Friday, April 28, 2006





Dana & Crystal, Hugh & Becky, Gary & Mary.....cruisin' Tampa Bay

Wednesday, April 26, 2006


Starting with the setting sun....

Settling in to watch the show....

Pina Coladas win the second prize...

Becky and Hugh enjoying their Florida vacation

...just can't beat the ambiance...

...it's just like the islands, mon...

Just enjoying the sights on Clearwater Beach

Monday, April 17, 2006

We had a terrific Easter Sunday. Shane and Laura came up from Gainesville on Friday, Crystal and Dana drove in from Zephyrhills on Sunday afternoon, and Steve and Donna showed up on our doorstep with a beautiful Easter Lilly. After converging at our house and the ensuing short visit, we all piled into our cars (notice Shane's new wheels, below) and headed to Gus & Laurie's.

Gus carved the ham.
Crystal and her Grandma "hammed" it up for the photographer.
Several tables were set up so there was plenty of elbow room.

We celebrated Shane's 21st Birthday.... dig the candles we dug up.....
twenty-one singles, how creative!
Laura's sunburned smile (from the jet ski trip the day before, notice Gary and Shane's red colors too).

We all had a wonderful, relaxing day. Happy Easter everyone, and Happy 21st Birthday Shane!

Tuesday, April 04, 2006













NEW YORK CITY! Best friend Cathy (Luuuuuucy!) extended the invitation, and me, being the Ethel that I am, accepted. There's certainly no place like it, it's a blend of excitement and chaos all at once. The taxi's are just TOO much, clinging to your life at every turn or intersection. We ate many expensive meals, but the best meal was in Soho with my niece, Christin......the best Chinese dumplings, and of all things, a tuna fish sandwich (it had to be the cilantro). She also took Cathy and I to a great little Cuban dive, we had plantains for dessert, Cathy had a grilled chicken cuban that looked delicioso. That was a pretty relaxing day, Christin sure knows her way around. She took us on a subway trip that was quite interesting. I wish we could have spent more time with her, in her world, but four days wasn't quite enough. Back at the Vision Expo, Cathy and I got a glimpse of "The Donald" and we even had time to go shopping.....can you imagine eight stories of Macy's? Me either, but I bought a sweater, on sale of course. During our last hours in NYC, we took a cab to "Ground Zero". It sure left a big hole, and you can feel the emotional hole when you are standing in front of it all. The church in the distance certainly caught my eye from Ground Zero, though the blast knocked out a huge tree on the grounds, not one of the stained glass windows in the sactuary broke. After that, we were rushed back to the airport, in a TAXI, of course, the last of the wild rides! What a trip. Thanks, Lucy, and Christin, I had a wonderful time!