Another month of life, I am thankful

Here I am, sitting at the computer and it is 10:50 PM.  Most nights I would be asleep now but for some reason I am not tired yet.  Terry was tired and went to bed some time ago but for me----my mind was not ready.

• We went to a play tonight.  It was delightful.  The name was "Dirty Dancing" but there really was nothing dirty about it.  I thought about the few plays I have seen and thought, "this is nice."  I am guessing that Mom and Dad went to our school plays and that was it.  I know Mom would have enjoyed the theater but I think there would have been many things she enjoyed that she never had the chance.  Oh, she lived to her mid 80's so age was not a factor so I figure it must have been the life of living in rural ND.
• Terry and I played tennis this morning.  For the last few Saturdays we have played mixed doubles with 3 other couples.  We play for 30 minutes and then switch so that we get to play with everyone. Pretty blessed guy I am.  Well I have concerns about my back but for now I will give thanks and enjoy.
• We are surrounded by great people from all over the country.  In any week it would be usually to talk to and spend time with people from IL, Canada, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, MN, MA and many other places.  Today when we were playing tennis two of the men had never met.  As they talked they found out they went to the same boarding school and were in the same class!  How fun is that?
• From where I sit I can see the glass bowl I blew, a gift from Terry.  Fun, I am pretty blessed.
• For some strange reason I have had many tears this winter and spring.  It takes almost nothing for me to tear up and have them etch shallow lines down my cheeks.  I know, I am a man and really should not be doing that or admitting that but it is what it is.  Sometimes there are tears of happiness and sometimes of sadness.  Go figure.  I am happy!
• I have not hunted for a couple of years so I mentioned to a tennis buddy that he should look into a wild boar hunting trip.  Well he is serious and it may happen.  What a blessed guy I am.  
• Terry and I are planning a 4000-5000 mile trip on our way to MN.  How blessed can a guy be.  We are planning to see sights and hear sounds that we have never heard before.  How fun will that be!!!
• After I wrote my book I now think of brother Ronald and sister Janet often.  It is surprising to me how often I see or hear something and wonder what they would have been or thought if they had been blessed to live a long life.  Here I am 39, I mean 69, and have done things and experienced things that I did not deserve.  I am thankful.
• Sister Joan posted something about "brother" on face book.  It touched me in a big way.  Now most people know that things are posted often but I took that note personally and it made my day.
• My Mom traveled very little.  Here I am having been to almost every state, Italy, China, 55 national parks, all 72 MN state parks and the list goes on.  God is good.

Well it is past 11:00 and I am tired now.  I have a great bed to sleep in, a great wife to walk through life with, a home in FL and MN to do and live in, wonderful children and grand children--Thank you Lord.

Another trip is not that far off

This picture made me think of what Terry and I will be doing in about 4 weeks.  I am not sure where this was taken but I am guessing it was in Winnipeg, Canada and it looks like it was in the summer of 1975 or 76.
We have our plans in place for our trip back to MN.  May 17th or 18th we will head north towards GA.  After taking in Jimmy Carter's Library and graduation for grand daughter Tori, we will head north through SC, NC, DE and then to upstate NY where we will spend 2 days at FDR's home and museum. From there we will drive through RI and CT as we head towards MA where we will spend 3 days near John Kennedy's library.  From there we go to Acadia National Park and camp for 3 days.  Then it will be through NH and camp for two days in Vermont.  Along the way we will take in the world's largest craft beer place in NC and find some Heady Topper beer in Stowe, VT.  Heady Topper was rated the #1 beer in the world a couple of years ago and it is not sold outside of VT.  From there it will be west until we hit St. Paul June 10th.  A first, we have camping reservations every night from May 18th-June 3rd.  Most of the time we do not make camping reservations as it ties one in to a schedule but with much of our travel taking place around Memorial Day we decided it was a good idea.  We are excited to take in our 56th NP and our first 3 presidential libraries.  We have spent little or no time in MA and ME so it should be interesting.
Life in Naples continues on the same path.  Terry is now playing more tennis and I continue to play about 5 times a week.  My back tells me it is fine most of the time.  I try to stretch daily and that is a huge help I am sure.
Our weather is now beginning to look like summer.  My phone shows that by Thursday and Friday the high should be 90!  It is good to do outdoor activities in the morning.
Enough for now, my FP is long gone.

Happy Birthday Michael

Happy Birthday Michael.  We hope you have a great day.  We are sure those 5 little ones and Cynthia will make it special.  Hope you can take some "self" time on this special day.  Love, Carmen and Terry

A FUN MORNING

A day of tennis--we won the consolation going 2-1 and with it a $15 prize

We enjoyed a social/tennis event at our club today.  There were 48 players who were divided into 3 divisions.  The event ended with a lunch of burgers and brats at the club.  Terry played tennis several years ago but for several reasons did not play much over the last 2-3 years.  She has been playing the last few weeks again and did a great job today.  I suspect we were put in the third division but what the heck, we won two matches and had a fun time.  One of the interesting conversations I had was with a guy who played--I am guessing he was about 80.  I asked him if he played a lot of tennis and he said some but he used to play soccer.  He then pulled me aside and said he played tier 2 in Germany when he was young.  When he was 18 he played in front of thousands of people he said.  He said the clubs in Germany had many branches and some of them included women and children.  He then moved closer to me and said that he wanted the young girls to notice him!  When I asked if they did he got this huge smile on and said "yes"!  They do say old men dream dreams!
People are beginning to head north.  I would say that by the end of April more than half of the people we play with will be gone for the season.  Our date to leave is May 18th as Tori has HS graduation on may 20th.  From Atlanta we will head north to the New England states and then home.  Should arrive in St. Paul by June 9th or so.  It will be fun to take in some of the presidential libraries on the way and also Acadia National Park in Maine.
It is close to evening to no FP.

Happy Birthday Leo

Happy Birthday Leo, this coming year will be your last in single digits!  Keep up the good work in school and continue to be the loving big brother that you are.  Grandpa Lee and Grandma Terry love you.  Have a great day.  AND keep asking a lot of questions!

Late notes but a FUN anniversary

melting the colors into the glass

blowing the bowl

shaping the top

The glassblower with his bowl the next day

The finished bowl

The day after when we picked it up

A BIG thanks to Terry as it was so so much much fun.

Terry and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on March 27th.  Terry surprised me with a great gift.  She made a reservation at the Ritz Carlson, not to stay or eat but rather to make a glass bowl.  An artist sets up shop there 2 or 3 times a week.  A person can then make an ornament or a bowl.  I got to pick my colors and then make the bowl from a blob of hot glass to the finished product.  It was a blast and I think the finished product was quite nice.  You probably can see that I had SOME help!  Making a glass bowl was not on my bucket list but after I found out how fun it was I put it on the list and then checked it off!  If I need to be truthful I really don't have a bucket list.  When the bowl was finished and we were ready to leave we looked at the outdoor patio menu to see if we wanted to stay for lunch.  I looked at the $20 burger and we decided we would find another place for lunch.

The winter has flown by.  In 5 1/2 weeks we will be hooked to the camper and headed north to a graduation, eight states, some presidential libraries and our last national park in the lower 48 states.  We have not visited the NE states so we also want to take in states like Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. I think it is really IMPORTANT to stop in Vermont for at least a 6 pack of Heady Topper!

I have been able to say to myself over the last several weeks, "My back feels almost normal".  Of course the proof is when I head out to the tennis court after I put my knee brace on, put on my thumb brace, take my pills and IB, put my hearing aids in and grab my FP.  Actually I do things in kind of that order!  I have been very good at daily stretches and that helps a lot.

We have been experiencing almost perfect weather for several days now.  I think yesterday the wind was light, the sun was bright and the temp was 80. Doesn't get much better than that.

I am afraid I am starting to show my age more and more.  I think I have taken a couple of naps the last week and yesterday I sat and watched the hour before and then the entire Master's Golf.  In all it was pretty much sit and watch for 5 hours.  I doubt I have done that EVER.  Some would probably say that is normal but I think that is way too much sitting and watching--I did enjoy.

Things are quiet here as neighbors on the south and on the north are gone for the season.  I would say that by the end of next week a half dozen couples will be up north or on their way and when that happens things seems to settle down in a quiet way.  Terry and I will put on the last of the 6 Villa pool parties (November-April) this Wednesday.  A couple who have lived here for 20+ years will say good-bye as they have moved to a different living situation because he has serious health problems.  I think there are a hand full of couples who have been here that long.  I am guessing that over the next 1-4 years several villa's will change hands.  Like I have said hundred's of times, the only constant is change in life.

Ten minutes ago I got up and poured the last of the FP.  It is now down to the last few drops!

A VERY late happy birthday to Liam

Liam turned 11 a week ago today, April 2nd.  He is a special guy.  He can read anything, is so kind and helpful, has become a good soccer player and I know there are many more good things to say about him.  Happy Birthday Liam!