I continue to do my normal weekly activities volunteering at church and the pregnancy center and visiting Dad in his memory care center twice a week. This month, specials event included:
On Saturday, 2/4, I baked and decorated a cake to take to a fundraiser at church.
The chili cook-off and cake auction raised funds to help the youth to go to camp this summer.
On Monday, 2/6, after visiting Dad, I took new flowers to the cemetery to place at Rick’s marker.
When I called Jackie on Tuesday, 2/7, about going to lunch, she invited me over to her new 4th floor condo (her porch light is on in the picture below) overlooking Terra Ceia Bay and the Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay.
She hasn’t moved in yet; but, it shouldn’t be much longer.
I picked Dad up on Thursday, 2/9, to attend the monthly Senior Saints meeting at church. We were entertained by a wonderful musical couple, the Dunneman’s.
This week, my daughter-in-law, Kellie, planted some fruits and vegetables. I call them , Kellie’s crop-in-a-pot. Among the things she planted were broccoli, beans, tomatoes and grapes – mmm, mmm, good!
On, Saturday, 2/11, the high temperature for the day was 81 degrees and tomorrow’s high is supposed to be almost 20 degrees cooler – life in Florida.
Emma and I had a short visit with Dad on Sunday, 2/12, before heading home so she could help clean house for the company they expected to come over to watch the super bowl. It was a close game, but the Kansas City Chiefs came out on top of the Philadelphia Eagles by three points.
The temperatures have been so erratic that much of our vegetation is in bloom. The pollen level has been so high that it is giving my allergies a workout. So, I stayed inside on Monday and Tuesday to try to get my symptoms (mostly itchy, watery eyes) under control. Of course. Tuesday, 2/14, was Valentine’s Day. I baked a pork loin chop and some home-grown sweet potatoes and then had fresh strawberries and vanilla yogurt with a glass of red wine which my granddaughter, Vanessa, gave me for Christmas. I got a massage on Monday, 2/20, and talked with brother-in-law, Edward, for more than an hour about our upcoming trip to Oregon in April.
Tuesday morning, 2/21, was spent volunteering at the pregnancy center and had lunch with Jackie at Mila’s on the Manatee before attending a family council meeting at Dad’s facility and then going to see him. When he let me in his room, he told me that my brother, Bill, was there visiting him as well. The three of us had a good time catching up for about another hour. I left the house at 8:30 a.m. and didn’t get home until 5:30.
On Thursday, 2/23, I attended the monthly North River Care Pregnancy Center Board meeting.
Saturday, 2/25, found me attending a fundraiser luncheon at Carraba’s Italian Grill on University Parkway for the Educational Harbor School which meets in the Palm View First Baptist Church educational building. After lunch, I went for a short visit with Dad.
Sunday, 2/26, was a warm, sunny day. I went with Jackie Sosville to a polo match at the Sarasota Polo Club as guests of our financial advisor, Evan Guido, Aksala Wealth Advisors. Then on Tuesday, 2/28, we had lunch at the Ybor Grille, 339 19th Ave. NE, Ruskin, FL 33510. We both had a fried grouper sandwich with homemade potato chips in a charming restaurant that features Cuban food at about half the price we paid at the beach a few weeks ago for a similar entrée.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at