Feb. has Valentine's Day and only 7 more weeks of winter

Holy. Did we pick a good winter to travel down south. I feel sorry for the people in the northern climes.

We had a great day with Mike Csoke on the  5 of Feb. He arrived from his home in Largo and spent the afternoon with us before traveling to Naples to meet with other friends there. During lunch and a pleasant afternoon   by the pool,we caught up on all the latest from our acquaintances up north(friends and fellow workers and fellow "Largoites").  It was nice to see Mike again it's been a long time. Nice car!!!

Happy birthday to our son.

On the 7th we went down to Naples to the golf super store. We had coupons from Subway(cheap advertising here) for the Aces Classic. We got weekly passes for the tournament for $50,that's for both of us.
While we were there, we decided to take in a quaint cafe supper on 5th Ave(the main drag). We parked across the street from Cafe Luna,so..why not check it out. We're glad we did. What a deal. Supper for two,with a bottle of California Melrot,for the low price of $29.99. It was really good. I had the chicken parm and Aprille had chicken(go figure) in a white wine sauce. Then a nice walk to the beach.

We went to the Lee county gun show with our friends Bob and Janice  Sunday the 9th.
That was entertaining to say the least. I was impressed with the quality of he attendees. They were not the "rednecks" I was expecting. It was EASY to purchase a weapon of any description. Including what would be prohibited in Canada. For instance, mace,tasers,brass knuckles,automatic weapons switch blades.
The picture below is on me holding an antitank rifle. That could come in handy a the condo NOT!!!!

I was at one booth where a patron wanted to buy a hand gun. The vendor asked for his Florida drivers licence and his gun permit( not that hard to get). The patron said" I have my licence but not the permit" to which the vendor replied"well, let's see what we can do about that".

Our scheduled cruise on the 12th was cancelled. On purpose.
I'll make it a short story.
There was a $15/day parking fee in West Palm(we would be gone for  5 days).There was transportation to the hotel the Grand Lucayan,$17 each,then there was the tourist tax of $9/each/day on the island. Then the kicker. The hotel was NOT all inclusive.
Have you ever been to the Bahamas. The prices are insane. So...we decided to blow off the initial sailing price to save many hundreds.Too bad, so sad.
Next time you hear a of deal this good. Be careful!!! The fast talking agents may leave out some"fine print".

Ok. Good news. Ulla and Kevin are coming down for 9 days and the weather reports look fantastic. They both need some fun in the sun.

On 14th,Valentine's Day, I went down to Naples the the Aces Classic golf tournament(that's Champion's tour) and all the big names were there(except Fred Couples, sorry mom, I couldn't get  his autograph)
These guys are good. We entertained Bob an Janice for a Valentine's dinner and drinks(of course).

On Sunday,the 15th, Aprille and I went back down to Naples to see the final day of the Aces Classic and we had a great time. We were there for almost 4 hours.I wish I was rich. What a beautiful course and the homes surrounding the venue make you want to salivate.

What a finish. A three way tie at 16 under for the last three some. Triplett,Langer and Waldorf.. Triplett won with a par on 18. Way to go Kirk. This venue, like the LPGA allowed you to get up close and personal. Rocco Mediate never stops taking. They were all very receptive and responsive to the gallery.
There were two Canadians in the field. Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge.
The "champions" are apparently allowed to take advantage of  golf carts(who knew). I must say,not all the players took advantage of the option.

I now have a Florida fishing licence(oh yea I mentioned that already) and on Wed ,the 12th,we went over near the Sannibel cause way(on our side,so it was free) and had a nice picnic lunch. In the car. he wind was howling.
I was, going to fish but it was blowing so hard, I decided against it. But I will catch a Florida fish.
My knee is back to (maybe 75 percent) I strained it during a work out. Go figure. I should be A1 by Sunday the 22nd.

See ya

Waiting for Valentines Day

Well we have to make some definite plans now. We are only 4 months away from our lease expiring and we are returning to Canada in May to be there for June 1st.
We were up north the last few days looking for other options in Punta Gorda,Port Charlotte,Englewood Sarasota,Venice and Bradenton.
Bradenton is apparently to cut off longitude for the subtropics(and we like those temperatures). We found a beautiful place at the Palms or Cortez(furnished with all the utilities included) for $1,000/mo. but unfortunately the owner was looking for a long term lease.
On or way back home from Bradenton,we stopped at  Dunkin Donuts in Punta Gorda, for a coffee and donut(no really!! I ate a donut..it wasn't Horton's let me tell you) and I'll never have another coffee there either. I actually threw it out after three sips. Anyway I digress. We asked if we could have he coffee in a china mug as we were staying n and the waitress nearly fell over laughing. She actually called the girl on the drive through over to hear this. "We don't have a dishwasher here and I don't do dishes". So we had to explain ourselves and the Horton's experience from Canada. A good diversion for our trip home.

All is well. My gout has been acting up so that interferes with some activities(like golf) but it should be cleared up by Thurs. Love those drugs.
We had a super bowl get together here with Ken, Krista,Sandra John and Maurice.
What a feast we had chile,ribs,wings,garlic bread,spinach dip vegggie tray,wine beer, taco scoops salsa and guacamole (whew!!) and we had a great time being arm chair QB's. Too bad about the excitement factor. Poor Manning Payton.

We should be home by the last week in May. Maybe sooner for a short visit to deal with U.S.A. restrictions on our 6 month limitation(just in case) and to deal with some financials re the house (upcoming)sale.

Today (tues. 4th)we plan to have lunch at the beach near Sannibel causeway. 

A fishing licence is about to happen today and we are waiting patiently for our cruise  on the 12th.

Apart from that, all is good. 

Waiting out the winter

Sat. (Jan 25) it was off to the range. My gout is in check and I can move freely again. Man it feels good to hit the balls again. The Internet has provided me with a wealth of information which should help with re-occurrence oft his issue. Also, they have a natural OTC drug down here called Gouch! I think I am going to like it. It is touted to expel excess uric acid.

Oh yea. I now have a Florida doctor. Dr Fulk(nice guy). It cost me $150 to see him at a walk in clinic. Luckily he's just around the corner but I could not refill my Rx without seeing a U.S. physician(even though I had the Rx bottle, with medication in it) with me at the pharmacy.There's another hurdle out of the way.

Well today(Sunday 26 Jan) was a just a do nothing type of day. It was supposed to be sunny and 80 degree. They lied. It was only about 73 and there was no sun all day.
We hung around the condo till about 130 pm and then we went over to Six Mile Cypress Slough(pr. sloo)
just to get some fresh air and exercise.
What a busy place. We saw 12 different licence plates in a parking lot that holds about 50 cars.
It is now the dry season here and there is a totally different feel to the place.We were intrigued by the obvious foraging an routing that was evident everywhere  and the answer was soon presented. Wild pigs.
They are voracious,noisy and troublesome. They try to trap and move the animals but that is a full time job and by the numbers of young we saw in a day, impossible.

We did get to see some new birds. The one here is a Night Heron.

I'm still trying to identify a couple of small ducks.

Tue. was off the the range(gun range that is) with Bob. What a hoot! Bob had a 380 Barretta(nice little gun)
and a sweet little S&W 9mm Shield. I wish I could be as accurate when I golf. All Red!!!
The ammo was on the expensive side( $56.00 for 25- 9mm and 25 - 380's ). Thank goodness Bob had some of his own ammo from prior shoots. Oh yea, you have to pay for targets too. But it was a morning well spent.
If your into guns, Florida is the place to be. You can buy anything. Really.
This is a 50 mm B.R.A. and it can be yours for only $6,100.

This is a wall of assault rifles AK - 47's - Uzi's.

okay time for an afternoon cocktail.

SYS

Slowing down a bit

Well everyone's home safe and sound and enjoying their winter wonderland. LOL
We went to Venice on Tue. 21 Jan and had a great visit with Sid and Gerry at Sharkey's on the pier.
Our timing was perfect. Aprille and  got there about 45 minutes before Sid and Gerry so we had a table already reserved when they arrived.  We were able to take a nice walk on the pier and enjoyed the sunshine(although it was a little nippy). I got to eat some Great Lakes perch. Yummy!!! That's as close to home as I have been for months. Good thing  we all decided to take cars instead of motorcycles as it just poured buckets during our lunch. Good thing we had a covered table on the patio

Well we have come to a decision on our gypsy ways. Considering the winter they have had up in our neck of the woods, we don't want to ever see another snow flake.So!!!! we are looking for a 5-6 month furnished rental down here for next year and we are putting our lake property up for sale(as of this writing, the process has started) and we will be looking for something very comfortable in the southwest Ontario corridor that will suit our nomadic  lifestyle. We were up in Punta Gorda the other day to "explore" the possibilities of living up there and we stopped for a few minutes to do a little deep sea fishing. The bait must have been fresh.

Punta Gorda is very nice. I could see us living there.
Next week we are going up to Gainesville to look at some properties with our friends Bob and Janice. They will likely buy a place there. It is actually unreal what you can get for $200,000.Places in Ontario of comparable styles and location would be $500,000 easily. It's perhaps a little too far north(near Jacksonville) and the Florida north border) and it is cooler that far north,but it's all up for consideration. I don't think it has ever  been 35 below and I don't believe there is any snow removal equipment in their Quonset huts.
Good news on the home front. Ulla and Kevin are coming down next month. Patience pays off. Ulla was able to find a non stop  flight from Windsor to Fort Myers for $372(for both of them). Nice!!!

Jan 2014

Well John and Crystal are home safely, one day earlier than expected.(what was that Tom Hanks movie where he was stuck in the airport forever?)
The boys went to another Florida Everblades hockey game on Fri. 10th. Jan. This time they were playing South Carolina Stingrays. I don't think this team knows how to win. It was just a good night out. They play uninspired hockey. I don't think there are any future NHLers here. But  the Mascot,Sharkie, is entertaining and they do have cheerleaders.

We just got another pleasant surprise. Russ and Brenda (Stoney Creek) got tired of winter and they came down (for a lighting  visit ) two days on their way to Lakeland and Busch garders on Wed/Thurs.
The first day(Monday) was a rest day(they drove down) it's far.They arrived around 7:00 pm. Good thing I got the BBQ going and dinner ready before hand.We spent Tuesday at Sannibel and Captiva driving around the islands sightseeing. The got to see the wealth on Captiva . We ejnoyed a great lunch at the Sannibel cafe and then went to see Periwinkle park. It was cold that day. It went down to 39 at night.
That evening we were treated to supper at Pincers on the beach. Now our new favorite. Great view and great food great atmosphere(unique).

Early to bed late to rise.Perfect.! Away they go at 9:00AM.
Our new gym(old gym with a face lift and new owners) is almost back to normal. It's nice.
We are back to a regular workout routine( I still enjoy Yoga. It's good for me) and of course weights. The new year found me only 2 1/2 lbs heavier. That is already gone and already I'm back.
Yesterday was the AFC and NFC championships. The clubhouse was opened for the special event and we spent the first game with friends and neighbours cheering for our respective teams. Both the Patriots and 49ers lost. Oh well.  I was drinking hot chocolate(no really) as my gout is acting up(go figure,what causes this?)
We only stayed for the first game and went back to our place for dinner and the second game.

Merry Christmas and Happy new year

Okay I've been tardy. But it's been very busy here too.
Yes we did have a Christmas tree. Thanks Krista. Yes those are bananas. They grow here on the property. Sweet!

Christmas eve was spent here at our place with our friends Bob and Janice. Lovely.
They stayed until it was 1230 and of course, it's Christmas day so we had to open the stocking stuffers. Frank won the guessing game. Aprille tried to cheat.
It's Christmas day, I went swimming. Just because.The remainder of the day was held at our neighbours Ken and Krtista. What a feast!! All the trimmings and then some with a nice "doggie bag" for lunch and dinner the next day.
We received a nice surprise on Tuesday.  We got a call from John and Crystal. They we're coming down for 8 days and would be here for new years eve. They arrived on the 30th (scheduled for 1100 pm but they were delayed till 1140 due to bumpy air conditions that forced the plane to fly lower and therefore slower.
On Tuesday we had to stock up for new years so we went over to Total Wines(again) and went on a rampage. John and Crystal were very impressed to say the least. I think we spent over $300 between the two couples. Somebody here has a problem. then it was over to Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch. Nice!!

New years eve was celebrated at our place with Bob, Janice, John and Crystal.  HAPPY 2014.
I think it was 230 am when we went to bed. It's new years day. I went swimming. Just because. Does that qualify for membership to the polar bears club? LOL.
Thursday we went over to Pauline and Jerry's(Crystal's boss and surrogate parents) over at Cypress Lakes.
We visited with them at there home for about an hour and then they treated us o a fabulous lunch at the Cypress Lakes Golf club. What a treat that was.

Thursday night Crystal and Aprille pulled an all nighter. Really!!! Crystal went to bed when the sun came up and Aprille stayed up!!! All day!!
Friday morning John and I went over to Lighthouse beach on Sannibel and had a good,long,very cool walk for an hour. Okay, this is ridiculous. It was only 45 degrees. (39 degrees tonight.)Really!!!
It's off  to the flea Master flea market Friday afternoon. This really is a great place to get lost in your thoughts. We were there for about 3 hours. If you can imagine it it is probably there.
Since we were going to the dog races tat evening we had to eat something before hand. To avoid back tracking we went to Pincers in Bonita Beach. Super food. Good value. We had to sit on the patio(which was covered) (thank God) if we didn't want to wait 45 minutes. We didn't. They actually brought out propane heaters for the patio.
Then it's off to to the dog track. I bet number 6 to win (I bet number every race. Saved a lot a time running back and forth) John bet number 8,Crystal bet number 2 and Aprille bet number 5.
So here are the race results(sounds like a race commentator)
John won 3 aces, Frank won 3 races, Aprille won  2 races and poor Crystal got skunked(very close a few times but no cigar). So the net result was Frank and Apriile netted a $12 profit  and John and Crystal were down a couple of dollars. But here's the nice thing. It was $1 Friday and beer, hot dogs, pop and pop corn was only one dollar!!!!

Sat it rained pretty much the whole day. So, we went shopping at the Tanger outlet mall. I think we went into every store. It was a planned even so the rain really didn't matter anyway.
Sunday we went to Sannibel and Captiva. We even found a parking spot at Turner beach( really that is amazing) and we spent a few hours sunning a shelling. How about this floating BBQ and ice cream vendor? What a great idea.

Sunday night we had a great/noisy(but fun) dinner experience at the Parrot Key. We were supposed to hear Gatlin that evening but the Packers were playing and that restaurant is Lambeau Field South. It as packed as th patrons/fans saw their beloved Packers lose to San Fran. Gatlin was pre-empted.

After dinner we went on the pirate cruise which was a one hour fun cruise into San Carlos bay with entertainment and a local history lesson supplied by the scurvy crew.

Monday we went back to Captiva to the Jungle Land art gallery(it was closed on Sunday ad it as a place that John really anted to visit as there was a personal connection with John's "Parrot Head" memorabilia and the owner of the gallery. Here had designed ( 20 years ago) the T shirt that John was wearing.
What a neat place. John bought two more magnificent T shirts and Aprille and I came away with a one of a kind work of art too.

On the way home we stopped for a great lunch at the Sannibel cafe. This was followed by a trip to Periwinkle Park to see the parrots. After we got home we took a trip with Bob and Janice ( it was time to clip their parrots toe nails,and, knowing that John and Crystal are animal lovers they asked us along)to the greatest pet store you'll ever see. It was almost like going to a mini zoo.
The rest of the time we spent by the pool  swimming,sunning and/or playing Cornhole (I'm not making this up, that's what they call it) or bean bag toss,or as John prefers, holey board, because he just couldn't bring himself to say cornhole. We had a few challenge matches and we held up well considering we are amateurs at the game. Aprille needs to practice throwing the entire(and straight) 27 feet. can you say keep it on land?
Tuesday was travel day for John and Crystal. There was an incredible winter storm that engulfed Ontario too and John and Crystal were stuck at JFK in New York till Wed night(they got lucky, if you can call it that after 2 days at an airport) they were scheduled to be there till Thurs!!

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