Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Bonnie's Visit

I have been too busy all week having fun with our guest to post anything on this blog.  Since Bonnie is now at the airport awaiting her flight home (for a few days before she take off again for Portugal!), I will use this opportunity to catch up.

On Saturday we spent almost the entire day at Fred Howard beach.  The crowds were not too bad, and the weather on the beach was gorgeous.  A cool ocean breeze kept everyone feeling fresh rather than boiling under the intense Florida sun.  The day was laid back and relaxed; I hope that Bonnie enjoyed being a beach bum with us.

Since Fred Howard beach is just off shore from Tarpon Springs (the beach is located on an island accessed by a causeway), when we were finished we took a stroll through Tarpon Springs.  Since the town is known for sponges, we had to go sponge shopping.  Bonnie bought a couple of "silk" sponges.  They are super-soft, small sponges that one uses to put on and to take off make-up.  They also are great when bathing babies.

We resisted the Greek bakeries (pats on the back) but were lured in by a candy store that advertised exquisite, "international" licorice.  Bonnie bought a little and shared the goodies with Rick.

Sunday dawned clear and sunny once again. We had talked to Bonnie about the numerous items in our house that we had purchased at The Container Store. Those items include everything from a toothbrush holder to a full bookshelf and computer desk component.  She said that she was in the market for a few things, so we spent Sunday going in to Tampa and visiting The Container Store.  For anyone who does not know of this marvelous place, just type the name into your search engine.  They will ship anywhere in the US.  We spent two hours at the store.  Bonnie left with a new piece of luggage by Baggallini and various other smaller items.  The store is opening a new brach in Milwaukee this fall and they also have one in Minneapolis, so I am sure that this is not the last time that Bonnie will venture into that store.

 Yesterday I awoke very tired even though I got a good night's sleep.  Bonnie and I decided to go shopping at some of the various consignment shops around town.  We had to wait until 10:00 a.m. since none of them opened before that time.  We found that the owners of consignment shops seem to have their own time schedule.  We went to one shop which was supposed to be open but was not.  Just as we were about to drive away, a car sped into the parking lot and a young woman got out.  She apologized for being late and explained that her washing machine blew a hose and flooded her whole garage.  For such a catastrophe, she was only 15 minutes late, so we went in to browse. Unfortunately for her, we did not find anything that we wanted to buy.

The next shop we stopped at also was closed, but we found some others that offered interesting shopping.  I bought nothing; however, Bonnie found a beautiful sheer flowered jacket that looked great on her and fit well.

When we got home, we dug out a jigsaw puzzle that occupied most of the rest of the evening.

Today we had a leisurely start to the day before we took Bonnie to one last experience: lunch at Steak & Shake complete with a chocolate shake.  Gourmet food Bonnie did NOT experience this week, so I hope that her stomach forgives us.

Note to Stephanie: Bonnie said that your glass bird dish worked well for holding her earrings and rings each evening.  The ibis bowl is a success!

Rain has been predicted for the last three days, but it has all fallen inland and thus missing us.  Today dawned cloudy with a suggestion of rain.  As we drove to the airport after lunch, about five drops hit our windshield.  As we were driving home from the airport after dropping Bonnie off, about 10 large drops hit the windshield.  Then it was clear, but as we drove down Main Street we saw puddles everywhere.  Certainly, while we were in Tampa, Gladys got a bath.

We had just finished putting our chairs and grocery holder back into the back of the car after we got home when the skies opened and the rain poured down.  We have had two brief, hard showers just to remind us that the rainy season is about to start in Florida.

This was a fairly laid-back vacation, filled with fun times and indulgent times of sitting in the yard and reading good books.  We hope that Bonnie had fun while she was here and that she will get home safely tonight.  

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