Kathy from Valrico, Florida, USA

Hi, Kathy!

We had a wonderful 4th! Cookout at the neighbors, then fireworks on Jekyll Island where we set up our beach chairs in the sand. It was wonderful hearing the waves crashing on the shore while enjoying the fabulous fireworks display! We could also see the fireworks at St. Simons Island and Sea Island.

It would be great if you and Rob could come to our August tennis tournament! The normal format is mixed doubles-round robin (different partner each round). We're having our monthly board meeting next Wednesday at which time we will finalize the August tournament. We had thought about making it a men's and women's doubles (no mixed doubles) elimination tournament, but I think we're going to save that for winter when we can play over several days. Our summer tournaments are just played on Saturdays. If you are interested, I'll give you more info. I'll also throw it out to the other tennis players in Sudokuland. Wouldn't it be neat if several of them came! I have a friend from Ft. Myers who will be playing in the August tournament and staying with us a few days, so I'm afraid I can't offer you a guest room, but I would be very happy to find accommodations for you on Jekyll. There are lots of options - ranging from the historic Jekyll Island Club Hotel (see website: http://www.jekyllclub.com/) to a Days Inn (http://www.daysinnjekyll.com/) Houses are also available to rent for full or partial weeks. Some are very inexpensive, and all are close to the beach and tennis facility. (http://www.parker-kaufman.com/jekyll/pk08000.htm)

Let me know what you think!!!

I'm really excited that you're thinking of coming for the tournament! Here is a website for all the Jekyll Island hotels: www.jekyllisland.com/accomodations/hotels.asp
There are also hotels on St. Simons Island (we're 18 miles from Jekyll, so it's not a long drive). Here's the website for the King and Prince Hotel: www.kingandprince.com and the Village Inn: http://www.villageinnandpub.com/
Plus, here is a website for all St. Simons hotels: http://hotel-guides.us/georgia/st-simons-island-ga-hotels.ht ml

Let me know if you have any luck! If not, we can always check out the I-95 corridor.

Hi, Kathy!

I'm taking a break from Wimbledon to answer your post. Did you see the Djokovic-Baghdatis match? 5 hours! I'm sorry Marcos didn't win because I don't think Djokovic will be able to put up much of a fight against Nadal tomorrow - unless he pulls off a miraculous recovery from his back problem. Anyway, it's good that we're finally getting some uninterrupted (weatherwise) coverage of Wimbledon!

I'm sorry you won't be able to make it for our August tournament. That's the last one until winter. We don't schedule tournaments during our spring and fall seasons because two of our divisions play their matches on the weekend. However, if you have a chance to stop by on your way to Fripp in October, I would love to meet you for lunch (or whatever - depending on what time you'd be passing through this area).

Take care, and enjoy the remaining Wimbledon matches!

Hi Kathy, thanks for visiting and greetings from the other side of the state. Plenty of rain here too, lawn is almost knee high and too soggy to mow. Seems if I have a day off, it rains. I'll post more pics as soon as I master resizing them. You have a beautiful family too. I'm jealous of all those grandbabies, I'm ready for one. Take care, Cindy

Hi Kathy, and thank you for visiting my page. Nice to know I'm not alone in wanting to see correctly spelt English. Let's try to keep them on their toes!

Hi, Kathy!

Sure hope you can make it to our tournament in August. A week or two notice is all I need. And I can get by with even less in a pinch. There are a couple of teenagers who work part-time at the tennis center who fill in when we have an odd number. The cost is $10 a person, payable at Jekyll the day of the tournament. Sometimes it's only $8 depending on the generosity of Pete, the pro at Jekyll. Normally, the club gets $7 and the league gets $3, but Pete often only charges $5 for the use of the club. The Jekyll Island Tennis center is owned by the State of Georgia, so it's not a real profit center!!! Anyway, keep me posted. It would be great if you and Rob can make it.

Have you been watching Wimbledon? I enjoyed watching Venus win, Federer's match was predictable, and Nadal's match was disappointing; it really looked like Djokovic had a chance!

Kathy, thanks for your message! I sent you a longish catch-up email earlier today -- and it has been returned as undeliverable!! I shall try again. In the meantime, perhaps this will reach you. WHAT A GREAT PICTURE!! In fact, all of them (in Flickr-land) are wonderful. What a lovely family you have. And Ebony is adorable! Truly epoustouflante!!

Hi, Kathy!

I agree with you about this year's Wimbledon. The powers-that-be really dropped the ball (pun intended) by not scheduling matches on the middle Sunday. In an interview, one of the officials defended their decision by stating that 'the players enjoy having a day off'. That's a bunch of bull! I'm sure they would have been happy to play on Sunday if it meant having a day's rest between a couple of their matches! Anyway, the men's final was worth the entire two weeks! I wish I had taped it. It was one of the very best matches I've ever seen!

Keep me posted on your possible trip to our neck of the woods for the August tournament. And if you come, we would love to have you over for a cookout either the 17th or 18th.

Enjoy your summer!

Poor Ebony. In Rob's absence, I should light a candle for your beloved dog ... I certainly hope all ailments heal quickly so Ebony won't have to return to the vet's anytime soon. It can be so stressful for pets, but Ebony is blessed to have such a caring and loving owner. Give your sweet pup a cuddle for me. (Haven't been around for a few days--a quick update on Rocko and Nal? What's that story?)

Kathy; saw your note about 'baby' Ebony and the mang. Th first two dogs we 'rescued' each ended up having demadex (sp?) mange. (One reason to have females spayed so early). Both puppies went thru the dips and treatments (we had to do the last few) with no problems; I feel sure baby Ebony will do just fine as well. Jazz will keep Ebony in her prayers; as will I.
I do have to tell you that our first puppy was back in the early 70's when we were in Auburn (Home of THE best vet school). The vet told us that the treatments would either cure the puppy or kill her; and if she died, they would not charge us! The puppy was a chihuahua, and she never showed any signs again of the mange. By the time we got our second puppy, here in SC, the treatments were the same, pretty much, but our (Auburn grad) Vet was a lot more certain that the outcome would be good, and it was. We will certainly be thinking about you. Please keep me informed on how things are going.

Hope all else is well with you and yours.

What a beautiful family you have Kathy!
Was very excited about Wimbledon results! Just the French.... one day!

SIMSUN is a TrueType Font Style. If you go to the Character Map and look through the various font styles, you may find it listed. I don't know if it is on the Windows version you are using. I think it is probably Chinese - it is loaded with ideographs that are quite beautiful and interesting. To write like that would take ages.

Hi Kathy, What a beautiful daughters and grandchildren. Looks like they were all having a lot of fun in SC. Mike is doing very well since his surgery. It's been less than a month and he has already mowed the lawns twice (riding lawn mower). He says the only discomfort is the rubbing of his shirt against his 6 inch cut. Tasha is leaving on the 18th for Charleston, SC. She requested and got a transfer to the Naval Base there to be with her husband, Jeff, for 2 months while she is waiting to transfer to Pensicola, Fl for flight school (in Oct.).
And SaraLyn got her first job, now that she has graduated from HS. She told me that she could always cut lawns because she didn't think she'd be able to get a job. Now she is working at the front desk at a local motel and loves it. And what a self esteem booster, she also was offered jobs at a pet store, a grocery store, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware Store, Payless Shoe Store, and just today she got a call asking her if she wanted to work at another motel in housekeeping. She had actually applied for a job in housekeeping where she now works. Mike told her to dress really nice (in a dress) and to talk to the manager everytime she turns in an application. The called her just 2 days later and said that because she dressed nice and he enjoyed talking to her, he wanted her at the front desk instead. She really loved getting her first pay check, too! I would love to hear from you again when you get a chance.

Thank you for your kind words, Kathy. Yes, my Nan is my Grandmother. I love her so much and it was so sad to see her having to go through all of the funeral arrangements and all the stuff that goes with death. I suppose it is part of life, it's just something I have never experienced before (the death of a close relative). Something I will always remember are the words of Bono (from U2), 'Smell the flowers while you can'.

And happy Birthdayx!!

Kathy, I thought I would stop by your place and say Hi! Hope you're having a good day! Here are some flowers to brighten it! Hope Ebony has speedy and successful dippings! Your family is beautiful. Is that 6 boys and 1 girl? They look like they had fun. My kids loved Myrtle Beach last year when we went with inlaws families for 50th anniversary. They want to go back again. Visit my page anytime! Remember, you're always welcome on the SA2 page(under Clips conversations) if you ever want to chat! Take care!

Gday Kathy, been a while since I last visited so I thought I'd pop in and invite you to my page to see the pics I've been able to put up, thanks to Gath's new toy.
Come in, help yourself to a drink, grab a chair and relax.
Enjoy.

Yes, Kathy, the news made the rounds and so many of us were teary over the sad loss of Rocko. Here's hoping Nal will feel comforted knowing we care.
Anyway, you're off again, which is great--have a wonderful trip!

Thank you my friend! I am sending you and Ed an e-mail. Enjoy your trip and give Ebony loads of hugs for me.

Thank you Kathy for you lovely words on my page. I am much better now so hopefully will be posting more often. I hope you and Rob have a wonderful break and look forward to seeing you soon. Beautiful photograph of your family xx

Hi Kathy - I may be heading for Florida soon. I am going to go and kidnap my mother and bring her back to Michigan. I just don't think she is getting the medical care she needs. She has been in pain way too long. If I do come, I would like to meet you somewhere. Maybe in Punta Gorda? I should know by the week-end.

I know you won't be here for a couple of days. I hope you and your hubby are having a nice mini-break. I had to pop in and thank you for your kind words about my photos and especially the very sweet things you said about my family. In answer to your queries, we have been here for 8 years next January. We were very lucky in that a lot of the plants were already established. We have just created beds around existing plants and adding our own bits and pieces. I love gardening, it is my hobby I suppose you could say and I always like to think of the physical benefits in hard work and fresh air. It is beautiful here, sometimes the silence can be deafening!

Check your new inbox feature.

Well Kathy, I don't think I will be coming down very soon. I spoke with my mom this morning. She has acquired more problems and I don't have the heart to bring her home on that long journey.

Do you have a good trip? It is good to have you back.

Hello Kathy - An SA meeting sounds like fun and I definitely would like to meet Carol also. So a later time may be better for everyone.

My dad said that they are getting more rain now. Not a lot, but they have been getting a shower everyday. They were getting thunder this morning. It had been thundering for over an hour.

Hello Kathy - Boy, I understand about lightning. We have friends who were camping about 12 years ago. (With the Boy Scouts) It came up a bad storm. The rain was pouring and the door had a canopy over it. The poles to the canopy needed to be repositioned because of all of the rain. The dad and oldest son got up to do it and lightning struck. It threw the dad into the tent and knocked the son unconscience. The other two sons and mom all felt it too. The son was rushed to the hospital and today he still has the scar. The hospital was amazed that he survived. The said the only thing that saved him was that he didn't have shoes on and it allowed the electricity to go back into the ground. It was a lesson for all scouting families to learn.

I am glad you are getting rain. My dad's well that he waters his lawn with dried up about 5 months ago. He said that with the rain they have been getting his lawn is starting to turn green again.

By the way, how is Ebony?

Hi Kathy, thanks for visiting my page. It's interesting in the winter because it can be cloudy at the lake but where we are it can be sunny. I love looking at the sea of clouds on the way down. You have a beautiful family. Asa reminds me of my Amber. She likes to be buried in the sand, too. Did Ebony have fun at the beach? When we took Nuka to the beach she had a great time.

Hi Kathy, good to see you and Rob had a great time while visiting my beautiful state. I too have enjoyed touring Gettysburg, and the Baltimore Harbor area. are you two home now for awhile? You still have another trip to S.C this year don't you? Ebony is going to have to learn to enjoy traveling to keep up with you guys...lol. Isn't it wonderful that Nal was able to adopt a new pup...I wondered if her plight with Rocco bought back unpleasant memories for you. It hasn't been that long since you went through the same sadness and joy. If it did, I'm sorry, but you did a great job of reaching out to her despite your own experience....that's being a real friend. You know its one of the things we see on this site often...Nice people being nice to each other......Life is good!

thank you for visiting my page, and of course I don't mind if you use the smilies.

Sorry Kathy, forgot to let you know that I work for a Chiropractor, I am the office manager as well as work on the front desk, I don't normally work on Mondays, I was filling that day and it just so happened to be a day when everything that could go wrong did, lol.

Good Morning Kathy - Jenny is getting a 'new kind' of education with her job! She is one of the new cashier's at K-mart. She also started her classes at the Community College a few weeks ago and is enjoying that very much. I hope you have a good day at the Tennis Court.

Good morning, Kathy, and I hope your weekend was full of fun and laughter. So Nal has a new family member? I must drop her a note--I'm so glad. When you've got that much love to give, it's nice that another pet will benefit from Nal's good heart. Wishing you and yours a superb week!

Oops! I forgot ... huge canine hug for Ebony!

Hi, Kathy!

Welcome back! I saw a couple of your postings, but I've been in and out of the site - mostly out - the past few days. Lots of stuff going on locally. I played in our round robin tournament at Jekyll on Saturday and only lasted two rounds. The pain in my hand came back, so it's back to the doctor. Rats!

I don't know if I'll be able to play in the August tournament, but since I'll be running it, I'll still be there! So if you and Rob can swing it, please try to come! We always have a wonderful bunch of people participate, and I know you'd enjoy it.

I was so sorry to hear about Ebony's travails. I know how attached you are to her. Hopefully, she'll outgrow some of her problems. She looks like such a sweetheart.

Cheers! Jane

Morning, Kathy! Too bad about your tennis match! Them's the breaks, I guess ... It's hazy here today in Hamilton (an hour from Toronto, forty minutes from Niagara Falls)and we're supposedly in for a humid week, which makes me cranky as sin. I'm useless with computers, so will try again (without my husband's help) to get pictures of Spike and Holmes on my page. We've just switched to a digital camera recently, too, so everything is new and confusing. MizTricia gave me instructions for getting started on avatars, but I keep getting messages saying the image is too big ...
No kids or grandkids for us, just our feline family! We had our first cat, Sherlock, for 18 years. Then came Watson, followed by Moriarty and Holmes (brothers) and Spike. When Moriarty died of cancer at age eight, we adopted Arthur. We still miss our boys who've left us and always recognize their last days with us. Hoping to have this computer thing down pat so I can post pictures when we get back from our anniversary trip (to the French and Italian Rivieras) at the end of August. Meanwhile, I struggle ...
Cheers, and have a glorious day!

Kathy, Thanks for your visit! Sean, Ashley, and Bergen live about 360 mountain miles away from us. No ''spontaneous'' trips. Ashley's parents live in Evergreen (about 20 miles from us), so no baby competition unless they are here in town. Mom was super, only a couple of shots (fentynl and nubaine), and only a little tear. Bergen wasn't sure how to nurse at first, so blood sugar went down and bilirubin went up. Baby and mom are fine now, I go back in a week to spend my ''Nana week''.

Hi, Kathy! I got your 'private message' through my regular Outlook Express e-mail, but there was nothing in the inbox on my page. Anyway, it was good to hear from you! I'm going to call my doctor today to make an appointment for the MRI. It IS frustrating not to be able to play tennis! Fortunately, this time of year there are so many other things to do: kayak, swim, ride my bike. But as you can appreciate, there is nothing like tennis!!! I have decided that if there is nothing that can be done surgically (I do not believe in prescription drugs), I will teach myself to use a two-handed forehand (backhand shots don't hurt), but I will not give up tennis!!!

By the way, that Key West picture was taken last November, so it wasn't outrageously hot, but I still don't know why Jaime wasn't wearing shorts - or Crocs!!! (Did you notice that the rest of us had our Crocs on. Don't know how I lived without them!)

Give Ebony a hug for me!
Jane

Kathy! We're celebrating our big 25th on August 7th, but not leaving for our trip until the 17th (couldn't resist the travel deal). We're so looking forward to it. We already used our digital camera when we went to Utah in June and were pleased with the quality of pictures it took and yes, we like that we can erase those out of focus shots and duplicates. I'm sure we'll become old hands at using the camera soon. (I hope!) Well, off to work. Have a fabulous day and spend it with people you love!

Got the comment on the Photo page. However, it probably would be best to leave coment on the person's page - if a reply is wanted. Reason - the individual does not know a comment was posted, unless they have opened up their picture.

Zebra was taken with a telephoto lense, picture was also cropped. for stopping by - hope you got some of the Strawberry Pie (recipe on recipe page).

Hi Kathy, I came by to answer the questions you left on my page. Chelsea will be six in October and will be starting Grade 1 in September(I'm not sure of the exact date probably the 4th). Amber is 9. Her school year starts, has hols, and ends whenever we feel like it because she is homeschooled. If she went to school, she would be in Grade 4 in Sept. We are starting a new program this fall so she has some Grade 2 & 3 work to catch up on first.