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North America » United States » Florida » Kissimmee
January 23rd 2022
Published: January 23rd 2022
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I’m sure you all have been wondering about this…whether we were dead or alive! Obviously, we are the latter. I checked and the last blog I wrote was on December 19th. OMG…Nooooo. Nothing like taking a break from blogging. Call it what you may….procrastination, dithering, shilly-shallying, dilly-dallying, hawing, laziness, forgetfulness……bunch them altogether and it culminates into my one pathetic alibi. I’m sure none of you blubbered your eyes out missing our blog…..it gave you lots of time to refresh yourselves for another round of my chit-chat…..chatter. And lots of it this time so prepare yourselves. Yawn, Moan, Groan….I can hear this coming from you! Cut it out!

Let’s begin. You have to get back in your old time machine again and set it for before Christmas. Got it? OK. Whoa…..we are really going back in time, aren’t we? Push it back, push it back…way back! (An old cheerleader call which I was not one…loud but not agile enough).

Our park sponsored a festive Christmas party for us “long-termers.” They provided the main course and drinks. The rest of us brought a dish to pass. Turned out even more scrumptious and bountiful than the “trough” (Golden Corral). A fun time was had by all with much joy and laughter..Ho-Ho-Ho.

A unique RV rig showed up in our park. It was called The Rusty Bus and was like Uncle Eddie’s RV from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. They did a You-Tube video on it while it was parked here at Tropical Palms. It was a WRAP that they applied to the outside of the RV to make it look like that. Quite a conversation piece! And their “sh__er” wasn’t even full! Or, if it was, they didn’t announce it.

A large group of us gathered together on our brightly decorated golf carts and drove around the park as a Christmas parade. Some carts were decorated to the hilt. They were really awesome. We were like Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree….on the sparse side. Two ladies dressed up as reindeer. They hitched themselves to the lead golf cart and walked the entire way throughout the park, guiding all the golf carts. Go Dancer - Go Prancer! They were unbelievable and amazing. I would have been a dead deer on the first lap down one row of RV’s. We witnessed a true Miracle of Christmas by these Herculean ladies.

We love our family gatherings so much…..we miss them terribly being here in Florida away from our dear family. Our children continued our tradition by getting together for a post Christmas dinner at a nice restaurant. That made us so very happy even though we couldn’t be there with them. Wanting to still be a part of this tradition, Cory called the restaurant and surprised them by picking up the tab. We couldn’t believe the all extra drinks and many to-go-dinners that they got!!! Just kidding but it would have been okay….kind of. We love our family! We’ve included some pictures of all our grandchildren (9) and great-grandchildren (2). We sure miss them all! Sniffle, Sniffle.

Ahhhhhh, life in our RV…..such sweet quiet and relaxation…….BANG!!! What the h_ll was that ??? Just a typical evening in our cozy, mobile abode. We had been running our motor and generator for awhile and then shut it down. We do this on a monthly basis to help move some of the diesel fluids around in it and keep it running best we can until the time comes to put it back on the road. Cory thought it was a backfire sound. I wasn’t that sure and fretted. The next morning, Cory looked around for another possible cause of the Big Bang! He found it! One of our house batteries blew up……exploded…..BANG!!! Jeepers! Blew the cover of the battery right off! OMG! Never fear…..our friends are here! Yep! Dave and Art swung right into action. They removed our old batteries. Art got his truck and the three of them took them to a battery place that Art frequents. Cory got four new batteries. They even gave him money for the other ones including the broken one! Art and Dave cleaned out our battery compartment as well as the cables that attach to each battery. Carefully and methodically, Dave and Art replaced each end of each cable to its correct position. Voilá. Turned on the power and everything worked! We were back in business. We are so appreciative for these fine friends. They are the best! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Our grateful ”thank you’s” never seem like enough.

Fortunately these terrific friends agreed to let us take them out to dinner. A meager token trying to offer a partial indebtedness to them. Art and Donna, Dave and Linda, and Cory and I met together at The Town Tavern in Celebration. It was a fun time. Cory and Dave ordered their meatloaf stacker. It’s mighty tasty and mighty big! We were so glad to be able to spend some time together with these wonderful friends. Eat up, guys! “There are good ships and wood ships but the best ship is Friendship!”

Our days were made special when our daughter, Kim, and our son-in-law, Jim, came for a visit. They stayed in our area (Celebration Hotel & Margaritaville Hotel) for a few days & spent a few more days in the Tampa area being with their daughter, Haley. After that, they traveled to Marco Island where they have rented a gorgeous condo until mid April. That’s what retirement can do for you! Congratulations to you both! And know we are planning on a visit with you! We are packing! While they were with us, we traipsed around Disney Springs, ate at Sickies Garage and topped it off at The Celebration Town Tavern….more stackers! It was marvelous being with them again. We hadn’t seen them since September, you know. We have missed you more than the miles between us.

Morning coffee at Guenter’s Canopy became mobile one day. Thoughtful Joe suggested we all take our coffee and chairs and set up outside our dear friend, Ray’s cottage. Ray has been ill and receiving treatments so he has not been able to join our coffee group. We have missed him. It was a warm, sunny day with Ray being the bright spot in our morning coffee gathering. ??For he’s a jolly good fellow!??

Cory finished up his last physical therapy visit for his knee…#36. It was like he was going to the Cheer’s bar….everyone knew his name! He and his new knee are good. He still does some exercising on his own which is important and beneficial. He finally gave up his ice packs….I was sure he was addicted to them! Guess not cause he didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms that I noted. You should see how much room I have in my freezer now….we had 8 big ice packs in it! I can put a side of beef in it now. I went for my annual visit to our bone doctor regarding my kind of new knees. Everything was good which I could tell anyway. I’m sharing my latest X-rays with you in case you want to see the real me, inside and out.

When I worked at the hospital, when something bad happened….we always said “these things came in *threes*”…. And most usually, they did! Well, right within our own family….the “bad three” happened. Rats! First, our dear son, Cory, tested positive for Covid. He became very, very sick and had to be hospitalized. He had the two vaccines. We felt horrible that we were so far away when he was so terribly ill. Fortunately, his girlfriend, Penny, was there to care for him but she wasn’t allowed in the hospital to see him….he was all alone. Noooooo. Cory was in the Wellsville hospital where I worked. I’ve been out of there for so long, I figured I didn’t know anyone who worked there now….either nurses or doctors. But, one positive thing did happen….when I called the hospital on several occasions, each time I spoke with one of my previous co-workers, who helped us out so much. Fortunately, Cory rallied around and was discharged after 5 days. He was still sick and needing oxygen and medications but each day he is improving bit by bit. It was a very scary scenario. Our advice: get your vaccinations and the booster! At around the same time Cory got sick, Cory’s sister, Gwen, was hit by a car while crossing at a crosswalk. She has a badly fractured leg and other bumps and bruises. She is resting at home with a long leg brace on her affected leg. Surgery is in her future. She has been a trooper through this even though her mobility has been very compromised. We pray for her healthy recovery. A few weeks following these two devastating occurrences, the third bad event happened. Our granddaughter, Sara, sent a text stating she had just been in a car accident. While in Buffalo, she was stopped at a yield for traffic when a truck plowed into her from behind. She ended up with whiplash and a totaled car. She is doing okay but is saddened to be without a car. Yikes…..the dreaded “three’s”. All has been good so far…..praying it stays that way. We have purchased an Anti-Curse spray that we use on everyone on a daily basis now. To reach our family from afar, we just aim it northerly. It squirts out far and flies in tiny molecules up to all of them. If you need to borrow any of it, just let us know.

We haven’t explored the region like we used to. We were always on the go. Well, you know that….you always came with us. Lulu has reconciled herself to becoming a shut-in. Why we have “Sheltered in Place” so much, who knows! Maybe cause we’ve been there, done that. Maybe just trying to avoid Covid. Maybe because I got used to cooking in so don’t go to restaurants so often. Maybe we have had other things to do….ei: PT visits, etc. Maybe we are just lazy and like hanging around our RV. Whatever the reason….it all passed the other day and the fearless foursome of Sam, Sandy, Cory & me, boarded our black buggy again and headed to downtown Orlando. Our destination: Beefy King’s restaurant. We have been here before a few years ago. They sell some extra yummy roast beef sandwiches plus other tasty delights. We were not disappointed. Why did we wait so long to return? Still ready and raring to go….Driver Cory headed in the direction of Melbourne. When they say that Florida is so overly populated, they missed the stretch between St.Cloud and Melbourne. Nothing but brush and trees to look at…..bor-ing! We made a couple stops in Melbourne, ending up at “Mustard’s Last Stand”….a hot dog joint where Sandy decided she likes Chicago style hot dogs. The rest of us just ate a simple old hot dog. It was a full day of ramming around. Sam was ready to get home wondering why the terrible traffic didn’t move any faster…..but we’re in Florida, Sam. “You aren’t in Kansas anymore” so said Dorothy to Toto.

Cory made an appointment at Costco for his annual hearing aid appointment with Frank. His one ear had been bothering him and his hearing aides have been whistling more than ever. He was ready to go back to his old ones. Frank checked his ears and noted something in the one that has been bothering him. He got out his old tool box and pulled the morsel out…..an old piece of cotton! Cory insists it’s not a Q-tip but rather a cotton ball used after he put hydrogen peroxide in his ear. No matter…..he felt much better. Frank adjusted his hearing aides and now Cory is good to go…..huh? You heard me…..GOOD TO GO! As part of our morning coffee conversation, Cory related this exciting circumstance to our friends present. Ho-hum….yawn. Well, it obviously made an impression on a couple of the guys. The next morning, Joe and Jim showed up with big cotton balls sticking way out of their ears. I thought they had both had terrible earaches or something. Good one, guys! We can hear you now!
?? Oh, when them cotton balls get rotten

You can't pick very much cotton

In them old cotton fields back home.

It was down in Louisiana

Just about a mile from Texarkana,

And them old cotton fields back home.??

FYI: This blog took me two days to write…..I knew it would. How else could I cover such a extended period of time in just a few meager words…..tell me how! Plus, as you all know, I am never ever able to express myself in just a few meager words anyway…..no matter what the situation. If it has taken you two days to read this saga…..understandable! You can only do what you can do. Plus, if you can drag it out, the enjoyment lasts even longer. No…..you don’t have to choke and gag over that remark….just trying to bring a smile upon your face. Hope when you choked and gagged, you didn’t spit or spew all over your face. Advice: Just Keep Smiling. ? and check out the 16 pictures!


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24th January 2022

Blog
Keep up the good news!!
25th January 2022
Keep smiling thru spitting and spewing

So good to hear from you!
Dear Best Friends, It was so warming to hear about your life - mostly joys and some challenges, helped by the kindness and support of your dear friends there. Even picture of smashed car, poor Gwen with her reconstructed leg, and young Cory in the hospital, and your great-grandson crying at meeting Santa Claus! You DO keep in touch with your beautiful love.... Oh, please if you are nearby next Summer, could you call again? I am crazy enough to still be working, because I love those children.... However, if school is still on, and you come by, after 1 it would be possible to take the rest of the day! I love you so! Forever, Sue
26th January 2022
Keep smiling thru spitting and spewing

So Good!
Dearest Sue, it’s so good to hear from you. Absolutely, we shall get together with you this summer. You are so wonderful to be around! Have a good winter and stay in touch. Love and hugs! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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