A bit early

But here's one for John#8, Sea and all our other friends on the other side

~~seadancer~~...

That was very nice. Thank you, FN.
We enjoyed our weekend, visiting our son and his family
which includes our 4 precious grandchildren. Weather was great,
perfect for swimming in their pool... in my new LL Bean bathing suit. (g)
Now I'm listening to fireworks going off all around the area in
our neighborhood. At times I can see some fireworks in the
distance, but we haven't gone out of our way to see any fireworks.
I'm not fond of crowds.
Thank you again for your thoughtfulness.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

You're very welcome. :)

Jackie...

That was very nice FN, I really like those cards.

of the pond.

Sunny52...

Thank you, that was lovely!

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

She makes a wonderful e-card doesn't she?

Hi Sunny52, i don't recognise your nickname - so welcome to UPS.

Sunny52...

and

Have you browsed our website to find out more about us? Bios, locations and
much much more.

Sunny52...

Thank you for the welcome. Yes, I have browsed your website. Splodge
gave me a heads up about UPS. She said I could not find a nicer group,

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

And yes she was right wasn't she?

Sunny52...

Yes indeed!!

and I must agree!

~~seadancer~~...

Welcome, Sunny, to UPS.
Where are you from? I'm from the USA.

Sunny52...

I'm in Massachusetts. It's a glorious day here, perfect weather for a
BBQ!

~~seadancer~~...

Yes, the day is finally shaping up here in the Adirondack Mountains
of New York State. It's still a bit hazy and the clouds keep blocking
out the sun. But the sun, the "BYT" (big yellow thing), is trying its
best to burn away the clouds. Temp here is 76 F (24.44 C) right now.
There's a good breeze out there too.
Who's doing the cooking, Sunny?

Aries...

Hi Sunny, welcome :) I have a cousin living in Massachusetts :)

Sunny52...

Thank you! Massachusetts is a lovely state, but I am thinking of
moving away from the winter blizzards and ice storms.

Aries...

But you have beautiful Autumns, you would miss those

Sunny52...

Yes, I would miss autumn in New England.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

We used to say "Don't blink or you may miss summer" over here. Seems things
are changing. :)

Sunny52...

Last year while visiting London I inquired why shops are not air
conditioned. I was told - "Don't need it. It seldom gets very hot
here." That was not the case last summer.!

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Yep! 'The times they are a changing' :)

Bob Dylan was quite correct.

Sunny52...

Perhaps you will be seeing more air conditioned shops and pubs?!

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Our local Co-op has aircon. I think they must have it blowing in reverse
'cos it's always hotter in there than it is outside. Everyone is
complaining about it. I pity the people who are w*rking in thee all day - I
reckon they're gonna melt away to nothing. :(

~~seadancer~~...

When I was in Maine, I saw a T-Shirt that said:
"If you can't take the winters, you don't deserve the summers."
I'm not so sure I agree with that, because I'm finding the cold
winters harder and harder to take at my age (72). I HATE feeling cold!
And I hate having to put on so many clothes before I go out the door.
One thing we're going to do one of these days, is get a gadget that
will start the car before we go out the door so that the car will be
warm when we get in. Also, the next car might have heated seats!
I'm also starting to take short vacations in Florida during the winter.

Sunny52...

I love visiting Maine, but I would not want to live there! Summer is
too short, and winter is far too long. They also have to deal with
those nasty biting insects for most of the spring right into June. I
also loathe winter coats, hats, gloves, etc., etc....

I bought a new car with heated seats and an automatic starter. That is
a good thing, but it's trying to get to the car that worries me during
the winter. I am so afraid of falling on the ice.

I have friends in Florida who have learned to love their weather year
round. They were snowbirds before they relocated for good. Florida is

Rabbit...

I have friends in Florida who re-located from Colorado/ Maryland and a few
other places. The first winter they found wonderful for the heat but as
their bodies adjusted to sea level the following year they began to feel the
cold. It's not the first time now that I've been sitting in minimal clothing
while they have donning sweaters.. Wimps the lot of them :-)

still an option I am considering.

Rabbit...

< me does my bit for the Florida tourist industry> I've been lucky enough to
be introduced to places in Florida which weren't Disney/ theme parks type
places and there are some lovely places to live there in Florida

~~seadancer~~...

What part of Florida do you prefer?
I love the palm trees. They seem so graceful and tranquil.

Sunny52...

I don't think I have been to enough cities in Florida to declare a
preference, but I know where I would not want to live. I don't care
for Miami, Orlando, or the Keys.

~~seadancer~~...

I can understand your not preferring Miami or Orlando,
but what's wrong with the Keys? I've never been there.
We did enjoy Clearwater Beach on the Gulf last winter.
It was beautiful, but they're tearing down our hotel and building
another condo. Soon there won't be any tourists, just cold,
uncharming, condos instead. The little tourist shops will disappear.
Next winter we plan to try Daytona Beach on the ocean side.

Rabbit...

I like Daytona and Melbourne Beach area.

~~seadancer~~...

Sandra, can you tell me what you like about Daytona?

Sunny52...

Northern Florida, and the costal regions are lovely. One does have to
consider hurricanes and buy/build a house to withstand hurricane force
winds.

Rabbit...

Most of my friends now live about 100 miles north of Tampa, and they don't
seem to be as affected by the hurricanes as other areas.

Sunny52...

Tampa is a city we may look at. Right now my hubby is leaning towards
Arizona. A move is still two years away, so we have plemty of time.

Rabbit...

Sun Hill, north of Tampa is a newish development area and it's around there
most of my friends moved from Tampa itself. There's a new highway built
which is encouraging the commuters to the area. Unfortunately if you aren't
thinking of moving for two years it might not be the best financially. A
couple of years ago housing was inexpensive but since the new highway opened
it has increased in price and as more stores ( WalMart were there with the
first half dozen houses ;-) ) etc move there it's only going to get more
expensive.

Sunny52...

Thanks for the heads up! I'll tell hubby, but I doubt he will give up
the Arizona dream!

I think Floridians become "spoiled" by the heat, and they complain once
their temps drop to the 50's!

I'd like to know more about it before I go there. Thanks.

Rabbit...

Emmm hard one to answer, nice beach, nice town, some really good eating
places, great view of the Shuttle if it happens to be taking off, but
basically I've got some bitter sweet memories of Daytona. Mind you I saw a
few changes the last time I was there and I'm not certain they are for the
best.

~~seadancer~~...

Sounds good. I had heard that there are crowds
of "young" people having parties on the beach.

Rabbit...

It's a surfing beach ( I have surfer friends) and yes you do get a lot of
youngsters but I've never found them any bother and like most American kids
I've met I've always found the surfers to be friendly and polite.

I hope we don't run into a lot of noisy gangs.
Most of the people on our bus tours are "older".
So I doubt if they'd take us to a place with a younger crowd.
Time will tell. (g)

Sunny52...

The Keys are indeed beautiful but I would never live in that region.
The residents are always evacuated whenever hurricanes head in that
direction. Can't understand why anyone would want to live there year
round, especially during hurricane season?!

I visited Clearwater years ago before the developers ruined the
landscape. I have never been to Daytona Beach, but it looks lovely.

Dayton Beach looks lovely, but I have never been there.

Sunny52...

Yes, I agree, those hurricanes are frightening.
As for the developers, I agree with you there too.
It's a shame to see the area changing like that.
But people will buy those condos just for the view of the ocean,
although, it seems to me, that just staring at the ocean can
get old very fast.

Sunny52...

Yes, I agree! I live a short car ride from Cape Cod, and I have stayed
on the Cape several times over the years. I love getting away from it
all, but after a few days of staring at the ocean, I find myself
gravitating towards the local mall. lol

~~seadancer~~...

It's the same with summertime. In July I'm raring to go
to the beach. By the end of August, I've really had enough.

Sunny52...

The end of summer is the best time to visit Cape Cod. Usually the
tourists are gone, and the water temperature is just right for an old
timer like me! lol

~~seadancer~~...

Yes, off-season is a good time to take a vacation... there are less
crowds, and as you say, the water is warmer at the end of summer.

http://www.ukpeoplesilversurfers.co.uk/

Grey_Wolf...

Terrific, FN!:D

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=PV45116364