Here at last!

Due to tons of snow and ice in Pennsylvania it took Lorne and Donalda an extra day to get here but it didn't take them long to shed their winter clothes in favour of shorts and flip flops and join us for supper.

Glad you made it safe and sound guys.

Update on the fire

Yesterday the fire I told you about was on 40 acres. By the time we woke up this morning they were reporting 600 acres were burning and as you can see in these pictures the fire was just outside the gate of the TGO.

Thankfully it seemed to be under contol nonetheless

and the smoke had all but disappeared by the time we returned from breakfast.

Sushi, anyone?

It seems every time I go outside to read a book and enjoy the sunshine I always have a feeling that I am being watched.

The gekko and turtle weren't so bad but this osprey eating his fish dinner overhead was a bit much.

Fire!

This post is hot off the press - literally! Minutes ago they reopened the I95 near our house after this brush fire came dangerously close to the highway. We haven't had rain in a couple of weeks and with temperatures in the mid and high 80's everyday I guess this was bound to happen.

Olivier is doing his bit to keep us safe - he never leaves the house without his rum and coke with plenty of ice!!

Reaching for the stars

We decided to stay close to home and watch the launch of Discovery on it's last mission from the golf course.

Turns out it was a good idea - traffic jams were reported in Titusville and on the I95 up to 5 hours after the launch - we were back home in 2 minutes!

Check out the great photos from the local news channel- click on Channel 13 News.

La Bamba

It was 85 degrees yesterday and that meant way too hot to cook. A couple of phone calls was all it took to get Kathy, Carol, Jan and Nancy to join us at La Bamba - a great Mexican restaurant with the best margaritas in town.
Of course Olivier was too shy to get in the picture with all those women (yeah, right!) but that's his hand holding the Corona.

A sad reality

This sign and many like it are appearing all too often around Florida - a sad reality.

Our Northern friends down South

Yesterday we drove to Kissimmee to visit Zeph, Mary Jane and Philippe. Lorriane, Barry, Madeline and Paul were invited as well so it was a great day all around.

Even though we live so close to each other back home it is always a special day when we can get together down here.

Thank you Zeph, Mary Jane and Philippe for your warm hospitality. Looking forward to getting together again before you head back North.

Happy Birthday Joel

A few posts ago I told you about my knitting hobby and today I will tell you about Olivier's hobby down here. He goes around looking for bulletin boards where he can place cards of our 2 favorite bands. He also goes into electronic stores and changes the home page on every computer for sale to oldcrowns.com ( I'm not sure we are even allowed back into Best Buy anymore!!)

And lately he has taken to leaving these cards on restaurant tables along with the tip.

The man will stop at nothing when it comes to promoting these 2 great bands.

So on this special day I will help him along by linking you to Old Crowns and Sound of Lions.

Hope you like the music as much as we do.

Happy Birthday Bud- we love you. xoxoxox

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Hard to believe we are half way through our vacation already.

Olivier meets Ollie

We were out for a Sunday stroll in our cart and usually the streets are pretty quiet around here but when you run into this kind of traffic guess who has the right of way!

Turns out he didn't want to go across anyway (or maybe my scream scared him) but the neighbours tell us he has been seen before and they have nicknamed him Ollie!

A weekend of firsts

Even though this is our fifth year here and we do eat out an awful lot, there were 2 restaurants that I had never tried and really wanted to.

So last night it was off to Paul's Smokehouse , a really great place located on the Indian River Lagoon right across from the launch pad where Discovery is waiting for it's final liftoff on Feb 24.

Then today at lunch we went to Sonny's BBQ for some fantastic ribs. Were they good you ask - well the last picture should say it all!

P.S. Happy Birthday Soph, Love, D. and O. xoxoxox

Great street party

It was a great turnout for our street party last night- a chance to socialize with our neighbours and meet new friends.

The supper was delicious -but we were smart Monique- we sat next to the dessert table!

Another storm - another movie

When it called for rain all day yesterday we decided to head back to the movies. Three people here recommended The King's Speech - a movie about King George VI overcoming his stuttering. I know - didn't sound like a real winner to me either but it was surprisingly well done and we really did enjoy it.
Well, that was the good news. The bad news- it didn't start to rain until we left the theater!

Good friends

We were happy to have Jim and Isabel, two of our favorite people, drop by for a visit yesterday.
Isabel was celebrating her daughter's 65th birthday- amazing!

Turtle convention

Wow - I haven't seen this many turtles in one place since I opened a box of them last Christmas!

The games people play

We ran into Karen on the Nature Trail ( almost literally, when she stepped in front of our golfcart!) and she challenged us to a day of fun and games. So we played shuffleboard and bocce ball all afternoon, then it was back to our place for Rummikub, Uno and Quiddler ( and liquid refreshments).

It was a great day but sadly Bob and Karen are on their way back north today.

Looking forward to seeing you next year guys!