A FANTASTIC WEEKEND

Smith's first ride EVER.

Dancing to the live music

 A weekend in Orlando with Smith is the next best thing to a hot fudge sundae! (I had one of those too)
We left our home on Friday with Kent driving the 4 adults and Smith in the big comfy caddie. It was a nice ride in style to the "Happiest Place On Earth". We were able to check into our Hilton Hotel that we got for $59 a night . .  . thank you Hotwire . . . and get a little snack before we headed off to THE MARKET PLACE where Smith's Aunt Brie was working at Goofy's Candy shoppe. (Brie is doing a Disney internship and will be in Orlando for the year so she can get her sister Kristen and the family into the Disney parks for free. We visited Brie at work for about 10 minutes and took Smith on his first ever amusement part ride . . . a little train that went around a track about as big as my living room. The track was small, my living room is not that big.) Smith wasn't too sure about this whole thing but quickly got into it and had his mom take him on a second time. From there we went on the carosel and then did some dancing on the deck while the grown ups had a beer and rested our feet. The next day was our adventure to ANIMAL KINGDOM. When you travel with a one and a half year old you get up and get moving bright and early. . . .  which was great because the park was nice and empty so Smith got to meet the characters with no crowds around. He seemed to like Thumper the best but seemed to like every character he met. We had a great day at the park and even though Smith didn't get a nap he hung in there and we all had a great time.

Is Smith afraid of the sea monster or grandma?

 Unfortunately that night was not a good one for Smith and his mom and dad. Poor little guy was up a LOT during the night but by Sunday morning breakfast he was doing great. Good thing because the 2 hour ride home took us 4 hours, thanks to all the Thanksgiving travelers.
But we made it home safe and sound and from what I hear Smith has slept like a rock the past 2 nights.

Now its time to get focused on Christmas and start decorating, shopping, wrapping, etc. etc.
When all I want to do is rest it isn't going to be easy. I"m sure you'll hear more about that in my next blog.

Getting into this ride thing

Lovin'   thumper

Can you find Goofy?  (He's wearing a brown shirt)

GREAT WEEKEND

Too bad you will have to wait to hear about our fantastic weekend in Orlando with Smith and his family.
I ate a ton of walnuts and have such a pain in my abdomen as of last night and today. I can't sit up so I can't blog.
Hang in there because the weekend was so great and we got a ton of super pictures.

THANKS GIVING

Went to mass this morning for Thanksgiving and was very glad I did.  Our pastor started his sermon with a reminder that the FIRST THANKSGIVING was celebrated by the pilgrims . . .  who had lost three quarters of their people in that first year after arriving in America. The pilgrims came here for religious freedom and suffered terribly from the moment they left England. People died terrible deaths and yet when the year was over the remaining pilgrims took time to GIVE THANKS!
Makes you stop and think a bit. So you don't have a job right now . . .  Do you have a family who loves you?  Do you have your health?  Do you have clothes to wear? DO YOU LIVE IN AMERICA?
I know these are tough times and, believe me, I am more than blessed in all I have, but there isn't a day that goes by that I don't stop to say "THANK YOU GOD!" for everything I have.
I know it isn't easy to say, "Thank You" when you are down but no matter how far down you get there is always something to be thankful for.  STOP looking at the "Poor me, I don't haves" and start searching for what you DO have. It may not be easy to find something but keep looking and then work up from there. If you're not 6 feet under with worms crawling through you then you've got something to say Thank you for.  No more pissing and moaning folks . . .   it's THANKS  GIVING  TIME !

THE BEST DAY !

FEEDING DAD A COOKIE

Who is the cutest boy in Florida?

 Kent, Mookie the dog and Smith came up to our house today to help grandpa with some chores. There was some screen repair, some tree trimming and the planting of grandma's avocado tree that I grew from a seed. (It is now 4 feet tall and ready to go into the ground. I hope!)
The big boys had a good time being manly, flexing their muscles and doing "MAN" stuff. Smith and I had the very best, most fantastic time ever just being ourselves. Usually when any of the grand kids come for a visit it involves preparation, cooking, cleaning, scheduling and planning. This was just the best hang out with grandma day ever because we didn't cook or clean or plan anything.

Hi Grandma, is this the snack drawer?

Smith and Kent arrived around 10 and because Smith had slept in the car he was ready to go. The big boys got started on their projects and Smith and I headed for the garage where all the toys are kept. I let him pick out what ever he wanted to play with and we even took some time out to paint on the easel. That's a first for this little guy and he wasn't too sure what to make of it. His reaction to the dripping paint was "MESSY". Yep, that's what he told me. From there we moved into the living room with an arm load of toys which we spent all of about 2 minutes playing with. The all time hit of today was a little pink doll stroller. At first Smith tried sitting in it but it was a little too small so he took to pushing/ carrying it around the house. Any time it got stuck he would pick it up and move it. At one point we were out on the side lawn trying to push it in the grass and that just wasn't happening.
Then we headed for the back yard and it didn't take long for Smith to have his feet in the pool splashing around. Luckily it was time for dad to stop for lunch so after Smith ate he went down for a nap and the grown ups took a much needed rest. When little man got up from his nap he and I headed back to the pool where we did some naked (Smith, not me) swimming. We must have spent a half hour at least with Smith jumping off the edge into my arms in the water. Several jumps landed Smith under water but he came up laughing and ready for more. He really is very comfortable with the water and even though the water temp in the pool is a cool 78 degrees it didn't bother either one of us. WE HAD A BLAST !
I am now ready for a nap ! I bet Smith is sleeping on the ride home. I know Kent wanted a nap and Ger is looking pretty comfy and quiet in his chair. A good day for everyone!
WE will see this happy little man on Thursday for Thanksgiving, along with Ger's brother Tom and his wife, Joan. Then on Friday Smith and family and Ger and I will head up to Orlando for a couple of days. Smith's Aunt Brie is working with Disney and can get us into the parks for free. Unfortunately the Magic Kingdom is not included in this plan because it is a holiday week but I honestly think Smith will enjoy the animals at Animal Kingdom more than anything at Magic Kingdom. Smith loves ANIMALS !
Should be fun!

TALK TO THE HAND . . . PUPPET

I was cleaning out the guest room today and I found a cute little mouse puppet that I had bought years ago. Mouse and I are now best friends.
 For those of you who haven't seen the Mel Gibson movie, "THE BEAVER" I'll give you a very brief synopsis. Mel is having coping problems and leaves his job, wife, family and in the midst of a drunken stupor he stumbles upon a hand puppet of a beaver. This becomes his life line to the world. Through the hand puppet Mel is able to say all the things that he is unable to say on his own. People of course think he is totally crazy but he turns his world around.         I GET IT !
So there I was today trying to have a conversation with H when I decided "This is impossible". The MOUSE hand puppet will now be my go to place when I need to talk. (That and my blog!) Talking to H is like talking to a water melon or a door or a chair or, well, a beaver or a mouse. I know better than to talk to him  when he is sitting in front of the TV (right there that eliminates about 40 hours of the day) but being in front of the TV AND watching FOOTBALL is such a combination that I can't make sense of anything the man says. I stupidly was trying to tell Ger something and the conversation got so OVER THE TOP ridiculous that I finally just agreed with what ever H was saying and ended the conversation.
Enter THE MOUSE . . .  We had a very nice chat, made total sense to me and the mouse and all the stomach pains and head ache went away.
It is amazing what you can learn from the movies.

INTERNET OVER LOAD !

Unlike what H said the other day, I AM NOT ON THE COMPUTER ALL DAY as he is in front of the TV.  BUT . . . when I do get playing/working on the beastly Internet I am, at times, totally over whelmed with LOG IN'S !
First, let me say I LOVE this MAC. There is nothing better and I will NEVER EVER go back to a PC. You can take your windows and shut them tight because they will never be a match for Mac. That said . . . my brain gets quite frazzled at times trying to remember the pass word/ sign in name / code ? what ever for every single thing that I have to log into an account for. I know this is for my protection but for crying out loud who is going to sabotage my blog? I'm sure you would notice something was wrong if suddenly there was a witty entry EVERY DAY. You would know for sure it wasn't me. And if the blogs were cheery and up beat without a single piss or moan you would know it wasn't me.
How does the rest of the world handle this problem of "SECRET PASSWORDS" for everything? I have a little black book which, if I can find it at any given time, contains all my passwords. But then I come up with a new account some place and don't want to use the same password over and over so I create something very clever that I can't possibly forget so I don't bother to write it in the little black book that would take me an hour to find. You know that the next time I log into that new account I can't remember the password to save my soul.
But better than all that are the accounts that you HAVE the log in address, you HAVE the account access name and you think you HAVE the password and yet you can not log in no matter what you do.  I have typed and retyped passwords in various languages and I still can't get into MY account. Do you really think there is someone out there who WANTS to pay my E-Zpass bill ?  I don't think so !  Every time I go to that damn account I end up having to call them on the T E L E P H O N E and change the password and clear up what ever business I have with them. And yet sure enough, next time I need to log in to my account . .  .I DOESN'T WORK!  FRUSTRATING !  I really don't think it is me causing the problem but then again, that is quite possible.
Another thing I have to say is that I am very happy to have in my bag of tricks the ability to type at a fairly good pace. Nothing like my kids but I do hold my own. That I can thank my dad for.  He was always a fantastic typist having worked for Western Union way back in the day when telegrams were the means of "QUICK" communication. He could type faster than anyone I knew. I used to love it when he would let me use his ancient type writer. What was that old sentence that you would type so you got to use every letter on the key board? Something like "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog". The stuff I remember . . .  and yet . . .  what was my pass word to log on to this site?

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME ?

WHAT ARE THE WALL STREET PROTESTERS PROTESTING?  I am quite serious . .  .  I don't know.  I have read articles and watched YouTube and I still don't get it. AND how does burning the city,(a direct quote from one of the protesters) and/or taking over the NYC subway system accomplish anything?
Sharon, I know you are reading this and I really do want to understand this.  I get the "Tea Party" group. They are unhappy with the way our country is headed and, like myself, just don't know what to do to change things. So far I haven't seen any one suggest burning down the capital or taking over the trains. I look at the pictures of both groups and see all the young people protesting wall street. That is good, it's the young folks who are going to be running this country and they need to be involved. But do you want your future government run like a dictatorship, where if you don't agree with them they will just burn your house down and kill your family? That is the mentality that I am seeing here. Yes, they are young and they are angry but I also think they are misguided. I don't want to live in a country ruled by violence. There are plenty of those around already. What happened to our democracy? Yes, the people should be heard but do you hear the screaming of your 2 year old who is throwing a tantrum because they don't like something or do you hear the voice of your parent or grandparent who wants to discuss things with  you?
I'm not happy with our country. I haven't been happy with where it's been heading for many many years. NOT just this present administration but all our political leaders for the past 20 or so years. They are NOT listening to the people. The people of our country are frustrated and angry but throwing tantrums and stamping our feet will get us no where fast. We still live in the greatest country on earth and it is time for us to realize that we need to work together, not split apart any more than we already are. Never  mind Democrat/Republican . . .  liberal/conservative . . . WE ARE AMERICANS ! And until we stop separating ourselves into groups screaming at each other we will never get past this mess.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe this is EXACTLY what our enemies want ! Stir up the pot and then sit back and watch us self destruct.
I think if we would ALL stop looking at what is WRONG and start working on what is RIGHT maybe we could make some progress. What IS working? How can we incorporate that into other areas that aren't working as well.  Come on people . . .  we are SMART !  Let's figure this out without all the yelling and screaming.

WHAT TO SAY ?

Last night I was all set to sit down and blog when H told me I am on the computer too much.  This coming from the man who sits in front of the TV 8 hours a day. (I counted them up and YES . . .  he watched TV for eight hours yesterday!)
Now it is another day and my brain is blank. Well, not really.  My brain is never blank. It never stops for a minute and that is a bother some times. Forget meditation, it just isn't happening cause I can't get my brain to shut off. My brain isn't even quiet when I sleep because I dream non stop all night long.
The other night I was reading a "trashy magazine" and there was an article about Justin Timberlake. It said he smokes pot to quiet his brain. He gets it through a doctor.  I WANT SOME POT ! For some reason I missed the entire druggie era and never smoked a joint in my life. That is on my "bucket list" for sure. It might be just the thing I need to calm myself down. Like last night when H told me I am on the computer too much, that put my brain into overload and I talked to myself for an hour. Even the happy pills I take don't help in shutting down the whirl wind that is my mind. (BTW . .  . the computer remark was in response to my mentioning that maybe the reason the TV is buzzing is because it is on too much.) (I SWEAR THAT IS ALL I SAID!) About mid way through the evening last night the TV suddenly started to buzz and have static lines run across the screen. That along with everyone looking very PINK made us think we had a problem. At first H tried to tell me it wasn't the TV that was buzzing. I will admit that I did THINK "WTF?" but just SAID "Why don't you turn it off and see if the sound goes away . . . DEAR" Anyone care to take a bet on what happened to the noise once the TV was turned off? Like we have a swarm of bees flying through the den causing a loud BUZZ . . .   or maybe it is my teeth vibrating when I am grinding them too hard?  SERIOUSLY . .  .  So,  the TV has a buzz and the color is off again.  Today we packed up the TV and brought it back to Best Buy where it was purchased only 10 months ago. The kid plugged it in and TA DA . . .   NO BUZZ . . . NO PINK PEOPLE.    The "Geek Squad" told us they would leave it plugged in for a half hour or so to see if it started to buzz but we couldn't leave the store. We packed up the TV and brought it home where H had me plug it in (he doesn't have a clue) and there he has sat for the past 4 hours.
So far it isn't buzzing.  It will wait to do that right about 8:00 tonight when Survivor comes on.

WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMON SENSE ?

Lets start with a question for you . . .   WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE PAID MORE
                             YOUR CONGRESSMAN OR YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER ?

If you have one ounce of common sense you answered "MY CHILD'S TEACHER" !  It makes all the sense in the world to me that the person you are putting in charge of your child's education should make more money than the idiot who is assisting in the demise of our country. If we don't educate our children we will raise a nation of uneducated idiots who will toss the future of our country into the dumpster.
Two of my children are educators and neither of them is making 1/3 what a congressman makes. WHY ?
Oh yea, teachers only work 10 months a year . . .  congress men work less than that . . . by far !
Teachers are entrusted with teaching your child how to read, write, spell, add, subtract, eat healthy, use proper English, use proper hygiene, have safe sex, drive, stay away from drugs and alcohol and you name it, the teacher is teaching it because in many/most cases mom and dad are working 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet because the GOVERNMENT is taxing mom and dad up the wazoo. But that same government is paying itself a might fine salary!
FOR WHAT ??????       I know my congressman is NOT representing me . . . he hasn't voted for a single thing that I believe in nor has he/she USED AN OUNCE OF COMMON SENSE.
I am really pissed that my son has not had a raise in 4 years. I am really pissed that my son has to take 3 days off without pay next week because the county doesn't have enough money to pay him and his fellow teachers. BUT the county will start paying merit pay to teachers whose students perform well on tests. Yet we will force the schools to close so the teachers have less time to teach while we add 20 new things to the curriculum while making pay cuts to teachers who are making less than $35,000 a year.
Write your local congressman and tell him to take a $100,000 pay cut and work twice as hard and see how he likes it !

SNUGGLE ALERT !

It is fun living in Florida. It is such an unusual place and there are so many unusual things here that I am constantly entertained.  Tonight's blog comes to you compliments of NBC News, West Palm Beach's weather man, Steve Weagle, or as we fondly refer to him . .  .STEVIE WEEGIE !  This guy is GREAT! He is probably the best weather man on the planet or at least in Southern Florida. He actually gets the weather report right. If he says it's going to rain, it rains. IF he says it will be hot, it's hot. (That really isn't too much of a stretch since this is SOUTH Florida.) If Steve says the hurricane will not hit us, we don't bother to "batten down the hatches". Steve is the wizard of weather! And his forecast for tonight is a
"SNUGGLE ALERT". I am sitting here in my flannel PJ pants and a sweat shirt. The AC has been turned off for at least a week now and the windows have been open to the wonderful Florida breezes but tonight all the windows and doors are shut tight. The temperatures are going DOWN to 55!  OMG ! Break out the fleece and the blankets, the hats and mittens, the snow shoes and muck-a-lucks, we're in for a cold spell!
I sure hope you're laughing by now because I am. You cannot imagine the hype over the temperature dropping 25 degrees. Not from my man Steve but from the news media in general. Any time the thermometer drops under 70 it is front page news. But I must admit I am COLD tonight. I was actually trying to enjoy the sun this afternoon but it was just too chilly so I had to come in. I realize that if I was still living in NY and the temp ROSE to 55 I'd be out in the yard in my bathing suit taking advantage of the HEAT WAVE. But we have become spoiled and anything lower than 70 is down right cold. But as bad as I am Husband is ridiculous! The man got up this morning and put on HEAVY jeans and a sweat shirt and stayed in that all day . . .  even when it got up to 75 early this afternoon he remained dressed for a blizzard. Go Figure! Unlike H I change my clothes 20 times a day to be comfortable. I started out today in 3/4 length sleeve top and Capri pants. From there I went into my bathing suit until I actually tried to sit outside and then changed back into Capri's and a tee shirt. From that I am now into the flannel pants and sweat shirt. But come bed time I will have a window open cause there is nothing better than sleeping in a cold room. That was one of the big perks of our trip to Scotland this October. Most of the B&B's were cold at night but the beds all had great big down comforters on them. Those are just wonderful to snuggle under. But I wouldn't change my Florida living for the world. The idea of 75 degrees or better EVERY day for most of the year is just perfect with me. I'll think of you tomorrow when I get up in 50 degree weather and am basking in the sun a mere hour later loving the 75 degrees.

And as far as my "recovery" from the fender bender earlier this week.  I got a rental car today . . .  a little Toyota Camry that is mine to use, free of charge, for the time it takes to get my car fixed. I was back at the chiropractor today and even though my back and neck remain very tight I am feeling pretty good. Nothing some nice warm sunshine can't cure.

JUST COULDN'T DO IT !

NO lawyer for me thank you ! I just got up this morning after thinking and thinking and talked with Ger about this whole going to a lawyer thing.  We both feel that the reason you go to a lawyer is that you are having a PROBLEM with someone and you need legal back up to get what is fair for you. That isn't the case here so I just couldn't see going through someone who is only going to get paid by making our "case" into something it isn't. My insurance company has been fantastic.  They were very helpful and pleasant on the phone and they all speak ENGLISH without an Indian accent. The insurance company has appraised the  damage to my car within 20 hours after the accident. They have come up with a fair amount for the body shop and have already paid the body shop for the towing. The body shop is already working on my car and  has no problem with the insurance company. As for medical coverage for me and the chiropractor who is treating me for slight whip lash and back ache, my insurance company is also paying 100% there. So why do I need a lawyer ?
I got up this morning and called the lawyer and cancelled our appointment for today and it felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders.  I just was not comfortable making this into something it wasn't and if, Heaven forbid, I run into problems down the road, I have the name of a good lawyer I can contact.

SPINNING HEAD

My head is spinning but not in the "Rosmary's Baby sort of way, more like, "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?"  This is a direct result of yesterdays fender bender smash up. Between insurance company calls I am tied to the telephone and my rapidly growing list of notes. Thus the decision to introduce a blood sucking leach into the equation. Totally against every fiber of my being I am going to a lawyer because of this accident. Not to sue anyone but to get someone who knows the in's and out's of accident law proceedings. The big push in my mind to go this route is because the guy that hit me was driving a "company" car so the added issues of dealing with a company and their insurance rather than just Joe Schmoe and his insurance is a no brainer. 

It all started when I got up this morning at the crack of dawn to a phone call from the insurance adjuster from my company. He had just inspected my car (People actually function at 8:30 in the morning?) and against my hopes for a Caddy, my car is NOT totaled but has $5,100 worth of damage. The next call was from the auto body shop wanting to get going on chopping off the entire back end of my car and putting a new one on. (I wonder if they could do that for me? My back end is pretty saggy these days too.) Since I still have not heard from the man's insurance company I am not doing anything and from what I hear I may not hear from the other insurance company because they have to go through all sorts of channels within the car owners company. By the time I got off the phone my head was starting to spin and my neck and back were aching. I slept O.K. last night but I definitely can feel the residual effect in my neck and back. When I was making the bed and got a shooting pain up the right side of my butt I decided I better get my butt back to the chiropractor for another adjustment. 

As it turns out a chiropractor CANNOT, by law, do any adjustment on a patient after an auto accident before doing a complete set of X-Rays. So now the money in my pocket is starting to dribble out, thanks to the smash up derby that took place yesterday. My chiropractor advised us to get a lawyer to handle all the legal BS and the insurance companies so we have now officially joined the ranks of society who keep lawyers in business. It is killing me to do this because Ger and I always feel things work out the way they are supposed to . . .   and maybe they will. But just in case I'm glad I watched all those Perry Mason shows so I know what to do and say.

And if you don't know who Perry Mason is you are too young to be reading this blog!

CRASH !

I'M O.K.  Let's get that out of the way first . . . my car . . . not so much !
I got up this morning feeling like I had a load of cement in my back and legs so I called the chiropractor and got an appointment to come in and get straightened out. On my way home my car was hit from behind and the damage doesn't look good.  Want to guess if the driver of the car that hit me was on his cell phone or not?  Of course he was ! I must say it scared the do do out of him and he totally admitted to being at fault. Not just an admission to me but to the police who showed up in a matter of seconds.
I was stopped at a light with cars in front of me and looked in my rear view mirror and saw that I was about  to be hit. For a split second I thought the guy just might stop but I was braced for the hit and sure enough . . . . . WHAM ! He did try to swerve to the right at the last minute so the right side of my car got the worst of it but the entire bumper is hanging off and the right tail light looks like a Halloween eye ball just dangling by a wire. The trunk popped open and will never shut again because the entire trunk opening is out of shape. I'm hoping the insurance company totals the car cause then I just might get that Caddy I have been dreaming of. (Used of course) The other driver worked for a Lab where he drove around picking up specimens from all over the place and he was on his phone talking with his company when he hit me. I think he had one extra specimen on the seat of his car after hitting me.
What I couldn't believe was that I was so cool and collected.  I pulled over and dug out my phone and dialed 911. The cops were there before I even got my car off the road. What service! GO PALM BEACH GARDENS POLICE ! The cops were awesome and really concerned about my well being. The other driver got a ticket for distracted driving. My second call was to Ger who showed up in a matter of minutes. I think he was worried we wouldn't get to go out to dinner . .  .   JUST KIDDING ! Ger was excellent and a big help. He comes through when I need him.
So now I have no car, spent the afternoon on the phone with my insurance company and probably need to go back to the chiropractor tomorrow for another adjustment. All things considered it was a good day. No one was hurt and it gave me something to blog about.

A MORNING AT THE ZOO

I found out on Sunday that places actually open for business before 10 AM. I couldn't believe it myself but Ger, Kent, Kristen, Smith and I were AT the Palm Beach Zoo at 9:25 AM this Sunday morning. IT WAS WONDERFUL once I got my bones out of bed and moving in a direction.
Kent and Family came up for the weekend and we had a wonderful time. At least Smith and I did! The weather was cool so we didn't go in the back yard pool but we did go for a swim down the block at our community pool on Sunday afternoon, after Smith's nap. WE tired out the little man walking around the zoo for 3 hours in the morning and it was great fun. When we got there the zoo had just been open for 25 minutes so the place was EMPTY !  The animals were active and it was great to walk through with a 15 month old. Smith walked on his own most of the way with a few interludes in the stroller. We got to see the BIG black bear right in front of us. The bear was moving around checking out the pieces of pumpkin that were there for him to nibble on but he really didn't seem very interested. The otters had a small pumpkin floating in their pool but they were too busy grooming each other and the raccoon was having a feast eating all the pumpkin he had. I guess Halloween is over at the zoo.
We stopped for an early lunch at the snack bar and Smith devoured 3 chicken fingers and half his dads french fries. I guess all the walking gave him a good appetite. Our last stop before leaving the zoo was a visit to Mr. & Mrs. Tiger and their 3 little cubs who are not so little any more. The cubs were born in the spring, much to the delight of all us zoo goers, and they are growing so fast.
All in all it was a great day and as soon as I get my camera working I'll add some pictures.

HOME

Home is where my bed is.  My heart is still in Maryland and England with my grand kids. It's been a month and a week of travel to see the children and we miss them when they aren't around but home is where I long to be right now.
Home is where my comfy bed is . . .  not Roman's double bed that Ger and I get to squish into while Roman gets to sleep in the top bunk in Abby's room. It's also not the sofa bed in son-in-law Steve's office that I find strangely comfortable with all its "nooks and crannies" that fit the shape of my body perfectly. These beds are wonderful when falling into them after an exhausting day with the kids but  MY bed is still the best.

2 little cheese balls !

on the play ground

Reading the funnies.

Home is where my computer is . . .  the one that doesn't skip off the page and delete everything I have just written because of an accidental brush of my hand on the key board.
Home is where my car is . . .  the one that is easy to get in and out of now that my bones are hurting from all the playing on the floor with the kids.
Home is where my vitamins are . . . the ones that I counted out and set up for daily consumption while I was away and then left them on the kitchen counter. (That glucosamine really DOES work as I find out when I don't take it for over a week!)
Home is where all my "projects" are . . .  the ones that occupy my time when I don't have grand kids to occupy me. I'd rather  play with the kids any day but that isn't possible so I have "projects".
Home is where all our favorite restaurants are . . . Moes for taco salad lunches and Juno Beach Fish House for wonderful fish dinners. Lunches and dinners that I don't have to cook myself and clean up after.
Home is where I don't get dish pan hands because I almost never wash dishes. They just go in the dish washer and that is that. When there are grand kids involved it seems you are always washing something. From clothes to dishes to "drop zone mats" on the floor under Kaelin's and Finn's chairs to spills and silly string on the tree out side.
Home is where my HUGE bath tub is with the bubbles and candles and aroma therapy. A quick shower before bed just isn't the same.
Home is where there is no waking up before 10 AM!
Home is where I belong, even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE being with these amazing little people I do enjoy returning home to all my comforts.
It is in the high seventies here today, a breeze is blowing and it is just perfect! There is NO SNOW in the forecast, the cold front will only drop the temperature into the LOW 70's and I can once again put the coats, jackets, sweaters, hats and gloves back in the closet to await our next visit North of South Florida.