Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

Friday, February 28, 2020

Month #2 at JD

Monday February 3- Had a busy day today. I left early and went to Walmart. I had a small list and actually found everything on my list. It was really quiet there this morning, definitely the time to go. I got back home and decided to do the laundry. I also got  all the rows sewn together on my new quilt project. Then I got busy making a new recipe. Ken and Sandie are having a Mexican dinner tonight at there site. I found a recipe that seemed appropriate. It was called cheesecake dessert nachos. I think they turned out good. We took them to the dinner and there was a really good turnout. The weather was decent too. Everything was really good. It was a great time with great food and great people.



























Tuesday February 4- Our work week starts today. It was a little chilly out there this morning. Seems like this year we are having cooler temps. The good news is it warmed up fairly quick. The day went good. with no surprises. When I got home I worked a little bit trying to get some more of the glue that is still on the slide from those decals. That stuff just doesn't come off easy. We fixed supper and took the dogs for a walk.


Wednesday February 5- Really nice day today and work was super easy. We finished by 1. Again I worked on the glue off the slide. I think the bottom 2 decals are fairly clean. Now we need to do the same thing to the 2 decals up high. I sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Jeffrey and Maren came down for a happy hour. Then we made supper and called it a day.

Thursday February 6- It really warmed up today. It even was warm at 7:30 a.m. when we went to work. Another good day on the job. We had a couple campers that didn't want to pull out. Jeff stayed around and waited for them. I made a trip to the quilt store to get fabric for the border. Then I had to go back to Walmart to get batting and a flat sheet for the back. Then one more stop to pick up my prescriptions. When I got home I cut the border, pinned it on and then sewed it on. Then I needed to press the seems. Next to layer, mark and start the quilting process.

Friday February 7- Boy did we get some rain last night. It didn't want to stop either. So I spent the morning cleaning. I always seem to get started on one cabinet which leads to another and another. I got rid of some stuff and reorganized other stuff. The good news is the weather cleared up. They were talking about rain all day. Jeff worked on the top 2 decals, removing glue. After things dried up I got my quilt stuff outside to layer and pin it. Next step on the quilt is marking and the hand quilting.



We got cleaned up and went to dinner at Outback. We had a gift card about to expire. We got there before it got busy and our meals were really good. After finishing we drove down to The Twisted Trunk Brewery. Tonight's entertainment was The Leafy Greens. We saw them before and really liked them and wanted to see them again. We were early and the place was hopping. We found a place to sit and enjoy the show. These two really know how to put on a show and are super friendly to bring in the crowd. We had a great night.









 Saturday February 8- When we got up we got busy. I did  some cleaning up inside and outside. We have invited Tom and Michelle, and Ken and Jana over for biscuits and gravy. I also made my homemade cinnamon rolls. Jeff prepared the gravy and put it in the instant pot to keep warm. I put the cinnamon rolls together as well. Jeff wanted to wait to prepare the biscuits, so they would be hot. I opened the can and put them on a baking sheet. About half way through the cooking time Jeff came in to check on them. He said that there was something not right. Pulled them out and he was right. They were like rocks. They were weird looking on the outside. It was as if all the moisture in them had disappeared. Well I had another tube of them that I bought at the same time at the same place. We went ahead and tried them but again they were a flop. Jeff had left to go to the store to get more. We couldn't figure out what had happened. I mean how hard is it to cook biscuits? While waiting for the biscuits the rolls were done, or I thought. They didn't cook right either. A double flop. I cooked them in a different oven. The next batch of biscuits turned out so the breakfast was rescued. Here is what our crappy biscuits looked like. I let Pillsbury know about it.





Sunday February 9- Today we headed to church, it's a big day with a big announcement. The told everyone when the grand opening of there new building will be......May 17... Jeff and I were a bit disappointed, we wanted to visit the new building before we head north. I guess we will have to wait until next year. The worship and message was great. It is super windy today. I started on the quilting on my latest project today. While I was sitting outside quilting Ken and Mary pulled in. They were volunteers before but are now just visiting for a few days. They stopped by to visit.  Then we headed to Blue Point to listen to some live music. When we arrived the place was a mad house. Lots of dirty tables and chairs all over. We had 2 waiters, kind of. I'm not sure even when we left who was getting the tip. At least Jeff's sandwich was good. I always rave about there chicken strips but not today. They were cooked was too much.


Monday February 10- Hung around here most of the day. We made plans for the rest of the week with Ken and Mary and other volunteers. We have a lot going on so we rested up today.


Tuesday February 11- The start of the work week. It was a warm one. It went fairly well. Then at 2 o'clock we went to get Ken and Mary. We took a road trip to Drive Shack in West Palm Beach. They run a special on Tuesday's, $12.00 per hour all day. It didn't take too long to get there and we got a bay on the second story. Someone was right there to explain the rules and the different games you could play. We figured out our game and got started.








We had drinks and some appetizers. It was all good. We played for a couple hours. We had a great time. It was our first visit here and we were impressed. It was clean, the help was very helpful and on top of things. We had couches in our bay and a nice table for our food and drink. It was a warm day but it was perfect sitting out there. We just loved the whole experience. We got home and stayed around here the rest of the night.



Wednesday February 12- Another warm day at work. It was a foggy start to our day. Today after work the volunteers are having a happy hour with snacks at 4:00. So after work I got a meat and cheese tray together. We headed to the party and we had a really good turnout. There was lots of food and conversation. We really have a good group of people here volunteering. Here our a few shots of the evening.




















Everyone had a great time and the weather was perfect as well.


Thursday February 13- Today was the end of our work week. It was warm and smooth running. When I finished I cleaned up and went to town. I went back to the quilt store. The last time I went I spotted this fabric that I loved but didn't get. So I went back and got a couple different fabrics. Then I went to Walmart to get some quilting supplies. I needed a new cutting mat before starting my next project. I got home and it wasn't long before we left again. Ken and Mary came over and we went to the Square Grouper to meet Steve, Claire and Pam for a happy hour. It was a beauty of a day to sit by the water with great friends. It was a real nice afternoon.



We came back to the park and had supper but the night wasn't quite over yet. At 6:30 some of the volunteers gathered at the pavilion to play LRC. If you've never played it's a great game for a group of people. We had a decent group and played a couple games. It was a fun time for sure. Jeff and I didn't win but still had fun.




Friday February 14- Happy Valentines Day. We have a couple from church coming over this morning at 9:00. We invited them for coffee but didn't want to have nothing to eat so we went to Jupiter Donuts and got some donuts. When we got back a got a text saying that they would be here as soon as the coffee cake was done. So I gave some donuts to Ken and Mary to eat as they are traveling to there next spot. When hung around here today getting the laundry caught up. We had planned to go to Carlin Park for a free concert. It is a Chicago tribute band named Solid Brass. Well the weather was really looking less than ideal. It is outside and we just didn't feel that lucky. We had a change in plans. We went to Sneaky Tiki in Stuart. We met Maren and Jeffrey for dinner and we got to listen to Jodi Gaines. We haven't seen them for a while. It did rain a little on the way and while we were there. I'm not sure it ever did rain at Carlin Park. We saw them last year so it wasn't that big of a deal. We had a great night anyway.



Saturday February 15- The day started off dry but that didn't last long. We did get the dogs a walk before the rain started. It rained on and off most of the day. We went in to pick up a few groceries and a movie form Redbox. We came home and I quilted, finished quilting the second row, out of 8 rows. We also watched the movie. We got Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It wasn't our favorite. To strange for me. Then both of us were really craving a home cooked meal so we made us one of them. Then at 6 o'clock we left to meet Maren and Jeffrey at The Tequesta Brewing Company. We were going there to listen to The Leafy Greens Band. The place was hopping but we found us some great seats. The show was fantastic. This young couple really work hard at pleasing the crowd. It was a fun night. Ron and Ann even came for a bit, they are volunteers here at the park too.






Sunday February 16- It a pretty day this morning. We got ready to go to church. It was a awesome service today. The worship and the word was great. Then  we hurried home so I could put together a casserole for our small group. It meets at 1:00. So as soon as it was done it was just about time to head over there. We had great fellowship and a bible study. We were home by 3 o'clock and both of us our worn out. It has been a super busy week...so until next time......


























































































































Saturday, February 8, 2020

Making Ourselves At Home.....at JD


Monday January 20- Road Trip today. When we were staying at Lion Country Safari we talked to some neighbors. I watched them unload there dive stuff. I wondered where they could have gone diving? We used to do quite a bit of diving but not any more. They told us about a place in West Palm just past Riveria Beach, Blue Heron Bridge. She said it is one of her favorite dive spots. It is also famous for snorkeling. I don't think I can dive anymore but snorkeling I think I can handle. It's a bit chilly out there today with lots of wind. It was an easy trip. We drove straight down highway 1 and took a left on Blue Heron Bridge Road. You go over the bridge and take the first left into Phil Foster Park.










They have it set up really good. They even have a shower you can use. It's not far to the snorkel area. Jeff is really excited to give it a try. It's going to have to warm up some for me. We will definitely be back. We stopped at a few shops before going to Grimaldi's Pizzeria for lunch. Then we made our way back home. After supper I made a few more quilt blocks. Tomorrow, back to work.

Tuesday January 21- We have to work today and the temperature has dropped some, it is a little chilly out there on that cart. Work went well, the only thing the campers didn't want to leave at check out time. So it made our day a bit longer. Since the weather was cool I made chili for supper.


Wednesday January 22- I thought yesterday was cool, today it's down right cold. It is 39 degrees this morning. We did our best to stay warm. Then just to make things interesting it decided to add rain to this weather mix...brrrrr. The plus to that I saw a total of 4 rainbows today. I couldn't wait to finish up today and get warmed up.


Thursday January 23- It's not raining this morning and it's 20 degrees warmer than yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day. We got started at our first shower house, the next thing I know it is pouring rain out there. Did I mention it was sunny? It just didn't want to stop, but when it did a super reward...double rainbow.  It was a full rainbow as well. The colors were very vibrant.


It stopped and we moved on to the next shower house. It seemed to rain every time we got in that cart. It rained on and off the rest of the day and evening. When we finished working we cleaned up. We have a volunteer meeting today with our new volunteer coordinator. They just went over the rules and how they want things to go....going forward. Jeff and I each got our 1000 hour pin, volunteer hours in the Florida State Park system. Then for supper we had made plans to meet Ron and Ann, volunteers here, at Double Roads Tavern. They had heard a lot about the place so we thought we would give it a try. When we arrived the place was really dead. We found a table and then the people really started showing up. They had some music, which really wasn't our cup of tea at all. The place was very dark, the service was really slow. The menu was small and the prices were high for what you got. They had something wrote on a chalkboard about a happy hour but when I asked they said we don't have any happy hour. We ordered our food and it took a while to get it. When I mentioned that we had fries with ours the guy looks at me and says, I only have 2 hands! They are sitting up there I'll get them next. Well from there on it wasn't good for me. To make it even better they added $3.00 per person on to your bill for the music. Did I mention that the music was less than great? Well I'm not sure I'll go back there again. There are so many places to see music without an extra charge. It wasn't really the money because we always tip more than that. We didn't really stay all that long.



Friday January 24-Busy day, woke up to rain. I made a grocery run to Aldi's. Then I did the laundry when I got back. I worked more on quilt blocks. I have 30 blocks made with about 20 some to go. When the rain stopped Jeff went out and started on the 2nd decal. This is going to be a long process. Let me tell you them things don't want to come off.



We got about 1/2 of it off and both of us were ready for a break. We made us a yummy supper and called it a day.


Saturday January 25- Started the day off with some cleaning. It was nice out so I went to walk Ruby. Then a big black cloud rolled over, you could even feel the temperature drop. I came back in and decided to try and come up with a pattern to use for this latest quilt. I had a pattern picked out but it didn't seem to work like I thought, so I had to come up with another idea. Here are a couple ideas, not sure yet what I'm going to do.


The weather improved. The sky cleared up and it was a bit sunny.  I sat outside for a bit. We had made plans to meet some other volunteers at Tiki 52 today, we are going to listen to Leafy Greens. We have never heard them before. The show started at 4-7. We had a great time and the music was awesome. One thing was the place had just put in new cash register and no one knows how to run it. It was painful at times watching these kids.

here is our rowdy group

Leafy Greens


The only reason the kids are smiling is because I told them to SMILE.......Most of our crowd left but not us. We have another volunteer group showing up for the 2nd show. This time The Steel Ponies are playing. One of our volunteer neighbors told us we needed to see them. So we decided to hang around for a bit.

Steel Ponies



When stuck around for a little while and then we decided to head for home. It was a fun day and a long one.


Sunday January 26- It's a cool day and we got ready for church. We arrived, found our seat and then I look over and see Diane. She was one of those people we looked for when we first started coming to this church. They did a small group we joined, her and her husband Norman. They are super nice people. He passed away a while ago and her traveling plans have changed. We don't see her very much anymore. It was really good to see her and visit. The worship, and the message were great this morning. We came back and started making brunch. We have Jeffrey and Maren coming over for some waffles. Jeff has been perfecting his waffle making abilities. I think it was a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy. After they left I got out this quilt that a gal had brought me at church. It seems to be very important to her daughter. The thing is it is full of wholes. She wants me to see if I can fix it. I looked at it and wasn't sure I could do any thing. I gave it a shot, it is far from perfect but it was the best I could do. I managed to get it done, well as much as I could. 


Monday January 27- Had a list of things to do today. First we got to watch the sun rise and it was a beauty. I wanted to go to town but needed to wait for the stores to open. I made some more blocks. Then to town to purchase some work shoes. I can't wear my flip flops any more. I also ran to Walmart. Then I came home and Jeff had started on the rest of that decal. After getting the top off and some of the glue under, I got started getting the rest of the glue off. This was the biggest one and we have 2 more to take off. Here is what we are working on.






Tuesday January 28- Today was the first day of our work week. I think we have gotten things the way we like it here. We have a great group of volunteers here and the campers are considerate as well. It seems if you keep things nice people tend to help you keeping things nice. We didn't have any surprises today and got everything done in good time. It was nice enough that we sat outside to relax before supper.


Wednesday January 29- Back to work today. Things went good until right at the end of our day. We were riding around to see if our last camper had left when we see a site that has water rising up out of the ground. It was a water break. So they had to shut the water off for a bit so they could repair the pipe. Then there was a boil order. We walked around trying to let everyone know what's happening. The problem with that is not everyone was home. The park did put up some signs to let people know as well. We had supper and then headed down to camp site #2. They invited us to come join there happy hour with a bagpipe player at sunset. Well we arrived and visited with 3 couples that are staying here at the park. Then at sunset our concert began. It's not everyday you run across someone that plays the bagpipes, but today we did.



Thursday January 30- It is our last day of work this week. We took our cart and went to do our work. We had to bring the cart back at 11:00 because we are getting new batteries put in. It doesn't hold a charge any more. We are really excited to get a cart that will stay charged all day. After work we cleaned up and then we went to Port Salerno with Jeffrey and Maren. We are having dinner at Manatee Island. They have great happy hour prices and the servers are always very polite. It was a little chilly. The place really filled up. We had a great meal with music. The only draw back was the smoke. We sat outside by the bar so we could see the musician. Next time we might sit inside. We still had a fun night.



Friday January 31- Have a busy day planned. First I got started on the laundry. I did a little cleaning up inside the rig. Then we got  scaffolding stuff out so we could put it together. We have 2 more decals to get off. They are high enough that we need some lift. We borrowed this stuff from Jeffrey and Maren and they came down and showed how to do it. It's kind of complicated when you never have done it.



We got everything put together and we were ready to get started. The 2 decals we have left are smaller ones and we thought maybe they would come off easy. That was not the case at all. They were the hardest ones yet. It did help being able to stand on a solid platform. I had the hair dryer running heating up the decals while Jeff did the scraping. We got one done and Jeff was ready to quit but I begged him to finish it. We got the decals off but the glue under. That was another project. That stuff didn't want to come off.



We both worked on it as long as we could, then we decided to get the rest of the glue off another day.
We cleaned up and made our way to Jensen Beach. We wanted to go back to Tako Tiki for another dinner. They also have live music. Tonight it was the Killbillies. We saw them a couple years ago and haven't been able to catch the whole band. Tonight was the night. We took Miss Ruby with us because it is a very dog friendly place. We found a table and enjoyed supper and drinks. We got to listen to some fine music. We were watching the weather because they were calling for rain. We made it home before the rain started. I think Ruby liked the music too.



Saturday February 1- We did get rain last night. We also got rain on and off most of the day. I got busy early on sewing the rest of the blocks I need to start putting this quilt together. After finishing up the blocks we made a store run. Wow I think everyone had the same idea. Shopping for the super bowl I guess. We got what we needed and headed back. After getting the groceries put away I figured out the pattern for the quilt and started sewing the blocks together in rows.


We went for supper at Jeffrey and Maren's tonight. We had to be a little late because it was pouring. We walked up in between showers. We had a great supper and walked our way home.


Sunday February 2- It's a busy day. First we went to church and got our blessing. Then came back and made stuff for our super bowl parties. First I made some kettle corn and some chocolate chip cookies. Then I got busy finishing up putting my quilt rows together. I think I like it.


Then around 5 o'clock we made our way over to Tom and Michelle's, they are some campers that we met last year here. They invited us over for dinner and snacks. Ken and Jana were there too. We also met them last year here. They had a very unusual dinner. He made duck rumaki that he cooked on the grill. Jeff said they were wonderful. They also had lots of snacky stuff to eat as well. The company was the best. We got to watch the sun set there before we headed to our second party.



When we left we stopped by our rig to get some more clothes. It was a rather chilly night. I also brought Ruby with us. We headed up to the pavilion. That's where the volunteer super bowl party was happening. They had plenty to eat as well. We had fun watching the game. Jeff even won money at half time because of the numbers he had picked. We watched the half time show and a little more of the game. It was getting colder so we headed back to watch the rest at home. It was a close game and that's not usually the case. Yeah Chiefs!!!




That's all for now.....until next time..