Our First Parade

We are off to a Christmas parade in the town of Mims

 We had about ten carts that were decorated for Christmas. We are heading down route 1 on our way to the starting point of the parade.

 We were really surprised at the amount of things in the parade. There were airboats decorated, along with redneck portable stills.

 This thing is used for driving in the mud and wet lands. The Shriners were there with their go carts, and there were school bands.

 This was the lead vehicle for our golf cart group.

 Even had some miniature horses.

 Plus lots of classic cars.

 Then there was us. We all had a big bag of candy canes to toss to the kids. We also bought a bunch of Teddy Bears to give to the little less fortunate kids.

 We all had such a great time but agree we have to get more stuff for the little kids next year.

 Coming up at the end of the run and we are out of candy.

 We all had a lot of fun but feel bad that we didn't get to see the parade. It was a big parade and we were only a small part of it.

Joyce's New Ride

They delivered Joyce's cart today.

 It is actually a 2010 Club Car that has been rebuilt with new everything. Custom body, 6" lift kit, oversize wheels and tires. Living our 2nd childhood.

As for my yellow Jeep Wrangler, I had it towed to a local garage yesterday. I have decided to speed a little money on it because I love that Jeep. Will do the brakes first, and a rear axle seal. Will still need shocks if I get to it. Will play this one by ear!

Catching Up

We are about 95% done with our unpacking. I put some plywood down up in the attic so we could store what we wanted to save. That's the problem, little storage area in the house but we don't need all that stuff anymore.

My yellow Jeep Wrangler is sick, had to replace the alternator and belt then when I went to do a test drive, I blew a break line........brake fluid all over my driveway, AHHHH!

Had to walk away for now but I think it's time to sell my favorite vehicle.

On the exciting side....we have a big launch coming up at the Cape. We get perfect views from our back yard. Check this out......(click here). This baby is going to shake the house for sure.

Joyce has been wanting a golf cart for the longest time but I didn't want just a regular cart, I wanted one that looks bad. I am in my second childhood. It should be delivered late this week, will post pic's.

Back In Paradise!!

We have been back for just over a week and we have been working hard to unpack things and get the house to where we want it.

Got some plywood laid out in the attic so we could put some storage bins up there. I have also been building shelves in my small storage closet.

Some of our lawn took a hit with all the rain so I have been replacing some sections with new sod. Joyce and I are beat and plan on taking a day off to do nothing but enjoy the sun.
Maybe a day at the beach!!!

Heading To Florida By Way Of Upstate NY

Well our idea was to head to upstate NY to visit Mark and spend a few days jelling on his pad at the lake.

Problem is it's raining and is suppose to continue raining till Friday. So we are now thinking about pulling up stakes and moving along.

Figure if we are going to be stuck inside due to rain, we might as well be driving in it. Will see how the day goes.

One Step Closer To Heading Out

Yesterday we completed the settlement of Mom's estate by closing on the house.

My sister is now the proud owner of Mom's house. This saved us from putting the house on the market and having to wait for a sale. Couldn't have worked out better.

So, we have a few things to do like purchase a new microwave/convection over. The stupid thing started acting up in April and you had to lift the door to get it to operate.
I waited until we got back to Ma. and took it to a local repair center that I have used before.

Well, he took what seemed to be a simple door switch adjustment and turned it into a four month repair that ended badly. Seems that every time he worked on one thing, he just created another problem. Unbelievable....I am sooooo upset. Can't wait to get back to Fl..

Back To Massachusetts

 

Before we left the campground in Maine I had to get a pic of this sweat tractor.

 She has a flat on one of the rear wheels and the owner had just pulled the wheel.

 International Farmall Cub. I always wanted one of these.

 Anyways.....we hit the highway after about two weeks with Lucy. The colors here in Maine have a long ways to go.

Then as we got close to Ma. the traffic began to get really heavy heading north bound.

 I don't know where everyone was going on a Saturday afternoon but the stop and go traffic went on all the way to Boston. Glad we were South bound.

Down Maine

Joyce and I are here in Poland Maine parked in a campground next to Lucy our friend.

We are here to help Lucy prepare the motorhome for selling. Don had a lot of stuff packed in that coach. We put some items out front for sale and a few things have sold.

The coach hadn't been washed in about a year but cleaned up nicely. Lucy will be living in the coach for a couple more weeks then will be moving to an apartment close to the city.

We have been here a week but will be heading back to Mass. on Saturday to hopefully prepare for our departure to our home in Florida. It's starting to look a lot like fall and it's getting cold at night so it's time to warm up.

Depressing Times

I realize it's been a while since I posted but things have been a bit depressing.

Back in June we came back to Ma. because my mother's health was failing and at 95, we knew she was getting ready to leave us. We arrived home on a Tuesday and she passed  peacefully two days latter.

For the past year, our close friends Don & Lucy have been at a campground about an hour away from where we were in Florida. Don was there because he was diagnosed with stage four melanoma. He was given a year to live if he did nothing but there was a drug program going on at a Cancer hospital in Fl. as well as Ma..

Don was able to get into the study at the Florida hospital and was getting positive results from the med's. The downside was the side effects were bad and he had to drop out. Another program was offered and again the tumors began to shrink immediately but his system could not handle the side effects and he was put in the hospital.

Once he began to get his strength back, he was given a minimum dosage of another Cancer drug. This time he was better able to handle the side effects and the tumors were beginning to shrink again. This seemed to finally give hope that he would be around for a while but that wasn't to be.

Don had a right brain stroke after being on the new med for a few weeks. It was determined that the stroke was not the results of the meds or cancer. At this time Don decided he wanted to return home to Maine so they found a campground to stay at.
Because of the stroke, Don was no long given the cancer meds and his tumors have progressed rapidly.

The doctors now have given Don no more than a month. Joyce and I are in Ma. visiting family and settling my mothers estate so we decided to go to Maine to help where we could with Don. Joyce stayed in Maine to help Lucy take care of Don and I had to return to Ma. to have some work done on the coach. I plan to return to Maine in a few days. I did get to spend some time with Don and we talked about a lot of things we are going to do but I'm afraid that he will be gone before I get back up there.

Don and Lucy have been very dear friends of ours for over twelve years. We have traveled together in our coaches across many states and I will miss our times of going to airshows, interesting places, or just sitting around having a drink and chewing the fat. As I sit here with tears in my eyes......I am going to miss my old buddy Don.

Fun In The Water

It was a warm day and the water got really calm so.

I decided to take a ride. This Sea Doo has a four cylinder 1400cc engine and has a top speed of 70 MPH.

 Wow, I felt like a kid again but had to go easy when Joyce got on.

 Later in the day the geese go buy. We counted 60 in a row.

 After a hard game of Frisbee, Casey headed right for the water

The water was a bit yucky with weed growth.

 So after a swim, she got a good rinsing.

 The are a half hour from us was hit with a tornado that did minimum damage.

 It was strange how some trees were pulled out of the ground and others not touched.

 Another tornado hit in the area three days ago and four people were lost in that storm.

Enjoying Some Down Time

Our friends Mark and Janice who were camped next to us in Florida, have a place on Lake Oneida in NY. Their home is about thirty minutes away from their lake site. They invited us to use the site and just relax.

 As you can see, Mark is still working on their site. That's his coach to the left. He plans to have the site completed by October and we have been invited back then.

This is the view of the lake from our door. The lake is six miles wide and twenty four miles long.

It's not enough that we have full hookup on a concrete pad, he also left his Jet Skis for us to use. Thanks Mark!!!

We Are In :)

We have finally passed the final inspection and moved in. It ended up being five weeks beyond what the contractor first stated. Everything is slow here, they call it the "Florida Way". 

Not much time for relaxation....my Mom who is 96 is not doing well, she has had a great life and spent many years enjoying her Grand, Great Grand, and Great Great Grandchildren who all live close by.

 

So it's time to be heading home to see Mom and our family.



Waiting For Final Inspection

Home Sweet Home.....Now all we need is the final inspection before we can sleep in.

The grass was just laid in and the sprinklers programmed.

 

I was in the driveway when the military launched a new spy satellite. The roar was pretty intense.

Progress!

The appliances have arrived.

 Now we just have to install them after the countertops are in.

 A day later to quartz countertops are installed.

 They just finished the soffit trim and will be back tomorrow to screen in the back patio. 

 We are now getting stuff for the landscape. Back to Home Depot again....ugh!

Getting Frustrated

Cabinets have arrived.

 And are being installed

 This is my contribution to the master bath. I am now working on the mirror. The wood is cypress from a local saw mill.

 Cabinets installed and I forgot to take a pic after installing the hardware. Quartz countertop due next Friday....I hope!

 Outside of house was pressure washed and Kilz was applied to seal the stucco.

 This is the first coat of the finish color. The entrance door was just finished and installed with the finished hardware.

We are still waiting for the final electrical hookup. All the interior lights, fans, and receptacles are done but the exterior lights have to be installed after the finish coat of paint is done. The problem is it has been raining, raining, raining. Seems like it's always something.

Still have landscaping to do before we get the occupancy permit. Have to have at least two trees and fifteen shrubs. I will also have a banana and papaya tree.

 

Joyce has gone back home for a few weeks and will return with a U-Haul and our small amount of personal items we had stored.