Trains, Bikes, and More!

Hi All -

Sorry, my recent bout with corneal ulcers delayed my last post by a week, so I will now try to catch you up on our adventures over the past two weeks.

First of all, I think we've told all of you that our house is bordered in the back by railroad tracks. This has turned out to be a blessing, as we have no neighbors behind us and a very private backyard. The train only comes a couple times a week, and usually it is just a couple cars and is gone in a moment.

We actually think it's kinda fun when the train comes.

So in case you were curious, I grabbed the camera the last time it came through.

Here it comes...

Here it is...

And there it goes...

I know. Pretty cool, right?

So the weekend before last, we took the dogs on their first walk through Philippe Park. We've been here a few times now, but here is the history if you are interested.

That's right, folks. He introduced the grapefruit to Florida. Woo!

Anyway, it is a beautiful park.

 

The dogs enjoyed it thoroughly. Here, Deuce was entranced by another dog and not participating in our photo.

Later, Glenn and I went back to Dunedin for a mediocre dinner with bad service in a beautiful setting. Probably watching the sunset was not a great idea, as my eyes were bothering me at the time, but we had a nice time.

Glenn took this picture of our reflection in a window. I'm sure the folks eating inside were amused.

Ok - enough of our shenanagins!

So this past Saturday, our new homeowner adventure involved us learning how to / attempting to change the burned out light bulbs in both the hot tub and the pool. Even now, you may be asking - do you need to drain the pool and the hot tub? How do you avoid being electrocuted? The answers are "No" and "Very carefully."

Done and done. It took at least three hours, though, and Glenn had to get in the freezing cold water and  I was pretty sure he was going to kill someone during the process. I don't know why. Deuce and I were being very supportive.

That night Chad and Lisha came over for dinner and Deuce stole Glenn's steak off his plate, to everyone's horror and amusement. We have no photo documentation of that, you'll just have to believe me.

Also, for fans of the blonde dog, here she is after apparently getting into some trouble of her own.

What?

On Sunday, against my will, Glenn insisted that we go to Kmart and get ourselves some bikes. I am not a very gifted cyclist, but I relented. I have to admit, I felt some childlike excitement when I found my perfect cruiser.

Ain't she a beaut?

 

 

Here's Glenn's sportier model.

We took them out for a ride on the Pinellas Trail, which is a great walking / biking trail that goes all through the county. Still, I had to take lots of breaks...my legs were sore.

So I guess that's all the news that's fit to print. Hope you are all doing well and that you had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Love ya!  :-)

Back on Track

Hi All -

I'm trying to get back to my normal blogging schedule.

This past weekend, we did more work around the house, and also went and toured around nearby Dunedin (pronounced Dun Eatin'). It's a cute little seaside town with lots of great shops and pretty views.

Here we are downtown.

One of the first sights we saw was this mural on a "dog-friendly" bar.

Oh Florida. You are so weird.

Dunedin is also crossed by the Pinellas Trail, which goes all through the county. Glenn and I are thinking of getting some bikes. It's very nice and goes through Safety Harbor as well.

Anyway, Dunedin has cute little parks and a very pretty marina.

This looks like a nice place to eat sometime and watch the sunset.

So anyway, after some ice cream and shopping, we headed back home. Here are some updates around the house.

This is the sun sculpture we bought while in Dunedin. I think it looks perfect in this spot.

Our lanai faces east, so we do get to see the sun rise in the morning.

It's a nice place to have coffee.

So, let's see. A few more things to show you inside. The entranceway...

The master bedroom...(our Pgh furniture fits in well.)

Here's our new bar, which was shipped to us nearly fully assembled (good) but was in a box weighing 400lbs (bad). Glenn says we can never move it. Ever.

Other fun decorating adventures involved the $%&*@!! plant shelves - these are terrible shelves that some architect decided to put in Florida homes. The problem is that they are about 11 feet off the floor, and only an insane person would put plants up there because it would be impossible to water them. I put some decor up there and asked Glenn to use the leaf blower to blow the dust off the vases from time to time.

In outdoor news, Glenn purchased a used riding mower from the former owner of our house. It sounds stupid, because we have a little flat yard, but the grass down here is really thick and spongy. On Glenn's first ride out he ran the thing into our mailbox, but he's getting better.

He also got up on a ladder this weekend with an extension saw to prune the palm trees, which was exciting / nerve-wracking to watch.

But later, he was able to relax a bit. (Here is the fire table shot I promised you...)

So I guess that's about it for us this week. Glad the big snowstorm they predicted was not as bad as they thought. Love from sunny Florida and the Gulf of Mexico!

Blog Sweet Blog

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for your patience during my long blog hiatus. Between moving, battling several illnesses and having a bevy of guests, we have been quite busy.

Gosh, where to start? How about this?

Glenn posted this to Facebook with the caption, "I love February!" What a jerk! :-)

Ok, but that was from today, and I need to go back farther. I'll try to hit the highlights.

Jan 31st we closed on the house.

Super Bowl Sunday, Glenn and I went up to Ozona, where Chad and Lisha are now temporarily living to watch the horrific game (sorry, Marsha). Glenn once again managed not to get any pics of humans, but did get some nice shots from their dock. It's very tranquil there as you can see.

February 4th, our friends Mark and Cathy Jennings came up for the day. We weren't actually moved into the house yet (we moved on the 7th) but we showed them the house and Safety Harbor, and had a nice visit.

On Valentine's Day, I was diagnosed with Pinkeye in both eyes. How romantic. My doctor said I looked like Bob Costas.

(BTW - thanks Mom and Dad for the Valentine!)

Two days later, our friends Matty and Julie came to stay a couple days with us after they had attended a wedding in Key West. I warned them about the pinkeye, but they decided to risk it.

We also showed them around town and through some nearby parks.

 

We also took them to Clearwater Beach one night to watch the sunset.

(Which was a popular activity...)

Here we are...(you can tell my eyes are still swollen. Blah!)

So we had a lazy couple of days. Matty and Glenn played video games, Julie and I got manicures and pedicures. Julie, being insane, actually jumped into our frigid pool. I think Deuce may have a crush on her. Here is a pic she took while she was playing with him on the chaise lounge.

We've been trying to get him to swim. Glenn and I got him in the water once today, but he's very unsure about the whole thing. It's quite cute.

(Don't worry, Marsha, the blonde dog is fine, and completely uninterested in the pool.)

Ok - so we are still in the midst of decorating and we need to paint and spackel some nail holes, etc. but I can show you around the house a bit. It's still a work in progress. Here's the living room.

The dining room...(Glenn and I built all the chairs and the table...it was exhausting and very heavy.)

The breakfast nook...

The guest room...(note: the second matching nightstand came late. It's in there now. Much better.)

Here's our outdoor set - the table has a propane fire pit with glass beads in the center. We'll have to try to take a shot at night sometime. (And yes, we have a TV on the porch. Insane.)

These have cushions too, but I take them off when it is going to rain.

Close up of an orchid I have hanging outside.

And lastly, a pic we took while sitting out one night. Glenn lit up the palm trees in the back, which I think looks really nice.

So that's the tour for now. We've been very busy - I just finished up the closets today, but we're getting there. Glenn and I keep pinching ourselves - we can't believe we live here! Can't wait until you can all come down and see it in person.

Hope you are all well and staying warm! Miss you!