April 29, Wednesday, Our last day

Today was our last day here. I wanted to go to the pool for my last attempt at getting some tan but after we came back from our tennis/pickleball games I lost interest. Plus the sun would come out and then the clouds would come so I figured I'd be healthier just avoiding the sun altogether.
We did some laundry and clean up and packing. It took me almost as long to pack now, and we have to take everything home with us, as it did for coming down here. I think because I had to leave some clothes out for Michael's.

We played tennis this morning and my stamina is so much better than when we first got here. And my playing is a lot better. Hopefully it continues when we get home.

We went to The Lighthouse for dinner again tonight. larry had the same Cape Cod Cobb salad and I had a tuna salad with peppered tuna steak. It also came with a cusabi dressing. We found out it's made by Ken's and it's really delicious.

April 28, Tuesday

Next to the last full day since we leave early on the 30th. We took a break from everything today. No tennis, no pickleball, no golf, no pool. But the wind was still blowing.
We went into town to do our final check of the Izod store. Larry found two shirts there to get. 50% off + 30% + 20% off with the Izod membership. He left his card at home but the lady behind him in line said he could use hers. What a deal.
Then we went to the Bass store to see if the discounts were better than when we last looked. They were probably the same 20% off + 40%. I bought a pair of sandals that I could have bought weeks ago. I wanted to find tan ones and these are brownish but they'll do.
Later on I went back into town to see if those new blue print shirts would match my old blue shorts but they were too dark. I love driving that golf cart. I would move to The Villages just to be able to drive the golf cart anywhere I wanted to go. So much more fun than a car.

We made another omelet tonight which pretty much used up our left overs. Any thing that's left gets tossed unless we're taking it with us. Tomorrow we pack and go out to dinner and have one more go at tennis, pickleball and the pool.

It's been a fun month. Went by fast, but it will be nice to be home. Hopefully the weather will be good and then it's just like being here.

Wildlife of The Villages

Here are some pictures I took of the wildlife down here. Most of them were taken on the golf course. Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.

April 27 - Monday - Laura's Birthday

Today is Laura's birthday. 2:39 PM, I remember it well from 40 years ago.

We started the day by 11:30, the television stopped working and I couldn't finish watching The View. There was probably something wrong with the cable so we went to play tennis and then some pickleball.
We're actually getting better at hitting that pickleball.

We went to play golf around 4:00. It was windy as usual but nice and warm. We played at Mallory Hills again, Caroline and Virginia. I played 10 holes and Larry did 18.

When we came home we finished a 1/2 bottle of wine and made chicken sandwiches similar to what I had last night at the Lighthouse with some frozen chicken fingers we had. We shared my leftover half sandwich for lunch and realized we had the ingredients to make it. Onions we could saute, cheese and the chicken.

There was a lot of wildlife on the golf course again and I'm going to post pictures of them. The Sandhill Crane that we saw sitting on her eggs the last time we played that hole, the dreaded par 3 on Carolina, was standing up and we saw her 2 eggs.

April 26 - Sunday

We went to our old church from last year since the time was better for us. We both decided we like this one better because it is more intimate. The priest there has a voice just like the reader on books on tape for Nero Wolfe.

After breakfast and all the Sunday morning shows we played some tennis and pickleball. We were going to play golf but it was so windy that we decided to put it off for a day.

Instead we went for an early dinner at The Lighthouse restaurant. Larry had the Cobb salad and I had a grilled chicken sandwich with fries. I took half of it home.

On the way back to the house, we stopped in town which was bustling with the crowds at the town square for the evening entertainment. Parking was at a premium as you can tell from the street lined with golf carts.

April 25 - Saturday

I woke up this morning and my neck felt so much better from giving it a break. Of course now I'm in front of the computer again but I have it on a table. It's supposed to be a scorcher today and we haven't decided what we are going to do yet. Well it's only almost 10:00 AM.

We went to play tennis and pickleball followed by the pool for me and TV for Larry.

In the evening we went to Spanish Springs and saw The Soloist. Good movie but now I'd like to read the book. Here is the clip from "60 Minutes" of the interview of the real Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez, thanks to my cousin Michael for telling me it had been on the show a few weeks ago. Jamie Foxx was excellent as always and Robert Downey Jr has always been a favorite of mine and he did a real good job in this movie. When we got out of the movie about 9:00 PM we couldn't believe how many young people there were milling around the town square or eating at the restaurants or in the ice cream shop.

April 24 - Friday - Better Late than Never

We bought pickleball rackets today. Now we have to play. We got the same racket. I picked it out based on the color - gray and black and the woman who sold it to us said it was the best one. We went to the pickleball court after we came home and changed clothes. A little bit of a crazy thing to do since it was almost 90 degrees and around 1:00 PM but when we got there the breeze felt good. I didn't want to go to the pool yet because I thought it would be too hot.

We wanted to just practice hitting and so it was a lot more running around than if we were playing doubles. Needless to say we quit after a while so no one would find us collapsed on the court later on. We are getting better.

When we got home I went to the pool with a book I wanted to finish, my 3rd one since I've been here. That's a record for me. It was packed at the pool and I got the last unused lounge chair. Larry stayed back at the house and was going to come later. I must have gone in the water about 4 times just to stay comfortable. Larry came around 4:00 PM and it was just starting to get cloudy. He would have lasted about 5 minutes if he came with me. We had the pool to ourselves at that hour and were able to swim laps without having people walking back and forth in front of us. We stayed another 1/2 hour since the little gnats were getting annoying,

When I got home I found an envelope sitting on the kitchen island that had my name and "2 years + 3 days" written on it. Inside was the nicest anniversary card with a great personal message. Now I have something to remember for this anniversary and it was almost perfect - perfect would have been 3 days earlier :-)

Dinner was hotdogs and sauerkraut. We're almost done with everything in our refrigerator and freezer.

My neck and shoulder were killing me today. From everything I could find, it's probably neck strain from using my laptop on my lap way too much.

April 23, Thursday

Today was the nicest day for weather since we've been here.
After wasting most of the morning hanging out around the house, and catching up on this blog, we went to play tennis. It was HOT but we played for an hour. I lost of course, 6-0 and 6-3. After lunch we went to the pool from 3-5 which was a nice time since there weren't so many people at that hour. The water felt great and for so late in the afternoon the sun was still hot.

April 22, Wednesday

We met Joyce and Richard at 10:00 to play pickleball. They had taken 2 lessons and played once in addition to that. We hadn't played since last summer at Stony Point. We started off terrible because we play tennis and there is such a difference in everything that you do. But after a few games we were beginning to get the feel back.

Next was the pool and then golf. Golf is such a frustrating game. If you can hit the ball one day, or one hole or even one shot, doesn't mean that you can repeat it. We were much better today than Friday. And the BIG NEWS - Larry got an EAGLE on the 6th hole of Amelia - a 3 on a par 5. He chipped into the hole from just off the green.

On another hole, I got on the green real close to the hole after a 6 iron shot off the tee on a par 3 but of course I missed my putt for a birdie.

Leftover bean soup was the dinner for this evening.

Tuesday, April 21 - Our Anniversary

Today is our second anniversary. For breakfast we had coffee and coffee cake that Bonnie brought. It was made from Krusteaz Cinnamon Crumb Cake Mix. I have to try it when I get home. There are a lot of different recipes for their various mixes on their website

After breakfast we took the golf cart, no chance of rain today, and went to the southern end of the villages and went inside Colony recreation center. Lunch was at Mallory Hills where we sat outside under an umbrella to protect us from the perfectly beautiful cloudless day.

And once back at the house we had a final game of dominoes. Bonnie won again and Larry lost again. Bob and I reversed positions.

For our anniversary we didn't go out to eat because we were still full from lunch so we just had appetizers and a vodka and tonic out on the lanai. I gave Larry a card with the DVD that I recorded 5x till I got it right and we watched it on the TV. And believe it or not he didn't even get me a card. Excuses, excuses, he was going to get one the day before when he and Bob came back in the car but Bonnie and I saw them before he had a chance to go to the store. I had gotten mine a week earlier. He did this before for another occasion, definitely a person who needs reminders. I am not impressed!

Monday, April 20 - Bayers Visit

Bonnie and Bob came to visit today. They had been here for the day once about 5 years ago before Sumter Landing had been built. We visited for a while and then took the golf cart into town. It was lunch at my favorite Toojays and while we were there it started to downpour. It was still raining when we left so Bob and Larry took the golf cart back to exchange for the car and Bonnie and I walked through the shops. By the time the guys were back it had stopped raining and it never rained again the rest of the day. We walked through all of Lake Sumter landing and then did the full tour and drove around both sides of the Villages.
By the time we got back it was time for happy hour on the lanai. Before it got too late we had a ligtht dinner of salad and soup. We had made a bean soup with the ham bone from Easter and it was gasless soup because all the beans had been pricked after soaking ;-).
Bonnie brought her dominoes and we played a full game of dominoes until it was 1:00 AM.
Bonnie won, I came in second, then Bob, and Larry finished with a whopping score in the 300s.

Friday, April 17 - Sunday, April 19

Friday was another windy day and we made the mistake of playing golf. I can't remember playing so poorly and Larry wasn't having a good day either. When we started out it was gray and because of that was pretty cold to me so I wasn't enjoying it to start. After the 1st 2 holes, the sun reappeared so it didn't feel cold anymore but was still windy. After 9 holes of awful play, instead of playing another 9 we had dinner at Mallory Hills and were able to sit outside and be very comfortable. Earlier that day we took a ride out to an area about 10 miles from here called Harbor Hills. It's on Lake Griffin and we were surprised to see such a big lake in the middle of nowhere. We spent a couple of hours there looking at the different model homes which were all very unique. Saturday and Sunday are sort of blurs now since it's Wednesday and I'm way behind in keeping up with this but I know I spent a lot of time on my computer putting together a slideshow with music that I put on a DVD for our anniversary on Tuesday. I went to the pool by myself on Saturday while Larry was vacuuming and washing the floor in preparation for our guests on Monday and we went together on Sunday and played tennis later in the afternoon. I played much better but I still lost 6-2, 6-0. One of our balls went over the fence and after we were done we looked for it in the bushes. In the process, I got bit by a tiny bug with a striped back. Twice on one finger and once on another. Fortuantely I never travel without Benadryl.

April 15-16 - Michael Visits

My cousin Michael came to visit today from the Ft. Lauderdale area.
Since he visited when we were here last year we didn't need to do the tour. But since we have a 4-seater golf cart we rode to the Rec Center to get a visitor pass and then to Sweetbay to buy something for dinner.

Later in the day we walked into Lake Sumter Landing, walked around the town and went to Barnes and Noble.

For dinner we had tilapia, sweet potatoes and asparagus. We were all too full for dessert later on, well, maybe Michael would have had some ice cream but since we weren't going to he passed also.

The next day we went to the driving range to hit balls into the water. However, since Michael didn't wear a shirt with a collar they wouldn't let him hit. We didn't know that it was part of Havana Country club and had the same requirement since it was so far away.
Then we drove around and looked at some open houses.

Michael switched seats with me on the golf cart (I was in the back) so I could give the directions better because no one in the front could hear me. By the time we got home, Michael's legs were pretty red from both sitting out the golf and riding out in the sun on the back of the cart. He drove home after that and when he called after getting back he said he looked like a lobster - a cooked one. Sorry Michael!

Tuesday, April 14 - 100% Rain

The weather forecast is for 100% rain today. There were thunderstorms during the night and there's a tornado watch until 2:00 PM this afternoon.

Well, it did rain most of the day. It would have been a perfect day to rent movies but since there were tornado warnings and announcements said not to drive if you didn't have to we stayed in and wasted the day away. Couldn't even watch The View because weather was on all morning.

Monday, April 13 - Bolger Visit

Peg and Don Bolger came to visit today. It was just a little over an hour drive from where they are staying. They arrived around 11:30 and we sat out on the lanai for a while and chatted. Then we went by golf cart into Lake Sumter Landing for lunch at Toojays. Larry and I both got the Reuben sandwiches and both took home half of them and half of the french fries. Then we went up to the Palmer golf course and Peg found a pair of shorts to buy. We went back to the house and said our goodbyes.
The weather was overcast most of the day but the temperature was warm. However, I wore a 3/4 length shirt that I had on all day wehn we went to play golf and was comfortable. If the sun would have been out I would have been too hot but since it only poked out once in a while I was good. We went to the Havana course to play which is where we played all the time last year. When we were there last year the clubhouse was being built and we had to sign up in a little temporary shack. This time we went into the pro shop and were greeting by a less than friendly person who grumbled that we should have let them know we were coming. That was the first time any one has ever told us that. Hardly anyone plays after 4:00 PM. Then he told us that we could play on any course but would have to wait a bit for Kilimanjaro. We asked what the course was across the street because we liked playing that one and he said Kilimanjaro. We said we'd play on any of them, meaning why play on the busy one, but he obviously didn't understand because that's the one he gave us. Oh well, maybe he had a bad day. He certainly wasn't your average, extremely friendly Villager.

Around the 3rd hole we played around the foursome ahead of us and when we got to the 2nd 9, Hemingway, we were the only ones on the course. We skipped the two holes way in the back so that we could get back to the 9th before dark. And now that we know how to turn the lights on in the golf cart we didn't have to worry about driving home.

For dinner we finished our lunch and added a side of coleslaw that we had leftover from yesterday.

Happy Easter, April 12

We went to Easter Vigil last night at St. Timpthy's so when we got up this morning we were able to get out early and play tennis before it got too hot. Today early was 8:30 so it's a good thing we didn't plan on going to church at 7:00 AM which was what we were going to do it we didn't go last night.

We went to the courts near us and both were empty. For the first set I must have been possessed by some other force because I was ahead 5-4 but then I choked and lost 7-5. The next set I lost 7-2 or 7-3, I don't remember and then we did best 2 out of 3 and Larry once again beat me 2-1. But 5 games for me is a record now. I was really hitting them, if only I would move.

We came home and had a french toast breakfast, we were so hungry we ate before I could take any pictures but they looked as good as they tasted. We had some grapefruit while we were waiting for the food to cook and can't get over how sweet and delicious the grapefruit are. We want to remember to get some to take home because the taste is so much better than what we get at home.

Then I went on to solve the mystery of the week. Now we're really going to sound dumb here but not as dumb as we could have been if we had to ask someone. We thought our golf cart came with headlights. We could see the little light bulbs and in the instructions the owner left she mentioned how the lights have to be on after dusk. But we couldn't figure out how to turn them on. We searched all over for a headlight switch and couldn't find one. We tried to see if the blinker lights turned in a different way or if the hazard light did something different but to no avail. So I went online and found instructions for installing a light kit in the E-Z Go golf cart and it mentioned all this wiring through the ignition. Sure enough, turn the ignition key to the second turn and the lights go on. There it was right in front of our noses. We knew it had to be simple.

We didn't do much of anything yesterday except go grocery shopping and take a walk in the afternoon so I didn't think it deserved an entry of its own.

Friday, April 10

We did it all today. First we played tennis. We rode the golf cart over to the recreation center closest to us, Coconut Cove but both courts were taken. Since it's Easter break week there are lots of families and kids visiting so things are more crowded than usual. Last year we were the only ones on the tennis courts. Then we went to the Canal Street rec center and there was an empty court. This rec center only had 4 pickleball courts compared to the usual 6. We played for an hour, of course Larry beat me 6-1, 6-0 but it's only my 2nd time playing since last fall and he's been playing once a week all winter. Excuses, excuses. The best I've ever done is 6-4 so I'm working to get back to that and better. We played around 11:30 which was a good time if it's not too hot because the sun is in a good position overhead so ias not to be in your eyes from either side of the court.
Later we went to the pool for about an hour and a half and then came back to play golf.

We did the after 4:00 golf special again. We played at Mallory Hills on Caroline and Virginia. I had my best score ever on Caroline (53 for 9 holes) but I was playing my own version of best ball. If I didn't like my first shot I would drop another ball and used the best one - but not that often. In order for Larry to get in 18 holes before dark I quit after 5 on the 2nd 9 and the timing was perfect and we were home before dark. It looks like we have headlights on our golf cart but we haven't figured out how to turn them on yet.

Dinner was simple and delicious. Vodka and tonic first (we need to get another bottle of vodka) and then heaping tuna salad sandwiches.

Another day in Adult Disney World.

Thursday, April 9 - Meatballs

Finally the weather is what you would expect for April in Florida. After wasting most of the morning we went over to the Coconut Cove rec center and played some tennis. Playing tennis may be stretching it. I haven't had a racquet in my hand since last fall and haven't done much aerobic exercise since then either. I didn't realize I was in such bad shape until I ran out of breath so quickly. Can't wait for "silver sneakers."

After tennis and a snack we went to the pool. The water was wonderful, warmer than the air or at least it felt that way when we got out of the water. We were back at the house by 4:00 to watch the Masters.












Dinner is homemade tonight. I made meatballs, even made my own breadcrumbs. They came out really good. I can list the ingredients but since I didn't use a recipe can't give very exact amounts.

1 lb ground beef (we had ground sirloin - it was on sale)
4 thick slices of whole wheat bread toasted and crumbled
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk - I just poured some in
Onion to taste
1 garlic clove
Seasonings - I used Italian, pepper and parsley because that's what we have here
Grated parmesan cheese

Put cut up onions, chopped garlic, egg, milk, seasonings in blender and blend until pretty much liquified.
Add to ground beef and bread crumbs. Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Mix well and form into large balls.
Put into saucepan with your favorite sauce and cook for 1/2 hour. Start at a medium temperature and when bubbles turn down to low.
Serve over your favorite pasta.

Bon appetit.

Wednesday, April 8 - Smiths Visit

Today Susan and Baxter Smith came up for the day from Tampa. We saw them last almost 2 years ago when we came to St. Pete's for Margie and Darren's wedding. We had a great day, a perfect day for a visit because it was comfortable weather, you wanted a sweater but it wasn't windy like it had been.
We sat around and caught up on the time in between visits and then we went for a tour of The Villages. The first stop was at Lake Sumter Landing. We walked around for awhile and then stopped at Toojays for lunch. After lunch we stopped in a lot of the stores on the way back to the car and Susan found some deals she couldn't resist.
Later in the day we hung out on the lanai and before dark we went into town for dinner. We were going to go to RJ Gator's, where we got our buzzer and had to wait. Since it was already so late and Susan and Baxter still had to drive back to Tampa, Susan and I went to check on the crowd at Up the Creek. We got there and we could be taken right away so we called the guys, they were just getting the word that we could be seated, but they came over anyway. Up the Creek was a better choice because we could have a conversation and enjoy a much quieter atmosphere.

I had parchment tilapia and Larry had some other style tilapia and we all enjoyed our meals.

It was a delightful day as we said goodbye and promised to stay in touch.

Tueday, April 7

We got the results of our basketball pool. Larry finished 12th and I was 26th (not bad since I was 100 out of 101 at one point) since we both picked North Carolina to win, but neither of us were in the money.

After GMA we watched the Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess with the Zohan and laughed out loud during much of it. Back to Walmarts for two more movies. First we watched Slumdog Millionaire.

Then we had to get out of the house for some fresh air. And if circulation keeps the air fresh, it certainly was fresh. It was still blowing like crazy but we braved it and walked into Lake Sumter Landing. Even the ducks thought it was too rough to be bobbing in the water and opted for the boat. We walked through Southern Living the furniture store that is in town and then around by Lake Sumter and of course we checked out the Izod store. I think I'm Izoded out, I have so much between being here last year and stops at the Waterloo Outlet Mall. We were gone about 1 1/2 hours and then came back to watch Doubt and have dinner.

Dinner was leftovers of pulled pork/chicken and fresh asparagus that we never made when we had the chicken the first time.

Then it was the normal Tuesday night shows, NCIS and The Mentalist and I worked on some photo things on the computer.

Monday, April 6

The weather forecast for today was rainy and/or windy. I found that there was a Redbox at the nearby Walmart so we decided that we would have a movie marathon day.

We did our stretching in the morning and then went over to Walmart. We got the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, Australia and You Don't Mess with the Zohan with Adam Sandler. We stopped at The Fresh Market on our way over to Walmarts and Publix on our way back. We have healthy fruit. And some not so healthy but good apple pie that I could pretend I made, but I didn't.








When we got home we started our moviethon. First we saw Australia, don't know why it got such bad reviews. It was long but enjoyable. Then we followed it with the Bond movie. I have to admit I didn't pay very close attention so was very lost for whatever scenes I did watch.
For dinner we had pulled pork that we put in the crockpot in the morning.
It's an easy recipe.
We used a 4 pound pork butt, also called called pork shoulder or picnic.
Cut off all visible fat and put in a crockpot. Add cut up onion and some seasonings, whatever you like. No mattter what you put into this it tastes good.
Add barbecue sauce - 1/2 large bottle
Cook on high for 6 hours.
After cooked, shred the pork, add some of the juice from the crockpot and return to crockpot to keep warm.

Larry watched basketball and I watched Dancing with the Stars.

Sunday, April 5

Today was a lazy day. I think I had some kind of bug last night and was up about 4 times and had all kinds of crazy dreams.

We went to 9:00 AM mass at St. Timothy's. It's in Spanish Springs in The Villages and is "a church in the round". It was packed. Afterwards we went to the The Market of Marion, a Flea and Farmers Market. We bought some fresh grapefruit, tomatoes, onions and sampled other things. Then we went to a fruit stand we remembered from last year and bought fresh squeezed orange juice.

We were gone for about 4 hours and when we came home I went out on the lanai to finish reading The Shack, but I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open. It turns out Larry fell asleep on the living room couch too. We did some laundry and I eventually finished reading the book. I recommend it and I actually read the book didn't listen to it on CD.

For dinner we finally cooked. After buying the tomatoes and onions we decided we had to have hamburgers and that's what we did. We added some blue cheese and lettuce and bread and butter pickles. Another one of our great dinners.

Now how are you supposed to bite into that?

Saturday, April 4

Today we made the most of our day. It was the best day of weather since we've been down here. In the morning we hung out around the house, doing our stretches, some computer time and we never even turned on the TV.
In the afternoon we went to the pool for a couple of hours. We slathered on 30 before leaving the house and and took the golf cart over to the pool. We got good spots in the sun. Larry went in the pool right away and then pulled out his book and got comfortable in the loung chair. I went straight for the chair, with my book and after I got sufficiently hot I went in to cool off. About 20 minutes later Larry dragged his chair into the shade but I continued to sweat it out. I finally moved into the shade for a little while but then it was back to the sun. We only stayed about 2 hours. Larry is already 5 shades darker than me.
After coming backfrom the pool we got ready for golf. Our plan was to play around 4:30. After 4:00 you can play on the championship golf courses for the price of 9 holes but keep playing until dark. What I love about it is that we can play by ourselves and usually there's no one behind us.
What a day for wildlife. The following pictures are just from today.First I saw this gecko on the screen of the lanai.







Next I heard a rustling in the grass and saw the snake. I originally thought ir was just one and then I called Larry and he saw that there were two of them. I got both of them in the picture. Click on it so it gets larger and you can see both of them











These are just some of all the birds we saw.










There were a lot of frogs croaking here but we never saw any of them.

We didn't get home until almost 8:00 so we couldn't have a big dinner. Of course, we couldn't miss out Vodka and Tonic, Larry makes the best vodka and tonics! We had hot dogs and sauerkraut. Larry also had a salad, always the healthy one - I had eaten too many pretzels when we were playing golf.

Friday, April 3

It's already Friday. My back was killing me this morning so I had to do yoga first thing this morning. I need to do this everyday, not just on the days my back hurts me. Larry did his stretching, he also took his ball. The only thing he's missing down here is the inversion board. He is so good about doing his streching every day and it HAS made such a difference.

Our next project for the day was to go to Walmart and buy a wireless router. Last night we found out we have high speed internet access but not wireless. No wonder we couldn't get a wireless connection. DUH!!

We went to a few open houses. Two of the houses were >3000 sq ft. One on Lake Miona (new), the other across the street, the people who live here are building a bigger house across the street on the lake.

Once home we set up the wireless and it works better than the one we currently have at home. It's so nice not to have to share one computer that is connected to the internet - we are so spoiled.

Two fellow Webster couples came over for happy hour and then we went to Mallory Hills for dinner. It was a fun evening and good seeing everyone. Joyce and Richard came to The Villages from a month in the Keys and Jeanette and Glenn have been here since March. We'll probably see each other more here in a month that we do in a year at home.

Thursday, April 2

We weren't going to waste the day again so by 10:00 AM we were out of the house and on the way to the driving range where you hit the balls into a little lake. The balls float, so depending on which way the wind is blowing, and the wind was blowing really hard all day, they would float to the shore. We did 1 1/2 buckets each and then practiced some putting. We then went to Publix on 466A where we shopped last year to buy some groceries.

Later in the afternoon we went for a golf cart ride over to Mallory Country Club, the closest club to us, where we plan to play on Saturday. Got home in time for happy hour and had another delicious vodka and tonic, this time out on the lanai. It was very peaceful sitting out there looking at the forever wild with the wind adding to the ambience while not blowing at us.
For dinner we had one of those store cooked chickens and a homemade salad (with lettuce from a bag). We bought some asparagus too, but by the time I remembered we had it, dinner was almost ready.

Before dark we went out for a walk in the neigborhood and wound up at the our recreation center where there is a pool, tennis and pickle ball courts, bocce, shuffleboard and many meeting rooms inside where there were activities in progress. We walked through the building and then out a door to the pool area. It was almost dusk and the pool gates were locked so we couldn't get out. We also couldn't get back in the building so we had to climb over the fence.

At The Villages

We arrived at The Villages around 5:00 PM on March 31st and went directly to the Sales Office to pick up our IDs so we would have access to everything that all the regular residents do, The next stop was at the Town Square for Happy Hour and a large margarita. Then it was on to Toojay's for dinner. Larry had liver and onions, I had a reuben with fries and I took half of it home with me. We went to our new home for the month, which is fantastic, unloaded and went to the grocery store for some breakfast items. My next thing to do was connect my computer but the wireless wasn't working. At least we were able to directly connect but only one person can be online at a time and we're used to our dueling computers.

It was cloudy Wednesday, April 1 and we were slow in getting moving for the day. We met Barb and Tony who live down the street and take care of the house for the owners. When we were finally dressed and ready to face the day, which was almost half over, we decided to get some exercise and walk into town which is less than a mile away. We wanted to set up our Villages computer account and check out the deals at the Izod store. We were in the Bass store when the skies opened up and we had a downpour. Fortunately it didn't last too long. Just when I had a few things to try on, Larry said we should go before the next downpour. We got as far as the Sweetbay, where we made a run for the store as it started to come down again. We toured the liquor store and then joined others waiting for the rain to stop at some protected tables set up outside. It too passed and we made it home without another incident. Once home it was time for Larry to do his stretching and I drove back to the liquor store and picked up something for dinner.

Arrived back in time for Happy Hour and Larry made a great Vodka and Tonic. Dinner was hot dogs and sauerkraut and my leftover half sandwich from yesterday. Another one of those easy meals.