It’s great being the gramma who lives in florida. Because……..everyone loves to come visit. So it’s lots of company and fun activities.  So come one come all and no one is too young to enjoy the beautiful white sand beach of Siesta Key.

But let me start with little bathing beauties in Salem Ohio at Drake’s home on Quaker lane.

Take a look see at these little cuties

Sarah (second left) and friends

Another (Sarah left) with friends

My daughter Pamela, she doesn’t have four arms that’s Tracy sitting back to back!!

See…….. They are both there!!!!!

A new baby has been added, never too young to go to the beach gramma Flo, momma Pamela with tine baby Evin Drake.

Gramma watches over her little Evin as she plays in the sand

And momma takes her in the water

Peek-a-boo…I see you…….its little Sarah Drake now having fun.

Evin building a sand hill….this is hard work Mom!!!

Finally Gramma Flo visits in Columbia Maryland. Well…….if we don’t have a beach here……I guess this is the best we can do!!!!!

All I can say is……..this does cool me a little Mom!!!!!!!!!

BUT I LIKE GRAMMA’S BEACH BEST!!!!!!!!

FRF ❤️

Like the challenge of buying a farm when I had no money and making it work, being a successful real estate agent in Venice Florida, now in my eighties and nineties I am enjoying the challenge of painting portraits again after painting only a portrait of my mother when I was seventeen years old with the supervision of my high school art teacher Mrs. Lela Cross.

I have included several paintings in my blogs so far that I have painted since starting back again with this fascinating challenge to bring a persons face to life on a canvas using oil paints.

Now I’d like to show you a few more that I have completed over the last ten years but have not been included in any of my stories so far.

In my grandson Dean Wedding’s home in Dillon Montana here are the painting I have given to him and his wife Pat of their children.   Jeffrey

Darren

Terra

And here is the painting of my grandson Dean wedding

This one is of my great granddaughter and Carole (Susie’s) granddaughter Kimberley Hires.

Now I believe I have a photo in blog of each of the paintings I have done in my lifetime that are completed. I am currently working on three more. When oil painting I sometimes leave a picture to dry for a few days and work on another one in the mean time.

Being a born workaholic, in my retirement it is interesting for me to have these hobbies of writing blogs and painting portraits to brighten my days.

AND………..as an after thought, please don’t forget to try some of my recipes. YOU MIGHT LIKE THEM!!!!!!!!!!

FRF ❤

Although I still have furniture to purchase for this room I’ll show you how it looks for our Florida Christmas.

Stepping through double doors from the family room into my studio this is the first wall you see

Turning left you then see :

And here is where I sit to paint portraits:

Close up

Other wall

How do you like my art gallery?

FRF ❤️

This is my daughter Pamela’s and her husband Tracy’s first Christmas in their Sarasota Florida home and each evening Pamela comes home lugging in more packages of decorations. Although I didn’t mention it, I’m here also.

No family are coming for Christmas for their first time ever. My granddaughter Evin and her husband Matt Bender were here for thanksgiving week and granddaughter Sarah is in France teaching English to French students. She and friends from Ohio will be visiting different interesting European cities over the holidays. And my daughter Meredythe and her husband Joey Wedding are getting ready to move to Dillon Montana in January where my grandson Dean and his family live.

But that doesn’t detour Pamela’s enthusiasm for the holidays. She is inviting many people, who have little or no family here, to come here for a big dinner on Christmas Day and will welcome the guests with holiday cheer from the front door around through the home to the pool area.

Let’s have a look around and see what our guest will see.

Entering the front door
As they enter the living/dining room

Have a look-see at the dining area

The family room to mingle

Kitchen dinette

After scrunching on a delicious meal and happy mingling with interesting conversations, everyone gathering around the piano to sing Christmas carols will give a warm and happy closing to a BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS DAY!!

FRF ❤️

Portrait I painted of Pamela and Tracy on  Chesapeake Baysailing with Dr Kelly and Linda Drake who are mirrored in their dark glasses.

I have never really understood why the 50th birthday is such a big deal. And possibly it isn’t to everyone, but in my family it is the time for extra big celebration. I found these pictures of my daughter Pamela on her 50th birthday and thought you might enjoy seeing them.

She along with her husband Tracy Drake ( he already had his 50th party) their daughters Evin and Sarah lived on Quaker Lane Salem Ohio where Tracy was CEO of the Columbiana county Port Authority located on the Ohio River at East Liverpool and Pamela had her psychiatry office north west of town next to the Salem Hills golf club.

So here are Pamela’s 50th birthday pictures taken at their home on Quaker Lane.

Evin, Sarah, Pamela’s sister Meredythe, me (with my mouth open) and Pamela

Tracy our family super chef at the grill

Close up of our feast

Pamela, Evin, Tracy, Meredythe, Sarah, I’m the photographer

Now it’s light the candle and everyone sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAMELA!!!!!!!

Sarah, Evin, Pamela, tracy

My daughter Pamela, a beautiful 50 year old or should I say 50 YEARS YOUNG!!!!!!!!!!!

FRF ❤️