Getting Bored

 Sorry about not writing but there isn’t much to write about. Nothing going  on. The yard is in pretty good shape. Our azaleas bloomed profusely this year. There are some things that didn’t make it through the freeze.  Once the azaleas drop their blooms we will work on cleaning up the oval and plant some annuals and perennials.

We had the sprinklers checked out and we needed one new head but all else was OK. They haven’t fertilized our grass yet but I am sure it won’t be long. 

Things are in good shape in the house with all my cleansing of closets!  We have been to doctors and played cards a few times.  We continue our Saturday routine of church at 5:00 and then out to eat afterwards.  Last week we went to Chili’s to use a $5 gift card I won at a show down in Alamo, TX last fall.  The amount and quality of the food was a nice surprise.  We had chips and salsa followed by a cup of soup for Ted plus a burger and fries.  I had a chicken sandwich that came with fries that I hadn’t expected. Ted had a Coke and I had a tea.  Our bill with 20% tip came to $23!  Normally we are between $40-70.  I even brought half my sandwich home and had it for lunch the next day.  I found Saltgrass and Carrabas gift cards with about $11 each on them so when we can’t make up our minds we can always go there!  

We leave in less than 3 weeks for Aruba,  My things are piling up on the twin bed.  It will be 5/4 before we are back in the house due to a night downtown to go to MDA the morning after our 10:30 pm arrival back in the US.  Then we are driving to Carmine TX to have lunch with Gus and Melissa our friends who invite us to Hilton Head periodically.  This would be a good year to get an invite in August because we will have visited the kids, folks in Cincinnati and attended the family reunion and will start by the last week in July.

Our Texas bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush that bloom in March.

And ..  Happy Easter  

 

M

Low Key Week at Home

We spent the night in Lafayette LA and made it home early afternoon on Friday.  By that evening I was not feeling well.  Good thing Ted’s cold was clearing up because I felt like a wet rag. I turned in early and woke up feeling some better. I guess Ted’s cold mixtures worked well. He went to church himself because I didn’t want to cough or sneeze over a crowd. Sunday I still rested and told Ted to go shooting with Tal. By Monday I was up and running. I emptied the luggage, got the laundry done, went through the mail and was satisfied with all I accomplished that day. 

On Tuesday I had a doctor appointment followed by a lab visit for tests.  We played cards at the country club that evening but neither of us won!

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and after getting the car washed and some groceries, Ted stopped at church for ashes.  I was amazed at the amount of people on live TV who also received ashes and wore them on TV.  It was refreshing to see such public displays of faith.

We haven’t done too much beyond our regular schedule of playing cards, seeing doctors, shooting and some spring cleaning.  I spent a whole day in our master closet.  Lots of things for my cleaning lady, Paralyzed Vets and the homeless luncheon folks on Tuesdays.  And a recycled can a foot deep in wire hangers! Ted’s friend Tal who has difficulties walking, invited us out to dinner to thank Ted for all his help in Tal being able to continue shooting.  We met them at Hacienda and enjoyed some Mexican food and a margarita. 

Ted’s brothers Tom and Dan are both having health issues and we are all concerned.  

We signed up to do the Glacier National Park tour with Eileen and Tom in June.  Boy did it fill up fast!  I wanted late August.  She wanted September and we had only 3 dates in June to choose from.  We will watch to see if other dates open up as final payment draws near.  

Our neighbors do renovation work and they came over to get an idea on how to maximize the space in our master closet.  They will work on it in April and/or June while we are gone. My stuff is in really good shape. Ted still has a ways to go. 

Yesterday was the neighborhood luncheon with just 5 in attendance. Two were unable to come. Our big group keeps shrinking!  But we all enjoy our monthly time together and choosing a restaurant and letting everyone know is all the effort it takes. Oh, and mentioning who has a birthday that month. None for March.

Someone pulled into our driveway and ran over our edging bending it and knocked the rocks off.  We have had no company or deliveries and it is obvious a car ran over 7 rocks that ended up uprooted.  I sent a photo to Carmelo our lawn guy and he is coming Monday to assess the damage and plan a repair.  Always something!

I have continued cleaning out closets. All 3 bedroom closets are in order. Both hall closets are orderly and the doors below my sink have been worked on and are in good order.  The master bath linen closet needs a going

over yet. 

My cleaning lady took everything I put on the twin bed, jeans, khakis, shoes, slippers, more hangers, and a few sweaters. Anna next door is taking a dozen bags we have accumulated from conferences, groups, shops in Mexico, etc.  She will take them to the South African free store to

be put to good use.  

I have four grocery bags for Paralyzed Vets.  Ted took armsful of shorts and shirts to the Tuesday free lunch for the homeless. Tal called and said everything was gone but one shirt and one shorts!   Ted was indignant and asked me why no one wanted those two items!  I have no idea! 

I had two Dr appts this past week. My PCP and the kidney specialist he had me see. My lab results were good. Out of 5 pages of test info, there were only 5 red numbers.  The two numbers he was most interested in were way better than 6 months ago and agreed the gabapentin they gave me in June probably affected my

Kidneys. We both agreed to put that in my allergy list just to be on the side of caution. The other 3 numbers were .1 off the norms and of no concern. 

Good news!

Final Three!

 We are winding down here on the west coast of Florida!  

Monday we drove to my sister’s home in Punta Gorda. She and husband Spence were delighted to see us. We got caught up on family news and looked at books and photos she is working with for posterity. She was raised in my dad’s family and I was raised in my mother’s so we both know different relatives!  But we get along famously. They both have had health issues so we had lots to cover.

We left for dinner at a local BBQ bar where I got fish!  I hoped it was fresh from the ocean,  Not sure if it was but it was delicious! 

We left later than we expected to so we arrived in Fort Myers after dark. Our GPS led us right to our motel but we were stymied checking in using Register Assist computer to do so.  There is a guy on TV that tells you what to do.  Our first wrinkle was I made the reservation so he needed my DL!  So I went in and eventually got our keys spit out of the machine!  The motel was fine and breakfast was great.  We had maid service the next day so we were ok!  

Tuesday we drove to my brother’s condo that he is closing to sell this week and has bought a house in Rotunda West. So they were pretty sparse in what was not packed up yet. We sat at their dining room table with the balcony doors open with sunshine and a warm breeze enveloping us! 

For dinner we went to Bimini Bait Shack Bar where I chose tuna. Again, a good choice.  Last time we were all down for a vacation on Sanibel Island we had eaten here. We had seen each other last August at the shooting competition in Marion OH so not so much family news to share. But we enjoy visiting. Dan is probably the relative of mine Ted is closest to. 

Wednesday we visited Lee and Ira, camping folks that we have enjoyed trips with.  They lost their motorhome during Hurricane Ian and because of their age chose not to replace it.  So we are both in the same boat with no RV!

They have a very nice house in a beautiful neighborhood.  Ira can do anything and was so proud to show us how he took a three piece entertainment center to make it for a much larger TV. What a beautiful job he did!  

We went to Bahama Breeze where I had coconut shrimp. Third day to eat fish!  I wish we had more time to spend with them but Ted wanted to make Lake City by dinnertime.  We made it, stayed in an Econo Lodge, had a burger at Culver’s and turned in in time to watch Survivor!  I remember who got voted off and then nothing!

We took off about 10 o’clock. Ted has been taking NyQuil for a cold so I let him sleep until he woke up on his own.  We missed the breakfast closing time of 9:00 so somewhere in Florida we stopped at Waffle House where I was charged $7 for TWO scrambled eggs. 

We will stop somewhere in Louisiana and finish up tomorrow.  There is nothing pressing at home until Thursday so we can take our time.  I haven’t mentioned the three family members who passed away recently, all younger than me.  David Homer, Kellie Ruhe and David Reik.  They lived in Florida, Ohio and Kentucky.  Lives cut way too short.  It has been a very good 2+ weeks on the road for us but these deaths remind us to always be kind because at some point it will be the last time you speak to someone.  

A Little Bit of Everything!

 Saturday was check in day to our condo.  It has 3 ensuites upstairs with king size beds, one for each couple.  A very nice kitchen, laundry room, half bath,  double living room and huge covered patio with grill, table and couches.  Quite a nice set up.

Pat and Kelly were arriving later in the evening so Bill, Kara, Ted and I went to get pizza since we had not been to the store yet.  We all turned in pretty early.  Bill awoke with a fever and cold so stayed in their suite for 1-2 days until his fever broke.  The four of us went to church and then Kara and Pat went grocery shopping and Ted grilled burgers outside for dinner and we all sat around the table.

Monday Kara continued to cook and we had fajitas, again outside at the table.  I cut up the chicken!  I was content just settling in and pretty much being waited on.  The kids had made reservations at Yachtsman’s Steakhouse at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort to celebrate our 60th anniversary early since we were all together.  Kristin drove back and forth each day if she was going with any of us. 

 

The food was delicious and Disney provided congratulation pins, a champagne toast and chocolates for us. 

On Wednesday Bill and Kara were picking up his sister and brother in law at Coronado Springs to show them around Disney especially the Grand Floridian which is their home timeshare.  Pat had met up with Larry for lunch so Kelly, Ted and I took advantage of all the free transportation at Disney to ride around.  We parked for free at Hollywood Studios since we had Bill in our car with his DVC ID.  Kara parked their car using her ID. Nothing to sneeze at since parking is $25 per day!  

We took The Skyliner to Epcot, took a boat to The Boardwalk and then a bus to Magic Kingdom where we rode the monorail to the Grand Floridian.  It started raining so we had a snack at Gasparillo’s in the Grand Floridian waiting for the foursome to arrive for dinner at Narcoosie’s.  Marilyn and Dave were pleased we waited for their arrival to say hi before we caught a bus back to Hollywood Studios to drive home.  This is a great way to get an idea of the enormity and flavor of the park without paying $169 a day to go in!  The kids all have annual passes and go in and out frequently.  

Thursday Patrick went to St. Petersburg to kite board while Ted, Kelly and I went to see Conclave at Disney Springs.  We ate a late lunch there at the Polite Pig before heading back to the condo.  Our evening would be spent at Port Orleans Riverside Resort to see Yeehaw Bob Jackson.  This guy is a hoot!  We did the Hokey Pokey, YMCA, singing competitions with the other side of the room, etc.  So much fun!  He sure can tickle the ivories!  He gave us a shout out for celebrating our 60th anniversary.

Friday we were all home during the day.  Bill put the dash cam back in our new car, Kara did laundry and I just took it easy.  Pat and Kelly went to Universal Studios and we didn’t see them until Saturday morning.  We had gone to the dueling pianos at Jelly Rolls piano bar on the Boardwalk.  We again got a shout out for our anniversary and a song (Going to the Chapel) which was a hit in 1964.  When we sent up a request for Last Date (a ‘60s Floyd Kramer piano song) Scottie said “this has to be from Ted and Donna who are the only people in this building old enough to know it.”  He said it had not ever been requested and he had not played it in decades but he would try.  With no music and no other info, he did a beautiful job!  The later we stayed the less we knew any of the songs.  They did play Cecilia which is CeCe’s actual name so that was fun.  Big night!  I had a Peach on the Beach and Ted had 3, count them, 3 beers!

Saturday was Kelly and Pat’s departure day.  They had to pack his kite board to have Ship Sticks return it back to their Michigan home.  They were going to pick it up Tuesday at Kristin’s so they needed to stop there to drop it off before heading to the airport.  Kristin and Larry spent the day together for their anniversary so Bill spent the afternoon there waiting for Kara’s computer to be delivered needing a signature.  It had been scheduled for Friday so that put a wrench in the day!  Kara was meeting Disney friends who were all in to run the Disney Princess 5K, 10K and half marathon.  Ted and I just stayed behind helping get everyone where they needed to be.  We went to church, got gas and stopped at Olive Garden for dinner.  Bill had joined Kara at Disney and I went to bed  before they came home.  Kristin stopped by to say goodbye to us.  Everyone arrived home so all is good.  It is Sunday morning and we leave here and head to Clearwater for the theater and to spend one night before moving on to Punta Gorda and Fort Myers for some visiting.  

What a wonderful story!  Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11. Our interest was a couple we know who met there and married. They live in our town and she belongs to the same club as me. However, I was blown away at the emotional and heartwarming recollection of that fateful day.

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Look Out, Mickey!

We had a whirlwind 10 days unpacking, laundry and repacking before taking off again to Florida.  We did our regular daily routine stuff punctuated by three card games!  Both Ted and I won at the country club and he won at Mardi Gras evening. The third game was ladies only and I, again, was in the middle!

We left home Tuesday morning and drove to Pensacola. The next day enroute we were informed Kara and Bill, who are at Grand Floridian, had free tickets to Animal Kingdom Moonlight Magic free evening for DVC owners. So we had to arrive by 3:30!  Our GPS gave us a 2:15 arrival so we said OK.

We met K&B at a Hilton where they turned in their rental car and then drove them to AK to meet their friends we know, also DVC owners. 

We used our free snack tickets to get chicken pot stickers, fries, Mickey pretzel and Mickey ice cream bar. 

Up

Not a great dinner but free is free! 

We took the safari tour, a great opportunity to sit down!  Here are a few photos taken on the fly because there were no lengthy stops to take photos.  

The others had an opportunity to continue the free evening at Magic Kingdom so at we took K&B back to the Grand Floridian to catch the monorail that took them to Magic Kingdom and would take them back there at the end of their evening.  

We arrived at Kristin’s afterwards.  Longgggg day!  We rested up on Thursday after our two days of driving. 

On Friday I had agreed to help Kristin and her friend with a second grade Valentine’s Day party.  It went pretty well. This was a Title One school and only two children had ever had a Happy Meal!  Then they were supposed to take a pack of Valentines and address them to the other children. Didn’t work too well. But the decorating paper bags to receive Valentines was a big, messy hit!  We had gift bags for each child plus a decorated cupcake and a heart shaped cookie at the end of the day!  Whew!  Kristin’s FitBit told her to take it easy the next day. I was pooped. I tried keeping the decorations for the bag decorating centralized and picked up trash!  My attempt at decorating ideas!

Ted and Larry went to lunch and had a nice time. Ted cooked filets for our Valentine’s dinner and Larry’s sister joined us. I went to bed early!

A Lost Week and a Vacation Week

Both of my “card parties” went well.  My refreshments were well received by the participants.  There  were some leftovers but not too much. 

We  had a quiet rest of the week until the unlikely happened ..  Snow!   We got a few inches and the whole area shut down.

 We had decided to get a pizza for dinner and Jet’s was closed. So was Chik Fila, Whataburger, Dominio’s and two others!  Finally Subway was open!  It stayed that way for about 3 days. Ted said nothing was open but H-E-B and the roads were empty. By the third day our snow was gone. 

We are on our way home now from the Rio Grande Valley so whatever happened before we left on 1/26 is not making it into the book!

We drove down Sunday a week ago with no problems and made our way to McAllen, meeting Tom and Eileen at Cheddars, then moving on to BJ because of the crowd.  Then we went together to the condo we rented together.  It was not the Ritz but roomy, clean and comfortable!  We both had our own bed and bath plus kitchen, dining room and living room.  Then began the learning curve.  Front gate needed a card that was in a lock box.  It didn’t work so we tried the code provided and it did so we put the card back in the box.  The condo lock was a number plus my phone number, we’re in!

We gave the king bed suite to them and took the queen room with the hall bath right next door.  There was a LR with couch and loveseat and big TV.  It was necessary to stream our own subscriptions which is very common anymore.  Of course it was a learning curve.  We have Prime, BritBox, Netflix, Masterpiece Theater and Xfinity Streaming but signed up for a trial week of Paramount so they could watch football.  I canceled it Saturday night.  I am not sure just what we did but eventually found what we were looking for!  But I can’t explain step by step, more like trial and error! 

We went over to Mexico three days, had lunch with a Retama neighbor one day, shopped a bit, walked a lot in the flea market only to buy some tomatoes and vanilla, visited the gift shop at Our Lady of the San Juan Valley Basilica.  We went to a mariachi Mass there on Saturday night.  This is the only photo I took all week, the outside tower of the basilica.  

We ate lunch out and had breakfast in and snacks in the evening,  Only glasses, cups and silverware made it into the dishwasher.  We just didn’t use any dishes!

We went to three shows while there and we certainly picked really good ones.  They are moving away from just country western vocalists and bands.  We saw an illusionist (magician) who was very entertaining!  Next was a ventriloquist, also very good with lots of laughs.  I learned a new curse word toro poo poo.  

Last night was a Las Vegas lounge singer who worked the crowd really well.  He had a moving salute to veterans and our country. We were one of 5 couples invited to dance to honor 59+ years of marriage. I even won a $5 Chili gift card!  A great end to a memorable week.  

We are less than an hour from home and have less than two weeks before leaving again.  

Happy Groundhog Day!

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Settling Back In

CeCe sitting in a hand painted rocking chair I won at our current “church bazaar” our first year in TX. I gave it to Sam who was a toddler at the time. 

We went to church New Year’s Day having arrived too late for New Year’s Eve.   I didn’t do laundry at Kara’s and left some here resulting in four loads!  And my new washing machine is huge.  Took awhile to wash, dry, fold and put away.

We had no weekend plans so went to church Saturday night as usual and ate at Saltgrass Steak afterwards.  I had to endure LOTS of football ALL weekend!  Sorry about the Bengals but Texans and Lions did OK!  We play Shanghai at the country club Tuesday night and Ted has a doctor appointment on Thursday.  

Managed to get a little tax paperwork done on Monday and finally looked at mail finding two Christmas cards.  One took 3 weeks to arrive from Ohio!  The other contained a letter so I was glad to have noticed both of them in our mail.  I unfortunately did not get around to sending many, the first year in a very long time.  I need to be mindful of “Christmas card worthy” photos throughout this year.  We have RGV, FL, Aruba, Geneva on the Lake family reunion and just maybe Glacier National park and area.  All in a planning stage depending on others’ plans, availability and how we are holding up.  Have to consider stuff we never thought about in our youth!  The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be!  

Next week is busy with Shanghai group here on Saturday and Hand & Foot here on Monday followed by 3-13 at Another Broken Egg on Tuesday.  Physically and mentally we can both play cards!  He wins more than I do, though I have won a few times recently.   

Maintenance continues with a repair to our hot water heater vent that will be followed by the roofer sealing the pipe on the outside.  It sticks up really high and they said probably Beryl Hurricane winds probably whipped it around.  Always something!  

I came in second at Shanghai on Tuesday and also had a Shanghai!  For lack of a 2, 3 or 8 I would have won!  

Our plumber came to fix the hot water vent and fixed it all so we don’t need the roofer!  Our house was built in 2003 so I guess maintenance is expected to increase.  Actually, I have spent more money on the postage stamp yard than anything!  That includes two decks over those 22 years!  

I went to the grocery with Ted and was speechless over prices of everything!  I was party planning for Saturday night and Monday afternoon.  I don’t know how families are feeding their kids!  

I will continue to send Ted to HEB and keep my head in the sand about prices! 

Saturday night went well, everyone had a good time, especially the four winners.  I had cheese and crackers plus summer sausage, L’il Smokies, grapes, apples with Carmel sauce, shrimp, Carmel corn and brownies.

I am attempting to make a charcuterie board with leftovers and some new things for Monday. I received a gift basket and will use those items too!  Wish me luck.  

We went to church Sunday morning at 11:00 and it is the first time (besides Christmas and Easter) that there was standing room only.  Maybe the cool, rainy morning caused many to stay in bed a little longer.

This is Ted’s brother who lived here but moved to Alabama.  All their family gathered for her 80th birthday dinner at a rental house in Miramar Beach, FL.  I’m up next in October but will celebrate our 60th anniversary in April so turning 80 may not involve a big celebration.

The weather turned cool and we are getting freezing temps and possibly that S word!  We’ve stayed close to home.  

And the Week After

Things got a little messed up with a couple people falling ill and then there was the weather! It started raining!  They all chose Thursday as a down day while we enjoyed Beautiful Noise. Kelly and crew were battling “stuff” so we had leftovers Friday in their absence.  That evening Kristin came over and Bill, Kristin, Ted and Kara made the Saran Wrap ball for Saturday’s game night.  It was Italian dinner night.

Bidkar’s birthday celebration and unwrap the Saran Wrap ball plus blow the cotton off the cup competitions took place.  Bidkar was the champion of blowing off the cotton balls.  Many gift cards, lottery tickets, candies, small gifts were wrapped in the Saran ball. 

Bills’ two cousins came for brunch and a visit on Saturday morning. They left mid afternoon so Ted and I went to church at 4 o’clock.  Sunday I came down with “something”’so Kara insisted I go to Urgent Care.

Haley’s aunt has been hospitalized with RSV and Pat was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and if I didn’t get attended to I would be waiting 3 days at home over the holiday.  So no RSV, no covid, no flu A or B, no pneumonia.  Bottom line… I have a cold that settled in my lungs.  So Monday and Tuesday were down days.  We talked about Frankenmuth and  Meadowbrook but it was raining.                                      

Pat took us to the airport Tuesday and choosing New Year’s Eve was a great choice.  No lines anywhere.  We had a good flight, I had upgraded us to Comfort Plus to avoid the families in the back.  Only one First Class seat was available so we didn’t take that.  

Christmas Week

Last year we saw Andre Rieu in person in Detroit.  It was a bucket list item for me.  Thankfully Ted was as interested as I was and we had a delightful time.  Our daughter, with connections, had secured 6th row, aisle seats.  When his Christmas video was shown two nights in the US in December at theaters, we couldn’t pass up seeing it.  We were not disappointed!

On Sunday we had no problems getting to the airport.  We parked off site and let the aggravating slow traffic to the bus driver. I can’t wait for the construction to be finished.  What a mess it has been. 

We had to use the kiosk to check our luggage because there was no skycap check in outside. It gave me a bag tag and Ted a boarding pass!  No matter what I did it would not give him a bag tag.  So we got into the assist line but got called up from behind a huge group heading overseas. That Gold Medallion Plus designation on our reservation sure helped.  Since I had a boarding pass on my phone and my bag tagged, I was good to go and after they printed a bagtag for Ted he was too.

Every seat was full and we sat as we always do, me in front of him on the aisle.  That way no one leans back into him trapping him spread eagle with no way to get his tray down.  And then to top it off, a lady came to sit next to me with a DOG!  She was holding it but was told at take off he had to go in his crate under the seat.  I watched a movie and it wasn’t too long a flight.

It took 45 minutes for our luggage to finally arrive and Kara and Bill were waiting outside.  We all met Pat and Kelly for dinner before heading home.  Whew!  Holiday travel is tiresome.

Monday, after playing games with Pops, we took CeCe to Bass Pro Shop for a photo with Santa.  

She was more interested in the 4 x 4’s and climbed on every one until choosing the camouflage one.  

She tried out all the camping chairs and beds in the tents, visited their aquarium and played with the legos and Lincoln logs set up on two tables for the kids to play with.  She had a great time. 

I had 18 gifts to wrap that evening and some were big, bulky and heavy!  My back was killing me by the time I finished!  Kara had invited everyone over for a soup and appetizer type dinner and we all enjoyed a nice visit. 

Christmas Eve we started with a big breakfast and tackled preparations for Christmas Day dinner.  Bill and Kara went to his family’s party while we went to dinner at Kelly’s and then the 9 of us there went to church at 6:00.

It was a lovely Mass and we were more than ready to head for home after all the running.  I put all the checks I had written in their envelopes and put them on the mantle. I was ready!  

Christmas morning was busy because Kara makes so much food!  Our company came at 1:00 pm and we started opening presents.  There were 15 in attendance and gift opening took quite some time!

The girls bought us tickets to see “Beautiful Noise” at Detroit’s Fisher Theater for 12/26!  I have been watching for the tour company and us to end up in the same city for quite sometime!  

We drove to downtown Detroit to the Fisher Theater the day after Christmas. It is a short drive compared to the trip driving into Houston from home.  Parking is free with your theater ticket and we maneuvered the garage, the scanning of the QR code to validate our parking, stood in line to enter the theater and finally a security scan.  Success!  

Beautiful Noise was fabulous. Neil Diamond wrote the songs he recorded and they all told the story of his flight with depression. “Clouds” he called them. His song Shiloh is about his imaginary friend, You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore was the breakup of his 25 year marriage.  Forever in Blue Jeans was his wife’s response to her need for his company not what his money would buy. The context is his talking to a psychiatrist once he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and can no longer perform. The music was fantastic and even Ted did the Sweet Caroline wave!  

Today we were to celebrate Bidkar’s birthday but Ally is under the weather so it has been postponed. So today I can stay “Forever in Blue Jeans” with no make up! 

Nm