So Winter finally decided to show up! Tom did not seem to mind the freezing cold temperatures last week as he was busy working in San Francisco. That part of the country was about 10 degrees above the norm for this time of year.

The rest of us were pretty cold here on the east coast. It has been so cold, the plastic soda bottles are freezing and exploding in our garage like land mines. It does not seem to help to bring them inside either. They just burst and bubble over and make a mess in my kitchen.

Scott has had a few days off school as well as delayed school days last week due to cold temperatures and a bit of snow. It makes for very slippery roads since the salt does not work on the streets in this deep freeze. Scott did have last Monday off for President's Day. He had spent the night at a friends after watching The SpongeBob Movie. So he used his day off to catch up on homework and writing a paper. He was also getting ready for his camping trip this past weekend.

The boy scouts usually have one cold winter camping trip. This certainly met all the prerequisites for cold. The boys traveled up to their boy scout camp on Friday night. Scott traveled with one of the moms who was staying over for the weekend. She was assisting with badge requirements as this weekend is usually spent working towards advancements. Apparently is was so cold, the pipes all froze at the campground, so no running water for the weekend. They did sleep indoors in the dining hall with the fireplace on Friday night as temps dipped below zero. On Saturday night the boys made it out to their tents. Fortunately they were pitched under a pavilion, so they weren't buried in snow. Last year at this time it was so warm, the boys were having snowball fights outside in their short sleeved tshirts. Not so this year. Scott was busy working on an inventing badge, his personal management badge and a new boy scout STEM program called NOVA. Scott was working on the projectile badge-making marshmallow catapults out of spoons(stuff like that). His astronomy badge was cancelled though as the counselor was not able to make the trip up to camp on Saturday because of the weather. Scott is also still trying to finish up his Personal Fitness badge with his counselor on Weds nights at his weekly meeting. Despite the crazy weather, Scott reports he really enjoyed his weekend away. He returned home on Sunday afternoon and has been busy catching up with homework ever since. And I am sure he could use some sleep!


Meanwhile, Allison traveled home this weekend for a break. Actually her roommate asked for a ride home, and then decided to stay at school. So Allison decided to come home anyway. We decided to catch a Hershey hockey game on Saturday night. Tom was able to purchase some wonderful tickets right on the glass along with a parking pass. Instead, we were hit with almost a foot of snow on Saturday making the roads impassable. We would have needed to leave around 9am Saturday morning and spend the night in Hershey PA. We did not want to take the chance of getting stuck in PA since Allison needed to get back to school on Sunday. Tom was willing to try the drive, however he changed his mind when he could not get up a small hill around our house in the snow. He ventured out for a hair cut and that was as far as he got. Allison and I went out Saturday morning to hit the post office and the bank located in our local grocery store. We barely made it home in a white out. My favorite was the guy who stopped directly in front of us on busy Route 40 and then stepped out of his car to clean off his windshield wipers while cars passed by. I told Allison that was a perfect example of how not to drive in bad weather. I would have stayed home too but I needed to get my parent's tax paperwork mailed off along with taking care of some banking business for Allison's account.

I didn't get all my errands run on Friday. I tried to go to my swim class which was cancelled due to late school openings. Instead I swam some laps since I pretty much had the pool all to myself at the Y. And then Cookie had her yearly check up at the vets. Everyone has to get some medical appointment in at some time. On Monday night I was out with mom and dad at the dentist. My dad's crown had fallen out and needed to be cemented back in. So after work I ran them both over to the dentist office and they'll be back for more. I wanted to take them out to dinner, but we had another snow storm heading in. Instead, everyone had take out chinese food and I dropped them off with their food at their apt. It took forever on the roads with the icy snow and rush hour traffic. I was pretty worn out at the start of the week.

I managed to take a break and scheduled a Girls Night Out while Tom was in San Fran and Scott was at his scout meeting on Weds. The high school hosted a fund raiser for After Prom at a local painting and wine drinking facility that opened recently in a new shopping complex. I ran home and changed and my neighbor and I headed over. No sooner had we ordered our wine and got settled in our seats that all the power went out in the complex! We spent 2.5 hrs painting in the dark under the glow of the cell phone lights! How crazy! But it was a lot of fun and a nice break int the middle of the week. And I think my painting came out pretty good! Everyone asked if it was a paint by number(no). Just paint by dark!

On Friday, Allison and Tom both made it home safely. And on Sunday, Allison headed back to school after a rather restful weekend(since we were mostly stuck in the house). It gave me time to catch up on some rest since I have another cold coming on(and so does everyone at work).

We also managed to sign SCott up for one more try at the High School track team(although there are a lot more boys signing up again). We just can't win. The coach told SCott to try out for some of the throwing events first, then the running. We'll see.

So before you know it, it will be March and that means Spring Break for both kids(just at different times). Things are really going to start getting busy for sure!

My Paint by Dark masterpiece!

Baltimore Blog

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Tom and I decided to spend our time at the movies. We went to an earlier movie to avoid the crowds and a bit of a snowstorm. We decided to see The Kingsmen. A british comedy which is sort of James Bond meets Austin Powers. Scott was busy in the morning helping out with a Boy Scout equipment check. The scouts are checking all their camping equipment to make sure nothing is broken or missing. Soon they will be off camping again.

I decided to treat my Valentine boys with a goody bag. It included Starbucks instant coffee drinks for SCott and a very special, limited edition package of Red Velvet Oreo cookies(wow these are incredible!). Tom got a package too. Plus some seasonings to cook dinner for us all! Coffee flavored seasoning for the brisket I bought to make a special Valentine dinner. Complete with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Allison received her special Valentine gift box last week of goodies to share with her roommate. Sounds like they both enjoyed it! And Allison enjoyed a night over at some friends playing card  games and watching movies. Tom got me some lovely gold hoop earrings(never have enough earrings).

On Friday I was busy taking my parents to their cardiologist for a check up. They both passed with flying colors and won't have to go back for another 6 months. I also had mom help me out with a few phone calls to take care of some of their banking business. We also enjoyed a phone call from my mom's brother Joe. We all had lunch together in their dining room and I treated them to some roses and chocolates for Valentine's Day. I even managed to get to my water aerobics class before heading over to their apt.

On Sunday morning we all enjoyed Scout Sunday mass. I picked up my parents for the noon mass and met Scott and Tom at the church. Scott received a religious medal that he earned last year. After mass, we all went to the boy scout pot luck brunch in the cafeteria. I made a big pan of crescent roll hot dogs(they were eaten all up!) as well as bringing a batch of lemon cream cheese danishes. Many of the scouts did not make it to the mass because they were camping and their truck would not start in the cold that morning.  We all enjoyed our meal, and then said goodbye to Tom as he headed to the airport. Tom is spending the following week out in San Francisco for work.

We had some rough weather over the weekend. A bit of snow, but mainly very strong winds. Tom was able to fly out on schedule on Sunday. Scott had Monday off for President's Day, so I let him enjoy The Spongebob Movie with his friend Jason on Sunday night. Afterwards, Scott spent the night at Jason's house for a sleepover and lots of video games and movies. They both had a great time but did not get too much sleep.

Scott also had his first job interview last week. He is going for the same job Allison had as a skate guard at the Roller Rink. He has some paperwork to fill out, and then we will know for sure if he has the position. We took him out to dinner afterwards for doing such a great job.

And of course he also stays busy during the week with his boy scout meetings. He is working towards earning his Personal Fitness badge which is required for Eagle. Then he will just have one more badge to complete for the requirement, as well as completing a project.

Scott had been busy getting all his homework done ahead of time this past weekend, along with spending a few hours at his Robotics team meeting on Sunday afternoon. He was happy to have had two half days at school last week for Parent Teacher conferences.  I picked him up Sunday after having my tires looked over at Costco. My low pressure light went off. I think the oil change guys took out too much air! The gauge went off after they refilled the tires. I was glad it was nothing too serious since we are looking to have a few snow storms in the coming week. And I do not need to have car problems while trying to get to work.

For once, Tom will be in the warmest part of the country this upcoming week.

Scott received his Religious Scout Medal at a special mass this past Sunday.

 Scott enjoys brunch with Gma and Gpa Bozyk

 Pika our cat likes snuggling on Scott's High School sweatshirt on cold days
( I don't think she likes us bugging her!) Pika is 15 years old!

Joe and Kathy-Here is the tour of the Florida house. Front room, large window to left(check out the fishing lures above the curtain) Mr Irons ran a bait shop in Venice

 Turn to your right, dining area, kitchen to left, enclosed porch behind curtains

 Standing behind the table, looking into the kitchen on the right

 Standing in kitchen(overlooks the enclosed porch and canal)

 Back of kitchen

 Full bath(shower on left)

 Master bedroom

 Door to garage, kitchen to right

 Back enclosed porch

 Looking into main room, kitchen to right, table on left

 2nd full bath(tub and shower on right)

 Second bedroom. Has a third, small bedroom not shown.

 Canal in back-dock, bay ahead and out to Gulf to right.

 Looking straight out across the canal from back of house

 Boat lift

 Back of house

 Back of house. Canal on right, enclosed porch

 Left side of house(from canal)

 Right side of house(from canal side) Garage on right and master bedroom.

Right  Side of house

  Right Side of house

 Air conditioner/water softener.  Not sure if either work

 garage

I did not take a photo of the front of the house this time. Too many cars parked in front when we left. I know I have a photo somewhere in my files. Address is 506 Pine Cone Lane, Nokomis. Off Albee I believe(main road to Nokomis beach). Tom's parents often eat at Pops-at the marina on the left just before the drawbridge at Nokomis beach. Kathleen

This past weekend was jam packed with activity. Friday evening I had my parents over for dinner. I threw a pot roast in the oven and picked them up and brought them over to our house (after a quick trip to the Goodwill to search for warm sweaters).

Fortunately we have not needed too many sweaters this winter. Our weather even warmed up to spring like conditions this last week. And fortunately we have been missing the really big storms. Mostly we have had a few inches of snow, rain or sleet with a few hours school delay. And a snow day here and there for Scott. But looks like the ground hog saw his shadow. So another 6 weeks of winter for us!

Scott officially had Friday off for a teacher inservice day. He spent his time catching up on homework, but took a break  to see a movie with his friends. They saw a new Sci Fi flick-Project Almanac. The kids really enjoyed this movie about time travel. Tom decided to go with him and catch a movie too. I still had to drive my parents back to their place, so I did not join him. Tom caught Jupiter Rising and really did not like it. We were all going to see the newest Hobbit movie a few weeks ago with free movie passes. But apparently the movie passes expired. Oh well. We just could not find a time to get all 4 of us together at once.

On Saturday, Scott and I traveled with a group from church to spend the day skiing. This trip was supposed to be in December, but was rescheduled due to the snow tubing being closed. The middle school church group went snow tubing and the high school kids went skiing. I signed up to chaperone and ended up driving too. I just had Scott and one of his friends, Tori. We had a beautiful day and this was a new ski resort for us to try out. I think I prefer some of the other ski hills that we have been to before, but it was a very nice day to be outside and playing in the snow(without being too cold). But I sure was tired after a day of working on staying upright while falling down a hill! I don't think any part of me wasn't sore. But we all had a good time. I was glad I made it to my pool exercise class on Friday morning to get everything stretched out ahead of time.

On Sunday, Scott served the 9am mass. He spent the rest of the day working on a paper. I spent Sunday afternoon at a Boy Scout parent meeting for the summer camping trip for the Order of the Arrow jamboree. SCott will be traveling to Michigan this August to attend a jamboree at MSU for a week. They are taking a bus out and will be stopping at Cedar Point overnight. I think Scott is looking forward to his own trip and not tagging along with the girl scouts this time. And he should have fun at MSU, staying in the dorms and participating in all the activities they have planned. We will probably tag along and visit with friends in Michigan while he is busy at State.

Scott also keeps attending his Robotics team meetings and boy scouts during the week. He also was asked to come in for a job interview next week for the Skate Guard position like Allison had at Columbia Supreme sports club. He is very excited about the possibility of getting a job.

Congrats also goes out to Allison and her roommate for finally getting their name in the local paper for making the Deans List at school.

And a very Happy Birthday to our nephew, Eric Seitz! Sounds like he enjoyed his special Snow Day celebration!


Cookie enjoys keeping Grandpa company during a Siesta

 Scott and Tori take a break after a long day of skiing

So it was back to our normal schedule last week. Allison went back to school and started Spring semester. She seems happy with her new Accounting class, English-Short stories, Geography/Science pre req.  and Art/Drawing. Apparently her artwork is so good, the instructor cannot believe she isn't an art major. Tom says she can be a business major that does art, not the other way around. She also feels better prepared in her new Accounting class and right at home in her English class as she read most of the short stories in Middle school!  She is also happy to be training and working out with her Frisbee team. The girls are getting geared up for another season. They also take time out to get together for socials, which is terrific.

Scott also headed back to school after surviving his midterms. Although he got an extra couple of days off due to the threat of snow. We lucked out and missed most of the big snow which headed up to Boston. Still, a few inches of snow, plus frozen rain and sleet made for a lousy commute to work. Scott was happy to stay home and get in more video/computer time with his friends. He also managed to attend boy scouts and robotics.

Last Saturday, Tom and Scott spent a few hours volunteering with the Boy Scout Troop  at an outdoor annual cub scout event: The Klondike Derby. Scott's troop is responsible for helping the boys cross "The Monkey Bridge"-ie rope bridge. Scott was asked to supervise the hot cocoa station this year. Much bigger responsibility. At least it was not too cold to stand outside in the woods.

Tom spent the rest of the weekend reassembling the shower in our Master bathroom. All the tiles were falling off the wall. When we remodeled the house and built on the garage, the tiles became loose and water has slowly been seeping in. We discovered that the builders had placed the tiles directly on the drywall, so no water proofing. The drywall was saturated and the tiles began falling off.

 Our very own Puppy Bowl! Ripley and Cookie enjoy Super Bowl rawhide treats during the game.

 Tom and I would prefer to remodel our entire bathroom and install a new, large

walk in shower to replace our big, unused garden tub. So instead of retiling the current shower, Tom just installed a plastic unit to get by until we are ready to break the bank and go with the upgrade. We had to pick up the parts at Home Depot on Friday. Once again I am happy to have my van. Of course none of the new parts fit easily with the old shower parts-Tom had to do plumbing and soldering and move the old faucet(the new faucet did not fit and was not in the right place for the new shower wall). And the new door was too big, so Tom had to make adjustments to that too. So several days later we have a working shower(but it won't be featured in Home and Garden I'm afraid). I think I will start shopping for a bathroom design. Looks like bathroom remodeling is the thing to do in the winter!

So besides trips to Home Depot, I also had to run errands for us and my parents. On Friday morning I met my parents at their apt with their new Estate Planning Lawyer. They had some paperwork to sign for their trust in order to make certain everything fits with Maryland law(instead of Michigan). Afterwards we went out to lunch and then a quick trip to the grocery store. I also had to  stop and get the oil changed on my van, and finish up grocery shopping this weekend for the Super Bowl. We invited our neighbors over on Sunday night to watch the game and enjoy pizza and shredded pork sandwiches. Too bad the game is on a Sunday night. It is hard to get back to work the next day. Although we weren't very thrilled with either team, we did enjoy watching the game and having our friends over for dinner. Along with our friend's puppy. We had our own Puppy Bowl!

I also enjoyed a Girls Night Out playing Bingo Friday night at our church. Church decided to try something different-A 21 and older, BYOB event. It was a big hit. We enjoyed bringing in snacks and alcoholic drinks. We also enjoyed having dinner at one of the ladie's houses right before Bingo. We did not enjoy losing all the Bingo games. Not even one winner of a door prize. But I am happy to say I was finally a big winner at the end of the night. I brought home a Spirit Wear basket for Scott's high school. He was excited that I won him a new sweatshirt, tshirt, sports bottles and travel mug. I also got a scarf and magnets for the car. I just wish it had come in a Vera Bradley bag! Oh well. You take what you get. We ladies are looking forward to another night out in February-Paint and Pinot(drink wine). That should be interesting. It is for a good cause-a high school fund raiser. We must support our schools!