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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Time to Catch Up - APRIL 2017

3:17 PM | Posted by Gabby Faye | | Edit Post
 It was time to get rid of the Bottle Brush Tree.  It was in the way going from front yard to the back.  It was messy when the red brushes fell and made a mess in the neighbor's patio.  Besides, it is a bush, not a proper tree.  This was overgrown and could split and damage the neighbor's fence and our garage in a storm.
 Here we are at Orlando Airport again, this time greeting Gabby, Abby, and both parents for their strange Spring break.  Mom and dad have 10 days prior to Easter and the girls have the following 10 days.  They took the girls out of school during their parents' vacation, but the parents had to get back to work while the girls were officially on school spring break so the girls will stay after their folks leave and go home with airline escort 10 days later.
 It is a full house with Butch and Mirna's plane not leaving until tomorrow and Tiffany and Mike visiting for Roman's birthday BESIDES Carrie and Mike and the girls.
There were other options, but the girls chose to sleep on the air mattress on their bedroom floor giving up their beds to their parents...for just one night.
First order of business when hitting Florida after a winter of heavy shoes and snow boots, is pedicures all around.  The girls made friends with the girls who worked in the salon and still keep in touch via Snapchat.
 Carrie loves taking the girls on walks up and down Indian River Drive and visiting the restaurants and gift shops.
Most of the time the girls get along rather well for sisters.  

 I went with the girls and their mother sometimes and visited the hot spots along the Indian River Drive.
 Gabby brought some dressy clothes with her and we had a little photo shoot one day.
This was the parents' last day in Florida, Easter Sunday.

 That night we celebrated again at Outriggers. 
The girls decided to stay back at the house when we took their parents to the plane (at least an hour and a half each way) but they had neighbors to keep an eye on them. This is Carrie and Mike at Orlando Airport headed for Michigan WITHOUT their girls.  This will be strange for them having their home and lives all to themselves for over a week.
Samantha's mother and aunt drove her back to Sebastian to celebrate her birthday with Gabby.  We will meet them half way to return her in a few days.
Gabby and Abby decorated the breakfast bar to celebrate Sam's birthday and made her blow out the candles on a big chocolate cake.
The girls wanted a "photo shoot" at the beach but thought it was too windy so this was the only formal photo I took. 
In a flash the girls were in swim suits and into the water.
They wandered down around the rocks by the pier and later that evening Gabby began to have a rash and itching in her bathing suit areas.  It got worse through the evening.  The next morning I took her to the immediate care facility in town.  The Dr. there knew right away that it was "sea lice", infant jellyfish from around the rocks, probably.  She was given salve and pills and, sure enough, the itching eased up right away, but now Abby was breaking out.  Later, after Samantha went home, she, too broke out.
Our friend and neighbor's grandson hung out with the girls and even went with us when we returned Samantha to her mother and aunt, a couple hours drive away.
 The next day I took Gabby, Abby and Holden to the Brevard Zoo.  I used Grandpa's motorized cart and kept within sight of the kids but they were more on their own.
Back home, Gabby had a recipe for some kind of "Unicorn Cake" from the internet.  We bought the ingredients at Publix and the kids followed the recipe.  One cake they sent over to Holden's grandparents' house and one stayed with us.  We weren't fond of it.  Too sweet and strange tasting.


All too soon we had to send the girls home.   It was a tearful farewell as I handed the girls over to the escort.  Gabby was sobbing that she didn't want to go.  I am sure they thought I was sending them into some kind of abusive situation.  I was sobbing, too, and telling them we would be home within a week or so.  Then I watched as the plane took off and wondered if the pilot had any idea that my very heart was on that plane.



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Time to Catch Up - MARCH 2017

3:08 PM | Posted by Gabby Faye | | Edit Post
March is a month that gives us time to really enjoy all that our area has to offer, and some visitors from the North..

 My beloved Seabring convertible was having an issue with the top so we went to a shop recommended to us.  I was so surprised to walk into the place and find a perfect old time soda fountain on one side of the room.  Very like my folks' in the pharmacy where I grew up and worked from age 10 to 17.
 You just KNOW when "Surf's Up" and the surfers abandon their jobs to hit the waves.  This day they were at Wabasso Beach in full force.  Made for some nice photos.
 Meanwhile, Michigan had a big storm with lots of property damage.  I was actually lucky that this spruce tree in my back yard was all that I lost.  A lot of people lost roofs and siding and more.
Through Facebook I learned that this Sunday morning an old train station was being moved from Fort Pierce to Sebastian.  I was told that it had originally been in use in Sebastian, moved to Fort Pierce, and now coming home.  It was put into place on a side street in view of the water and will become a gift store.  

 This is Rusty's on the Port, one of our favorite places to eat.
 A huge new cruise ship heading out to sea from The Port of Canaveral.
The Disney Cruise ship also heading out.  Wednesdays and Sundays are the best days to see the big ships leaving for their cruises.
The alligators come and go as they move from pond to pond and lake to lake.  This is ours for now.

 Butch and Merna were such welcome guests!  They loved Outriggers restaurant as much as we do. 
Meanwhile, back North  The family helped celebrate Bob's birthday with a surprise birthday party near Toledo, near where Bob and Minda live. This is Bob with Gabby and Abby.
Butch and Mirna in the paddle boat on our lake in Florida
Dinner with Roman, Butch, Merna, Steve (and me) at Ocean Grill in Vero Beach.
While we were in Vero we saw this group of boys, with their chaperone just not so sure of the water.  I don't think most of them ever did get past their knees in the ocean.  They spoke some foreign language...German, maybe.


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Time to Catch Up - FEBRUARY 2017

11:12 AM | Posted by Gabby Faye | | Edit Post
Meanwhile, back in Michigan, granddaughter, Abby, was having a good year playing basketball and I couldn't be there to watch.
Always good to see our pool and pool-boy again.  He does keep that pool sparkling.  I wish I could have him do ours in Michigan.
The guest bedrooms are waiting for Carrie's and the girls' mid-winter break visit to Florida.
Valentines treat from my Sweetie.
This is how our winter home looks in February when our Michigan homes are buried in snow.
About a year ago Gabby and Samantha "met" online in a fan chat about some boy singer.  Since then the two girls have become best friends.  Sam lives in the Miami area but it was still a long ride for her mother to bring her to our house so the girls could meet and visit.  It was Sam's birthday present.
She taught the girls how to make "slime",
They swam in the pool,
and went to the beach all before Sam had to return home the next day.  They are planning the next visit.
Gabby had a "bucket list" for this winter break.  It was just a quick 4-day visit, but she actually checked off quite a few things.
The girls' mother actually got a little chance to relax, too.  Their father doesn't have the same mid-winter break they have so he couldn't come and enjoy the warmth.

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Gabby Faye
Michigan, United States
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