots of Trick or Treaters at the door.

We drilled holes all over the pumpkin and it looked great.  (Better than the picture here shows.)

My four dollar wreath that I made.  I bought items at Michaels and Walmart and put together a fall wreath for the front door. 

Look who visited the new Chick-Fil-A.  
Mom and I spent time today going over the Thanksgiving meal menu since we have relatives coming in.  We can't wait! 
Oh, and Happy Birthday to my friend Betty!  Happy Fall To All.

Fall Is Here....

Yep.   Fall is here.   But not the fall that I am used to with the leaves changing color and crisp, sweater weather.   It is in the low 80's in Gulf Breeze and sunny.  Humidity is low so that is a blessing. 

Sandy called one afternoon and suggested I meet her at Disney World on Monday.   Well, let me think...........I am on my way with Mom.   We at lunch at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort and shopped at Disney Village.

Here is Mom, Sandy, and I in the Floridian.

 

 Dad did not go on this trip.   He was building a fence in the back yard - his latest project.  Now Kacey does not have to be on a leash to go outside.

 

These pictures are two of the many sand sculpture contest designs at Navarre Beach.  It is amazing what these people can do. 

 Last week we joined The Club II.  This is the outdoor swimming pool, there is an indoor pool, and the most impressive exercise equipment area that I have ever seen. 

 

This dolphin is Winter, from the movie DolphinTale.  Mom and I went to Clearwater to spend the night at Kathy and Terry Cox's.  They have a beautiful condo on Clearwater Beach.  We sat on the balcony for hours talking and watching the view of the Gulf of Mexico.   Earlier Kathy took Mom and I to see Winter.  Winter lost her tail when a baby and was nursed back to health.  She is beautiful and looks so happy.   The movie features Winter and her story.

 

 I saw this on Pinterest.  I don't know how many times I was working and my brain would take off to the beach.   And now I am here in person - not just in thought.

And I am back to where I started.  It is fall but hardly feels like fall.   Kathy's Mom sent her leaves from Hobart because Kathy was missing fall so much.  I will also miss the first snow fall and a white Christmas.  But it is beautiful here and I really can't complain.  So happy fall to all - no matter whether you are in the north or south!

Pensacola Naval Museum

Hi everyone.   Sorry for not posting.....just lazy, I guess.   Today we went to the Taste of Pensacola and had some great food and went through the art and craft booths.  It was fun but hot and humid.
Yesterday was a busy day.    After doing some errands on the west side of Pensacola, we decided to stop at the Naval Aviation Museum.  It is one of Dad's favorite places to visit.  (The museum is about 30 minutes from our house - so easy to visit.)
www.navalaviationmuseum.org/

This is a wonderful statue of soldiers representing various wars with US involvement.   It is the first thing you see when you walk into the free museum.   Yes, I said free and it is one of the most amazing museums I have ever visited.  When visiting Pensacola, this is a must on your calendar.

In front of the museum is other statues. This is a Navy man dressed as Dad did when he was in the Navy.  Oh yes, and me.

 

 

The planes represent air flight from the beginning of airplanes to now. 

This picture above is the cover of another Shutterfly book that I did with pictures from past summer.  Recognize the man?   Yes it is a picture of Dad that I took when we were watching the sunset at Fort Pickens.  I love Shutterfly.   They have lots of specials and if you watch for them, you can get the books made for great prices.

My last picture for today.  Meet one of my friends we met up with on the Pensacola Beach pier.  He is a beauty.  What a life......spending your days on the beach and pier.

Life Happens....

Been a busy time working through a few problems this last week but we also had a wonderful visit from family.  So here we go.   Dad was not feeling so well after Labor Day Week-end for a couple of days but by Thursday evening he was really feeling bad with a terrible head-ache and a fever of 102 so off to emergency we went.  After many tests, they decided that he had an unknown viral infection.  All we could do was pour liquids down him, Tylenol, and rest.   After 4 more days, Dad was feeling better!   Yea!!!
Just in time because Robin and Sandy were coming in for a short visit and we were so excited.

 Robin is my cousin.   Isn't she a cutie!  Do you like her friend on the post behind her?

 

 

Dad, Sandy, and Robin.   They are not camera shy, are they?  Cute picture.  We went to Crabs on the beach for dinner and they got to spend some time the following day at the beach.  It was much too short of a visit.

We did get to walk on the fishing pier on Pensacola Beach.   It is the 2nd longest pier in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 

Warning:  Dogs should not chew gum - no matter how much they beg!

Kacey got into to some sugarless gum and I knew from a Facebook friend's comments (Colleen) that sugarless gum will kill a dog so off to the vet we went.   She was force vomited, had an IV, blood test, and stayed at the vet's office for the whole day for observation.   We returned the next day for another blood test and found that the liver count went up.  NO GOOD!  So she was put on liver medication and returned this morning for a third blood test.  YES!!  Liver counts back to normal.   I love my little Kacey and am so happy we could get her through this.   NO MORE GUM KACEY!!!   Many thanks to Colleen and her dog Butler for spreading the news on sugarless gum and dogs. I have also tried to spread the word on Facebook also.

 

 

Today we went to Taste of Pensacola Beach.   YUM.   I got sweet and sour chicken with rice and a sausage slider.   Dad had a footlong hotdog and Mom had the sweet and sour chicken and a chocolate ice cream bar.   There was live music and of course - the beach.   A wonderful day for this festival.

 

 

How about Taste of Kaiser's?   We soaked the chicken and sausage in pineapple juice and then put them on the grill.   Oh my!   So good.

Dad and I have been discussing our next project - fencing in the back yard but we will wait for the weather to cool down just a bit.  So, Dad is healthy again, Kacey is healthy again, Mom has been doing great, and I am happy.  Matter of fact, I quickly put together an 8 by 8 Shutterfly book on Thursday and got it upload.  They had a free 8 by 8 book deal going on but over by Thursday evening.   I was pretty busy with company, Dad, and Kacey and just never got around to starting the book but had it finished in 5 hours.  The first Shutterfly book I did took 2 weeks.  Hmmmm...... we will see how they compare. 

 

Take care everyone and have a great Sunday!

Isaac

Well, we had an unwanted guest.   This guest was not invited, showed up anyway, stayed too long, made a mess of our house and yard - his name was Isaac.  The weather men/woman started talking about a tropical storm way out in the Caribbean and they thought it might be a problem for the Republican Convention in Tampa.   Kathy and Terry were scheduled to visit for two days but decided that they had better head home and prepare for the bad storm.   As the next couple days went by, the storm was headed towards us.

So up went all the boards on the windows, all patio furniture came into the house with the help of Nicole, Lamont, Kray, and Elise.  We had the generator ready to start, gas to run it, and extra food and water.  Sunday night Isaac was coming towards us and we were going to leave the next morning for Sandy's in Atlanta since now they were thinking it would be a category II hurricane.  I woke up at 2:00 am and looked at the Internet and it was till coming towards us BUT by 8:00 am it had moved to the west and we would not get the worse of the storm!  Hurrah!!!

We decided to stay.   We could handle a category I.  As the storm came closer it moved over to New Orleans.  (You feel guilty in your prayers.  You pray that it does not hit your area but that, of course, means it would come on shore in another community.)  We ended up with the winds equal to a tropical storm.  Three days of winds and off and on rain was our only experience with Isaac.  So all the boards came down and furniture was put out on the patio. 

Hurricanes are nothing to ignore.  At the last second they can become a higher category and/or move to the east or west.  So it is best to prepare for the worse and hope for the best.

Things are back to normal.  Almost.  Unfortunately Dad has not been feeling well the last few days.   I think the worry and work associated with Isaac wore him down and he needs to rebuild his strength.  Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.   Mom has been going through boxes of pictures and sorting according to Kaiser - Ronschke - Thomas family.  I know she is also trying to write the names of the subjects on the back.  Big job.  I have been been to the beach once since Isaac, doing some odds and ends around the house, and working on the budget.

We are hoping to see Sandy and Robin this week-end for a short visit.  I haven't seen Robin for some time and look forward to seeing her.  Sandy is my Aunt and we went to Disney together last February.  So that is it from Pensacola for now.........Take care!

I was going through my cell phone and cleaning out pictures and came up with some pictures that I thought I would put on my blog before they get sent to the trash.

This is a great picture of Dave with the blue sky behind him.   This is how I think of Dave when he isn't around.

Mom, Dad, and I treated ourselves to Peg Leg Petes for lunch last week.   Looks like he has Mom's arm - that silly pirate.

 This truck is carrying port-0-pottys.  I loved the saying on the back.   "#1 in the #2 business."  That tickled my funny bone.

I saw this poster on Pinterest and it brought me back to my childhood.   I had this poster hanging in my room throughout junior high and high school.  I think it is true!  

When I was up in Indiana, my friend Kris gave me a packet of lights to be installed under the kitchen cabinets.  This is Dad's newest project.   It will take awhile since the outlet has to be cut out in the wall, electric ran, etc.  It is going to be great.   Thanks Kris - these are going to be wonderful!