Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012 - SPI

Gail and Graham at Pier 19

Lynne and Wayne at Pier 19

Admiring our kites at the beach

Gail and Graham arrived on Saturday...to rain, fog, and freezing weather (happily that has changed) and after a long day they were more than happy to have dinner at home and an early night to bed. Regardless of how good the flight seems to be, the schedule of early mornings and all the preparation to fly takes it toll and it's exhausting.

We headed off to Pier 19 for a fabulous breakfast the next morning. It's on the same property at the KOA campsite we used to stay at with the LoveMachine (sob) and most days you can sit and eat and watch the dolphins...but no dolphins that day. There is a resident pod that live in the bay and from the size of the fish I've seen around the boardwalk, they are well fed. The restaurant serves a cinnimon 'roll' the size of a dinner plate and we passed on that in favour of a regular breakfast and then a stroll on the pier. The sun had come out so we enjoyed a few glasses of wine on the front porch and then barbequed some nice steak for supper.

There had been a real wind storm the previous night and when we walked down to the beach for a look, it was covered, and I mean covered, with a blanket of Portugese Man-o-War jelly fish...what a mess and far too dangerous to even attempt walking to the water. We decided that it was a good day to do some shopping and Gail and I went through a few boutiques on the island before we all headed to Yummies for lunch. It's only opened for breakfast and lunch and serves the best meals in town. I often go there after the boardwalk and I've gotten to know one of the waiters (a young, gorgeous, very friendly fellow) and it's fun to go there as well as get a great lunch. After having watched the Academy Awards, we decided we'd hit the theatre.

If you haven't seen The Artist yet (the silent movie-movie), I'll be interest in your reaction when, and if, you do. I can't say I didn't like it....but I'm still working on deciding that...I know Wayne nearly disconnected his head from his shoulders falling asleep and then waking up when the music re-started, but it's different for sure. Anyway, I doubt I'll be buying the DVD and after I see George Clooney and Brad Pitt's movies, will have a stronger opinion on whether or not The Artist was deserving of Best Movie.

Today was the kind of day that always makes me fall in love with South Padre Island all over again. Hot..but not too hot. Windy..but not too windy. I'd bought 4 kites for a day just like this one so we packed the van and headed for the beach. Gail got the Fairy Princess kite, I had a Mermaid, Wayne had a Sting Ray and Graham got the Eagle. They were so colourful and really beautiful and flew amazingly well. I have to admit I got a bit of a lump in my throat when Graham let his kite out the full length of provided string and said, "You know, I haven't flown a kite since I was a little boy". I also figured that anyone driving by and watching us would have said, "Oh, look at those old people, aren't they cute". We had a ball and thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. Gail collected some shells and we decided we had to do this again...but with a cooler filled with snacks, sandwiches, and of course some wine. Dinner was 'out' tonight and we went to Louie's Backyard for the seafood (et al) buffet. It was delicious and we feasted on Prime Rib, scallops, ribs, King Crab legs and a whole lot more. We even got there for happy hour which meant Gail and I could have a couple of delicious Strawberry Daqueries. All of the above may have some bearing on the fact that my pants from last year are very difficult to button and are just as uncomfortable.

That was our week so far. The weather is supposed to be getting better and better so our plan for tomorrow is to get some groceries and then sit on the beach (which has been raked and cleaned) and read all day. Not too hard to take, I'd say. Hope everyone at home is well and the cold/flu has done it's thing and moved on. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 19 Feb 2012 - SPI

Gold-fronted Woodpecker--he was big and beautiful

Osprey

I have no idea beyond yesterday what we've done...it's just like being at home...after a while one day just blends into another. That's not a bad thing.

When we woke up yesterday the fog was thick and the forecast not great so we decided we'd check out another mall in Brownsville. There was a gym handy so Wayne dropped me off and we arranged to meet a couple of hours later. Everybody is happy!

For all the mall cruising I do, I really don't buy much. For me, it's all about the looking and horror beyond horror...I'm at the stage now that I more often pick something up and say, "I'll never wear that" and put it back. As indicated previously, the major exception to that is shoes...you gotta wear shoes every day. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I wandered from store to store and didn't see much that threatened to bring my wallet out UNTIL.........hold on Carmel.....

I hit Charming Charlie (www.charmingcharlie.com). It's about the size of an average Winner's store at home but it's all jewellery and accessories!!! Seriously, I stood in the doorway for however long until I realized the store's 'greeter' was getting ready to call 911...I'd gone into some kind of trance. First of all, it was esthetically beautiful. Think of a colour...any colour...and you're eye would see it. Secondly, each huge counter or partial wall was dedicated to jewellery and accessories in that colour. I stumbled around trying to let my eye focus on a single item and then figured I'd better come up with some kind of a plan. I started at point 'A' by the door and did the grid (I'd be a great CSI)...so much fun.

It's a fact that most of the new styles and trends come North from the States (New York & LA) so hold your hats ladies because the trend heading north is...feathers. Yep, feather extensions in your hair, hanging off earrings, necklaces, scarves, attached to purses, shoes, and anything else that accommodates a glue gun...and in every colour imaginable. Great style if you are 17...not so good at 65. However, the bulk of my time was spent in the '5 items for $5' discount section and I came home with an assortment of headbands that have big silk flowers, rhinestones, and yes, feathers on them...in every colour. These will all go in Honey's Tickle Trunk for the girls to wear at our tea parties.  I ended up buying myself a necklace and that was the extent of my shopping expense. I'm dying to bring Gail here though...she'll love it.

The sun had come out and when we got home our neighbours, who have friends visiting from Hamilton, were sitting outside having margueritas and invited us for a drink. A few pitchers later, combined with some wine resulted in us having a group dinner (just like at the cottage..."I'll make salad, I'll bring burgers, etc) and we had a great dinner together. We played a game afterwards..I can't remember the name of it...but you had three items and had to figure out the common theme. Six innebriated people did amazingly well but by 10 pm I'd had enough fun and we headed home.

This morning was nice and I decided I'd head across the bay to the Atacosa WR. Saw some new things and got a little closer to others. I had a bit of a hissy fit as I just assume that if a person is going to wander through a fairly closed bird sanctuary, hoping to see birds/animals they would not normally have a chance to see, they WOULD LEAVE THEIR BELOVED DOG AT HOME!! One dog sees another, barking ensues and voila...not an f'n bird to be seen! It's too hot here to leave animals in the car for sure, but there are definitely places where a pooch doesn't belong. I was not a happy camper.

All that to say, I had a great day. Wayne took the day off so he was stayed at home and skipped the gym today.

Thursday, 16 Feb 2012 - SPI

These two are always together. If they have a spat, my money is on the scaley one.

We had quite a storm on SPI this morning. I woke up about 4:30 this morning because of flashing lights outside the bedroom  window. After watching them off an on for a while I decided it must be an ambulance as the flashes seemed to be quite regular and decided I'd better get up and have a look.

I went to the front door and stepped outside but there was no ambulance. It was so foggy I could hardly see across the street but could see the whole sky light up 'somewhere' up there and within minutes, started to hear the thunder. It was rolling in over the ocean and took about 10 minutes to hit us full force with rain, wind, and big, big thunder! Counting the time it took to continue past SPI, the storm lasted about 30 minutes. However, it was the lightening that was so strange as even with the shutters closed, it woke both Wayne and I out of a sound sleep without the sound of thunder. Very creepy.

The rain had stopped by the time I fumbled out of bed and I decided I'd go up to the boardwalk to see what I could see. The rain started again, my hair frizzed up on top of my head and I left to get some lunch. Halfway through soup the sun came out and I headed back and surely the wildlife would want to catch some rays. Sure enough, the big alligator came out to get some sun and his favourite companion, a big Tricolored Heron, settled himself by the gator's tail. Every time the gator comes out, the Heron is there with him...but always at the 'tail end'. The clouds came over again and I headed home to do laundry and such.

Truly, the weather has been awful. We've only had a couple of days of sun and there doesn't appear to be much better stuff coming until the weekend. I am praying it improves before Gail and Graham arrive next week...we've sung the praises of SPI so many times and I hope this isn't 'payback' of some sort. It's not a cheap holiday to fly here just to sit and watch the sky open up day after day! January was unusually warm here, which it isn't normal so I guess it's just another fluke of unpredictable weather. I noticed that it was only 39 degrees F in Florida last week so the SnowBirds may not come home too tanned this year!

I'm really missing my babies so take note parents--Honey needs to Skype this weekend please. Sounds like there is a mini-Spring happening at home. Colin will appreciate not having to shovel an extra driveway. Keep in mind folks....it ain't over yet although for lots of reasons, I'm really hoping for an early Spring this year.

That was my day, hope you had a great one too. Until next time, lots of love and hugs to all. Carl....please....pictures! xx

Wednesday, 15 Feb 2012 - SPI

How pretty am I?

How pretty am I NOW?

'Beep Beep'

The sun came out and it was a beautiful day on South Padre Island. The locals are still hoping for more rain to ease the drought but we Winter Texans have had enough. Hope we win...at least in the short term.

Yesterday I drove over to the Atacosta NWR. I'm starting to think it's a bit creepy that there are so few birds around. However the girls in the centre told me that there have been a few hawks flying around and when that happens, the birds either take off or hunker down in the bushes and play 'I can't see you therefore you can't see me'. There's a nice 19-miles loops to drive around the reserve but again, didn't see much other than a couple of vultures giving a osprey a hard time so that it would ditch the fish it had caught. However the highlight for me was seeing my first Roadrunner...Geococcyx californianus (honestly) for the other geeks. He/She was quite big and beautiful. Didn't see any coyotes although there are a few around there I'm told. The Green Jays are about the same size..and noisy...as our Blue Jays but so colourful when they fly. They are only found in Texas.

With all the wind and moisture, my hair was starting to be a real problem. It doesn't take more than an inch or two of extra length to make it unmanageable. I decided that I'd try and find someplace to get a trim. I went into one nice shop but I needed a flow chart to figure out when the hairdresser was available. "My name is LaVinia...I own the shop. Betty does pedicures on Thurs, Fri, and Sat mornings. Jean does hair Mon, Wed, every second Fri and any afternoon if you call her 10 days ahead." That's too much decision making for me...I want to get in...get cute...and get out.

There was a place called Just Cuts near the Walmart and so I went in there. As I've said before, we are so close to Mexico that we might as well be in Mexico. The greater percentage of the labour force is Mexican, as were the 'hairdressers'. At Just Cuts, it's walk in, name on list, don't leave or name is deleted, next hairdresser available is yours. Fortunately, the end result was fine but getting there would have made Danny shiver in his designer duds (but when was the last time any of us had a hair cut for $10.95?). At that price, there is no shampooing of hair...just a spray bottle to wet it down. There's no blow drying...step outside and let the wind do it. However, a home shampoo and blow dry made it all pretty for another few weeks.

It was nice and warm so I headed down to the beach with my Kobo and Wayne showed up a bit later, having just come from the gym on his bike. The wind could...could be a deterrent for most of us but he did 27 kms yesterday so is either getting used to it or considers it just another mountain he has to climb. I suspect the latter. We sat out for a couple of hours until it got a bit cloudy and by then, it was time for our 4pm glass of wine.

We went to Louie's Backyard for their seafood buffet which includes King Crab Legs, prime rib, and scallops. They did not make any money on us...or rather Wayne, as crab is an acceptable substitute for lobster for him and he had his fill. It was delicious and thanks to the couple beside us who gave us a coupon for a free dessert, we came home with a giant piece of 6-layer cake.

That was our day...hope yours was as good. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Monday, 13 Feb 2012 - SPI

Photos: Pair of White Ibis and the lonely Roseate Spoonbill

Yesterday (Sunday) the rain and high winds continued. We decided we'd treat ourselves and go to Denny's for breakfast...along with most other Winter Texans on the island. I had to laugh as there was a guy at the door making balloon animals for kids. The thing is...there aren't any kids on this island, unless you count the over '60s who act like kids!

The winds have been so strong the last few days. We walked down to the ocean to see the wave and they were huge. There has been quite an accumulation of sea weed on the beach and it will be interesting to see how long it takes before the beach tractors are out cleaning it all up and hauling it away. There were some flood warnings out for those who live along the beach as the warnings said the high winds, combined with high tide, could take the waves right over the dunes. We didn't see any evidence of that happening but living by the water always has it's issues. Been there...done that and don't have any desire to live next to water again.

The sun finally came out today and I went down to the boardwalk again. There's always herons of all types there and they are fun to watch. There were two alligators today...one smaller one by the main building and a much bigger one on the other side of the marsh...both taking in the sun. The larger one is very illusive and tends to borrow underneath the heavy grass so not easy to see. This is the first year I've managed to see him in the 4 different times we've been to SPI. Apparently there is another large one and then a smaller baby but they can hide so easily that it's easy to miss them.

The beautiful Roseate Spoonbills were back but except for one in the middle marsh, the flock was feeding at another marshy area too far to photograph. I've got to the point where I photograph everything that moves and then come home and check the bird book. Fortunately, there's always something different to see. If the nice weather continues I may drive the 25 miles to the Atacosa Wildlife Refuge on the other side of the bay. The last time I was there a bobcat ran across the path in front of me.

The rainy weather is very frustrating and we just have to keep reminding ourselves that it's warm, we aren't shovelling, and it can't last forever. However it keeps us from doing some of the outdoor things we love to do...which is why we came here. Patience is not something I have a lot of but there's not much we can do about it except smile when the locals tell us what a blessing the rain is after so much drought.

That was our day...hope your was great too! Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Saturday, 11 Feb 2012 - SPI

Photos: Butterflies feasting on the Lantana Bush.

The sun finally came out this morning and although the weather man said it was going to be 77 degrees, I'm not sure we got to that temperature. By 5pm the clouds had covered everything again and it's rain again for tomorrow. I'm told that this isn't unusual for this time of year and the sun will soon shine. Please....

I headed off to the nature boardwalk and Wayne decided he'd pedal into the wind until enough was enough and then let the wind help him glide home.

The last two days have been relatively slim pickins' at the boardwalk. Apparently the bulrushes are starting to get too thick so they are pumping salt water into the marsh area to kill them. Good move for getting rid of bulrushes, bad move for accommodating migrating birds...who have never experienced salt water...looking for a place to settle. The wind is so strong, even the herons are quivering in the bushes trying to keep warm. I did manage to take a few photos and I'm at the point now that I'll shoot anything and then look in the bird book to see WTF they are...it keeps me busy and out of stores!

There was a Regional Dance Championship for high schools in the area so I drifted over to the Convention Centre to check it out. There were lots of teams and it appears that schools can have multiple dance teams (jazz, hip-hop, etc.) and from what I saw, competition is fierce. They were pretty darn good. I took a few photos, just for the practice of it all, ate a hot dog and went back out to the boardwalk for a last look. By this time I'd been gone 5 hrs and figured Wayne might be getting curious as to where the heck I'd gone.

I came home with a florescent green Senior Citizen band on one wrist from the Bird Centre and a florescent orange Senior Citizen band on the other wrist from the dance championship...I could have taken a job waving in aircraft at the local airport. The good part is that I either got in for nothing or next to nothing. The bad news is that I didn't have to ask for either...they just looked at me and automatically gave me the appropriate wristband. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about that...it (getting older) was still fresh when they asked me if I was a Senior. Now there's visually no longer any doubt. FART!

We've got a bead on a giant flea market in Brownsville but I think we'll save that until Gail & Graham arrive....unless this wretched rain continues and it becomes a choice between more shopping or slitting  my wrists.

Rumour has it that Melanie had a baby but it can't be true because no-body is sending or posting photos...hint, hint. All in all, it was a super day and Wayne didn't have to shovel snow. Take care and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Friday, 10 Feb 2012 - SPI

The weather continues to be 'icky' and we'll have a couple of more days of it before things start to improve...none too soon for me.

Wayne bought an 18-speed bike from Walmart and after picking it up Wednesday, decided that assembling it might not be a big problem but adjusting gears, brakes and the like wasn't a job he wanted to do. Thursday morning he made the following offer: "Lynne, I'm going to take the bike into Harlingen, drop it off at a local bike shop and go to the Gold's gym that's located inside the big shopping centre. Wanna come?"

Hell, yes!! I've read, done laundry, tidied the condo, napped, bought groceries, etc. for the past few days and other than the afternoon in Brownsville, haven't been out and about. I'm do for some serious retail therapy AND the walking exercise that it affords. We headed out and he dropped me at the JCPenny door with instructions that we'll meet in 3 hrs.

Shopping isn't as easy as men think it is...simply because they don't have the 'browse' gene...it isn't their fault. However, what they don't get is that women have to look, touch, consider, re-consider and then buy or reject just about everything they see. Some women don't have the gene but they are in the minority. I've always loved cruising through malls--I inherited an over-active gene from my Mother and there's nothing I can do about it. Unfortunately though, this gene directs it's focus in one direction in particular....SHOES!!

I know I have an (another) addiction. I'd need 10 legs to wear all the shoes I own. I'd have to go somewhere 3x a day, every day, to wear each season's collection. Wayne says I've thrown out more shoes than he's ever owned, and (in this instance) he's not wrong. All that to say, the first store I hit outside JCPenny's is the Rack Room Shoe outlet THAT IS HAVING THEIR ANNUAL CLEARANCE SALE!! As I walk in, I start to hyper-ventilate and I can feel the perspiration forming on my upper lip. Shoes in every colour, style, and heel sizes for prices ranging from $5 to $15. I start to walk up and down the isles, looking at every single style and having an internal conversation with myself: "I already have 2 pairs of fuscia sandles but not in that style and for $6......"; "What do I have to wear with lime green?"; "My God...black suede heels for $5...I don't have black suede heels!"; MOG...do those brown wedgies have embroidery on them for $8?".

On and on it went and after 4 trips down each lane and trying on 87 pairs of shoes, I restricted myself to 4 pair. With the 2 pair I'd already bought at the Burlington Coat Factory, I have now set a new record for numbers of pairs shoes purchased in a 4-day period. BONUS!!

We are 11 miles from the Mexican border and when it comes to shoes, we might as well be in Mexico. I could never get over the gazillion different styles the Mexican shoes stores had, at prices that were below 'sale' prices in Canada. Forget drugs...someone is smuggling shoes across the border and I'm a willing buyer. Seriously, how can I buy shoes, in very colour, style, and heel size, full of rhinestones and other glitz, for less than $20? 'Splain that Lucy!

After all that excitement, we picked up Wayne's bike and headed back to South Padre. The sun actually came out for a half-hour and we decided we'd try a new restaurant. I had a pasta craving so we went to Gabriella's for one of the most wonderful meals we've ever had on the Island. We got there for happy hour so had some wine and then blundered our way through 5-layer lasagna and strip loin steak. This restaurant is definitely going to the top of our list of favourites.

 That was our day. The rain is supposed to start at noon today so I may take the camera down to the nature walk, or to the beach, before it starts. There's a new line of movies at the local theatre and I wouldn't mind seeing My Week With Marilyn or The Descendents...we'll see how the day goes. Hope all is well at home.  Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Wednesday, 8 Feb 2012 - SPI

I've been wracking my brain, and finger-taps in the 'help' menu since we started this trip, trying to figure out why I couldn't download photos. I think photos enhance the blog...and my magic words...and I was on the edge of finding another blog provider but decided to go one level deeper in the help menu. I'm such a geek...but so happy the problem has been solved AND I had the patience to find it. Normally I do a lot of whinning and Wayne finds it.

I got down to the boardwalk one day and took a couple of photos of the good 'ol herons...God bless 'em...they are always there to practice the lens techniques with.

Now the pressure is on to try and have a photo for every blog...sheeeeeesh!

Wednesday, 8 Feb 2012 - SPI

The stretch of rainy, miserable weather continues and the only upside of it all is that I don't have to shovel it! From the looks of the weather report, this is going to continue for a while yet so all those $5 hokey vampire movies I bought at Walmart last week will probably get viewed sooner, rather than later. At least the temperature has risen from freezing to cold! This too shall end.

We had a nice break yesterday with the visit of Dianne & Will Joudrey and Colleen. Dianne, Colleen and I all worked together and even though Dianne is from Winnipeg and Colleen from Edmonton, we became and remain, very good friends. Dianne & Will bought a place in Westlaco, about 1 hr west of here and came up to SPI to show Colleen the sights and let us all have dinner together. It's a shame that the weather is going to be so crappy all week but I know it won't hold them back from visiting various places around the area so that Colleen will still feel that she's had a holiday. It was so good to spend time with them; we laughed and reminisced and laughed some more. We'll be heading to Westlaco to spend a day or two with them in March.

I decided that I would buy an exercise DVD and at least pretend that I'm trying to maintain some semblance of healthiness. It was done by three of the girls on 'Dancing with the Stars' and I thought that dancing...vice exercises...would at least be fun. Fun it might be but I still suck at it! I learned a couple of things: my sense of rhythm has depleted with my increase in age, my ability to process the most simple of instructions has depleted with age, and I think my 'softness' (aka flab') is here to stay! After 1/2 of fumbling around the living room, I decided to video my attempts in case I was being too hard on myself and was doing better than I thought. NOT!! I just looked like a dork and can see this video on YouTube with the highest number of viewings ever...as another senior citizen who's almost ready for a nursing home. It wasn't pretty. I don't think I'll give up though....when we go home I'm going to try Zoomba for the Wii.

Wayne ordered a bike online through Walmart and it arrived today so he's off to collect it and will then spend the rest of the day assembling it in the living room. He should get quite a workout as the wind is nearly always blowing...hard...here so it will be a tough ride either going or returning. He's already got 2 offers to buy it when we leave so it won't be come home with us. He'll certainly enjoy it though and it will give him the edge when we return and he goes back Spinning with Big Al.

That's our day (so far) and hope yours is good. I'm missing my babies (old and young) but got to Skype with Tim & Kim last night. Next on our list is Kevin & Kate although they are much harder to pin down than the rest. Take care and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 5 Feb 2012 - SPI

It's a rainy...and COLD...day in South Padre Island and I haven't left the condo. The storm prediction finally came true and it looks as though we are going to have an overcast and cooler week. TIME FOR RETAIL THERAPY!!

Yesterday was the big chili challenge for breast cancer at Louie's Restaurant on the island and we decided we'd check it out. There were about 10 teams from various businesses/organizations and some of them had 2 or even three different types. It was my first time eating 'green chili' which is made with chicken or pork vice beef and didn't like it as well. It's a good think we went a bit early as by the time the tasting started at noon, about 200+ people had shown up. A band from Burlington, Ont was the entertainment and we ended up sitting with a couple from Manitoba so it was like old home week. There were a couple of real stomach-churners and my vote ended up going to whomever cooked the chili from the Girl Guide organization. Wayne bought a box of cookies as well so they got our vote for everything!

From there we headed over to the sand flats to see what was happening at the kite festival. What an amazing spectacle it was...reminded me somewhat of the balloon fest as home. As we drove up we could see the sky was filled with kite of every size imaginable and the colours were amazing! We'd brought chairs and our beach umbrella...it was HOT...so had a very comfortable afternoon. There was a team who each handled a single kite (shaped something like a bat) and at one point 10 people, standing side-by-side, co-ordinated the flight so that the kites came together in a circle, then zig-zagged or looped in circles...all to music. It was incredible to watch. I imagine the local kite shops did a booming business later in the day. I'm glad we went yesterday as the rain and extreme winds today no doubt means there would be nothing happening today.

We Skyped with Corky & Debbie today and heard all about their new grandaughter, Teiya. I can't believe Jenelle had a 9+lb baby in there..she is the smallest little thing but ended up having a cesarean. Everyone is well and I'm sure the new family is getting used to their new life. Grandchildren are a totally new experience...one that is filled with extreme joy and thankfulness for their existence. It's nothing like having your own children....it's 100x better! We also got to hear about Rick & Jackie's new house which sounds gorgeous.

Take care everyone and it's nice to hear Winterlude is a success. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Saturday, 4 Feb 2012 - SPI

Well, I'm wearing my new pink outfit.....that's the new term for my minor sunburn!

We spent the last few days stocking the larder, picking up some beach towels and beach chairs, wine glasses, and a few other 'necessities'. We are loving, loving, loving, our condo and seem to have settled into a pretty flexible routine--which is what winter holidaying is all about. Wayne has joined his gym up the street and I got to the new nature preserve yesterday. When we were here in 2009, the existing boardwalk through the mud flats was being expanded and it's now finished so what used to be a minimal walk to get to the flats on the bay can now be a long, long walk. The end result was that I came home with a few pictures but a major need to lighten up my camera bag.

The weather report for the next week wasn't great but we haven't seen much to complain about so far. I went down to the beach about 1 pm yesterday with my e-reader and settled in to read for a while. Yes, I put #30 on my face but it was overcast and with the breeze blowing....well, after an hour the fog started to roll in and I left....with the lesson to make sure I use sun block all over from now on. Fortunately, nothing hurts and I wasn't there long enough to have anything peel. According to the locals, it has been an unusually hot January and we're hoping the forecast is wrong. It's a tad overcast this morning but looking good out there.

On our way into SPI last week, we drove through a little town up the road that was advertising a rodeo taking place this weekend. That went on my 'list of things to do'....I'm not sure where it came from but I'm a bit of a rodeo hound....and we decided to go last night. It was fabulous!! There was bull riding, bare-back and saddle broco riding, calf roping, barrel racing and a huge carnival. It was exciting and we got right into it. Then came the calf scramble...OMG, we laughed so hard. There is a small group of kids and an equally small group of kids who have to catch a calf, harness the animal, and then haul it to the judge. Those critters can really run and if they don't want to be hauled anywhere, they dig in and won't move. We had a great time!! At one point the woman beside Wayne came back with a foot-long corn dog. I had to use the 'safe work'....OFF....to make sure he didn't 'attack-and-grab'....it smelled so good!

Today we are going to the chili cook-off in support of women's cancer and then heading over to the sand flats for the kite festival. SPI is world famous for kite flying and some of the kites you see on the beach have been 'technologically enhanced'. This weekend there are a couple of international teams coming to compete and it should be a colourful event.

2012 has been a busy year for babies in this family! Melanie, Dean, and Sawyer welcomed Scotia Aurora, Corky & Debbie's new grandaughter Teiya just arrived and Colin, Jen, and Gillian will be welcoming a little girl in June. All these girls!!! After living the better part of my life surrounded by males, this influx of females is a delight!! I can't believe how lucky I am. When we Skyped with Colin & Jen to find out the sex of the baby, they appeared on screen dressed in pink feathers, sweaters, hats, etc (even Gillian). Wayne is already planning the playhouse for their backyard and we've gone from 'small Victorian playhouse' to 'castle with multiple turrets'. Should be interesting!

That was our week--how was yours? Hope all is well at home. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Wednesday, 1 Feb 2012 - SPI

We moved into the condo today...thank goodness. One more french fry, one more deep fried shimp, or one more hamburger and I swear, I was going to blow up! Now how long that will last, I won't say but our shopping cart was filled with lettuce, vegetables, and fruit so we'll see how long we can eat a bit healthier.

The condo is absolutely gorgeous! It's been professionally decorated and has the best quality of wicker furniture and everything is co-ordinated. The master bedroom suite is so beautiful--leather headboard and footboard and again...all coordinated. One would say..."What's the point if only renters get to enjoy it?" but I guess the best quality furniture lasts longest. All that to say, we are very happy with our digs.

It didn't take us long to get settled. Unpacking and finding room for stuff went quickly and then we headed out to stock the larder. When we got home, our downstairs neighbours were talking to our next door neighbour so we went over and introduced ourselves and invited them up to see the digs. The price of admission was that they each had to grab a bag of groceries so everything came up at one time. They were as impressed with the place as we were. No question, we'll be very comfortable here.

Wayne went to the gym while I made a quick trip over to Walmart for a couple of folding chairs for the baloney. Seeing as that f'n squirrel 'ate' my beautiful pool towels last year...actually, it has the softest nest in the city...I bought some more to use at the beach. God bless Wally-World, it's literally one stop shopping so we had TGI Friday's famous frajitas...so delicious and only $3.76! I saved so much money that I also bought a little portable DVD player. I wonder why it is that as we get older, we love everything small and portable? There's no DVD player in the condo but this little gem hooks up to the TV so problem solved. It also plays in the car or has a 3 hr battery life. Wayne's been warmed not to try and watch a movie in bed at 3 am (we were both awake and wandering at that time this morning).

The weather has been very warm but still overcast although the sun tries to shine through the low clouds. There is a lot going on this weekend but I've got my camera bag all packed and ready to go so hopefully be taking some photos in the next few days. We aren't bored...the HBO channel is taking care of that.

Hope the freezing rain hasn't created too many problems and everyone is well. We Skyped with Colin and Jen tonight and Gillian had a big story to tell us about her daycare friends. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx