For the last Friday in February Chris and I flew to Savannah GA.  Our old friends Bev and Wally invited us to join them at their time share.  The Marriot Grand Resort is a beautiful facility.  The condo’s them selves are very spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath with a kitchen and dining area.  And a full patio that overlooked the pool and the common area.  There are multiple pools and hot tubs on the property.  Between  the buildings where some of the pools are are also a quiet stream and bridges, many trees, and a grilling area with 14 gas grills.   It was a relaxing area without leaving the complex.  And we used the grills to make a wonderful dinner one day and ate on the patio.  I love the warm weather.   We found a great upscale grocery where we bought the steaks, asparagus and the fixings.   Other pool areas were larger, and of course there was the pool with the outside bar nearby.  Chris loved the Malibu / banana / strawberry concoction the bartender came up with.  All that was just on the property.  And we walked right out on the ocean front beach.  We managed to keep up our exercise with long beach walks.  The Hilton Head beach is very hard sand and easy to walk.  And good for bike riding although we did not find time to get that in before we left.   And Hilton Head island is very scenic and relaxing.  Lot’s of great restaurants and shops of course.  We just had a great time.  Got a little sunburn and tried to store up some warmth to bring back (it did not work).  We only stayed with Bev and Wally 4 days but packed a lot of relaxation in.  Another important break from Wisconsin weather.    Wish you could of all joined us,  I recomend the trip to everyone.   Bev and Wally spent a little time in Savannah, which sounds like is is worth a trip also.

February in Wisconsin continues to be cold and snowy. The yard, house, roads remain heavily covered. But we can still remember Florida and keep planning trips to stay warm. We did get a weekend that was nice and made it to Milwaukee to go out to eat with my cousins and then had a family brunch with Mom to celebrate her birthday. She is doing great. And I think she enjoyed the company and getting to see everyone.

But the week has turned cold again, I can’t believe it. It will be close to zero tonight. but we have the weekend to look forward to. Chris and I will fly to Hilton Head for a long weekend with our friends Bev and Wally. We are looking forward to that! So there will be more pictures coming from warm South Carolina.

You know, it is hard to beleive you can be outside at 10pm in shorts and t shirts. The winter gets so long it is hard to remember last summer.  Life is good.   Even though today was cloudy it has been warm all day.   Had rain this evening, we went out to eat with Audrey and Jose and when we came out we could see the sliver of the moon.  Looks like Noel is getting hit with thunderstorms over in Fort Meyers but still good here.  But rain is OK as long as the temperature holds. 

Best of luck to Bryan and Beth as it sounds like Beth delivered their first child today.  Jo Ann should be back in Milwaukee by now.   Noel just could not go back to the cold, not sure I can.   We have new neighbors to the north, they are from about 80 miles north of Toronto.   Even at thier home it has not been as cold as Wisconsin!

So Claire should be here, I started taking wallpaper down in the second bathroom. She helped take the other bathroom down.  This one will take a little longer on my own.  I’ll work on it a little each time we are down.

A few pictures up in albums.  I know better but spent too much time in the sun one day.  Maybe my stomach will keep me warm when I get home!  

Jose is making supper tomorrow night, he has a plan to pick up some shrimp tomorrow.  And he will make something for Chris!

And we will enjoy our last full day in paradise.

Well, we finally made it!! after a delay we caught a plane out of Milwaukee Friday night and made our Atlanta connection to get to Fort Lauderdale.    We arrived around 11:30 pm.    And the temperature was 72 degrees when we landed.   Damn, was it good to be here!  Had a few things to do today.  Sunny in the morning and clouded up as the day went on.  But got out and bought a futon for the living room we had planned on.  Have some car issues but will work with that.  Put that in perspective by spending some time at the pool and cocktail hour with Al and  Vivian.  High season in Florida, the planes are all full.   And since it is probably -10 degrees at home and we have the doors open here and it is 78 degrees, I understand why.   The rain showers today were no big deal.  Tomorrow the neighbors bought us tickets to the brunch down at the club house.  So that will start the day, and then friends Noel and Jo Ann will get here sometime in the afternoon to spend some days with us.    Looking forward to more relaxing.  Wish you all were here, as Al says, “one more day in paradise”

Well no pictures today.  They all look the same, snowing.    At least brother Skip got the brunt of yesterday’s storm. We just had an inch or two while the 7″ and more looks like it was Milwaukee to Chicago.  But it seems like it just keeps coming.  It is snowing today again.  We were supposed to get a dusting to an inch, and we must have at least a couple of inches.   The roads are messy.  But is is around 30 which feels like spring.  So if it stops hopefully the roads will melt.  Although all of the towns up here seem to be saying they are running out of salt.  And they are trying to save it, so none on the roads.

So they are predicting the chance of something big Monday night or Tuesday.  We will hope that turns into nothing.  And more importantly that Wednesday night and Thursday are good.   We are flying out of Milwaukee Thursday morning for Florida.   I have been anxiously awaiting this week to come.  I will post some pictures when we get there.  I looked at the weather channell this morning and today and tomorrow will hit 80 degrees.  I am hoping that is the same next weekend!

So everyone have a good weekend.  I have not decided if I will watch the super bowl tomorrow.   Probably, but will wait for the time to come to decide.

-Randy

Ok, another group of snow pictures. The snow built up quite a bit this week. Earlier this week at least 8 inches, and last night it was coming down early and still this morning. But spent a fair amount of time getting the driveway and walks cleaned as best as I could. Pushed snow back to get the driveway a little larger again. And took the roof rake to the roofs so if we get our promised warm up tomorrow and Monday the snow melts off and we don’t get any ice dams along the overhangs. So spent a number of hours out there but the temps were the warmest in awhile, made it up to 27 earlier. And tomorrow should be better. So I am hoping the melt shows some more gravel of the driveway. The snow built up even on the trailers and the fence posts. We had some neighbors over for some snacks and drinks last night and had a wonderful night of socializing. So the weekend was off to a good start. Put some pork chops on the grill for lunch – did not grill in the below zero weather! And just goofed off at the computer the last couple of hours. Time to put another log on the fire and think about going to church tonight. I hope everyone’s weekend is grand, relax and enjoy.

I posted up a few pictures from around the yard. Very clear and crisp. 11:30 am and we broke through -5. We have not broke through 0 in the last 24 hours. I’m looking forward to that +10 degrees to feel warm again. I should probably just make sure to run the car a little today to give the battery a charge before work tomorrow morning, I’ll see how the spirit moves me. The Cat (Yes Craig the cat) stays inside her house most of the day, but they are amazing in how they can take as much cold as they do. Craig, a cat we can leave for days on her own, eats and drinks just enough, can use a liter box. Dogs can be too dumb to stop eating everything that is left out and can’t be left alone long. Anyway, I will need to bring another wheelbarrow of wood up from the pile. A good day to spend in the bar room watching the fire! Can’t wait for the game to come, I hate these late games. It should be exciting, I never feel comfortable no matter how many people pick the Pack to win. Go Pack

All of you who winter in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona.  Do you realize what you are missing?   You are gone from the winter wonderland.    The weatherman predicted winter storms today, but it was not as bad as they thought.  But it still meant snow last night, snow all day (again) and now wind and drifting.  Remember what that was like?  Check out albums.   The pictures don’t do it justice.  When I got home the highway was not bad, the temp was still 32 degrees.  I look at the thermometer now and it just dropped to 12.   For this part of the old January winter just check into the Packer Game on Sunday and I am betting they lead with a shot of the famous Ice Bowl, 40 years ago, and blend into Lambeau field Sunday January 20, 2008.  0 degrees, wind chill?   I am hoping they are wrong enough that Brett can keep a good hold on the ball and keep the passing game going.  But to be sure, it will be a memorable Sunday in NFL lore.  I for one, would rather be in Florida, watching of course (Check out the albums for Chris, MJ, and I watching a game from a bar on the Intercoastal).      So everyone be safe, for those of you in warmer climes you are really missing it!  Oh, and yes Craig, we have a cat.

A weekend at home for us. A chance for both of us to get caught up on things around the house. I moved some firewood and set up the rack close to the house for the start of the week. And got a lot done in the garage and workshop. It was still a mess after our bathroom remodeling project, so it felt good to get it someone cleaned up and organized. And some work near the mailbox chopping some ice away so the mailman can pull up without a problem. And our cat Sassy spent some time out with me before the snow started. And did some organizing on our truck which is going up for sale.

So now about to settle in for the Packer game. They are off to a terrible start so I had better get a beer and help them out. Let’s hope for a happy ending, and here’s hoping you have a great weekend!

A weekend at home for us. A chance for both of us to get caught up on things around the house. I moved some firewood and set up the rack close to the house for the start of the week. And got a lot done in the garage and workshop. It was still a mess after our bathroom remodeling project, so it felt good to get it someone cleaned up and organized. And some work near the mailbox chopping some ice away so the mailman can pull up without a problem. And our cat Sassy spent some time out with me before the snow started. And did some organizing on our truck which is going up for sale.

So now about to settle in for the Packer game. They are off to a terrible start so I had better get a beer and help them out. Let’s hope for a happy ending, and here’s hoping you have a great weekend!

Randy