New Feature on the Blog - our very own Flea Market!

Hi guys,
I thought this might come in handy. I added a page called Avalon Flea Market. It may take a little while to get going but once people are aware of it, I'm sure it will come in handy. My thought was to provide a place for people to post items for sale, or items they are looking for. It can also be used to ask where you can find a certain item, or do you know a good mechanic. Check it out and feel free to give it a try. ( I edited the page this morning to allow comments to be added - just add your post as a comment and it will be viewable by all who visit the page)
Once we are all back at Avalon I will make sure the blog is mentioned at the meetings so we will get more and more folks participating.
See you soon. (13 more sleeps for me before I get moving south!)

Hello My Friends

I'm writing a short note just to say hello to each and every one of you. Time is flying by and my work is quickly coming to a close so I have been very busy meeting deadlines and making sure everything is set to roll along smoothly while I play hookey. I am hearing from a few friends who have started their annual southern migration and I am getting very excited to get going....17 more sleeps! We are going to have a great season this year. I am trusting that the weather will be much better than the last few years.
I can't wait to give you all hugs.
I am hoping we can start a couple of more special interest activities. A craft night would be great so we can get the seasonal decorations spruced up. I would like to start a zumba class for any one who is interested in this fabulous workout geared to movement and rhythm in a party atmosphere.
Get ready to shake your booty! You will be amazed at how much energy you get and how easily the techniques adapt to people of all ages and abilities.
I can't wait to see my pink bouganvillia in front of my house - is it in bloom yet?
I am going to start packing soon...Florida .....here I come ...hang in there Linda Williams and Tom and Barb. You won't be alone for long. The invasion is on it's way.
Drive safe everyone.

Something new on the Blog

Hi friends. You will notice a new box in the upper right hand corner of this page. It will have labels of new pages I am adding from time to time. You can toggle between pages to get back and forth from the home page (this one) to any other pages that interest you. The newest label is Book Reviews and it will include reviews of books I have been reading that I will bring to Avalon with me. Happy Reading!

Cruise anyone?

Here's the latest on getting hooked up with bus transportation for the cruise in January. I received this message from Ron & Pat Vanover this afternoon:

Pat writes:
I got a call from Linda Williams. She said she and George were working on bus prices last spring and she found a good deal.
I told her Ron and I are going to be going to Florida so much later this year than we want to that it would be difficult for us to find a bus, get a head count and collect the money and if she could do it it would be so much better. We were only trying to get it together because we did not know she was inquiring about it. As usual Linda is doing this for us all. I guess we should call or e-mail her to be put on the list for the bus. So Linda, put Ron & I down to go on the bus and let us know how much and when you need the money.

Thanks again Linda...Ron & Pat

I will e-mail Linda Williams and send her the names of all who have posted or e-mailed me that they are interested in bus transportation for the cruise. I will post the details about the price and how to register after I touch base with Linda.
Ed & I are planning on leaving for Florida around the 8th of Nov. Can't wait to see everyone.
Happy trails and safe travels to all.

The excitement is building!

Can you feel it yet? Summer slowly sneaks away as Autumn steadfastly creeps across the landscape - leaves turning from yellow to red to brown - and finally a cool breeze pulls them from their lofty home and gravity draws them back to feed the earth from where they came.
You enjoy the crisp edge of the morning air and the sweet scent of leaves underfoot as they decay and form the first layer of winter's blanket preparing to cover Mother Earth.
You especially enjoy it because you know what it means - almost time to head to Florida, the land of sun and fun in the winter (Oh, please God, let it be sunny and warm this winter!)
I am hearing from many friends and I can feel the excitement growing....." Can't wait to see our friends" ... "Brrrr...it's starting to get a little chilly around here" .... " Should we bring some beads for Mardi Gras?".... "When are you leaving for Florida?".... everybody is starting to prepare for the great Avalon reunion.
I hope you are as excited as we are to get back to the good life!

When you are looking over the blog make sure you check out any comments that have been added to the posts. Sometimes they include updates from friends. Just click on the place where it says "1 comment" or "2 comments" at the end of a post and you will be able to read whatever has been added by one of our followers. For example both Pauline & Harvey and Jackie & John have added comments to the previous post to say hello and tell us of their plans.

I received a little message from Ron & Pat Vanover to pass on to all:

Anyone going on the cruise in January please let me know so I can let you know about the bus.

If you need to respond to Pat & Ron's message and you don't have their e-mail address just e-mail me and I will forward it to them.

Well boys and girls, start thinking about what you need to pack and don't forget your sunscreen - I hope we need a lot of it this year!

I will close with another tidbit from Marvin Harrison:

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."

Time flies when you are having fun...

It seems to travel even faster when you are hard at work! The first few weeks of the new school year always keep me busy. I will be happy when I am once again semi-retired and living the dream in Florida.

I have received a couple of emails with news from some of our friends.

Donna B sent us an update on Lenny:

Lenny's surgery took over 3 hours, I was in a panic because the Dr. expected it to take only 2 hours unless there was complications. As it turned out, all is well so far, it appears to be a sebaceous cyst, the Dr. took several sections and had a frozen biopsy done while in the OR, they turned out okay (again) but the real test will be the pathology report from the actual cyst. She did have to remove one salivary gland on the lower left side and he has a drain in his neck. He looks all swollen, and his face is twice the normal size. The Dr. took 4 other 'blind' biopsies from the back of nose, tongue, neck and esophagus; hopefully they will turn out okay too. For those of you that have a Facebook account, check out the photo that Tina posted.

Love to everyone,

Donna

Thanks Donna for letting us know how everything is going. Poor Lenny! We all wish Lenny a speedy recovery and a clean bill of health so you can enjoy the coming season with all of your friends at Avalon.

Kirby and Deb are looking forward to winter at Avalon as well. Kirby writes:

Hi there, I've just been reading news from the "blog" you are doing a good job with it, Thanks! My golfing season is just about over, so I am looking forward to heading south. Just a small update: My lung problems are much better, I gained about 100 lbs. over the summer, I am completely bald, and I had a brain transplant. other than that , just a routine summer. Debbie is doing fine. Her Momma has to have eye surgery, so we will have to stay around for that, but, we hope to get to Avalon by early November. Will be glad to see all the " boys and girls". Glad you and Ed are staying healthy, we need a few healthy boys and girls to keep things going. Love from the Kentucky Colonel.


And here are some final words of wisdom from Marvin Harrison (of the famous Thursday night singing duo - "Bob & Marvin")

"Always take life with a grain of salt... plus a slice of lemon... and a shot of tequila."

Have a good one!

Some more pics - Hope it works this time!