We always love the beach BBQ and the space we use next to Sharkys. This year they cleaned out the underbrush of mangrove leaves so it was not quite as cozy – we could actually see the parking lot from the space. However, the location is still great and we had lots of laughs and way too much food. An extra bonus is that we get front row seats to great sunsets there.
Dan and Daniel
Earl and Danny
Dave
Sharon, Carol, Liz, Karen and Marilyn
Dave the Burning Chef
Another Glorious Sunset
Well another birthday has come and gone. Thanks for all of the great cards, emails, messages and calls. It rained – which was too bad – but I couldn’t complain as it is a great place to spend the winter and a rainy day every month or so isn’t too critical.
We have been busy this month with all sorts of events – eating has been the main activity on lots of these occasions. As usual we go out together every Friday night – someone picks the restaurant and then hosts us at their place after for dessert. The other eating events have happened at the Clubhouse.
Clubhouse Farewell Dinner
Danny, Daniel and Dave at the Clubhouse for the Farewell Dinner
Earl and Dan
Marilyn, Karen, Carol, Sharon and Liz at the Farewell Dinner
We went to the sunset at Venice Beach after dinner – the red tide issues this past summer disrupted the usual drum ceremonies. I did see the guy who used to perform at Nokomis Beach drum circle.
We are gearing up for a solid month of beach days. I cannot believe that we have only 50 days left here in Paradise.
We celebrated in fine style at the clubhouse where a resident and her band played and we danced. This was the first time we attended this event which was held twice before. During our first years here we always hosted a large afternoon party but haven’t done so for several years. We had a table of 12 and during the intermission they drew for door prizes and our table won 3 (Earl, Dave and I). The Canadians did really well as we won a total of 6 prizes.
Marilyn, Liz, Linda, Brett, Sharon and Dan
Dennis Irwin
Dan Paige and Earl
Marilyn and Liz
Dave with main door prize
Carol with door prize
Earl with door prize
It is true that retirement means you are busier than ever – I cannot believe that it is March already. We have been busy with the regular things that we enjoy. Dave golfs on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday mornings he works with the guys in the park on odd jobs. His polymyalgia rheumatica is under control and each month he has been able to reduce the amount of prednisone that he takes – currently down to 9 mg per day. It is amazing how often he meets someone who has it or who had it. He is much better than this time last year and even better than he was during the summer. Unfortunately I had a bout of cold/flu that lingered for about 2 weeks but I finally shook it.
Valentine flowers from my man
N’tino’s for Valentine pizza supper
We went to several movies earlier this winter – A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Green Book. Our first outing of the year to Venice Theatre was to see a great Patsy Cline show with Danny Munroe. What a great show. I was invited to a symphony performance (with a guest pianist) that is part of the community concert series here. It was held in the large Presbyterian across the street – another super show that Marilyn Munroe and I enjoyed.
On Friday nights we go out to supper and then one of us hosts the dessert and drinks. There have been lots of good meals thus far. On Wednesday we go to bingo with the Corkerys. We have all been lucky with wins. Saturday night is reserved for dominoes and we have had lots of great competition with boys versus girls.
We have been attending Red Hat events twice a month. The latest was at Englewood Beach – the sculpture was interesting.
The month of February was super warm with all but one day being above normal temperatures. We manage the beach as often as we can and it is always a great time. I have continued to paint rocks and leave them at the beach.
There are lots of interesting critters here – most harmless. These guys land and scour the grass for something that they eat.
These two guys were at the beach this week.
I have been painting (dotting) mandalas on rocks to hide here as I did last year. Dave takes one with him everyday when he goes to Publix (grocery store). Liz, Marilyn and I also took a course on resin work. We made a “sun catcher” style picture.
I also tried my hand at suncatchers made from old CDs.
And on a final note – it is strawberry season here. The most interesting thing to tell you about that is the fact that some berry patches here are from Nova Scotia seedlings.
Christmas was a low-key event here but as long as I have a tree and my decorations I am a happy gal. Most of you will remember that Dave had to buy me a shed to store the 12 bins with Christmas items. Since we arrived later than usual there was a little more pressure on me to get the decorating and cleaning done – not as able to do that kind of work for hours on end like I used to do. I still enjoy the finished product and especially like to sit in evening with the tree all lit up. The living room is decorated in silver and aqua with lots of trees.
I decorate the Lanai with some of my favourite Santas that I retained from years ago.
Happy New Year to all of you. We have had a quiet but good Christmas and after being here for 3 weeks the weather has finally warmed up enough for trips to the beach. Last year the closest beach – Service Beach – was newly renovated and we made a visit to see the changes. Several days later there was a fire (started by someone who built a warming fire near the wooden path) and it was subsequently closed for the rest of the season. So we were delighted to see that it was open again and we made it for a sunset and for beach time.
Once again we are back in Venice for the winter. It was a great summer in Nova Scotia – with our usual volunteer work. On Tuesdays we worked as Tartan Team volunteers at the airport. Dave is the chairman of the golf tournaments at Hartlen Point and we worked on those until the course closed in November. He does the entry forms and money and I get to do all the paper work – I love it. On Thursdays I volunteer at the information desk at the Dartmouth General and it is a great 3 hours per week.
This summer we traveled to Alaska from Vancouver on the Celebrity Millennium and it was a great trip with stunning scenery.
Our first few days here in Venice have been busy with cleaning and organizing but we did manage a great beach BBQ with the MacIntyre clan. It has been cool here for the first few days but it was about 70 and there wasn’t even a breath of wind.
George, Dave and Gus
First glimpse of Venice Pier
Gus getting ready to cook
Dave and Gus
Gus, Janet, Justin, John, Mary Evelyn and Molly
Dave, Justin, Janet, John, Mary Evelyn, Molly and Carol
Justin and John
It is hard to imagine that we are less than 5 weeks from our return home – where does the time go?
This year the 10 of us celebrated Easter with what Gerrie dubbed the “House Hop”. We began at 5:30 at Liz and Earl’s where we had great appetizers (shrimp, brie and cranberry tarts and queso dip and tortilla scoops) and drinks. The gals enjoyed champagne while the guys had a few beers. After about an hour and a quarter we headed here to the Logan’s for the main meal (ham, potato scallop, baked beans, turnip, carrot and peas). After about an hour and a half (which included playing an Easter egg toss), we headed (hopped) to the Irwins for dessert (turtle pie, pineapple upside down cake and ) and drinks. This was the first time we tried a potluck dinner that had 3 stops but we all gave it two thumbs up.
We had a great day with Carol and Stephen Hiltz – the guys golfed and Carol and I talked “crafts” followed by some retail therapy. The day was finished off with a visit to the Burgundy Cafe where Carol and I enjoyed their famous lobster roll.
Carol Ann and Charles Gallant came to Venice for two days before setting off on a re-positioning cruise to Europe. At the same time Danny and Marilyn had their children here for a visit – so – we decided that we needed to have a beach BBQ so that everyone would get that experience as well as an opportunity to see one another. What a great time.
The last two weeks of March flew by – starting with my birthday. My birthday wish is always a trip to the beach and a good supper. I was blessed with flowers, chocolates, lots of cards and messages and visits from friends.
There is a birthday garden near our house where those of us who paint rocks place special birthday rocks. I delivered 5 rocks there and took this one for myself.
Lin Watson dipped these strawberries in chocolate and then dotted them the way I do the rocks – very clever and so thoughtful.
I did a quick tally and I think that although my birthday falls in March, I have been blessed with spending about a third of them in warm climates. So I was very pleased to be able to go to the beach again this year – my very happy place!
There were a great many pelicans at our beach on my birthday and I was given a front row seat to their antics.
For my birthday supper we went to the Burgundy Cafe. The owner is from Maine and his lobster roll is spectacular. Last year he told us that he sometimes gets Nova Scotia lobster. Just look at all the big chunks of lobster meat that he uses. I haven’t had one that full in Nova Scotia.
On March 21 we headed out on a bus tour from our park that took us to the quaint town of Tarpon Springs. It is famous for its sponge industry and we learned lots about the history of the town and the sponges. It was quite cool and very windy but the diver was able to do a short shallow dive so that we could see him get a sponge.
We got to see the 5 kinds of sponges that are usually picked here in a long and involved process.
This bike is part of a store front decoration – yes it is filled with sponges!
Lin, Marilyn, Carol, Liz and Gerrie
The boat ride was lots of fun although cool and windy. We saw beautiful homes along the shoreline, lots of great boats and lots of pelicans and osprey.
The sponge diver did a shallow dive as the wind was problematic that day. We got the idea of how this is done.
On Saturday, March 24 we headed to Seminole to attend the annual Nova Scotia Picnic. It is always a fun time and we usually get to see other friends who winter in Florida.
Cal and Brenda Collins
Dennis and Gerrie Irwin
Marty Keating, Barb Gaudet, Donna Dow and Len Dow
David and Heather Wiseman and Carol and Dave
Heather was near us at the park and I heard her say that she thought she recognized us – turns out she is Nancy Mills’ sister (we taught together at Southdale) and she has been following this blog for several years. Small world eh!
After an above normal hot February, March arrived with cooler temperatures. When we have been unable to go to the beach, I have been busy with painting kindness rocks and Dave has been busy hiding them. LOL So far I have painted over 200. Once I got into that mind set I also got into other crafts that required some painting. Cool days are great for crafting.
Sunset is nice most evenings and now that the time has changed it is at 7:40 so after supper it is a quick ride to see it. A visit to the shoreline works no matter what the temperature or cloud cover. I always get to take a few rocks and hide them too.
With the better than usual weather some plants and trees bloomed early. The pollen was brutal and for a couple of weeks all surfaces were coated in yellow. This tree on Nokomis Avenue around the corner from us was in full bloom. 
This week we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch with the Red Hat and Birthday Club. When it is your birthday month, you reverse the colours of hats and clothes – so here I am in a purple hat with red clothes to celebrate.
Mary and Bob arrived for three days and we enjoyed having them close by. Mary thought the weather was spectacular!
We celebrated my birthday a few days early, spent time at the beach and checked out the drumming circle at Nokomis Beach. We ate, drank and laughed for the whole time.
The sunset on St. Patty’s Day was spectacular and as usual it is fun to be witness to it with a large crowd of people. Great shot of Mary and Bob silhouetted at the shoreline.
Adventure Logan 