Sandie & Mister
Knightly @ Home
Welcome!
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Wish for the New Millennium: |
Thought for 2014:
"Health is the thing that makes you feel that Now is the best time of
year."
- Franklin P Adams
The
Christmas letter
The first Christmas
card of the season has arrived from my cousin Janicemarie. Hers is always the first and in a
traditionalistic sort of way it is always my cue to reread all the cards that
have come to me since last Christmas.
I keep them in a basket all year, then reread them and pitch them. The photos I put in an album (the
drugstore kind). I like it when a
card has a photo too. It is
nostalgic for me, not so much for the cards themselves as for each of you. This year in review I came back to a
lovely card signed by the parents of a good friend, one of whom is no longer
here for this Christmas and I reflected as to how I’d most likely never
see that combined signature again.
I also came to the card of an old DC friend who only writes one word,
his name. I kissed that name and
hoped for a phone # too this year.
And then, there at the bottom, the card from Janicemarie from last
year. Traditions, I love
‘em!!
I’ve had not
just traditions, but transitions this year: My Work, My Finances and My State of
Mind. Work changed from full time
to part time and the change has been all for the good. I feel very content with my life. The future looks bright to me – I
am filled with warm and fuzzy thoughts (as well as the normal cynical thoughts
I always have). I seem to have a
lot of energy too. All of which
makes for a boring Christmas Letter.
But I hope this letter
finds you equally content with your personal life. The world has always been and will
always be nuts! You do what you
can, but you can’t fix it all yourself, you can only do your part. Each of you has goals for your life and
I hope you are progressing toward them.
For me the goal has always been happiness, as in Strive to be Happy,
takes work but I feel like I’ve got it now. I say now because each of you knows how
easily it can slip away. If it were
a gift, I’d send each of you a bit of my share and I do send it as a wish
from my heart…
Happiness & Joy to
the World
November – I am working part time at the Spice Shoppe
and I really like the work… and the people. I work 4 days a week, 5 hours a
day… perfect, just when I am getting tired of it, the day is
over… I move a lot and bend
and squat and lift, so it is like a gym workout too…
I like selling to the public, especially when I have something good to share
and the spices anr very good and very fresh, so it is easy for me to praise
them… not like iffy consulting services…
This month I got to see the Kails for an overnight visit and went to
Marcia’s music party, which was great! And of course there was Thanksgiving
which came together very nicely and was truly delicious as well as cozy with
good friends talking and eating together.
I thought my turkey was my best yet.
October – Bonnie & Doug took me to see a
version of Into the Woods at the freefall theater… it was OK but
not exactly their best show. 
Karin & Peter came for a visit and we
went to the beach and out to eat and played with Mister Knightly and generally
enjoyed ourselves… then they went down to Key West for a week of real
homdymoon. Savory called and I will
start there first of November.
September – I threw a Labor Day pool party which was
fun and did more drawing. Played trivia with the neighbors and made a few
changes in my will… I also
put out one feeler for a job at Savory Spice Shoppe
August – I got back
from Sweden about mid-month and began my life as a retired woman. Bought a new computer and a new
TV… did lots of drawing. I
was very grateful for the gym as it gave organization to my days and kept them
from being too boring.
July – I spent the early part of the
month adjusting my finances and scaling them back to my new lifestyle. Marcia & Bill took me to see a
production of West Side Story at the Palladium which was very good and it is
always great to be with them… But then it was time to go to Sweden. The trip was long and the routing was
tiring but I arrived in Skelleftea in the evening and was pretty adjusted by
the following day. Lena arrived and
then it was time for the wedding of Karin and Peter… an elaborate affair
in a beautiful church and a horse drawn carriage to take them away afterward.
Lena and I than began
our road trip down to Ellos, which was lovely and lots of fun… hanging
with Eva, Sophia, Hannes and Johnny and telling stories and eating great food
and just having casual fun. We saw
lots of other people too… Ellos is lovely and I hope to see it
again. But then another road trip
back up to Jokkmokk and on to Skiata for a second wedding. That one was completely different and
also lovely. I ended up staying an
extra week and was very happy to do it!!
June - It is only the summer solstice but this month has really packed a whallop so far. It began simply enough going to the movies and to the A&W - returning the following weekend with the Hunts to see Have Gun Will Travel - at the gym my friend, Gary turned 70 and we took him to lunch - and then I got fired. Funny how I had quit worrying about that and then it happened. Don't know what I will do going forward only plans now are to go to Sweden and start scaling back my lifestyle. Money will be tight for some time to come now.
But my friends have been great - Aleth & Marcia especially and so I went to dinner at T & R's house and saw the gang and our Trivia team took 1st prize at the Hollander and I threw a solstice party and had a fabulous evening with my fun neighbors and I'll get by.
May - The
month of the May Babies, a month filled with little celebrations! This
year it began with a crazy good performance of the Mikado with Tim, Randy,
Marcia & Bill, a matinee followed by cocktails at Marcia's and dinner at
O'Bistro. The following weekend I went to Tropical Heatwave with Marcia
& Bill and then caught up with the Hunts. Usually we have more of a
herd at Heatwave but this year it was just the three of us and we had a really
great time. Then there were the movies in the park and I went to one with
the Kellers and had so much fun that I went to another alone. There was
another celebration for Randy on the 23rd and a dozen of us had dinner together
. And the month ended with a Pool Party at Doug &
Kevin's new pool 
.
Paul went to Italy and Luxembourg and I watched Gracie...
the twins
came over to swim a couple of times, which made Mister Knightly very happy 
and I took myself to the A&W for an evening of music -
first time in a while.
April - Far from being the cruelist month, it may well be the
busiest... For me it began with the OAUG conference in Las Vegas. A full
week of business development and hanging out with Diane and Karen 
followed
immediately by Egg Coloring 
. I also played
Trivia at the Hollander and team Mister Knightly took 3rd place in a surprise
finish. I went to Main Sail art and took Jerry to see a musical version
of Ghosts and got to spend some time visiting with the Kails...
so all in all a fun month
March - This
is always a busy month, the weather is usually perfect, the tourists are out in
flocks and lots of events are scheduled... My March began with an Oscar's
party at Aleth's - Diane and I attended and most of my film picks won the
award... also went to the Gasparilla Arts Festival. The following weekend
was jam packed with Art in Bloom, The Renaissance Fair and a visit from the
Kails. I saw rather a lot of the Kails in March which would normally have
been wonderful except that the reason they were on my side of Florida was to
care for Geri's parents (her Dad eventually passed on), so while we had several
visits, none were really party occasions. Before Art in Bloom, Diane and
I went to brunch with Marcia and Bill at Cassis 
- then on to the museum to see Tim's contribution to the
event, as usual very beautiful 
. Diane & I also went to the Fair together and it
was her first in a long time. We had fun - met the King & Queen
- and ran into my old friend Tom whose wife is the Psychic! 
. I caught up with my old friend Jerry Naples twice in
March - once he joined some of my neighbors & I to make a trivia team to
play at the Hollander and once we just ate sushi and watched college hoops
downtown... gabbing all the while. The month ended with Marcia's spring
music party which is always a fun time... the good news was that I didn't over
eat!
February -
My cold mercifully departed in February and I began to feel like a human being
again, proving my Thought for 2014 (in case I had any doubt). Susan flew
in for a week of fun around town - we went to visit the Hunts and caught up
with some of the Herd and generally had a good time together, even with some
cold weather and rain - we found the sun where it popped out and enjoyed
it... 
On the 12th Diane flew in for a month in her new town home. What fun to
have them both here together 
The week after Diane arrived, here family came for a visit - her son, Paul, and
her Dad, Hank with his new girlfriend. I set up a lunch to introduce Paul
to Tim & Randy and give him a sense of the gay community here 
We went to Georgie's Alabi for for lunch. Paul,
Diane and her Dad also came over for dinner here at Grasshopper Bungalow before
they left to return to frozen Green Bay. Paul was ready to move here
right away - Diane, who had been having buyers remorse suddenly felt as if she
had made a brilliant decision to buy down here. So February turned out to
be a big party month because I had someone to party with! On
the home front, I have neglected my yard something shamefully, but I will turn
over a new leaf when Diane leaves in mid-March, so until then the party
continues...
January
- For most of this first month of the new year I was at home sick with
bronchitis. Nevertheless I did manage to get out of the house to
celebrate my birthday. Tim, Randy and Bill took me to see the movie HER
(interesting, but you could watch it at home) and then we met up with a bunch
of the Herd for dinner and came back here to eat cake! The next day the
Kails came in to go to the Blues Festival in Vinoy park with Leon
Russell. We caught up with some of my
A&W buddies and Sue Gilman's gang too. it was a fun time - 
The other fun event in January was the
SuperBowl party at Marcia's house... my team won and I broke even in the pool
so I was a happy camper... 
The entire rest of the month was spent coughing!!
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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 2013 click here
For a look back at 2012 click here
For a look back at 2011 click here
For a look back at 2010 click here
For a look back at 2009 click here
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
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Sandie @
63
Sandie @ 67
Mister
Knightly @ 3 years and @ 7 years |
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Las
Tres Amigas - The Thompson Street Tootsies |
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Sandie, Chris & Susan in Las Vegas
Randy, Tim & Ed
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ICOE - In Case of Emergency |
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