GOODBY RV

 For the month of March we have had our RV listed with RVdaily. They came took pictures and put it out on eBay. Nothing happened so Larry called and they put it out on a live auction for 10 days. We had a minimal price we wanted. Didn't reach that but we did get an offer from a dealer in Alabama the last day that was more then any other dealer around here offered. We decided to cut our loss and let it go. We hated paying for it to just sit beside the house month after month and only use it for a few months in a year. They arranged a person to come pick it up and pay us cash the next day. So we worked all day and emptied  the inside and all the compartments. March 29th he drove it away.   

 Now what to do with the space and the items we took out??

We had a lot in the RV. It was our home. Now I need to sort this all out. Decide what to use here, what to store for an apartment in PA, what to put out for a yard sale and what to just give or throw away. Larry turns 70 today and we start a new chapter in our lives. We have been blessed with many great memories and now many opportunities.

IT'S SHOW TIME

 On  Saturday the United Methodist Women at Clermont Methodist church had a luncheon fashion show. The theme was It's Show Time.

 I sat at this table with friends from my Sunday school class.

 Tickets were sold for opportunity drawings.

 It was a hard decision on which basket you should put a ticket in for. Each basket was themed and there were many to chose from.

 There were also some items for a silent auction

 The money was raised to help two charities. Find, Feed and Restore is a new mission at our church. It provides temporary housing in trailers for family with children to live rent free for up to 12 months while free case management services are provided to help them get on there feet.

 The other charity started in our church years ago and now is in its own building, Faith Neighborhood Center. They currently assist an average of 4,000 individuals a month (950 families).

 The fashion show was put on by Clara Schneider who owns Em's on 5th  in Mount Dora.

 All the models were from different organization in our church.

 At the end of the afternoon I came home with this lovely hanging basket I got at the silent auction,

and an Italian basket from the Opportunity drawing. It was my lucky day, and a fun way to help support these worthwhile causes.

LYNDA'S ADVENTURES

 

One morning we went to the Orlando Eye.

A very large Ferris wheel.

We got our tickets and were ready to get in line when a loud siren blared. At first nothing was done then they told us we had to all leave the building, it was a fire drill.  We waited outside for a little while and then we were allowed back in. When we went to get on the Eye they told us they had to test run it and we would have to wait until after twelve. So we went and had lunch.

The cars on the Eye are glass enclosed.  You stand and can look all around. It goes very slowly and you only go around once.

Great views. and there is a map to help you know what you are seeing.

Lynda's next adventure was to the Silver Spurs Rodeo. She had never been to one before.

 In Clermont there is the Little White House. I had never gone so we decided to explore it.

 I gave a news conference as the first woman President.

 Lynda at the Presidential desk.

 Of course Larry had to make a call.

 This room had a very interesting video about the White House and the presidents. Larry spent an hour watching it.

 I have been to Washington DC and to the White House but this model helps you realize how big the house is

and you get to see inside all the rooms. Our tickets allowed us to go back all year, so on Saturday they had an enactment. Lynda and I went again.

  We were greeted by Lincoln and Grant.

 Lynda met Theodore Roosevelt inside.

 Lee was also here and a gentleman that had to leave Gettysburg after the war. (we are in the south)

 Now off to Gatorland.

  We saw a man wrestle an alligator at one of the shows.

At this show they feed the alligators chicken showing us how high they can jump out of the water. They weren't too energetic yet.

 Lynda ready to go on the swamp walk.

 From this show  the train went by ( should have ridden it but we didn't) and the zip line in the distance.

 Saw a lot of birds.

 and alligators.

 For Lynda's finally adventure, before she flew home on Monday was to go to the play Assisted Living.

 The songs were really funny and well song.

They were definitely for our age group.

GARDEN VISIT

 February 7th my sister Lynda came and stayed with us for over a month.  Our first garden to tour was the Polasek museum and garden in Winter Park. His birthday is Feb. 14 so it was free to get in.

 This was his home and studio when he retired from teaching in Chicago.

 A sign to Philadelphia for Lynda. He went to art school there.

 A self sculpture of himself.

 There were sculptures throughout the garden. The cold weather in January had hit a lot of the plants.

 We had a good guided tour of his house and studio.

 Our next garden to visit was the Leu Garden in Orlando.

 It had a special exhibit call Nature Connects Art with LEGO bricks.

 

 All the red dots are where LEGO art could be seen in the gardens. All of the following pictures have creatures made of LEGO. Each had a sign next to it telling about the creature in nature and then it told how many LEGO it took to make it and how many hours.

 The garden was real and the food harvested.

 We had to hunt for this one.

 That is ant Dot.

 Besides amazing art work the grounds were very pretty.

 And the plants were labeled.

 Lynda's one day at Disney was to Epcot, of course for the Flower and Garden festival.

 Lynden, Larry's brother and his wife Sabra met us there.

 The orchids by Mexico were beautiful.

 Lots of topiaries.

 The weather was perfect and there was a full moon in the evening.

 We made it a full day ending with the IllumiNation.

 One Saturday we adventured over to St. Petersburg to the Sunken Gardens.

 Terri was head of the middle school at Friend Select when Lynda was there. Terri moved to St. Petersburg last year and working at a school there. It was nice they were able to get together.

 It is a very pretty, restful garden.

 Even has a flock of flamingos.

 Getting ready for a wedding, a very popular place for them.

 All these gardens made me want to plant some flowers. Here is the freshly planted Mathias garden.

A few weeks later they are still alive and doing well. I may even get some tomatoes to go with the basil.