March, 2012
March roared in with the DeFever Rendezvous in North Palm Beach. We had a great time. When I get some pictures I’ll post them. We didn’t take any pictures as we were busy with handling the registration table, checking people on and taking last minute registrations. We also made sure everyone had all needs met. It was a great way to meet a lot of DeFever people and spend time talking boats. The three day rendezvous went well and everyone had a good time – I love helping to through a great party J We continued to travel to see Eloise. Merrily and Jon again came for three days and we had time once again to get to know each other. We have been out to dinner a few more times this month and found some good restaurants. Barb has been experimenting with new recipes – and trying to use some of the canned goods that are on hand. She found a great clam chowder recipe on the internet which was a big hit with a few guests (Dave wouldn’t eat it –bummer). She also has been making cookies for the Day Star patients – they really enjoy having a little homemade snack. We ended the month with a looper luncheon at a favorite restaurant. Again we met nice people who have completed the loop, or were starting the loop. Lots of great stories from the 14 people present. We continue to read, Barb is working on a boat sewing project, and starting to think about returning to Hallelujah in June.
February, 2012
February has passed even more quite than January. The weather was great. We continue to make use of the Lee County Public Library – lots of books to read J And there is a fabulous farmers market every Saturday that we make use of. The strawberries have been really good along with corn and tomatoes. Barb finished a couple of quilting projects and the shawl for Eloise (she loves it). We continue to drive to Ft. Lauderdale twice a week to visit with Aunt Eloise. She really does appreciate our coming to see her and do small things for her. Dave’s sister came down for a week. We spend a great day on Sanibel Island and soaked up some sun. on the beach. We continue to do some home repair and organizing. The yard work isn’t much as this is the dry season and not much grows. The month ended with Eloise’s brother-in-law/ sister-in-law going with us to see Eloise. We had a nice lunch with her. Al & Cindy had a good visit. They were very happy that we could drive them over as it is a long drive. Sorry there are no pictures this month. Don’t even think about taking pictures of us around the house. We hope that everyone has had a great month and that weather has not been too cold.
January, 2012
DeFever Cruisers Marathon luncheon
This month has passed quickly. We haven’t done much. We had cousins come in and travel with us to see Eloise. Barb is still quilting, reading, and has started knitting a shawl for Eloise. There is always computer work for the DeFever Cruisers Rendezvous coming up the first of March. Dave is reading, working in the yard (the weather has been really mild this year so days of 70’s and 80’s are normal) and getting his TV fix. We ended the month with a short two day trip to Marathon, FL to see friends from last year. There was a DeFever Cruise Luncheon with a couple of new people we didn’t know. 12 people on 7 boats: Tides In, Hallelujah, Omega, Adventures, Bagheera, LiLi (actually a Krogan), and Escape (new DeFever owners). Unfortunately two other DeFever Cruises were not able to join us – September Song and Maya. We had a great time and as always learned a lot from this group.
December, 2011The weather is cooler so swimming in the pool isn’t a joy – really cold water. We did meet up with DeFever friends from last winter and went out to dinner with Helen and Paul Koch from Lucky Dogs. Then we decided to have a holiday party at the house for DeFever crews coming though the Ft. Myers area. Dec. 15 found 7 crew members from Amici, Hallelujah and Lucky Dog having an Italian dinner with us. It was a great evening with lots of boating talk. We sure miss the boat. We had a quiet Christmas, spent part of the weekend with Eloise and opened presents. We also traveled to North Palm Beach to meet with Hank Haeseker about the Rendezvous, Barb was asked to negotiate hotel rooms at three hotels. Within two hours, contracts were created for blocks of rooms at three different sites. The rendezvous people were impressed.
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DeFever Holiday Gathering
Christmas with Eloise
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November, 2011
Our weekly routine continues, but the farmers market it open so on Saturday mornings we get fresh fruits and vegetables. We did spend a week in St. Pete with Dave’s sister Jeanette and were invited to Orlando for an early Thanksgiving dinner with our nieces in-laws. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing our great nephews. We had a quiet Thanksgiving in Cape Coral, just the two of us. I made the whole dinner as I really like turkey and pumpkin pie. We did take Eloise fresh pumpkin pie on Friday. Barb is starting to want things to do so she took a quilting class this month and made her first quilt sampler. She also volunteered to help with the Winter DeFever Cruisers Rendezvous. She was assigned reservation chair – this should help keep her busy. Of course when she sent her resume of all the conference planning work she has done in the past, they said she was way over qualified for their small gathering. But that didn’t stop them from using all her knowledge.
Sept. / Oct. 2011
We have spent a fair amount of time on the outside yard as the weeds and bushes needed lots of attention. The pool has been a great treat, but we also had to attend to the pavers in the pool area. The house is a house so there is always inside cleaning. We have developed a routine. We travel to Ft. Lauderdale on Mondays and Fridays leaving early a.m. and returning mid-afternoon. We do some sort of house work each day – outside or inside. The days pass quickly and little log work gets done. Barb did get a library card and is enjoying reading the library out of books.
Friday - Sept. 16
We make our first trip over to see Eloise. It is about two hours 15 minutes one way across to Ft. Lauderdale and the nursing facility. She was very excited to see us and spend time talking. Eloise hasn’t had any visitors since June so this was a real treat for her. We returned to Cape Coral and started setting up house – groceries, laundry (but not having to use a laundry mat :)
Thursday - Sept. 15
We had been searching the internet for a car and made a decision on a Chevy Equinox. With all the work on the internet it was easy to find what we wanted. So by noon we were driving a new car home and stopped to return the rental. We are exhausted, but have to organize the house so we can live here for the next 8 months.
Tues/Wed - Sept 13/14
We drove south to Cape Coral FL. We had planned to stay in our small condo in St. Pete FL, but Dave’s aunt asked that we stay at her home in Cape Coral and look after the house while she remains in Ft. Lauderdale in the nursing facility. We arrived late on Wednesday and started unpacking.
