Making Room for Blogging

I was asked, very nicely, if I could please update my blog.  Due to our busy lifestyle, and some laziness, I had been just posting some short updates to Facebook, but not all of our friends are on Facebook (or have quit it - can you believe it?) and so I am now "making room for blogging" as part of my retirement.  

Usually my blogs are related to pics I have taken, so I am going back through my pic file to see what we have been up to.  

The first few weeks of November we were busy doing some more updates to our home here in Dundee.  The urge to feather my nest was strong - I mean the ducks were all busy raising a new brood of ducklings and being so very domestic, so why not me. 



These ducklings we just little balls of fluff (see above) when we arrived and look at them now - almost as big as mama.  She is leading the way, I think that is poppa closest to the camera.  But I didn't ask him, so I don't know for sure.  


 







So step one was to paint the sunroom.  It had very faded pinkish coloured panelling with birds and it was time for it to go - so off to Lowe's to get some paint.  And I found it, one of my favourite colours -  Lowe's called it Green Tea.  As I was putting it on the walls, I was oooing and ahhing - I love this colour - then it dawned on me - I was a very similar colour when  I painted the kitchen cupboards at the manse in Port Rowan.  It was a fav colour of mine back then and still is - so the next thing I am doing is painting the kitchen.  
 

The back splash became the same colour as the sunroom.  But of course one thing leads to another and it was time to paint the walls and then the cupboards themselves.  







 
Here is a pic of what it looked like last year when we moved in.  

The dark brown on the lower cupboards worked out even better than I had hoped so I decided to paint the main bath vanity as well.  














About three weeks later I said "that is enough for now, I have had enough painting".  There is still the living room and master bath to do, but there is always tomorrow - or maybe next month - or next year.  

 

Now just in case you think Alf was sloughing while I was working he had his tasks to do.  He tackled the palm tree.  Alf won the challenge - the tree lost a few limbs. 

But enough work - it was time for fun.  




We have been keeping busy with bowling on Mondays (now that is an up and down experience)  I can bowl very well in one game and lousy in the next - and then there is last week - when I bowled really bad all three  games.  At least I was consistent - don't want my average getting too high you know.  


We golf in little leagues on Tuesday , men go to one course and the women to another, and then on Wednesday we golf in a mixed league.  Next Thursday we are going with friends to a new course.  I bought vouchers early this year for this course - looked at the course layout on-line and we better make sure we have lots and lots of balls with us, because just about every hole has some challenging water to contend with.  Did I tell you that my driver cover is a frog - when he sees water he just has to go swimming.  

 




 Yesterday was the Dundee Christmas parade and Alf and I decided to walk the route with the contingent from our park.  There were at least a dozen decorated golf carts driving along having fun. And Alf and I handed out candy to the kiddies.  We had a blast.  And got some exercise to boot.  
No pics - no camera - too busy doing our job.  (and I forgot to take it) 


Oh, Alf is having fun.  He has an elf hat that he likes to wear and he seems to be popping up in pics all over the place.  
No holding back Alf the Elf.  

Here he is, sitting on a shelf in our bedroom.  

And hiding behind a Christmas tree. 
 

He went to the park's Christmas dance and loved sticking his head into all the photo ops.  

And hiding out in the strangest places.  

And then next thing you know he is ready for a swim.













And of course Alf the Elf didn't want to be left behind when it was time to go golfing. 












 But just to let you know Alf does have a serious side -

today I found him reading.  That lasted for about 10 minutes and then it was time to gather at the shuffleboard courts with our friends.  
 
 

And just to prove that I actually am here in Florida, having fun, Alf picked up the camera and took a few action shots.  That's me, incognito, in the big hat and sunglasses.  

A rather interesting paint job on the home behind us - I am not sure what has gotten in to some of the residents - they seem to be painting their homes in the favourite football team's colours.  We have a yellow and purple one too.  
 


And a weather report, just in case you are interested:  
Florida has been having an above average warm month of December.  It has been mid 80's just about every day.  But it has cooled down a bit - today was only about mid 70's -  and we had a torrential downpour this morning that lasted about 10 minutes.  We were in the car on our way to church and we had to pull over till it cleared a bit.  But then the sun came out for a while - but mostly cloudy today.  And it is getting quite cool tonight -  around 60 or so.  Oh, poor us!  

P.S. if you only work in Centigrade sorry, they report everything in F down here.  

So time to sign off - hope you are having a good December, and enjoying all that snow I have heard the North is getting.