This is the day I am 95 years old. How did I get so old so fast? However it is actually quite nice because I’m having a second birthday party at the BONEFISH GRILL where our best friends and neighbors in Deer Creek are joining us.

First things first, we each ordered our favorite cocktail, mine was champagne, for a group toast to my birthday and a delightful evening.

My son-in-law Tracy Drake, always the gracious host, got up from our table in the restaurant and took this photo. The second lady on the left side just turned 100 years old this past September 18th. Isn’t she beautiful? She even has a beautiful name, Lee LaPage. Along with her are Pat Boyer and Lee’s daughter Darlene LaPage.

After a while when I spotted our waitress just leaving from another table where she took their order, I hailed her down and ask would she take a picture of us at our table. With a big smile she took my IPad and this is the photo she snapped.

Our lovely neighbors handed me a bagged gift to open and , you have to see this absolutely unique and charming security light they had found. I love it!

And lighted

An adorable little boy at a table next to us let out a high pitched squeal that was attention getting and we all turned to see he was a toddler. How Precious! The way we live in Florida not that many babies and little ones cross our path so for me this is a real treat. The older I get, the more I love seeing babies and small children.

The BONEFISH GRILL serves delicious coconut shrimp so guess what I had? It is listed as an appetizer but I told the waitress I wanted it as my entre with a house salad. It was YUM YUM tasty.

After we finished our meal, knowing how I had been looking forward, Tracy said “Did that make your tummy happy?”. My reply “It is smiling!”

When we all returned to our home in Deer Creek there on the table was a large bag full of gifts from Pam and Tracy. I pulled one wrapped gift after another from that bag. You must have a look-see at all the beautiful gifts.

We didn’t have desert at the restaurant, instead back at home we each had this.

A box of chocolate covered strawberries that came by UPS one day delivery, from my lovely friend in Ohio, Lisa Ellison. And here is the card she sent me…..

This card from her pretty blond daughter Joscelin, although totally blind from childhood diabetes is capable of doing ever so many things and is a dear friend of mine.

Inside

Other cards

There are many more cards I haven’t shown you.

And………you know what I decided? Turning 95 years old is rewarding!

WHAT DO YOU THINK??????

FRF❤️

My 95th birthday is next Thursday November 2nd my daughter Pamela and her husband Tracy Drake are giving me an early party while my Granddaughters Evin and Sarah along with Evin’s husband Matt Bender and Sarah’s boy friend Ado can attend.

Out super colossal chef Tracy makes a standing rib pot roast with little skin-on potatoes, green beans and carrots. Also lobster-tail served with individual melted pots over lighted candles at each place setting (how elegant can you get).

Sooooooo….let’s have us a look-see

Our beautiful table setting by my daughter Pamela

And a candle lighted surprise done by Evin and served by Sarah

But wait….. there’s more

My yummy looking 95th birthday cake from Matt

WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE????

You mean there is still more? There’s presents!!!

From Sarah

FROM Evin and Matt

YUM YUM

THIS 95 YEAR OLD JUST LIVED THROUGH A BEAUTIFUL FAIRYLAND DREAM!!!

FRF❤️

With large pumpkins purchased Matt , Evin and Tracy made pumpkin faces. Here we go to having a look-see at their creative talents……….

By my granddaughter Evin

By my son-in-law Tracy Drake

By Evin’s husband Matt Bender

Mattt told me he did that with a screwdriver, WOW!!

How you like these Halloween pumpkin faces????

Oh…… but there was a fourth pumpkin purchased!!!

And guess What?

My artistic grand daughter Evin has a go at it again!

Here it is!!!!!!

And at night outside our front door……

Soooooo……..how do you LIKE THAT ONE?????

FRF❤️

It’s predicted to move all the way up through Florida and It is wider than our state. The news shows our highways leading out to the north both 75 and 95 bogged down with cars moving slowly, while some ran out of gas and are abandoned on the side of the road.

Our Governor is on TV saying “Get out! We can rebuild your house but we can’t rebuild your life.”

Our next door neighbor took off for the north before all the rush, the one on the other side of us is in that slow moving line of cars going north. Our neighbor and best friends here in Deer Creek are packing their car and hurricane proofing their home as best they can getting ready to go to a shelter.

What to do is now the big decision we have to make and time is running out. My daughter Pamela goes shopping for necessary supplies, including three chairs that fold to fit in a cloth tube, (it is amazing the items you can find in Florida stores) special foods to be eaten cold and anything else that caught her eye. And oh yes, many bottles of water.

Tracy thawed steaks from the freezer by putting them in the microwave then fried them along with fried chicken we had meat for protein.

With our car packed with everything but the kitchen sink we, Tracy, Pam, me along with our two dogs Kiki and Rambo, piled in Tracy’s van and took off for just opened shelter (all the other shelters were full) at Sarasota Riverview High School.

The parking lot was already full of cars and, look at that long line of people waiting to get in! Tracy stopped up at the end of the line for Pam and me in my wheelchair the dog cage, Kiki I held on a leash and Rambo on my lap to get our place at the end of the line as more people hurriedly came in behind us.

At long last we could see the end of that line, finally!!!!! After signing in, since I was in a wheelchair, a volunteer took us to the third floor where we chose to bed down in the wide hallway just around the corner from a rest room. Good show!

Tracy took Kiki, Rambo along with their kennel, food and dishes to the boys locker room set up for everyone’s pets.

Almost 95 year old Flo wasn’t much help as Pam and Tracy took my wheelchair out to the car, loaded it to the hilt and brought in most of our things which took up a lot of the wall space around us.

There were people coming in after us who took nothing, they jumped in there car and took off. We shared what we had taken with others Pam was the Good Samaritan, and was greatly appreciated by many of these bewildered people who sought refuge.

Although three meals a day were served in the cafeteria we stayed put and ate our own food. It was stand in line at the elevator to go to the first floor, stand in line for food and again stand in line for the elevator back to our third floor,

The night the hurricane came roaring in our electricity went out and the generators came on making our lights as bright as before. AMAZING!

Next morning light and we were all alive. No broken windows. All was well. After breakfast was served and the loud speaker gave an “All clear” every one started packing up to go home.

After loading the car, gathering our two little very happy to be back with us little Kiki and Rambo, we headed for home to see if we still had a home.

There were leaves and broken tree limbs along the way but at last home never looked so good.

On inspection only a tree limb in the back had broken off. A panoramic vie of broken tree limb outside of pool cage in back.

THANKFULLY WE LIVED TO SEE ANOTHER DAY AND PROBABLY ANOTHER HURRICANE.

FRF❤️