Sandie &
Mister Knightly @ Home
Welcome!
|
Wish for the New Millennium:
May you have enough happiness to make
you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy, and
enough money to buy gifts!!
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Thought for 2009:
"One is not old until regrets take the place of dreams" - John
Barrymore
June - This was a huge month!
It began with the removal of the cherry laurel that I have been hating for years
and some purchases for the house that I will enjoy for years. There was
also birthday drinks with Chris Sylvia and sunsets on the beach with the gang
and a fun evening playing Cranium at Amy's - all of which would have been enough
for a normal month, but the last 2 weeks of June were also my vacation and the
visit of My Friend Lena! 
She came with a friend, Sophie, someone I didn't know but who proved to be very
nice. We managed to fill a short number of days with a fairly large amount
of fun despite some very strange weather. We began with the Mid-summer
Solstice party which was a mix of my oldest friends and a large part of
the Herd I run with now. Lena obliged me by leading the Swedish Mid summer
dances though I later learned that after doing the leading for the whole town of
Jokkmokk for some years, she had been looking forward to getting away from the
job. Still, this was a very different ambiance from Jokkmokk and she
seemed to be having fun with it as you can see.
Once we had recovered from the party, we made a visit to the Hunts in hopes of
sailing but bad weather kept us off the water and we contented ourselves with a
nature walk and a real Mexican dinner at Alverez Family Restaurant. The
next two days the girls belonged to Richard, who took them canoeing. I
took Mister Knightly to the beach (which he loves) and just relaxed around the
house while they were gone. There were dinners out and dinners in and we
ate and ate well. We did Monday beach therapy twice and got some nice
weather for both and one fairly beautiful sunset. There were lots of sunsets and
some good beach time all through the visit. 
We also went to brunch with Tim and Randy and we girls got to wear hats! 
I attempted to show Lena a bit of what the life I live is like but felt
constrained by feeling I should be entertaining to Sophie - so I only subjected
them to a few movies and neither of my favorite bars - I am hoping Lena will
come back again by herself so we can have a real visit, or maybe when I next go
there, but I also think it was good that she did not travel alone this time and
that she had someone with whom to speak Swedish from time to time.
The entire visit was over too soon!
May - the Merry Month of May - I
began it with a business conference in Orlando. I had fun and did some
good business as well which is all that can be said in these situations.
The night following my return, Tim, Randy & I went to see Spinal Tap -
Unwigged & Unplugged which was a great concert and a fun evening
On the next Sunday I went to Ocala to see my old friend Sean LaRoche who is
dying in a Hospice. 
It was sad to see him so sick and thin, but his wit is still with him and we had
a great visit - I also saw Dave Marsden who I knew slightly in the 70's - he was
also in town to see Sean.
The following weekend was another super
fun event called Tropical Heat Wave - 32 bands and 6 stages at the Cuban Club in
Tampa
It was the weekend of Ed's birthday so we celebrated that too.
I got quite drunk and danced all night by myself and with several
strangers. I really had a fabulous time! Memorial Day Weekend I took it
easy, worked around the house, went to the movies and had a calm but wonderful
time with myself. this was good because the last weekend of the month was
both the May Babies party and Jacob Hunt's graduation party. Hard to
believe Jacob has gone from this 
To 
but as you can see, though the angle has changed, I still look at him the same
way! Geri came in to spend the night on the 31st and we sat up debating
the issues of the day until the month ended. Another great May!
April - The jewel in the crown of spring in Florida! I
didn't have to put the A/C on - the mornings and evenings have been pleasantly
cool and the days bright & sunny. The downside is almost no
rain. I began the Month with Lysistrata at American Stage on April Fools
Day with Sydni - a silly old Greek play with a great premise. This was
followed by the annual Easter Egg Coloring Party (the 17th Year)
I had a hat so there was nothing to do but wear it for
Easter! Tim, Randy, Ed and I went to the Columbia at the Pier.
My girlfriend, Diane came for a visit and we had as much fun as
we could cram into a weekend and managed to see the Main Sail Arts Show in the
process.
The next week I had Lunch with Mary Lou, Dinner with Jack,
Bill and Nancy and went to see Donna The Buffalo with the Hunts. And as if
that wasn't enough, the month ended with a trip to scenic Pella Iowa to speak at
the Oracle Manufacturing Summit!
March - Well, Folks, another fun
filled month has ended - It began with lunch with Mary Lou, Tim and I and was
quickly followed by Julie's Birthday/Salsa Dancing Party. This was a very
fun event with Fernando attempting to teach us Gringos to move our feet and
shake our shoulders at the same time - most of us flunked this lesson.
Gringos attempt the Salsa
No sooner did I recover from that party
than it was time for the Wearin' of the Green Party at Cindy's - photos exist
but mostly of people I didn't even know... Armed with my hangover I took Mary
Lou to the Museum of Fine Arts to see Art in Bloom and Tim's arrangement 
Dion flew in for a visit - I think she had
fun but it's so hard to know - she went to a wedding with her friend BC and out
to dinner with Tim & Randy - we did some thrift shopping but didn't find
anything that was cool (unless you count socks) - I think she liked the
pool and hot tub. 
The day Dion flew away was also the
Renaissance Fair - perhaps my favorite of the spring events! We had Sheri
& Jaeden with us so I wasn't the only kid - but if I didn't have the most
fun I would be surprised. 
Beach therapy on Monday nights continues -
it is warming up - we celebrated Doug's birthday and we commemorated the passing
of Cindy's Dad
Cindy sings with the band @ sunset
therapy Doug's birthday sunset
February - This month could easily
be subtitled "A Walk Down Memory Lane" because I reconnected with so
many people from the past. This walk is being facilitated by Facebook
where I now find myself spending a bunch of time. It all began on February
4th when I went to see James Lee Stanley perform at a house concert in
Tampa. I went to High School with Jim and had briefly represented him as
an agent at the Blade Agency in the '80s. I found him on Facebook.
At the concert were three more people for Maury HS, none of whom I actually
recalled, but then there isn't too much of HS that I do remember... now I am in
touch with several more HS alumni - whose names I recall, but little more.
Next came a wonderful Christmas gift from
Tim & Randy - a trip to the Mchaffey Theater to see a show called Cirque
Dreams Jungle Fantasy, a very exotic blend of juggling, contortion and a
variety of balancing and trapeze skills with fantasy costuming and some
vocals... I loved the four Asian contortionists the best!
The following week it was time for my
Christmas gift to the herd - another trip to Mchaffey, this time to see 1964
- The Tribute. I was able to invite 14 people to join me and I make
Wayne's World into a little bistro prior to the show for a quick pre-show
supper. It all worked out great. We ate to the tunes of the Beatles
and got our heads in the right place for the show, then we sang all the songs
along with the band and boy were they perfectly in character.
I only made it to the beach for sunset therapy once in February
and while the sun did his best, the beach was cold
Some friends from the dog park came to dinner and I ate my first
veal - as I made osso bucco for Mari and Jack - later Jack and I enjoyed a
roaring fire and got caught up on friends far and wide.
The whole of February was also filled with non photographed
events such as Saturday coffee with Aleth, an overnight visit from the Kails, a
movie with Chris Sylvia as well as two more Tampa house concerts - Mic Maloney
and Paul Geremia... and a pre-birthday dinner with Julie that ended up at Taste
for Wine with Amy & Carol. And every day, a trip with my love, Mister
Knightly to the dog part - here he is showing off his jumping skills
January - The year began well with a great party at
Sandra's.
The next event was a performance of CATS! - Tim and I went - I
had never seen it before and was completely delighted by it, especially the big
dance right before the intermission. The following week was my
birthday. The guys said they wanted to take me to dinner, but when we got
to the restaurant, there were a dozen more friends there to join us, so it was a
party!
Two days later, the big party for America took place, the inauguration
of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States! I am going to
wait at least 60 days before I comment on how I think he is doing... but my own
private joke these days is: Why aren't Democrats more in favor of tax
cuts (like Republicans)? Because they don't plan to pay them anyway.
The next big party was the Super Bowl party here at Grasshopper
Bungalow. Baby molly kept trying to use the remote, she is probably going
to be a techie like her Dad!
Between parties I got to spend time with my girlfriends - Julie
and I had dinner and Aleth, Bridgitte and I went to the movies, Sandra and I
also went to a movie and I went to several movies by myself... as a result, I
have seen almost all of the movies nominated for Academy Awards (only 2 more to
go). Here are my Oscar picks: Best Picture, Slumdog
Millionaire
- Best actor, Sean Penn in Milk, - Best Actress, Kate Winslett for
The Reader - Best Supporting Actress, Melissa Tormei in The
Wrestler - Best Supporting Actor, Heath Ledger in Batman, The Dark
Knight.
Photo Album
If you
haven't already seen the photos of my Trip to Sweden at Mid
summer 07 or Amsterdam 06 or the wine
country of France 05 or my Millennium trip to Sweden or my 2002 trip
to Scotland, you can see
most of them in Places We Like.
For a look back at 2008 click
here
For a look back at 2007 click here
For a look back at 2006 click here
For a look back at 2005 click here
For a look back at 2004 Click Here
For a look back at 2003
Click
here
For a look back at 2002 click here
Hello -
So you were out browsing the net and decided to
stop in at our site...Welcome.
As you can see it is about a girl and her dog. We live in Florida. The dog is a puppy and
the girl is almost 9 in animal years. You can contact us at this
address: Click
Here are some data:
Interests:
Travel (including camping)
Books (except Best Sellers)
Films (mostly classics)
Dancing (Swing )
Walking
Swimming (both kinds)
Fishing (especially at night)
Life is Grand!
Mister Knightly and I wake each day with smiles on our
faces. We strive to be happy without doing harm to anyone else in the process. This
isn't very deep stuff, I know, but that's our philosophy and we're sticking to it!
We hope you are enjoying your life. Send us an email and let us know what you think. As my
dear friend Richard likes to quote,
"May the long-time sun
shine upon you,
all love surround you
and the clear light within you, guide your way home"
- The Incredible String Band
Vintage
interiors
She came with a friend, Sophie, someone I didn't know but who proved to be very
nice. We managed to fill a short number of days with a fairly large amount
of fun despite some very strange weather. We began with the Mid-summer
Solstice party which was a mix of my oldest friends and a large part of
the Herd I run with now. Lena obliged me by leading the Swedish Mid summer
dances though I later learned that after doing the leading for the whole town of
Jokkmokk for some years, she had been looking forward to getting away from the
job. Still, this was a very different ambiance from Jokkmokk and she
seemed to be having fun with it as you can see.
