Celebrating Christmas Time in Florida

Our Christmas tree in Florida shows unique ornaments made from sea shells with ribbons attached. What fun decorating and putting the lights up with temps in the mid 80's. Our oranges are ripe and ready for squeezing. We freeze as many as we can and share the fresh fruit with our neighbors. We scheduled vacation time at the Orange Lake Resort near Orlando. The resort has 2500 units on 1400 acres. While on vacation the speed limit should be no more than 23 miles per hour as posted. Of course, always keep your eyes out for the duck crossings. With all the rain, the flowers are in full blossom, the lawns and golf courses are in their finest green, and the lakes and ponds are full. We enjoy the relaxation time and it gives us a chance to prepare for the Christmas Season.

Thanksgiving Day

We have been enjoying fresh oranges right off the trees in our backyard. Each morning we squeeze three oranges for breakfast. Hope the cold weather does not damage them. Even the cardinals like sitting in the orange trees waiting for Jo to put more bird seed in the feeder. We have added a new member to our Florida family and that is "Baby" the soft pastel yellow 1967 MGB. This year and model was similar to a car I drove while in England in 1967. Fun to tour in it. Tom, Denise, and Jo are shown with each of their cars as we drove to Pine Island Park on the Gulf for the evening sunset on Thanksgiving Day.

Time to relax

While at our resort in Lehigh Acres, we traveled to Bonita Springs to see the art festival and all the artists there. Tom and Denise have a great display of very colorful and useful pottery. We enjoyed seeing them at the show and all the displays. The resort was a great place to relax and get together with friends from Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, England, Germany, and Switzerland. A very International gathering. We enjoy participating in the many activities the resort activities crew puts together. This includes Putt Putt Golf, Boccie Ball, Bean Bag, Bingo, indoor shuffle board, and a very challenging outdoor shuffle board tournament. After the activities there is always the sweet taste of ice cream sundaes and floats. What a reward for a good time with friends. The flowers were in full bloom and the pool was always inviting people to relax. We did just that.

Arriving at our home in Florida

When we arrived at our home in Florida, we had flowers blooming and oranges ripening on the trees. When we had left in the spring, the oranges were the size of peas. We will enjoy eating a fresh orange each day during the winter months. Completed refreshing the yard and the flower beds. We are looking forward to what we hope is a warm winter with sunny skies.

Visiting our Son

The colorful fall leaves were mostly gone from the rain and wind several days before our arriving in the southeast. We met our son and family and enjoyed time together visiting and catching up on new happenings. Had a tour of the area and shared stories over a delicious supper. Will look forward to stopping on our way north for the summer.

Visiting our Daughter

We had a wonderful visit with our daughter and family. She knitted an afghan for us that will feel good on cool evenings. It was a nice fall day with Lady playing outside in the leaves. We are looking forward to an addition in their family. Enjoyed the time together and look forward to stopping in the spring.