CEILIDH'S PAJAMAS !

Our miniature schnauzer's name is Ceilidh Lass (pronounced Kaylee). Ceilidh is a Scottish word meaning an informal get together with singing and story telling. Lass is, of course, a girl. So her name translates to Party Girl! Anyway, she is very sensitive to fleas. She rarely had fleas in Pennsylvania, but since coming to Florida she has been bothered with them. It only takes one to "drive her crazy" with scratching and chewing. We wanted to spray her with skin-so-soft to see if that would repel them, but it is very oily. Mom suggested getting her a baby's footed sleeper to cover her with so she wouldn't get oil on everything. We found a pair at a garage sale Saturday and here is the result. Needless to say, she's not thrilled with the idea!

MERRITT ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, January, 2009

On Sunday, January 11 we packed a picnic lunch and headed north to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. We drove the Black Point Wildlife Drive which is about 7 miles long through one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the refuge. There is a guide book which lists the 12 stops along the way.

Merritt Island NWR was established in 1963 when NASA created Kennedy Space Center.

The 140,000 acre refuge provides a buffer for space operations while also protecting key habitat such as wetland, hardwood hammock and scrub.

Here, I believe, is a Great Egret. (I'm not very familiar with Florida birds!) A wide variety of habitats exist on the refuge providing a diverse landscape for over 330 species of birds, 31 species of mammals, 117 species of fish, 68 species of amphibians and reptiles, and over 1000 species of plants. The most productive and therefore diversified wildlife areas are the marshes.

A pristine roadway meanders throughout the 7 mile drive. Winter is the best time to visit with peak bird populations occurring in January or February. The migration north usually begins in March.

I spotted these unusual trees growing in various areas of the refuge. They appear to be standing "on tiptoes" to keep their branches out of the water.

This is, of course, what Florida is famous for - the American Alligator. This one we spotted along the side of the road in a narrow canal was about 12 feet long. Mom said later, that this was a small one. It was big enough for me!! He was basking in the sun, sound asleep.

This is called the "Mud Flat Cafe". The mud flats provide optimum habitat for shorebirds, as it is teaming with various worms, clams, snails and crabs buried underneath a blanket of moist mud that provides a smorgasbord of food. Most shorebirds feed by sense of touch, using their sensitive bills to probe for and gather food. Overhead you can spot gulls, terns, skimmers, and kingfishers scoping the area for fish stranded in isolated water pockets.

Here is just a small flock of the thousands of birds that spend the winter. The refuge is home to winter populations of 50,000-70,000 puddle ducks, 70,000-200,000 diving ducks, 100,000 coots, 12,000-14,000 gulls and terns, 2000 raptors, and an enormous number of songbirds.

A CONNOR CHRISTMAS - 2008

Bill and I had a little "Charlie Brown" tree in the RV. We didn't exchange presents this year as neither of us needed anything. Also, since moving into the RV we have a rule: If you bring anything in, something has to go out! (Other than food, of course!)

So, new shirt, get rid of an older one. New book, get rid of something of equal weight, etc. Ceilidh was the only one to get a present (and I did get rid of a couple of her older toys-don't tell!!)

Bill has been talking about watching the sun rise on the beach on Christmas morning so that is what we did. We got up early and drove to the beach in drizzling rain but, as you can see, the rain subsided and it was a beautiful sunrise. How I love the beach!

When we returned from the beach, Ceilidh got her present. She loves to rip off the paper. Sometimes she enjoys that more than the present! This year she got a new frog hand puppet. Bill puts it on and she "fights" with it.

Christmas seasons started on Christmas eve at Jon and Jeanette's house. Left to right, Sue, Laura, Jeanette, Barb and Jim in the background on the sofa. We were enjoying a glass of wine.

Sue arrived on Tuesday and her job was to get Mom out of the house Wednesday morning so Bill and Jon could install the new dishwasher we all chipped in to buy her. We waited for her to notice it Wednesday and Thursday morning. Finally Sue lead her out to the kitchen and asked if she noticed anything new. "No" she replied looking around the counters. Finally Sue turned her toward the dishwasher and you can see the surprise on her face as she saw the new dishwasher. This is one of those priceless pictures!


Here's Mom inspecting the pumpkin and pecan pies. She and Bill baked cookies for 3 days. We had tins of cookies everywhere! Shortbread, meltaways, chocolate chip, peanut butter, pizzelles, filled cookies, tassies, I can't think of all the different kinds. They were all good. I know because I tasted at least one of each!

This is little brother, Jon, the practical joker of the family. Last year he completely covered Mom's gift with tape. Not to be outdone, Mom put Jon's gift card between two blocks of wood that Bill screwed together, then covered it with tape! Wonder what Jon will do to top that??

Younger sister, Cyndi and husband George, from the Orlando area.

Older sister. Sue, from our old hometown of Meadville, PA, enjoying a piece of fruitcake. Yes, some of us really DO LIKE fruitcake!







Oldest brother, Jim and daughter Gail. Jim is the bagpiper in the family and lives here in Melbourne. Gail is in her senior year at Flaggler College in St. Augustine. She will graduate this spring with a double major and a minor. We are very proud of her accomplishments!! Way to go, Gail!

We had an unexpected visitor the Friday after Christmas. Mom's third great-grandchild, Nickolas. Nick, the son of Kim Connor, is 7 months old and ALWAYS smiling. What a delightful child he is!
Nick is visiting with his grandparents, brother David and wife Karen from Kansas. Kim lives in Kentucky and Dave and Karen brought him to Florida with them for Christmas.




Yes, that's a dog. At least Cyndi says it is! This is Tommy Lee, a Chinese Crested. He is showing off his new haircut!






While all the siblings were together for the first time in about 8 years, we gathered them in the back yard for a picture. Left to right: Bill, Jon, Sue, David, Mom, Cyndi, and Jim. How fortunate we were to be all together for the Christmas season.

That's mom and proud grandparents, David and Karen with Nick.

Great uncle Bill holding Nick, smiling, as usual. As soon as Nick sees a camera he grins!

Disney-December 2008

Christmas in Florida
The week before Christmas Laura and I went to Disney for the day. It was a beautiful sunny day-but then they all are!!

That's Laura with the Grand Floridian Hotel in the background.

Disney was all decorated for Christmas. This tree is in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Hotel. As you can see, it is several stories high.

This is what impressed me the most - the Gingerbread House, also in the lobby. It was about 10' x 12', maybe a little larger. It is constructed of:

1050 pounds of honey, 700 pounds of chocolate,
140 pints of egg whites, 800 pounds of flour,

600 pounds of powdered sugar, and 35 pounds of spices.

And TONS of creativity and Disney magic! What a site to see!!

Next we visited the French Quarter and had lunch, also in the lobby of a hotel. The brick streets looked like New Orleans, the houses all painted in bright colors.

We walked down to the dock and waited for a boat to take us to Downtown Disney. We walked through the shops before enjoying an ice cream cone.

This is a LEGO creation of "Nessie", the Loch Ness Monster. As you can see, it is huge.

I was fascinated with the LEGO displays. Here I am, second from the right, posing with a LEGO family. As you can see, they are lifesize.

Being a dog lover, I was particularly drawn to the LEGO dogs.
What imagination to build these creations! Aren't they really life-like??

After leaving Downtown Disney by bus, we rode over to Wilderness Village, the Disney campground. Walking through that area we came across this 5th wheel campsite with all these decorations around it. Yes, there is a 5th wheel in this picture. Can you find it??

Leaving the campground, we took another boat and found this topiary of Mickey Mouse. It was a great day and all we spent was money for lunch and an ice cream cone!