Apricity South 2

​January 9, 2025 - Friday

Gorgeous day today for water aerobics. 

Time for a pedicure so we went this morning before hitting Seasons 52 for lunch! This restaurant is our maiden voyage, but I have been hearing good things about it - just 1 mile down the street. Somehow it felt like a day to celebrate. Actually, the waiter (Kevin) was a great salesman. He made a Hawaiin Pineapple Cosmo sound so good that I decided to go for it. Rich tasted mine and got one as well. It took us a while to peruse the menu as there are so many delectable choices. Love that the menu lists the calories in each dish! 

We shared the beet salad -  Betty didn’t tell me it was served warm!

I had the plank salmon which was delicious.

Rich had the shrimp and grits which I took a bite of.

We were sure that we would NOT be ordering dessert - then Kevin appears with an unavoidable presentation of cordial glasses with 6 options that we could not deny. We did share one Belgium Chocolate S’more. 

I looked the meal up in my Weight Watchers app just for the heck of it. Sure enough, all of their dishes are in WW and it wasn’t as bad as I would have thought point-wise. It was an expensive outing, but we thank Rich’s son, Perry, and daughter-in-law, Lyn, for their Christmas check.

January 10, 2025 - Saturday

Laundry today after my walk. Not much else going on. No high school basketball games until they get back to school next week. Leanna FaceTimed me which is always a treat. Lily is in the background being a little pesty, but she gets in a line or two with Mimi. 

January 11, 2025 - Sunday

Walked and then went to church online. Spent the better part of the day working on tax stuff. Played a little ukulele to mellow out. Rich is prepping on YouTube for a workshop to learn u-bass at the end of the month. 

We called Rich’s sister, Eileen, and she is feeling much better after fracturing a rib. Then we called Gary at North Ranch, Congress, AZ. He is retired from the Escapees and is still living in his motorhome there, looking for an apartment. It was good to catch up with him.  

January 12, 2025 - Monday

In the high 40’s this morning, so no swimming! Walked at 10 when it warmed up a little. Also, line-danced in the afternoon. The outside of the condo was power washed today - they did a nice job including windows. 

Was able to watch the girls game on my TV! A big step up from watching on iPhone and iPad… they won though it was not a tight in-control game. Lu scored a basket. No picture. 

Jake (21) is back in the game happily. He has spent a lot of time in rehab and the weight room, building up muscle to support his 6’5” frame. 

January 13, 2025 - Tuesday

Another cloudy, cool day which is perfect for walking. A chainsaw was buzzing all morning trimming the palms out front. I now have a better view of the pool from the front door. 

I waited to go for my walk until they gave Pamela the Palm tree a haircut in the back yard. This guy was taking care of business. 

Before 

After

Unfortunately, no games were filmed tonight, so I have to wait for scores to be posted at the end of each quarter - so frustrating.  

Rich has added another ukulele to his collection - she is a beauty and has such a nice tone. It is a concert and mine is a tenor, about 3 inches longer. Can’t wait for Thursday at the Alohaukulele sing and strum. 

January 14, 2025 - Wednesday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Went to Publix to shop for BOGO’s before they expire. As it turns out, they give you a bar cake or ice cream for your birthday, so we have our dessert planned for tonight. Then to pool for aerobics - 61 degrees but the water is warm as bath water. It was quite chilly when we got out. 

For my birthday lunch, Rich took me to the Lazy Ballerina - a bungalow that was built in 1911 and converted to a restaurant in 2023. The name is: “…inspired by a term used in the Australian art of winemaking. Just as a ballerina dancer moves through her routine, we strive to create a seamless and enjoyable dining experience.” They made it past the notable 2-year start up period in spite of two hurricanes which wiped out their food both times! The owner is Becky, who owned a nearby lumberyard until she retired and took on this venture. The building is so cute and decorated to the nines. The entrance:

There are several group seating rooms downstairs:

And upstairs: 

Then there’s the food! Wow - we decided to get a bottle of Pinot Grigio wine from Sea Glass winery in Napa country. Really smooth with a little bite that I haven’t experienced.

A small appetizer of Cheese Pimento Fritters was awesome with a glaze of Sweet and Spicy Chili Pepper sauce over the fried cheese. 

My entree was Grouper and Shrimp over Grits - unbelievable.

Rich had Short Ribs served on mashed potatoes - he loved it.

I thought we were done, but they came over singing with a chocolate chip cookie a la mode and a candle on top. I made a wish, blew it out, and we got into it before I took the picture. Oops…

Needless to say, when we got home we “rested our eyes” and I fell sound asleep for 1.5 hours. I am not a day (or bottle) drinker!

NO SUPPER, but Publix cake for dessert!

I hope the Weight Watcher police know that your birthday is a FREE day!

January 15, 2025 - Thursday

It was 60 degrees when I walked, but with a windbreaker it was just right. Its supposed to go down to the 30’s tonight and we already decided no swimming tomorrow.

We went to sing and strum with our ukulele group. Rich played his new instrument and did well with it. We have so much fun with the crew - there are a few of them who bring it to a whole new level of laughter and music. 

Tonight the Wildcats are playing Lenox (a long time rival). For the first time, the Varsity girls will play at 5:30 and the Varsity boys at 7pm. Please be televised!

Sorry for the overload on food this week. We’ll try to be better next week! 

Apricity South 2

January 2, 2026 - Friday

A little bit warmer today, but no swimming at 54 degrees. I wore my new Wildcat sweatshirt on my walk and was comfortable. We went to the Elks for lunch and heard about their New Year’s Eve party. It was pretty impressive - $70/ticket, 80 tickets sold, live 5-piece band, carving stations of beef, chicken and fish, impressive dessert buffet, metallic confetti, 2 champagne toasts at 8 and midnight, etc. They had a blast and Carita (she prefers Boots) had a lot to do with it as the bar manager. When she is bartending, she never stops moving - stocking the coolers, cutting lemons and limes, cooking food in the kitchen, selling tickets for the numerous promos they do, and more. When Jimmy came in, he proceeded to tell us all about how she used to work for him when he was the Exalted Ruler in another lodge. He was also a deputy, fire and rescue paramedic, owned property in Tempe, AZ sight unseen, winner of $96K at the Elks in one month, gone on 116 cruises, and the list goes on. He sure can tell a good story and keep you laughing too…

January 3, 2026 - Saturday

What a glorious day - 70 degrees with a nice breeze to cool me as I walk in the warm sunshine. I am getting responses to my jam session proposal - need to do one more push… So far there is a 12-string acoustic guitar, harmonica, electric drum set, guitar, bass, singers and ukuleles so far.  

Got in the weeds with the year-end stuff… 

January 4, 2026 - Sunday

Did an early morning trip to Publix to take advantage of the Buy One Get One sale throughout the store! Every department had many BOGO’s and much of it is regular items for us. It was a thrill to save $98 in a grocery store! 

My watch said it was 65 degrees when I walked, but it was so foggy that it was almost misty with droplets kissing my face - glad I wore my light sweater. By the time I finished, the sun was peeking out of very dark clouds and I had to take my sweater off. Oy! A new feature on my smart watch tells me at the end of a mile how much time it took me (probably in the latest update). I don’t pay a lot of attention to it as I am always listening to something, but today it said I did a 20-minute-mile. All I know is it is better than I have been doing in the low 20’s, but it felt good to have the feedback. Now I can try to improve - ugh! 

Speaking of listening to things - If I already talked about this, I apologize, BUT it’s worth mentioning again. The latest book I am listening to is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, NYT Best Seller and Book of the Year at NPR. I even listened to it twice - that’s how much I love the whole concept, the amazing usage of words, and that it is based on the life of a renowned midwife/healer of the 18th century. She literally wrote herself into history by keeping a journal of all births (over 1000) and deaths, crimes and debacles in her home town of Hallowell, Maine. On top of that, the performers are the author and Jane Oppenheimer - they did an outstanding job of “telling” this complicated story. In the end of the book, Ariel delivers a 27-minute chapter, Author’s Notes, where she gives us a peak inside her head about authoring this book. If you must read, rather than listen, I’m not sure it will have the same impact, but it is a MUST “READ.”   

January 5, 2026 - Monday

It was 60 degrees at 9am, so we had water aerobics. It felt really good. My water buddy, Betty, and I linger longer to chat about this and that. She and Joe finished their jigsaw puzzle, as did we, so we swapped them. My kitchen table is taken again.

Went to line dancing and got more potential names for the jam. Need to set up a kickoff meeting soon. Waiting to hear from the Activity Committee.

The Art Club displayed these pictures for the month. Mother Teresa was done by Linda, a fellow dancer and uke player.  Talented lady…

January 6, 2026 - Tuesday

Not much going on today. Walked and worked on the puzzle. 

January 7, 2026 - Wednesday

There was a 2-hour ice delay back home. Here, the pool was so nice with the sun shining down on us. Update - they called school off for the day.  

Worked on the puzzle, did laundry, and went to the Elks for lunch.  Members were there getting ready for their first wine tasting event. Cindy in the kitchen will have to prepare charcuterie board and “little bites” for all. A two-piece band will be there to entertain. They come to Florida from Texas for 3 months and while here, the Elks contracts them for Martini night on the last Thursday of the month. 

Carol was hitting the tab pull machine pretty hard today. 

January 8, 2025 - Thursday

I got out for my walk before we went to our ukulele meetup. It felt good to be playing with the group again. We really have a lot of fun. Rich is liking it so much, he ordered a Luna! That’s the thing about Ukelekes - you can’t have enough of them! I, however, am perfectly happy with my Luna and banjolele!

I’m actually cooking something tonight - yellow saffron rice to have with the chicken Rich is cooking… been a while, but I think I can do it.

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