Florida Is Opening Up - Phase 3 and Final Stage

 Florida is opening up!  Restaurant and bars can go to full capacity with little restrictions.  The county where I live has never had mandatory masks but because of the surrounding counties my county just kind of followed suit.  What will happen with COVID and Florida?  We will find out in the next few weeks.

It makes sense to open up here.  It is Fall now and we have a lot of snowbirds that come to Florida for the winter months.  They begin to arrive in October and plan to stay through March.  With that said, Florida may be opening so that the snowbirds will come back along with more tourism.  Most of Florida relies on tourism and the past six months have been tough.  Our Governor has been doing a great job taking care of Florida and I think most Floridians feel he has our backs.  It is time to try to return to a little more normal.

So, let's hope COVID stays contained here in Florida once everything opens up.  It is time and I think there is a lot of people that feel the same.  I do feel for those with compromising health issues and I do believe that some of the services that have been set up for distancing will continue.  It is time to reopen Florida and begin the new normal!

Memories 1970

 Is it me or do you find it weird that you can come across a picture from long ago and still remember names and events?  I was cleaning out some things from my storage unit and found a class picture from 1970 when I was in the 4th grade.  There is a facebook group where I grew up and so I decided to post the picture on it.  When I look at that picture and all those faces I can remember everybody's name.  What I don't know is where most of them are now but I have a few that I am still in contact with.  Mrs. Motosaka was my 4th grade teacher and I was lucky to have her.  She was the best 4th grade teacher in the school.  If I recall there were three 4th grade classrooms.  4th grade, that I remember, was a good year for me.  Most of my friends, including my best friend, was in my class and I just remember that being a great year.  So hello to all my 4th graders; I hope you are all doing well!

Someone Lost A Tooth

 A big event happened a couple of days ago.  Rory lost her first tooth!  She woke up and came to me and showed me her tooth.  It was super loose so I sent her to show Mommy.  Next thing I hear is WOOHOO! Jenny pulled the tooth out.  There was a little blood but it stopped bleeding quickly.  Rory was so excited. She went to school and shared it with her friends and teacher.  That night we put the tooth in a little cloth bag and placed it under her pillow.  

When Rory woke up the next morning the tooth was gone and the Tooth Fairy left Rory a note and $2.00. The tooth fairly told Rory in the note that she normally only gives $1.00 for a tooth, I got a dime when I lost my teeth, but because she took such good care of her teeth, flossing and brushing every day, that she received an extra $1.00.  

So, one tooth has been lost with another that may happen sometime this week end.  Rory's best friends have already lost several of their teeth so Rory was beginning to wonder when she would lose hers.  Her adult tooth is already growing in.  I forgot how much fun it is to watch kids lose their first teeth.  It is neat that I got to experience with my kids and now with my grandchild too!  Thanks Tooth Fairy!

Is It Fall?

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall but we had a chance today to have a bit of the cooler weather. It was only about 75 degrees today and even though it was overcast and rainy at times it felt great to not walk out into the heat and the humidity.  I am doing a Step Bet now and today had to be one of my power days.  So, I got out there this afternoon and got it done.  It felt good to be able to exercise and not get over heated too!

I know it won't last and it will get hot and humid again but at least for today I wore long sleeves for the first time since March, made homemade chili, watched football and played games with me kids.  All in all, it was a pretty good day.  Welcome Fall Y'all!

2020 - Why Not A Long Hurricane Season!

 2020 is still giving out the punches!  Hurricane season in the southeast is going into history for going through the entire alphabet of named storms and having to go into the Greek alphabet for more.  Alpha has been used and Beta was just named.  Normally in a "regular" hurricane season, which runs from June 1st through November 30 we may get to L.  A really active year we would get to R or S.  This year we are through them all and we are only at the peak of Hurricane season with another 10 weeks to go.  2005 was the first time in history (naming of the storms started in the 1900s) when 5 of the Greek alphabet were used. So, as of now, we only need four more named stores to beat that record. This year most of the bigger Hurricanes have been going into the Gulf of Mexico and making landfall between Texas and Florida's west coast.  The Atlantic coast has had it easy so far. So now we wait and see how far we will get in the Greek alphabet but  since it is 2020 who knows what will happen! Stayed tuned for more!  

Fun Social Distancing

 Social Distancing are now common words that we do not even think about yet 6 months ago.  We were struggling to not only say it but to remember it.  I had to write it down and keep it in my desk drawer to refer to when I could not remember it.  Social Distancing now just exists.  Whether you are in the grocery store, at Target or Walmart and even the Dollar Store we social distance.  We social distance to attend church, go to the movies or a sporting match.  We do it so we can participate in "normal" things.  Where am I going with this?

Social distancing can be fun.  At work this week I made hats to wear to social distance during meetings and singing, when ever we can do that again.  I saw it on Facebook a few months ago and figured out it would be fun to do ourselves.  So, I did and for the last few days we have had fun wearing them, which can be dangerous. we wore them in the choir loft, at staff meetings, lunches and sharing with friends!  I am fortunate to work at a place that you can fun but still get your job done and some pretty great people to spend time with.  We did an Abby Road reboot, the picture, but added masks.

To make the hats I chose the sombrero because I knew I was going to have to use the brim to help support the pool noodles. It was fun and I can truly say we had fun with them.  What next?  Well, you will have to wait and see!

Fall Soccer Season Has Begun!

 Rory's soccer season has begun and it was a good start.  She plays in an advanced Soccer league, she is only 6, and so their season starts a couple of weeks prior to the regular soccer season.  This advanced league also wants to really teach the kids the game so they are always coaching and guiding the team in their positions and plays.  Rory played every position,  Each quarter they would switch.  She even played goal tender...she has no fear.  They won their game but it was so refreshing to watch the kids pass the ball to another teammate, help protect the goal and encouraged their teammates.  Even though the advanced team cost more it is well worth it.  Rory loves the game.  So, for the next few months, we will be busy on Saturdays and some Sundays watching Rory play soccer!  Bring it on!

9-11, We Must Never Forget

 There are moments in our lives that we never forget.  I am not talking about a birthday or your anniversary.  It's the moments that literally changes your lives.  December 7 - the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and it was the start of WWII for the U.S.A.,  November 22 - the day John F Kennedy was shot and September 11 (9-11) - the day America was attacked! There are so many more events and the current situation with COVID-19 is history making as we go.  They are all infamous but today it is 9-11 and 19 years ago we all remember what happened.  The attacks in NYC, Washington DC and in Pennsylvania are still vivid in our minds and it is one of those questions "Where were you when the Twin Towers came down?" is one that almost everyone 25 and above can answer.  Where were you?

9-11 won't be forgotten, sure it does not effect people the way it did a few years ago but on this day every year you do think about what happened and why.  The why is very important.  Out of the 9-11 tragedy came a few positives.  Our respect for the Firefighters and Police Officers grew 100%.  The Military became respected once again.  Our country forgot, for a few minutes, that we were in this together and it did not matter if you were black or white or yellow or red or brown because we were one.  There was not Republicans or Democrats, Christian, Jewish or any other religion (except Muslim) we were one.  

During our time right now we must come together again, as a country, and stop the riots, violence and COVID-19.  Wear your mask until we don't have to anymore, send your kids to brick and mortar school, go back to worship in your church, go back to a somewhat normal life and open up all of the states and cities so we can all go back to work.  This country was going in the right direction before COVID-19 hit and our President and Governors did the right thing in the beginning of COVID-19 to get the curve down.  We were told that over a million U.S. citizens were die and, at the time, we have had 200,000 deaths.  It is always bad to lose a life to a virus but a positive is we did not hit over a million.  Did we close down too long, probably but we will never know.  Did COVID-19 bring us together? NO WAY!  It made things worse.  So, let's start today by remembering what happened 19 years ago when our country was one and let's try to work together, all of us, to make this country great again and go back to normal!  What do you say, are you with me?  We can do this so let's try!  God bless all those that were truly impacted by 9-11 and all those who stepped up to help.  Let's learn from history and not repeat!

It's Fall at Home

 I know it is late on Monday when I said I would reveal my decorating but I got all involved in an HBO Mini series from a few years ago; "Band Of Brothers".  I have seen it once but oh my gosh, watching it again I have forgotten a lot of it.  All I can say is a huge THANK YOU to all who serve their country.  My dad was a paratrooper during WWII and watching this shows me a lot of what he went through.  I already love and respect the man but it just keeps growing.  

Anyway, Rory and I decorated my room and even though it is not completely finished yet it still feels like Fall!  Check out the pictures next to this post.  I did purchase some new stuff for this year but most of it I had.  I will go a little more in Halloween when it gets closer then back to Fall after Halloween until it is time to decorate for Christmas.  If you have any decorating ideas for me please leave a comment! Have a good rest of the week!

Jenny Drives!

 Jenny had brain surgery 6 weeks ago and everything went well.  The tumor, the size of a golf ball, was benign and her scar has recovered nicely.  She does have some vision issues and when the neurologist said it could be 6 months before she could even consider driving Jenny was shocked.  As a mother of a little one she takes and picks up from school every day she was not a happy camper.  Little by little her vision is getting better and I know her occupational therapy is helping that.  She had started driving short distances on the back roads until yesterday when she wanted to try driving on the main roads. I bit the bullet and let her.  She did well but it did feel, to me, that she was driving like when she got learners permit at 15.  This is all really good that she is doing this however, it will be a little bit before she drives on her own.  Way to go Jen!

Getting Caught Up With Clubs

 I am in two card clubs, making greeting cards, and I have fallen way behind in one club and just a bit late in the other.  The CCC , Crazy Card Club, I have been in for about 15 years now.  It is a good club with talented ladies that have come and gone through the years.  When we lose one we usually gain another.  This club I got four months behind due to COVID 19 and life. I did ask the ladies if they wanted me to quit but they all agreed to keep me in and not worry about my missing cards.  Well, I couldn't do that, so I got caught up this past week and I am current with both clubs. My other club is a small card swap club that does bimonthly swaps with about 6 of us.  It is a break off of the CCC for some who did not want to be in a large club. How these clubs work are we have 6 to 15 members.  Each member makes a card, several of the same, and then sends one to each club member. In return, I get 6 to 15 different cards.  It is fun, I get stocked up on cards and we learned techniques and ideas with each other.  Both clubs have ladies from across the nation so we are quite diverse.  Check out my creations for both clubs.  

This weekend being Labor Day Weekend I get an extra day off.  So, Rory and I will be decorating my bedroom/studio for the Fall.  I have some items, picked up some new items and we are going to create some.  It should be fun and at the end I should have a festive room.  Look for the reveal on Monday! 

My other plans are simple for the weekend:  clean, laundry, do some more cards, do some diamond art, decorate, bake some cookies, hang with the family...basically staying at home except for church on Sunday.  Check back over the next few days and see what I ended up doing.  It may not be exciting but heck, we are still under this stupid COVID 19 stuff so what else do you have to do?