Resolutions 2023 - four month check

It's check-in time. I've changed my scoring to 0-2 for each month. Hopefully, by the end of the year, I'll have a total of 12 for completion. A score of 2 means I worked on it each month. 

Personal Goals:

• Paint my home space - My ceilings haven't been painted since we first moved in. My living room and my hallway need an overhaul. My bedroom could use it too, but that isn't as important as the first two. - COMPLETED - Bam! Done! Finished. Score: 2

• Entice Tom to build my shelves to display my playing card collection - I collect playing cards. I need somewhere to display them, and Tom drew out plans for what I found on Etsy. He claims he can knock it out, "don't waste your money." Once I get the paint done, this comes next. - He isn't easy to convince. - Score - 0

• Travel - Can't let those Wyndham points go to waste. - I didn't travel, but it's coming! Score - 0

• Lower my cholesterol - I retake it in May or June. - I am doing well. Score 2

• Exercise/Healthy eating habits - This goes with the above, but I do need to shed some weight for my own mental health, not to mention the flip side of the coin. - Doing well with the exercise. Still eating better. - Score - 2

• Catch up on my blog - Writing has kept me from this. My readers are complaining. I need to catch up! - Sort of - Score 1

Total - Total 7 out of 12 - But I've completed a task!

Blueberry Picking 2023

April means blueberries in Florida. Tom and I took Oleg's family to the farm for some picking yesterday. It was hot. We lasted an hour and collected roughly twelve pounds or so. Nikita and I paired up to pick, and as we passed this forested area, I commented on avoiding areas like that in Florida.

Him: "Why?"

Me: "That's just a haven for gators and snakes."

Him: "Really, Cara? Really?"

I assured him I knew what I was talking about, and several minutes later, his mother and grandmother appeared by our sides with evidence. They had a video of a gator that walked right in front of them in that same area. 

I do not need fresh blueberries enough to run into a gator. Thankfully, we were at the end of the hour, and after checking out the spartan blackberry plants, we hightailed it to the car. 

Out of the mouths of my babes

Next on Tech Guy's To-Do List was repairing and sealing the flat roof. He did this himself. Oleg helped on Saturday. They were sweating when they both came down after spending a couple of hours in the hot sun. Tech Guy was wearing a black shirt.

Me: "Why would you wear a black shirt in the sun on the roof?"

Him: "Why wouldn't I?"

Me: "Darcy, look at your dad. He wore a black shirt to repair the roof in this hot weather."

Darcy: "Yeah, well, I can't fix stupid."

Easter 2023

I contacted the Bunny earlier to ensure Easter was as fun as last year's when I brought fun to the PA household where I spent the holiday. Oleg and his family were bringing Ukraine traditions. It would be an excellent mixing of cultures.

I awoke early. The Easter Bunny met me outside for last-minute preparations.

Once everyone arrived (Darcy was working and not there), we held the Easter scavenger hunt paring "children" against "adults." I needed one of my family members on each team, but Tom was not as helpful as I intended. Example: they figured out the clue was on the fence.

Tom: "Now we just have to figure out how to get out there."

Steph: "Yeah, he wasn't with it."

After the treasure eggs were collected, we rolled the dice. Eggs were passed back and forth until the last turn. The golden eggs carried better prizes, but no one left empty-handed.

Next, we hunted for eggs. That took considerable time, and we still have not found about six eggs as of the last count. I told everyone that is one of our traditions.

From there, we played a crack-the-egg game from Ukraine. Oleg's family decorated eggs using colorful napkins wrapped around egg white slathered hard-boiled eggs. Much better to eat afterward than dyed eggs.

We hit one another's eggs, and whoever's egg didn't crack moved on. It came down to tech guy and Steph. The tech guy won.

We had a Steph charcuterie board, a honey-baked ham dinner, and a delicious traditional Ukrainian Easter cake to wind down the festivities. We also forgot to photograph our table. That is usually Darcy's job. 

Two days later, Maggie and I found three missing Easter eggs. A week later, in PA, Steph found one of the missing eggs from 2022! 

Keeping the tradition alive.

PA comes to FL

PA Steph and her daughter Maggie, the most recent to be under the care of Nanny Cara, traveled to Orlando with friends for spring break. Before they left, Frontier Airlines credited Steph, and when she called to inquire why, they informed her that they'd canceled the flight home.

Uh?

So, they headed our way for four nights. We hit the beach to watch the sunset the first night.

I suggested we watch the sunrise the following day, and liking the idea, we rose at 6:30, got coffee and pastries from the local French bakery, and trooped down to get comfortable on the beach.

Then, we realized that the sun rises opposite of where it sets, which is behind the condominiums on our beach here on the west coast.

Tech Guy: "I thought it strange when you suggested it." 

My brother: "Do you not know how the sun works?"

Maggie: "You mean we could've slept in!!"

Steph and I had a good laugh. Then we enjoyed the morning peace, ate food, had our coffee, and left the beach at ten when everyone else arrived. We spent the rest of the day poolside while Maggie taught us how to make friendship bracelets. It became an obsession.

While we worked, we kept track of the Masters since Steph and her son are golfers. The weather kept interrupting the tournament, causing starts and stops, so we kept abreast of what was happening. During this, we had golfer discussions, and Steph kept pronouncing the word amateur as Am-a-der. 

It struck me odd, but as kids from IN, we always thought those PA people spoke weirdly. We pronounced it pin-cil. They said pen-cil.

But it drove Maggie crazy, and she finally erupted. She asked why her mother was saying it incorrectly. They argued. Steph told her to check the web, and we listened as the robot told us am-a-cher. 

Steph felt we needed a golfing expert, so I called my brother, who was driving home from his family vacation. He had plenty of time to discuss this topic.

Him: "I would say it depends on the part of the country you're from. For example, you just said torn-a-ment. I'm a hick from Indiana. We pronounce it turn-a-ment. But, if you're going with the golfing world, it's most often pronounced am-a-der. As in the U.S. Am-a-der."

Steph jumped out of her chair and danced around the pool deck!

That word, along with the friendship bracelets, became the theme for the weekend.

So much so that my new Etsy shop, where I will sell these bracelets, will now be called Am-a-der Hippies.

Out of the mouths of my babes

Me: "I told Oleg's brother I'd take him to a baseball game. He doesn't understand the excitement. I told him he had to watch it in person. I mean, don't you agree? You like going to the Rays' games."

Darcy: "No. I only went to play spot-the-cotton-candy-man. That's all I cared about. And when I knew we were going, I'd save up my daily 50 cents you gave us for the school snack locker because dad was good for one, maybe two cotton candy purchases, and I'd use that money for another."

Me: "That's terrible."

Darcy: "No, what's terrible is back then, it was $3.00. Now it's over $5."