Wednesday, February 29, 2012

the Crows Nest


as the photo says, a landmark waterfront restaurant in Venice, Florida

Venice is north of Englewood and it is a little larger town
it was only 22 miles from our house to the restaurant though
the nice thing about Venice is that it's right on the Gulf of Mexico
on a large barrier island
most towns on the gulf are inside the bay across from the barrier islands


the site of the restaurant is wonderful as you can see from the map


we had a great view from our table
mom and dad gave us a gift certificate for christmas
they had been here years ago and really liked it


we started with a shrimp cocktail
followed by a nice salad that I did not get a photo of


Willi had huge pasta shells filled with a seafood mix


I had fried shrimp
which has been my favorite in a restaurant since I was a kid

we also got a chocolate cake to go

the perfect late lunch


after we walked to the jetty

 

this is a very famous pass


the other side of the sign


the were a lot of birds there
checking out the guys fishing



they were not very shy


we also saw lots of dolphins
they are really hard to get a photo of
I can't believe I got this one


one wild and crazy guy


cool shell fossil on a rock


we took this photo of us with the camera on the car....
I like the bird over my head


a couple who had been sitting in their car
watching our antics with the camera
came over and offered to take one for us


a great day - thanks mom and dad
love you


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

we paraded around the house.....


Willi's handmade mask for Mardi Gras


coming


and going

hope you have a great Fat Tuesday!
it is a good excuse for a party

I don't believe in Lent or Easter for that matter
but like I said, a great excuse for a parade

oh to be in New Orleans with my friends!






Monday, February 20, 2012

J.

here is your room "before"




and here is your room now






move photos of the house soon

tomorrow - painting the hall cupboards....







Saturday, February 18, 2012

from Pearl.....


It's late fall and
the Indians on a remote reservation

in Oklahoma asked their new chief if the coming

winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had

never been taught the old secrets. When he looked

at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going

to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his

tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold

and that the members of the village should collect

firewood to be prepared.

But, being a practical leader, after several days, he

got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the

National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming

winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the

meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them

to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service

again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a

very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again

replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered

them to collect every scrap of firewood they

could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National

Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure

that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and

more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters

we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting

a shitload of firewood
'

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day

this one was my best ever

first kayaking from my favorite put in by the locks
it is only a few miles from our house, a dirt road that goes to the back of the locks
if you go past  a ways there is one place you can put in
between the mangroves
I found it by searching Google Earth



I like that spot because no one else is there and it is free
also you have lots of options from there


if it is windy, you can stay in the back channels and float wind free
or go out into the Myakka River and south into Port Charlotte Bay
only accessible by water


today we headed south out of the channel, best chance for beaches
we came out of the channel and headed down the shore
the first little beach we saw had lots of vultures


we looked closer and realized they were eating something
a dead dolphin!
wow that was something you don't see everyday
if fact I had never seen it before


Willi got close, I stayed back


it's great place to kayak, lots of little beaches along the shore


it was actually a little windy out there


we tucked into a small beach and decided to go back
to the sheltered bay


at least going back we were going with the wind


inner mangrove bays, out of the wind
I did however make an error in the tides
I thought it would be low tide for lunch with plenty of places to pull in
it was high tide and getting higher


luckily some of these islands are dredged spoils from the locks
and a perfect place to have a picnic


we had a wonderful lunch of chicken salad sandwiches
strawberries, grapes and tangerines
(oh and chocolate cookies....)

Willi won the first game by a lot, see
I managed to barely win the second game
he had a high hand of 24, rare in Cribbage
not rare that he won


here is the spot in the mangroves we have to find to take out
we have it marked with a little orange flagging


a memorable day on the water



the kids came over when we got home and brought us
handmade valentines
and yummy homemade cookies


Emily valentine


Elizabeth and Lucy valentine


and little Mr. Arlo Cruz valentine


my heart is full

I am missing a few people - you know who you are

Love from all of us to all of you





Sunday, February 12, 2012

field trip

I got to help out on the field trip Emily's class went on

a local non-profit, The Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center,
takes all the 4th graders in the county on a 2 day field trip

the first day half of the class goes on a guided hike through 
Cedar Point Environmental Park
the other half goes on a guided boat ride in Lemon Bay

I went on the first day and my group was on the hike
(grandpa went on the second day on the boat)


the Environmental Center is a pretty special place 


we had a great guide who knew everything about the nature park


we walked to Lemon Bay on the trails


we looked, but we did not see the boat the other kids were on


we did however see the eagles nest, it was huge


a fine fun day was had by all

I will try and get some photos of the boat ride from grandpa
it looked like that was a fine fun day too

Monday, February 6, 2012

I know you were hoping for more cute kid pics

instead of this guy


listen - this is important

do you know why he is smiling?

he just ripped you off
you the American taxpayer

he lied about his income and hid money in a Swiss bank account
for years
so as not to pay his fair share of taxes


wow


how can this man still be running for president!!

how can anyone take him seriously
shouldn't his behavior make it illegal for him to run for
the highest office in the country!

further more he's rich
the tax laws are already in his favor
how much does he need??

what is even worse is that everyone is just going on like
he is still a viable candidate



are you going to let this clown make laws for you?

come on

are we going to let him get away with this??
and I don't mean the tax fraud

though if it was you or me, do you think they would let us
just "amend" a few tax returns and call it good

no me neither