Apricity South 2

January 30, 2026 - Friday 

Day two of the Alohaukulele mini-fest was another “fun packed, knowledge shared kind of a day.” I joined Rich’s breakout bass lesson for the heck of it - should have stayed with the main group. I’m not interested in playing bass and was lost from the get go.🤨

Back in the main group, we learned from Devon Scott how to Solo Like a Pro with picking, vamping with root chord as intro, adding rhythm to your hold, picking the scale of C going up and then down, adding a 7th to spice it up.. Sounds easy, but it takes practice. Video in body of email…

Bonus concert with Jay Nunes and Greg Gent…

Rich actually won a raffle prize of a leather pick…

Girls and boys Wildcats had games at home tonight. Leanna’s team won by a lot and she scored her first career 3-pointer. YAY!

Will watch tape of the boys game tomorrow night - great entertainment…

January 31, 2026 - Saturday

Noodled a while on techniques learned at the mini-fest. Then I started my walk, stopped to meet Charlotte’s son, Tom, chewed the fat for an hour. 

Back on the walk when the wind came up and it got misty so I turned around, stopped at Betty’s for a cup of coffee! This wall art is made from recycled plastic bottles…

Time 2.5 hours! Distance walked .75 miles!

After a lunch of cottage cheese, I started working on end of month reconciliation. In the evening, we watched Jake’s game from last night. 

February 1, 2026 - Sunday

Extra layers for the walk today as it was 39 degrees with the wind picking up. 

Beautiful garden in spite of the cold. May have to be covered tonight as temps are plunging to 31 degrees. 

I check my remote thermostat for house in Lee, MA periodically - especially with the sub-zero weather they have been experiencing. There has been an info message about maintenance on Feb. 4 which I skip over. Today there was another message about my wifi being disconnected from the thermostat - for support, call this 800 number. So I called and was told that someone needed to be there next to the thermostat and router in order for them to help. So I called my beloved son at 7pm on a frigid night to go check it out. He went immediately but by the time he slogged through the uncleared 2 feet of snow, and called the number, they had closed! Ugh! That wasn’t the worst part, he called and told me it was very weird - part of the house had no power - lights flickering and flashing on and off like poltergeist! He checked the breakers downstairs twice and flicked them too. Nothing! So I called my electrician, Scott, and explained what was happening so he could know for the next day. He was so patient listening to me babble on and then said, “ I think I’ll go down there tonight and check it out because my father’s funeral is tomorrow!” What? 🥹😱! He insisted on going to meet up with Randy. He looked things over and decided to turn on the electric space heater in the bathroom upstairs in case the gas stove didn’t come back on. Daughter-in-law, Kristie thought to have Randy open the faucets to a trickle when on his way home! He went back and did it. Scott said to call Emergency Electric number - we were out of phase?!?!?!?! After screaming at a robot who was trying to find out how I wanted to pay my zero balance, I finally got through to Carlos (a real human being) who assured me it would be fixed by midnight! It’s on the pole NOT in the house. 

Before heading to bed completely spent, I checked the thermostat one more time - it was working and connected to the internet! Randy’s phone had showed it connected the whole time - so I don’t think the two things were even related.

February 2, 2026 - Monday

When I got up at 7, I picked up my phone to call Randy, and he was already calling me. He was at the house and assured me that power was on, electric heater was turned off, and the wifi was still working. Later in the day, I got a message from the thermostat company apologizing for issues customers had yesterday. Call it what you will, but if I hadn’t asked Randy to check the thermostat, or Scott hadn’t come down, we wouldn’t have known about the power outage and the house would have frozen up! Oy! 

No swimming today - just brisk walking it off today. 

February 3, 2026 - Tuesday

Went to Publix and then walked my walk. The Activity Committee met last night and texted me this morning - the Rec Center won’t be available for tomorrow’s jam as they are setting up for a big, open board meeting. That’s fine - we had people come to our place instead. They also asked us to change our time to 4-6pm after the staff left - NOT! So we will proceed with our jams sans-Activity Committee! It kills me because they are always asking for ideas and involvement. I proposed this idea last August and got very little feedback on it until I started posting my own ads on the Facebook page. 

Went to Betty and Joe’s for cocktails. They had a nice spread of cheese, crackers, hot dogs in a blanket, etc. Charlotte came as well and we all had a nice visit.  

February 4, 2026 - Wednesday

Was able to walk in a T-shirt and capris this morning. Then got busy cleaning and setting up for the jam. That’s one good thing about having it here - forces us to be presentable!

Rich has declared Wednesday “his day” since apparently all of the other days are peppered with my activities. So we went for a quick burger at the Elks for lunch. He will also start going to the Art Club on Wednesday mornings…

At 2pm, there were 6 jammers and as we talked more about ourselves, we discovered we are all from New England (NY, MA and CT) except for one from Ohio. Another player is definitely joining when he gets down here because he offered his house which has a studio with sound board, amps, monitors, et al. He plays professionally back home in CT. 

February 5, 2026 - Thursday

Woke up to rain and wind so didn’t walk as we went to ukulele strum and sing for the morning. 

Watched Jacob’s Monday game - other than that, a quiet, lazy afternoon and evening.

Apricity South 2

​January 23, 2026 - Friday

Cut my walk short today as we had Ukulele strum and sing this morning. Couldn’t swim either so I got a picture of the shallow end of the class. There are a few more mermaids in the deep end. 

Did laundry and tax stuff in the afternoon. The girl and boy Wildcats played in different locations at the same time, with only one being broadcast - the boys. They lost - never got ahead of the opponents. The girls won by a lot and Leanna played well. 

January 24, 2026 - Saturday 

Walked with Charlotte this morning and Shotsie met her mini-me. Same exact coloring and curly hair. 

A fellow player in Alohaukulele group is involved with an organization that advocates for foster children. They collect donations of laptops, desk tops, iPads, etc. Another tech group cleans the data off of the donated machines and installs the school’s software. What a great cause! I have Bob’s Gateway laptop here (old, heavy, not used in 10 years) and a Dell case which I will gladly give to the group.

The rest of the day was devoted to taxes! Great news - sister, Terri and husband, Jim are coming here for a visit in mid-March. Can’t wait - we have to start scoping out places to visit and eat! 🎉🥳 ❤️ 

January 25, 2026 - Sunday

Walked with Charlotte early as it is supposed to get hotter throughout the day. Thankfully, there were breezes to ward off the humidity. I haven’t really felt it much since we got here until today. We welcome the warmth of this day. 

January 26, 2026 - Monday

I was mentally ready to go swimming this morning when it suddenly got dark and rained very hard. The temps cooled and I didn’t plan on going. Then it stopped and the wind stopped too. So at 8:55 I looked out the window to see if any cars showed up at the pool. Lo and behold, 2 cars were there so I donned my suit and grabbed my bag and went over. Terry, the instructor, showed up and 4 of us polliwogs. The water was gloriously warm and Terry proceeded with a partial class, but we stayed longer to finish the routine. I am so tired of walking instead of swimming, but it looks like we won’t be swimming for the rest of this week and part of the next given the weather forecast. 

Had line dancing this afternoon and tired fast - not sure why!

Big storm back home today - no school and a couple of feet of snow. My granddaughters couldn’t make a snowman (too light) so they did a photo shoot instead. 

They FaceTimed me after supper and we had some laughs.

This is the view from my front door while blowing and snowing…

January 27, 2026 - Tuesday

It was 37 degrees when I got up this morning and it didn’t get much better than that throughout the day, but given what they are dealing with back home, I’ll take it. We went to do the grocery thing, then I went bundled up for a walk. It was 47 degrees. Then went to the Elks for a hotdog. Had to turn the heat on again - grrrr. 

Jacob played at home tonight. They went back and forth until the 3rd quarter when the opponent sailed by…  

January 28, 2026 - Wednesday

Walked later in the morning today staying on the sunny side of the street when possible. Usually I follow the shade, but there’s a noticeable difference these days. After lunch we headed over to the Rec Center for our kickoff meeting of the Stoneybrook Jam. Happy to report that those that showed up (Alan on 12 string acoustic, Laurie on guitar, Linda, Rich and I on ukulele and Ray representing Kay to gather information - he plays accordion, but currently has tendonitis) are talented and committed to this endeavor. We decided to meet on Wednesdays from 2-4pm, but will each submit our choice of 4 songs so that we can brush up if need be. Probably will be doing 50’s and 60’s music as we are all of a certain genre. 

Kristin from the Activity Committee was there to greet us and see if we needed anything. She will put this event on the monthly newsletter calendar. There are over a thousand homes in this community, so I’m sure we can reach more interested musicians than I could with Facebook and word of mouth. She also showed me and app called TeamReach which is a great way to communicate with each other. 

January 29, 2026 - Thursday

Dropped to 35 degrees today and there was literally frost on the grass. I did not walk today, not as much about the cold as it was that I wouldn’t have time. Today was the first day of a 2-day ukulele mini-fest at the Lakewood Ranch Library, where workshops, bring your own lunch and performances were on the agenda. Raffle tickets were sold and hand crafted jewelry was for sale. 

I bought these hand drawn wooden earrings. 

Lil Rev (aka, Marc Revenson) was the main attraction 

- using all of these instruments…

…to teach us many new strum patterns (boom chuck, chunking, boogie, tremolo, triplet, doo woo and reggae) to a group of 60 in 1 1/2 hours. He was a grade school teacher and college professor early in life. Then while playing his guitar, mandolin, and other instruments at a gig, someone came up to the stage and said, “Lil Rev, this was my grandfather’s instrument and no one wants it, so you can have it.” He believes that changed his life and his focus on playing, performing, teaching, writing and recording ukulele themed projects molded his new career.  

He bunked at his friend’s - Ukulele Gent (aka, Greg Gent) who joined him in the concert section of the program. He sang and played Harvest Moon, while Lil Rev did magic on his mandolin. For the full experience, click on the videos in this link… Caveat - you have to join the group to view. 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FHP6yumo8/?

In closing, Lil Rev played a number of songs using/displaying the strums we had just learned. Then he told his life story while noodling the entire time. He had lost his first wife to cancer at age 40, leaving his young daughter Mariela without a mother. He had lost his best friend so young and was devastated. But as he stated, when hit so hard like that we can’t comprehend how things will come about, blinded by grief. As it turns out, he ran into his high school sweetheart 30 years after they parted ways right out of school. They met for coffee once, then they met again, then they met again. In the end they married and Mariela put her hands on his new brides’s face and said, “You are my angel.” I was crying (not sobbing) from the beginning and kept wiping my tears away. Afterwards I went up to him and explained that even at my age, finding love again is possible. 

Twenty of us went to Percoco’s Italian Restaurant for a delicious dinner.

Day two is tomorrow where Rich will learn to play his uBass - stay tuned. 

Apricity South - 2

​January 16, 2026 - Friday

Too cold again to swim, so walked after it warmed up a bit. It felt like Saturday all day. Nothing else to speak of except that the varsity boys played at home and had a very exciting game ending with a 3-point buzzer beater with 4 seconds to go! GO WILDCATS! It was not televised but the shot was shared on Facebook… so exciting. 

January 17, 2026 - Saturday

Charlotte and I walked with Shotsie mid-morning after I dusted and vacuumed. It is so much more enjoyable to walk with someone - talking all the way. She came in to see Rich’s latest art and the new ukulele. 

Rich sat at the desk drawing from early morning to mid-afternoon. When he’s in the groove, he’s really in the groove. 

January 18, 2026 - Sunday

Another cold day in the end. It was 71 at noon and then dropped to 59 with wind and rain. I walked when it was about 64 degrees and then went to church virtually. Most of the day was messing with the internet connection to ALL of our devices! We did a little strumming as well. 

January 19, 2026 - Monday HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR DAY!

No swimming today either. When I woke up at 7, it was 37 degrees (feels like 31). Decided to call the trip through Costco my walk for the day, but I did line dance in the afternoon. Was able to watch Jake play basketball from last week’s tapes. So happy!

January 20, 2026 - Tuesday

Waited until mid-morning to walk so it was a little warmer. Met Drew and Will for a 2-hour lunch at Der Dutchman, a restaurant “drawing from both cultures' heritage, with their parent company, Dutchman Hospitality Group, rooted in these traditions, providing homestyle comfort food in Ohio, Florida, and Indiana. While not strictly an Amish or Mennonite community, the restaurants embody the cooking styles of the Plain People, offering dishes like fried chicken, noodles, and fresh pies, often in Amish-Mennonite communities.”

We had so much to catch up on. They have been friends of the family since Johan’s restaurant days with sister Leslie in the front of the house, chef Johan in the kitchen, and Drew at the bar. Later in life Drew and I worked together at Big Y Foods and had many memories to share. Will just retired in September after 36 years at the Marriott followed by 23 years as professor of Hotel Management at the University of Massachusetts. 

Tonight both Jacob and Leanna had basketball games at 7pm. I watch them on NFHS network when broadcasted so I figured I could watch one on Rich’s tablet and one on my iPad, simultaneously. However, they did not allow that so I watched the boys and will watch the girls tomorrow. Sadly, both teams lost. 

January 21, 2026 - Wednesday 

Mid-morning walk this morning followed by a Yum and Strum party at Carl’s house in Parrish, FL. Carl was our leader for all of the Christmas performances and wanted to show appreciation for those who participated - 32 players. 

He and Sue have a perfect home to hold a pot luck luncheon plus a strum along for dessert. See brief video clip in the body of this email. 

The array of food brought by players was amazing. This is only one section…

Dessert bar…

A fun strum after our bellies were full. 

January 22, 2026 - Thursday

Finally a warm day - we can put aside the fuzzy blankets that have been retrieved from the closet for the last week.

Double header games tonight Lee vs Lenox - boys followed by girls in the Lee High gym and streamed for all to watch. Such fun and Lee won both games! Yay!