Baby, it's cold outside (again)

This morning Manitowoc and I woke to temperatures hovering just above zero, with it currently 'warmed' to 8 above. Downright balmly! My friends in north Florida woke to similarly chilly temps, some areas below freezing today and will be again overnight. Justin reported this to me via text message and I have asked him to please water the outside plants with warm to hot water when he gets home from work today. That method preserved my plants through last winter and will hopefully work again this year. Connie, the maintenance lady, reported my outdoor plants were among the only ones to survive the winter, which I attribute my using hot water before the freezes.


Despite the cold air, Mom, Lynn and I went to Perkins for breakfast. I needed one more taste of their potato pancakes before I leave Manty. If I absolutely HAD to have some in FL, I could drive the hour to Palm Coast to Perkins. How nice that I have family there to visit at the same time! Lynn's first real day of retirement was today so it was good for us to be out and about, to ease her adjustment to being not at work. I will have to advise her from afar, I guess, on how to keep one's self busy or not busy, each day. Baby steps, though, baby steps. 


Lynn made a lovely turkey dinner for us last night at her apartment, which is located on the second floor of a home. Yikes! Mom, Jill, and I managed to make our way up (it seems much more than a single flight somehow) to have baked potatoes, two veggies, and pineapple upside down cake with our turkey. She showed us her retirement gifts and thoughtful greeting cards, and I was so glad to see how much they thought of her there at LTC. Does my heart good!


Mom and I just hung out Monday during the day, watching first the Rose Bowl Parade, and some other daytime TV. Occasionally I watched the news for updates about tonight's caucus in Iowa. When the time came for the Badger game, we switched over to that and watched an exciting back and forth scoring game. Unfortunately, the mighty Ducks overcame the Badgers and took the prize at the Rose Bowl. At half time we left for Lynn's and watched some football there before the bird was ready. 

The festive bird on Lynn's table

Justin was planning a full day of football at his friend, Ron's, house, beginning with the parade yesterday morning. Before he left though he was going to make some muffins as he had a couple days ago. I think I will enjoy having someone so ambitious in the kitchen when I get home. My only concern is the clean-up as I like the kitchen to look as though nothing happened there. He plans to make steaks on the grille the night I get home from WI, having a portable gas grille to use in the courtyard. Sort of makes me nervous after the frying bacon incident but I must trust his skills. I sure do like a steak!


Speaking of steak, I enjoyed two thus far in Manty---one from the Charcoal Grille where I went with my family the Monday after CHRISTmas and the other from Harborside. I ate only half of that one, and it was on a sandwich! Huge portions at Harborside...it tasted wonderful reheated for breakfast the next morning. 


This late afternoon I am meeting my nephew, Uriah, at Applebee's in order to give him his gifts from Justin and me, and from his uncle in FL. He had to return to school already today (which is probably the right timing...just seems too soon to me) so will come when he gets out of classes. I look forward to seeing him again, the last time being in the spring at his cousin, Allie's, graduation party. He is a nice guy, a senior in high school this year. I am tempted to change the location to the Charcoal Grille for another of those delicious steak sandwiches but perhaps Applebee's has something as enticing!