Gosh for a day off yesterday I ran my self ragged!  I had to go to three places to get the bulbs for the chandelier and come to find out they don't make round led 12e bulbs, only incandescent.  Every place I went told me they made them but that they didn't carry them.  I ended up with the kind I didn't want but gave up and got them.  Now to get it installed!

Today is canasta and then poker with our season ending dinner before we play.  We are having barbecue.  Each of us got to order a meat and two sides ( or as they say in the south, a meat and two ) so I got chicken, slaw, and collards.  I was trying to order the lesser of the evils of delicious barbecue and low calorie eating and still be sociable. Sometimes it's a bit harder than others but I manage.

So the month of April has come to an end.  They do fly by don't they?  Four days until cruise time too.  The duck is Sooooooo ready to go, he has so much stress in his job and really needs the week with nothing to do but have some family fun.  I don't really have stress but I just like to go.  Well you already know that don't you?

Have a great Tuesday y'all.  I will too.  And hopefully I won't lose too much money at poker!

The bedroom is finished!I decided to get the bed runner and the pillows after she was finished because it didn't look "complete" to me but now it does.  The bedding is soft and lovely and I am very happy with it all.

She also put the chandelier together for me when she stopped by and it only took her a few minutes.  It is not hung yet though so I'll show it to you when it's ready to go.  Almost finished with everything!  Well if I ever really truly get finished that is.

Today if it doesn't rain I'll be at the pool again.  Yesterday I was glad I went early because, being Sunday, it got pretty busy but I was already out when a bunch of people came to swim.

I got a rotisserie chicken chicken yesterday at the WalMart and made some chicken tacos with it, just the chicken, avocado, salsa, and lettuce.  They were really good.  I'll have chicken for days now too, just will have it different every time.  

So y'all have a great Monday and a fabulous new week.  I will too...

Well today is Sunday as we all know so that will have me grocery shopping and hopefully swimming in the afternoon.  

The chandelier for the little bathroom came in the mail yesterday and I have parts of it all over the dining room table.  First I put the arms on upside down, then I put some other parts on wrong, I am a mess.  Jane is coming by today to bring the bedroom pillows and I'll show it to her and see what she thinks.  I should have never tried to do this without her, I just have no sense for putting stuff together.  The maintenance man is going to install it for me.  Oh dear, I should have had her take care of it.

Have you tried the new McDonald's southwest salad with grilled chicken?  I am not a big fan of fast food any more but I was so hungry last night on my way home from the Fern House, it was after 9:00 and I had not had dinner yet.  Well I looked at the nutrition before I ordered it and with the dressing it is only 390 calories and it is delicious.  I think that will be my new "emergency go-to" fast food choice now.  Everyone needs something on their list for when they are out and about and have the hunger pains happening.

Have a great day y'all.  I know I will too...

Well it's official, the golf course behind me is closing in four days.  It opened in 1974 so the fees are $19.74 today and there is a barbecue that costs $19.74 as well.  I am not going though.  

The second course will remain open, if you remember it was redone just a few years ago by Robert Trent Jones and is quite lovely.  With only one course now it will be very busy.  Progress, we have it.

I have been enjoying perfect weather, 83* and sunny, the pool is warm and mostly empty, what's not to love around here.  Today is my hair appointment and also the fund raiser at the Fern House.  I already made my donation but I'll go anyhow and get to spend some time with the duck.

So I had a magic moment last night.  I made a sandwich for dinner and started to eat it and looked at it and said to myself "hey, you don't have to eat the crust!".  You see all my life someone told me to eat the crust and it became a habit I suppose but I never liked the crust.  (smile)  

I picked it off and completely enjoyed the sandwich.  My mother used to say I had to eat it because it would make my hair curly and Sarge told me I had to eat it because it was dumb not to, he said it was the best part.  So I'd eat it.  Oh, and by the way, if I don't blow dry my hair it is very curly. 

So that's it in my world today, hope your day is as good as mine is going to be y'all!

What do I have, like an inch of roots going on here?  My word, made a hair appointment!  And hey, I'm not gray, those roots are light blonde!  So what do you think of the necklace I did?  I like it pretty good and it's really light weight.

Last night's dinner was really nice.  The same food as the last time because it was such a hit and I did eat a bit too much.  Not too much mind you, but a bit too much and then I was uncomfortable.  I had to walk it off.

I had some really clever comments on my Roche' post two days ago.  If you haven't seen them you should go read them.  I love y'all's sense of humor.  Oh, and did you notice I used the only word there is with two apostrophes in the previous sentence?  Yes, in the south it is a word.  

Anyway Roche' is due to arrive here on Tuesday.  I am excited already.  Hopefully he'll be here in time to go to poker with me.  That is if he's not too tired from his trip.  I may even let him play a few hands, he'll have to learn sometime and the earlier the better.

Have a great Friday.  I will, I'll be the one at the pool...

I had a great time at the pool yesterday, it was so warm and lovely.  No one was around either.  Perfect.

Today is canasta and then I'll stay at the club after for the Prime Rib night.  It starts with cocktails at 5:00 with snacks and dinner at 6:00.  I went to the last one and it was really nice.  I was able to eat pretty low calorie too as there were so many choices. 

Of course you could eat enough calories to sink a ship but I won't.  I'll have sparkling water instead of booze and then a big salad, cup of soup, and light dinner plate.  There will be fish, chicken, and pasta as well as prime rib.  I really don't care that much about beef either way any more so that's not a problem for me.

Even though I have not really lost any more weight I am getting a different shape now, I guess from the exercise.  I would love to lose another 17 pounds but don't know when it will happen.  I am still really trying though.

It's almost time to get my hair done again.  I am going Saturday.  Then I'll really be in cruise mode!  

Have a lovely Thursday.  Mine is going to be totally tits!

Meet my baby...

Now I am going to tell you something that you can't repeat, okay?  The top rock is Seymour and the bottom one is his baby (well one of them) and I got first pick of the litter and chose the light gray one.  His name is Roche'.  That is "rock" in French.  

Now to the reason that I say you can't tell anyone about this yet, I live in a "no pet" building.  That means that technically I cannot have a pet rock.  I think.  But I have decided to ask Dr. Wacks to write me a letter saying I am nuts (well that is not too much of a stretch) and that I need a service rock to keep me from going all postal on somebody.  (That's not politically incorrect is it?)  Anyway, he'll do it for me I think.  If he won't then I'll have to come up with another way to keep my baby.  I'll have to get him a little vest I suppose.  

When he gets here I will show you his new home and his new "digs".  He will be a pampered rock.  If he doesn't get here before I leave on the cruise on the 4th I'll have a nanny here to take care of him, otherwise he can go with me.  I might have to buy him a ticket if I can't get him onboard in my purse.

Stay tuned, many adventures to follow...

Yesterday I made this soup and I want to tell you it is seriously delicious.  I mean you would not believe there was no cream in it at all.  I cut back on the water and the oil and a nice sized bowl is only 40 calories.  Very filling too.  I can't wait to try it chilled!  Oh, and I found Vidalia onions so I bought a big bag of those and that's what I used.  If you are on the bee bandwagon please give this a try:

Two onions simmered (covered) until soft in a tablespoon of oil and a bit of water, then add one head of cauliflower with core removed and cut into pieces, 3 1/2 cups of water, pinch of salt and pepper, simmer the whole thing until soft.  Whir in blender (several batches) and it will burn you if you don't hold the top of the blender down with a towel.  Don't ask me how I know.

Today is canasta and poker.  After last week I really can't expect to win again but that's okay, it all evens out in the end I think.  And if I do win, all the better.

Have a great Tuesday y'all.  I will too, you can count on that!

Gosh am I always going to be big in the middle?  I work at it, I really do.  It's not happening though.  Apple shaped, that's me.

I got a brainstorm last night.  I was looking into the small bathroom and thought how nice it would look with a small crystal chandelier instead of a flush mount light.  I went to Home Depot but didn't find one I liked but online there are several I am considering.  It wouldn't be hard to install at all because there is a light fixture there already.

Luckily I was able to swim yesterday between the rain showers.  It was warm and lovely.  Hopefully today won't be to rainy either.

Also I plan on doing some beading today as well.  I have some beautiful beads and want to make a necklace before the cruise.

So my friends, here's hoping your Monday is totally tits.  I know mine will be...

Quinoa salad

Well this sure looked good in the recipe but honestly I didn't like it nearly as much as I thought I would.  I think quinoa would be a great addition to soup in place of a starch but that's about it.  Does anyone love it or have a recipe they love for quinoa?  I'd try another one I think.  Just in case.  Anyway this one has cooked and cooled quinoa, lemon juice, olive oil, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, salt and pepper.  

So yesterday I was sitting at my desk playing with some beads when the sun came out and I grabbed my bathing suit and got down there as quick as I could.  I did about 15 minutes and it started raining again.  Well I guess 15 minutes is better than nothing so I came back upstairs, got my shower, got on my gown and danced!  Why not?  It's good exercise, it's fun, it's free, and I like it.  Plus no one could see me so I didn't care if I didn't dance like a rock star.

Today is grocery day and I'll get to see the duck.  Maybe we'll have lunch too, we'll see.  He's been back on his diet pretty good too.  After his thyroid problem he had to adjust his diet and the medication until it was controlled properly but it seems he has it under control now.  Him and Dr. Wacks that is.

And now I wish you a lovely Sunday and one for me too...

My brain is in full cruise mode now.  Forgive me.  

Oh, and I learned something yesterday.  I was out and about and went to wash my windshield because it was all salty from the windy weather.  The wiper blades were not doing a good job and so I pulled into the dealership.  The service guy, Shorty, was the one Sarge always went to see.  I tipped him ten bucks and he had my car washed and gave me a card for another free car wash whenever I am in the neighborhood.  Now I know why Sarge always tipped everybody.  Oh, and I got $55.00 worth of new wiper blades installed.  Don't tell me I paid too much.  That's $55.00 plus tip.

Then I swam for an hour and then Mike from Square One came over to talk about servicing my storm shutters.  They were new three years ago but with all that has gone on in this house I had not bothered to have them serviced.  It really should be done every year to keep them rolling smoothly and nicely.  He'll contact me with a date and price soon.

It's supposed to be a rainy weekend here.  I know we need the rain but I don't really like it, well, other than a shower.  I hope it doesn't keep me in the house anyway.

Have a great Saturday y'all.  I sure will too!

Two weeks and counting...  

I won pretty good at canasta yesterday, I have been on such a roll this week I should seriously buy a lottery ticket or go to the casino.  But I won't.  I never do.  In fact I consider myself a lottery winner with all the money I have saved not buying tickets.  They call them redneck retirement plans.  

The money was supposed to go to education in Florida since it was established back in the early 80's.  Technically it does but they cut the budget at the same time so the schools did not benefit like the voters thought they would when they voted to have the lottery in the first place.  Georgia does use the profits for education and if I still lived there I would participate to help but not here.

I don't know what made me go off on the Florida lottery, maybe the fish oil is kicking in again.  It's been pretty quiet lately hasn't it?  I seem to be flitting from one thought to another.  

I finished off the rest of the kale yesterday adding white beans and making soup.  It was really good and super healthy.

So I am off today and going to the pool and the fruit stand for sure.  I need veggies and fruit and it seems to be so much better there than the supermarket.  I have no idea why either.  They just do.  And the fact that they are cheaper there too is even better.

Have a wonderful Friday y'all.  I know I will...

Today is my canasta game and lunch with the gals.  I had such a good day Tuesday I'm okay if I don't win today.  I mean I hope I do but I feel a bit guilty for winning so much the other day.  At poker one guy actually asked me if my foot was sore from kicking his butt.

I am not losing weight again.  It gets so frustrating.  I think I might just relax the diet on the cruise and then come back and really knuckle down then and see if the two different eating patterns kick up the loss a bit.  I mean eating more for a week and then really eating less after.  Sort of mixing up my metabolism.  Other than that I don't really know what to do.  I am eating healthy, low calorie, and exercising.  I am so much more active than I used to be and I am losing less than one pound a month now.  With seventeen pounds left to go it had better start going faster than that. 

Guess my fish oil isn't kicking in today, I seem to be stupid.  And to make this point I forgot to schedule this post and it posted early.  Really stupid today!

Hope everyone has a great Thursday.  I plan on it myself...

Well I did good at canasta yesterday and then at poker last night.  Well actually I did really good at poker.  Really good.  Yay me.

Today will be spent at the pool mostly.  Hopefully anyway.  I may get into another game on Wednesday soon, not sure if I want to or not.  We have gals that have summer games that disband in season when the others come back so they just play for the summer.  Maybe I can get into a Maj game even, we'll see.

Two and a half weeks until cruise time.  It's getting close fast. I am really looking forward to it.  I don't get to spend much time with the duck even though we live close as he works such long hours and on the cruise we hang out and play cards and laugh and do all sorts of fun things.  He said he is going to try hard not to gain and I am too but I do think I'll have a bit of cake here and there.  With seventeen pounds left to go I don't want to put too much back though.

So have a lovely Wednesday y'all.  I will too...

Oh yeah, it's in the mid to upper 80's and I'm loving every minute of it.  The water is warm and soothing and it's so easy to work out in the pool.  So easy on the joints.  I did 45 minutes and totally loved every minute of it.

Also I cooked and ate kale for the first time yesterday.  I bought a big bag at Publix and made kale chips and cooked most of it in a bit of lightly salted water.  I loved it.  Well I loved the simmered kale more than I loved the kale chips.  I know I did them right too because they are very crispy and not bitter but potato chips they are not.  Anyway I have a new healthy vegetable to eat.  I would also LOVE it in vegetable soup or bean soup.  I guess I must be the last person on earth to eat kale.

Not sure yet if I have a canasta game today or not, one of the gals is sick and if we don't find a sub, well then, I'll be back in the pool.  Either way it'll be a great day.  And hopefully a great evening at poker!

I swear living up here in the sky it is like a never ending painting changing continually.  Dear Sarge SO loved to sit on the terrace and watch the changing skies and the storms move in and out.  So peaceful to sit there and watch.

Yesterday I got going in the pool and did ONE HOUR of water jogging!  A whole HOUR!  I was pretty stiff last night but loved it and plan on going back again today.  Hopefully this will start my weight loss again.  I get stuck so easily and I really have not eaten badly at all.  I have gone over my 1200 calories a few times but not enough to stop losing.  I think it get slower when you are almost done and also when you are older you don't lose as quickly.  Anyway I shall continue until I am done.  17 more pounds.

Yesterday we went to Publix instead of the Walmart.  It really is much nicer but more expensive.  Neither of us needed a big order so it wasn't bad though.

Hope your Monday is totally tits.  I know mine will be...

Well I usually publish a post at midnight but last night I was so tired I forgot!  Yup, completely forgot.  Got up this morning and wondered why there were no comments!  Duh...

Anyway today I shall go shopping with the duck and have a lovely lunch if I am lucky.  And go to the pool after I get home.  Yes, that is a good day.

Tomorrow is tax day.  Yuk.  Mine have been done for a while now and they cashed my check so I know they got my return.  Hope yours weren't too bad.  

Have a great Sunday y'all...

Saturday fun...

Don't these bougainvilleas look fake?  Nope, they are real and outside my building.  This reminds me of a hedge somewhere about halfway down in the Florida Keys.  It is a long row of them but in every color you can imagine, just so beautiful.

Last night I had the best time, there were six of us that went to a nice oriental restaurant and then to a play, a musical comedy.  It was really good and the talent was so amazing for a small neighborhood theatre.  I went swimming in the afternoon too.  It was a good day.

Today is warm and if it's not storming I'll be at the pool.  And maybe the fruit stand if I decide to venture out.

Hope your weekend is lovely y'all.  Mine will be of course!

Friday stuff and other stuff...

Did you ever see this before?  I know how to do it, a toilet paper rose.  I'll show you if you are interested.  This one is not in my apartment but I do have one in the guest bathroom.  Or maybe it's just me that loves stuff like this.

Last night was really a lot of fun at the club.  We were a table of 16, a big table but really fun people and the food was really good.  Prime rib and lots of other stuff as well.  No entertainment like they used to have in the old days though.  We had to make our own entertainment.

Today will find me in the pool and then the theatre tonight.  Another big day.  I am going to sleep in on Saturday though.  I already have it all planned out.

Have a great Friday, I will too...

Thursday is totally tits...

Not only am I having lunch with the gals today, then canasta, then we are all going to the club for a prime rib dinner.  I'll have to be careful how I eat but I'll do good and still manage to enjoy myself.  There is a large salad bar so I'll have plenty to eat there.

Plus tomorrow night I am going to see a play and have dinner out again with some gals.  We are going to see "Waist Watchers".  I think I'd better watch mine!

Yesterday at MahJong we were talking, so many of us are going places this summer we are considering suspending the game until fall.  I'll be sad about that but it happens in the summer.  One gal has her mother here and three are traveling a good bit and I have the cruise and maybe a trip to Georgia coming up soon so we'll have to see what happens.

Well that's okay I guess, I will have more time to spend at the pool and I have too many games right now anyway.  If it happens it happens, we have to roll with the punches.  Those gals are so special to me.

So that, my friends, is it from paradise today.  Hope your day is as good as mine!  If it is you'll be a happy camper...

Good Morning Sunshine!

Well it's Wednesday and that means MahJong and also the week is already half over.  I have been waking up really early lately.  Mostly because there are new people in the condo over mine and the lady walks around in high heels on a marble floor.  And never sits down.  I had a nice little talk with the manager yesterday and she called her.  She was very apologetic.  Hopefully that won't happen any more.  Anyway that's why you get to see the sunrise photo today, because she woke me.

Yesterday I broke even at poker.  Sixty in and sixty out.  Not bad.  Lots of fun too.  The very first hand I had four jacks!  I won the big pot plus everyone had to pay me three dollars so it was about seventy dollars but then in the end I didn't win.  It sure was fun to get that hand though.

Today I get to see my MahJong gals, well three of them anyway.  I love the new card this year.

Hope your Wednesday is as good as mine, if it is you will have a great day!

Tuesday stuff in paradise...

Well let me start by saying yesterday that awful woman did not have on that stinking perfume so I did stay and play.  It was not a great game though.  She just gets on my very last nerve.  Anyway the season is almost over and she will be heading north but not soon enough for me.  I really don't like to dislike someone like that but with her I just can't help it.  I was nice though and didn't do anything to rock the boat.

Today's game is much better and then there is poker tonight.  I hope I do good.  

I got the munchies last night.  I wanted chips and diet coke.  And ice cream.  And of course cake.  Arghhh.  Luckily I quenched it with stuff I could have.  I don't like it when that happens though and it really doesn't happen too often.

Pretty soon I'm going to have to start thinking about packing for the cruise.  The duck wanted to go to the western caribbean this time.  I usually book eastern or southern.  Western is not my favorite because of the tender ports but now that I don't use the scooter I can get on the tender and go ashore in those ports if I want.  I haven't been to Grand Cayman in a long time.  Or as John Heald calls it Grand "build a sodding pier" Cayman.  He's on the Legend now on the transatlantic.  I wish I was too!

Anyway today shall be tons of fun with good friends and games.  Hope your day is as good as mine...

A whole new week!

*Update*  Well rats, this was supposed to publish at midnight but I screwed it up so here you go early.....

Well Monday again already!  Today I am subbing in a canasta game and guess who is playing?  That woman that gave me asthma with her nasty perfume.  I know I swore I would never play with her again and I didn't want to but they begged me and swore she would not wear any perfume.  I told them okay but if I smelled it I was leaving, I was not going to get asthma again.

Yesterday after lunch I got in the pool, it was chilly at first but soon felt good and I had a good workout.  I just feel so much better when I exercise, I cannot tell you.  Now you can feel free to ask me why I don't go next door to the gym at the club that is already included in my dues if you like.  I am curious as to what my answer will be.

This whole week is busy, every day something and lots of days two things.  Hope I can keep up with it all.

Have a lovely Monday and a wonderful new week.  I will too!

Well alrighty then...

I almost have my new beading place finished and managed to get this done as well.  The large bead is actually purple, I love yellow and purple together.  Well this is citrine.  These beads are made of cotton covered in pearl.  They are very light weight.  It fits as a choker.  

I also cleaned out another hunk of my closet, this time it was not clothes though, but rather "stuff".  Mostly it got put down the trash shoot.  And the dust behind it got cleaned up too.  That closet is a never ending project for me it seems.  And of course I keep putting more stuff in there.  What I really should do is EMPTY it out and then put back just what I want.  Hmmm, naw, that's too much work.

Today I'll be fighting the lovlies at the WalMart with the duck.  If I'm lucky we'll go out to lunch as well.

Have a lovely Sunday y'all.  I know I will too...

My Carnival thoughts...

One of my canasta gals called me and in chatting she asked me the following:  "On your cruise in May you aren't going on Carnival again are you?"  My reply to her:  "At this time I would not even consider anything else."  She was floored and asked me if I had even heard about all their "woes".  

Frankly I am sick of the media hype on it all.  Take the following senario - the "news" spent over a minute talking about the Carnival Freedom taking four hours to empty the ship in Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) the other day.  At the very end of the piece they said it was because of sequestration and the lack of customs people on site.  Now people, this happened with any line going in at this time but no, only Carnival on the news.

Another time when Hurricane Irene hit Puerto Rico there were two ships that were there and the port made them both leave early, both stranding passengers as the port closed to traffic.  The Royal Caribbean ship just left 145 people to find their own way. The Carnival ship left 300 people behind but did this instead.  Now I ask you, which line would you rather have sailed?  Neither ship could help leaving early but one just left, the other took care of their passengers.

As far as the problems with missed ports, propulsion, dead engines, whatever - it happens on all lines sometimes.  It's part of life, things happen, but when they do Carnival has stepped up to the plate every single time.  I'd much rather be where I know they care about their passengers than the ones that only care about the dollar.

I have cruised on many lines but always come back to Carnival.  Clean, friendly, fun ships, that's what I like!  And those chilled soups are pretty danged good too...