Return of the Cruising Bunny's....

[Negc]

The nice lady who is renting us her place in Vero Beach is likely doing it for the first time if I read the signs correctly. First of all, she paid an outrageous price to mail us the contract and even included a SASE so we could return it. She also told Rita that if we wanted to move in a few days early or stay an extra few days that would be fine. After Ian's visit and considering how much damage was done, I expect that some folks are telling her that she shouldn't be so generous, and that she could have gotten a much larger rental fee, but we are grateful that she is.
Had a strange charge show up on one of my credit cards so I have reported to the credit card company and will see what happens. Can't be any too careful these days, unfortunately.
As usual, Lee is being very thoughtful by saving me the high cost of mailing anything to Canada, though after his Bills get Zapped a few times, I may be collecting rather than paying when we settle our football wager.
Sorry to see that another premier performer, Angela Lansbury, has passed. Not sure how many of today's stars will ever match the accomplishments of the stars of our youth.

 

[K2-Mich]

Hi GANG!

Negc: Nice of the Vero Beach lady to go out of her way to mail you all that info. Always nice to get someone who gives you a little extra time to get in and out of the place. I hope the mattresses are nice for you guys this time around. I know you had some issue before. Seems like all RENTALS never take the time to UPDATE and GET NEW MATTRESSES.

Got my project delivered to Ashley and it fit the Tail-Gate Table she painted perfectly. AMAZINGLY.
She ordered us a Felt Pad for under the new carpet that came the other day. The pad was on the porch when we got home. 2 days early from Amazon! Tomorrow will be out with the old carpet and in with the new. I just wish SOMEBODY would take the really nice traditional wool carpet off our hands. Too good to just throw in the trash. (8x10)

Got to see our little Grand-Pup too. So far, he doesn't bark at the doorbell or people coming in and out. Hope that stays that way. So fluffy.

Lee: How fun that the "Construction Crew" will be helping with your basement. What are you planning on doing down there? Exercise area and perhaps a place to watch TV and kick back?
Good time of the year to start something like that. Keep you & the GUYS busy and out of trouble!

BB: So good to know that Bert will have a phone with him (if he remembers to take it on his errands) for emergencies and grocery runs. I'm putting my money on him NOT taking it with him! HA ha!
Did you have the crab yet? You can't touch REAL CRAB around here for less than $35-40 a pound.
It's crazy. And then you get 2 skinny legs if you're lucky. Just too pricey for my pocketbook.

You all have a good day on Thursday! I'm off to see if the couch is still empty and grab it! It's been a long productive day!

 

[fatherdav55]

Set your DVR to record, Bunnies. Today at 1 PM there's another, and maybe the last, January 6th Committee Hearing. If it's anything like the earlier hearings, it should be real interesting.

In Canada do they call a DVR a PVR? Same thing?

Get newest Moderna Covid booster shot; CHECK! Remember when vaccinations first came out? At the time they figured that with vaccinations the problem would be solved. Didn't work out that way. Proof of that was why the vaccination cards weren't big enough for the 2 Covid vaccinations and three, so far, booster shots. Yesterday they had to give us a new vaccination card to go along with the 1st one. I'm getting a feeling that there will eventually be a yearly Covid shot, like the flu.

Well BB, when Bert leaves the house with his new cell phone, do you think he's going to actually turn it on? You've got a Sea world by you? I thought they closed up all those parks. At one time there was one in Cleveland.

Lee, with those prices you've definitely convinced me not to take a river cruise. Have you ever watched the movie, "The Money Pit"? Just asking.

You are making me nervous about your rental at Vero Beach, Bill. The owner lady sounds a bit too nice.

K2, no matter how good the mattress is when away from home, none is as good as the one at home. Am I right?

 

[K2-Mich]

Good (almost) Afternoon Wrabbits.

Not much to gab about from me today! (Ha ha... lucky for all of you)

Waiting for Art to get back from his 1/2 day bike ride to get the current carpet rolled up and put down the new felt pad and new carpet in kitchen.

DAVE: Actually, our mattress right now is NOT the MOST COMFORTABLE mattress for me. Art could sleep on a board and be happy. I on the other hand think we need a new mattress. This one is not User Friendly to my HIPS! Seems to hard and it holds the body heat. But then who knows. I just wish we could still buy mattresses that you FLIP and that aren't 18-20 inches thick. I see no point in those THICK mattresses. They're too heavy to rotate and sheets cost a fortune for them.
Mattresses when sleeping in hotels, condos, etc, etc on the road or on vacation give me the CREEPS! Florida law says that all rentals must have MATTRESS PROTECTORS on them. I know for a fact that doesn't happen..... I've checked at some of our rentals!

Hope you all have a good day. Later gang!

 

[Bellalago Belle]

I wrote this yesterday afternoon and then forgot to post it!! Definitely a senior moment!!I am definitely not a river boat type of cruiser. When you see the commercials on TV, it looks like a bunch of old farts not living in the fast lane. I'd much rather do a REAL cruise where you can have lots of fun, as opposed to drinking tea and listening to someone playing classical music on a piano. That's just my opinion.

Had a great visit with the vascular doctor. Looks like I may have become medical history or a case study with him. With my lung and heart conditions, I could not have anesthesia for surgery. The podiatrist who sent me to him is his friend and called him to tell him that he was sending an impossible case to him. Well between the vascular surgeon and my cardiologist they figured out how the surgery could be done - by giving me a shot in the spine. Just enough that I would sleep through the surgery. The doctor today was absolutely giddy and pleased with the results he's seeing today and wants to know if I've been back to the podiatrist recently to show him what a great job the vascular doctor did. I haven't been back recently, but will one of these days. The good news is that I don't have to go back to the vascular surgeon for 3 months, so he wished me a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! He's really a cool dude!

We had invited M&J and company for dinner tonight, but Missy is on mandatory overtime due to Prime Days. So they're coming over Friday night instead. Tonight we're going to this place called The Catfish Place. It's all downhome Florida seafood. I'm already planning on having frogs legs. They're the only place locally that serves them. I bet Bert will get the combo of gator, cooter (soft shell turtle), frogs legs & catfish.

And that's where that post ended! Now on to a quick post before those hearings start again:

Our dinner last night was delicious. I made one mistake though - I ordered off the senior menu! The frogs legs were so good, I definitely could have eaten more. So to make up for getting the lesser portion, I ordered chocolate cream pie for dessert!! Man, that was good!

Outside of watching the hearing this afternoon, not much happening here today. Should get some t-storms later this afternoon and into the evening. Like the last thing we need here is more rain after Ian. Our lake is finally going down and getting close to being back to normal.

Time to gather my snacks and something to drink to get ready for this afternoon's entertainment. Have a great afternoon, everyone!! And I am now going to post this before I forget once again!!

 

[A’Burg Guy]

Good afternoon everyone.
Thursday already. Seems like only yesterday it was Wednesday.
We call 'em PVR's here Dave. A replacement of which is on it's way after my 55 minutes on the phone with the customer service rep. No charge for the new box. I just have to swap out the one we have and return it in the same box. I'm waiting for Pfizer's booster to become available. So, just when is your birthday? I have a couple of dates this month and am wondering if any of them are right?
Now, the ship we saw cruising from Toronto to Milwaukee isn't your traditional "river cruise" type of
ship. She has 5 guest decks and a capacity of 184 passengers. Still, one heck of a bite to the bank account to sail The Great Lakes.

That's great news from the doc's office Pat. Again, so much of the healing is doing what you are supposed to do. Did Bert indeed get the combo platter?
We have had mattress protectors on our FL rentals Kathie. Most of the mattresses are shot but there's usually enough beds to find something comfortable. We actually swapped mattresses from one king to another. The main master king bed was, it seems, used way more than the other master king. Yep, two master bedrooms... Yes, we will have a nice finished area for the ping pong table and a sitting area with the big TV. The bike and treadmill will go into another section to be finished at a later time. When we started planning this job we didn't have the ping pong table. Then, about 18 months ago, something came up that threw a screw into many things we had planned.
That sure sounds like a very accommodating property owner Bill. We too know that Sunshine could get WAYYY more for her home and very much appreciate her holding the rate since we started to rent from her. My fear is that The Bills will get to cocky or start to give backup's field time at the end of the season when that are enjoying a healthy lead at the top of the division.
Just in case...HI KAREN.
Alright gang, seems I'm on dinner duty again. Tonights KISS menu (Keep It Simple Stupid) is pasta and, depending where you live, gravy or sauce. We call it Marinara Sauce. Do you call it Marinara Gravy Momma Bunny?
You all have a grand evening.

 

[K2-Mich]

8:42 pm on THURSDAY NIGHT! WHEW.... MADE IT TIME!
Sneaky of you not to mention our Birthday DAVE. Shame on you!

This should be about right! Ha Ha.

Hope you had a fantastic day DAVE. And lots of ICE CREAM & CAKE!

 

[K2-Mich]

I managed to work way too hard again today. But it was good to get the pile of THROW OUT STUFF out of the middle of the work area in the basement for the TRASH on Friday. I just hope they take it all. We had HEAVIER than .... well....let's just say VERY HEAVY THICK glass shelves that were from the Entertainment center that was trashed years ago sitting in a box in the corner. They're outside now. Some other HEAVY glass shelves that have been sitting downstairs for 25+ years.
It's going to be a long CLEAN UP WINTER down in our basement area this year. Gotta do it. I call it getting DEATH READY! Ha Ha.

Lee: Sounds like a nice plan for the basement area. Just don't over-due it and hurt yourself.
That Great Lakes Cruise Ship is a beauty, but not for the price they want. Maybe if I didn't live in Michigan and have driven around and seen most of what you see from the ship it might work, but it's not for me!


Out of here for now.

Hello KAREN! Miss you!

 

[A’Burg Guy]

Up in the middle of the night again. I have no idea why but I can feel it wearing on me.
We have to take things like glass doors from wall units to to the recycle centres, usually at the dump, Kathi. They are concerned, rightly so I suppose, that the bin men could get cut or they could break and end up on the road. Even if I’d never seen The Great Lakes those prices are just crazy!
I’m gonna put my feet up and see if I can doze off for an hour or so.
You fine people all have a fantastic day.

 

[fatherdav55]

First up, I want to thank ya'll for the birthday wishes.

"Going to the mattresses." I guess you guys aren't talking like they do in the mafia.

I too am not of a fan of the 18-20 inch thick & super heavy mattresses K2. But that's about all you can find now.

Happy to hear about your good visit at vascular doctor, BB. Do frog's legs make you feel jumpy?

It's a good thing that you did order off of senior menu or you wouldn't have had room for the chocolate cream pie.

Lee; Hope you're snoozing by now. That picture of the river boat was interesting. It's not like one I've ever seen.

I got a kick out of yesterday's January 6th hearing. I'm still amazed at how many people still think of the Buffoon as some sort of messiah.

 

[Bellalago Belle]

Good morning, everyone! I've been a busy little bee this morning already. Besides straightening up the kitchen and doing some late night dishes, I've got a pan of brownies in the oven. Not sure how they will come out though. I used a recipe I've used before where you take Reese's peanut butter cups. You put some batter in an 8x8 pan, put in 9 reese's (3x3) and then top with the rest of the batter. Trouble this time is that I didn't realize this batter contained chocolate chips. Not sure how well the peanut butter cups will be covered. I should know in just a few minutes when they are finished baking. They sure do smell good though!!

Dave - A belated Happy Birthday to you. I knew there was something I forgot to do yesterday. I hope it was a wonderful day for you. Can't wait to hear what special gift your daughter sent you this year for your birthday.

Kathie - You always crack me up with how you're always getting DEATH READY. We take the opposite stand. We figure the kids will inherit it all, so might as well make them work for it!!

Just got a call from Missy. Instead of them coming over for dinner tonight, they're coming over for lunch. Bummer!! That means I've got to get to work to make jambalaya NOW!!
Better run.

By the way, the brownies look delicious!

 

[A’Burg Guy]

Is somebody bakin’ brownies?
Pat, I’ve made that mini peanut butter cup recipe and used Ghirardelli brownie mix with chocolate chips incorporated in the mix. Just plain GOOD!
Agreed about the river cruise boat Dave. This French line has a whole fleet of smaller really expensive ships. Ya, what hot stuff did you get for your birthday? Brownie points scored if you answered Kathi.
“Death Ready”? That’s some odd expression Kathie. It sounds like something you’d find in the personal hygiene section of the drug store! I may want some on hand in case I, or any of the other OGC‘s overdo working in the basement.
Say Bill, I see that Tom Brady is the latest sports figure to buy in to the rapidly growing world of professional pickleball.
We have lost another well known actor. Robbie Coltrane who played Hagrid in The Harry Potter franchise passed today.
Enjoy the rest of your day folks.

 

[Bellalago Belle]

Us with Wesley at the Grille tonight

 

[K2-Mich]

Great picture of the 3 of you PAT. Wes looks really good! And so do you and Bert. Is he making the rounds to see all his relatives?

Lee: Bummer on NOT SLEEPING. It's been that way for me for TOO LONG! Too many pills might be my issue! And I'd love to take a NAP, but that just doesn't happen.

DAVE: Okay, did your daughter forget to send you something "HOT" this year. Might be still be in the mail system!

The trash guy took everything. I had it all wrapped up and spray painted "GLASS" HEAVY. I talked to him and said I was sorry it was so heavy and he said NO PROBLEM. He's like the nicest guy. Always smiling. I offer him water all the time. Sometimes he actually takes a bottle. Same goes with the mail-person.

I went to Menard's to use up my REBATE COUPON MONEY. I bought tips you put on the bottom of chair legs so they slide on carpet better and 2 Pkgs of 60W bulbs for the dining room fixture. The 40W's were just doing it for me. And a pkg of toothpaste that was only $1 buck. All I owed Menard's was $.88 cents when the nice lady wrang things up. My kind of shopping.
Much better than my shopping spree at Kroger's this afternoon. I got a lot of long term stuff on sale, but the bill was horrible. I managed to save $83 bucks by shopping for deals. Only thing I didn't really need that was on SALE was the Klondike Toffee Bars. YUM.


Out of here for now. You all have a fantastic Saturday. GO GREEN!
GO SPARTANS/MSU!

 

[fatherdav55]

How quickly it seems that another weekend has arrived.

Have you had your fill of the brownies yet, BB? Kathi's next baking project; It's root beer cookies. Had to get the root beer extract from Amazon, since no stores sell it around here.

Fantastic picture of you guys, BB. As for what my daughters got me for my birthday on Thursday; Nothing hot this time. The Arizona daughter arranged for a local BBQ place to deliver to us a full pulled-pork dinner. PLUS sent me a birthday card, just to drive me crazy. It was a Mexican band playing music once you pushed the button. However it's designed NOT to turn off. So once it starts driving you crazy, and you get out the scissors to cut the wires to it, the card explodes blasting you with shiny little pieces of confetti. (Remind me to kill that daughter.)

The Virginia daughter had a T-shirt made showing me, Jack and Fuzzbutt. So accurate in detail that she must have given the artist a picture of us. I'll see if Kathi will post a picture of it.

So Lee, a French line owns these fancy riverboats. Which makes me wonder if they are made here. Or if these riverboats are actually made in France and sailed here across the ocean. Tom Brady now wants to make money off of pickleball? If I remember right, recently he was pushing Bitcoins.

K2; Happy to hear that the trash guy took all your "Death Ready" junk.

I forget, is Bill off now on his cruise?

HI KC!

 

[Bellalago Belle]

Good afternoon! I would have been here earlier, but our internet was acting up once again. I hate Spectrum, but it's about the only game in town in our community. They have fiber optics right outside of Bellalago, but the powers that be signed a long term contract with Spectrum, so no one else can come in. Bummer!!

Dave - Loved the birthday card from your daughter. She always comes up with something great. I wonder where she finds them all. The pulled pork dinner was also a great idea.

Kathie - Wes is sticking pretty close to home right now and not going off to visit any family members. He and Missy set up my new cell phone yesterday in payment for an early dinner. Going to the Grille last night was a last minute decision. There was a guy playing guitar and singing songs from the 70s to 90s. We had fun until Bert decided it was time to go home (8:30), so he could watch some TV shows. Of course, I was recording them, so it was no big deal. He's just turning into an old fart, unfortunately.

Lee - I agree that the brownies turned out delicious. The best part is that I have some left for today.
By the way and for your information, True Blue Winery opens next Wednesday. Maybe after we go to the wound doctor next Friday, we'll stop by for a glass of Crazy Good and a Cuban sandwich. Of course, we will definitely do our trip there during the winter with you and Lu-Ann. Wait until you see how Davenport/Haines City has grown. There are subdivisions all over the place everywhere you look!

Time to heat up something for lunch. Have a great rest of the day and stay safe!

 

[fatherdav55]

 

[A’Burg Guy]

WHAT A GREAT SHIRT!
Back later my friends.

 

[Bellalago Belle]

I love that shirt!!! Back to watching football. GATORS play later tonight, so I'm just flipping through the games this afternoon.

 

[Negc]

At the hotel in Newark after a longer than usual drive because accidents on the other side of the road in CT (I-95) closed that part of the highway for several miles and all the nosey parkers on our side of the road just had to slow almost a stop to view the damage. What normally should have been a 4 hour trip took over 5 hours. At least the weather was good. We had a late lunch, early dinner and have returned to the hotel for the night. On the way back from the restaurant, the man who will be driving us to the ship, called and confirmed that he will pick us up at about 9:45 a.m. so we should be at the dock and checked in relatively early.
Lee, I sympathize with your nightly experiences. Can't remember the last time I actually slept through the night and call it a success if I am only up twice during the night. Kevin drove the whole way and considering the heavy traffic and the serious accidents that we saw, all I can say is "better him than me". Reinforced our resolution to ship our car to FL and fly ourselves there rather than drive.