Our vacation came to an end and once home I started un-decorating and storing Christmas stuff for next year. Also, Jack and Mary moved out of the ranch house to head to Mexico for three months, ending their rental, so I will be working on getting it ready for Jean to move into.
Saturday 1/1 - I did not stay up for the NewYear's Eve celebrating but this crew of Michael, Dave, Nicole, Courtney, Chris, JJ, Brianna, Jean, and Patty (who took the photo) did.
Ava celebrating at 5am.
Dan, Val and Ava left the condo at 6am to fly back to Nashville. Joe has been the awesome airport shuttle for each of us Villhauers. Chris and Carol had taken Travis to the airport New Year's Eve, after stopping at a local pub for an ale.
It was a beautiful sun shiny day and even though it was the first day of the new year, it was a last for many other things, including our final day of vacation.
Most of us went down to the beach for our last day. The Sidenstick family - Nichole in front; Patti, JJ, and David under the umbrellas; and Michael in back.
There were a few games of friendly, yet competitive Spike Ball played. Jean had caught on quickly.
I love that the Sidensticks enjoy family time playing games together.
Britney, Jean, and Brianna went for one last swim in the ocean.
Carol and I walked to the gym and noticed it was more crowed than usual. Was everybody's New Year's resolution to go workout?
Our last night at Long Boat Key is always dedicated to
popcorn and libations on the beach and watching the sun set. This year's concluding
event was a tad windy, but otherwise perfect.
We always throw popcorn up in the air and try to catch it in our mouths, but none of us were having much success because of the wind.
Lots of photos were taken as the sun set.
Jean and Brianna.
My daughters and I.
The Sidenstick family.
And below, 11 of the 19 of us who had come to Long Boat Key this Christmas.
The day ended with lots of packing by everybody, as we were wrappin' it up for the week.
Sunday 1/2 - Joe had gotten up at 3am to take Britney to Tampa airport and gone back to bed when he got home at 6am. Cathy and Ralph left about 9am to take Chris and Carol to the same airport. Jean, Brianna, and I hit the road shortly after. Joe and Courtney were the last to leave because they had lots of time to kill since Courtney had an evening flight out of Sarasota.
Jean took this photo just as she was leaving the condo for the last time, feeling this white egret was a sign from Mom, who dearly loved birds, especially the waterfowl.
Joe and Courtney had an early lunch at Subway and then he dropped her at the airport eight hours before her flight. I'm not sure why, but then he camped out at the casino for awhile.
We arrived at Mom's and helped Cathy finish loading their rental SUV, which she was about done with. And she and Ralph continued north.
Parm was very happy to have us home and Bri was delighted to see her old kitty.
Before noon we had gotten word that Chris and Carol's flight had been delayed.
Eventually, they ended up cancelling the flight and couldn't book them another fight until Wednesday morning (a two day wait).
So while Jean went to Tampa to pick them up, Bri and I got two more beds ready, using the toppers from the futon and Mom's bed, and putting Bri in Jean's bed.
Then I took Parm for a walk.
We got news that Courtney's flight was delayed and also of the snow storm rolling through the mid-west, closing most of the Chicago and Atlanta airports. Val also shared some photos of Ava playing in the snow that they had gotten in Nashville. Yikes!
Thank goodness for the sweet cuteness I could enjoy to help diminish the angst I was feeling about Courtney making it to Nashville vs getting stuck at the Sarasota airport, which was two hours from Jean's.
Patty had taken these photos while doing afternoon chores. Amiga had come up lame sometime overnight New Year's Eve and Patty was sending me videos and keeping me posted on how Amiga was doing. Thankfully there was improvement.
I had asked Patty to send snow photos of the ranch and this is what she texted me. Very pretty.
Below is a view of the barn from the house, and then a close up.
By dinner time, Joe had arrived, Jean had gotten back with Chris and Carol, Courtney's flight had been delayed again, but we got news that Britney had made it home.
Britney was snuggling with her kitty and Brianna was giving Parm a belly rub. And finally we got news that Courtney's plane was loading. Thank God, and I could hit the hay and sleep.
Monday 1/2 - We enjoyed the sun rising over Mom's lake and slowly got moving. Once Jean and Bri left for Bok Tower (Jean to work and Bri to hang out) Joe, Carol, Chris and I kicked it up a gear and started work in Mom's condo. We packed up more boxes of thrift store stuff and loaded them into the SUV, along with the big pile in the office of all of the give-away stuff.
Mama's big oak tree looking over the lake and us.
Chris and Joe took the load of stuff to the thrift store and bought groceries on the way home. Carol vacuumed and mopped and we both continued packing things up. Parm supervised.
There was some downtime spent at the pool sunning, reading, playing computer games and napping.
Chris and I went for a walk to see (or say our good-byes to) several iconic landmarks.
First it was Mom's park which we strolled through. We saw lots of squirrels, but no alligators or turtles.
These are Sandhill cranes by the road Mom's condo is on. They are often confused with Great Blue Heron, but the red cap on their head is an identifying feature.
This is the entrance to Mom's condo complex. Is that a crane or a heron making up the 'l'?
We went in the back entrance, walking to the water front and along the lake.
These are marsh hare, which can be seen all along the water's edge, and especially hangout where there is tall vegetation to dart into for protection.
Ibis are always picking at the grass in Mom's yard. Seen in the background, her condo's dock.
When we walked out on the dock, all these Purple Gallinules followed us out there and appeared to be looking for food. Come to find out, Mom's neighbor Sarah feeds them.
Joe went to pick up Chinese for dinner and Jean and Brianna arrived home shortly before he did.
We watched the news together while we ate, and saw that travel was still touch and go after weather had caused flight cancellations across the country the day before. We also got word that Cathy and Ralph had finally gotten home. It was a relaxing but short evening because most of us hit the hay rather early.
I stripped the mattress that Carol had slept on, started a load of laundry, and helped Joe load the SUV with stuff for the dump. We couldn't fit the box springs inside, so strapped them to the roof. Getting both Mom's mattress and Grandma's old chair in also presented a challenge.
Once Jean returned from dropping Chris and Carol at the airport, she and Joe took the load to the dump. The plumber came to fix a leaky toilet and we girls continued packing up stuff while Joe relaxed at the pool. I loaded all of Dan's, Courtney's, Carol's, and our stuff in the SUV, and even had room for some of Jean's belongings. This is a before and after shot of Mom's office, which was the staging area for all of the 'to go' piles.
We had started another thrift store pile by the sliding doors. And here is a look at our packed SUV that would be headed to Tennessee the following morning.
Chris and Carols flight did make it to Indianapolis. But news of another winter storm moving through TN on Thursday was not well received.
Wednesday 1/4 - With bad weather predicted to hit Tennessee on Thursday, we decided it best that Joe get on the road early, so he dropped me at the airport five hours before my flight.
TSA was packed but they were well equipped for the crowd so the line moved quickly. I took the tram to my terminal and had no problem spending the time, so my wait didn't seem that long. And, my flight was on time!
Snow was predicted to hit Nashville before
sunrise, so I decided to not stay the night. I took a nap and then had a
grill cheese, waiting for rush hour traffic to clear and to prepare my
body for driving late.
Wash checking out Courtney's computer...
...and giving some lovin'.
We got word Joe had made it to Macon GA and with a full cup of hot tea, I started my two hour drive home.
My drive went well and I had no delays or heavy traffic.
My four cats greeted me as soon a I walked in the laundry room door at 9pm. There is no place like home, and home is where I wanna be.
Courtney had sent the above photo of the view out her office window. It had started snowing in Nashville around 7am. I was glad I had left the night before.
This was our snow coverage by 11:30am. And poor Joe had just arrived at Dan's to unload his stuff. Then he went to Courtney's with her stuff and to stay for the Styx concert at 8pm.
At this point, they got word that the concert was cancelled so after Joe unloaded things at Courtney's, he continued home. I was very worried about him. I also knew I would never make it to the ranch to do chores, so had Mary and Jack cover for me. They are so sweet.
I was unmotivated and exhausted for some reason, so took a nap. I got word that Joe would be arriving at 3:45 (90 minutes longer than the usual 2 hour drive) so I went out and started shoveling the drive and sidewalk.
He finally got home! Once the SUV was unloaded, I hit the chores (unpack, laundry, water plants, clean litter boxes, and start taking down Christmas decorations).
Friday 1/7 - It was a 16° cloudy morning. Joe took me to my 9am pneumonia vaccine appointment because the roads were covered with frozen snow pack.
By 10:30 the sun had come out and was warming things up and melting some of the snow. Mama Styx was enjoying a nap in the sun but had to cover her eyes. 
I had woken with a sore throat and runny nose and now had a headache. I did a Covid test to be sure that wasn't my problem. It was negative. I wondered if my shot two hours earlier had already affected me.
Joe and I went out to the ranch after lunch. We took the rest of the load from Florida (Carol and Jean's stuff) and put it in the garage.
We weren't sure if the tractor would start or not, but it did, so we took a round bale up to Amiga and Zorro's pasture. When removing the baling twine, this dead black snake was unenclosed. The poor thing.
I 'manned' the gates as Joe drove the tractor back into the paddock from the front pasture. Notice the big spear on the front end used to move the round bales.
We moved square bales into the barn and our feed room and then feed Amiga and Zorro. I had skipped giving her a Prevocox the day before and she only looked slightly tender walking, but I decided to give her another dose because the frozen, hoof pocked ground might cause further strain on her legs.
I was feeling much better. It just goes to show what a little fresh air, sunshine, and activity can do for you.
Jack and Mary were just wrappin' up packing and moving out of the ranch house, so we stayed out of their way.
Once home, I finished dinner prep of this ham and bean soup that I had started in the crock pot in the morning. It was too salty and I was 'kickin' myself for adding a little, as the recipe had called for. I drained a bunch of the broth and added lots of milk which helped.
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