Aaaand the fun continues!

Building on the gratitude expressed in my pervious post, the fun continued this week with the arrival of our daughter Maddison and hubby Chris! They too were able to finagle their way out of winter's icy grip for a week in the southwest Florida sunshine, so Porter's Taxi was called upon again to retrieve travellers from Fort Myer's Airport. They flew in later in the day so we combined the outing with some browsing at the Miromar Premium Outlets and a fancy-schmansy Costco dinner. 

Oh, we lead quite the life!

For all the times that we've been able to take advantage of my mom's generosity, we have never embarked on a trip to Fort Myers to peruse the Miromar Premium Outlets, so it was high time we treated ourselves, says we. While the stores there cover a wide assortment of labels, some of which we have been in favour of in the past, the title of the complex really doesn't cut it, or at least from our opinion. We browsed a number of the stores and contemplated pulling the trigger on a few offerings, in the end it was a single black tank from Under Armour riding shot gun on the way to the airport.

Being the BIG spenders that we are, we debated a number of possibilities we could grab for the kids to nibble on considering they were flying in so late in the day, but in the end we cheaped out and headed for Costco since it was on route to the airport. We've treated ourselves in the past to the famous Costco hot dog + soda, and despite enjoying it profusely, we were intrigued enough by the $9.99 full size pizza deal to give it a try, reasoning that we would have some slices left for the kids to enjoy. Once there, as it always seems to happen at Costco, we up-sold ourselves by adding a cheesy chicken bake and hot dog + soda so that we would expand the choices for the kids. 

The pie that we purchased had it's own area code! 

I mean this was one seriously large pizza! 

And it was most delicious, we might add!

To make up for our lack of retail support at the Premium Outlets, we decided that we had time to continue expressing our frugality by strolling through Marshall's and Beall's, when lo and behold, some deals literally jumped off their hangers into our arms! Listen, when you find decent quality gear already discounted plus the till gives you a further savings, AND you really like it ... CHA CHING!

Picking up the kids at RSW, making full use of the cell phone lot ... a brilliant little add-on, I might add ... the final assessment on the food choices was two big thumbs up, and the initial few minutes of the drive was made in munching silence. Of course, when Joyce has her Maddi in near proximity, the silence is always short lived! HaHaHa!

One sad note to share for this week, this area was beset by an invasion of RED tide, resulting in a beach front cock full of fish carcasses.

According to Florida Health (CLICK), red tide is caused by a naturally occurring microscopic alga (a plant-like microorganism) called Karenia brevis that produces a toxin that can affect the central nervous systems of fish, birds, and mammals. At high concentrations (called blooms), the organism may discolour the water red, light or dark green, or brown, and can last days, weeks, or months, also changing daily due to wind conditions and water currents. Onshore winds normally bring it near the shore and offshore winds drive it out to sea. A red tide bloom needs biology (the organisms), chemistry (natural or man-made nutrients for growth), and physics (concentrating and transport mechanisms). No single factor causes it, but it can irritate the skin and breathing of some with symptoms include coughing, sneezing, and teary eyes.

For most people, symptoms are temporary when red tide toxins are in the air. Wearing a particle filter mask may lessen the effects, but the general train of thought is to check the marine forecast. While most people can swim in red tide, it can cause skin irritation and burning eyes, so those with skin that is easily irritated are recommended to avoid red tide water. The irritation can often be mitigated by thoroughly washing off with fresh water.

With the calendar turning over from February to March, my mother's annual day of recognition for the world's welcome to life landed on "Hump Day" ... don't read into that! ... and she chose some shopping followed by a dinner at a FAV called Cheddar's. The meal was a rousing success, the bellies filled beyond comfortable, and the shopping netted my mom a couple of sought after items ... BINGO! I'm pleased to report that she felt the day was a rousing success!

The their flight home looming, Maddi + Chris felt the familiar pangs of sadness when something thrilling draws to a close and the return to normalcy hangs in the air. Super Mom Joyce has dearly loved her opportunity to spend time with her both of her beloved young ones and partners, leaving her feeling the words of Dr Seuss, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

Life is indeed GOOD!