February 1 – 15
Dad and I started this month attending a fundraiser on Saturday night for the teenagers at church to help pay for their trip to summer camp. It was a chili cookoff and cake auction. Below are a few of the cakes and some of the chili. This event raised $1,500.
On Sunday, 2/2, Dad, Emma and I attended Sunday school and church. We enjoyed watching the Superbowl in the evening with the Kansas City Chiefs beating the San Francisco 49ers. The last time the Chiefs won the Superbowl was 50 years ago. Next year’s Superbowl will be played in the Tampa Bay stadium. The rest of the week was spent in regular activities. On Friday, 2/7, I babysat Emma while JP and Kellie went to a Billy Joel concert in Tampa.
Saturday, 2/8 – I attended a fundraiser for the North River Care Pregnancy Center – a painting party.
As you can see from the group picture above (click on it to see a larger version), each participant’s picture came out a little different even though we all had the same paint and the same instruction. We were supposed to paint a lady bug on the flower, but I was a rebel and painted a bumble bee!
The second week of February, I started getting things together for both my and Dad’s taxes. I worked for several days to organize the forms we have received only to discover that we still have a number of forms that we still need before I can take everything to the CPA.
The first part of the week was filled with normal activities. Just to get out of the house, we went up to the St. Petersburg Beach area on Thursday, 2/13. We had a nice lunch out on the dock at Sea Critters Café in Pass-a-Grille(near where Rick and I lived in 1983), then returned home in time for me to attend a North River Care board meeting.
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Friday morning, 2/14, Dad and I drove to Ormond Beach through some rain and wind associated with a cold front. We had a late lunch with my niece (Dad’s granddaughter), Melissa, before continuing on to visit overnight with Rick’s brother, Edward.
Saturday morning, we drove from Ormond Beach west across SR-40 and turned north onto SR-19 to go up to the Salt Springs Recreation area where my brother and sister-in-law were camping in their new 5th-wheel home.
After having lunch with Bill and Mary, we wished them well and safe travels.
We will probably not see them again until their daughter’s wedding (Christina) in Nebraska in October. We returned home in time for me to watch Emma while JP and Kellie went to an awards banquet for a running club that he is involved with.
February 16 – 29
Unfortunately, Emma got sick Saturday evening, so she was not able to go to church and Sunday school with me and Dad on Sunday, 2/16. (There was no school on Monday. She went to school but was sent home on Tuesday and stayed home on Wednesday. – That was a very bad cold!)
On Monday, 2/17, I attended the funeral of Tony Toledo. He was a member of the Bradenton Yacht Club and a friend to all. I saw many of my friends and acquaintances at the funeral which was held at my church. Tuesday afternoon,2/18, I did my volunteer work at the pregnancy center for a couple of hours before meeting, granddaughter, Vanessa for an early supper and then going to church for our first Tuesday evening Easter cantata choir practice. (Tuesday cantata practices will be a part of my schedule for about the next 12 weeks.) The next day, Dad and I went to the YMCA gym in the afternoon and I went back to church for Wednesday night choir practice, 2/19. On Thursday, I visited shut-ins from the church with Shirley. We visited Margaret and Bobbi as we do every other week, but also saw Betty Alderton before returning home. (Betty and her husband Dale were in an automobile accident just before Christmas. He has been in the hospital or rehab ever since. She has returned home, but is not able to drive yet.) I watched Emma for about an hour in the early evening so JP could go running before Kellie got home from work. On Friday, 2/21, (which was my brother, Rick’s, birthday), I saw the eye doctor for an annual exam; got a massage; and Dad and I attended the Senior Pot Luck supper at the church. On Saturday, I learned that JP came down with the flu. Emma was feeling better and went to church with me and Dad on Sunday, 2/23. I taught my Sunday school class, as my teacher was sick. I took Emma to school on Monday and Tuesday morning and picked her up on Monday and Wednesday afternoon. (That meant that Dad and I didn’t go to the YMCA because I was otherwise occupied.) During the night on Tuesday, both Dad and I got sick. I was OK on Wednesday, but he either has caught Emma’s cold or JP’s flu. He was well enough to go with me to his bank to take care of some important business, but spent the rest of the day resting. We ate chicken noodle soup for supper. I had no appointments on the schedule for Thursday or Friday so we took it easy. On Saturday, I attended a ladies luncheon at church which raised funds to buy new playground equipment for pre-schoolers and then helped a friend load up boxes to move into a new place.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at