Winding down…Two fun videos…

This video was posted at this post on this date in 2018. It was such a joy to see this again! Also, see the video below from ten years ago today, in 2013.

In speaking with friends Linda and Ken yesterday (it was Linda’s birthday), she explained they are also going to be in Marloth Park in a few months; around the same time, Rita and Gerhard will also be visiting, who will be staying in our old house  It’s too bad we won’t be there to be with our friends  If it were one year later, we’d also be there.

Instead, we’ll enjoy the photos and experiences they will share with us during their time in Marloth Park. During that period, we’ll be in South America, having experiences of our own that we’ll share here in photos and posts with them and all of our worldwide readers.

With “White Night’ upcoming on the Azamara cruise beginning on August 1, I ordered a few items, including a pair of white jeans and a white top that fit without trying them on. I ordered the jeans directly from Levi’s since I have two pairs of Levi blue jeans, figuring if I purchased the same size, the white jeans would work, and they did, much to my relief. The shirt also worked, and I am ready for that special event.

Tom is all set, too. While in the US a few years ago, when we knew we’d be going on Azamara cruises, he also purchased a pair of white jeans.

Speaking of clothes, I went through the closet yesterday to see what items I could donate to the Salvation Army. Since I take good care of my stuff, I feel comfortable donating some of my used items. Going online to the Salvation Army’s local site, I was able to schedule a pick-up for this coming Friday. I am hoping to lighten my baggage weight substantially.

No longer, in this life, do I ever get attached to clothing items since most can be replaced. Although, in many foreign countries, I can’t find anything to fit me based on my height, I am much taller than most women. Here’s a small sampling of the average heights of women in various countries from this site.

“Country Average Height for Women

The Netherlands 5 ft  5.5 in. (168.7 cm)

Barbados 5 ft  4.2 in (165.5 cm)

United States 5 ft  3 in. (161.5 cm)

China 5 ft  2.4 in. (159.8 cm)

Iran 5 ft  2.3 in. (159.7 cm)

Nigeria 5 ft  1.3 in. (156.4 cm)

Guatemala 4 ft. 8.8 in. (149 cm).”

As a result, it’s difficult for me to find pants and tops that work for my frame. Most of the items I can fit into are from stores in the US that offer tall sizes. These items can often only be purchased online when most shops don’t carry tall sizes due to lack of need. Thus, I rarely have an opportunity to try something on, so I must buy the same brands over and over again to ensure they’ll fit.

Usually, while in the US making some purchases, I have no interest in buying things to try on and potentially return. Paying extra for return postage is foolish, so I am cautious about what I buy. For Tom, it’s a lot easier, as it often is for men.

In any case, I’m thinking about packing, although I am not putting anything into suitcases yet. That process will begin next week as we prepare the suitcase we plan to send to Minnesota to avoid taking everything with us and incurring added baggage fees, far exceeding the cost of shipping the bag.

This morning was stormy again. We haven’t walked in days due to inclement weather. Once we leave, we’ll get plenty of walking in, even when walking back and forth on the ship each day and going on excursions. I am considering working out in the fitness centers on the two upcoming cruises and again in the hotels in Nevada and Minnesota. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked out in a health club, and I will do so carefully.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 17, 2013:

A video (not ours) of a motorbike ride through Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, on this date ten years ago. For the text, please click here.

Fun night out on the town!…Only two more weekend nights to go…

These are the locked iron gates closing off easy access to the church. We’d have to walk through dense weeds to get closer to the church tower. Knowing there were many ticks in the grass, we drove to the other side without getting closer to the church.

Note: Today’s photos are from this date in 2013, when we spent three months in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, as shown in this post.

It’s a lovely Sunday! We’re watching the weekly news series “Sunday Morning”; the bedding is in the washer, and we’re looking forward to enjoying a quiet day at the house on yet another cloudy and stormy day. Tonight’s dinner is already made and ready to go into the oven later, and all I have to make is a salad to go along with it.

This unattached separate building on the church grounds may have been the original church.

We love easy days like this and never feel bored having no specific plans. If we feel like it, we may stream a movie, a perfect thing to do on a rainy Sunday. We still have another week until we have to start packing and deciding on what items we’ll ship in the suitcase heading to Minnesota before our arrival on September 9, to be held for us by the hotel where we’ll stay.

A part of the entrance to the larger church.

Since I am feeling better, I’m not dreading packing. When Karen and Rich were here on Friday for dinner, I loaded up all our excess food for them to take home, items we wouldn’t be able to use by the time we depart. Also, with the good storage in this house, with plenty of space in the walk-in closet and drawers in the bedrooms, the packing will be easier than usual.

This translates to: “the companionship SS V Del Rois,” which appears to be the name of someone of significance to these church grounds.

We must pack with this in mind with limited storage space on cruise ships. I like to unpack everything once we get into our cabin since there is no space to store an opened piece of luggage, as there often is in a hotel. After the cruises end, we won’t need to unpack at the resort when we get to Nevada since the enormous rooms have several luggage racks.

Ferrari family members from Boveglio.

Once we get to Minnesota, since we’re staying a month, we’ll need to unpack. When we get ready to leave Minnesota to go to Galapagos, we’ll have to purchase two cloth-sided duffle bags, which is all that is allowed on the small 16-passenger ship. We’ll leave the bulk of our luggage at the hotel where we started in Ecuador, which we’ll return after the cruise has ended, which is already booked through the cruise line and included in the cruise fare.

We were overlooking the iron railing around the cemetery.

Last night, we drove to City Fire to lounge at the bar for a while before we went to Cody’s Original Roadhouse for dinner. By 5:30 pm, we hopped in the golf cart, drove the short distance to the restaurant, found a good parking spot for the golf cart, and headed to their indoor bar, an excellent place for people-watching and chatting.

Tom, ancestry.com obsessed, was fascinated with the stories revealed by the many headstones, names, dates, and photos.

At a preferred booth by 6:00 pm, we perused the menu and chose our dinners; scallops and salad for me and ground sirloin with mashed potatoes and salad for Tom. As always, the food was excellent, and the service was equally good. Our bill was $52 before a generous tip to our waiter.

We were back at our holiday home by 8:30, streamed an episode of “The Good Doctor,” and got to bed by midnight for a good night’s sleep. This upcoming week will be easy with few plans while we ramp up for the following week when we depart on Friday.

Enjoy your Sunday, and be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 16, 2013:

It was surprising that many of the headstones in the cemetery in Boveglio weren’t older. The earliest date we saw was in the early 1800s. However, the oldest markers were embedded into the surrounding wall and were difficult to read due to age. For more photos, please click here.

Fantastic evening with friends…Tonight, back on the town…

This photo, from five years ago today, at a fair in Marloth Park, is of Barend Bloem, nicknamed Slangman (snake man in Afrikaans). We’d have loved to be able to “wear” this Yellow Burmese Python for a photo, but it wasn’t possible when children were waiting for a chance to touch it. See the post here.

Gosh, we’ve had a good time while here in The Villages. As the days wind down, we’re reminded of how many friends have come to visit and how much fun we’ve had on each occasion. Now, we look forward to a few more nights “out on the town,” and then off we go to our next adventure.

We’re excited about the future and can’t believe we’ll be cruising again in a few weeks. From past calculations, this upcoming journey will be our 30th cruise since we began traveling almost 11 years ago. Of course, we have bad memories of our last cruise in April 2022, when we both got Omicron and suffered dearly for months.

Plus, getting Covid-19 on that first of two cruises in 2022 necessitated canceling the next cruise when we were too sick to travel and still tested positive. We’d looked forward to sailing on the Queen Mary 2, when we’d purchased dressy clothes of no value to us now, for the upscale transatlantic cruise. Also, we lost the cruise fare when they only gave us a short period to rebook it using the credit they gave us.

We had other plans we couldn’t change and would have incurred additional costs to take advantage of the nine months they allowed us to use the cruise credit. We were disappointed but had no other options. Life went on…recovery was more important.

But, like so many of us, we all incurred losses and frustrations over the pandemic impacting income, canceled plans, medical expenses, and the emotional stress of the awful scenario that lasted so long. Like many of you, the pandemic cost us months of good health and lots of money.

Now, we continue with our dreams of ongoing world travel. No, it won’t always be easy. It never was, but we are grateful when we think about how fortunate we are to live this life, the freedom we enjoy, and an endless stream of unique experiences.

And we’re grateful for all of our readers, who follow along with us, providing support and appreciation for our travels and our continuing posts, day after day. No doubt, some days when it’s quiet and nothing special is happening; we wonder how our readers are interested in what we’re doing and have to say about those mundane days and nights.

But our worldwide readers continue to hang in there with us during these quiet times. We are very grateful for this, especially now, as our activity level is more geared toward getting ready to leave than initiating new experiences.

Also, I’ve focused a lot of time on healing this pain in my face and head and continue to diligently do the exercises and acupressure that will aid in my full recovery. It’s not over yet, but with these new improvements, I am more hopeful than ever, although several times a day, I am reminded that it is still there when the pain comes and goes.

Today, we’ll hang around the house until around 5:00 pm, when we’ll head out in the golf cart and make the pleasant drive to Brownwood Paddock Square for socializing and dinner.

Thank you, dear readers…be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 15, 2013:

No photo was posted on this date ten years ago. For the story, please click here.

Two weeks and counting…We’ll be on the move!…Company coming for dinner tonight…

Interesting insect.

Note: Today’s photos were taken and provided by a professional photographer, Chris Kelly, whom we met in Tuscany during our three-month stay. We were impressed by his skills and excited to share his photos. See the post from ten years ago for more details.

This morning, as I began to prepare this post, when I looked at the date on my laptop, I realized that we are leaving two weeks from today. We’ll be back in the US in about seven weeks from now and will be staying to see family for about six weeks, and then we’ll be on our way to South America for an extended stay. How long that will be is yet to be determined.

A bee collecting nectar from purple flowers.

We decided to make our stay in South America for only as long as it appeals to us. It will be for at least three months, maybe six or more months, depending on what we plan after the Galapagos cruise. While in the US, we’ll book a holiday home in Ecuador to round out the 90 days we’re allowed to stay, visa-wise. From there, we shall see.

All we know for sure after the South America stay is that we’ll be returning to Marloth Park, South Africa, on June 15, 2024—eleven months from now. We’re unsure at this point how long we’ll stay there either. The visa situation is always an issue we must address within 90 days in most countries.

Chris said he shot all these photos in one day during the prior week.

This morning, I got busy preparing the dish below for tonight’s dinner for our guests, Karen and Rich. It’s our favorite dish that we haven’t made in over a year. So, I made a triple batch using two large baking pans, having plenty for tonight with leftovers for Sunday. I’ll freeze the second pan for some time in the next two weeks, enough to get us through another three nights. We don’t mind delicious leftovers several nights in a row.

This is some moth.

When I mention a delicious dish in a post, I often get countless requests for the recipe. To be proactive, I posted it below. Today, so we’d have plenty of leftovers. This recipe is sufficient for four people, and depending on portion size may have some left for the next dinner or lunch.

Jess’s Low Carb Sausage, Mushroom, and Chicken Casserole

Servings: 8

This hearty and delicious dish tastes similar to chicken and dressing. I am sure that this would be terrific with turkey, also.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 -4 cups diced cooked chicken
  • 1 lb cheesy sausages
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
  • 1/2 lb mushroom, sliced
  • 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
  • 16 ounces frozen cauliflower, cooked well and drained
  • 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
  • salt (for the top)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • paprika (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Brown the sausage with the celery, onion, and mushrooms.
  2. Stir the softened cream cheese into the sausage mixture until well blended.
  3. Coarsely chop the cooked frozen cauliflower.
  4. Mix all ingredients and spread in a greased 9″x13″ baking dish.
  5. Cover with Parmesan cheese
  6. If desired, dust the top with paprika.
  7. Bake, covered with foil, at 350º for about 30 minutes.
  8. Uncover and bake until hot and bubbly, and the top is lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Also, this morning I also made a huge salad with colorful baby bell peppers, red onion, celery, tomato, carrots, and romaine lettuce in bite-sized pieces. Ever go to a restaurant and are served a salad with huge pieces, hard to handle? This frustrates me since cutting the lettuce isn’t always easy if the salad is on a small plate or in a bowl.

Amazing capture.

I didn’t make a dessert this time since our guests have to leave right after dinner to return to their home, two hours from here. No doubt, as always, we’ll have a great evening, although it will be short. This will be the last time we see them until the next time we return to Florida or, if down the road, they’ll visit us in South Africa. In the interim, surely we’ll stay in touch, as we always do.

That’s it for today, folks. Our guests will be here in about three hours, and we’re all looking forward to being together once again.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 14, 2013:

On his recent visit to Tuscany, Chris Kelly, a professional photographer, provided these “bug/flying insect” photos. He, too, observed the vast number of flying insects inspiring him to take these excellent photos. Thanks, Chris! Great photos! For more, please click here.

Day #3…no headache…fingers crossed…Photo of an old friend…

This is Noah, not his dad Norman. He’s grown so much. He has an injured hip that is healing well after treatment from Dr. Piet.

First, I must add that if you have any medical issues, please see your medical professionals for diagnosis and potential treatment. In my case, I had done that but still suffered, which prompted me to do my own research.

I am holding my breath in hopes that my headache and facial pain that began the day I got Covid-19’s Omicron on April 20, 2022 (15 months ago) may actually be resolving from a new treatment modality I started a week ago. In desperation, I have researched and researched, looking for answers.

In South Africa, Doc Theo first diagnosed it as trigeminal neuralgia, precipitated by the virus causing inflammation to the trigeminal nerve in my face and forehead. He was on the right track, but at the same time, I was suffering from severe allergies to pollen and dust in Marloth Park, which hadn’t ever been a problem in the past.

Thus, we considered it might be a sinus problem when I had such severe allergy symptoms simultaneously. It was tricky to pin down the exact cause. When I went to Dr. Singh, the high-tech dentist in Malelane, he did a full head scan and said my sinuses looked mildly inflamed but no more than anyone with allergies in the summer months. I was at a loss.

Doc Thei prescribed a drug that may work for trigeminal neuralgia, amitryptiline, an off-label use for the anti-seizure medication. I got relief from the pain after upping the dose. But, even taking it at night, I was exhausted during the day and could barely function, and I started gaining weight, which are common side effects of that drug. I had to stop taking it.

Months later, still suffering, Doc Theo suggested we try antibiotics, prednisone, and a strong prescription antihistamine. Within four days, I was symptom-free, but once the prednisone was tapered off, the pain returned with a vengeance. This was in early  April. I stayed on the antihistamine since it gave me excellent allergy control, but the headache and facial pain continued.

Then, a week before we left Marloth Park to fly to Florida, I had a horrifying bout of Afib (which I’d never had since right after heart surgery in 2019 while still in hospital). I stayed in hospital for three days in ICU, having countless tests, none of which indicated any cause for the Afib. I left the hospital, and four days later, we began the long journey to the US to go to Florida to renew our passports.

The cardiologist prescribed a powerful drug that made me so sick I had to lie in bed for the first two days I was back in Marloth Park. I stopped the medication. I had to be functional to make the 35-hour journey to the US. The side effects wore off by the time we left, but I still had the headache and face pain.

On the 17-hour flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta, I had another Afib bout lasting six hours of pure hell. I was terrified if I told the flight attendant, they’d turn the plane around. Finally, it subsided, and I made it through the remainder of the flight without incident, although I still didn’t feel well, even after we arrived at the house in The Villages.

Noah is so handsome, just like his dad.

Once we got situated here, I went on a massive campaign to figure out why I’d had the two awful bouts of Afib. I researched the few remaining medications I’d been taking for years to see if they could cause the problem. But then, when I researched the antihistamine, Xyzal, and found this (and others) study here that reads:

“Xyzal and Atrial fibrillation/flutter – a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Atrial fibrillation/flutter is found among people who take Xyzal, especially for people who are female, 60+ old, and have been taking the drug for < 1 month.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people take Xyzal and have Atrial fibrillation/flutter. It was created by eHealthMe based on reports of 17,000 people who have side effects when taking Xyzal from the FDA and is updated regularly. You can use the study as a second opinion to make health care decisions.”

(See the link for the balance of the report).

Immediately I stopped the Xyzal, and in the past almost three months, I’ve had no incidence of Afib whatsoever.

Back to the headache…so I continued to research, hoping to find something to help as much as my efforts to resolve this pain in my face and forehead. I concluded that I most likely have occipital neuralgia, very similar to trigeminal neuralgia, but the symptoms are different.

Then, I researched treatment for occipital neuralgia, and many suggested awful drugs and surgery, neither of which appealed to me. But I kept coming across various acupressure treatments that may help such nerve pain in the head and face. One week ago, I started this process twice daily, once in the morning and again at night. It didn’t help right away.

On the third day, I noticed improvement; on day 4, I awoke with no pain. Today is day #3 without pain. I am hesitantly optimistic and fully understand I may have some bad days in the future and will continue with this process for as long as it takes, even if it is permanent.

Here is the link to Dr. Mandell’s facial and head acupressure video.

There are thousands of reports from reliable sources that extol the virtues of acupressure (and acupuncture) for various ailments, including reports from the Mayo Clinic and other such facilities of high regard.

When we think about it, doctors don’t have the time to research to the degree that a patient may when choosing to be an advocate for their health. No doctor could have spent the hours I spent looking for answers from reliable sources. I firmly believe that if traditional medicine can’t help us, perhaps it’s worthwhile to look for alternatives that may help us with difficult-to-treat situations.

Again, please see your medical professional for diagnosis and treatment, but if all else fails, there may be alternatives that work for you, as they’ve done for me (fingers crossed) in these two situations.

Be well.

Photos from ten years ago, July 13, 2013:

No photos were posted on this date ten years ago. See the story here.

Getting more done..

Photo from the post from five years ago today on this date. Although we aren’t big fans of baboons, we got a kick out of this photo of mom and baby walking down the road in Kruger National Park. See the link here.

This morning, I booked transportation with Groome Transport from our holiday home to Orlando International Airport, which is over a one-hour drive (during rush hour). Our flight on July 28 isn’t until 10:30 pm, but they suggest they pick us up around 5:30 pm. We’ll most likely arrive at the airport at 7:00 pm, giving us more time than we’ll need to be processed for our international flight. We’re flying to Edinburgh, Scotland, on Virgin Atlantic.

The cost for the transportation, including a 15% tip, was $92. We used this same company when we arrived here at the end of April and were happy with the ride and the service. Thus, we saw no reason to shop around for this for a slightly better price. It may have been a little less with Uber, but the large van and the friendly local driver worked out well when we arrived.

Unfortunately, it’s often another red eye when we fly long distances, but no other options worked time-wise. The flight arrives at 11:30 am Scotland time. When we get from the airport to our hotel, we likely won’t check in until around 1:00 or 1:30 pm. As VIP members of Expedia, we are provided with early check-in and late check-out.

We’ll have breakfast on the flight and won’t eat again until that evening. We try not to sleep other than a short 20-minute nap after being awake all night. Otherwise, we could be subject to jet lag. Immediately upon arrival in different time zones, we adapt to the new time zone, including sleeping and eating. This has worked well for us.

The time difference between Florida and Scotland is five hours later, so this will be relatively easy. Due to being tired, we’ll most likely dine at the restaurant at The Bay Hotel. There’s a restaurant in the hotel, and after checking out their menu, we won’t have trouble finding something for each of us.

I noticed they have Chicken Penne Pasta on the dinner menu. Tom hasn’t had this since we spent ten months in lockdown in the hotel in Mumbai. He ate it for dinner every night except for the last two months when he’d gained 22 pounds and was sick of it. We shall see if he’s ready to give it another try. I noticed several grilled items that will work for me.

Of course, curries are very popular in the UK, as we’ve observed with our British friends worldwide. Often, when we were invited to the homes of British friends in Marloth Park, they’d make curry. I love the taste, but often, it is made with flour to thicken the sauce. If flour is used, I can’t eat it. Plus, I don’t eat rice, and curry is often served over a bed of rice.

While dining at friends’ homes, I didn’t say anything and picked out a few pieces of chicken and vegetables, discreetly scraping off as much of the sauce as possible. No one ever noticed. On the other hand, Tom despises the taste of curry but somehow manages to get through it without comment.

Britain colonized India from 1858 to 1947. As a result of the Indian influence, curries became popular with the British, but even earlier than those dates. See below from this site:

“The British Curry
by Debabrata Mukherjee
The UK now celebrates National Curry Week every October. Although curry is an Indian dish modified for British tastes, it’s so popular that it contributes more than £5bn to the British economy. Hence it was hardly surprising when in 2001, Britain’s foreign secretary Robin Cook referred to Chicken Tikka Masala as a “true British national dish.”

If Britain taught India how to play cricket, India perhaps returned the favour by teaching the British how to enjoy a hot Indian curry. By the 18th century, East India Company men (popularly called ‘nabobs’, an English corruption of the Indian word ‘nawab’ meaning governors or viceroys) returning home wanted to recreate a slice of their time spent in India.

Those who couldn’t afford to bring back their Indian cooks satisfied their appetite at coffee houses. As early as 1733, curry was served in the Norris Street Coffee House in Haymarket. By 1784, curry and rice had become specialties in some popular restaurants in the area around London’s Piccadilly.

The first British cookery book containing an Indian recipe was ‘The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy’ by Hannah Glasse. The first edition, published in 1747, had three recipes of Indian pilau. Later editions included recipes for fowl or rabbit curry and Indian pickles.”

If you are a fan of curry, you may enjoy reading the balance of this site.

We had a glitch on this site this morning, and I lost everything I wrote. But my web guy, Mitali, in India, stepped in and resolved the issue. As a result, I am a little behind in getting today’s post uploaded since I had to do it all over again. I couldn’t remember everything I wrote, but I did my best.

Have a great day, and be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 12, 2013:

Tom was getting his haircut in Tuscany on this date ten years ago. For more photos, please click here.

“White Night” on the upcoming cruise…More photos from Tuscany…

The bell tower in Colognora is almost identical to our everyday view.

Today’s photos are from a post ten years ago today, while we were living in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy, found at this link.

    Hundreds of years later, Stone endures to provide excellent insulated housing for generations of homeowners.

This morning, it dawned on me that I didn’t have anything to wear for the upcoming “White Night” on the Azamara cruise beginning three weeks from today. I went through my neatly hung clothing in the closet, fully aware of what I had and didn’t have, and couldn’t find a single possibility.

I’m not really a dress person. I prefer to wear pants, especially these days with all the scars on my legs from the heart surgery. If pantihose were still fashionable, I could wear the opaque style, but I don’t want to look like an old lady wearing nylons (no offense intended to anyone of any age who still wears nylons). They could hide a multitude of flaws. (Only women will get this).

Many old houses show water damage and wear due to heavy precipitation and humidity in the Tuscan regions.

No, I haven’t lost all the weight I’d intended to while we’re in Florida. All I can say is it’s been hard to do while I’ve still had this dumb facial and head pain. It seems impossible right now to focus on losing weight when I’m trying everything possible to eliminate this chronic pain since I had Covid-19 15 months ago.

We were looking back from Bagni di Lucca to Colognora as we continued our journey to Pescia to load up on groceries and find a Barbieri (barbershop) for Tom. He hadn’t had a haircut since March in Belize.

Of course, I am a little apprehensive about getting Covid again going on these two cruises, but I am comforted by the fact that we hear less and less from our cruising readers that they’ve become ill with that virus. Passengers get other viruses on cruises, but now that we’re obsessed with hand washing and close contact, maybe we’ll be ok. It’s a risk we take to continue on with our lives of world travel.

This looks almost identical to the above photo of Colognora, but it’s the bell tower at Villa Basicillica, another village we visited today.

Anyway, back to the White Night issue. We want to participate, and Tom has white clothes that work for him. So this morning, I looked at the tags on two pairs of jeans that fit me well and tried to find the exact jeans in white online. It wasn’t as easy as I thought, but I finally succeeded, placed the order, and a pair of white jeans will arrive within five days.

Once they get here, I try them with one white shirt I have that may work, and if all is well, I’m good to go. If the shirt isn’t good, I’ll buy something on Amazon to arrive in a few days. Problem solved. I hope.

Old, abandoned property that most likely burned many ago. In the US, most burned-out structures would be torn down.

This morning, again, II slept late and feel better today. It seems that my head pain is less on the days I sleep more. I wish I could find another way to get some relief, but for now, I will accept this for whatever reason it helps. Once we get on the ship, I won’t sleep so late since we’ll want to go to breakfast in the dining room and begin our day aboard the ship, which is always fun for us.

It’s pouring rain again today. I’d hoped to go to Walgreen for a few things, but we’ll wait and go another day. We can’t believe how much it rains here. Neither of us had ever spent so much time in Florida in the summer months and had no idea as to the number of storms that roll through, day after day. We haven’t gone on our walk for a few days due to the weather but hopefully can resume soon.

Many years ago, the creek running through the village created an enticing backdrop for the many homes along its banks.

Today, again, we’ll stay in. We are never disappointed to stay in. We so enjoy our days and evenings whatever we do. We love the stimulation and adventure of traveling, but soon, we’ll be doing plenty of that. We’re also looking forward to seeing my cousin in Boston in September, my son in Nevada, and our three adult children and grandchildren in Minnesota. Since we began our travels, we’ve never stayed in Minnesota for a month. We’ll have plenty of time to spend with family and friends before we start our long journey to South America.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 11, 2013:

The red paint slashed across the town’s name indicates leaving the village limits. We’d purchased a half-a-cart full of the freshest organic vegetables, grass-fed meats, locally made exquisite cheeses, and free-range eggs, enough to feed us for 14 days and nights. Why is it so much less than what we paid in the US, never less than $200 per week, using coupons and scrambling to get the most current specials? Who knows? For more photos, please click here.

Change in weekend plans…Getting things done…

A waterbuck on the riverbank with her calf.

Today’s photos are from five years ago today from this post

Our plans for this upcoming weekend have changed. Originally, we’d planned to have Karen pick us up on Friday for a weekend at their new home two hours from here and then drive us back to The Villages on Monday. The more we thought about this, the more it bothered us that with Karen still working, this was ridiculous to have her drive all this way and back.

We considered renting a car to drive ourselves to their home, but at the cost of about $100 per day, plus transportation costs to the Orlando Airport to get and return the car (one hour each way), plus dining out while we’re there, the cost was prohibitive for us right now. We are on a tight budget with all of the travel we have coming up and hadn’t planned on these additional expenses.

We have to maintain our budgetary goals as much as possible. We’ve allowed dining out twice a week and a generous amount for groceries and miscellaneous items, but we try very hard not to deviate from our plan.

We’ve rarely observed this many waterbucks lying down.

As it turns out, Karen and Rich had planned to visit her mother, Donna, who lives about 20 minutes from here, so instead of us going there, they will visit Donna and then come here Friday afternoon and stay for dinner. This works for us. I will make a gluten-free, low-carb chicken, mushroom, cauliflower, and sausage dish with a salad for an easy dinner.

Thus, we may go out on Thursday night and then again on Saturday as we wind down our time in The Villages. However, if it doesn’t storm on Wednesday, we’ll go out on Wednesday night to play bingo at 3:00 pm at City Fire. We’ve been trying to do this for weeks, but there have been wild storms every Wednesday for the past several weeks.

This morning, I sent everything off to the accountant for our taxes. We’d had him prepare an extension for us when we were getting ready to leave South Africa, which gave us until October 15 this year to get it done. Getting everything ready has been hanging over my head. Finally, after a few finishing touches, after working on it yesterday, this morning I emailed our accountant the tax prep spreadsheet and requested the tax documents be sent to him from our mailing service in Nevada.

What a relief to have this off my mind! I was anticipating doing it while we were in Nevada or Minnesota in September, and that would have created stress during this time when we want to spend time with family and friends.

From this site: “The waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus Kobus of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. The thirteen subspecies are grouped under two varieties: the common or Ellisprymnus waterbuck and the Defassa waterbuck. The head-and-body length is typically between 177–235 cm (70–93 in), and the average height is between 120 and 136 cm (47 and 54 in). A sexually dimorphic antelope, males are taller as well as heavier than females. Males reach approximately 127 cm (50 in) at the shoulder, while females reach 119 cm (47 in). Males typically weigh 198–262 kg (437–578 lb), and females 161–214 kg (355–472 lb). The coat color varies from brown to grey. The long, spiral horns, present only on males, curve backward, then forward and are 55–99 cm (22–39 in) long.”

Now, I’m thinking in terms of what toiletries we’ll need to get us through the few months until we get to Minnesota on September 9, when we will have a car and can easily go to the store whenever we need something for the upcoming extended period we’ll spend in Ecuador.

When I go for my pedicure appointment on July 26, we’ll head to Walmart to fill up the fuel tank on the golf cart and go into the store to get the remaining items we’ll need, enough to last until September 9 when we arrive in Minnesota.

Today will be another quiet day for us. We’re making a great dinner and don’t have any household tasks we haven’t yet accomplished. The laundry is done, the floors are clean, and this morning, I cleaned the bathrooms. Before Karen and Rich arrive on Friday, we’ll do a thorough cleaning, but at the moment, everything is clean.

Yesterday, we put some slivered almonds on the lawn outside the lanai. There’s been a mating pair of cardinals hanging around the garden the past week, and this morning, we saw the female pecking on the nuts. That was our wildlife fix of the week. Hopefully, soon, we’ll see the more colorful male doing the same.

Elephants on the Crocodile River.

The sky looks ominous right now. It’s uncanny how hard it will rain, and then moments later, the clouds have moved on, and the sky is clear, very typical weather for Florida this time of year.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a great week, and we’ll be back with you soon.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 10, 2013:

Never much of a gardener, I think these flowers in Tuscany were hydrangeas. For more photos, please click here.

Another fun night out on the town…

Tom, at the bar at Cody’s Original Roadhouse on Friday night.

After having such a good time on Friday night, I hesitated when Tom asked if I was OK about going out again on Saturday night. Considering staying in and ordering takeaway, and with the recent return of my awful face and forehead pain, I really didn’t feel like going out.

But I knew he wanted to go, so I didn’t mention the pain, and took two Tylenol, and off we went around 5:00 pm in the golf cart. It was sunny, hot, and humid, but the breeze in the open golf cart cooled us down. We chatted playfully on our way out on yet another “date night,” and in no time at all, I forgot all about my head and face pain.

Either the Tylenol kicked in, or the endorphins from having fun helped me through the bad spell. We sat at the bar at City Fire while I slowly sipped on one glass of cabernet sauvignon, and Tom had a beer. A lovely couple was seated next to us, and lively conversation ensued. Before we knew it, it was time to go to dinner.

We drove several blocks to the restaurant, found a close parking spot, and, after checking in, got a beeper for our requested booth and headed to the indoor bar in air conditioned comfort to await our table. The beeper went off in a matter of minutes, and we sat down to relax and enjoy a nice meal, as shown in today’s photos.

Tom’s dinner last night….pulled pork, mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw. Also, we shared the delicious bottomless salad.

We love the food there. After trying several restaurants and with The Villages not necessarily known for great food at its many restaurants, we may just stick with Cody’s when we dine out only four more times until we depart on July 28, a Friday. The time came up quickly, and we’ll leave in a mere 19 days.

We’ll start packing on our last week to determine if we must ship a suitcase to Minnesota. After reading the instructions for sending luggage at Luggage Free, I placed the link under its name that goes directly to their FAQ, which is very good at answering our questions.

We’ve already contacted the GM, who gave us a reasonable price at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to ask him if we can stay until October 8 for the same price. He responded quickly, and we’re good to go. Once we know if we will ship a bag, we’ll tell him so he can store it until we arrive. This way, we won’t have to pay extra baggage fees for several flights, which we calculated would cost twice as much as shipping the extra bag.

Right now, we have everything we own with us except for the bins with sealed, non-perishable food products that Louise put into the storeroom for us until we return next June. In about 11 months, we’ll be back in Marloth Park. Our many friends stay in touch, and it will be fun to return and see everyone and our animal friends.

My dinner looked boring but was delicious…a half-roasted chicken, steamed broccoli, and shared bottomless salad.

Today, we’re having bun-less ground sirloin burgers topped with cheese, onions, bacon, fresh green beans, and salad. As usual, Tom will have rice. We are streaming several good shows now and will start watching after dinner for a quiet, restful evening.

Soon, the sheets will be dried, and we’ll remake the bed while I finish another load of laundry. Once we leave, we won’t be doing our own laundry until September 9, when we get to Minnesota. We won’t be cooking again until after the Galapagos cruise ends on October 24, and we get situated in a holiday home a few days later. That will be almost three months without cooking.

As much as I enjoy cooking, this will be a nice break, most likely with few challenges with my eating style since ships and restaurants can usually accommodate me. I may have to compromise sometimes, but I’m used to that and don’t mind figuring out something that works.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 9, 2013:

The rain in Tuscany, although often short-lived, could be torrential! While the sun still shone, Tom said, “I smell rain!”  I shrugged and dismissed his comment. Within 20 minutes, the sun was hidden behind the clouds while the rain poured down, and these puffy clouds appeared. For more photos, please click here.

Easy and safe food prep…Repeating meals over and over again!…Wild weather, but we still ventured out last night and again tonight!…

The eyedropper bottle is a mixture of liquid stevia and sucralose. Unable to consume any form of sugar, it is a staple for me to use in moderation. You can easily substitute other sweeteners that you prefer to use.

Ten years ago, on this date, I posted the recipe for our favorite sugar-free coleslaw, which can be found here. In that post, we also wrote about how most of us home cooks tend to repeat the same ten meals repeatedly, meals that don’t require looking at a recipe or spending lots of time in the kitchen, chopping and dicing and prepping ingredients.

In that old post, I wrote:

“Let’s face it; food is fun. Dining is an integral part of our daily lives. It sustains us. It gives us comfort. It gives us joy. It brings us together. It inspires memory and emotions. If done correctly, it can provide good health, renewed energy, and a sense of well-being.

Suppose you were coming to dinner at our home in Tuscany tonight. In that case, we’d be having a string-tied grass-fed beef roast wrapped in fresh herbs from the garden, served with natural au jus, roasted carrots, onions, and mushrooms, stir-fried seasoned eggplant, tomatoes, and basil (from our garden) and, course, a side of Jessica & Tom’s Repetitive Coleslaw Recipe for World Travel.

Repetitive meals are comparable to a happily retired couple being together daily, night after night. It’s looking at the same face, hearing the same voice, and hugging the same less-than-a-perfect aging body, and it still feels good.”

Green cabbage and carrots that we prepped most days for our repetitive coleslaw recipe, a favorite while traveling the world with the ease of finding and keeping the vegetables fresh. Lately, since we’ve been in the US, we’ve been eating lettuce salad instead of coleslaw since we can get romaine lettuce here, which isn’t always available in other countries.

Here we are, ten years later, and nothing has changed. We still eat the same meals repeatedly during the usual five nights we cook dinner since we dine out twice a week. Breakfasts are also routine, consisting of bacon and eggs, bacon and omelets, bacon and scrambled eggs, or as of lately, an egg, mushroom, sausage, and onion casserole that I cut into portion sizes and freeze, taking out enough to defrost in the refrigerator each day for the next day.

As for repetitive dinners, it was fun to look back and see what has changed for our list of “ten things” that “they” say most households repeat repeatedly. Here is our list, posted ten years ago today…

Our meals are made using local ingredients, grass-fed, free-range meats, and organic vegetables when available.

1. Pizza with a side salad, cooked vegetables
2. Italian meatballs with sugar-free, wheat-free pasta sauce, topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Side salad and cooked vegetables.
3. Chicken breasts or whole chicken with a side salad and roasted vegetables
4. Steak with sautéed mushrooms (this could include various cuts of steak, prime rib, filet mignon) with a side salad and cooked/steamed vegetables
5. Pork which could include pork chops, pork roast, baby back ribs (rub type seasoning, no sauce), side salad, and cooked/steamed vegetables
6. Pot roast/roast beef with roasted carrots, onions, mushrooms, with a side salad and additional roasted seasonal vegetables
7. Mexican taco salad with chicken, shrimp or leftover pot roast, olives, tomatoes, onions, grated cheese, sugar-free/wheat-free taco sauce (no chips, no shell) topped with sour cream, avocado, or homemade guacamole
8. Seafood to include crab legs, shrimp, salmon, and cooked fresh fish or crustaceans with a side salad and cooked/steamed vegetables (mainly me since Tom isn’t a huge fan of fish)
9. Hamburgers topped with nitrate-free bacon, sautéed onions and mushrooms, cheese with a side salad, and additional cooked/sautéed/steamed vegetables.
10. Chicken salad, tuna salad, or seafood salad made with onions, celery, and mayonnaise atop a bed of fresh greens with a side of coleslaw and cooked/steamed vegetables

In going over this list, there have been some changes but not that much. As for #6, we can’t always get the cuts of meat to cook a pot roast, but we’ll substitute a beef roast of one type or another, whatever we can find; some require slow cooking, and others can cook more quickly for medium-rare doneness.

This morning I did a Kroger order which will arrive on Monday morning, and we’ll make one of our favorites; a copycat bread-free subway-type sandwich called an unwich at Jimmy John’s. However, we only “real” sliced meats and aged cheese rather than highly processed deli meats and cheese. It is much more expensive this way, but we go for the more healthy version whenever we cook anything. I’ve written several posts about how to put together these “unwiches.”

We posted a repeat of these instructions in this post in 2020 while we were in lockdown in a hotel in India for ten months when we were dreaming of eating these fun “sandwiches.”

Most of us don’t change our menu preferences that much in ten years. We’d love to see some of your lists. Please feel free to post in the comments section!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, July 8, 2013:

This knife was part of the kitchen equipment available for our use in the house in Boveglio, Italy. It’s sharp and with two hands on the handles, making it impossible to cut oneself. That fact, in itself, makes it a must for me. The bonus is the ease with which it cuts and chops almost anything. For more, please click here.