On Thursday, 3/2, I took my and Dad’s tax information to the accountant to do our taxes. In the evening, granddaughter, Vanessa, was here to celebrate her mother, Kellie’s, birthday.
Emma’s friend, Brooke went with us to church on Sunday, 3/5. Then the three of us had lunch before going to visit my Dad in Sun City Center. I had a 3-month check-up with my doctor Monday, 3/6. He said that both my weight and my A1C (blood glucose level) were down from December, so I don’t go back for 4 months. On Tuesday, 3/7, Jackie and I had lunch at Whiskey Joe’s on the Manatee River. www.thewhiskeyjoes.com Wednesday, 3/8, would have been my mother’s 94th birthday. She died of pancreatic cancer in 2003 at the age of 74. The picture below was taken of her at Niagra Falls in 1996.
Dad and I visited for a couple of hours in the morning, giving us plenty of time to reminisce about the many vacation memories that we shared. I was not with them on the trip pictured above. Emma started her Spring Break on Friday, 3/10, so she helped me volunteering at the church’s food bank that afternoon.
On Saturday, 3/11, I joined my brother, Bill with his wife Mary and their niece, Samantha and her friend at The Straz Center Theatre on the Tampa Bay Riverwalk to see Wicked. This is the story of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. In place of a curtain they had a map of the Land of Oz. (You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)
We had a cold front come through the area on Monday, 3/13, evening and were under a Tornado Warning for a short time, so I didn’t leave the house. On Tuesday, 3/14, I did my volunteer work at the pregnancy center and had lunch with Jackie.
The monthly Senior Saints meeting at Palm View First Baptist Church was held on Thursday, 3/16. One of our members, Teri Passmore (who is also in charge of our food bank) participated in a mission trip to Cuba last month. Using about 75 of her pictures, I put together a slide show for her which she narrated to our small group of about 15.
Teri (in blue) is visiting a shut-in lady above. Everyone enjoyed seeing her pictures and learning more about the needs of the Cuban people. The ministry team supplied a Cuban-inspired dinner of Cuban sandwiches, black bean soup, fruit salad and flan. The meeting was a great success.
Meeting attendees enjoying the food.
On Friday, 3/17, Emma joined me volunteering at the food bank. Because it was Saint Patrick’s Day, we both wore green to avoid being pinched. We had lunch with Vanessa on Sunday, 3/19, after Sunday school, and church, before visiting with Dad. I made flight reservations with Makers Air for our July family trip back to Compass Cay on Monday 3/20. JP and I went shopping at Lowes on Thursday, 3/23 We purchased a couple of trellises and some bougainvillea to climb on them along with some tools. Then Saturday morning, 3/25, Emma helped me use my new post hole diggers to plant a croton bush near the fence. I have one or two more to plant, but I’m going to let our yard man plant them when he refreshes some of the other shrubs in the yard. The rest of March was filled with my regular daily activities.
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at