Thursday, Feb 8th

Happy Birthday Lyzi hope your day was special.  Happy 50th Birthday Bill, sounds like your day was awesome.
  The day started early for us as we went to coffee klatch this morning.  We generally sit at different tables each week and I was able to shake my jinx.  Our table was selected for donuts early in the process so good options:  Marg got a cherry fritter & I got a blueberry fritter.  The meeting had lots of information today on activities and the park wide patio sale tomorrow.  It was also the second step in the election process for the tenants association executive.  The incumbents were put forward as candidates by the nomination committee and next week there is an opportunity for nominations from the floor.  Generally this is the end of the process, however this year there will be candidates for 3 of the positions as they announced their intention to seek nomination next week.  It has been the topic around the park, our equivalent of high drama.  Our good friend Kenny is chair of the nomination committee, so his normally token role, is very much in focus this year.
  After coffee I stayed to help reorganize the hall for the event tomorrow, tables for the bake sale and vendors in the hall.  Marg went to the kitchen to work with the gals doing the prep work for Sloppy Joes tomorrow.  A couple of guys fry the hamburger the gals do all the slicing and dicing to make the sauce.  I have been told that I volunteered to go there tomorrow morning at 7 AM to put the mixture in the oven so it will be hot and ready as required.  Can hardly wait!
  By the time all this was done, we toured around the park.  The patio sale vendors [we would call them garage sellers] have their goods displayed so the residents can have an advance opportunity to buy things.  They do this in consideration that many of the residents volunteer to make the day a success and this frees up their day on Friday.  Marg picked up a few things: a bunt pan & some kind of satchel or purse; me nothing.  We also seem to have been running a delivery service and she was taking things others bought and dropping them at their sites because we were mobile in the cart.  Oh yes she bought donuts, Christine from Alberta makes them for sale and she had earlier placed an order for a dozen.  It was kind of funny as when she was putting them in a bag, a few fell on the ground, so rather than wait for the next batch, she just got a few donut holes thrown in.  They were very good, but I think Marg gave everyone she saw one, even sent me over to give Gary one when he was working.
  After lunch  we had a few visitors, first Bob & Shari dropped off a Jamaican banana nut loaf that he flavours with rum & pina colada and they had a donut.  Then Gary stopped after he trimmed a few palm trees on his way to the dumpster with the fronds and shortly after Patti was walking around so seeing him here stopped in.  We were just having a conversation about whether he should take the afternoon off.  To influence him, I said there is an old quote - Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun, why - well it was in the 80's by then and reached 87F, pretty warm.  Yes Patti had a donut as well.  That seems to have been the turning point and he went home.
  In the afternoon she took a second tour through the park and got a couple more bargains: a piece of carpet & a hat [for the spring tea?], me still nothing.  As we passed other golf carts we often stopped to chat, so it took a long time to get around the park.  By then it was time for happy hour.  On the way to happy we took the brownies to the hall and stopped for mail before settling in.  There were about 20 people there, but it was fun.
  We went home where Marg whipped up some shrimp and pasta in a kind of stir fry.  It was very good and as the trailer was warming up so we ate outdoors in the breezeway.  We finished up the last donut and two donut holes, thankfully she held back one brownie that I ate.  By then I was done eating for the day, well it keeps me from snacking.  LOL
  Better not stay up too late tonight as I need to be in the kitchen at 7.