Good Evening! It's been a long day for us. Because our whale trip was canceled yesterday, we doubled up today, and spent four hours out on the water. We had our favorite captain and naturalist for both trips so we did get up close and personal to several whales. One female spends most of her time with just her tail sticking out of the water and her baby swimming laps around her. The naturalist said she thinks the whale is doing yoga because the position is very unusual behavior for a whale. We sit on a raised seat in the back of the boat, and the whale came close enough we could have reached out and touched her had we been standing on the ledge behind our seat. We saw her on both trips. We just got back from supper at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Yours truly managed to drip salsa down the front of my white shirt. I hope it will come out!

Susan, our local school was canceled today because of blowing snow, wind, and cold today. It was only 63 degrees here this morning and the locals all had long pants and sleeves on this morning. The sun came out and it was nice this afternoon but not hot. I think we are going home to snow and cold after the 12" last week and whatever fell today.

"Gma," I'm so sorry about your ankle! I hope it heals quickly. It would be nice to know if you did something to it or what would make it so sore. I doubt your house is too dirty knowing you. It will be waiting when you are able to to get around. We haven't eaten any fish here except to sample a bite offered one night when a friend ordered a variety dinner. I'll take tuna salad any day!

We are going to play some cards before we head to bed. We've been going to bed really early for all of us, must be the fresh air. Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow. We pack up and leave Wednesday night.

Good morning, ladies! 37 degrees and a flooding watch for today.

I made a really good pot roast with potatoes and carrots in my Instant Pot last night. It took 30 minutes and was so tender. I'm loving this thing.

Ash Wednesday tomorrow so a day of fasting and fish. We have meatless Friday's during Lent but I keep to the old ways and have seafood on Wednesday as well and fast both days. Our fast isn't much - just regular main meal and the other 2 meals added together can't be more than the main meal.

I have a couple loads of laundry and vacuuming for this morning and then a trip to Kroger. Seniors get 10% off today. I skipped the Y this morning because they are adding a new class starting tomorrow at 8 am - YES (Young Energetic Seniors) which has aerobics, step, hand weights and power lifting. Then I'll have Brains and Balance and Yoga.

Faye, We have a lot of doc in the box around here and I go there before ER unless its my breathing. You can get an xray and in and out in no time. You can even go online and let them know you are coming so your name is on the list before you get there. It also has a cheaper copay with my insurance. I hope your ankle/foot heals quickly. They didn't think it could be planter faceitis did they? Glory's came on quickly like that. Have you been doing any knitting? I'm teaching 3 of the ladies in my yoga class to knit yoga socks (very easy since they have no heel or toe). They wanted me to make them but I'm not starting that. I'll teach anyone, though, and I don't charge. They are just knit stitch so a good project for beginners.

Jean, I love fish. I could eat it every day. Unfortunately I'm not the best person at cooking it. It's going to be hard to go from sunshine and warm weather to snow. I thought of you yesterday. I saw a FB post that said 39 days until we change to clocks ahead. Sunset on March 13 is 7:38 pm. Guess I better get my allergy stuff out, I'll be sneezing my head off soon.

Have a wonderful day!

Good Evening! We have spent the evening rounding everything together and packing what we can. It's never as much fun getting ready to leave but I am ready to go home. We had an wonderful whale trip this afternoon. I shared pictures on FB that someone else put on the cruise page; Bob is in one of them taking a picture and I am sitting next to him. It sounds like we are going home to more snow and cold. Our friends leave early in the afternoon tomorrow and we leave at 9:50. Not sure what we will do with the extra time, but know we will be at the airport early because it always seems to take a long time to have our luggage scanned for things we can't bring home, then check our bags, and finally the security lines are really slow. We'd rather be early than cut the time too close.

Susan, I knew that Easter was early this year but didn't realize it was this early. We will be wearing our winter woolies instead of spring fashions I'm afraid. What is your Brains and Balance class? Sounds interesting! It's nice of you to teach your friends to knit. Wish I lived close enough to come too. I wish the powers to be would choose one time, or the other, and leave it alone!

I am thinking a shower and bed are looking pretty good about now. Both Beth and Jason had crying babies on their long flights home. I am amazed at the number of young parents here; many have a toddler and a baby along with all the paraphernalia that goes along with them. I wouldn't think it would be a very relaxing trip for any of them. Hope you all enjoy a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow.

Good morning, ladies! 21 degrees right now looking for a high of 34 today...and it's going to be even colder over the weekend.

Just a quick post today for I have to go to the eye doctor.

Jean, sorry you have to leave for a cold homecoming. I too wish they'd set one time year around. Brains and Balance is a class where we do exercises designed to improve balance and brain puzzles to hopefully help our memory.

Hello to Maggie and Donna.

Have a wonderful day!

Good Evening! We are home! We got up early yesterday, our regular time of 5:30-6. We had leftover waffle mix, eggs, cheese, and milk that the kids left so my friend, who likes to cook, offered to make breakfast. We washed towels, part of the bedding, and hauled out garbage and recyclables before we left the condo at 11. Our friends wanted to be at the airport around noon, so we dropped them off then went sight seeing down a beach road we have never traveled. We ended up at the mall which had several stores closed since our last visit. We did some people watching and headed to the car rental place about 5. We thought we could check in when we got to the airport but the airline, Alaska, didn't open until 7:30. No benches and no shops in the ticketing area so it was a long wait. We did visit with some others who had to turn their cars in earlier than we did. The plane was new and not full so people could move around to get more space. No crying babies on our flight and we made record time, a little over 5 hours to Portland. Switched planes (outside!) and flew a business shuttle to Seattle, then on to Omaha. In Omaha, it was windy and cold, so I was really glad when they rolled up the inside walkway. It started to snow on our way home, and very windy so visibility wasn't all that great. Long two days!

Susan, I think I would enjoy the Brains and Balance class. I know my brain could use some exercise! Hope you had a good eye exam.

"Gma," glad to hear Jack is doing well. Bob and I often share a banana; I read that they help prevent leg cramps. I buy ones that are quite green and wrap the stem end in Cling wrap so they don't ripen quite so fast. We can bring pineapple on the plane but it counts as a "carry-on" so we have a dozen shipped home. Bob gives some at the office and to friends. As far as I know there are certain flowers, black sand, and volcanic rock that they won't let leave the islands. Luggage goes through a scanner for agriculture items before we can check in. Hope your foot is getting better each day.

Tomorrow will be counting two weeks of gift shop money and sorting through the mail.

Good morning, ladies! 22 degrees today and 3 inches of snow expected. A very cold weekend with temps in the lower 20s for highs and then next week in the 50s. Typical VA weather.

Faye, Bananas aren't even in the top 10 potassium rich foods. Sweet potatoes, beet greens, orange juice, white potatoes, white beans, dates, yogurt, tomatoes, raisins and clams are at the top of the list. Leg cramps can also be caused by not enough sodium. The dialysis nurse told me to give Stan a teaspoon of yellow mustard or a tablespoon of dill pickle juice and his leg cramps would stop quickly. I have a $50 copay for doc in a box and $75 for ER...and non for PC. If I get an x-ray at doc in a box it's just the $50 but at the ER its the copay + 20% of the cost of the x-ray. Poor Jack! I'm glad he is feeling better.

Jean, if you belong to AARP, they have great brain exercises on their website. I know that pineapple must be so sweet and good. I love fresh pineapple, can you tell?

Hi, Maggie!

Have a wonderful day - I'm going to yoga and then I'm hibernating.

Good Afternoon/Evening! The sun is slowly sliding down on the other side of the house behind us. It's been a cold windy day here but with sunshine. I started my day with a load of laundry and getting my nails done. I picked up the two weeks of gift shop money and a pile of invoices to pay. I've spent most of my day counting money, writing checks, making trips back to the hospital to drop off the checks, the post office for our mail, and the bank. We had a neighbor blow our driveway but Bob had to even up the edges, then blow the patio and deck. He blows as close to the curb as he can for the mailman and checked to see if there was snow in our mailbox as sometimes happens with strong winds. Well, we had a bunch of mail in our mailbox for two houses down the street plus someone else's mail (lives clear across town!) in our two weeks worth of held mail. That mailman is a moron! Bob took the odd mail back to the post office and asked that our next door neighbor's mail be checked to see if he has any of our mail in his. He is gone for three months and I can just see Idiot tossing our's in the held pile. Makes me nuts! I woke up very early this morning and am ready for a nap. I am either catching a cold or the allergy season has begun. I've got a stuffy nose that started the last couple nights in Maui. There was a warning about sugar cane burning during the night and to keep doors and windows closed. I saw several people wearing masks during the day. Bob and the boys are snoozing in the recliner.

"Gma," what a scary thing for you and Jack! I hope he continues to feel ok again. I like bananas but not when they start to get soft. Then it's banana bread time! I have a recipe that makes a big loaf and takes ordinary ingredients that I have on hand. We had some in Maui that had pineapple, coconut, and macadamia nuts. It was delicious! I don't mind changing planes if it is the same airline and enough time to get where I need to go.

Susan, the news person just said the artic freeze is on the way. I had heard about the pickle juice for leg cramps but not the mustard. Neither one sounds very appealing without the food to go with them.

Hope you all enjoy a happy Saturday tomorrow. We have a program to go to in the evening, "An Evening of George Gershwin Music." Hope I can stay awake!

Good morning, ladies! Another cold day with a high of 24. The snow fortunately turned out to be a dusting. They actually closed the schools and sent people home from work because of it. That's your laugh for the day, Jean.

Today is tea with Irene and Glory so that will be fun. I'm going to have to wear my mask because of the cold air but maybe I'll get lucky and find on-street parking in front of the shop instead of in the parking lot.

Jean, even though its cold, I think the allergens are starting. My nose has been running and I've been sneezing so started Flonaze today. We had a mailman that didn't speak English (or pretended not to) that just put a handful of mail in each box so we had to run around delivering to the right house all the time. We complained to 2 months before they got us a real mail person.

Have a wonderful day!

Just a quick "hello." It's cold, cloudy, and gloomy here today. There is a breeze but not much.

Susan, wishing a close parking spot for you. Maybe today will be your lucky day! I can't believe this but we have a robin that showed up today. DUMB bird! We've never had them this early. He was sitting on the bird bath looking at the water like he might hop in. I hope he doesn't because his feathers will freeze together. I know he will eat bird seed; it will be a long time before the worms show up.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Good evening, ladies! 20 degrees and falling right now. We are supposed to snow, sleet and ice starting at midnight. I hate the ice. Guess I'll be stuck inside another day tomorrow.

The last few days I've watched all 8 of the Harry Potter movies. Its fun to watch the kids grow up over the years. They started at 11 and were 20 when the movies were done. Daniel Radcliffe who played Harry Potter at 26 is now worth $110+ million. His parents invested his earnings for him. The others have many millions as well and they all could not work another day and live well. I've ordered the new book which comes out July 31 and picks up 19 years after the last one with Harry having 3 children. Those movies have made more than 12 billion dollars already.

Jean, had to park in the lot but that was okay. A lot of fun. The birds are confused about the warm and cold weather. We had robins back in January. My daffodils were up about 6 inches. I suppose I won't get any flowers this year.

Have a great evening.

Good Evening! More snow last night and early this morning. Enough is enough! At least it is warming up finally, 25 degrees right now. We have robins coming, three this morning. Also have a pair of eagles building a nest on the other side of the lake which is a first I guess. We slept late this morning so skipped church; I'm sure there wasn't many there with the new snow. Jason, Amanda, and the kids were here for a funeral visitation this afternoon. It was for the mom of his classmate. We had planned to go out for pizza forgetting about Valentine's Day. We ended up at burger restaurant which was ok. I baked brownies so they were dessert along with ice cream.

Susan, I am surprised at how cold your temperatures have been. Guess I shouldn't be since the weather has been so unusual this past year. I didn't know all the HP facts; guess I am really behind the times. I can't imagine ever having the kind of money that the stars acquire. Keep warm!

"Gma" and Maggie, where are you? Hope all is ok.

I have laundry going and need to change loads. We are counting Tuesday because the banks are closed tomorrow. My day will start with my friend's funeral. Hope you all enjoy a marvelous Monday!

Good morning, ladies! A balmy 33 degrees right now. We got 3+inches of snow during the night and it was still snowing hard when I got up...and now it is raining!

I have a table runner to quilt today and a good book so after I do some housework I'll have a pleasant way to spend the rest of the day.

Jean, I forgot all about this being President's Day. At least the schools were already closed for the holiday.

Donna and Maggie, I hope you are okay and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Have a wonderful day.

Good Afternoon! It's a beautiful afternoon in my corner of the world; 36 degrees, sunshine, and NO wind. It feels like spring! The funeral service was an hour long, nice but the wood pews got to be kind of hard. Lunch was scalloped potatoes and ham, a variety of salads, and cookies or bars. I've been looking for a gift shop credit glitch since we got home, and finally found it. It wasn't listed as damaged or returned merchandise so I had no clue and paid the balance, then used the issued credit memo on another invoice. crossed Now I can do more laundry and pick up the clutter around here.

Susan, I hope we are done with snow for awhile at least. Now we have flood warnings because the snow is starting to melt. I like your plans for the day. I saw a quilt shop in Maui and thought of you.

I need to get busy! Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!