Snowbirds Arrive in Safety Harbor

Hey Everyone -

Today, Pittsburgh is gearing up for a snowstorm, but here in Florida, it is sunny and beautiful. It's hard to believe it is January.

We just got back from walking the dogs on Bayshore. A white egret took off flying in front of Eva and she was so surprised she jumped and fell over. :-)

Anyway, my parents were here last weekend and we had a lovely time with them. Lots of laughs, good food and a few fun excursions. We managed to take some pics, so I will share them here.

One day, we drove through Phillipe Park...always a favorite for us and only about 2 miles from our house. The trees in here are beautiful.

The park is right on the Bay.

Check out these handsome fellows.

On Friday, we had lunch at a cute little place called the Sandwich on Main, where my dad had craft ginger ale, which was very exciting. We also walked to a fun little shop nearby.

On Saturday, we went to Tarpon Springs...first stopping at Craig Park which is a lovely spot on a pretty little lake surrounded by big old Victorian homes.

There was also a fun, bouncy, low-hanging tree branch that we all took turns sitting on.

I had to hold the branch down for Mom to get on it...

Anyway, here's the crew sitting on a bench instead of in a tree.

After driving through the touristy Sponge Docks area of Tarpon Springs, we went to their "downtown" which was mostly closed because it was before noon. Still, we were able to browse a really unusual shop, and my mom was able to buy one of the famous Tarpon Springs sponges for a mere $18.

I told them to look adoringly at the sponge. I posted this pic to Facebook, where it was wildly popular.

Meanwhile, back at home, the orchid had decided to bloom for my parents' visit.

And the dogs were being on their best behavior.

Note: my dad took several of the pics featured in this blog - including these above of the pups. I love this pic of Eva. Isn't she pretty?

Later, after my folks went home, Eva did get up the courage to sit on the couch with both Deuce and I...she hasn't done it since...although she gets up there all the time when we aren't looking.

Anyway - Glenn did get a selfie with all of us, but it's not great. But it captures us before an amazing steak dinner at Bascom's, so I will post it here for posterity.

So that's it for the family visit. Thanks, Mom & Dad, for a wonderful time!

I shall leave you with a pretty sunrise pic that Glenn took on his way to work this week.

Stay warm, everyone!

Happy New Year: Now with EVEN MORE NEW!

Hi Everyone and Happy 2019!

Welcome to the first blog post of the new year. I am hoping to be more active on the blog this year, so stay tuned! It's only the 5th so I think I'm getting off to a decent start.

Glenn and I wrapped up 2018 and started the new year with a whole bunch of exciting new changes.

The most exciting is that a couple weeks before Christmas, we got a new puppy - Eva! We got her from a rescue in St. Pete, and she is so sweet and well-behaved. She is a bit skittish and fearful at times and in certain situations (she does not like doors, for example) but we are working on building her trust and confidence, and we're sure with some patience that she will come out of her shell.

She's 8 1/2 months old, 41 lbs, and no one knows exactly what she is - some mix of lab and hound is what they told us, but who knows. We don't know how much bigger she's going to get either, but I'm hoping she stays around the size she is now.

She also can be very playful...loves her toys, likes to jump on my lap, and likes to gently chew on people's ears.

She also LOVES Deuce, and Deuce seems so much happier and less anxious since she joined our family. We don't need to take him to daycare anymore.

So anyway, hold on to your hats...here come PUPPY PICTURES.

This is us outside of the rescue on Adoption Day.

Us on our way back from a family walk on Bayshore.

On Christmas morning - Eva's first Christmas - we gave the dogs some toys. While Deuce wasn't wild about sharing, he played with the toys for a while and then fell asleep. Then Eva played with them and she fell asleep.

We also had a visitor to the house on Christmas morning.

Eva has established her little den behind Glenn's chair in the living room, in Deuce's old bed which he has generously given to her. I mean, how adorable is this?

This pic makes me laugh because it looks like Eva is saying - Hey! Deuce is in your chair!

Glenn was off for almost the whole month of December, while I was not. So we would have occasional puppy parties in my office while I was working from home.

The view from my chair.  "Get down here and play!"

And here's just a beautiful pic Glenn took that I love. She's so pretty!

So, in other NEW News, I have been trying for about a year to get approval from my insurance company to let me take a drug that my doctor wanted me to take. I was denied multiple times and have tried multiple other medicines that haven't worked for me. Finally, right before Christmas, I got approval.

The day after Christmas, I got my first dose. I don't know yet if it's going to work for me, but I am glad I get to try it and I am hopeful. Glenn went with me to the appointment, and they tried 4 times to get the IV in, so it was kinda traumatic for both of us (Glenn said he was going to faint.). I take my next loading dose this coming week.

The following week, we had a very low key New Year's Eve, which was great. We went to Cooters in Clearwater for an amazing dinner of crab legs, and then came back home and watched TV and went to bed. WOOOO.

New Year's Day we took the dogs for a nice walk in John Chestnut Park.

So we have the new puppy, my new drugs, and in February, we're scheduled to get new floors installed in the house. You would think that would be plenty.

But no. Because we surprised ourselves by suddenly making yet another big purchase. We got a new car.

I agree - this seems ridiculous. But when we got Glenn's Camaro, we kept his old Pathfinder, which has been parked in our driveway ever since - which I'm sure our neighbors hate as much as I do. But Glenn wanted to keep something that we could use to haul mulch and other stuff.

But the brakes went out on the Pathfinder and we realized we were dropping a lot of money keeping that old vehicle alive (plus paying insurance on a third car). So I suggested that we trade in my Altima and his Pathfinder and get me an SUV. And since you can get good deals at the end of the year....well. Today we brought home my new car....a 2016 Lincoln MKX.

I LOVE IT. And I must give all the props to Glenn since he found it for me and did all the work in buying it. I just went and test drove it and said - yep, I want this one.

Check out the giant sunroof!

Next week, my parents are coming to visit so we're looking forward to that too.

So anyway, I think that's all that's new with us for now, which is plenty. Hope you are all having a happy new year so far. Love to you all!