Family, Shopping, The Gulf Breeze Zoo, and Gifts,

It is December 27.  What to do?  Check the Christmas sales and use the Beall's bucks.  We are completely ready for next Christmas with paper, bows, boxes, bags, and name tags.   Matter of fact, we have enough to last for 10 years!   It is just that if I see paper the is exceptionally beautiful, I must buy!!

We ate lunch at Subway - trying for healthy food again.  And I don't want to taste turkey for awhile.  I have forced myself to eat turkey sandwiches to not waste it but one can only eat so much turkey and then you want something with more kick to it.

Today it rains again with strong winds but we are fine.  It is still warm and humid.

There was only one activity I would of loved to have attended during the Christmas season and that is Winterfest in downtown Pensacola.  You ride a trolley and there are 11 stops with short performances.  For example, one is Polar Express, one stop is of course - SANTA CLAUSE and more.  Maybe next year we can attend.  It sounds so festive and fun.  But I am not complaining because we were so busy and had fun.

Christmas Gifts  

 Did we give and get Christmas gifts!

Some gifts we gave each other (5 of us and 2 dogs included)
Shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, crock pot, sandwich maker, Bath Works lotions, remote helicopter, makeup mirror, adult coloring books, food processor, gift cards for Walmart, Lowes, and Disney,  bones, doggy treats, doggy toys.
But we all agree, the best gift was that we were all together for the week to celebrate Christmas and enjoy each other!

 ZOO

One of the gifts Mom and Dad received is an annual zoo pass to the zoo.  So we went to the zoo on Sunday.  Here are some of the pictures. I took.   We only visited 1/3 of the zoo - more to come later.  I am sad to say that two of my favorites - Andrew and Patrick Chimpanzees have been moved to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.  They do sign language - eyes, nose, ears, touch wrist for time to eat, head, ears, wave goodbye and more.  

Pretty Pink Flamingos

  Black Swans - they mate for life.

He can look out for food better from up here.

These guys are so entertaining.  Hmmmm....... but he looks grouchy today.

Natures perfection.

So gentle you can have a two year old feed them.

Having fun at the zoo.

Beautiful tigers.  The size of their paws is unbelievable! 

This silly guy wants a flower out of his reach.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas 1015

It has been so long since I have written on my blog that I am anxious to get pictures and stories up.    In November for Thanksgiving we had a large group of the Thomas/Kaiser/Basala  Family here. We had so much fun and so much food. Matter of fact I think we had a pie for each person that was here. After Thanksgiving Sandy, mom, dad, and I went to Disney World which was our first trip as Disney vacation club members. Wonderful time and  I am very confident that buying into DVC was the right decision.   Before we had left in early December to Disney, we have all the Christmas lights on in front of the house and the tree was finished in the house. Our neighbors have an equal amount of lights up so we have about five  or six houses together that are very festive for the holiday season.   Once home, we finished decorating the inside of the house and mom and I concentrated on shopping for Christmas. My brothers Dave and Ron came in a week before Christmas from Indiana and spent a whole week here. We had so much fun went to the movies to see the Star Wars movie,  we had so much fun went to the movies to see the Star Wars movie,  drove north of Milton to see a farm with the wind your fall holiday lights. This far muscle big that you drove your car through the light displays. I spent a whole day shopping with David  and Ron and we ate lunch at a restaurant in historic Pensacola that I have wanted to stop at for five years. 

 Mom and dad celebrated they are 62nd anniversary On Christmas Eve.  Yes, they were married on Christmas Eve.    Dad only had one week off from the Navy so Christmas eve was it. We ran over to the beach on Christmas Day and by the way all week long it was in the mid 70s But cloudy with fog. Christmas Day was supposed to be sunny but the fog was thick and the waves were very big.

 Well, this is it for now. I can't upload pictures to the blog from my iPad right now and for some reason the computer in the family room does not want to recognize my  iPhone where all these pictures are located. Very frustrating when nothing wants to work. Maybe it's all that fog. Well I hope everyone had as wonderful of Christmas as we did.   

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  

Indiana Visit - part one

We make a trip to Indiana each year.  No winter trips.  We do not want to get caught up in snowy, slippery roads.  Summer we love here with the pool and beach.  So fall is a great time to go with the change of leaves.  We got to see lots of family and friends and took a trip to Monticello.  Dad and Ron had two days to work together in his garage putting up shelving and working on some of the woodworking tools.   Now, to me that does not sound like fun but they had a great time.

So off we go very early in the morning.  Alabama is green and hot - just like Florida.  But I know the further along we get, the change of leaves will begin.  

After spending the night at a La Quinta in Columbus, Indiana, we went to meet with Tony, our financial investor.  We think the world of him and what he has done for us.

Kacey ran the meeting with a strong paw.

The next day I enjoyed spending time with my friends Kelly and Betty at the Chesterton outdoor market.  So fun!   Also, coat weather along with jeans.  It has been a long time since I have worn those items.  And this handsome guy is Colin.   He is eating his cheese fish.  I loved spending time with Colin.  He is one happy and energetic five year old.

The next day was a trip to Monticello for a boat ride.  Here is a picture of one coaster at Indiana Beach.    This is home away from home to us.

Tammy and Joe own a beautiful deck boat that we were invited to ride.  Tammy teaches with my brother Dave.   Bless you, Tammy!  (He-he)

A couple of swans on the lake.  I am sure they are glad the tourist season is over and they have the lake back to themselves.

Trees were so pretty.   Some in the middle of bright, beautiful changes and some have not yet begun.

This is Mom and Dad's house on the lake when they lived on Kean's bay.  Unfortunately, the new owners and not keeping up with repairs and it shows.

Anchor Bay resort is the resort that we owned for 7-8 years on the bay that Indiana Beach is located.    8 cabins, a large house, 50,000 gallon swimming pool.......it was lots of work.

The Apple Orchard just happens to be down the road from Ron's house.   It is a wonderful fall experience!  

So, this is a picture of my cousin Sandy wearing a pumpkin hat at the Apple Orchard in Hobart.  

Mom, Dad, and Sandy ..........we had so much fun.    

Sandy, me, and Mom.  

This long, and mean long barn holds apples, pumpkins, goods that have been canned, gift items, pies, donuts, and so much more.  Yummy.

Mums galore and so beautiful.   Also, so much cheaper than Florida.

More colors.

And everywhere you go, CORN.  CORN, CORN, CORN, CORN, CORN.  Unless it is beans.   

Fall in Florida - or the panhandle - is so different than Indiana. Some things I have noticed are:

• it is usually 80ish.  
• some trees loose their leaves and yet enough trees keep their leaves all winter so you don't notice such a different.   
• you can always go to Lowes and get flowers - like winter pansies.   
• if it goes down below freezing for a night, it might be up to 50 during the day.   
• the grass does go dormant so no mowing in the winter, and no watering the grass.
• so much more sunshine is enjoyed here!  I so remember weeks without sunshine in Indiana during winter months.

I will finish off the second part of this blog in a couple of days!   I had such a great time seeing everyone!!!!!   All our Hoosier friends and family - enjoy those gorgeous fall colors.