It was time for a party

This past weekend we decided it was about time that we got together with our friends and had a cookout. My friend heather and I have been talking about this for a couple of months now, but for a variety of reasons, we just never made a plan. I decided since we had a long weekend that I was going to get a few friends together one way or another. I casually mentioned it to a couple people who all sounded interested.
seems that no one had plans

John went fishing early in the week and I told him I was thinking about a cookout. He was tired from being up since 3am and fishing all day...he paused and said "I don't think I'm really up for a party"...
me - "Well guess what, that's  too bad because I've already got a plan in the works"...hahah  I told him he was too tired to think anything was a good idea...and I'd check back with him after he got a good nights sleep. Sure enough the next day he said...a party sounded like a good idea. And our little party got bigger and bigger as the week went on.

The funny thing was that every single person we talked to had no plans and was happy to have something to do. Everyone offered to bring something and we were on for Sunday afternoon/evening.

                                  and I kept buying more chicken...hahah

M was squirting us with these two little toys...She's a nice kid...I was happy she came over

Sunday evening we all enjoyed the slight breeze on a HOT day....and hopped in the pool which felt great.
we ate burgers, chicken, corn salad, quinoa salad, fruit salad, macaroni salad, tomato cucumber salad, humus, guacamole and a couple of other dips..... and of course cookies, etc for dessert. Heather brought all the things we needed to have "California Burgers"...sprouts, guacamole, provolone cheese, bacon, tomatoes and onions...and made a sign with instructions...hahaha. Everyone had plenty to eat and left with a doggie bag! hahah
Our new neighbors came over and met everyone. They enjoyed the collection of friends...and the food.
Last night we went over to their house for dinner...a Memorial Day Cookout. They like having holiday celebrations...once again Cathy had the porch decorated in red,white and blue. Brenna and Josh, John and I, the new neighbors who bought the house next door and another couple all came. The lady fixing up the house next door and the gal who sold Joe and Cathy their house had a bit of a power struggle going on that was interesting to watch. Brenna tried to chime  in and change the subject once or twice...but "Stacy" and "Anna Marie" kept at it.At one point Stacy walked over to me and muttered under her breath "That woman!"
Haha...John ducked into the next room to get out of the way...and the rest of us watched to see how it was going to play out. Both were nice enough...Stacy was a little much...but not terrible...Anna Marie was a little hard to take...talking about their various homes, her two daughters and their full scholarships, the wedding in Kennebunkport Maine...(you get the idea)...after a certain point you just wanted to say "yeah yeah we get it lady"...hahah  But, that said... I have seen her working on the house next door and you can see that she is not afraid to get in there and get dirty and sweat and work hard...so I have to give her that. If she lived next door I might get tired of all the "stories" bragging. hahaha Not sure what Joe and Cathy and Aunt Mary thought about the whole thing. Meanwhile Joe cooked up some delicious burgers, hotdogs and sausages, fresh corn on the cob, etc. It wasn't quite as hot as the night before and it was a nice evening in spite of the "competition" going on. It's kind of nice having neighbors who like to celebrate a holiday...no matter which one it is....because as Mike R and I discussed on Sunday night...he's been too busy to have all the parties like he  ( and Denise of course) used to....and we have our share...but  we miss the get togethers we used to have....because they didn't seem so few and far between....

A long weekend in DC

I made this for Megan and Marcus...we saw a similar item in a catalog for about $150.00...I'm no expert but I figured I could recreate something similar....fortunately the dog in the catalog picture looked a lot like Rupert...so I could "copy" it

Marcus had it framed for their anniversary

Megan and Marcus just celebrated their first anniversary and it was time for the annual Reston Art Festival so both of those reasons sounded like one good reason to head up to Virginia for the weekend. As it turns out...David opted out of the show...but since Bridget, Destin, John and I were already planning to be there...he got a last minute ticket and flew up too. We got to visit with Rob and Shane, Marcus's parents Tom and Laura, and my nephew Ryan  who drove up from Charlottesville. After some very heavy rains earlier in the week...the weather cleared up for a beautiful spring weekend! The highs were in the upper 60's-low 70's sunny with a few clouds...it was great!( I never got hot once! hahaha)
  We got to check out the new condo M &; M moved into after the wedding.They now have an extra room...so we stayed at their place. David and Ryan were at Rob's and Bridget and Destin had a room at the Westin  in Reston. (hahah how do you l like that tongue twister...) We were in Falls Church.

view from the balcony

trees out front

walked down the street for dinner on Friday evening

 

part of one course was flooded after the rains this was after one day

lots of standing water but it was receding

you can see where water was over the bridge

Saturday we booked a room at the Lansdowne Resort...just down the road from Rob's house. Nice resort with a nice golf course. They had a special going on...room included golf for two. John and Marcus golfed on Saturday. Megan and I headed to the art show... shopping in Reston. I did look at the art...but spent plenty of time in the various shops downtown. That night we had plans to all join up back at Rob and Shane's for a fish cookout...courtesy of the 58lb fish John and friends caught the previous week.

Looking down the hill from the back porch of the resort.

Marcus, Megan, Ryan and Tom in the background

Aunt Anne with Shane

out back--Shane, Bridget, Destin and John

inside after dark...David had us laughing with some of us wild tales about his friend Buddy....John must've looking for "legs" in the wine glass...Ryan is amused...

we met up with Jeni on Monday...got to meet Jia...and hold her...she's a cutie. M & M aren't in any hurry to have children...that's fine with me...never want my kids to think they need to have kids for ME...I love kids...but I can always find one...hahah

  Enjoyed seeing Jeni and the baby...on yet another beautiful day. We walked around a bit and then headed back to the condo. We had a late lunch/early dinner and then headed to the airport for our trip home. Megan was packing for San Fransisco...she had to leave the next day. The weekend was fun,and relaxing. We had a good time visiting with everyone.

Nothing can top last year...but this one was good

Last year we celebrated Megan and Marcus's wedding on Mother's Day. It was a great way to spend the day..even though some people questioned it... And I don't think any future Mother's Day will be able to top that...but this year was pretty good.

John, Brenna, Megan & Marcus surprised me with this KitchenAid Mixer. I have always wanted one...but never bought one for myself. Megan knew this and suggested to John and Brenna that they all pitch in and get one for me. Good idea! I will enjoy using this for a long, long time!

We decided to brave the crowds and go out to eat. We went  to brunch at Matt's Casbah. There was a line going in...but once everyone was seated, there was no problem getting through the line. They seem to have a pretty good system. Everything was pretty tasty and we enjoyed ourselves.

           Josh got a cake pop...it was stuck to his plate...Brenna insisted on a picture...hahah

Places have gotten smarter over the years...they offer lots of smaller sized dessert options...that way you can have several and not waste too much. I tried the Strawberry Bread pudding, Lemon-Raspberry shooter, and some of the Berry Spinach Salad.

After we ate we took a short walk down New Haven Ave

We had to go check out/show off John's handiwork in front of Meehan's Store. This tile work is about 35 years old...look at that perfectly centered pattern!

After that we went home and everyone but me ended up taking a nap! I read up on my new mixer, talked to Megan and took a bike ride.

 

                                                        Here I am posing with my girls.....hahah
That evening John and I rode our bikes down to LongDoggers for a light dinner. Ran in to the usual gang and enjoyed talking to everyone. All in all, it was a very nice, relaxing, fun day. And I ate well!!!!

Sometimes it's refreshing and sometimes it's a washout

Today is a beautiful day...blue skies, 82 degrees relatively low humidity...kind of perfect! But it hasn't been like this everyday....hahah Last week we had some crazy weather when a front was blowing through. The panhandle got pounded and then it worked it's way down to our part of the state on Thursday/ Friday/Saturday. When I got off work on Thursday I knew there was a good chance that IF I took a walk or bike ride I would get rained on. I checked the radar and decided I could handle getting wet...as long as there wasn't any lightning I was going to try to get a bike ride in. I made sure all the important stuff was in a plastic bag (phone, garage door opener) and set out. I was on my way up the bike path when a little drizzle started...no problem...I kept going. About 1/4 mile later I got to a point where I could see the river.  That's when I saw a wall of water heading across the river heading right towards me (and the other unfortunate walkers/bike riders). I did a quick u-turn and picked up the pace...the rain got steadily harder and then it just completely POURED! I was drenched. There wasn't anything to do but keep my head down...so my visor could at least keep the rain out of my eyes...and keep pedaling. I had to laugh...because I'm sure anyone driving by got a good laugh when they saw me. So...I rode the rest of the way home with a big grin on my face and tried to enjoy the cool rain. I looked like I had been in a dunking booth by the time I got home...hahah

Saturday the forecast was NOT good...there was an 80% chance of rain.....which was bad news for the town of Melbourne Beach...since Saturday happened to be the day of the annual Founder's Day celebration.
Races, crafts, food, music, a kids talent show all were scheduled. Brenna and Josh joined up with a Classic Car group showing their cars. They were spreading the word about electric cars. welll...they had hoped to anyway...but the rain really put a damper on things.

I got there around 9:30 or so...and it had already rained a couple of times...and the radar showed a big line of storms heading right in our direction. I did a quick loop around the park to see the crafts and say hello to a couple of friends...and then the rain started up again. As my friend Larry commented "Not a good day to get your face painted"...hahah unless you wanted to look like a sad clown that is...hahah

the guy in the hat organized the "Classic Car Show"...he was chatting with Brenna and Josh when I arrived...he remembered me from High School! hahah

After evaluating the weather radar...we decided to pack it up and clear out before the big storms hit. I made it back to my car without getting too wet...and was glad I decided to leave when I spotted a huge bolt of lightning in the distance. (That thing had some power!) Oh well...unfortunately the Founder's Day was a total washout!
Sunday...proved to be a beautiful day...cooler, clearer...all the way around better conditions....oh well.
Also this past weekend we enjoyed a quick visit with John's brother and sister-in-law. Bill was in town for his 50th class reunion. (Melbourne High/Eau Gallie High combined)
They got into town on Thursday and we went to dinner with them...Brenna and Josh and John's sister Lucy and her husband Mac.

We celebrated Lucy's birthday (again).

We had a great dinner at Carraba's in Palm Bay.

Mac, Bill, Anne & John

Josh, Brenna, Kathie & Lucy

Bill had a great time visiting old friends all weekend. The reunion was well attended...considering it was a 50th reunion. They had a lot of good laughs. Also enjoyed driving around to see how much has changed since they were last in town.

 We enjoyed dinner on Thursday night and then breakfast on Sunday morning right before Bill & Kathie headed back to Alabama.

It was a nice weekend...and the nice weather Sunday made up for the WET, dreary day we had Saturday.
we finished up the day with a bike ride down to Long Doggers for dinner and to watch the Kentucky Derby.
A bunch of friends were there in hats...placing their bets on who would win.   Well, not really bets...they all just put money into the pot and then drew numbers from a hat. Beth was the lucky winner!
And...last night we enjoyed dinner at our new neighbor's house. They had decorations and the whole works for Cinco de Mayo. Joe used to have a restaurant  (Italian)...but for May 5th he cooked up some tasty chicken and beef tacos, margaritas, beans and rice, chips and fresh guacamole and cinnamon crisps with fresh fruit and whipped cream for dessert. Very nice. We enjoyed learning a little more about them and meeting Joe's 97 (!) year old Auntie. We were trying to figure out when May 5th became a day to celebrate...Joe told us back in the 80's the company that sells Jose Cuervo was the one who approached him at his restaurant to see if he was interested in promoting the "Cinco de Mayo" celebration. So there you have it.................... or you could go with my Dad's explanation "It's cinco de Mayo...you know what that means don't you...it's the day after quatro de Mayo."  hahah

Best in Show

As I mentioned in the last post this past weekend was the Melbourne Art Festival. David was in the show this year and was happy to have three different pieces selected for judging. He was feeling pretty confident Saturday...so he went out to eat and had a few drinks that night with some friends. He might of  had a little too much fun....hahah considering he had to be back out the next day (all day) with a little less sleep than usual and in the heat (high 80's)
however................................................................................................................................................

                                                                     He won Best in Show!

 

When I arrived around 11:00am I spotted the ribbon...noticed it was rather large...so I asked..."What did you win?" 

 He told me...but he seemed rather low key considering he had won the top prize.

That's when he told me "I probably stayed out a little too late last night" had too much to drink

Well...that didn't dampen our enthusiasm !!! People were coming by congratulating him, everyone was all excited...and David was sitting there with a splitting headache...hahah Poor guy. One good friend, Cindy appeared with a bottle of champagne and four glasses...one for each of us...David, Bridget, me and her.

Doesn't he look excited....hahaha we were laughing because they were those plastic glasses and the bottom immediately fell off of David's. Cindy told him "Enjoy! Just don't set it down"...hahah We all said "Cheers! and took a sip.( After about one sip...David offered his to Cindy.) Meanwhile Bridget, Cindy and I were enjoying ours. More friends were stopping by, many of whom own one or two of David's pieces....everyone was having fun.

Cindy, JoAnn (sp?), David, Tracy & Bridget

Paul and Tracy arrived...and Paul immediately went into sale mode...answering questions for people looking at some of the smaller pieces.

* Paul had helped set the booth up...at one point on Saturday JoAnn had "manned" the booth while David went to get something to eat. People were asking her questions...she read his little bio and tried to BS her way into sort of answering the questions. Luckily for David...she has a good sense of humor and is quite personable, plus she known him for a while...so she made it work.*

Cindy suggested to David that he go take a quick shower and a short nap...she would sit at the booth...and at first he wasn't sure...but we all convinced him he'd  probably feel a lot better if he did. So we stayed at the booth enjoying the champagne and all the people stopping by. (I had more fun at this art festival than I have in a long time!) We saw lots of old friends, neighbors, met some new people, met David's friends....it was a good time. 

                                          We took turns posing  in front of the art work.
I enjoyed listening to the comments of the passers-by...everything from "Well done!" "Congratulations!" to "Huh????I don't get it". It 's always entertaining. My favorite was an older gentlemen who told us he was 90...he had a big smile and said "Very good, very good!" I would say there were definitely more positive remarks overall...so that's good...and in the end...it didn't matter...because the judges made the decision.

As for David...he came back to the booth about 30-45 minutes later...feeling a little better. At around 3pm (as Brenna pointed out...the magic hour when the hangover finally goes away...hahah)

David perked up and said "Hey that pretzel place is right across the street...those pretzels are unreal." We all looked at each other and Cindy said "He's talking about food...I think this is a good sign." hahahah Anyone who knows my brother...knows that when it comes to food...he can always tell you the best place to get whatever you are looking for. I went and got some pretzels and mustard...they ARE good.

I left not too much later...but assume the rest of the day went well and anyone who stopped by after 3pm

probably saw a much livelier winner! hahah

Wake up! and Surprise!

The Melbourne Art Festival was this weekend...and this year I started off by participating in the Flamingo 5K Run. It's been going on for 27 years...this was the first time I participated. John was off on a fishing weekend in the Bahamas...and Brenna and Josh had signed up...so I decided to join them. It started at 7:30am...not my favorite time to do much of anything really..but I got up and it wasn't so bad...hahah

The route is nice...starts off near Crane Creek in downtown Melbourne, then you walk over the causeway turn around and head back over the bridge and back up to New Haven Ave near the main stage area. The temperature was supposed to get up into the high 80's-low 90's...so 7:30 am was a good time to walk. This is probably one of the biggest races I've walked in...so we let the runners go first and then headed off. (with the sensor tag system...your time starts when you actually cross the starting line)

When we were heading up over the bridge there were lots of runners/walkers in the mix

the runners of course took off and left the rest of us behind. I slowly (or not so slowly...hahah) walked my way through the slower walkers and found my pace.

As I went along I left the slower people behind...and got in the mix with the runner/walker group. As usual there were a handful of people that would jog past...only to see me coming up and passing them when they started walking....then they'd start jogging again. haha The crowd starting thinning out quite a bit when we made our way back over the bridge

And once again I was pretty much on my own with a handful of others in sight as I made my way up the little hill to the finish line.

            According to Brenna I was 10th out of 29 in my age group...not bad for a walker. At the end I waited for Brenna and Josh to cross the finish line.

After the race we went home, ate and got ready to head back over to enjoy the art show.

It was a beautiful day...but it was hot! We stayed a while, had a nice lunch at the 905 Cafe. Ran into some friends, looked around at the artwork and stopped by my brother David's booth. He was happy that 3 different pieces got selected for judging...felt confident that one of them would win something!
We left the art show  in late afternoon...because we had to get back in time for a surprise part for our friend Duane.

Duane came to the Melbourne area back in the 70's when he was at FIT. He actually taught Al (Owner/manager of Long Doggers) His family is in Rhode Island, he lost his wife a few years ago...so he doesn't really have any family in town. His buddies from LD decided they needed to get a little surprise party together for the big 60th birthday. Managed to get his twin brother Cal to come up for the day. (apparently he always says he's going to come...but then doesn't show up...so Duane definitely was NOT expecting to see him) Al and Scott did most of the planning. Al agreed to let us set up a tent, some tables, etc out in front of the place...like our tailgate parties when we were watching Tim Tebow.
When Cal arrived in town and suggested going up to Long Doggers...Duane figured the regular crew would be there. As they walked up he jokingly said..."Oh they're having a party and they didn't even invite us"
That is until he saw his friends and old friends from FIT who all yelled "SURPRISE!"

                                                One friend from FIT made  the guys a cake....

It was hard to keep the candles burning in the breeze.....so we sang a quick "Happy Birthday to you!"
and then of course ...Al had to get Duane with a pile of whipped cream to the face.

                    Since we don't know Cal as well....Al left him alone...but Duane took care of him!

But...no one got mad...

                                       Instead he gave Al a big hug and thanks for everything.
We enjoyed meeting some of the old friends, hearing stories about FIT in the late 70's then 80's.
Al cooked up some clams and lobster, some wings....we had beer and or whatever we wanted to order from the menu...it was all nice. A fun afternoon.
 *Tomorrow....Art Show Part 2.