Love having an address again and more fun…

We had a great Christmas and really enjoyed having Katie here. We also got to Skype and watch the grandkids open their presents in Texas too. Have I mentioned having an address has been a real life saver as we were in need of many necessary and wishing for some luxury items. Sharon’s laptop battery was fried as well as both our laptop chargers. It’s been fun tracking them as they make their way down to us and we received them on Christmas Eve. We had a great Christmas and we even got the number one item on our wish list! The one “luxury” item we both wanted was a shade extension to our awning. It too arrived just before Christmas and we were happy to see the size we ordered was just right for us. We were amazed at how much cooler and more pleasant it makes our sitting area outside. Money well spent for sure…

Recently we also had an LED indicator light go out on our water pump “on/off” switch. It annoyed us a lot as we never knew when we had left the water pump on. With the help of a fantastic step by step document I took the switch off the cabinet and took it apart and was able to locate the burnt out LED. I checked with the local radio shack for a replacement LED lights but they were out of then and we had to order one that they would ship to our address. Did I mention we love having an address. Replacing the LED was a bit tricky using the soldering iron as the LED is in such a tight plastic housing but I eventually got it soldered and we now have a “on/off” water pump LED indicator that works… and only 2.99 for parts and I even got a spare bulb as they came in a two pack!

Meanwhile, the weather has been ideal so Katie insisted we take her to the beach. I fished while the ladies laughed while trying to master the art of throwing the cast net for bait fish. There is definitely a learning curve to throwing the net just right. We’ve watched many a video with instructors who make it look easy. I can’t say my technique is pretty but I do manage to catch bait fish so for now I am happy with that. We had a friend that always stayed nearby when we brought the cast net back in, a snowy egret. The entire time we were at the beach he/she was lying in wait should any bait fish escape to secure a free fishy snack, or as I called it, bird sushi. Indeed he snagged a couple of bait fish so his patience paid off. We had a great time except for Katie managed to step on a razor shell and cut her foot toward the end of the day, but otherwise it was a near perfect afternoon of fun.

That evening one of the Wisconsin neighbors near us invited us to Happy Hour to taste his collection of homemade wines. Everyone was told to bring party food so Sharon and Katie made some sausage cheese Kolaches warm and fresh from the oven. It turned out to be a huge event so we met more people from the park. One couple we met playing cornhole (beanbag toss) mentioned they have a boat and invited us for a boat ride the next day. They didn’t have to ask twice so we have future plans for a boat ride The homemade wines were pretty darned good as I tried a strawberry one that was lightly dry and nice, a blueberry one that was a bit sweet for me and a plum/blueberry was that was, well… just plum good!!!