On, Sunday, 1/1, I had a wonderful call from my niece, Christina, husband Wim and daughter Elodie with the Happy New Year news that Elodie will be a big sis in July.  I am so happy for this sweet family who I visited on my trip last October.  I have been fighting a nasty cold for the past five days, but I managed to drag myself out of bed (in 15-minute increments) to make a traditional southern New Year’s Day meal of ham, black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread.

Then, I went back to bed and ate it from a bed tray.

On January 3, I joined my sister-in-law, Mary Cambre at the Straz Center in Tampa to see the play, Hamilton.  It was a very enjoyable evening.

The rest of the week I worked a little every day getting my Christmas decorations down and ready to be put away for the year.

I got a much-needed deep tissue massage on, Monday, 1/9.  Then Tuesday, 1/10, after I finished my volunteer work in the church office, I joined the North River Care Pregnancy Center’s director, Teri Giles, for a lovely lunch on the river at Mila’s on the Manatee, www.milasonthemanatee.com .  Then I went to Freedom Plaza to attend a monthly Family Council meeting before visiting with Dad.  I set aside, Thursday, 1/12, to be my work-day for the week.  With a great deal of help from my son, J.P., we managed to get all of our Christmas decorations put away – some in the attic and some on the shelves in the garage.  JP also moved seven boxes of wood flooring from the garage to the attic along with several boxes of other things, that I don’t use regularly, off of the shelves and into the attic.  It was a great feeling to get this done for the season.

Then for several hours in the afternoon, I broke down boxes to go into recycling.  I completely filled the recycling bin to be picked up in the morning and it looks like I have enough to fill the bin one or two more times.

Palm View First Baptist Church is sending a mission group to Cuba in February, so on Saturday, 1/14, we enjoyed a Cuban Pig Roast meal as a fundraiser.

Monday, 1/16, was Martin Luther King Day and a school holiday.  I worked at the Manatee Southern Baptist Association booth from noon to 5 p.m. at the Manatee County Fair which was quite busy.

I spent all day at the North River Care Pregnancy Center on Tuesday, 1/17, organizing baby items stored in three new spaces along with another volunteer and went back to continue that on Wednesday morning before going to visit Dad.  There was no choir practice that evening because the youth minister, who also leads the choir, was working at the fair along with the church’s youth group.  I returned again to the pregnancy center on Thursday, 1/19, to join the Senior Saints of Palm View First Baptist Church to learn of the 25-year history of the center and take a tour of the facility.  This was followed by a light luncheon.

After that, I went to do volunteer work at the church office stuffing envelopes with end-of-year statements for church members and donators.  I finished up the work week on Friday, 1/20, volunteering at the church once again at the food bank and then going out to eat supper with some of the ladies afterward.

On Sunday, 1/21, I received a call from my brother Bill who said that they had an extra ticket to see Wicked in March at the Straz Center in Tampa, and wanted to know if I would like to join him and his wife along with a few others in her family.  Of course, I gladly said yes.  I continued to work on projects around the house on Monday, 1/23.  When I called my friend, Jackie Sosville, about attending a polo match next month, she told me that she is in the process of purchasing a condo.  The closing will be in a few weeks.  I am very excited to hear this news.  We got together for lunch and some shopping the next day.  I started my day, Wednesday, 1/25, taking about a one-mile walk in my neighborhood on this beautiful 65-degree, sunny day.  I am hoping to do this more often to get into better shape for my trip to Oregon in April to see my nephew, Robmat Butler – whose birthday is today.  On Thursday evening, 1/26, I attended the monthly board meeting of the North River Care Pregnancy Center where we voted on officers for this year and approved the 2023 budget.  Friday morning, 1/27/2023, I picked Dad up from Freedom Plaza Memory Care Center and took him to the Eye Center in Parrish.  Dr. Michael Mackie said that his eyes are in very good shape for a gentleman of his age.  He recommended using liquid tears as needed.  He saw no justification to prescribe glasses even though one of Dad’s eyes is a little weaker than the other.  He confirmed that Dad had cataract surgery over 10 years ago and that the implants placed in his eyes are still in good shape.  While Dad’s eyes have degenerated some over the years, the doctor said there is no evidence of macular degeneration disease.  Emma and I celebrated winter at the annual Ladies luncheon at Palm View First Baptist Church on Saturday, 1/28.  About 100 ladies both young and not-so-young enjoyed visiting with each other while eating delicious homemade soup, salad, sandwiches and desserts.

My friend, Jackie Sosville, is dog-sitting for her grandson, Rob, this week and staying at his home which is just a few miles from mine.  We decided to go out to Anna Maria Island for lunch at the Sandbar Restaurant on Monday, 1/30.

We enjoyed grouper sandwiches as well as the view.

After lunch, we decided that we needed a good walk, so we stopped at Robinson Preserve www.robinsonpreserve.com on Perico Island and took a trail to Tampa Bay. There was some sea fog on the horizon, so we couldn’t see the Skyway bridge.

I’m sure you will agree with me that this was a very good way to end the month.