Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

Sunday we went to see the Greenbay Packer play in Tampa. I am not a huge sports fan but I do like the Packers and spending time with my family, so off to the game we went. Mr. Hygiene was all decked out in his Greenbay Packers best, sporting his old school hat. Very cute!


We had two extra tickets that we gave to some Packers fans as we were going in. After the game started Stacy started to talk to the people we gave the tickets to and long story short...his son works in Atlanta at the insurance firm that sent Stacy the tickets. What a small world. Above is Stacy, Jim and Marge.


And well here is the Packers. Can some one tell #36 he has VPL. Not pretty.

It was a nice to go to the game but Paige and Alyssa were missed very much. We started out all going but a family emergency sent Alyssa to the ER and Paige thought she needed to go along with her. I am glad that Paige did Alyssa's dad had a stroke and had to have surgery. It is good to have a friend with you when things go bad. It was hard to enjoy the game, thought of Alyssa and her family were always keeping us in reality. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and we hope you can keep them in your prayers as well.

Basket Case

The cat seemed to be having as much fun as Paige. Basket case Crusty.

Tricked out girls bike Pt. 2

My bike is almost done! I can't believe how nice it is looking I cant wait until my seat and new grips come they should be here next week. I have not been able to find streamers that I like for the handles, I am thinking I will have to make some to get them the way I want. Also I am making a liner for the basket, not sure if it will be cloth or I was thinking about felting one...we will see.

I bought a wicker basket but decided for now to go with a wire mesh one. It is quick release and has a nice airy feel. It is black and I think I will leave it for now. I do have a nice brown paint but I do like the black also.

Tricked out girls bike

This is the before photo. I bought this used bike on Friday and decided that it needed some work. I can't have a plain black Cherry bike with ugly decals on it now can I.


Here is the during photo. I still have a lot of work. Need to paint the fenders cream, Mr. Hygiene is putting new white walls on. We got a basket and are ordering grips. I think I will make a seat cover and a liner for the basket to match. Updates later on in the week.

Sick Tree?

I noticed this on my tree a few days ago and thought it was gross but today it is even worse. I don't know much about trees and their afflictions but I do not think this is normal. It also stinks like vinegar. Does any one have an idea about this? It is gross.

A day at the beach

Out of the blue we get a phone call from my brother Floyd. "Hey I am in Tampa." What? I was puzzled, but not for long. Got the details he will be in Tampa until Thursday morning for a convention. He was not sure of the details or if he would have any free time so he waited to call until last night when he knew. He only had today off from 10 to 5 but I will take any time with family that I can. We packed up the usual accoutrement that we take to the beach and picked him up a little after 10 am today. We looked at a map and found a little beach to check out in a new area that we had not been to before. We ended up at Sunset Beach Park and at first we were not sure if we wanted to stay because it was so small, but decided to set up camp there and just see how much we did or did not like it. Well it turned out we loved it. Not too many people stepping over you or kids running around. I will say that we did have a lot of Speedo action on old tan guys but what are you going to do?


I really don't remember what Stacy and Floyd were talking about but I remember laughing. Paige was listening in and letting out a little comment now and again and laughing.


Floyd was trying to hold it together while getting a few rays of sun. You can see he is laughing too.


Then Stacy had to tan his back and if you have been to the beach with Mr. Hygiene you will know that he spends 15 minutes sitting in a chair with his shirt off to tan his front. Then he spends 15 minutes standing with his back to the sun to tan his back. For him it is a science. So Floyd went and stood with Stacy in the water while Paige sent a text message to her cousin Alex to rub it in that she was in the sun and to talk about how dorky their dads are... you know the usual things 16 year old girls talk about.


92° and sunny. Not a bad day.


We left the beach around 3 and went and got a cool drink talked a little more and then had to drive Floyd back to the resort for his evening meeting. All in all it was a great day. Only wish Lisa and the girls could have come and that Floyd had more free time.

Creepy, Gross, Sticky frog!

Yes, yes I know you like frogs but these are gross, sticky and everywhere! Stacy just came into the house shuddering. He had gone outside to to get the news paper out of the truck and when he opened the door this sticky frog was at eye level on the frame of the door.


It made it's way across the door leaving a slimy sticky trail of wet goo behind.


It was good that it was not sitting here when Stacy opened the door it would have been inside in a flash hopping around causing mayhem and causing me to book a ticket back up north where the frogs are not sticky and don't sit on your door waiting to make you scream like a little girl.


Stacy was kind enough to remove it from our entrance in a brave and heroic way. Thanks Mr. Hygiene!

*This was on the News just after I posted ~Frog Story

Simple Solution ~ Update on Pearls food issues

After taking Pearls old food back to Pookies Bow Wow Bakery for a full refund (Thanks Pookies!) and some research we have decided to go with a dog food Simple Solution a line of food from Wellness. We put Pearl on the simple solution food because of her upset stomach and the vomiting that has been going on for weeks because of the changes Canidae made to her old food. Her new food Simple Solutions has only 5 main ingredients and we thought it would be the best thing to help Pearls system get back to normal. Cross your fingers for us, I really do not want Pearl to vomit anymore or to have to clean my carpet again for awhile.

Can anyone see Paige? Anyone?

Well it's back to school and that can only mean that it is back to rowing as well.


Here is Paige this weekend coxing "Her boys."


I could see her boat all the way across the lake, that bright pink shirt could make a blind man see.


In other CREW news the boat house is almost done. It seems it will be done in a month or so. It is coming along great, a lot of work yet to do and the kids will have a home to call their own.

Canidae ~ Where to start...

We have fed pearl Canidae dog food for over 4 years now. We felt it was the best food we could give our pet the ingredients were simple without a bunch of additives in it that we could not pronounce and it seemed to make her coat thick and lush. She has been healthy and done well on the food until now.

We got a new bag of food a few weeks back three or four I can look up the date if some one really wants to know. Pearl started to vomite two times every other day. she started to have accidents in the house and her bathroom schedual was way off. After two weeks we called the vet. She seemed puzzeled and told us to watch her a little longer since she was still acting the same and had not changed in any other way.

A few days later I called Pookies Bow Wow bakery where we get our food to see if there had been any complaints about the food, I thought maybe I got a bad bag or something. Pookies informed us that the formula had been changed and that was from the first new shipment of the new formula. They also said that they did not have any complaints or concerned customers at that time.

A few days after that I called Canidae and asked if there had been any reports of problems with the food. The women I spoke to told me that they had changed their formula and the color change was due to the slow cooking process and they had improved the formula, I felt safe feeding the food to Pearl after talking to the women on the phone. It did not dawn on me that she did not answer my question about any other complaints until today when Pearl vomited once again, concerned I did a google search on "Problems with Canidae dog food." My jaw dropped when I started reading the reports on the web of problems like ours and even worse since the formula change.

Consumeraffairs.com has many many complaints just like mine. I am sick that a company that we thought so highly of has let us down. Changing the formula to make it cheeper and not informing loyal customers that there is a problem and that others have inquired about problems only to get the runaround.

Also you can see reviews on Amazon.com about the new formula.

Update on Sweet Pearl photos

I send photos to my mom and a few other people from time to time and they pick them up at the local store in their area. It is really handy and all they have to do is go into the store and pick them up. I send them right from my computer, it is so easy. Well this is the first time I have had any problems. My mom went in to pick them up and she only got half of the order given to her. She was told that she needed to get a release from the "professional" who took the photos in order to get the photos. Can I say that made my day.

Big Sur Power Bars ~ you need to make these!

This recipe has a few thing that I usually do not use and some that I have never used at all...Rice syrup? What is that? I am glad that I stepped out side of my normal recipe box and tried to make these easy and very yummy bars. The only thing I changed in the recipe is using instant espresso instead of ground espresso and I only used one tablespoon.


I Stacy has had a bite and said "I would eat them...are they good for you?" Paige had a small bite as well and she said "I'll have one in the morning." My people are so expressive.

The recipe will be fun to adapt and play with. Heidi from 101cookbooks.com came up with a very adaptable recipe that is now one of my new favorites.

* you could substitute cocoa powder for the espresso and maybe add dried cherries and other dried fruit you like. YUM!

Sweet Pearl

I have wanted to take a good photo of Pearl now for awhile. It seems that there is always something off in the photo or the lighting is not the most flattering for her. Well this morning Pearl was sunning herself looking so...well... Pearl like. The camera was in the right spot to grab quick before she moved which happens all the time. She looks so lovely.


Coy Pearl. How do you spell coy?

No photoshop, no fancy lens, just sunshine.

Big Sur Power Bars Recipe ~ 101cookbooks.com

If you have not heard of Heidi Swanson yet today is your lucky day! My friend Leisa has gotten me hooked on her blog 101cookbooks.com that has "healthy, vegetarian recipes - with the occasional sweet treat thrown in." This is not your bland veggie food, no flavorless piles of over cooked veggies here. It is worth the click to check her site out and even try a few recipes as well.

Heidi Swanson's Big Sur Power Bar Recipe
If you can't find the crisp brown rice cereal, no worries - just use regular rice cereal for ex: Rice Crispies - just stay clear of "puffed" rice cereal, it will throw the recipe off. Feel free to substitute other types of nuts, seeds, or whatever little goodies you can dream up.

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or regular butter)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup (unsweetened) shredded coconut
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups unsweetened crisp brown rice cereal
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 tablespoons ground espresso beans (I used 1 T. instant espresso powder*)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.

On a rimmed baking sheet toast the pecans, almonds, and coconut for about 7 minutes, or until the coconut is deeply golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut, and the cereal, together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the rice syrup, sugar, salt, espresso, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Makes 16 to 24 bars.

*You could substitute baking cocoa for the espresso and add dried cherries too.

Just a little wind and water...

Here is a photo to give you an idea on how much rain we have gotten. This photo was taken in over a year ago when Paige had a race on the St. Johns river. You can see the sea wall where the kids are walking up their boat on the ramp and how much wall there is, as of today the sea wall is over 4 inches under water.

Make it ergonomic?

We caught Pearl reading the Ikea catalog, can you see the title on the page she was on. Is she trying to tell us something?


What a mug.

Something interesting

I saw this palm tree and loved how the ferns have grown up the trunk. Furry little thing.



I also thought the seeds were interesting...I guess it would be seeds? What ever they are it is pretty cool.

Can anyone say basket case?

Crusty found another use for my garden trug. I had just wiped it out and left the towel in it and I guess it makes a great cat bed.


If looks could kill. I love you too Crusty, such a nice kitty.

It's raining cats and frogs

It must be frog season here or they are coming out of the wood work because of the non-hurricane.


The cats seem to find them interesting and want to check them out. "Yep feels like glass."


"Yep, your right they feel like glass."


I really do not like sticky frogs. They give me the ebijibes. Any one know how to spell that?


The tiny frogs seem to have some redeaming quailties. I like the colors they are and they stay away from the doors.

Why, oh why? Update...

When I woke up Sunday morning I went ahead and fried up most of the potatoes but decided to save some and give potato salad another try. I was on the computer for an hour or so the night before reading recipe after recipe and I still don't know where I go wrong.

I did my best and this time Stacy said "You got the potato part right." Wow! That was actually a compliment. I only got 90% of it wrong. Humm? I thought that since he did not spit it out and rinse out his mouth It might be on its way to the supper table. He said it was a little Dilly and salty. Once again, hmmm. I worked on it a little more and then he said it was average and just as good as any he has had at any picnic. Still not "zippy." He said that he would eat it if I made it but it was a little bland. I really don't know what that means in Stacy's cooking terms. Oh well, it was a good try. I will try again, one day, maybe....

Back to school

Well the summer is officially over. School started today for Paige. Not too big for a photo and a Hello Kitty lunch bag. Paige wanted me to let you all know that she did not pick out the shirt, she had to wear it because she is a Freshman mentor. Can you believe she is a Junior?

The amazing Twiggy

This weekend we went to a boat show. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be but it did have the amazing Twiggy the water skiing squirrel. Yep, I had my camera!


This little guy was a pro. A progressive insurance pro that is. Who knew that a squirrel could get a sponsor like that.


Paige was delighted that she got to pet Twiggy and got to hear it purr. Did you know that squirrels purred?

*This post is dedicated to our friend KC Tom the squirrel loving gardener.

My Mac is back!

I am so happy my Mac is back. I am having issues with iPhoto and it is not launching, I will have Stacy look at it when he is done giving the lawn a manicure.

I will have more up-date's and back posts in a few days. It will be a busy week, Paige starts school. It will be nice to have our routine back although I am not looking forward to getting out the door at 6:30am. Oh well.

Why, oh why?

I am in the mood on this overly hot summer day for potato salad. I hate it admit it but by now I am sure that most of my friends and family know I can not make potato salad. My husband even use to cringe when I would try to make it, or even say I was going to make it. Yep, I have tried every way possible.

I remember watching my mom and aunts make it...dice, chop, plop, shake, squeeze and stir lightly. Yum! Even watched my sister in law make it when she came last December. No measuring, just yum.

Well I boiled some potatoes tonight, Petty's meat market is closed and that is where I buy my potato salad. (that is soooooo hard to admit) so I thought lets give it another try. I called my cooking guru Leisa and was reminded by Dan that she can not make potato salad either. What is with that? So I think my potato salad will get put on hold again and become fried potatoes in the morning.

I really want to make my own so bad. The fresh potato salad that I buy is so expensive I really can not justify getting very often. What will I do?

Mac almost home...

We got the call that my Mac is next in line to see the doctor. I hope we get the call to pick her up today.

Lunch time in the Park

We saw this cutel little guy at the park digging through the trash. He found a bowl full of something and took off into the woods.

Lucky little thing, if he was up north in our friends back yard, he would be 6 feet under.

Mini Holiday pt.2

David was our guide from Almost Heaven Kayak Adventures. He was very helpful getting us acquainted with the kayak, paddles and how to be efficient paddlers. The tour started out with instructions on how best to use the paddles, how to navigate using them and just making us feel comfortable in the water.


A few last minute adjustments and tips and we were launched.


When we just got out a little way into open water a bird landed right next to Paige's Kayak almost hitting her and went under the water, he popped up right next to her then he followed her most of the time we were in open water.


Spaz would swim under the water and pop up from time to time looking at her and swimming on the top or the water along side the kayak.


I think Spaz was smitten.


Hello again Spaz.


Our guide told us that he follows the kayak tours all the time and has even flew into his kayak once hitting his head on the front.


He took a little time checking out everyone on the tour and Spaz added much entertainment.


Then we saw him come up with a fish. Our guide David said they liked to swim with the kayak thinking that it might stir up the fish hiding below making it easier for the birds to catch fish.