Dec. 20 th. Golf this morning, hockey tonight.

Tuesday night was "a big Mexican dinner"(that's a song title from the Kentucky Headunters). We went to Bob and Janice's. I spent part of the morning researching Margaritas. That was our contribution.
So....with all the pertinent info in hand, we went to the Total wine store( you should see this place, there's not a beer  or wine or spirit left unmentioned. It's a Costco for booze), and bought all the pertinent ingredients.
Good tequila( we settled on El Padrino, on the recommendation of Suzie,one of the employees). Terrific choice, it received a 95 rating set by some international qualifications. Forget the Jose Cuervo!!!.
Of course you have to have Cointreau. Not!!! The secret, is a brandy based orange liqueur and the suggestion on the "web"was Gran Gala. Less than half the price(you do pay for the name) and it's base is V.S.O.P.  brandy.
Fabulous. Of course while we were there, we had to have  Scotch ( and again on the suggestion of Suzie who advised it was a very good scotch, better than my usual Glenfiddich), I bought a 12 year old, single malt "Speyside" I have yet to try it but I'm sure it'll be wonderful.
Okay back to the Margarita. Let's finish it off with 6, fresh squeezed Persian limes.
Here's the one we liked the best(we tried three different recipes). The 2-2-1 mixture was voted best in show.
2 oz tequila, 2 oz Gran Gala and 1 oz lime juice. We like ours on the rocks and shaken(not stirred)
We did buy the pre -squeezed Real lemon and Real Lime but we never got to try them. Why bother?
And...we got to eat a delicious dinner, prepared by Janice of Chile Relleno and re-fried beans. Fantastic.

Wednesday, Aprille went to a knitting group n the morning and we were going to have guests for dinner,but, Dave was recovering from a colonoscopy and John was on his way to Alaska(for 2 yrs) for a new job.
So... Aprille and I got to enjoy a wonderful Chicken Marsala dinner followed by a Pistachio frozen yogurt.
Oh dare I mention the wine?

Thursday Aprillle went for her 6 week cut, colour and whatever else, and sold another piece of jewelry. A necklace she was wearing inspired her hairdresser to commission one for her too.

Friday was golf at Shell Point. I got to try out my new GPS toy. It worked super. I was 4 swings away from an 84-85. I shot a 90. Not bad, but I'm determined o be a mid 0's golfer(on a regular basis)

Friday night we went to the Germain Centre, down in Estero, to watch the Florida Everblades play. I haven't seen a hockey game since we came down here.We went as a group, 5 of us, the girls bowed out. There was Maurice, Maurice Jr., John, Dane(another neighbour and myself . Too bad he home team lost. They didn't even show up. The final score was 4-1 for the North Carolina Road Warriors.  The shots on goal favoured the Road warriors at 37 - 31 but most of the  awarded SOG to the Everblades were sympathy shots I'm sure. But on a cool side...have you ever seen two Zambonies clean the ice?
$15.00 got us really good seats. There's actually not a BAD seat in the house. The arena holds around 7,000 people and I guess there were 2,000  in attendance.Oh ya. 2 beers( they were Labatts Blue) $17 dollars. Wow!!! I can buy 18 Heineken for that.
And guess who I saw at the arena? Lori Mornahan, from Cayuga. Really. What are the chances.? She's down with her husband for two weeks of vacation and hopefully we will get together for a beverage or two.

Tonight is carol singing and ugly Christmas sweater night at the office but we will pass. Aprille is not feeling the greatest. We were going to g to the beach at Cape Coral for a wine and cheese picnic, but that too will wait.
We did get a Christmas tree, Aprille bought a Christmas snow globe(with a windup player) that plays Santa Clause is coming to town.
He better put wheels on his sleigh. There's no snow here. LOL.
We have received a few cards and there are two stockings to be filled. So we are keeping some of the traditions. Go figure... we have our own bananas

On a follow up to the Speyside scotch.... it's good.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!
SYS

Movie night and senior rates

Well, we finally got a senior's discount.
We went to the show on Monday(9th) Dec. to see "Out of the Furnace" (a good movie by the way)
We got to ask for a senior's ticket and it was only $8. Super. The theatre complex is in the Bell Tower shopping mall and houses 20 cinaplex theatres.
The theatre was well designed with seats designed so that King Kong could sit in front of you and you could still see. The sound was just perfectly regulated and the AC was very comfortable.
And then there's pop corn, coffee and pop. So much for the seniors savings.

We went to the parrot sanctuary on Sannibel Island with Bob and Janice yesterday, and it was well worth the wait. Then another super lunch at The Grill.

Spanish lessons are now over till the 14th of Jan. We have actually learned a lot in the first 16 weeks. We'll have to be diligent during the following month off. You know what they say. "Use it or lose it"
No hay problema.

Wed. there was a pool game that lasted all afternoon. At night the girls had craft night here

Thur. Aprille and Sandra attended a "dress for success" seminar( a hands on event to launch small business ventures) Aprille has sold two pieces of jewelry now and we have set up a web site for her and she now has her own business cards. So check it out at applesjewels.com.

My airport shuttle job has gone for a dump. The insurance issues are impossible to overcome.
Okay bring on another windmill.

Friday morning we went to the Fort Myers flea market. Now that's huge. You could easily spend all day browsing. We were good. We only bought two things(that we needed) Aprille found a vendor that sold bras(nice!! one's I might add.). 6 for $12. Really. And a new micro fibre mop to replace the piece of sh.....! we currently had.At 6 pm we went over to my golfing buddy, Dave, for dinner.Great job. A delicious feed of smoked salmon and spinach dip for appetizers and a huge feed of angel hair pasta with a delicious cream sauce and craw daddies. Dessert too. Tiramisu and chocolate cookies.

I now own a V300 Sonocaddie GPS. A real time GPS tool that follows you in "real time" on the golf course and feeds you all pertinent info(that should help you,theoretically, to manage the course better) I first saw the device in action last week when I golfed with Barb. She had one. It is  a must have.She bought hers on line for $60 last year. I went home and immediately went  on line. They retail for $399. No way Jose!!! There as only one used one(advertized as "in excellent condition") at all the sale sights. It was up for bidding at $70.99. There was 2 hrs left in the auction. What luck!!!I won. It arrived 4 days later and as advertized it was in excellent condition.I'm chomping at the bit to try it for real.

Sat. I met the riders(and some of their wives) of the Lost Riders motor cycle club. I met the president at spanish class and he invited me to join them for a  ride for toys. It is an annual event hosted by the L.A.M.A.
Latin American Motrcycle Assoc. to give toys to poor families in Immokalee.
A great event and a great bunch of guys and gals. There was enough toys to fill the back of the dually pick up and the U Haul trailer, plus what people brought on the back of their bikes.

Sat night we went to the dog races,also in Immokalee, and we won enough to pay for the "refreshments". don't blink. Each race  lasts around 30 seconds. A good night out. Cheap and fun and you get to wager.

Happy birthday Annette!!!!

Yikes it went down to 47 degrees on the 27th Nov.

But all is good. It went up to 80 this afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving and a special mention to our son who thought about his grandfather(farfar) on Remembrance Day "Cherishing the ones who paved the way to live our lives. Especially my farfar. Rest in peace. Thanks Adam.

We had a great get together here at Baybreeze on the 23rd. It was an opportunity to mix and mingle with the complex providing turkey and all the trimmings. Lovely. There was karaoke too that night. What a blast. We got to meet some new friends and neighbours.

Well that was quite a treat (Thanksgiving Day) The day started at John and Sandra's at 2 pm. There was enough food for 20 very hungry people and there were 10 of us. I lost all the pics by accidentally formatting the camera. Oppps!!!

We went to Periwinkle Park (on Sannibel Island) on Wed the 4th of Dec.with our new friends Bob and Janice (they are bird lovers and in particular, parrots) to see Libby and Dave Baird(who used to teach at MM Robinson high school in Burlington and actually taught Aprille before they retired) who run the parrot sanctuary there and put on  a free demonstration at 10 am. So guess what?????
There is no show on Wednesdays. So, we spent a great deal of the morning walking the beach at Lighthouse beach(our particular favorite). Then a great lunch and Tom Dick and Harry's.

Sunday, the 7th. I went up to Tampa (150 miles door to door) with my buddy John, to see the Bills and Bucs at Raymond James stadium. Awesome place. 65,000 capacity with armrests on every seat. People actually sat down to watch the game instead of standing and blocking our view ie. Ralph Wilson stadium in Buffalo. We had great seats(thanks John, with shade by 230 pm) on the goal line 7 rows from the field. Nice.
We arrived around 1020 am(we left Fort Myers at 8 am ) and spent the morning and part f the afternoon tailgating. What a blast. We met some great people and played "corn hole" with our immediate neighbours. I have a set of toss bags(all official weight and size of course) being delivered this week. We have the boards here at pool side but no bags(kids!!!!) So we will have yet another excuse to drink beer. LOL.
We tried to get an invite for burgs or sausages at the tailgate grounds,but alas, it was not to be.
We had to eat at the stadium. Don't ask.
We pre-drank at the parking lot.
Anyway, we were a part of Bucs history. We  were there when they scored a touch down from the  line of scrimmage( an 82 yd running play) which was the lost in team history and it was scored in the first 18 seconds of regulation which was the fastest TD ever scored.

It's now Dec 11th and it's hard to wrap our head around the fact that it's almost Christmas and we are basking in mid 80's during the day and mid 60's at night.

I just went on line to book tickets for the Florida Everblades hockey team for the 20th. I have not seen a single hockey game since the start of the season.

We  have new neighbours now, Ian and Ashley, a very nice young couple. Aprille baked some treats and they reciprocated with local Star fruit and bananas from his moms garden on Cape Coral. They were "the bomb"

Thanksgiving in Florida

This is us relaxing Sunday night just before mom flies home again. We are watching "Man of Steel"  3D. What a blast. If this is the future, bring it on.

Last week we went down to Naples to watch the best of the best on the LPGA tour play at the Tiburon Golf course which is on the Carlton Ritz property. La Te Da.!!!! We went down on a weekly pass(tues. to Sun.) for the two of us for $50(thanks to Subway's 2 for 1 coupon). We decided to stay away from Sunday(we were thinking about the potential for big crowds) so we went Thurs. and Sat. What a blast. Name a famous LPGA professional and she was there. Up close and very personable.
I got to talk to David Leadbetter who is currently engaged with Lydia Ko, Michelle Wie and Suzzane Pedersen. Michelle Wie's parents were also on hand and it was pretty obvious who father was as Michelle looks just like him. That's he behind Leadbetter.

Thur. we followed Wie, Ko(who has just turned pro at the age of 16) and Korda. On Sat. we followed Pederen, Inkster and Icher. We picked them up at the 13th. a beautiful par 4 pictured here with a long carry over water to the right. I didn't see one ball in the water. Go figure.

Just to give you an idea how close we could be to these stars,here is a picture of Aprille as Wie is exiting 13.

The course is surrounded by opulence. Here is a small sample. There is money down here.

Okay just a few more and we're done.
The first is the par 3 16 and the last one is the par 4 18th

Friday we had my buddy Dave over for dinner and guitar night. Fun wow. I wish he was right handed. It's hard to follow new pieces with a lefty and he has a lot to show me.

Sat. we had a tenant meet and greet at Baybreeze complete with turkey,ham and all the fixings and accompanied by Karaoke. Nice.
We met a few new couples that we are going to hang out with.
Bob and Janice were over for supper on Sunday, ostensibly to catch the Grey Cup, but that never happened. We were too busy gabbing and having a good time. They stayed till 2 am. Then we watched the Grey Cup on the PVR. Thank God we didn't waste time watching that  game. All those years of waiting for that spectacle?????
Yesterday we had Aprille back golfing again(on the range) after her shoulder injury and she hit some really nice shots. She's just a few tweaks away from having fun.
Aprille is pursuing her jewelry passion and now has set up a display in her salon. She has her own web site applesjewels.com and her own business cards which are being delivered on Wed. (Thanks Frank and Angie)
Well we are only a few days away from Turkey time. We're going over to John and Sandra's for all the trimmings.
Well it's off to the gym.
SYS

Mom's visit

Mom arrived on time and radiant as ever on the Mon. the 18th of Nov. at around 1:10 pm.
I don' know how we missed her getting into the concourse but we did. I found her on at the baggage claim downstairs a few minutes later. The first hug was just as wonderful as I anticipated.
Monday was just a hangout day for the rest of the afternoon with a tour of the Baybreeze villas.
Tuesday we went down to Fort Myers beach for a long walk on the sands of the Gulf of Mexico.
By then it was lunch time and we enjoyed a Publix ultimate submarine sandwich at Lovers key by the water. We found the picnic tables after we finished lunch.
Then it was south to Bonita Springs for a look around there
.
Wed. the 6th was a relax day again( we didn't want to do everything in  the first week)

Thursday was a wonderful day again(in fact they all were. We had perfect weather for the entire two weeks) and we went up to Matlacha for lunch at Bert's and hoping to catch Skip and his steel drums to entertain us through lunch. As luck wold have it(or not) Thursday is the only day Skip is not at Bert's. Hello!!!!!
 Aprille was talking hamburger all day, till he lunch special of blackened snapper made her change her mind.
Mom and I did have the burgers. Yummy and BIG!!.

Then it was off to explore the pier and the curio shops along the main drag and a great cruise in the car through the side streets of the adjoining neighbourhoods.

Friday we were off to the Big M casino boat( yes, the one in Fort Myers)(to get our fix). A perfect day for sailing. Calm seas and beautiful sunshine. We even got mom to play bingo. Well what else is there till we get 9 miles out?
Slots for the girls and craps for me. I got onto a hot roll with a girl named Tina and rode the wave for that series. I was up around $40. The dice cooled off about 30 minutes later and I left down 30 dollars.
then it was over to the Let it ride table. That was good right off the hop. I recouped everything and left the table on a good note. Aprille hit me up for another 10 dollars. So the bottom line is, I lost 5 dollars  for the day.  A good outing.
Aprille got lucky on her last machine and won enough to get her to (only) a ls of 30 dollars. Oh well.
Mom didn't have any stories to tell. The buffet was excellent as usual.

Hey Ed,bob and Sheri. Remember the passenger rear door? It wouldn't open right?
So, I took it to a major Chev. dealership and the Cape to have a tire rotation and while I was there, I figured why not have the rear door looked at too?
So.... they get me to pre-authorize $125 to cover the diagnostic on the door($100) and the tire rotation($25).
No problem if they can fix my problem.
Anyway, after 44 minutes, the service rep comes back with an estimate for $948.29(REALLY!!!!!).
He advises me there may be some damage to the door panel during the process, and I need a new door lock actuator.Okay. Stop the presses. I can get a whole new door for that price, I'm thinking.
When I pay the bill, I figured they had actually taken off the door panel, at least looked at the problem and determined there actually was a problem with the actuator( it was possible right?)
No. They had not even taken off the door panel!!!
I called the service advisor to tel him, I'M NOT HAPPY. They want to give me a service credit ( in fairness) Really, do I ever want to go back there? Oh by the way, on the estimate, they even go the date wrong They had the date as Oct 25th not Nov. I just noticed that.

After two days of stalling I call the service manager directly, and to make a very long story shorter, he agrees to cut me a cheque for the $100. Thank you. I go he cheque in the mail in two days.
Anyway, I take the vehicle to a local mechanic just around the corner on McGregor.
I had already removed the door panel (in 5 minutes)and tried to open he door(as described on you tube), but without success in opening the door they had the door opened, the panel back on and me on my way in 40 minutes at a cost of $47. The door lock assembly was rusted, they oiled it. That's it. That's all.

Sunday the 10 we decide to go to the coconut festival up in Cape Coral. Our mouths are watering. Mom is going to buy a coconut cream pie for desert.We finally arrive at the Kiwana's park, and, at first blush it looks like a mid way. It was and it was $7 each to get in. Do we go? Okay. What he heck. It was(a midway)
Why is it called the Coconut Festival. Did they run out of names? The only thing with coconut in it is the pena cola mix(of which we partake). We did have a good time watching the different attractions on the main stage. I won Aprille the orange pig toy seen here(throwing bean bags and Aprille entertained us with the "flip a chick" game). You had to flip a rubber chicken into a stew pot by smashing the lever wit a rubber mallet.
We think I won the water cannon game too, but he barker gave the prize to a good looking female instead. Go figure.

Okay, we are now official Moose lodge members so let's go check out the "big moose" just down the street from the festival. Good move here.
This is a brand new lodge. We had 2 10 oz. draughts and a wine for $6 Check out the Wed. wing special.
I'm going to enjoy being a moose.

Mon 11th. Mom does the cooking and makes us a danish meatball(frigadilla dinner with a creamy white sauce with fresh parsley for our lania garden.

Tue. 12th. Time to find a new beach. We want to find hem all. Off we go to Sannibel to find lighthouse beach(well I don't need to find it I already know where it is). A left turn on Perriwinkle instead of right. Bonus. Everyone goes right. What a treat. Our new favorite I think. There is character here. A wonderful walking beach, a fishing pier and it seems to be a good fishing spot.
Check out the guy who caught he hammer head shark

.
Wed 13th Mom treats us to dinner at Lamotta's. Fantastic as usual. Bruschetta (of course). A huge(as usual antipasto).I had the chicken parm. Mom had the shrimp fettaccini. We can't remember now what Aprille had. But antipasto for dinner the next night too.

Fri. 15th Fri. trek off to Sannibel to visit Ding Darling sanctuary. We had hoped to see a lot of wildlife. Especially new bird species as this is migration season.
I had gone on their website to check out the trails. There were three that I had picked out 4 trails, and the longest was a one mile trail. No problem. We went over and walked the Bailey tract. Nothing there. Well maybe two new duck species which I've yet to positively identify. I think american Scotes and Bufffle heads.
We couldn't find the other trails. I'm thinking there has to be more.
So we went to Tarpon bay beach and had a picnic lunch and found some more sea shells.
Okay, so let's go to Captiva while were over here says my darling wife. It really is nice up there.
On the way north, we pass Ding Darling, the main sanctuary entrance where the other three trails we were supposed to hike and the interpretive centre were located. Too late. Next time.
We have a pleasant drive and gawk at the "mansions" along the way around the island. Well you can't really go around because there is only one way in and one way out. The same road.
Time for a coffee. We stopped at the The sunset grill on Captiva. $2.95 each. I don't think I have ever paid $10 for three coffees. Lesson learned. Now it's time to go home and get ready for dinner.
We left home around 5pm.We drove down to Naples( I left early because we had to stop at the PGA Super store to get 2 week passes for the LPGA tour event at Tibiron here next week. The main event was to enjoy a fabulous dinner at Campiello's. Mission one accomplished. We're all set for the LPGA.
Now it's on  to dinner.
We were about a 1/2 hr. early, so we decided to take in the sights and enjoy a quiet glass of wine.
We tried handsome Harry's but it was crowded, there was no room at the bar and it was noisy.
Mom had seen a small portico leading to a cafe just down the st and it led to a very quiet, intimate outside cafe.Ruth's cafe. Perfect . So we have 3 glasses of wine. 2 merlots,one chardonnay.I get the bill. $28.00.
Whoa. I put on mom's cheaters(just to make sure). As I'm reading the bill, the gentleman from the next table gets up and asks me"did you get the right bill"? I did not the one I received and had already paid for was for 2 chardonnays and one merlot. OOPs!
So we trade bills. I now have the right one. Whoa!!! now it $36. $12 each for the merlots and $10 for the chardonnay. I'm used to buying three lite and 1/2 bottles for that price. Bring your credit card.
Anyway back to Campiello's. Fabulous. Our server, Courtney, had been there for 10 yrs. and she was a treat. The meal were all spectacular. We started with a bruschetta bread that was to die for. Apparently the secret was let all the ingredients marinate in a a red wine balsamic vinegar. The entrees consisted of Diver scallops(mine) with a cauliflower and bacon in a white sauce, chicken caccattori with a a sweet delicate sauce so good Aprille took a lunch size serving home. Mom had a blackened salmon on a bed of risotto and delicate greens.
Dessert was a home made tiramisu(mom and I shared, thank goodness) and Aprille had the black cherry gelato. It was over too soon. I wish I was rich!!!
We went for  a short walk along 3rd St. It's just beautiful. It has a very European feel to it. Love it.

Sat 17th we hung out by the pool, played shuffle board at the club house and enjoyed a super steak dinner. I grilled (on our brand new stainless steel grills) complete with my new recipe for bruschetta and mushroom bread. Yummy.
Sunday was a relax day too. Mom has to travel tomorrow and we again spent the day poolside. I made a chicken Marsala for dinner with bruschetta bread again. You can never get too much of a good thing.

Monday 18th It's time to say good bye. Moms off to the snow. We'll miss her. See you in April.

Haloween in Florida

We'll I have to say, 84 F. and sunny beats any Halloween I've ever seen before.
Usually it's cold,miserable,snowing, raining or all the above. I can get used to this. Oh did I say I went golfing? Not one... trick or treater at our condo. So.... thinking ahead,we only bought what we liked anticipating just that.
Since my last post we have had guests down for a visit.
Ed Hall,Bob Richardson and Sheri Gauld came down (Ed and Ritchie) on Tue 14th and Sheri came down on Thurs. 17th. What a blast. The boys had 4 games of golf at Shell Pointe and we went of to some of our favorite haunts to eat. Junkanoos on the beach,the Grill on MacGregor.

It got a little cool on Monday the 21st(all the way down to 84 F.) so Ed had to put on ear warmers LOL

Ed and Ritchie had their own private accommodations at the guest suite( a fully furnished two bedroom condo)for the grand total of $50 a night(that's all in) That comes complete with free specialty coffees by the pool. or you could hve stayed at the RV park on the beach for $8 a night. LOL again.

Costco has terrific steaks and we had a fabulous steak dinner on Fri. the 17th.Complete with potatoes, onions, mushrooms and ceasar  salad. Thank you Ed and Bob. Great job on the BBQ Ed.
So I ask you, is playing scrabble with a computer legal?

On Mon. the 22nd we all took a trip up to Sannibel and spent the afternoon at Tarpon Bay Beach replete with Chardonnay, beers and a lovely lunch prepared by the Publix deli. Smoked turkey, the ultimate and the mixed sandwich subs were terrific. Thanks again Ed and Ritchie. Football in the gulf anyone? A great day.
Angie came down on Tuesday to spend a week in Florida with Ed. Bob flew home from Sarasota( after he finally booked a seat. Nice try for first class but too stressful)Thanks Ed and Angie for the two bottles of wine you left behind. They were delicious.

We took Sheri to Matlacha Thurs. the 24 th. A great little place to shop and hang out. Lunch was at Bert's with a background of steel drums,Calypso Magic by Skip Bowman. Fabulous.

Lamatta's for supper on Wed. Thanks Sheri!(does Raging Bull strike a familiar note?) Jake Lamatta is the owners brother. What a treat.Again.

Good thing Bob was messing with Delta trying to get a free upgrade or Sheri probably would have missed her plane. She had asked to be booked to fly out Sat. Guess what? It turned out to be Friday. Whew.
What a blast! Thanks for coming down everyone!
Oh boys, I just played Shell Pointe on Sat from tee position 5!! Fun wow. But I did shoot an 87. The course plays 6,100 yrs from these tees. It's really better(on most holes) to play from here because some of the hazards are not in play(*as much*)
The seasons are changing now.  We had a front blow in yesterday and any humidity left in the air is now completely gone. The birds are beginning to migrate and we had a flock of 15-20 storks(wood ibis take up residence at our lake. What a beautiful site. More species to come I hear. I can hardly wait.

My mother is arriving tomorrow at around noon and she is staying for two weeks. I can't wait for the first hug.