BUSY DECORATING

It seems like we don't stop. Since Christmas we have painted the master bedroom and bathroom, guest bedroom(and got rid of the yellow ceiling), hallway cupboard, kitchen cupboards, and the Florida Room. Paul pressure-washed the roof without falling off, but did get a sun burnt neck. And he somehow managed to fall into the pool while pressure-washing the walls!

POOL DECK COMPLETED

We are glad to report that our pool deck is now complete. However, that just means that we now have to pressure wash the outside of the house before we get the new pool cage installed.

OLD POOL DECK GONE

We finally had our old pool deck removed this week. The contractors started to remove the cool deck yesterday and finished by midday today. They also cemented over the flower bed in the corner. Hopefully by the end of next week we'll have a new clean looking pool deck.

HOME AT LAST

Today we arrived home after what seemed the longest weekend. In addition to driving over 1100 miles, we unwrapped countless Christmas gifts left by Santa, ate more carbs (thanks to some delicous cookies, chess pies, party mix, pecan pies, cheese biscuits, and fruit cake cookies) than our body could handle, and took so many digital photos that it would have taken up 45 rolls of film.

DESERTING BRADY & JIM

Although we had a great time with Brady and Jim over Christmas, we all made our exits today. Kelly was heading to Rock Hill to spend some time with her boys, although how she packed her car we'll never know (see photo). Jim took Margaret home, and Dawn and I drove to Perry, FL, where we stayed the night in a hotel to break down the trip.

CHRISTMAS DAY

The noise from the burglar alarm last night didn't prevent Santa from leaving some presents for Michaela. Although, as the space under the tree was already taken, he had to lay them out in front of the Hi-Fi. Other gifts received worth a mention were a personalised photo journal of our time in America for Brady and Kelly (see photo), and a top, toy and unique gift for Jim.

CHRISTMAS FARE

With so many gifts under the tree to open, Brady decided that it might be better if we had the Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.

ARRIVED IN FLOWERY BRANCH

After another handful of hours on the road, we arrived at Dawn's mum's house. However, when we arrived, it looked like Santa had arrived early as there was no more room under the tree for us to put our gifts.

SET OUT FOR ATLANTA

Today we set out for Flowery Branch so we could share Christmas with Brady (Dawn's mum), Jim (Brady's husband), Kelly and Micheala and Jim's mother Margaret. This time we broke the journey down into two days and stopped the night in Macon, GA.

NOT CHRISTMAS DECORATING

We have finally started decorating the house for the new year.

Paul painted a couple of ceilings and removed the shower door in the main bathroom, while Dawn stripped the bathroom wallpaper and painted the walls and trims in the main bedroom and closet.

DCO APPRECIATION

When the board of the DCO (Dunedin Council of Organizations) heard that we are leaving Dunedin and moving back to England, they insisted that Dawn and I sit at the head table for this month's meeting. Then, during the meeting, President Pat Kennedy presented Dawn with a framed certificate for all the good work she had done above and beyond the call of duty as a director this year.

LUNCH AT SWEET TOMATOES

Today we met Marsha and Ed K, Cathy E, and Teresa D at Sweet Tomatoes on US19 in Palm Harbor for lunch. It was good to take some time out from training, and to catch up on what everyone was up to.

MARSHA & KEVIN @ THE DUNEDIN BREWERY

Tonight, with many of Marsha G's friends, we packed the Dunedin Brewery to the rafters so we could meet Kevin, her boyfriend from Scotland. Needless to say he was a hit with everyone and we couldn't be happier for Marsha and Kevin. They looked perfect for each other and need to make it happen. WE DID!

JUST SENTIMENTAL NOW UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Today we can finally announce that we have sold Just Sentimental to our good friends Sherrie and Ron Kinkead. We actually closed on the sale last Tuesday, the 22nd, but didn't want to announce it until we had moved the embroidery machines and everything else that went with the business to their house. It's been an amazing three years for us. We've had some great experiences and met some wonderful people. We can also walk away with great pride having made two businesses successful from the ground up in something neither one of us knew the first thing about before we started.

TURKEY DAY

We enjoyed a restful day watching the 79th Macy's Parade. Dawn started on our Christmas cards, and Paul cooked the dinner. Dawn also spoke to her mother and sister on the telephone. It was just nice to be able to take it easy for a change.

POOL CAGE COMING DOWN

Today our backyard looked like a hurricane had come through. But, thankfully it was man made and was due to a couple of contractors tearing down the old pool cage. It certainly looks odd, and we can't wait for the new one to go up.

DINNER AT GRILLSMITHS WITH JACKIE

Tuesday evening we finally caught up with Jackie Yaques, who was our contact at Cintas until recently when she left for greener pastures. We enjoyed talking over old times and really enjoyed the company. A nice friend, and someone we will definately be staying in touch with.

ART HARVEST AT HIGHLAND PARK

On Sunday we took an hour off from work and had a relaxing stroll around the many stalls of paintings, photographs, sculptures and jewelry at this year's Art Harvest in Dunedin's Highland Park.

GARAGE SALE

Saturday we spent the best part of the day in our garage selling our two bikes, power tools, a couple of book cases, fryer, vacuum cleaner, books, CDs, Records, and countless stuffed bears when our neighbourhood had its annual garage sale.

9th ANNIVERSARY

Today we celebrated the 9th anniversary of the day we met at the top of the Empire State Building by having lunch at the Dunedin Marina Cafe (see picture of Dawn looking out across St Joseph's Sound), and then later on dinner at Umberto's of Long Island.