Catching Up

 

My poor neglected blog needs a catch up!  I am finally at a place where I can catch up on all the things the past year has me behind on.  My one year surgery date was July 31st and that was a big milestone to celebrate.  My knee is in a good place - maybe 95% healed, but I can do pretty much everything and that is what matters.  Otherwise, I adapt my yoga poses, ice when needed and basically carry on.  I can also chase my granddaughters with ease; the number one goal in my rehab.

Speaking of granddaughters, I returned last week from a fun trip to Michigan where I got my fill of both daughter and  granddaughter time.  There was a lot of time to play, talk and help.  Both sets of parents had a night out too with Nanna as babysitter.

Otherwise, we are in the quiet part of summer where my calendar is pretty empty and I can just go at a slower pace.  I do a lot of what I call piddling in both my house and yard, just doing things as I see them without a grand plan.  I volunteer on Thursday mornings as usual and write the group’s weekly newsletter too.  We do have a dinner scheduled with neighbors this weekend, but most of our friends are still doing the snowbird thing.  I also watch a lot of baseball - go Detroit Tigers!

There are some fun things coming up like another Michigan trip for granddaughter number 2’s first birthday and to help Melissa unpack in her new house.  We also have a trip to St. Augustine planned to see James Taylor at the amphitheater.  We have not been there yet, so will do some sightseeing too.  Otherwise, I’m looking forward to football season and the return of friends to Florida.

Also hoping for a quiet hurricane season!

Birthday Week

June has been the kind of laid back, Florida style summer month I love.  There have been beach walks in the morning before it gets too hot.  There have been trips to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings to purchase fresh vegetables and make healthy meals.  There has been time to work on my yard in the cooler mornings and while we remain in drought conditions, there has been just enough rain to keep everything at least a little green.  

Our social life is quiet in the summer too, but we have been out a few times and will be doing a fun dinner in Sarasota on Friday.. It is a new to us Italian restaurant with a piano player.  The group will meet here for a pre dinner cocktail and I have a fun red white and blue drink planned.

For my birthday, we will have a beach day at Siesta Key and then a favorite restaurant in Siesta Key Village for lunch and Margaritas.  I’m sure I will face time with the cute granddaughters too.  I miss them, but do have a trip planned in July. 

I have been on a reading kick too.  There seem to be a lot of good books all of a sudden, so my reading list and library hold list are both long.  Three books that I have really enjoyed this month are June Baby, The Calamity Club and Go Gentle.  I do love the writing style of both Maria Semple and Kathryn Sockett.

Happy end of June!

Recapping May - Photo Style

 

What a busy month in was!

After the big two week visit from family, there was a lot of catching up on the normal like Dr. appointments and work in my yard.  There were final goodbyes to snowbird friends and my hubby took me out for Mother’s Day brunch.  Beach sunsets too.

The big event was another trip to Michigan, this time for Lucy’s Christening.  The day was beautiful and Megan planned a lovely family lunch after church.  As usual, I loved having our family all together, especially all three granddaughters.  I stretched my visit a bit for some quality time with Audrey and Lucy too.  We had a fun visit to Meijer Garden and enjoyed the Chihuly exhibit displayed throughout the grounds.

Now on to June, with very little on my calendar.  It will be great to settle in to our quiet Florida summer.

Chihuly Glass

The Best Visit

 

Two weeks of family, sunshine and pool and beach days.  Right here at our home in Florida.  We soaked up every second of time with our daughters, son in laws and three granddaughters. 

 

We had a week with each family including a 3 day overlap, so we could all be together.  Hearing everyone splashing in the pool, collecting shells on the beach and watching beautiful Gulf sunsets were highlights, but the joy was just being together and holding babies so the parents could relax with a pina colada poolside. A visit to the new Mote Aquarium in Sarasota was so much fun too.

We successfully went out to dinner, cooked a lot and even had pizza on the beach one night.  We boated on the Intercoastal from Venice to Sarasota and all three girls were as good as gold.  At one point, all were napping at once.  A 2 1/2 year old, a 7 month old and a 3 month old can tire one out, but we only feel blessed. We can rest once everyone goes home.

End of March

 

As the end of March approaches, life remains busy.  But, all fun.  The best thing is that after my injury to my knee in July, after so much frustration and hard work, I finally feel like myself again. I was released by my ortho surgeon and he said I recovered better than he thought I would.  My knee flex is good and I am back to mostly feeling normal and doing most things easily.  I can even do stairs with minimal pain.  Yoga is challenging, but I adapt 😉 The rehab continues with going to the gym and stretches, but I am at the stage where I can even forget about my knee a lot.  That is progress.

I am back to my volunteer work and that feels good too.  Last week I was even walking on vine filled paths in a wooded area.  So very carefully, to not get tangled, but the most important thing is that I could do it.  Writing the newsletter for the group is one thing, but being on site with the others feels like an important step.

This month’s social life remains busy.  Next week I host an end of season brunch for my golf group and there are a few more end of season gatherings to come. We also said goodbye to a friend with a night of oyster shooters and a beach sunset. End of season means the snow birds leave and things get quieter.  

April brings visits from both my daughters and their families, so goodbye March and bring on the granddaughters in my pool and at the beach. 

God Bless Kennedy

 

We recently returned from a long weekend in Michigan for the Christening of granddaughter number two, Kennedy Josephine. It was a special time for our family and we especially enjoyed being all together the day before.  I cooked dinner and we spent a casual afternoon and evening playing with two babies (Kennedy and Lucy) and one 2 1/2 year old (Audrey). Rotating naps and feedings, reading books and playing hide and seek kept us all busy.  There were an abundance of hands to hold babies and Audrey kept us laughing.  It is times like these where our blessings are at the forefront.

The Christening day was sunny after a gloomy few days, so it was lovely to head to the church and take photos outside.  Kennedy was so good and so sweet in our family’s heirloom Christening gown. Melissa had a delicious luncheon prepared for after the Christening and it gave us time to celebrate Kennedy with our son in laws family as well.  GG  came from Florida too.  

It is so good to hug all three little ones and our daughters, but so hard to leave.  The consolation is that we will all be together in Florida soon.