Bernie, Flo, Janie, Mary

When Century 21 offered the six week improvement course in Sarasota we four above signed up.
And, wow, did we work tirelessly to complete that grueling six weeks and graduated with honors. Only thing to do after that was award ourselves for a job well done.

So what did we do? We all four signed up for a weeks cruise taking out from Tampa bay, going under the new skyway bridge and out into the Gulf of Mexico where we head south to the  beautiful Caribbean islands.

So many activities keep us busy on board. Naturally very delicious meals, dancing every night, betting on horse (wooden) races in the afternoon, etcetera.

Then comes our first island and we go ashore to explore.

Flo, Janie, Mary, Bernie

After the course is finished and all the fun of the cruise,  this is what my broker Ron Morrison put in the Venice news paper.

It was a fabulous finish for this real estate agent ME. Thank you Ron!!

FRF ❤️

You remember in my very first blog CHOOSE, I related to you that I was the 12th of 13 children. So……I have a nephew just six months younger than me.
Here you see me with my oldest brother John’s son Walter. He is laughing because they took that apple away from me and gave to him. Then they gave me a little round mirror. So now we are ready for our picture. Here goes!!!!

We grew up and he was selling real estate on the east coast of Florida and I was selling real estate on the west coast of Florida in Venice.

So when my daughter Meredythe decided it was time to have a Rockhold brother and sister reunion at her home in Ohio.  I had flown and Walter just happened to be up in Ohio at that time and when he heard about our get together he came and some one took our picture. See us grownup!!!!!
When meeting real estate agents in my Venice area Walter delighted in telling them
FLO FISHER IS MY AUNT!!!!!!!

FRF ❤️

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 ❤️