Monday Feb. 20th We are Praising God !!

Pics: two pics are of the view out the condo balcony on Anna Maria Island
the remaining pics are from the day we helped the Blands build a deck and walkway..
Alexa helped too!! One is of Eileen and I "doing" Charlies Angels with power tools as the
weapon of choice.


Greetings everyone

I trust this entry finds you all in good health and well being. Some things have happened so I'll post.

Three weeks ago: Gary's parents are down in FL for the winter season enjoying the warmer weather when they get a report that back at the ranch (Wakefield RI) their Beautiful condo is 6 inches under water. Seems the upstairs water pipes broke and the damage is reported as extensive. Barbara has done a wonderful job taking care of removing personal items, and dealing with the day to day contractors etc. as well as keeping Mom and Dad updated. Talk about stress. Obviously, not a pleasant task. George flew back to get a birds eye view of the damage. Gary and I will stay with Mom and help her out any way we can in George's absence.

Two weeks ago (approx) George (Gary's Dad) had a heart attack on the golf course. I believe it was 2 thursdays ago now. George got tested and was told that he had an 80% and a 60% blockage in his heart. They'd fix the 80% blockage and he could fix the other one at his leisure. They only fix blockages if they are at 50%, which accounts for the relaxed attitude. All in all "Pops" spent about 5 days in the hospital and that was no small feet. He tried bribing everyone with drinks and dinner if they'd let him out of there. To no avail. Gary stayed at his side constantly listening to the Dr's instructions, playing cards, watching TV, and whatever else it took to keep him company. I shuttled Alice back and forth and we sat with him periodically as well. The patient (we'll call him Alex) in the bed next to George had rec'd knee surgery and had overstayed his welcome. Alex was given a button to push that would release pain killer for him as needed. Well he'd release it all at once and then of course he couldn't get any more for a period of time. Needless to say Alex was a royal pain in the &^( . I couldn't understand why they put a heart patient in with a lunatic, but who am I. Talk about added stress. But George discovered a way to get away from Alex by sitting out in the hall near the elevators. So he's walking around in a johnny with shorts on underneath. But no one knew he had shorts on and the reactions were hysterical. Now, the Sunday before George's release we were all visiting and I was getting ready to go. I walk past Alex's bed (George was near the window) and he was totally exposed and whatever....... I reported it to the front desk, "Listen that guy is exposing himself and whatever... and my mother in law is in there." thinking they'd discreetly take care of it, I walked out the door. Well all hell broke loose in the room. The orderly had apparently rec'd more than a few complaints and tore up one side of Alex and down the other. Meanwhile Gary , Alice and George are a curtain away. They overheard the orderly say numerous times.........I'm sick of getting called here cause your playing blah blah blah....after ALOT of eye rolling ...George was moved to a private room that had become available, and it was sweet. Well as sweet as a hospital room can get anyway. The rest of his stay was enjoyable and the nurses loved and pampered him. He said the nurses came in at all hours, and peeked under the sheets at his groin. He hadn't gotten that much attention in years. By the following Friday he was out playing golf again. Amazing. We all love you tons "POP".

Gary has bent over backwards trying to get to work. You'd think that he wouldn't have a problem, but that has not been the case. Back in January he contacted the powers that be and let them know he was available to work. Today is his first day. Last week we found out that his name had never even been added to the roster. You also have to have your actual social security card with you so the employer can make a copy of it to put in your file. Otherwise they could get a 10,000 fine. Then the 2 week process of going to work is started and you can then proceed with the paperwork (gobs) and the background check , the drug testing and the financial background check.Who can thwart the plans of God you ask???.............noone. He has a co. van, a gas card(doesn't work- but we applaud the effort) a repair route, a Venezualan (sp?) helper and a whole new outlook. Praise God!

Last week I worked 2 days, 29 hours with no breaks and no scheduled lunch. We.re in Florida now. Florida .... the right to work state. this means basically that the employer has the upper hand. Seems like many are job scared and do whatever the Gizzztapo demands. Unnnnn believable. I worked as a Proctor overseeing a state run exam for constructor contractors. One of the shabbiest operations I've had the displeasure of witnessing in a long time.

Florida.......a great place to visit.....not to live here........my mother is right. Goooo SHIRLEY ! ! ! !

As of March 7th we will have our little darling Brittany back in the nest after being with her sister Amanda and family since the end of Dec. Very exciting... Misty will also be back on board....not so exciting. Grrrrrr

Went out Friday night with George and Alice to the Golden Apple Theatre in Sarasota. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad. We saw "Urinetown" terrible title, very entertaining play. the talent was amazing. I actually laughed out loud , maybe twice.