A Close to 2014

The year has been tumultuous for us. We had tragic losses in the beginning of the year and we will forever miss Gerry and Jim. After a such down start to 2014, we were home working on our ‘hobby house’ and had many lows and highs with the reno but we were successful in the end which was a tremendous high for us. We made it safely to our winter rest and now we are in full swing again. It has been a whirlwind time here leading up to Christmas and New Year. This time of year we have our favourite things we like to do. We try to drive by one of the more extravagant Christmas displays we have seen. Unfortunately we do not have any pictures that show the size and beauty of the light display, complete with music so I have included a link that will take you to a news article on the owner of the mansion. As many of you know, we exchange our Christmas cards to each other in the store while they are still warm from sitting on the shelf and this year is no different!

We always have difficulty deciding what we want to do for each other for Christmas and this year is even more difficult. We have had a few fun ideas – Barb’s of course. Two years ago, we treated each other with a lunch, we wrote our own menu and the other had to prepare it. It was a terrific gift and we had fun doing it. Last year we decided that we each separately had 20 minutes and a $30.00 budget to load up gifts to each other. That was fun too but once you do something like that, the second time around isn’t as much fun so this year we decided not to do anything, my idea – yes, that sounds grinchy but what can we do when we have everything we want or need.

One day when Barb was out shopping with some ladies to decorate our Christmas dinner table at the club house, she saw a few decorating items that we could use on the house back home or even on the empty wall in our bedroom in the trailer. So, we went back and agreed on the item for the house but couldn’t find anything suitable for the bedroom wall. We came up with another idea that will work great – we want a beach type picture that we take and have it mounted for the bedroom wall. Now, this will get us out and about to find that ‘perfect’ shot that we both are involved with finding. More to come I’m sure.

Our New Year’s celebration was pretty simple – a progressive appetizer party. We started here, then over to Tom and Cheryl’s and then Bill and Ann’s. Good friends and good fun, what can anyone ask for? Barb & I watched the ball drop in New York – it’s just not the same without Dick Clark or am I just showing my age. Then we watched the Pelican drop in Pensacola (our time zone). Here’s a link to last years event. New Years day is sort becoming a tradition for us – we do nothing. We go to the club house to watch the ‘polar bear’ dip – when asked why we were not in, we just said the water was too warm for Canadians! After, we wandered around the campground to see who was out and stopped by to chat with a few folks. A nice relaxing day and then off to the club house again for dinner. Again, is having this much fun legal?

Our close friends Bill and Ann are heading off to Texas for a few months and we’ll probably be gone back north by the time they return so we got a bunch of us together and had lunch at McGuires in Pensacola. We did a late lunch so the ladies could stop off and do some fabric shopping – some call it a FART (Fabric Acquisition Road Trip). Going late means McGuires didn’t have any problem seating 14 of us at one table. Good food, good friends and great beer – what a combination.

So much to do and so little time before we head north so stay tuned for more good times. We hope all is good wherever you are.

Let the Good Times Roll

Bill & I helped Tom & Cheryl build their 8x16 deck along side their new motorhome. To celebrate having a new deck, they had Bill, Ann, Dick, Marcia, Barb & I over for happy hour on the deck. It was a perfect day, blue skies, no breeze and warm sunshine to help make the day. After, we all went over to the ice cream social at the club house. It is usually busy and noisy until Gary rings the bell and starts his announcements for the week, then the ice cream is served and then all is quiet!

Monday was a quiet day for us – we’re still trying to calm down from our summer of fun. Barb spends any spare time working on a sewing project and I am trying to find a water leak that is coming from the fresh water tank.

Tuesday is the quilt guilds Christmas party and sometimes the men loiter around the club house to scam a morsel from the ladies goody trays and today is no different. By the time I got there, the trays had been passed around but Marcia saved a little something for me from her tray – it pays to have friends in high places. Later, Bill & Ann and Barb & I had lunch on the patio at Big Daddy’s – have I said this before? Life is good, this can’t be legal.

Wednesday was a big outing – we had tickets to the Christmas show at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Ms. We were on the bus by 11:15 and drove through to the Beau Rivage for the lunch buffet – 50% 0ff on Wednesdays so of course, you can’t miss that. We spent some time looking around the resort and the shops. The Christmas decorations were quite beautiful and then there was the casino. After all said and done, we left less than 20 bucks behind to visit next time we go. The Christmas show – Santa and Friends on Ice – was in the main theatre and was a fun time. I’ve seen bigger frozen puddles back home than the size of the ice rink they used to perform on but they did it. The stage was covered with fake ice that was used for introductions etc but the throws, twirls and serious skating were carried out on the ‘real’ ice on the main floor. The high light was at the end, the cast brought 4 sleighs out on the ice and took kids from the audience to ride them around the ‘rink’ with Santa. There were a few kids that did not look impressed and they sure did not want to be there – it was funny to see the looks on their faces. The bus ride back was a little quieter than the ride down and we arrived home around 11PM.

The rest of our week was more of the same – club house activities, happy hours somewhere and laughs and fun with our friends here. To top the week off, Dick & Mary had a few of us in for a Christmas party on their site. It was a blast, lots if not too much to eat and sweet treats and a few beverages. We all had a great time but we always do here at the Plantation.

That is all for our week of adventures here, we hope all is good wherever you are and Happy New Year!