Thank you! Two days of sun!

WOW!  Two days in a row of beautiful, bright sunshine!  Tomorrow we go back to partly cloudy with chance of showers but everything here is so green and beautiful because of all the rain.  I made this door hanging for Spring a year ago, (thank you Pinterest) and it has been perfect for this spring.   April showers bring May flowers........

We have this bush next to the mailbox and look at it flower!  It does this clear through the end of October.   Just needs a bit of fertilizer every now and then.

I love these!   They flower all spring, summer, and fall but the best part is that the green leaves do not die off in the winter  ---even during a frost.  

Dad took a neighbor of ours to the doctor in Pensacola yesterday.   Mom and I went to Front Porch for lunch.  This is a locals place across the street from the sound in Navarre.  Sandwiches, beer and such.  You can see the water and the condos on the island.   

Like I mentioned, Dad has been helping out Robert.  Goodness, he is having a hard time.  His wife passed away a few weeks ago and he has extreme back pain.   So much so that he can't walk without a walker and can't drive.  Dad is a good guy for helping out.  We all need help at times, don't we.

New dog food for Kacey.  Called Taste of the Wild.  This is for a grain free diet.  Who knows what she is allergic to - grain, grass, or anything else she comes in contact with but I have noticed an improvement with much less itching since on this food.   AND SHE LOVES IT!  It has Bison and Venison. Yummy.  It also is not too expensive. I had thought about going to BLUE but that is pricey.  Kacey's dinner should not cost more than mine.   Right?  The little diva...........

(Sorry it is sideways.)

Saturday night Dad and I went to a dance competition at Saenger Theater.  One of my lesson students is involved in dance......watch DANCE MOMS.........  lots of competitions.   Lots.   Dad and I especially wanted to see this one because Jordan's dance was about pricking her finger on a spinning wheel and falling to sleep.   When she touched the needle, a light flashes and down she goes.  Guess who made the spinning wheel - YES, Dad.  It was great.  

Then Hannah danced and also did a great job.   Talented young ladies.

Saying goodbye with a selfie.   I am going to run out to Subway and then Dad and I are going to work on our cactus garden.   Have a great day.

Some other news....

My aunt Sandy fell in a nursery while shopping (plant nursery) and broke her arm the other day.  My goodness, how life changes so quickly.  So she is stuck at home right now (home is Atlanta) and taking pain meds.  We talk every day and her daughter Robin is taking good care of her Mom.  Take care Sandy and we love, love, love you!   You too Robin!

Kind of busy.....

Rained yesterday, actually just a bit.  Poured the day before, the day before that and the day before that.  It is supposed to rain today, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.   I am so ready to see some sunshine.  But you can tell the plants and grass love it!  Everything is growing so fast.  I am going to put up a smorgasbord of pictures today  There is no particular theme so here I go.

Another Day In Paradise Is WET!

We go to the Central Waterside Church on Pensacola Beach.  Some days it is perfect weather, some days too hot and some cool.  But it is a great place to worship.  (Just watch out for a seagull pooping on your head.)

These little guys are out and I love them along with the green wood frogs that like to hang on the glass windows and croak.  Loudly.   And I mean loudly!

Graffiti Bridge

Pensacola, right past the three mile bridge, has a railroad bridge that it is NOT against the law to paint graffiti.   Know if you do it will be painted over by something new within 24 hours.  But for Easter an artist painted this artwork of Jesus.   It was beautiful.  We drove over to see it along with many other people.  

Mom in front of Graffiti Bridge.

A lady had taken pictures every day for a full year and published a book with the daily changes of the bridge.  

We went to see the Pensacola Blues Brothers on the beach.   Every Tuesday night there is a free concert on the beach.  People bring food, wine, and drinks to enjoy during the concert with their friends.  The Blues Brothers was the first of the season (which will now run through October).    They were great!

This water tower is the main icon of Pensacola Beach.  It is no longer used as a water tower.  Known as the beach ball.....people here love it!

A new restaurant on the beach is the Pensacola Beach Bar and Grill.   I have been there twice....once with my family and once with my friends from Indiana, the Stoelbs.   This restaurant is at the front of the Pensacola fishing pier on Casino Beach and is wonderful!   The food is great and at a good price.  There are different areas of seating and I can't wait to go at night with the lighting.  I plan on taking my IPAD one day and enjoy the view with a cold beer.  

The back splash if finished and is beautiful.  It adds a punch of color to the kitchen and Jamie did a quality job for us.  

Yes, an electric stove.  I am not thrilled with an electric over gas but everything is electric here.  I am getting used to cooking on it and pretty much have found the trick to choosing which temperature to cook different items.  And if I burn something, I can always blame the stove.

Eric, Lisa, Lilly and Eli stopped by for a day.  Eric and I taught together at Hobart.  He is an incredible teacher...and I do mean incredible!  I could go on and on but I don't want to embarrass him.  Lisa is an assistant principal and Lilly and Eli are so fun!    We saw the Blue Angels, Fort Pickens, ate at the Pensacola Beach Bar and Grill, and went in our pool - cold as it was.

As we walked through the fort, Lilly read from the fort pamphlet so that we knew the history of each area.  Eli wanted to hear about the ghost dog.  (We made sure he knew it was a made-up story).

 The rest of these are some quick pictures I still had on my phone.

This is my Grandpa Kaiser (to the left) and my cousin's Grandpa Thomas.  They were the best of their generation.  This picture is at soap box derby - I think.   My uncle, cousin, and brother were all involved and the Grandpa's were part of the brain work.

Wish I could buy these for my brothers.

Every year the manatees go to warmer areas.  They are wonderful and I would love to drive down and see them.

Pensacola is the home base of the Blue Angles.  We see them often - once right over our pool in formation.

And I will end with a picture of my Kacey.  She is doing great and runs the household.  Yes, she is a princess, diva, queen all wrapped up into one little pug.

Everyone here is doing great.  I have been on the phone often pushing to get the house next door torn down.  The county is trying to work through the paper work on it.  It is miserable for us not only because of the looks (which is hideous) but the smell and the fact that strong winds blow bits and piece into our yard, house, and pool.   It is a very discouraging. At night, it looks like a real haunted house sitting there.   Ugh!!!!

That's it for now......it isn't raining so I am going shopping!

Take care y'all!

Spring Break 2015

Spring Break 2015

What a great time of year - Spring Break!  Last week Dave had his break and spent a week here.  Weather was up and down but much better than 30 degrees back in Indiana!

Dave enjoys Peg Leg Petes..... Don't we all !!

We went to the new Bar and Grille right off of the Pensacola Beach pier.  The food, view, service was tremendous.

How can you loose with a view that includes the Gulf of Mexico and palm trees.

Mom and Dad just being beach bums for lunch.

Dave's friends from Monticello met us at Peg Leg's for lunch.  Tammy, Joe, and Caleb live on Shafer Lake and have a beautiful view of Indiana Beach.  Staying in Destin is their favorite Spring Break beach.

Dave and I in Hemingways.

Dad and Dave .....

Mom and Dave.....

We had a friend, Jamie, do our back splash.  After over 2 weeks of searching for the tile and design I wanted, Mom and I choose to go with a touch of red.  I love it!

Wouldn't you know, the week before Dave was here I was able to get into the pool 4 days.  But then the nights got cooler and took it down to 70 degrees.  Too chilly for me and for Dave.  But the warmer weather is coming and it is almost pool time again!

The beach has been busy with Spring Breakers.   Some are brave enough to go into the Gulf and some just enjoy sunbathing.   Today is the Gulf Breeze art show in the parking lot of the high school.  It is an enjoyable show even though it is small.
Update on the house next door.   Still there and a major eye soar.   The county is working on getting it torn down.  PLEASE HURRY!!!
             That is all for now ........take care!

March is here!!

We are into March and have been busy with shopping for a backsplash in the kitchen and a few doctor's appointments for Dad and Mom. They are doing great, by the way.


The activity that has kept us most busy is perusing for a back splash.  And not just any back splash but something that is traditional enough not to go out of style in a few years and yet will "pop" with some color in our kitchen.  Many samples came home.

I loved this glass tile - it would be great with the pool right outside but would all glass tile eventually go out of style?

This was almost a choice.  Most of it is the ceramic tile but we would of take out the clear glass tiles and replace those with red glass tiles.

This, for about 1/2 hour, was my first choice.   The colors are not true in this pictures. The blue is actually a very pretty light blue.   Unfortunately, it is a lighter set of colors and does not give you any "pop"!   Remember I am looking for POP!!

TA-DA!!!!!  This is the choice.  Basic stone tiles. and half way through a red 2 inch stripe will run with the linear red glass below.  That way it will give us a traditional look with the red stripe making it something special.  Jamie, who is doing ours for us, said he will also go up with the stripe around the stove.  I think it is going to look great.   Another nice idea Jamie had was -- let's say in 8 years red is not the color we want.  We can just take the red out and replace the stripe with anything that suits our fancy.

I LOVE IT!

We bought our tile at Florida Tile in Pensacola.  I spent hours and days in Lowes looking because we get the 10% veteran's discount but I was never happy with our choices once we took a sample home.

The stone tile was not bad at $14.00.   The red glass is pricey.  $25. out of New York.  Of course, the project ends up more - much more - than I was going to spend.  I'll be honest.  I was tired of looking so when we saw the red glass - the price did not really matter.  Just get it so we can move on with this project.   Hey, you know who was so calm during this process?  My Dad.   Who would of guessed.

(I do love the red tile!)

We stopped at Jaco's right on the Pensacola Port for a lunch.   (More expensive than we thought it would be.)

 A hamburger was ordered by all .....it was good.   The view was better.   All the money in these boats.  WOW!

We sat outside on the water and there was a bit of a chilly breeze but most restaurants with outdoor seating have these heaters running along the ceiling.  These really do the job.

 Along with the water view is the Pensacola Baseball Stadium that is 3 years old.  The Blue Wahoos play here.   It is right on the water also.

We stopped for shrimp at Joe Patties on the way home.  

This is one of the boats in the Patti fleet.   I made shrimp marinara  for dinner.  hmmmm...could of been better. 

So we are maybe a month, maybe a bit longer before pool time!!!!  Come on sun, do your work!

Everyone is ready for the pool.

And we know the time is coming soon because we see flowers beginning to bloom, 

As I write this northern Kentucky has a massive backup on 65 because of snow.  The news said over 200 cars.   This cold front is even blowing through down here with strong winds and the temperature dropped 35 degrees in 5 hours.    Crazy weather everywhere!!