I Guess It Ain't So Bad.....

....of course seeing my children and the rest of the family is the most important reason to be here in New York...but there are other good things going on and once the weather warms up...it's been in the 40's at night and except for a very few days in the last three weeks...the 50's and 60's during the day...this is much to cold for May..I hope June brings the summer-like weather that everyone who has endured the long winter up here have been waiting for....I do have some of the most beautiful sunsets to enjoy as well as the beauty of the season..















...my friend Richard did have to rub it in a little...this is how he spent most of his holiday weekend....Now I know how everyone feels in the middle of winter when I call home and tell them it's 82 degrees and I'll be fishing on the beach...of course the only reason Richard goes to the beach is to "troll" for a glimpse elusive "bikini fish"...










I did get to go to a great Memorial Day party at the home of my favorite ex-husband of my sister...she has several but I like Chuck the best...what a feast he puts on... clams.. chicken.. sausage.. hots... hamburgers.. pulled pork.. and all the other usual treats of a great picnic...we ate all day..my only regret is that I have but one stomach to give to my appetite...I wanted to eat more..I just couldn't....




We celebrated two birthdays as well.. Chucks and my great nephew Anthony.. I hope both of them get all they wished for.. I got mine.. five dozen clams.. did I mention we had a lot of food there?...




















Of course there was plenty of other activities besides eating.. I caught some great pan-fish and the kids had a ball... some of them catching their very first fish... my nephew Dan got to paddle several of the kids out on the canal and except for about four inches of water in the bottom of the boat...everyone managed to stay mostly dry...












Some of my favorite people were there...my friends Dina and Rudy and my sister Jeane..Dina looks happy... I must have caught Rudy at a bad moment he looks like someone just ran over his cat.. and of course Jeane ... when she is rolling she keeps everybody laughing...














Of course I have to include the latest pics on T.W.C.G. (for those of you un-informed..The World's Cutest Granddaughter) ... she got her first taste of summer.. last year didn't count she was to little...a new pool made for some great shots..



















I guess this is her version of " Peak-a-Boo" ...



















... she loves hats or anything that resembles a hat... and she already loves to play dress up with mom's stuff..
















... Daddy loves motorcycles and it looks like it runs in the family... this is her first and probably won't be her last...


















... Two shots that I just had to throw in... the first one is captioned "Mad? You haven't seen mad... This is MAD!! " the second.. " I didn't think she would get that upset about it " ...
















Grandma couldn't make it to the party but here is a great shot of her and one of the newest additions to her great-grandchildren...











.. Does anybody know what this bird is?.. he showed up at my feeder just once and then was gone ... it's bad shot but I had to be quick... he kept flying off and then coming back.. haven't seen one like him since...




... here a few odds and ends... the first is the take off of a plane that can barely be classified as one.. the body is basically a go cart with a prop... I was having breakfast on Saturday morning at the small country airport near the lake and looked over as he was landing... when he came in for a landing the parachute collapsed a little prematurely and made a tangled mess.. it took him nearly an hour to get it ready for take off.. as he sailed over the horizon I could only hope that his parachute had a parachute..



... and finally two shots that were sent to me that I thought were worth passing on in the blog...

















Well That's All For Now...

Live, Love, Laugh, Fish

Semper Fi

Monk

Damn..It's Cold Up Here...

Michael McCloud couldn't have said it any better...I miss my Florida friends already and can't wait to get back...don't get me wrong...I love seeing my family and New York in the Summer is great...Canandaigua Lake is one of the most beautiful spots on earth...but I've got "sand in my shoes" as they say, and once you've lived in Florida there is no place you would rather be....

I spent my last day in Florida with my friends and had a great time...we all had lunch together at Ronnie's house..Lisa, Ronnie, Helen, Richard and I...Ronnie made pasta and Helen brought the dessert...key lime and mango pie...different..and very good...of course Ronnie went all out and turned lunch into an elegant dinner party atmosphere...of course I forgot to take any pictures for the blog....

But I did get a pic of the girls on the beach after lunch...we went to the beach so Helen and I could find sharks teeth and Ronnie could do her daily swim...at least a mile a day...the water was great and Helen and I (mostly Helen) found a bunch of teeth...I spent more time looking for fish in the waves....I didn't see any but when we got back up the beach to Ronnie she said she saw the most beautiful site she has ever seen in the water...as she was coming in she looked back at the waves in the turquoise blue water and just as a wave was cresting the sun was low enough to be behind the wave...framed in the wave was a school of Jacks and just for a split second it was as if the fish were encased in a clear Plexiglas wave filled with sunlight...just above and behind her.....what a sight that must have been...what a picture that would have made...I hope I described it well enough for you to have a mental picture of how beautiful that was....I'm sure it's something Ronnie will remember for the rest of her life....

But here is the greatest reason in the world to come home for...My daughter Kelsey had her Junior Prom Saturday and she was gorgeous...just look at that dress...she went with Nick her best friend since grade school and a very nice young man...I came home early just to be able to see her and take pics of the most beautiful and intelligent daughter in the world....no lie...this is the woman who will and should be the first female President...she has the smarts and is the only one I would vote for....of course I may be a little predigest...ya think.....

My son Kyle finally got his tattoo colored in and it looks great....and he got himself a summer job at a kennel as the "dog boy"...so he'll be spending five days a week walking and taking care of his favorite animal...can't beat that...he loves animals and will eventually be a Marine Biologist if fate intends it to be....we are still working on getting the Mustang on the road and it is close to being done....the engine is being put back together and soon he will have his dream car up and running...pics to follow..

Ryan and Andy got a dog of their own...it's only nine weeks old and is supposed to be half Lab and half Rottweiler....from the looks of it I think the Lab was just passing by when two Rottweilers were mating...this dog doesn't look half Lab...but we will see as it grows what kind of personality and other traits it exhibits....it sure is cute now...and very smart..this dog knows "sit" and "come" and will follow without a leash as if he were trained to "heal".....

The dog is part of Ryan and Andy's new adventure....Ryan bought the house next door to where he has been renting and it looks great from the outside...we couldn't go in because he hasn't closed yet and the owner's son wanted the key to get some stuff out...but here is picture of it ...I think it will be great for the boys to spend some time together and bond as adults now that they are out on their own...That's Andy with Kelsey and the dog.."Sam"...Ryan still won't let me post any pictures of him...he's a cop and doesn't think it wise...I will honor his wishes...I am so lucky to have the greatest kids in the world...

Well That's All For Now...

Til Next Time..

Semper Fi...

Monk

Parting Shots From Paradise......

First...before we talk about leaving paradise for the season...some shots of my son's trip in California over the weekend...He and family went on a road trip with the motorcycle club from Edwards Air Force Base...They had a great weekend and got to spend some quality time with friends and even an Air Force general and his wife...

Are these not the cutest kids....of course there is T.W.C.G. and then there was this shot of one of my son's, friend's daughter...it reminds me of those paintings you see of the beautiful big doe-eyed children that were popular several years ago.....what a great shot...

...and if Travis ever decides that he wants to look like this guy then it will be time to have a serious talk.....

The trip took them to a big motorcycle meet and of course all the toys were on display....Travis got to meet a famous bike designer who said that as soon as Travis got his Harley he would deck it out in all the latest accoutrement's....and I'm sure he will...for the right price...

I sure hope the fire seen here was not started by any of the visitors....in any case they got out of town by sunset..and a beautiful one it was....

Helen mentioned that she had never been to Matlacha which is a small community just before arriving at Pine Island...it's pronounced "Mat-la-shay" and sits on either side of the road on the causeway leading to the island...so I decided that we should visit and spend the day...

It's a combination of art galleries, souvenir shops, and restaurants and is extremely eclectic...to say the least...

All the shops are painted in the bright pastels of old time Key West and are a part of what everyone says used to be "Old Florida"....

We hit them all and then had a great late lunch...It's well worth a trip ...if you ever come down my way ask me to take you to Mat-La-Shay...Just don't ask me at Siesta time....

My friends Patty and Van are on a mission..literally "on a mission"..they are doing their part as Christians to bring the natives in a small town in Belize "The Word"...they sent this pic of a birthday party they were invited to of one of their new friends...along with a note on how wonderful the people have been to them and how excepting they are of Patty and Van's efforts....

Last but not least...some great parting shots of some of my friends at the coffee shop on Dearborn Street...I will miss them all and I've been told I will be missed as well...that makes me feel very special and I want to say thank you to you all for a great winter season have a great summer and I'll see you all again in the fall....

Well That's All For Now...

Til Next Time...(from beautiful Canandaigua Lake)

Semper Fi...

Monk