All I Want for Christmas is to Perculate

Hope everyone had a good Christmas.  Unfortunately, my sister's husband, Gary, (yes, there are two of us who married Gary's) had a bad fall on the 21st and broke his neck. He fell on cement as he was tying something on to his truck when the strap broke.  He ended up in the hospital but was discharged on Christmas Day and will make a full recovery in time, we are all very thankful it was not worse and it could have been.  It just makes you realize how quickly life can change.  So get well Gary.

We had a very nice Christmas with Mary and Pat.  As you can see, we had very nice paper plate holders which makes it very easy to eat and walk around.  I don't know how many times I walked back into the kitchen with my holder but it was a lot.  There was a lots of awesome food  and I really wanted to test the holder to see how well it worked.  I would recommend having these in the house at all times.

Mary and Pat love to shop at all kinds of places and I had them on a mission to get me an electric coffee perculator.  My mother-in-law swears they make the best coffee.  Well they came thru and surprised us at Christmas with one and my mother-in-law was right.  She is always right.

The kitchen is a work in progress, we are on our third week without a kitchen.  Its getting a little old but Gary is working away everyday.  It just is a big project and hoping it is the biggest one we will have to tackle here.  The blue bathroom will be a piece of cake after this.    Happy 2012.  Margaret

Busy As A Bee

Things have been crazy here in SW Florida.  First of all, I hate to rub it in but yesterday (Dec. 20) we had the nicest weather in the whole nation. They even said so on the news. Probably today too.  80s everyday, sunny, no wind.  There, I said it. Deal with it.

I am helping out at an RV Resort, at The Palms Basketball Classic and at my friend, Adele's, in Naples.  She manages seven million dollars homes in the Naples area and since they are used strictly as vacation homes, she is super busy getting them ready for the holidays.  I spent two days working on $4 million, $10 million and $36 million dollar homes.  I vacuumed more in one day than I do in a year.  I wish I knew where they find their stuff on Craigslist.

And so Gary has been working steadily on our house, the kitchen is coming along.  It is a lot of work, the cabinets were all delivered on Sunday and he is slowly putting them all together but it takes a lot of time.  Tiling in the kitchen and living room are done.  He had a nice little work station for cutting tile set up in one of our bedrooms.

Kitchen Cabinets Stacked in Garage

So we continue under construction here, I am busier than I want to be, when am I supposed to read, play on my Ipad, walk dogs, and then there's Ellen, must be in my spot each day when she starts dancing.  And I have to start Christmas shopping pretty soon too.  Oh look at the time, I gotta a blog to finish up.  Margaret

Construction is for the Birds

I just have to take a turn and write the blog this time, we are in the middle of construction and I'm a wreck.  I don't know if I'm coming or going people.  Sure, DeDe can relax, she just hides under the bed and pretends none of this bothers her.  She's just a cool breeze that one.

First they tear everything out, where is my chair, where is my blanket, then they get the broom out, I hate that thing, and then today there was all this noise with the air compressor thingie and just when I thought things would settle down, out came the vacuum!!!  WTF?

At least we were able to get rid of some of the junk that was torn out.  You put anything in the Free section on Craigslist and you'll get about 10 calls.  Yes, all the old kitchen cabinets went to a nice couple from Canada.  Aye.  Another guy took the mirrors from the dining room and all the old disgusting carpet.  Dada said the guy was a little weird that took the carpet, ya think?

When will this hell end?  I didn't sign up for this.  I want to see my contract with these people.  All I want is a nice place to lay without any compressors running or hammers pounding.  Maybe you should check out the Pets section on Craigslist.  I may have to walk.  Or run.  Mojo

The Kitchen - It Be Gone

On Tuesday, Dec. 6th, after all the fun on the boat, we knew the day had come to start a job we both were dreading.  The Kitchen From Hell!!!  We unloaded all the cupboards, took out all the appliances, pulled out all the cabinets and made a HUGE mess.  When we bought the house we knew the kitchen had to go and Gary is not in love with remodeling, he likes new construction, so I had to stay positive as we pulled everything out which is not my strong suit. But we got it done and now the new construction begins.

It was pretty nasty when we pulled out the cabinets.  Lots of spills and pills.  Maybe there was so much spilling cause the previous owners were taking so many pills.  Mr. Clean would have cried. I wanted  to cry.

Our kitchen is now set up in our garage.  This is very handy when you drive into the garage and are hungry.  We are living on sandwiches and paper plates.  Stay tuned....Margaret

PS-The built in can opener - It Be Gone.

Cape Coral Canals

Yesterday we spent the day exploring the canals with Mary and Pat.  We wanted to see the city from another point of view and so Mary and Pat brought their boat down and we took off.  The weather was perfect and except for Pat's excessive speeding, we had no complaints.  (Mary complained, I think she was worried about her hair.)  Pat found me a straw hat at a thrift store.  I felt like I should go stand in a rice paddy.  Came in handy on the boat tho.

Cape Coral has over 400 miles of navigable waterways and has the most canals in the world.  We will be spending lots of time in the boat if we want to get thru all of them.

Gary needed a day off from tiling, the sidewalks and outside patio are all done.  He is picking up the tile now for the inside of the house, we will be tearing the kitchen out this week and making a temporary kitchen in the garage.  Of course, that will be bloggable.  I wonder if we'll have any disagreements during this remodel?  If he would only agree with me on everything, things would go so much smoother.  Duh.  Margaret

A Couple of Joes

We had some sad news yesterday, our cousin Joey was pretty sick and since he wasn't going to get better he went to be with his Grandpa Joe.  I guess Grandpa Joe was waiting for him so now he's not sick anymore and they are just hanging out and waiting around for the rest of us to show up.

Some humans would think it was silly for anyone to be so sad about one of us going away but I know its not silly at all.  We do everything together, our people even pick up our poop and throw it away for us.  They don't even do that for other people.  And I know that sometimes DeDe can get on my nerves with all her chasing around and barking for no reason and getting treats that should go to me but I know I would miss her if she were gone.

I hate that Joey got sick and died cause his mom and dad are so sad and they're so sad cause Joey made them so happy when he was here.  I guess that's our job, to make our people happy, to give them someone to pet and cuddle and give sloppy kisses and to make them laugh at all the silly stuff we do and keep them company when they're lonely.  That's our job and I wouldn't want to do anything else.


All this is making me sad.  I think I'll go find a lap to cuddle on.  Mojo

Not the least thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives....John Galsworthy

That's a lot of Sand

Well Thanksgiving is behind us and we had a very nice holiday with Cousin Mary and Pat, Spikey, Joey, Mojo and DeDe.  Weather was great, dinner from Publix (Coborns-like store) was very good and easy; fruity Sangria from Mary, and lots of pie, Pat made two, a five berry pie and apple, both delich.  We had a Publix pumpkin struessel that we are still working on.  Working on leftovers too.  They get better everyday but I'm getting turkeyed out.  At least Mojo and DeDe are happy, they love leftovers.

On Friday, we headed to Fort Myers Beach which is about 10 miles away.  They had the World Champion Sand Sculpture Competition and it was truly awesome.  Please see my Facebook page for all the photos, took so many, one was better than the next.  And as you can see from the photos, it was very nice out.   Lots of vendors, music, a regular event and something I am glad we took the time to see.  Lots of people from the Netherlands were in the competition.  I didn't even know they had sand there.  As you can see, Gary and Pat found the one sculpture that forgot some clothing. The sculptor must have got tired.

Check out Facebook when you have a chance.  I think I can figure that out later today.  See ya, M.

Don't you love Turkey Day?

Let's eat.  Yesterday there was a 700+ pound woman on Dr. Phil.  This has really got me thinking about serving salad with a side of carrots today. This woman won the Guiness World Record for Heaviest Woman Alive. This is quite an honor. The only place she went on her scooter was the grocery store.  They must love when she comes in.  Anyway, just something to think about when you're overeating today.

We have some before and after pix to post.  Gary started on the front patio last Thursday and finished on Monday.  We had the tiles sitting in the garage so that cut a lot of time.  It was pretty hot out there so he had to wait for shade to work.  I stayed in the shade and  read a book, played on the Ipad and watched Dr. Phil.  Somebody has to keep track of these world records.  Thank you Dr. Phil.

Enjoy and have a great holiday...Margaret

DeDe's Back...

Why can't I write the blog anymore?  Today I get a turn to write and I have so much to say.  First of all, what is  up with Mojo.  Everyone who sees her can't get over the "spots" she has.  WTF? They're spots.  Of course, it goes right to Mojo's head, she's like the Kim Kardasian of dogs, she gets all the attention for doing absolutely nothing.

So Cousin Mary and her dogs came over yesterday for the day.  While Mary, Pat and their friend, Annette, went house hunting in Cape Coral, Spikey and Joey stayed here.  It was so hot we all just laid in the shade.  And then they came back and had some sloppy joes and beans that Mary brought.  Not a good combination for mama.  Dada ended up on the couch all nite, Mojo under the covers and me almost falling off the end of the bed.  We knew it was going to be bad when we saw those beans come out and mama had seconds.  But there was nothing we could do to stop her.  The only one who slept good was mama.  Damn those beans.

Dada is done with the trees in back.  For now. The shade is so nice esp since we have a heat wave going on down here.  Its been hot hot hot since we got here, 80s every day.  MN is cold we hear, teens as highs.  Maybe send a little down here?  Maybe not.

Ok, I feel better now, back to laying around and doing nothing.  Its what I live for.....happy tails, DeDe.

PS-Got my first haircut yesterday but still no spots.

Everybody in the Hot Tub!!!

Well after lots of discussion and searches on Craigslist we bit the bullet and got ourselves a hot tub.  This is a first for us.  I wanted it for sore muscles and relaxing, Gary has other ideas.  Dave and Joyce were selling it due to "health" reasons.  Not sure what that means, they looked pretty healthy to me.  He's a former cop in Illinois so he must be honest, right?  She was from Rhode Island and she is a first for me.  I never really met anyone from RI before and it is like speaking a whole different language.  Really had to pay attention and I'm still not sure what she said.  I think she was nice.

Gary and some guys were able to get it in the trailer at Dave's house, Gary got it home okay and then we waited for some Mexican guys who were delivering trees to us to come over and help.  (Of course we would give them a tip to help us get it off the trailer and on to the lanai. They don't do anything without a tip.)  But apparently we had our days mixed up cause they never showed up.  They said Saturday but not which Saturday. Maybe they'll show up in January, who knows. Does this remind me of another place and time?  Oh yes.  I think I mentioned Gary has the patience of a pigeon and that is being kind, more like a flea.  So after waiting and waiting, he decided he was going to take the hot tub off the trailer himself!!!  I absolutely refused to get involved and gave him the cell phone to call an ambulance if he tried it himself.  Long story short, some neighbors finally helped us and it went into the lanai slick as anything.  And we are loving it.  We tried it out already, how did we live without this thing?

PS - Please sign up for updates on the blog now.  Thanks Jill.  If anyone else needs help with computer stuff, I know somebody....

PSS - Go Vikes.

Stop and Smell the Shorts

Its been a great first week here, we have been busy re-acclimating to the area and the climate.  Its hard to remember everything and since the car we have is small and was filled to the brim, Gary decided he didn't need to bring many clothes from MN.  He thought he had plenty once we got here.  Of course, he was wrong and as you can see, his best pair of shorts would give a homeless guy nightmares.  Luckily we are not invited to many places where he needs to dress up and if he wears these shorts in public, we definitely won't be invited anywhere. But just in case we actually have to go out in public, Gary asked me to get him some shorts.  Now being cheap and loving thrift shops, I was on it.  The problem is that Gary is the same size as almost everyone else that shops at thrift shops.  I was able to get him 5 pairs of shorts after much searching but in order to make this easier on me next time, I asked him to either lose weight at get to a size 30 or gain some and get to a 40.  He seems to be eating more now.

Gary has already had 3 new trees planted in the back yard.  Our next door neighbor thinks Gary is nuts to be adding trees. He should see our place in MN! Apparently Sal doesn't like trees. Who hates trees?  His name is Sal but we call him Salamander for a variety of reasons.  So just to piss him off, Gary is having 3 more trees put in the back yard today.  I think he might even wear some new shorts too.

One more thing, my friend Jill is going to add a doodad to this blog so you can get automatic updates.  I tried doing it myself but after hours of stomping around the house, slamming the computer around and swearing in complete sentences, it just wouldn't work so Jill will take care of it for me.  Now why didn't I think of that first?   Keeping it real....Margaret

Here We Are and There You Are

It was a hectic Friday when we left Minnesota.  Gary has the patience of a pigeon and so when he says go, we go.  We made it to Champaign, IL the first nite.  We found a LaQuinta.  They take dogs and so we asked for the cheapest room they had and we got 2 double beds for the nite.  We are used to a big king sized bed so a double is like a cot and when you throw 2 dogs in that must sleep right smack in the middle of the bed, it leaves us with a corner to hang off of.  No worries, we were up before dark and out of the hotel before 5 am.  No free breakfast for us.  They didn't even have coffee made.  There must be coffee or we ain't going nowhere.  So Gary found a crappy little c-store by the hotel, we woke up the clerk and asked him to put the coffee machine on.  This took him a while to figure out after he pulled his pants up.  He was about 20 and of course being a chick magnet, he had to wear his pants down to his knees.  What is up with that anyway?  Could we have a new president that passes a law that you must wear your pants up high and no underwear can show?  Maybe Michelle Bachman can use that for her campaign cause that is the only way she could possibly win.  At least we don't have to hear about her sorry ass down here much.  We really miss her.  NOT.

So anyway, it was really dark, we got coffee and headed south.  We got a little turned around when we left Mr. Underpants and headed south on a highway instead of the freeway but we were able to find the freeway again after about one hour.  Gary says its my fault, I am pretty sure its his.  I was going to ask Mr. Underpants for directions but when I saw he had such a tough time with the coffee maker I figured he couldn't find his car out in the lot much less a freeway.  

We found another LaQuinta in Macon, Georgia after about 12 hours on the road.  We all fell out of the car and had a wonderful supper of chicken wings and beer in bed.   We were going to go out but none of us could get back in that car.  Then we were off again Sunday morning for another 8 hours on the road to Cape Coral.  We made it about 1 pm and all is well so far.  There were a few bugs on the floor, we forgot to leave the frig open so that was disgusting but nothing a little soap and vinegar couldn't fix.

We're back, its in the 80s everyday and all's green.  Mojo and DeDe want a break from writing this year, not enough dog treats last year, they are being babies.  That just lets me write crap about them.  We'll see who gets the last dog biscuit!  Hope you enjoy our time together again, keep in touch and comments are always welcome, esp. nice ones.  Keeping it real....Margaret