I can't believe it but we're almost at the end of our time on Marco Island! We move to Gainesville, FL this Sunday, December 16th!
It's been a busy time bringing our lives here to a close.
Saying good bye to new friends, women in St. Mark's weekly Bible study, fellow students
in my Spanish class and the Collier County Habitat for Humanity team.

This past Tuesday, I got to go on a field trip with Tommy's class. We went to the children's museum and had a great time!

Here is Tommy with Nana Cap on the bus.

Tommy and Ms. LeCompte playing catch with a clementine at our indoor picnic.

 Tommy LOVED the Igloo because there was a wall of ice which felt good!

Yesterday and today, running errands and getting the cars ready for the trip. We'll pack up tomorrow, have one last visit with John, Karen, Johnny and Tommy and then hit the road on Sunday after the 8am service.

I will miss this beautiful place and the ocean which has been such a gift!
Cappy

WOW! It's been 30 days since my last post! Lots has been going on starting with
volunteer orientation at Tommy's school. This was required for me to visit with him
in his classroom. I got to participate in a Fun Friday where we made edible pumpkins and
to his speech therapy and OT classes. I'm happy to be getting to know Tommy better!

I've been going to a wonderful physical therapist 2-3 times a week and she's really helping
me with my back!

Bill and I had dinner with some Kodak friends, Jim and Linda Moxley. It was fun to
catch up on "the old days".

On November 10th, I went to some Collier County Habitat dedications. There were 6 home
owners, all of whom had been in their homes for some time. They dedicated all of the homes
at the same time in one of the homeowners' back yards. It was very sweet. Part of the dedications
were translated into Spanish and Creole.
Along with lots of other volunteers, I helped get out a major year end holiday mailing for Habitat and
am helping to make some corrections to their database.

We went to all of Johnny's football games which was great fun! And Bill (sometimes with my help) helped get Johnny to and from football practice.

Then on 11/17, Jocelyn, Dan and Talli arrived for a 6 day visit! We had lots of fun some of which you can see in these photos.

It was great for Talli and Johnny to have another young person! We spent a lot of time doing skits. Two people would be given a scenario and the acting began! It was obvious very quickly who had and didn't have acting talent! Lots of laughter and fun! We rented bikes including a 4 person surrey and biked around Marco Island.

The cold water didn't keep Talli from boogie boarding. She even caught a few waves!
I prefer the pool which is much warmer.

We spent Thanksgiving together and had a delicious meal and, of course, more skits!

(Johnny, Jocelyn, Dan, Talli, Bill and Karen)

The week after Thanksgiving, Bill and I went bike riding again. I love spending so much time outdoors!

I'm off tonight to St. Mark's for the third class in the "Bad Girls of the Bible" series. The first class was about Eve, the second, Rahab and tonight is Potiphar's wife. Between my weekly bible study and this class, I'm sure learning a lot!

Bill and I are starting our preparations to leave Marco Island in less than 2 weeks. We'll depart on
Sunday, 12/16 and move into our student housing apartment in Gainesville, Fl the same day.

Stay tuned!

Have a blessed Advent season!
Cappy

During the past two weeks I've been having coffee dates with some of the wonderful women I've met at St. Mark's. I've really enjoyed their company and felt so welcomed by them!

Bill and I installed a basketball hoop at John and Karen's. There were at least 10,000 parts and pieces but after 4 hours we completed our project!!!

Here are the proud installers and Bill, John and Johnny are happy to have a place to play basketball!!!

 

 

Football update: Johnny's team the Broncos won their last two games! Gramma Lytha was in town for a week with some friends and got to see these two games. Here are the proud Grammas and proud Dad with Johnny!

 



 

Then my sister Sara and her husband Michael joined us for a weekend. Lots of walks on the beach, laughing at the same silly jokes over and over again and good food. The weekend was colder than normal because of Super Storm Sandy which brought huge waves and winds even though it was on the other coast. Here's Michael staying warm on our porch and Sara checking out the kite surfers who took advantage of the wild winds!

 

 



 

We had a great visit to the Naples Art Museum which is fabulous! Several amazing Dale Chihuly glass sculptures one of which you can see a little bit of behind us.

 

 

St. Mark's Episcopal had a wonderful All Saints Day service today with soloists and string instruments. When we sang the powerful hymn "For All the Saints", the familiar words really touched my heart as I remembered lots of saints who are no longer with us in person.

Love to you all,
Cappy

Last weekend, after Johnny's football game (which they won!) the three of us had dinner at Snook's, a restaurant on the Marco River. It was a beautiful evening with less humidity so we ate outside with lots of folks and a guitar player. Here are Bill and Johnny enjoying our dinner.

During one of our morning walks, we saw a baby alligator in the ocean.

All of the adults including the Marco police were trying to figure out how to capture the "gator" while the birds seem completely unconcerned!

Then last night, we picked up Johnny and his friend Presley from the movies. Took them out for ice cream which they seemed to enjoy immensely! Then a walk on the beach in the dark and watching the taped U of Florida game!

More later, Cappy

 

 

 

 

Here is a snail carrying all of her belongings everywhere she goes just like us this year!

 

and another beautiful sunset complete with sounds of waves!

 

 

More to come! Cappy

 

 

A sand castle on our morning beach walk

and a sand Turtle

 



Then on Sunday, Oct 7, the Second Annual Marco Island Triathalon!
Ocean swim, 15 mile bike ride and 3 mile run on the beach! Very exciting
to watch!

More moons later!
Cappy



We're still on Marco Island enjoying hot, humid, rainy weather! Torential thunderstorms followed by sunny skies. We walk about an hour a day and "complain" about the rush hour traffic which usually means there are 1-3 cars or trucks that pass us on the road. Here is a picture of rush hour on the beach.

 

Because we're walking on a beach in a resort area, we see the chairs and wave runners and other beach items put out on the beach every morning and taken in every night.

 

We've started going to our grandson Johnny's football practices on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. His team, the Broncos, had their first game last Saturday on what must have been the hottest day in my life!!!! YIKES!!!!!! They only have 12 on their team so everyone plays offense and defense. These kids only got to leave the field for water breaks in half time.

 

John, Karen, Johnny and Tommy have also come to the beach and pool several times. It's proven to be a wonderful way to spend time together with activities for everyone. Last Sunday Bill made a delicious corn chowder (including a vegan version for me). After a fun meal together we watched the sunset from our balcony.

 

There is a little movie theater almost across the street that Bill and I have been to a few times. Here are two pictures I took walking home from the theater around 8pm on evening.

 

More later, Cappy

We left Gainesville on Sunday, 9/9 and arrived on Marco Island late afternoon. After moving into our "permanent" home for the next 3 months, we checked out the beach. Here is the view from our porch on the 8th floor.

The condo faces west so we get beautiful sunsets.

 

 

The first week in town, I visited St. Mark's Episcopal Church where we plan to worship. They have a weekly Women's Bible study which I have already attended. A good way to meet new people.

 

Bill and I have been walking every morning.... half on the beach and half on the sidewalk. A great way to start the day!

 

More later, Cappy

Leaving Atlanta

The movers arrived at 9:00am on Tuesday, September 4th. At 4pm, they had packed everything up and our apartment was clean and empty. We returned our cable box in Chamblee and then Bill and I left Atlanta. We spent the night in Warner Robins, GA and arrived in Gainesville, Florida on Wednesday, September 5th.

We stayed with Bill's youngest son Joe and his wife Angie, sons Lucas and Ty and the 2 dogs Kaya and Penny. My 64th birthday was 9/8 and I was entertained by the LOVE BUCKET band (Joe on bass guitar, Lucas on piano and vocals and Ty on drums).

More later, Cappy