March, 2018
March was uneventful in that we continue to relax and enjoy warmer weather than friends and family up north. We were able to open the pool finally and added swimming to our daily exercise of walking and riding bikes. Barb spent March quilting and taking two quilting classes. Dave started thinking summer – started to organize and purchase replacement parts needed on the boat. We did receive a call that work on the boat was proceeding and painting / varnishing would be started very soon. We had a good time visiting with boating friends and friends/colleagues from Grand Rapids during the month. Barb has started a group email list for a number of DeFever friends who will be traveling through northern Lake Huron this summer – she is planning a small wilderness gathering for about 11 boats (we’ll see if it really happens). Our entertainment for this month has been watching the abandoned house next door get a facelift – not sure what will happen when the work is completed. Will it be sold or rented? Repairs from Irma continue in the neighborhood with new roofs and seawall construction. March went out with a bang – a number of the DeFevers in the area left so we won’t see boating friends until next winter. Winter left us and we are almost into summer mode with nightly temps in the mid 60’s and highs into the 80’s. We do love Florida weather!
February, 2018
February was a quite month for us. Dave’s sister came for the month so a lot of sewing was completed. Barb continued to walk three miles a day while Dave rode his bike seven miles. Exercise is good for us and we hope to find ways to keep it up on the boat. We completed some house projects both at home and at the condo -- while boat work continues to be completed in Michigan. Due to warm weather we were able to turn the pool heater on ad swim almost every day in Feb. It really felt good to be in the pool on hot afternoons. The Iguana that was living next door has come back a couple of times. The abandoned house has been sold and is in the process of a rebuild – all trees, bushes and most of the grass is gone. The poor iguana has no place to live next door – but neither do the rats that were living in the pool area (really bad!). Lastly the burrow owls are starting to sit above ground and we are watching them to see when babies start to show up. They are so cute!
We are hoping that the improvements to the house will help improve the neighborhood. We did run up to the condo for a couple of days and do some things in St. Pete. We didn’t see boating friends this month but hope to see them in March.
We are hoping that the improvements to the house will help improve the neighborhood. We did run up to the condo for a couple of days and do some things in St. Pete. We didn’t see boating friends this month but hope to see them in March.
January, 2018

January was a month for eating! Lorrie and Roger Swink on Reality stayed on the dock so we finished puzzle three before they left on January 4. They were great fun even though it was cold. We had Bob and Sue Hodes over for dinner on the second – did Chinese from scratch which was fun because Lorrie was helping. We went out for dinner on Jan 10 with friends to celebrate Dave’s birthday. Looper friends Rip and Beth Tyler came for dinner on the 13th and then we had 7 for dinner on the 15th. We welcomed Harry and Nancy Burck (DF 44 Agapé) with ribs and salads. Colleagues from Grand Valley State University were here for lunch on the 17th. We again went out for dinner on the 23rd and on to the Fort Myers Repertory Theatre – had a great time. Four couples join us on Jan 25 for cocktails and dinner (yes we sat outside for cocktails!). We welcomed new DeFever owners Rob Colston and Lisa Poulin (DF 56 Tutto Bene) during this party. On Jan 31 a friend from Wisconsin came for lunch. We don’t need much more food but Feb will be filled with family and friends.
Other than all this food, we spent a quiet month. Barb finished a quilt wall hanging and managed to quilt it herself on her sewing machine. We continue to walk and ride bikes for exercise and are now movie junkies with Prime video (we bought a new VDV player that as Bluetooth) and library video series. The weather has been relatively cold this month – less than 10 days in the upper 70’s/ 80’s so no swimming! We hope to see warmer weather in February.
Other than all this food, we spent a quiet month. Barb finished a quilt wall hanging and managed to quilt it herself on her sewing machine. We continue to walk and ride bikes for exercise and are now movie junkies with Prime video (we bought a new VDV player that as Bluetooth) and library video series. The weather has been relatively cold this month – less than 10 days in the upper 70’s/ 80’s so no swimming! We hope to see warmer weather in February.