Beach Day!

Sunday, February 9


     What can you say about perfect days?  It was perfect.  We decided a walk on the beach was the way to spend the morning.   Drove down to Gulf Shores, it takes us about 15 minutes if we don't hit the stop lights right.  Parked the car and set out walking.  Once again, we did not bring anything to collect shells in, so will get them the next time.   Nor did we bring our beach chairs, cooler, lunch, etc.  We are slow learners.  We walked and walked and enjoyed the morning. 

 We stopped into a  couple of tourist trap shops looking at
all the "stuff" you could buy.  We only came home with a pair of
shorts for Al.  The entrance to the store was a large shark.  Interesting.  I am sure the little kids love it.

 

Dinner!

Beau in the dog park.

Saturday    February 8

Beautiful Day!

     It was a beautiful sunny day today.  It was a good day for exploring the area.  We have friends coming to visit us!   Two couples will be here around the end of February for a few days.  They will be staying in a condo at the beach.   The first two weeks of March, our camping buddies are going to be able to join us.  Becki has had to have neck surgery and physical therapy for an injured arm, so they were not able to come with us.  As we are in a Class A only park, we need to find them an rv park.  They have a nice travel trailer.  So, today we thought we would go scout out some parks.  We found the Gulf State Park which is across the street from the ocean in between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  Looks like a really nice place, but this weekend was pretty full.   We also found several trail heads for biking and walking that we are going to do.  It was such a nice day today that all the parking lots were full.  We will come back during the week and ride some trails!

    Found the condo our friends will stay in.  It will only take about 15 mins from our place to get there.  I see lots of food and wine in our future.

      Thought this was a pretty water tower. 

We went into the nature center at the Gulf State Park, and this little mascot was walking around the room.  I have always had a soft spot for turtles.  Always had one of those little green ones (now banned) and would love to have a great big tortoise in my back yard.   They said he roams around and then goes into the back room where his food and water is.  I really didn't think they knew how to do anything except try to cross the roads.

    The sun was shining so nicely that we came back, watched a little olympics, sat in the sun and read, and kept up with the Kansas University game.  Brit and Eli (son and grandson) were at the game and Eli got to hi five the players before the game.
     One of my FaceBook friends was hacked tonight.  Same name, except for the middle initial, picture, info, etc. all the same.  Wanted to "friend" her.  I sent a message saying I thought we were already friends and got some answer that I knew was not the way she talked.  I decided it was probably time to change my password and make it a little harder. 
She sent out a FB message warning people. 

Quiet Days

Thursday, Feb. 6


    Another trip to the grocery store.  We have been going to the Publix.  They have quality veggies, meats, etc.  Very good, but their other food is really much more expensive.  They do have a Publix brand.  We like it over Walmart because they have more of what we are use to buying.  We didn't even buy any wine or beer and it was still over $100!   I really need to learn to bring more spices so I don't have to rebuy them.

    In the afternoon there was a "finish your craft" get together.  I took my knitting as I really need to finish Al's fingerless gloves.  I have one done.  About 20 years ago I made him a set in black wool for Valentines day. I sewed little red hearts on the inside so he would always have my heart in his hands!   Wasn't that romantic?  They finally gave out with a hole in the palm.  This year I am making them out of some of my old handspun grey wool.
   

First glove.

 Al took his fly tying equipment to the club house.    He is trying to perfect a fly.   We stayed up there for a couple of hours.
     Roasted some chicken in our microwave/convection oven.  Have not done that yet.  Trying to use to how to use it.  The chicken turned out great.  Of course, we watched the first of the Olympic games and the last of Jay Leno.  Do have to admit I slept through parts of Jay, but did catch his "end". 

Friday: Golf and Laundry and Bingo

     That is about exciting as it gets.  We bought groceries (this seems endless, always buying groceries.  Guess it is because we have a little fridge.)  Al had an afternoon tee time and I walked and rode my bike back and forth to the laundry.  At 4 pm there was bingo in the clubhouse with free beer and pop.  I walked down and played, but didn't win a thing.  My "free" can of beer cost me $4 in bingo cards.  Don't think I came out ahead.

      The picture of the coozie is for my family.  Kind of a flat Stanley thing.

     As a side note, Al had his best day of golf since he has been here. 

Scrapbook and Blog?

Wednesday, February 5         


    I am a big scrapbooker, but am always at least 3 trips behind.  My good friend, Sue, and I really like to buy and organize supplies more than we actually like to scrap, I think.   I brought supplies to do a modified kind of scrapbook so I could scrap as I went along on the trip.  Yesterday when I was thinking about my blog, I realized I was doing everything twice.  I would blog, then I would scrap.  Same pictures, same wording, etc.  Light bulb finally went off.  I could just publish my blog as a book and have an instant scrap book.  Well, maybe not so instant.
     Went to my good friend Google and found several sites that will print your blog as a book.  I picked Blurb as it was close to the top of the and supported Blogger.  Real scientific, I know.   It automatically imports your blog and pictures.  I do have to finagle the text around and the pictures, but I am getting the hang of it.  So, now the pressure is off to scrap!
      First order of business today was to go to the office and extend our stay here.  We had only spoken for 5 weeks, but think we will stay here til we head for home. 
     Today the sun came out and we did some more of that strenuous reading on our Kindles.

     Al took my Townie Electra bike into the bike shop to have a little tuning done on it.  The brakes and gears needed a little attention. 

     At 3pm a movie was showing in the clubhouse, This is 40.  It is an adult comedy.  They provide pop and popcorn.  We were the only ones watching for a few minutes, then our new friends from NY, Anne and Paul came in.  We all had a few good laughs at the movie, but it was definitely an R rated.  We did have to think back a ways to remember 40. 
     After the movie we went to Waffle House for a breakfast/dinner.  Had a great omelette.

A Day at the Beach?

Wednesday  February 5, 2015                                       Foley, Alabama


     Yesterday it was a foggy, cloudy day.  After spending all day yesterday dealing with Babe, we decided to drive to the ocean.  It is only about 10 mins from here, but we have just been doing too many other things to get there. 
So, this is what we saw:

The ocean is out there, somewhere!

It was even foggier at the ocean.  Good thing was, it was about 65 degrees so we enjoyed a little walk on the boardwalk. 

After our little walk, we stopped into one of the local, on the beach, restaurants, The Hangout.  They had the most delicious soups.  We tried two of them and will definitely be back for more. 

Just to prove I was really there. 

The rest of the day was spent just hanging around.  Al took his fly tying stuff to the club house to tie.  I went to the club house with the iPad and watched the last episode of Downton Abbey.  Missed it as we were watching the thrilling Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Sunday, again and again.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014                            Bella Terra RV Resort   Foley, Al


Sunday!
     Bet you all thought you were finished with the Super Bowl.  I am just now catching up with my blog, so you will have to bear with me.

     At 3 pm, there was a chili cook off at the club house.  Everyone brought their favorite chili or something else to eat.   We made a trip to Walmart and the Dollar Tree.  I am not much for cooking anymore, so we decided to just bring a big bowl of popcorn.  The resort was providing beer and pop, so figured after the chili, popcorn would be a good muncher.
So, to dress up my meager offering, I bought this cute container at the Dollar Tree.

 

     There were 3 categories:  Mild, Medium and Hot.  Of course, I tried the hot first.

The bowls and ballots were provided.  We all had a great time tasting all the chilis and eating all the other food that was brought.  We had a betting board, not sure what you call it.  We bought two squares, and will let you know right now we got nothing!

No winning square for us.

 

There is a big tv room, with the comfy seating for when they have movie day.   There are movable walls so it can be one big room.  

Before the game.

 

The hot tub, infinity pool and lake beyond outside of the clubhouse.

      Unfortunately, they started the chili sampling way too early.  By 4:30 we had eaten and drunk all we wanted and the game didn't start til 5:30.  We had the excuse of having to go check on Babe and made our way home.  From what I understand, most of the people left about the time the game started.  They will rethink the start time next year.  

    

Monday:  A dog day.

     When we finally got Babe off our bed in the morning and got her outside, she was really in pain and distressed.  We started searching for vets, and were amazed at how many there were right in the area.  The lady next to us is a full-timer and has a dog, so when I saw her out I asked if she had a vet here.  They had used one that was recommended by several people here.  They opened at 8:00 and at 8:01 I was calling.  All I got was a recording saying they were open from 8 to 5.  Gave them 15 minutes and called again.  Same thing.  Finally called the emergency number.  Guess the office was hit by a power surge and knocked everything out.  The emergency lady finally connected me with the office.  They told us to come on out and they would work us in.  It took awhile, but the office and staff were so nice.  The lady vet said it was probably just a pulled muscle in her back.  Because I had given her aspirin, we could not start the anti-inflammatory/pail pills til the next morning.  But they would do a laser treatment.  We all had to wear goggles, but luckily, just Babe had to wear a muzzle.  They also ran bloodwork so had to get needle stuck.

     We got her home and then started called the pet stores trying to find a ramp we could use for the steps into the iHome.  PetCo in Pensacola had one, so off we went.  It is only about 32 miles, but takes about an hour with all the stop and go traffic.  We found the one we wanted.  After getting it back to the car we decided to go to Five Guys Burgers, as it was right there.  Never been to one, but we will definitely be back.  Back home with the ramp and a little practice with lots of carrots dangled in front of her and she mastered the ramp.

She doesn't quite understand walk to the end of the ramp.

She likes to sit on the chairs, so we used the ramp to get her up on the chair.
     So our day was mostly taken up with vet, ramp and worry.

    There was a happy hour get together at the club house at 5.  We were still full of great hamburgers, so just took our wine and no snacks.  We talked to several couples who full time.  It is always interesting hearing their stories.  

It is a Small World!
    One couple we were talking with asked where we were from.  We said Bartlesville, and they said "so are we".  He was a doctor there for 10 years and his wife is the mother of one of my oldest son's best friend.   I had never met her, even though we lived in a small town.  She was a nurse and worked and I was a stay at home mom.  She couldn't believe that we were Brit's parents, here in an RV Park at the same time in Foley, Alabama.

Just Doing A Lot of Nothing!

Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014                                                           Foley, Ala


     The title says it all.  It has been so nice here since the big freeze, that we have been taking full advantage of the sun and warm temperatures.   I am determined to get rid of some of this weight I have gained since my broken ankle and take several walks a day.  They are not great long walks, but trying to work up to more minutes and steps.
    

Just sitting in the sun with my lily white legs.

     We also brought out our zero gravity recliners to enjoy the sun and read on our Kindles.  Al is back to reading War and Peace.   I am reading The Boys in the Boat, about the 1936 Olympic Rowing team from the US.  It is our book club pick for the month.  Quite appropriate.  I checked the book out from the OK Virtual Library.  It is really a great benefit of our libraries.  The book is checked out for 2 weeks, just like a regular book, and it is loaded on your Kindle.
     It was a good day to do some laundry, so while it was washing Al got to practice his fly fishing casting on the lake.  I rode my bike .  It was such a nice day!

Al is the black dot in the foreground.  Club house in background.

    Just had to include a picture of our flag that our traveling buddies, Gene and Becki, got us for Christmas.  Unfortunately, she had to have neck surgery and they were not able to join us this winter.   Now people will know our names and where we are from.

  The best part of the day was to see the propane truck pull up in front.  The filled our tank and we are good to go.  Just let cold weather come again.   We actually did not use as much as we thought.  Yes, we do have an indicator on the tank, but we did not know if it was reading right, as we have never used the heater like this before and it seemed like it had to be using it all up and it kept saying 2/3 full.   Anyway, I was very happy to see that truck.  Of course, I don't think we have run the heater since it was filled.

 

     Friday evening we went to the clubhouse and met with Paul and Ann to play a game of Gotcha.  It is a board game similar to Sorry, but using a deck of cards.  They had the board made.  I have tried to find the game online, but have not had any luck.  There is a Gotcha game, but it is more of an adult game.  Not sure if this is just one of those games that starts in a campground and the rules and boards are passed from one person to the next.  

     Saturday we went to the Farmer's Vegetable and Fish Market.  Everything has to be produced in Alabama.  We bought some beautiful bib lettuce, satsumas, (a little tangerine type fruit I had never seen) and two homemade burritos for our lunch.

     Al and Dan had a tee time at 11:50.  Dan and Ann have been here since December and she has been finding activities to keep her busy.  There is a weaving store here and she bought a small triangle loom  (all my fiber friends, you remember these from about 20 years ago) and was going back to the store, so I rode along with her.  I have to say it did not make me want to delve into this.  I think my workshop in the Navajo rug loom years ago was enough.  She did have some beautiful yarns.  One very colorful mardi gras ribbon yarn that I am trying to decide if I need.

     Babe has injured her back, leg, hip, we don't know what for sure.  She did this once before when we were in KC visiting Brit.  I noticed she had trouble getting up the steps into the iHome and the next time would not go down them.  She won't jump up on the chairs or the bed.  Took her out yesterday morning and she had trouble squatting and then would sit down.  Brought her in and she immediately went behind the chair and laid down.  She gobbled her food down, so like me, nothing seems to affect our appetites.  We got her some baby aspirin and she will walk around but we are restricting her activity.  Hefting a 35lb dead weight up and down stairs is quite a feat.  She was much friskier this morning and stretched and scratched, so think she is getting better.  We are going to look into a ramp for the steps.  We just realized she turned 9 in January.

Babe in her "safe" place behind driver's chair.

    As everyone knows, today is Super Bowl Sunday!  There is a chili contest at the clubhouse.  Those who want are bringing chili for a tasting and the rest of us are bringing snacks.  They have have huge screen tv so a big watch party is planned.  They provide the beer and pop, so you know everyone will be there.  It is cloudy and chance of rain today, so great day for inside game watching.   But, it is WARM!