Day 3 - Visit with the Girls

Monday morning coming down . . .

We went to visit the branch where I work so that the girls could meet all the great people I work with, and so that my co-workers could meet my girls! It was a fun visit. From there we headed over to Mazzaro's for lunch. It was Adeles first time there. It was pretty busy, but we enjoyed our lunch and dessert too!

Then we headed up to Target to do a little shopping. On our way back to my apartment we drove through Roser Park. There was some construction going on so we had to take a little detour thru the park. It was still a sight to see!

Our portrait shot before parting. It seems like the time flew by in an instant!

These are a few shots I copied from Adele's camera.

Saturday night after opening gifts.

From an earlier visit to North Straub Park and walking around the neighborhood

Sunset Beach and Mazzaros

I went to Sunset Beach this morning around 11:00 am. I was surprised at how much of the beach had erroded since I was there last week!
It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the high seventies.

I met Wayne at Mazzaro's around 2:00 pm. We had lunch on the patio. MMMMMMM!

When we were about to leave, we noticed all of these ladies dressed in purple, and all with red hats on. The Red Hat Society bus had arrived! These pictures don't do them justice, but they were EVERYWHERE!

Gina Visits

Gina arrived on Wednesday night for a mini visit! I expected her a little later, and when she called to let me know she was getting off I-275 on 22nd Ave N, she caught me by surprise! I was up in Clearwater at Wayne's, checking on his house and Tommy, his cat, while he was up North visiting family. Needless to say, I did make good time in getting back to my place!

Gina brought me part 2 of my Birthday gifts. She gave me a beautiful PowerPoint presentation on my Birthday, and she brought me 4 stemware glasses. Two with flamingos on them and 2 with palm trees. She knows they go great with my decor! :-)

We were both hungry, so after our usual game of "where do we eat?" we decided on The Garden on Central in downtown.

The food was excellent: gnocchi with marinara sauce, blue cheese encrusted steak, and a Moroccan chicken dish. Downside was the little bugs that kept biting our legs under the table!!!

We went for a nice walk after we got back to my place. Gina loves to walk around my neighborhood. Me too! That's why I love to live in Old NE!

I've been wanting to take a picture of this for a long time. It's right outside the entrance to the municipal pool in Northshore Park.

We started the day on Thursday with fresh nectarines and blueberries with vanilla yogurt.

Then we headed over to John's Pass over on Madeira Beach on the Gulf.

Pirates are big deal around here!

For lunch we stopped at Sculley's. Gina had a hamburger, and some great crusty fries, and I had a crab cake on a bun. YUM!!!

We stopped at Mazzaro's to pick up some stuff for dinner. I had this hazelnut encrusted chicken breast with this sauce with orange zest, and Gina had a hot italian sandwich. We had a side of tuscan beans and carrot cake for dessert. You can't go wrong with Mazzaro's!!!

Happy Birthday Wayner!

Tuesday was Wayne's Birthday. I decided to take the "semi-homemade" route. I got out of work at 2:00 pm and headed right over to Mazzaro's. I know that that place is crowded on Saturdays and I figured that a Tuesday mid-afternoon visit would be a breeze. Wrong!

I knew what I wanted to pick up, and moved quickly from section to section. I bought some bracioli and browned it up and put it in some sauce that I also bought at Mazzaro's. I picked up some homemade manicotti; one ricotta cheese and one spinach and prosciutto. A tuscan green bean salad rounded up the main course.

Instead of a cake that would be awfully big for two people to eat, I decided on some smaller desserts. Unfortunately, I didn't know when to stop.

Dessert tray: Strawberry rhubarb mini pie, cassata, creme broule, traditional cannoli. While I was waiting, a little boy, around 7 or 8 years old, was at the pastry counter. He was a talkative chap. He was wearing an Indiana Jones hat and asking me all sorts of questions. He was visiting from Atlanta with his family. His grandparents live in St. Pete. He asked me what kind of work I do, and he said when he grows up he wants to be either a lawyer or a judge or a paleontologist. I told him he was wearing the right hat for that one!

Anyone have any bicarbonate of soda??? Brioschi??