We're fans of local eateries using fresh ingredients. Mama Mia's Italian, The Rexall restaurant in the drug store, a place called Keg South for burgers, fish sandwiches, wings and Shiver's BBQ which is a 1 of 1. We do eat at some chain restaurants but try to limit our exposure.

GRIS, the iguanas' problem is they eat many types of plants and flowers and then go shit in the pool. They are only one of many invasive critters. The Tegu lizard, python, Agami lizard, peacocks, parrots and many more. Once they get a foothold it's over. All those mentioned have made South Florida their home. I don't like to kill anything unless I have to. The peacocks tear up the roof, scratch car paint, shit all over the place and can be aggressive. They can kill a cat with a well placed peck to the head.


Babysat the nursery and did a couple of my chores while I was there getting ready for vacation on Saturday. Yard work at the house tomorrow and Friday is house clean up and get everything ready to go for the cruise. Saturday is get up, eat breakfast, shower, load up and head to port around 11:00. Going out of Miami so it's a drop and go. I love cruising. Maybe what I really love is doing anything but work.

GMCG's

Heading to the nursery to repair the tool shed. I've only put it off for a year and a half. Geez ... Sue wants everything done yesterday. Of course a carpenter could have come out and had it done by now. I'm probably about $200 cheaper.

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ha,ha,ha,ha. Hah,Hah,Hah,Ha. AHH HAH, HAH, HAH, HA.



You're on the wrong forum page if you think time is more valuable than money. Look at all the grey hairs around here doing all sorts of odd jobs to save from paying outsiders .... like plumbers.

...

GOOD MORNING

SHOUT, SHOUT, LET IT ALL OUT!

Met Mark Duper, a former football hero in Miami Dolphins receiver circles back in the 80's. He was half of the Marks Brothers, Mark Duper and Mark Clayton. They both were targets for quarterback Dan Marino, Nice guy an his wife also.
Made it to the 2 year old's party but we ended up passing on the second b-day party
tee, Marcus and friend .... Sounds like you have a nice trip to Bowling Green lined up. Enjoy.

Have a gureat day everyone.

Social events are jamming my calendar today with 2 birthday parties on the docket. Had an installation dinner last night for one of the Nursery Growers and Landscaping organizations Sue belongs to. Low key day today and trying to keep the pressure OFF. Pay bills, get some supplies and by then it will be time to go.

That story will have a lasting impact. My "remember when" story file is growing and I'm not making many new stories to tell down the road.

Working out in the jungle aka the yard.

Ended up doing almost 6 hours at the nursery than came home and worked till 09:30. Cut grass, fixed little stuff then worked on the outdoor lighting in the dark. Got a lot done.

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Free balcony and drinks for Sue and I and $500 casino cash. Just paid port charges, taxes and vacation protection. Yup, Carnival keeps us coming back, for now. Two more booked. A free balcony and drinks and maybe some casino cash in Oct out of NYC to the Northeast. Dec 30 New Years cruise out of Miami. 4 days, free interior and drinks. Both of those have the same add on charges as listed on the first one. Usually between $400 and $600 total. ;)

Nursery sitting 10:00 - 01:00. I'm sure I can find 3 hours of stuff I need to do over there. Hopefully customer flow will be low. I hate doing sales. I don't mind collecting the money I just hate doing sales. Need to pick up some more hardware and lumber. Single digit countdown to vacation. Caribbean cruise to San Juan, St Thomas, Dominican Republic and Grand Turk. I mix the itineraries up between Eastern, Southern and Western Caribbean so we don't get bored with the ports. I've been to most of the ports a number of times so I'm familiar with the places we go. We enjoy going to San Juan and St Thomas. Dominican Republic is nice and Grand Turk is a tourist island. I can do Grand Turk in an hour and be done. Go back for a nice afternoon nap that day. Sea days are good nap days too. On a typical day we stay up late, sleep late, breakfast just before they close around 11:30 and on sea days they have a sea day brunch till about 01:00. Dinner in the main dining room almost every night and a trip or two to the steak house. Of course there are number of hours playing games of chance.

Thus ..... Oh thank heaven for 7/11

I have work to last a lifetime. Just want to try to confine it to the home front. One day yard, one day inside house, one day cars and trucks, one day this and that and three days off

A hot and humid hello from the tropics. The moisture has moved into the gulf. A week and a half to our Caribbean escape. This month it was 8 years ago that we bought this new to us house and I'm still trying to get it the way I want it. Better get it done pretty quick if I ever want to just sit back and enjoy it. it's getting there. big push over the next year. I hope to re-retire at around 65.

Rain, rain go away.

G'mornin.

Put a dent the the ravaging overgrowth spewing forth in the front yard. Unwanted weeds, vines, palm fronds and such all made it to the disposal pile. It's Vulcan hot, humid, wet and sticky. Occasional rain showers put a damper on operations. Weed wacker quit whacking half way through. I'll try to start it today. If no luck it's going to the shop. I already cleaned the plug. We'll see. Have to go shopping for more wood and screws before I can resume construction of the bath/storage shed. It's coming along. Floor and ceiling joists are on the agenda and the exterior needs more framing. By the end of the day this heat has left me beat.

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Top o' the mornin to ya.


Don't get the mung.

Marcus, you kind of remind me of someone, only here it's propane.

Yesterday I treated 7 of our vehicles and two golf carts to a much needed bath, pampering, fluid top off and inflated their ego's (tires). The Suburban looks better than the day I picked it up. The 91 now wears GRIS' X brace and is back to quiet again. The old X brace took one too many hits and the exhaust was rattling loudly against it. Sounded more serious like a major engine malfunction but every once in awhile the car gods are merciful and the fix is relatively simple. Today I will try to slow the rapid advancement of fauna and foliage and trim the symbol of wealth back to an appreciable height.


https://www.planetnatural.com/organic-lawn-care-101/history/

No sitting here except for maybe on the riding lawnmower.

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LOL.

Went to the Miccosukee Resort and Casino for a little 4th of July action at an event called Freedom Festival. They had a nice set up. Rides for the kids, vendors, and a couple of free concerts. We went to watch the main attraction, Leann Rimes. Played our favorite slot machine before and after the concert. Buffalo. I got hammered bad on the machine (playing side by side with Sue) before the concert. Had some dinner and went to the show. After the concert we went to our usual machines up front in the casino and I caught a nice bonus round for over $250 on a.60 bet. I came out ahead for the night $20 after offsetting my earlier loss. Missed the fireworks display because we were pushing buttons. The resort was jumping. A lot of people. A good time was had by all.

Not guilty.


Good morning.

Hello, as usual a lengthy day awaits. Trying to get a lot of stuff done while I'm still young.

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Didn't know anything about it.

Tom, one thing about being retired is it gives you time to find, buy and pick up tools.

It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood. Sun is shining for now. Sue woke up late. Had the wrong time on her alarm clock. I took care of her nursery pet chores since she was running behind. 5 outdoor cats, 2 indoor cats, 4 kittens on the back patio and the fish pond. Came home and took care of our fish pond's daily task. Goofing off now and going out to work on the back project. That thing is built like Ft. Knox. It's overbuilt because I'm putting up a spiral staircase and you'll be able to walk on the roof. Great for bird watching. Wait till I you see it, tee. I mentioned I was incorporating the outside facade so it actually has an outside frame and an inside frame. Mostly pressure treated lumber so I expect it to outlast me and will endure almost any hurricane. lol

To all the Rivieras I've loved before.
The ones I've driven past my garage door
I'm glad they came along, I dedicate this song
To all the Rivieras I've loved before .........

My vehicles have some essential tool kits and a few odds and ends but are kept relatively free of excess stuff.

On the nursery front. I was adding water to the nursery pond yesterday and must have got distracted. The water ran all night overflowing into the nursery. Sue stopped in to pick up some paperwork and go look at a couple of potential jobs. I got a call and she was not a happy camper. Put one in the OOPS column. I'm as sharp as I'm gonna be but not as sharp as I once was.

The early bird catches the worm. I'm obviously a late bird this morning. Plan on working out back today and just do some other general chores. No rest for the wary. I'm not feeling all that weary.

I love my 2015 Suburban and it's got the White Diamond Tricoat with a tan interior. Perfect for Floridah. Already had it over 2 1/2 years. Around 63k on the odometer. I bought it with 48k miles. Got what I thought was a great price of $40k. New sticker MSRP was $72k. I won't buy new anymore. Depreciation is a mofo.

Hey tee, here's a little shop idea for ya.

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Dogsitting for the neighbors, Sue has a flat on a trailer, continued work on the bathroom out back and whatever else presents itself as a priority on a Saturday. Rain projected in the mix but I have plenty to do inside the house also.

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Hi De Ho!

Honey-do's top the list for this morning with a pick up and a bank run. Bank runs are a good thing though. Picked up lumber yesterday so maybe I'll get some framing in before the monsoon starts tomorrow. Sounds like we're getting a shower right now.

Like any of us get a free day. lol

Guess Rosie had a rip roaring good time.

Letty, kids, I try to cruise when kids are in school . There are always some on board but it's packed with kids in the summer and on school breaks. The casino doesn't have that problem though.

Went HD shoppig today. Got some more lumber and hardware plus a window. Looked at the doors. Not screwing around today. The batteries are getting a break. Dinner with a former coworker and his wife at 05:00 at our favorite Italian restaurant.

Ran out of French Vanilla coffee creamer this morning and had to resort to milk and sugar for my second cup. Suprisingly it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

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It's been record breaking heat around here so thirst and hydration become routine. My sweat glands have been getting a good workout. Had some large nails and a couple of fence gate hooks that I chose to grind off with the new grinder. Worked fine, just like a ..... grinder. The tool set came with three 4ah lithium-ion batteries so I had plenty of power to last through the day. Working cordless has been a great pleasure. Well, maybe not a pleasure but they have been great. Used 4 out of the 8 tools so far but I'm sure I'll be using all 8. The flashlight, hacksall, multitool and 1/2 inch impact wrench are all waiting their turn.

Morning has broken .....

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I think Tom may be a little closer.

Milwaukee power tools getting a workout today. So far I've been using he drill, impact driver and circular saw. All with positive results. So far so good.

What did she say? Something about being hot.

Everybody sing .......

G'mornin.

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Trip down 66 sounds nice while pulling the bike on a trailer. lol You can tell I'm getting old.

I like the way you think tee, using the repair shop in town. Make sure you open the hood and check their work though. I just had a master cylinder changed and they didn't hook up a wire, left my blower air filter resting on the wheel well, another sensor was not connected and a couple of electrical wires left resting on the manifold. The shop owner is a friend. I'm gonna give him an earful plus get everything done right. It's the guys working for him. I told him before they don't have any attention to detail. I have to remember in the future to have him show me what they did BEFORE I take the car back. My buddy is knowledgeable, excellent at diagnostics and he's a good mechanic but he has guys working for him that just do what he tells them to. Replace this, do that. Needs better quality control.

That's what we're here for, Letty. (I think) To be a sounding board. Better to let it out than let it fester inside. Your day will come Letty, sooner than you think. You can still make plans for the future.

Been working on the outback bathroom/storage room. It's starting to take shape. I'll take a few pics when I get more of the framing done.

Tee, who do you think is the best service provider for a router when you want to want to run Amazon Prime TV, Directv Now and watch Netflix? I've still got AT&T phone and internet and Directv satellite service but might move to Comcast for higher speeds. A year has flown by and my discounts are about to disappear. I've got to change to lower my bill. Or at least threaten to leave again. Might be time to start from scratch.