July is a GREAT month!

Over the month of July I have taken pictures in different ways.    Some on my camera, some on my IPHONE, and some on my IPad.   Then I have all of Dave and Ron's pictures also loaded on my computer so it will take several blogs to put all my stories and pictures down.

It has been one absolutely wonderful month for us all. No worries or concerns, great fun on the beach or pool, and meals with the family at home or in wonderful seafood restaurants.

So here we go!

Mom and Ron at Hemingways.  It can be expensive but they have ten dinner meals for $10. that are very tasty.   

Smoked tuna dip on bread is one of those delicious apitizers.

Ron taking a picture of me taking his picture.   Silly Ron.

Dave and I.

Dad.   I told him to smile but he would not quit eating long enough to smile.   

Love the white beach sand.

Mississippi has the most incredible Welcome Stop off of Highway 10.  The building itself is very elegant inside with dark wood furniture and trimmings.   Coffee is offered the moment you walk in and out front they have these beautiful bird carvings in old trees.   What a treat to see these.

Louisiana also had a beautiful rest stop with flowers blooming everywhere.  Now, I realize these states do not go through the cold, cold winters and it tends to be easier to have beautiful grounds but some of our northern states could possibly put more effort into beautifying their welcome rest stops.

This picture was at The Oar House and it was hot.   So I made Ron sit in the sun.    He is the youngest, you know.

Ah, a picture of me!  Usually I am taking the pictures so I don't always show up in the pics.  

Beach shot as we drove to the beach. 

Whenever we are at Hemingways, this is our view.  (Different bathers of course.)

Going out to eat at a beach restaurant is supposed to be relaxing but - REALLY DAD?!

This is a very large pipe laying ship that is at the Port of Pensacola.   Dad LOVES to look at these ships.   This picture does not show the size well at all.   The people on it look so tiny.  

                  Now my ego will not let me go without saying that my hair was not good in these pictures.  You know, typical beach/pool/salt hair combined with 95 degree heat and high humidity.   

Well, that is it for tonight.  I just began with pictures but I think the next blog will be on our trip to New Orleans.  I LOVED THAT TRIP!!!!!

I DON'T LIKE GOODBYES

Here is a picture of Mom relaxing on the Patio.  That is probably what she will be doing tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a day that is much too quiet,  a bit on the boring side, and us missing our family.  We have had someone visiting since June 20!   Let's see - my aunt Sandy came in on the 20th and stayed over a week.  Then my cousin Tammy and her family came in on the following Friday.  We loved having a shrimp boil with them all.  Sandy left the end of June and Dave flew in.    David's my brother that teaches science in Monticello Indiana.  He has been here a little over a month.  A week ago tomorrow my other brother, Ron, drove down with his dog Sage.    So this last week our whole family has been together having a great time.

HERE IS THE SAD PART. :(
Dave and Ron are leaving early in the morning to head back to Indiana.   Oh yes, I knew they had to go but I hate when they leave.  We have had such a wonderful month with Dave and then Ron just added more fun!    The house will get very quiet, and mom, dad, and I will need to get back into our old schedule.   I miss my brothers very much and I love when I get to see them. That is the only bad thing about our move to Florida - missing family and friends that you are used to seeing more often than a couple times a year.    So for now, I pray they have a safe trip home and a good start to their week.

I have lots of pictures of things we did while  they were here.  it will take a couple of blogs to get them all in. I will start those off probably later tomorrow.

SOME SAD PARTING THOUGHTS:
  - Who is going to go to sonic's for happy hour  ($1. Pop drinks) with me?
  - Who is going to entertain Kacey  and give her belly rubs?
  - Who is going to make me laugh and laugh?
  - Who is going to burn the bacon in the morning?
  - Who is going to volunteer to do their fair share of the driving?
  - Who is going to refill the peanut M & N's cup?
  - Who is going to make Mr Moose travel around the house?
       
Drive safe and you two haven't even left and I miss you all ready  -  love you lots!

Condolences to the Girtz Family

Late tonight or early tomorrow Ron is heading down for the week!  The only bad part is that Dave will be going home with him on the beginning of August.   :(  boo-hoo!

It was drizzling yesterday but very warm.   So after a lightening check, I grabbed an umbrella and into the pool I went.  Why the umbrella you ask?  Well, I had just had my hair cut and washed so I did not want it to get wet and yucky.   Makes sense, right!?

The same night I made a something new and it turned out so yummy.  Chicken baked with cheese and crunched up Riss Crackers.  Everyone loved it and it is so easy to do.  After dinner, there was NOTHING left.  And the watermelon is a great summer treat with dinner.   The watermelon is so sweet right now.

Dave did that job we all hate!   Yes, he cleaned out the pantry!  Bless his heart!   We can see what we have again.  Which includes an over abundance of macaroni and cheese, tomato paste, and ketchup.
Thanks Dave!

GUESS WHO IS COMING TOMORROW!  Yep, the baby of the family - Ron.  We all call him Ronnie.
We have some great plans including going to New Orleans for a day.

***   ***   ***

We did receive some bad news today.  Pat Girtz from Monticello passed away.  Pat and Elmer have been good friends of my parents for years.   They got to know each other through the woodworking that Elmer and Dad both do.  Pat has been ill for sometime but will be so missed by her family and friends.  Here is a picture and part of the obituary.  


Patricia Ann Girtz, 83, of Monticello, passed away July 23, 2014, at the St. Elizabeth East Hospital in Lafayette. She was born on March 23, 1931, in Coal City, Illinois. Survivors include her husband Elmer E. Girtz of Monticello; children, Catherine "Cathy" (husband Ken) Gross, and David (wife Beth) Gertz, both of Monticello, and Lisa C. (husband Michael) Murtha of Crofton, Maryland; grandchildren, Kyle A. and Kayla E. Girtz, both of Monticello; sister Andrea (husband Lionel) Williamson of Coal City, Illinois. 

Pat had a wonderful personality and loved to tell stories of her family, her childhood days, and when she worked overseas.  

You are much loved and always remembered, Pat.  

                   Love, Ron, Elaine, Peggy, Dave, and Ron

Yum! CHERRY SEASON

IT IS CHERRY SEASON.

Cherry pies, cherry cobbler, cherry ice cream topping, and just plain cherries!

I bought these at Walmart and guess where they come from?  The state of Washington.   Just about as far away from here in the states as you can get.   I am eating these as I type this - they are ok but could be sweeter.

Kacey and I were watching television and took a selfie.   She always shuts her eyes when we do this.

THE BEST PEANUT/CHOCOLATE CANDY THERE IS!

Dave always has a bowl of peanut M&Ms on the computer desk in his room.   I have to walk past the door to these delicious chocolate morsels to go around the corner to my room.  I try so hard to ignore those M&Ms.  I am not always successful in bypassing them.  They are SO GOOD!  (Ignore them, Peggy, ignore them!!!!)

FROGS

We have these cute tiny green frogs that show up every night.  Now, I believe these are full grown.  But the sound they make is unbelievably LOUD.   They are not scary at all but try to get into the house when we let Kacey outside.   Then we are on a frog hunt.  No frogs in my bedroom please.

OCTOPUS FOR ART

Dad and I went to an Art Show about 6 months ago.  A man in Navarre makes these large bowls and I fell in love with then.   They were pricey but I knew it would go great on our kitchen table.   I will be sick if we ever break it.......it is a heavy piece of art work.  (I might of shown this before - sorry if this is a repeat!)

Dad's friend made this light fixture and gave it to us for Christmas time but I like it out on the patio by the pool area.   It brightens up the area. It is made out of clear plastic cups and Christmas tree outdoor lights.

I am finishing up my cherries now and Kacey is on the floor next to me - snoring - ready to go outside one more time before bed.  We had a driving rain storm tonight but all is quiet right now.

OH, AND I CAN'T FORGET SHOPPING

Mom and I went to Kohls today in Mary Esther.   Some of the major stores here (Penneys, Sears, Kohls) do what the stores do up at home.   They have end of summer sales and that is it with clothing for warm weather.   The thing is, we have warm weather here in the winter.   It is not unusual to have many days in the 70's so shorts and definitely Capri's are popular.  So off I went to Kohls to check on the Gloria Vanderbilt  Bermuda shorts - 50% off - so I bought a pair and Mom bought some Capri's.    

You can still get warm weather wear at Bealls and Belks - both southern based stores.   Just a little lesson in shopping.

Take care all!  

My phone works again!

SO I stopped by Verizon Wireless and they helped me to get my phone to recognize the computer again.  So here we go with phone pictures that I had taken but could not until now.

Elise and Kray with high school friends enjoying the pool.  And yes!  There was water left in the pool when they finished.   We loved having them visit.

Dave arrived and we ate at Hemingway's the first night.  Good food, good view, good company!

I mad a pork tenderloin with my own combination of spices and then wrapped in bacon.   Oh my goodness, it was good!

When in Fairhope, we had at Panini Pete's.  This is where it is located.

French Quarter in Fairhope, Alabama.

Trunk of a Crape Myrtle tree - so cool and pretty.

Eating in the garden house.

Blue Angels Day.  We did not go to the beach because:

• You needed to leave by 5:30 am to park for the 2:00 show.  
• Hot, hot, hot.
• Crowded, crowded, crowded.
• We get to see them often - sometimes flying directly over out house.  Matter of fact, we were coming out of Lowes while the show was going on they this picture was taken by me as they flew right over us.   Our own private fly over.

Beach sea oats are green and tall.   Water is blue and turquoise. Sky is a beautiful blue with puffy, white clouds.    Ah..........

                     So relaxing.

Dad and I in the back seat.   I have hat hair.

A visit to historic Pensacola brought us to Dolce!  I had the chocolate chip wine gelato.  

Dolce is across the street from the historic church.   The church is beautiful and not used on Sundays but rented for weddings.

And guess who is coming soon for the week. 

Why won't my computer recognize my cell phone?

Pretty picture!   I think so!

I have not been able to blog for sometime because of computer to phone upload problems.   I have great pictures on my phone over the last three weeks but when I plug the phone into the computer, the computer does not recognize the phone at all.  So Dave plugged it into his computer - same problem.  So what is with the phone.  It is a IPHONE 5s.  I need to stop by Verizon and see if there is something that was pressed by accident that is causing the communications problem.    But I did get a few pictures on my camera yesterday and today.  So here we go.

My Aunt Sandy was here for over a week and we had such a great time.  I begged her to stay longer but noooooo........    She had to get home and take care of errands.  We also got a visit from Tammy, my cousin, and her family.   That was fun and a shrimp boil was enjoyed by all.   Especially Ian.

This was Blue Angels week and that is a busy, crowded time on the island.  Pensacola loves their Blue Angels!   I have been out to lunch with Nicole and there they are - flying right over us.  Only in Pensacola Beach.     Also, went to a block picnic Friday night and had a wonderful time with our neighbors.   We are so lucky.

Sandy left on a Saturday and Dave came in on Tuesday for the month.  Ron comes down for the last week of July.   Busy, busy, busy!!

The pool has been such a joy for us during this 90 degree/humid weather.  I am in it every single day!

Even Kacey enjoys going outside but says NO! to the pool.  She is not a happy water dog even though I occasionally take her in so that she knows how to get out if she falls into the water.   Which she has.   Four times.  Not happy!   The other problem is that pugs don't deal with this heat well and it does not take long before she is panting heavily.

We have planted various flowering plants around the pool and they are beautiful but need to be hand watered since the sprinkler system does not water right up to the pool.  You must have a well sprinkler system here.   Without it, you would either have dead grass or if you used the house water, your water bill would be over $200.00.   That happened to a friend of ours unaware of how fast the water bill can add up.
Anyway, back to my story.  We got a micro sprinkler systems from Lowes for $31.00 - not bad, huh!?
Dave and Dad ran the plastic hose all along the pool area and each plant gets its own sprinkler head.  Turn it on and all plants are watered in 25 minutes.  Thank you Lowes!

Dad and Dave discussing how to install the system.   Oh, by the way, the instructions said it takes 30 minutes to install and they have a picture of a woman in white shorts installing it by herself.  Give me a break!

How far apart should they be Dad?  Oh, Dad wears long sleeves in this hot sun to prevent sun damage.  We have picked him up several very cool work shirts for that purpose.

Dave is younger - he can do the bending.

Ah....my orange something or other tree.  It is not a regular orange tree and at the moment I can't remember the name.  It seems to be doing ok.  My lemon tree died in the ice storm.

And here is Mom in one of her new bathing suits.  We each have 4 or 5 because we are in the pool so much.
Always looking for bathing suit sales.  She is looking at the airplane - we have seen quite a few interesting aircraft because of the Blue Angle Show.

   I have been in a JAWS mood so we watched Jaws 3 times one day and then JAWS II the next day.   Even I know forget about JAWS III.    JAWS is over 30 years old and I still love it.

Some other quick thoughts:

• Happy birthday to Sandy and to Robin.
• Sandy makes the best rum cake and yes!   She taught me how to make it.  Oh so yummy!
• Dad is golfing at least once a week, even in this heat.  He is just a golf fanatic.  
• Summer goes by fast whether you are a teacher on break or retired.   Time just needs to slow down!
• Many of my friends are going on vacation sometime in June or July but I will stay put.   Hope to get up to Indiana in early fall and Disney before Christmas.   We will see.  
• And I will end this post with BUGS.   It seems to be a buggy summer.  Flying things, crawly things - yuck!  Take care and don't let the bugs bug you too much!