Life at the Beach

Today we have a few views of our life at the beach. We have been pretty quiet because Louise has been sick with a nasty cold and unable to go anywhere or do much. However, this morning she found a Weight Watcher's meeting to attend  in Satellite Beach. Gary is working on his second painting since he has been here. This one is of Portage Lake. It is another beautiful, sunny day in Florida, as the view of the beach shows. Notice the fisherman right in the water!

This is our living room.

This flower is just off the deck. There are lots of them out there.

This was Louise knitting on the deck yesterday. It was cooler and windy yesterday.

 Gary selected these roses a couple of days ago to cheer Louise up.

 And here is Gary in the studio he has established on the sun porch, facing the ocean.

Paradise!

The Coles have arrived in Florida. It was in the high 70s today, lots of sun, a nice breeze. We moved into our residence, washed our dirty clothes, and began to relax. It makes us feel a little guilty to tell you how great it is as you face the cold of New England. We could not have wished for better weather or  a better place to stay. It is as close to paradise as you could find. Here are some pictures taken today in Cocoa Beach.

This is our home at the beach.

A comfortable place to end the day.

The beach outside our door.

Gary waiting for dinner, already in his shorts and sandals.
We wish we could share the warmth with all of you.

The Coles Travel South

The trip to Florida seemed ill fated when we started. First the blizzard delayed us a day, and the snow blower broke down trying to make a path through the drifts to leave. We finally got out, traveled down icy roads and slow traffic to spend the night with Jon and Erin. A misplaced debit card caused us to drive back to Bangor the next day, then on to Bob's. Meanwhile Gary had come down with a nasty cold. We exchanged gifts, visited a bit with Bridget, and set out Thursday morning for the trip south.

We have pictures here of today's journey - a view of the scene on I-81, trucks and more trucks. Also a glimpse of the mountains in the Shenandoah Valley in the morning haze. Finally there was snow in Virginia and North Carolina, lots of it. However, it got warmer. Louise unzipped and removed the fleece lining of her coat in Virginia, and took the coat off in North Carolina. It reached a balmy 68 in South Carolina, and we came to rest for the night in Florence.

Here you can see pictures of the change in climate here. So it is a happy new year's eve, with dinner out planned with friends who happen to the traveling the same way tonight.

Blizzard Hits!

The fury of winter hit us today with blowing wind and at least a foot of snow. We share with you some photos of the day.

 Two cardinals spent much of the day outside the windows.

This is the scene as we opened the door to go outside.

 Gary snowblowed during a lull in the storm.

The snow was deep and blowing off the trees all day.

The birds filled the feeders all day.
We hope the storm will end before morning and we will make it out to start our trip south. Seeing these pictures, can you imagine how wonderful Florida sounds??

Christmas

 The gifts are piled under the tree, waiting for the opening.

 Andrew and Jonathan have a video chat on Christmas morning.

 Ryan protects his father from  the camera.

 Jessica waits for her gifts.

 Meghan has new mittens!

 Lots of food makes the day.

This year is coming to an end very quickly. The Cole's had a great Christmas that isn't over yet. We will show you the activity at our house yesterday. First of all, Gary received an iPad early for Christmas, and he is joining the computer literate group, enjoying this new toy.
The grandchildren and their parents came, gifts were exchanged, food was prepared and eaten, and everyone had a great time.
As soon as the blizzard passes by, we are off to share Christmas with Jon and Bob, then drive to Florida for a little sunshine and warm weather, we hope!

Thanksgiving

The Coles were thankful for the family that came to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. We ate, we visited, we talked, and we celebrated the holiday. A very large turkey was mostly eaten with all the fixings. Bridget provided one of the highlights of the holiday as she entertained us all. Here we have some pictures of the family gathering.

The Season Changes Again

It has come. We all knew it would eventually. In fact, it is a little later than usual this year. That's right - SNOW. Twice in the past three days the plows have begun their work, and the brownness of late fall has turned white. Here we have a picture of Main Street this afternoon.

We have been busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and family guests today. The beds are made and the cooking has been started. The kitchen smells wonderful as breads and sauces cook.
Here we have two pictures that show the mixture of fall and winter - the changing of the seasons.

The holidays await us.