February 16 - 22, 2026 - Fat Tuesday/Shareholder's Mtg/Beach/Driveway Glue/Der Dutchman/House #s/Garage Sales/Biscotti/Social Sunday

My Blog Reflection

The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.

Jim Carrey

February 16, 2026:

The day started off with the electric going off and on quickly several times then off for about an hour. With no electric I had Cheerios for breakfast. There is nothing going on today. Tomorrow is a different story.

February 17, 2026:

Kelly had her weekly ladies coffee klatch this morning. Men aren't excluded so I joined her once last year. It was clear I wasn't fitting in so I never went back. I don't know if any other guys have ever gone.  

Today being "Fat Tuesday" Kelly purchased "Paczki" (pronounced poonch-key) donuts for the coffee klatch ladies to enjoy. They are a traditional Polish pastry associated with pre-Lenten celebrations. They are richer, denser, and more indulgent than standard American donuts. They are fried dough balls typically filled with jams or custard and coated in sugar or glaze. Here is a picture of a two Kelly saved back for us. 

At 10:00 a.m. the park's "Annual Shareholders Meeting" was held in the clubroom. This meeting needs to be well-attended to have a quorum in order to conduct business. To help generate attendance they provide free coffee and donuts. Nothing like "free" to attract old people. I took the granddaughters with me to the meeting last year and it was a "sleeper". While the girls were really well-behaved, we all had had enough after an hour and left. Most of the meeting consisted of old people bitching or talking to hear their heads rattle.

Today's meeting was no improvement. The big issue was the Post Office requiring that all new residents put mailboxes out at the curb rather than on the house. We had to comply with this directive three years ago when we bought. In conjunction with this requirement the Post Office noted that if there is not a clear path for the mail carrier to drive up to the street-side mail box, the mail will not be delivered. This really put all the residents in a tizzy and they have a valid point. The houses are close together and there is often not enough room to park on the street and leave room for the mail carrier to pull up to each mailbox. As more new residents move in there will be more of these street-side mailboxes and thus even less room to park and more of a problem.  

In my mind the answer to mail delivery is to eliminate all house mail delivery and install a mail "cluster box" for the entire community near the clubhouse. The complaint about that idea was that this is a 55 plus community and many residents cannot get out to go to a cluster box. Interestingly these same people can get out to get groceries, to play cards, to go to the doctor, to go to activities, etc. Obviously, now, if they really can't get out, they have someone go for them. It could be same for picking up their mail. When the Post Office first recommended a cluster box to the park the Post Office would have paid the bulk of the expense, which is in the tens of thousands of dollars for 341 boxes. The community turned the idea down. I believe in the future a cluster box will be mandated and then the park will have to pay the entire cost. Not too smart but old people don't like change, or to be inconvenienced in anyway.

The other big issue at the meeting was about a Canadian couple flying a Canadian flag on their home. Someone "complained" about it. The Board President took it upon himself to tell the couple that they couldn't do that. He told them they had to fly an American flag on top with the Canadian flag below. Of course, this upset these people greatly, as well as many other Canadians in the park. 

A community member obtained the U.S. flag regulations and they state that anyone can fly any country flag they like. However, if they fly an American flag AND another country's flag, the American flag must be on top. The Board President was told by the attendees, and by the rest of the board, who apologized to the couple involved, that he was wrong. This whole issue reminded me of Trump unnecessarily pissing off the Canadians with his antics. Just stupid. About a third of the park is owned by Canadians. We all get along wonderfully. Canadian flags have been flying here for years. We fly a "Friendship Flag", which is half U.S. and Canadian.

The weather is beautiful today. I was going to play Cornhole this afternoon but Kelly's ultrasound appointment got moved up so I missed it this week.

February 18, 2026:

It is another beautiful day and there is nothing on the agenda so we decided to pack some drinks and head to Fort DeSoto Beach. It is not the closest beach but we like it because it is huge, not crowded, and always has lots of parking. 

I don't know what it costs to get in now. As we entered the park there was no attendant. A picture was taken of our license plate and it stated they will send a bill. In years past you paid an entry fee per car and that included your parking. Now, in addition to the entry fee, parking is $6.00 for the day. You pay it a kiosk. This is all new. 

It was a little windy on the beach but quite pleasant to sit out and enjoy watching the water.  

Kelly put her feet in the water for a very short period of time. The water was cold.

The tide was coming in all afternoon and kept us entertained.

When I got home I realized I may have gotten a little too much sun on this first time out. I never learn.

After supper we ended the day by watching some more of the Olympics.

February 19, 2026:

The pea gravel in the golf cart driveway tends to roll out on to the carport and sidewalk, particularly after a heavy rain. They make a mulch and rock glue to help with this problem. I thought this product was pricey so I looked for an alternative. I read that you can dilute Elmer's glue two to one and it will serve the same purpose. I bought a gallon and a cheap pump sprayer and yesterday sprayed the outside edge two times. I mixed the first batch of glue and water in the pump sprayer. It didn't mix properly. The glue came out in an eighth inch stream and laid on the gravel like icing on a Hostess Cup Cake. I waited an hour to spray a second coat. This time I mixed the hot water and glue in a gallon jug and shook it a long time before pouring it into the sprayer. It worked better but not the wide spray I would like. It might just be the nature of the beast. I will spray one more time before we leave. I am hoping this glue will also help slow down weed growth in the gravel.

At 4:00 p.m. I went up to the Bocci Ball Court to try playing for the first time. There were two ladies and me were the only ones there. A lady from across the street came up and said there were no games today because there was a party instead. Maybe next week.

    

February 20, 2026:

When I bought our old golf cart one rear shock was broken and one was hanging loose. I purchased four new shocks and installed them, along with new wheels and tires for the back because the ones that came with the cart had slow leaks.

Ever since I installed the wheels and shocks there has been a problem with the cart bouncing as if the shocks were totally worn out. It has been aggravating. I double-checked and I had bought the correct shocks for this cart. I could not understand what could be the problem. 

This morning I was riding around in the cart and spotted Dave, who is an excellent mechanic and jack-of-all trades guy, out working on his cart. I asked if he had a minute for me to pick his brain about my bouncing problem. I explained it to him. He got in the cart and we went for a ride. His thought was that the rear axle may be bent or the tires out of round. Back at his place he jacked the cart up and couldn't see anything mechanically that may be a problem. I told him I had the old wheels and tires in the shed. He sent me get them. 

When I came back he put one of the old wheels and tires on and we took another ride. The bouncing was cut in about half! We came back and he jacked up the cart slightly and he had me give it a little throttle while he looked at the other wheel. He said it appeared to him that the other tire was out-of-round as well. We installed the other old wheel and tire and went for another ride. MUCH LESS BOUNCING! We doubted that the new wheels were out of round but certainly the new tires were. If the old tires don't hold air I will buy two different ones off of Facebook Marketplace. We can then install them on the new wheels. A fix I never would have thought of. It's good to have smart friends.

      

Around noon we drove to Sarasota to have lunch with the members of our Illinois-Missouri RV Club who winter in Florida. We meet in Sarasota because it is about half way for those of us further North and those members further South. We have lunch at "Der Dutchman Restaurant and Bakery", which we have found to work out well. It is a huge facility and there is no problem with us sitting around and visiting after eating. There is a menu but the big draw for all of us is the smorgasbord with many choices of excellent Amish food and desserts. No one goes away hungry. Here are a couple of pictures of folks visiting outside after chowing down. It was good to visit with everyone. Hopefully we will get a couple of campouts scheduled this summer with everyone.

Sarasota is a major winter destination for the Amish. They stay all around the area where the restaurant is located. They ride their bikes everywhere. Most bikes are three-wheelers which they bring down with them on buses. 

A quite different part of Sarasota, is St. Armands Circle, which consists of many upscale shops and restaurants. It is always crowded with locals and tourists. We have been there several times. It is something to see the first time but I have no desire to go back. 

House Number:

Our park rules require that each house have the lot number displayed on the house for emergency purposes. When we bought the house there was a sign on it with numbers and the prior owner's name. She took that with her, which was fine with us. We have our address number on the curbside mailbox but that does not comply with the park rule that the numbers be on the house. To remedy that we purchased a new metal number sign. It arrived this afternoon so I attached it to the house. We love it. It is a little more upscale than Walmart plastic numbers.

February 21, 2026:

A Saturday passtime for us when down here is going to garage and rummage sales. We found a couple and headed out about 8:00 a.m. I have made some great buys in the past - a Keurig coffee maker, a Mexican fish sculpture, an Instapot, tools, etc. 

Today we struck out. The garage sales we went to did not have items that interested us. Kelly did buy a mixing bowl for $1.00. We then stopped for breakfast at Perkins. The big breakfast filled us up until supper. For supper I grilled a rib steak that we brought from home and Kelly made a nice salad to go with it. Both turned out well. We then settled in to watch more of the Olympics.  

February 22, 2026:

We started the day off early watching the U.S. Hockey Team win gold at the Olympics in overtime. What a great game and a great outcome!!!!!

Later in the day I decided to bake some biscotti. We didn't have any raisins nor craisins so I cut up some dried mango we had on hand. Here is a picture of the backed loaf.

Once the loaf cools it is sliced, put back in the oven for another five minutes on each side, and then it is done. Here is a picture of this treat ready for consumption. We like a piece with our coffee in the morning.

I got into making biscotti a couple of years back after buying some from Costco and really liking it. Each time I bake it I vary the recipe a little. Sometimes that works out, sometimes not. This looks to be a good batch.

Social Sunday:

We went to the "Social Sunday" here at the park. It takes place on a Sunday once per month from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. For the price of admission your get a sub sandwich, chips, an ice cream, your choice of beer, wine, or soda, and music. It lasts from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. It is always fun. Here are a couple of pictures of the dancers.

The evening ends by everyone getting in a circle and holding hands while the Canadian and U. S. National Anthems are sung. A nice ending. The weather has turned colder so we wasted no time in getting home.