GRANDSON THOMAS IS A WINNER AT THE HORSE SHOW IN RALEIGH!!

Sat - Sun, Jan 18-19.  State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NC

This past weekend my Grandson Thomas participated in a Horse Show at the Raleigh State Fairgrounds and he made quite a showing!!  Thomas and Willy, his new horse, did really well.  Out of four classes they won two of the classes and placed 3rd in another. AND he ended up the Champion of the Division.

Here are pictures of the big event!  Both Thomas and Willy look so good together -- like the Champions they are!!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to you Thomas!  Keep up the good work!  We are so proud of you!!

VENISON STEAK AND CHOPS FROM CIS AND JOE

Sundays, Jan 05 and Jan 12 - Frequently when we talked to Cis and Joe, they mentioned all the deer hunting their family does during the season in Pennsylvania.  And I always tell them to bring Venison when they come to Florida for the winter!

This winter, they did indeed bring us some Venison!!  My thinking was that we would all have a cookout together and they would share some of the Venison, but what happened was they brought three nice sized packages of Venison just of us!!  A package of steak, a package of chops, and a package of sausage which Joe said was actually hamburger.  We were absolutely thrilled!!  But what to do with it??

I called Cis to see how they prepared their Venison.  Cis totally surprised me when she said "Oh, we don't eat it.  We have not eaten Venison in years!!"  What??!!  We could not believe it!

What to do??  We have never prepared Venison before!!  I went on line a looked for recipes for Venison Steak!  This one recipe indicated it was the best recipe ever!!  and all of the reviews showed 5 stars and excellent reviews.  That's the one we chose. It was the right choice.  Our Venison steak was soooo good served with sauteed mushrooms!!  Melted in our mouth!!  Definitely Five stars!!!

The next week, we decided to give the Chops a try.  Another trip to the internet searching for recipes for Venison Chops.  The recipe we chose was like the one for the steaks -- the best recipe ever with 5 star ratings and excellent reviews!!  This was a slow cooker recipe.  It too was wonderful served over egg noodles!!  Could cut it with a fork!

We still have the package of hamburger to prepare.  Can't wait to try it!!

Thank you so much Cis and Joe for the Venison treats!  How can we ever repay you??

NELSON'S VISIT TO TT ORLANDO AND WINE TASTING!

Thur, Jan 09  - Faye's brother Nelson recently moved to The Villages about fifty miles away from TT Orlando.  That is ideal because now we can visit each other more frequently.  Today Nelson came to TT Orlando and after lunch we sent to the "RV Show" at the campground.  We browsed through several of the coaches and fifth-wheels and chose the ones we wanted.  HA HA

Later, Nelson and I went to Lakeridge Winery north of Clermont for their wine tasting!

We decided to take the tour before going to taste the wine.  We went out on a deck overlooking the vineyards.   No grapes this time of year!

Our guide pointed out the machinery used to gather the grapes.

Inside there are barrels of wine being processed.

The packing room.

Next we went to the wine tasting bar.  Our guide poured the wine and explained the different characteristics of each.  Before long we had knowledgeable tastes of nine different Lakeridge wines!  One interesting point he made was that grapes do not grow well in Florida soil.  Wine makers discovered that they could successfully graft a variety of grapes to the roots of the Muscadine grape which is native to Florida and all along the east coast.  Many of the Lakeridge grapes are grown this way and the wines are a delicious blends of the Muscadine grape.

Nelson and I enjoying our wine tasting!  Do you think we might have had a little too much?

When Nelson arrived, he brought us a bottle of wine he had purchased at the grocery store and wrapped in gift paper.  We did not know what kind of wine it was except that it was a Lakeridge wine.  What a coincidence!  When we got home from the winery, we were anxious to see which of the wines he had brought to us.  Here is the bottle of Lakeridge Southern Red which is one of the wines we had tasted earlier.

After dinner, we all enjoyed fresh Strawberry Shortcake!!

Nelson really knows how to enjoy!!

That was so much fun having you visit today, Nelson.  We'll have to do it again soon!

BRYAN SHOWS UP AT TT ORLANDO WITH A BIG SURPRISE!

Sun, Jan 05 - When we went to the Pickleball Courts yesterday, we were so surprised and delighted to see Bryan whom we last saw at TT Palm Springs, CA.  We were chatting and getting reacquainted when he said something like, "I'd like for you to meet my wife."  Wife??!!!  We had no idea Bryan had remarried!!

Today Bryan brought Trisha over to meet us.  We all sat out and became acquainted over ice cold beer!  What a nice lady!  And very obviously fond of Bryan!

She filled us in on the details. They had known each other years and years ago.  Each had married and had children of their own.  Trisha happened to see on Facebook that Bryan was single again and she sat about contacting him.  As a result of her efforts they got together again and recently were married.  Trisha lived on a farm in Savannah, GA and so now Bryan is a happy farmer in Georgia!!

We were glad to see Bryan again in Orlando and delighted to meet Trisha.  Congratulations to the two of you!!  We wish for you many happy years in the future!

PICKLEBALL AT TT ORLANDO IN THE NEW YEAR!

Mon, Jan 06 - We are back at TT Orlando after spending Christmas and the New Year at TT Peace River.  Lots of Pickleball players on the courts this morning, and a lot of familiar faces!

Rick and Eve.  I caught them for a picture as they were leaving the campground to go to Three Flags RV Campground.

Toby and ? (can't remember).

 Vickie and Bryan!!

Jessie (have not seen her in ages) and Sandy.

Bob the Clown showing some of his "Silly Willy" moves on the court.

But Bob really can play Pickleball as he teams up with ?

Lil and Roger.  Have not seen him for several years since we were together in Arizona at TT Verde Valley!

Lois and Jerry (I think).

The above pictures showed the action on the three Pickleball courts at TT Orlando.  Following are the men waiting for the next round:  Ken, ?, Bob and Frank.

Also waiting to play were Faye and Roger, Jessie's husband.  It was soooo good to see the two of them again!!

It was fun seeing everybody again and having some great Pickleball matches!

SATURDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT AT TT ORLANDO

Sat, Jan 04 - I knew my friend Suzanne was at TT Orlando at the same time as we were.  I called her today to let her know I had some line dance step sheets for her and when could we get together.  She mentioned that she and John were going to the Saturday night entertainment tonight at the Adult Lounge and I invited myself to join them there.

Our entertainment!  Diana Lynn and Mike Thomas. She was formerly the Recreation Director at TT Orlando.  He performs at nearby Disney World.  Great musical duo.

Here is our group.   Nearest to the camera:  John M and Marion, friends of Suzanne and John.  John B is second on the left and Suzanne and Faye are on the right.

A fun night of good listening.  I was disappointed that I could not dance because of my aching hip!!!