Thanks Fred and Alice!

Fred and Alice saw this restaurant on Groupon the other day and sent us one as a gift since we live in Ocala. We are glad that they did as the food was really yummy! With the coupon we were given our drinks, one appetizer to share and two entrees. We weren't very good at remembering to take pictures before we started eating so excuse the fact that most of these don't show the food looking quite as nice as it did when it came to the table.

We had the Wasted Away Shrimp as our appetizer. It was quite tasty with the tequila lime margarita sauce.

We got two different entrees so that we could share them. We had the Mojo Chicken & Pork with the side of veggies (orange and yellow carrots, green beans, and red peppers) and the side of black beans. The chicken breast was tasty and very moist, and the pulled pork was just great...not at all greasy like some BBQ places I have been to.

As our second entree we got the Fisherman's Platter. We chose to have it grilled and had the veggies and coleslaw as our sides. The fish, scallops, and shrimp were all really good. The veggies had great seasoning on both entrees. We also enjoyed the black beans and the coleslaw. It was nice to have coleslaw where you could really taste the cabbage and such because it wasn't overpowered by some mayo type sauce.

All of that was included with our coupon, but we couldn't pass up trying the pie. We had a slice of pineapple cream pie and a slice of the key lime pie. The waitress asked us which one we liked best, but we just couldn't choose as they were both delish!

Merle's New Car

Neither Merle nor I could stand being around (much less inside) the Neon after Cody died in there so yesterday we went and traded it in on a 2007 Ford Focus. Nice clean little car. Supposed to get good gas mileage.

On another subject, Merle has been wanting to take down those two trees growing in the square railroad tie box just inside the gate ever since the original tree fell and was eliminated and these two scrub oaks came up in its place. At first I disagreed and wanted the new trees to grow, but have since changed my mind. So, he's been working on digging them up for the last two or three weeks. There was only one standing when I went out to Chiefland this afternoon, but when I got back it had fallen down too (wind and it was loosened by his digging). So, the yard will look a little different next time any of you come to visit.

One tree standing.

Second tree down.

Merle's New Dog

We went to visit Merle's new dog today. The litter is only 11 days old and eyes aren't open yet, but he was anxious to choose one. There are only two males. He chose the one with the white dot on the back of his neck. We'll visit them again in a few weeks and I'll get better photos, or his breeder, Becky, will take more and post on her Facebook page so I can get them there. He doesn't have a name yet. His mother abandoned the pups and one died, so they gave the pups to another female who had a 4 wk old litter and started those pups on bottle and weaning them to solids a little at a time. The parents are small Bostons, so pups shouldn't be any more than 15 lbs when grown. I'm still trying to get Merle to let us have two dogs, but he seems adamant about only getting one. I'd like to get both of these males so they'd have companionship.

Below is Annie (a brown/white Boston), the foster mother, with two of her own pups still trying to nurse.

Happy Anniversary Barbara and Barry!!

Today, October 9, 2011, Barbara and Barry celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary.  We hope you have many more to come. 

Happy Birthday Peggy!

A little girl you are no more

but a woman and a wife.

May God continue to guide you

in the struggles of your life.

The carefree days of childhood

were so many years ago.

Where went the days and years between

I sure would like to know!

So take some time to enjoy today

(even without the sun),

And time to think of what lies ahead -

happy days and years to come!

Luvulots! - Mom

Questions

I suppose these questions are more rhetorical than anything, but things that are going through my head as dad's service approaches today.

Is it ok to be angry if someone says something negative to me? My aunt will be angry that my ex husband is coming to the services, but he is a dear friend and still considers my family his family. Its about Dad not her. Can I bite my tongue if she says something to me.

Is it wrong that I am mad at my brother for not coming to the services, even after saying he was making plans to be here? Everyone copes differently but was really looking forward to him being there.

Is it tacky that I don't want to wear all black or that I don't want to wear dress pants? I just want to look nice for dad and be comfortable.

Is it weird that I want to take pictures of the alter where my dad's ashes will be displayed? I just want to remember him and his urn before he is buried.

Like I said rhetorical questions that don't need to be placed on facebook.

He's Gone

Dad passed away shortly after midnight on October 5th. Fought a courageous battle. But know that he is in a better place. Candy was by his side when he passed, while several of us left a few hours prior. One just never knows the final moments of ones life. But the last words to him were I love you dad, and that makes things a little bit easier.

Fred's Quilt

I finished Fred's quilt last night. I will be shipping it off to the quilter soon. Here is a pic. I think this is the last large quilt I will be making. I seem to be much happier making smaller, quickly finished items these days.

Dad

I am guilty as charged. Facebook is how I communicate these days, but never with the intention of neglecting those that you use the blog more than facebook.

By now most of you have seen that my father is not well. As of Sunday, he has slipped into a coma and is on a permanent morphine drip in case of pain. He stopped eating just over a week ago, so his only nourishment was a bit of ice cream here or there if he could swallow it.

It astonishes me how fast moving these tumors are. On September 13th several of us celebrated his birthday a few days early. He was still walking, talking, feeding himself, eventhough often confused about his surroundings. Then on his birthday of September 17th, he had another party with family. Then on September 18th an emergency decision was made to transport him to his hospice home at the Togus VA hospital. And once there, the decline was intense.

A week ago Sunday I visited with Dad and he was alert, able to say a few words and continually held my hand. I went to see him on Saturday and the decline was evident. He was no longer able to open his eyes, he couldn't talk, barely ate any food. He knew we were there visiting as he would turn his head or twitch his toes, but just not the same.

Then I get the call on Sunday that he has slipped into a coma. They explained that with these tumors he will not be in pain and they will not spread to any other part of the body, they just spider out and attack the brain. They suspect that he only has days to maybe 2 weeks of survival left. He will just go to sleep and not wake up.

I believe that his passing will be sooner than later, but he has been a fighter thus far so he may surprise me. I have been preparing myself for the inevitable of having to say goodbye, but turns out, you are never truly prepared to say good bye to a loved one. I know that life will go on for me and I will continue to keep busy and struggle to survive, but there will be a forever void once he is gone.

I will post other updates as I get them. Probably facebook first as I have access to his family there too.

Birthday Presents

I didn't want to post these pics until all the birthday presents had been delivered. Since I celebrated with Peggy a week early today due to prior commitments next weekend, here are the wall hangings I gave to Alice, David, and Peggy.

Alice's desert scene. Look for cactus and roadrunner.

David's northwest scene. Look for several bears and at least one fish.

Peggy's Florida scene. Look for gators, turtles and a bird.