SABBATICAL

Well Friends and Family I have run out of words to write about nothing.  So I am placing the blog on Sabbatical.

Well thats a wrap for a while.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

And now some rain

Monday

Well at least it's not snow.  We had a little rain today but tonight and tomorrow we are to get some heavy rain and wind.  We are both feeling good so far this week.  Bonnie was able to finish my birthday present that she started last week and had to quit when she was sick.  I just love it!  A nice soft comforter.

Plus she made meatloaf, potatoes and green beans for supper.

I have been researching VPNs and signed up for one yesterday.  So with the VPN active I can connect to a server in another state or county.  It allows more security for me and allows me to use restricted sites.  Today I watched some Canadian TV and was able to catch up on Heartland.

That was about it for today.

Tuesday

Much cooler and we had a good amount of rain today.  Been using my VPN to drop out in Canada and catch up on Heartland.

Bonnie was out to lunch today with her group and then they distributed the Valentine cards that they had made at a local nursing home.

Then our family all came over for supper and a nice visit for a couple hours.

Wednesday

No rain today we had a nice sunny day.  So what did I do, I spent the day in the den doing my taxes.  I worked hard to collect all my deductions and receipts.  With the changes to the tax laws we are taking the standard deduction for the first time in many many years.  The news has shown stories of people telling how much smaller their refund checks are.  Well mine is less also, but the rest of the story is that my income is up and the total of the taxes that I paid is less.  Bottom line more money in our pockets.

Thats all for today.

Thursday

One last look at the tax returns this morning and then I e-filed them.  Then a few more episodes of Heartland.  Next was catching up on a couple BBQ youtube channels.  Ended that with a nap.  I had a late lunch so no supper needed tonight.

Then we watched the Dual races from Daytona and facetimed with family.  A nice day indeed.

Friday

No rain this morning.  We got up and soon headed out with a realtor to look at a house for some friends.  We spent a couple hours doing that and pretty much liked what we saw.  Then it was back to the house.

About 12:30 we headed out for lunch.  I wanted to try the Cuban Cafe.  Years ago while on a work trip to San Juan I had a Cuban sandwich and liked it.  Ever now and then I get hungry for one.  Today was one of those days.  The sandwich was good and the fried ripe sweet plantains were good also.  The rain started while we were eating and its been raining off and on since then.  Back home we put up a couple hooks on the back of doors in the bathroom and guest room.  Then caught up on the programs recorded last night.

Saturday

It rained some overnight but was dry this morning when we got up.

Since it was dry out I asked Bonnie if she was up to cutting my hair.  She said sure so we set up shop out on the back deck.  It was in the 40s so I was a bit chilled by the time she finished.

With no rain in the forecast until tonight I fired up the grill.  We had a small whole chicken that Bonnie wanted done on the grill.  I smoked it for a little over an hour.  Then turned up the heat to around 350º.  Another hour and 15 minutes and it was done.  Bonnie had made potatoes and corn to go along with it.  It all turned out really good and we enjoyed a nice quite supper.

We are expecting more rain starting early in the morning.  They say we could get 10 inches over the next week, hopefully it is really spread out.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Warmer?

Monday

Hopefully the coldest days of Winter are behind us.  Even though it was rainy and overcast today it hit 70º this afternoon.  I am feeling much better and my neck is only a little sore.  Our family back in NY seems to be in there sick cycle now.  Dana is down for the count and Elizabeth is back to work but is still not well and should probably stayed home a day or two more.  The kids seem to be fine so far.
We have not eaten out in forever so maybe tonight even though most of the restaurants here are closed on Mondays.  So we did go out to Mia's.  Its a local cafe is good food but not great, and not fancy.  I had the catfish special, greens, Mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes.  It was pretty good and I enjoyed it.  Bonnie had a chicken sandwich and fries.  She said it was ok.

Back home we took it easy and relaxed for the evening.  We hit 70 today

Tuesday

I woke up to sad news today as I checked the blogs that I regularly read.  I had not seen one from Tioga George lately, and sadly his family posted that he had passed away a few days ago.  His was one of the very first blogs on full timing that I started reading.  I believe he started it in 2009, and I have read it for most of those years and did go back and read it from the start.  He had many an adventure and used to spend winters down in Mexico until the last few years.  He has had several health challenges the past couple of years but he did not let that stop him.  His current project was that of converting a box van into a full time home for himself.  While its sad to lose him its an inspiration to see the way he lived his life.

Nothing much for me today, I am feeling much better.  Bonnie went to here scrapbooking/card making group but her Spanish class was canceled for tonight.

Now we are about to watch the President deliver the State of the Union address to congress.

Wednesday

Today I start my 7th decade here on earth.  I must say the time has passed quickly.  The day started with a phone call from my Favorite Sister.  When I looked at the phone and saw it was her I wondered what was the matter, she usually does not call first thing in the morning.  But it was my first Birthday wishes of the day.  It was a great way to wake up.  Shortly after that I got a SnapChat from a granddaughter.

And waiting for me in the living room a hand made card from Bonnie.

Most of the day was spent quietly.  I received lots of birthday wishes on FB and email, nice to know people are thinking of you.   Bonnie was not feeling well but she insisted on make me a raisin cake from my Mother's recipe, one of my favorites.  Plus she was at the sewing machine working on a surprise for me.  She finally had to give up as she was feeling worse and worse.

I headed to church for our group meeting with the cake and she stayed home and went to bed.  Our group only had 4 in it about 1/3 of what we should have had, seems a lot of people are under the weather.  Anyway we had a good class and we all enjoyed a piece of cake.

I came home and watched Alabama win over Georgia and then read a little and called it a day.  Off to a good start for my seventies.

Thursday

Looks like another overcast but warm day is in store for us.  I am pretty much back to normal and I think so far today Bonnie is feeling a bit better.  She debated it but decided she felt good enough to keep her haircut appointment.  Its a bit different and I like it.  It was very windy all day but the rain did not come until 7:00pm.  We are to get more overnight and it is to cool off by morning but now its 75 here in the house and the humidity id 83%.  Yep we turned on the air conditioning to dehumidify and cool off the house so we can sleep.  The family in NY has some on the mend and some just now getting sick.  Down here our granddaughters are sick also, lots of that going around.  We are both on the mend.

Friday

Well it was cold this morning so they got that one right.  Bonnie went grocery shopping today and that's about it.  She is still not feeling very good.

I head West to Clements just after 4 today.  I was headed to Clements Baptist Church to attend the Men's Conference.  We started with a box lunch meal and then I headed to the sanctuary to wait for the conference to start.

Looks a little empty now but it was eventually almost full.  We had some worship music and then a speaker, then some give aways and a break.  We had three speakers in all and I was inspired by all of them and enjoyed their talks.  Actually they left me wanting to hear more from them.  I headed home and pulled into the garage just after 11, the latest I have been out on my own in a long long time.

Saturday

Another cold night but it was sunny today and warmed up into the 50s.  I got out the step ladder and changed one of the batteries in the back camera on the house.  Then I adjusted another one and that was about it for the day.  I did catch up on the recordings I had.  Checked in on NASCAR as next weekend is the Daytona 500.  I fired up the grill to fix some salmon for supper.  Now for a relaxing evening.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Snow

Monday

Today started at 7:30 AM when the alarm went off on Alexa in the kitchen.  Not sure how it got set but it did.  I laid in bed for a while but it was bright and sunny so I went ahead and got up.

Bonnie got up later and while she was doing her Spanish lesson I went in the den to do my group study and watch some TV.  I could see the cloud bank coming and soon the sun was gone and it was windy out.  Our forecast is for snow and several days of very cold weather here.  The 1-3 inches of snow will be like several feet up north.  We have no equipment to handle it so we will stay home until it melts.

The governor has now declared a state of emergency for tomorrow and the schools and a lot of businesses have already announced closing for tomorrow.  Right now it is 58 degrees.  So we will see what tomorrow brings.  Bonnie is cooking up a big pot of split pea soup so I am looking forward to that.

Well the split pea soup was great and now for a quiet evening.

Tuesday

Well thankfully the big snow never developed and neither did the ice.  So the kids and lots of workers got the day off, better safe than sorry.

Bonnie went out to her ladies group, they were making cards for a nursing home today.  Then after supper she went up to church for her Spanish Class but no one was there so she came back home.

So a nice quiet evening at home.

Wednesday

The sun sure is powerful.  It was 22 this morning but the sun was out bright and soon with the help of the heat pump and the gas logs the house was nice and comfortable.  We didn't have anything on the agenda for today so we just concentrated on staying warm and awake.

I did get a new camera from Ubiquiti and set that up.  It was quick and easy.  Hopefully I can get my cables run and set up the outside ones this coming year.  Bonnie is making spaghetti for supper and then we will head to church for our group meetings.  Meanwhile our family and friends back in WNY  are dealing with either cold and sunshine or cold and blizzard like conditions, thanks to the lake effect snow machine.

After supper we headed up to our group studies, we had a good turn out and a good study.

Back home we relaxed a while, turned on the gas logs and enjoyed the evening.

Thursday

Another cold night but then the sun and clear skies and warmer air moved in.  The temperature got up to 54 today much nicer than the past few days.  Bonnie did a little cleaning today.  I worked on my study and did some planning for the taxes.  Pretty lazy day all in all.

Friday

Got up this morning, did not feel good, threw up, slept a lot.  Thats it.

Saturday

Still not feeling well, just took it easy again today.  But it was 68º so that is helping.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"