Keepin' Busy....

Sarasota, FL      High:   86     Low:  69

Sparky made a trip to North Port, FL today....about half an hour from Sarasota. It's the home of the only Hobby Lobby in the area, and Sparky needed some more breast cancer pink ribbon enamel charms for her bracelets and people pins. They are building TWO Hobby Lobbies in the area which will be coming soon...one in Sarasota, and one in Bradenton. Sparky is happy to hear that! Eldo, not so much so....lol.

We are still playing pickleball most mornings this week. There are a dedicated few left to play with, and so each morning, we say, "Are you going to come down tomorrow morning?" And they, like us, say, "Sure! If you are coming, I'll come..." There have only been enough people to play one court of doubles, but that's ok, we get at least three or four games in, and that's how we've been spending our mornings this week. One of the gals we play with invited us to dinner last night! It was a pickleball player dinner night. We got to know everyone a lot better at supper....What a wonderful, friendly group of people...Several are from the east coast---Massachusetts, New Jersey...Their accents and sense of humor were delightful!

Our hosts, Connie and Frank, made a terrific dinner together for us...

A fantastic lasagna...(Sparky, did you take notes? asks E.) :-)  Yep, but Stouffer's is Sparky's "go-to" lasagna recipe, haha....Connie and Frank have a park model and managed to fit everybody (8 people) in at the table, no small feat! A park model at Sun 'n' Fun is about like an RV as far as square footage...400 square feet. You add a lanai on the side, and you get another 400 square feet. It's small, but cozy. We had a great time with everybody.

The weather has been fabulous here in Sarasota, with temperatures in the high seventies most of the week, but now they are starting to climb upwards again....Sparky is getting excited about going to Houston next week to see her daughter and little grandson . Eldy is going to stay in Sarasota and work on polishing the rig and doing some trip planning....

A little crafting, a little TV watching this evening with an "Abby" marathon of C.S.I.....not much else going on today....We'll see you tomorrow.....

Grocery Shopping, Etc., Ho Hum

Sarasota, FL      High:  77     Low:  61

Boy, it was an exciting day today! HA! Read blogs all morning, wrote a couple so Sparky can have something to post while she visits her sister tomorrow in Matlache, FL. Went grocery shopping ALONE, which is not always a good idea for Sparky, because she's an impulsive shopper. "Hm-m-m-m...this looks good, that looks good. Maybe we ought to try this for supper..." (One can always hope, prays E.) He says that because Sparky HATES to cook. So, she came home with some new stuff to try-roasted chicken and mozzarella ravioli which reminds her of Carrabba's mezzaluna pasta, but she forgot the sauce. (And she forgot my popcorn...reminds E.) Back to the store she went to pick up a couple more things....Back home again....

Eldy's at Happy Hour at the bar at poolside...and Sparky joined him after a bit....

Sparky is back to crafting today. After playing at least TWELVE games of pickle ball yesterday, half in the afternoon, and half in the evening. Sparky's butt is SORE, and the legs are SORE, so it's time to relax today....Eldy played at least six games himself last night, so it's a take- it -easy day today for everybody! Sun 'n' Fun is really promoting pickleball with many opportunities to play socially during the week, both mornings and evenings. During the socially scheduled times, the park provides lots of extra paddles and balls, so if you don't have equipment, no worries. You can still come out and learn the game. Everybody is really nice here about helping newbies learn. The sport is really growing here. It is so much fun!

You serve underhand, which takes away the problem of trying to do an overhand serve like you do in tennis. The court is shorter, so you don't run so much. You usually play doubles but you don't have to have a partner. You just show up, wait your turn, and they cycle four players off and on the courts just as soon as one court becomes available. The partnerships get mixed up as people come on and off the courts, some rest awhile longer, so your partner in the game usually changes from game to game. Sparky has been the only female to play in a doubles match sometimes, and other times, it's Eldy and me against the rest, or we get split up and go play all night long. You can rest as much as you want, but most of us who play LOVE to get right back out on the court. Our games are really sharpening up with all the playing we've been doing this week.

Because it's a shorter court than a tennis court, and the net is a little lower, you don't run as much but you get plenty of exercise stretching to get those shots. If you've never tried it, you owe to yourself to give it a shot. (yuck, yuck) All kinds of people play pickleball, VERY heavy people to ultra thin, people with bad knees, bad backs, and all kinds of physical problems can play pickleball and have fun while doing it. You don't ever have to have played tennis or any racquet sport to pick this game up and start playing. We just love it! Sparky's water aerobics have kind of gone to the wayside, she's having so much fun playing pickleball and Eldy is getting a lot more exercise now playing pickleball, too.

A nice pickleball racket runs about 50-60 dollars, but you can buy one for less if you are just trying out the game. They sell bundled sets of rackets and balls on Amazon for one possibility...Balls are about 2.50 each....

A night at the bar and grill listening to some GREAT karaoake singers and it's back home to watch some of the basketball tourney. Even Sparky is watching the last couple of minutes of Georgetown vs. the Florida Gulf Coast team, hoping the underdog wins. They did! Woo-hoo! What an upset! Number 15 seed beat the Number 2--amazing! And that's all you'll hear from Sparky, the non-sports fan. But she's ALWAYS for the underdog! :-)

Tomorrow, Sparky heads for Matlache, to see her sister, Lyle and her husband John for the day. Eldy is going to stay home and mind the fort.  Bye for now!