We were able to enjoy several meals with Gary and Rhonda Schwartz on our lanai, including this breakfast of Ty’s Famous Strawberry and Cream Cheese Raisin French Toast. (Corvette Chick had eaten earlier due to an early commitment).
Our good friends Sharon and Joyce recently returned from a visit to family in Covington, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. They very kindly brought back tasty reminders of the Big Easy: a six-pack of Covington Brewery’s Lake Pontchartrain Pilsner (which went down nicely with pizza tonight)….
And also a jar of Boscoli Italian Olive Salad, which is the key ingredient in making Italian muffuletta sandwiches, a Sicilian delight that was invented by Salvatore Lupo, owner of Central Grocery in the French Quarter, back in the 1930’s. (This shot of Central Grocery shows it as it remains today, a small, family-owned business in “The Quarter” that has kept its’ original flavor… and many wonderful aromas!) Thank you, Sharon and Joyce, for your thoughtfulness!
We were fortunate to attend a dinner Sunday evening with members of The Villages’ Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) group, who were hosting Kevin Todeschi, ARE’s Executive Director and CEO, who Suzanne introduced for his day-long workshop on Edgar Cayce on Sunday at the Savannah Center.
It was a friendly, interesting group, and a great meal at Nancy Lopez Country Club. Special thanks to Frances Rolph from the ARE who has been one of Suzanne’s most enthusiastic supporters, and who invited us to this dinner.
Monday evening provided an opportunity to hear some fabulous music, courtesy of The Villages Flute Choir, of which My Lovely Bride is a member; she plays the bass flute, which has nothing to do with the largemouth fish… here she is about to take her seat at the beginning of the performance.
It was a sellout crowd (actually the concert was free) at Laurel Manor Rec Center, and Christine Smith, the Flute Choir Director, had put together a selection of popular, classical, jazz and traditional music that kept the audience spellbound and impressed by the flautists’ musical skills. It was a very entertaining evening.
Suzanne got together with several of her friends and of course her mom Ruthie after the show. Thanks to everyone who came to the concert, and for your support during the year! 
Finally, a note about Corvette Chick’s good friend Elizabeth, seen in the photo above at far right. Elizabeth also has a Corvette. When Elizabeth heard that I had just received the drive belt to repair our home CD changer, she asked, “Ty, could you also fix my Corvette’s CD player?” I asked what was wrong with it, and she said that when she put in a CD, the in-dash player simply spit the CD back out at her. I replied, “Well, Elizabeth, I know what the problem is without even looking at your Vette’s CD player. It’s very simple. You’re putting in a Sinatra CD and your sports car would prefer Kelly Clarkson or Lady Antebellum…”