The cool temp here in Titusville this morning is 56 deg. Enough said!
Fire in the hearth...
Friday, December 29, 2017
Weather in CT vs FL
This morning it's 6 deg in Preston CT. That's 31 degrees colder than we keep our refrigerator set at.
The cool temp here in Titusville this morning is 56 deg. Enough said!
Fire in the hearth...
The cool temp here in Titusville this morning is 56 deg. Enough said!
Fire in the hearth...
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Instant Pot Stuffed Cabbage
Yesterday I decided to try an Instant Pot recipe for Stuffed Cabbage...https://www.pinterest.com/pin/459156124501300703/ and it came out surprisingly good! I did the scut work (mostly) but Alice had to help me fold in the ingredients into the cabbage leaves before the final cooking. I'm finding we're using the IP more and more....wonderfully efficient kitchen appliance :).
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Louie and the Christmas Cactus
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Christmas Greetings, 2017
![C:\Users\Bob Payette\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\KATTFAKP\MC900432427[1].wmf](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/24Ig0D3m_DHe8XH0u7PhUwtMFxgdgIuYGzrSeqqrPu9QEDyw9hdJcRkPOk8qvrmDjDbkLU8a2IgLz8nH1F1QfvtpjpjyNZGzm3dMVJ3Axopp06vV3kL5JJL6Mdk-FMnNEJzFRIZpdLYzcFTM5A)
Christmas, 2017- The Payette Family of Titusville, Florida.
Merry Christmas to our friends and relatives from Alice and Bob! Having family and good friends is the best blessing, and we are grateful for ours.
We feel very blessed in our Florida home, and love the lifestyle and climate here in Titusville. The regional theaters (Titusville Playhouse, Henegar Theater, Cocoa Playhouse, Melbourne Civic Theater etc) and Big Band concerts in Melbourne keep us busy on weekends along with monthly camping excursions in our motor home. I try to keep our Blog reasonably current, and you’re invited to take a look if you are inclined….at http://bobpayette.blogspot.com/. There are links to most of our photo’s you can peruse from the Blog if you’d like….you’ll have to sign it with your Google account for full access. You can “subscribe” to the Blog if you’d like our postings automatically forwarded to your email account.
Our health is reasonably good and we’re still glamping with the motor home, at least monthly. Unfortunately our camping Good Sam Chapter was closed out this year….too many people getting old, tired and unable to participate :(. A group of us still camp and travel together unofficially...our next jaunt being a week-long excursion to the Pensacola area in the Panhandle the 2nd week of January.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and if a visit to Florida’s East Coast is in your plans contact us so we can get together! David and his fiancee Ashley have purchased a home here in town, so we have our guest room back. Our Town home is under an hour from Orlando International…..a straight shot down Interstate 528 with little traffic☺. We also hope you have a healthy and wonderful 2018….so Happy New Year!
Bob and Alice Payette
r.payette2@gmail.com alicepayette@gmail.com Best phone or text contact for Bob: 860. 460.7945 - For Alice: 860.912.7160
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Leaving late morning for Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach, FL
We're heading out noonish for Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach FL and we'll stay there thru Thursday. https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Tomoka . The weather looks to be excellent...we really haven't had any cold yet this year, but it's been "autumn" cool where we can keep the slider open at night for fresh air with the a/c ot kicking in. It IS nice to be heading out camping after Thanksgiving, and we'll be going out every month at least once thru the summer. Back home in CT the rig would be winterized, and we'd be making plans for our snow-birding excursion for the winter. We don't miss the drive out of the Northeast in the middle of winter....that was always anxiety producing. The idea of getting caught in a Class A motorhome towing a car in the mountains of Pa during a snowstorm always made me a tad anxious...
Thanksgiving was nice. David and Ashley and their two pooches were over for the day. The only negative was there was a bit of a dog commotion when someone walking their dog by our unit caught the attention of Ashley's dog, who barrelled out thru the screen door of the Florida room. I was up first and made sure there was no dog riot, but Ashley tripped on herself and did some damage to her foot. She went to the ER the next morning and she's now on crutches. Bummer!
Next month we'll be camping back to Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. That's only a half hour away from the house but one of our favorite camps, right on the open Atlantic. You can see the cruise ships arriving and leaving right from the campground, and The Cove area of the Port is right there with excellent restaurants.
Update December 2nd: Short Video Clip from the Tomoka State Park campout. https://photos.app.goo.gl/blrejs9whgFRhlCG3
Thanksgiving was nice. David and Ashley and their two pooches were over for the day. The only negative was there was a bit of a dog commotion when someone walking their dog by our unit caught the attention of Ashley's dog, who barrelled out thru the screen door of the Florida room. I was up first and made sure there was no dog riot, but Ashley tripped on herself and did some damage to her foot. She went to the ER the next morning and she's now on crutches. Bummer!
Next month we'll be camping back to Jetty Park in Port Canaveral. That's only a half hour away from the house but one of our favorite camps, right on the open Atlantic. You can see the cruise ships arriving and leaving right from the campground, and The Cove area of the Port is right there with excellent restaurants.
Update December 2nd: Short Video Clip from the Tomoka State Park campout. https://photos.app.goo.gl/blrejs9whgFRhlCG3
Friday, November 10, 2017
Veterans Day Concert - Melbourne Big Band
Thursday, November 09, 2017
Post camping group activity......
Reservations: 1-5 of 5▲ Previous | Next ▼ | |||||
| Reservation Number Status | Type | Location | Reservation Details | Total Fee: Balance Due | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reservations: 1-5 of 5▲ Previous | Next ▼ | |||||
| 2-34616638 FL Confirmed See Detail | Site | Tomoka State Park | Site: 097Sun Nov 26 2017 - Thu Nov 30 2017 (4 nights) | $60.70 :$0.00 | |
| 2-34617083 FL Confirmed See Detail | Site | Big Lagoon State Park | Site: 051Mon Jan 08 2018 - Fri Jan 12 2018 (4 nights) | $51.30 :$0.00 | |
| 2-34619082 FL Confirmed See Detail | Site | Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park | Site: 029Sun Feb 04 2018 - Thu Feb 08 2018 (4 nights) | $50.70 :$0.00 | |
| 2-34612943 FL Confirmed See Detail | Site | Lake Manatee State Park | Site: 005Sun Mar 04 2018 - Thu Mar 08 2018 (4 nights) | $55.98 :$0.00 | |
| 2-34602170 FL Confirmed See Detail | Site | Fort Clinch State Park | Site: 014Thu Sep 20 2018 - Thu Sep 27 2018 (7 nights) | $107.71 :$0.00 | |
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Wal-Mart online grocery ordering....
Update after pickup 10/19/17: Walmart sent me an email at 9:30a saying my order was ready. We had downloaded the App and clicked on "We're on our way" and when we got there they were coming out of the building with our order. He loaded it nicely in the trunk, answered all my questions, and we were on our way in five minutes. The eggs were NOT cracked, the bananas were perfect, the frozen food was frozen nicely....and we were given a nice gift basket of stuff that is useful. We definitely will be using this service!!Original Post: We do a lot of our grocery and staple shopping at Wal-mart, sharing with Aldi's and Publix and BJ's Warehouse....and yesterday, for the first time, we ordered groceries online with Walmart.
You go to Walmart/grocery and create an account http://r.wmt.co/gMSNg if you don't already have one and pick out what you want to order...i.e., 4 bananas, 1 gal of 2% milk, the various cat foods, pharmacy products...you name it. You see a complete description of each item with photo's.....so if you search for say toothpaste all the toothpaste they sell scrolls down with pricing and detail. It actually very civilized...you can do it from a phone, tablet or notebook computer. After you finish shopping you "check out" and pay for it with your preferred credit card, and set up a "pick up" time at the store. We're going to pick our up order this morning between 10 and 11 (they'll email me when it's ready, and I'll respond when we're leaving to pick it up). They load it in the car and off we go to home. The price you pay is the same as if you shopped in the store...no packing fees at all.
This is a "test" for us....I purposely chose some things that will give us an idea on how their packers do. Eggs, produce, things from pharmacy and frozen foods....a good variety to see how it's packed (are the banana's right, any eggs cracked, how hard is the ice cream?)
I also purposely "added to" the order after we'd closed it out and paid for it. They let you do that up to 12 hours prior to your scheduled pick-up, and I went in and added about 5 items. Once you do that it's just another debit hit to your card and the new order is combined with the old....very slick. :).
Most of us have shopped on Amazon and found it to be very seamless, and I think Wal-mart could be onto something with this grocery business. What we're losing is the extended walk and exercise through the big-box store, the waiting in line, the parking hassles... We'll do our walk outside at the town marina-park area and let Wal-mart pack the groceries. Could be a win-win! This is rolling out country-wide...just came to Titusville starting today and we're on it like white on rice :).
Please use this link if you decide to try the service....it will help the starving Payette's of Titusville: http://r.wmt.co/gMSNg
https://grocery.walmart.com/help#about-walmart-grocery
Sunday, October 08, 2017
We just got back in this afternoon from points North....
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Pulling the plug on our camping group, Space Coast Sams effective November 1, 2017
Very sad times. Yesterday I convened an emergency meeting of our Board of Directors of our Good Sam Chapter Space Coast Sams. Due to a lot of "perfect storm" events we concluded it was no longer viable to keep the Chapter running, and we voted for dissolution. Our Wagonmaster lost his rig in a recent tornado (Hurricane Irma), our Treasurer is moving to Atlanta Ga to be closer to family, and we lost more members to health than we can replace. Time to turn out the lights :(.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
End of September, and our local theater season has started...
Summer is over, but the only changes that are noticeable are a few more out of state licence plates as the early snow-birds start their annual flock. What IS noticeable is that our local theater season has begun. Last week it was "Dogfight" at the Henegar, and this weekend it's The Adams Family Musical on Saturday (Titusville Playhouse) and Beauty and the Beast at Cocoa Village.
We have several very good community theaters in our Titusville area and feel very blessed.
We have several very good community theaters in our Titusville area and feel very blessed.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Motorhome is GOOD....whew!!! :)
We just got back from Christmas a few hours ago. The access road to the storage area was clear, and the actual storage was dry with NO issues. Even the small boats and trailers that had covers were just fine....you'd never knew the wind blew ).
In the meantime, David came over and did some serious trimming on the palms and others plants that took a hit, with Joanna helping. Things are looking up!
In the meantime, David came over and did some serious trimming on the palms and others plants that took a hit, with Joanna helping. Things are looking up!
The after-storm loss of adrenaline..
Yesterday was a "lay back and glad we got through" kind of day. We could do that because we weren't hit that hard....were very fortunate in fact. About 80% of Titusville is still without power (including our son David & his Ashley and the restaurant he works at, Shilo's). Since he's off today and younger than us he volunteered to come over later and do some yard clean up. There are a lot of palm tree
issues and we might lose one totally....lost a hibiscus also, and our large cactus. These can be replanted and over the long run are not an issue.
More concerning is our motorhome which we store in Christmas Florida off Route 50. We went out to check it yesterday and the entrance road to the storage area was totally submerged and not passable. We'll go out later this morning and see if anything has changed.
More concerning is our motorhome which we store in Christmas Florida off Route 50. We went out to check it yesterday and the entrance road to the storage area was totally submerged and not passable. We'll go out later this morning and see if anything has changed.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Power on at 0700....
Unbelievably nasty night! The power just came on. We took some minor damage to a few soffits, lost my best outside cactus and some major palm fronds but all in all we're looking good. That being said, just as I'm typing this on the kitchen Samsung Chromebook Plus we had a light flicker...still blowing out there but not nearly as bad as the all-nighter howling. Will post more after my coffee.
Sunday, September 10, 2017
News update from Florida Today
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Very Blowsey....
Satellite TV has been in and out.....some electricity flickers but we haven't lost power yet. Just had cheeseburgers and banana splits so we're not suffering too much. Going to be an interesting night! Instead of stockings hung with care in front of the fireplace it's some of the plants we've taken in from the Florida room...and outside yard.
And so it begins...
Lost the Satellite TV about an hour ago...Doesn't take much weather to knock that out though....thank God for Netflex etc!. It is blowing pretty good....tornado warnings out for the entire county. Was watching Titanic earlier....quit when they hit the iceberg. Too hard to watch someone else going down by the head (.
Sunday morning overview for our Brevard County...
It's all fluid, but this is Florida Today's best guess as of early Sunday morning:
Late Sunday morning: Brevard will begin to experience tropical storm-force winds through the early afternoon as the Irma makes its way up the middle of the state and its outer bands begin to lap at the county.
Late Sunday afternoon: Brevard will begin to experience sustained tropical storm-force winds across the county.
Late Sunday afternoon: Brevard will begin to experience sustained tropical storm-force winds across the county.
Sunday evening: From the afternoon to evening, hurricane-force bands will begin to creep into the county, with parts of southern Brevard experiencing sustained hurricane winds.
Overnight Monday: After midnight Monday is when the brunt of the hurricane-force winds will come into the area. By 2 a.m. Monday, the county should be experiencing sustained hurricane-force winds.
Palm Bay: The Palm Bay police and fire departments will suspend emergency services once sustained winds reach 50 mph, Keely Leggett, city spokeswoman, announced Saturday morning. Once sustained winds drop below that threshold, Leggett said normal emergency response services will resume. This policy will be enacted to ensure the safety of police officers and firefighters.
Saturday, September 09, 2017
All is calm....just rain, and that's a good thing! But it's early....
Went out to Christmas to get some paper products out of the rig and do a quick filming....back home to find Louis the Ringneck really enjoying his bath on the almost empty porch...
0700 Saturday....long night!
Alice is up watching MSNBC looking to see if there is any change in the storm track. Overnight it appears to have shifted to the West, so it looks like the West Coast will take the biggest hit. But, the damn thing is so big it really doesn't matter I think...it's going up the entire peninsular. Alice just told me we're out of the "cone" so we might just get a bit lucky?
On a somber note, and this is something I hadn't even thought about (my bad) until I read it, here's an article from NPR that talks about what its like to be poor and dead in the path of the storm. We had to look for our supplies to get well stocked up, and when the cash got low we went to the ATM and got more....some folks have NO options. Very sad. http://www.npr.org/2017/09/08/549295524/poor-in-miami-hoping-to-ride-out-irma-on-bread-and-cans-of-tuna
On a somber note, and this is something I hadn't even thought about (my bad) until I read it, here's an article from NPR that talks about what its like to be poor and dead in the path of the storm. We had to look for our supplies to get well stocked up, and when the cash got low we went to the ATM and got more....some folks have NO options. Very sad. http://www.npr.org/2017/09/08/549295524/poor-in-miami-hoping-to-ride-out-irma-on-bread-and-cans-of-tuna
0430 Saturday
Sleep is difficult. Today is "get it in the house" day....deck stuff, plant stuff ....anything that can fly away or become a missile.
Friday, September 08, 2017
Irma post from our friend Nina...
Pretty much sums up Florida weather.
Not my words, but exactly what is going on between folks in Florida and loved ones that live elsewhere.
Dear everyone who doesn't live in Florida but loves someone who does, here are some things you need to know about hurricanes:
They don't come until they come, so if you ask us how we are on a 93-degree sunshiny day 72 hours before we expect the winds to start, don't be surprised if we tell you we're fine. Please believe us. We're actively preparing, and we're watching the forecast more closely than you are, but we're truly fine at the moment.
Hurricanes are unpredictable. No matter how good the models are, hurricanes often demonstrate a mind of their own. We're always hoping and praying for a turn or "wobble" that sends the monster further from civilization. But if you ask us what's going to happen three or four days from now, we honestly don't know for sure (and neither do the meteorologists).
An entire state can't evacuate. Everyone packing up, jumping into their cars and heading north may seem like a great idea. However, the truth is that those of us in "safer" inland regions generally need to stay put to reserve the roads, gas, hotel rooms, shelters, plane tickets, etc. for the most vulnerable folks who live on the coast in the storm's path (where evacuation orders exist). Some inland folks may choose to leave, but most of us stay put and follow the instructions of our local governments.
We truly appreciate your love and concern, the offers to stay in your homes, and most of all your prayers. Just know that the media is doing a pretty good job of stirring up your anxiety...and ours. Of course we're worried, but we're trying to do all the right things to prepare and not freak out. Thanks for offering words of love and encouragement (and not jumping on the freak-out wagon - it just makes it harder on us).
Praying for Irma to make a hard right turn before Miami,
Your Florida loved ones
Your Florida loved ones
Thoughts about Hurricane Irma, Friday Sept 8th, 2017
The hardest part seems to be the waiting....knowing it's on the way, that's she's aiming dead down the middle of the State but not knowing what the intensity will be when it gets here....hoping for the best, knowing it could be the worst. Watching Weather Channel constantly would have the average person shopping for razor blades. The Governor on downs job is to scare the bejesus out of everyone so that the folks in the evacuation zones do just that.
So we've done all that we feel we can to prepare. Our motor home is fueled up and parked in Christmas Florida. Hopefully if this Town House gets it bad the rig (ten miles West of us) will have gotten through. It has of course a generator, refrigeration etc and would be a good place to live if this one isn't....a hell of a lot better then going to a shelter. But, looking ahead there is NO way of knowing what is going to be affected so you don't know, until it happens, exactly what the problems are. We have water (drinking and cooking), propane for our small stove, a fair amount of canned goods and stuff in the freezer that can be used up if it hits the fan.
This morning its life as usual. Alice is going to get her nails done, I'm going to water the plants and start bring in outside ornaments that could fly around. Tomorrow morning Joanna is going to help me start bringing in stuff from the upper deck, and then the plants will come in and most of the stuff from the Florida room. This is not our first rodeo, but it looks to be one of the worst that could happen.
What keeps me some-what relaxed is that this development of 88 town homes has never, since it was built 45 years ago, ever suffered any major structural damages to any of the units through all the storms. There have been shingles torn off and some siding, trees dropped etc, but nothing horrible. I would not want to be South in Ford Lauderdale or worst yet, Miami or Hollywood. These places get torn up it seems on a very regular basis. Since we moved here to Titusville from CT we've actually ghad very temperate weather.
Update 12:00pm, Sept 8: Well, we went to the Motor Home in Christmas...closed all the vents and did a quick check on her...all ok. Then, we had the thought of getting a few sandbags for the front door. The Town has plenty of sand but ran out of bags, and both Ace hardware stores are also out. So much for being a day late and a dollar short! So, went into Publix and picked a few last minute food provisions...more water, some hot dogs and snacks.
Update, 1pm Sept 8th: Hurricane Irma continued its Category 4 crawl through the Caribbean Friday, with warning cones from the National Hurricane Center showing it overtaking Florida by Sunday evening.
While Irma's exact strength and trajectory could still fluctuate, the 150-mph windspeed storm is guaranteed to make an impact on Brevard County by late Sunday and early Monday.
As of Friday morning, Irma was just under 565 miles away, moving northwest toward Florida at 14 mph.
So what can Brevard residents expect — and when? Meteorologists with the National Weather Service, Melbourne, can't say with certainty exactly how strong the storm will be in a given area at a given time, but a general overview is possible.
More: Brevard Zoo staff prepares animals for Hurricane Irma
Late Sunday morning: Brevard will begin to experience tropical storm-force winds through the early afternoon as the Irma makes its way up the middle of the state and its outer bands begin to lap at the county.
Late Sunday afternoon: Brevard will begin to experience sustained tropical storm-force winds across the county.
Late Sunday morning: Brevard will begin to experience tropical storm-force winds through the early afternoon as the Irma makes its way up the middle of the state and its outer bands begin to lap at the county.
Late Sunday afternoon: Brevard will begin to experience sustained tropical storm-force winds across the county.
Sunday evening: From the afternoon to evening, hurricane-force bands will begin to creep into the county, with parts of southern Brevard experiencing sustained hurricane winds.
Overnight Monday: After midnight Monday is when the brunt of the hurricane-force winds will come into the area. By 2 a.m. Monday, the county should be experiencing sustained hurricane-force winds.
Irma is nearly 400 miles wide, and meteorologists say hurricane-force winds can extend up to 70 miles from the eye, with tropical storm-force winds extending 185 miles from the eye.
The NWS did not mince words in its Friday morning statement about Irma's impact on the area:
"It is now very likely that this major hurricane will have significant and potentially life-threatening impacts to the citizens of east central Florida!! Extreme winds are of life-threatening concern and will have the potential for devastating to catastrophic impacts along Irma`s track."
Structural damage to buildings, heavy flooding from storm surges and rain and tornadoes are all possibilities due to Irma, according to the NWS.
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