twinem4

What we did this summer!

2006-08-02T20:36:00.000-04:00

We have had a lot of fun this summer and have obviously been away from the blog. Click on the link below and you will find a few pictures of our summer activities.
http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m181/ssseightball/

Sportsmanship

2006-08-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

At the year end award banquet tonight. Adrienne recieved the runnerup trophy for the Tournament of Champions and she was award the Sportsmanship award for the Greater Sar. Junior Golf Association. Way to go AJ!!!

Try your hand at driving a cruise ship

2006-05-29T21:24:00.000-04:00

I'm a Captain!
Click here to test your skills at the wheel of a carribean cruise liner.

2006-05-29T11:15:00.000-04:00

The Graduate

2006-05-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Cousin Graduates

Made It!

2006-05-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Adrienne and 590 0f her closest friends graduated from LRHS Saturday. Now it is onward and upward as Adrienne will attend College this fall.

2006-05-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

view from behind the Eightball

2006-05-23T07:27:00.000-04:00

coasting

2006-05-23T07:26:00.000-04:00

tuning up

2006-05-08T07:55:00.000-04:00

Tactitian and spinnaker specialist cooling out before the start

2006-05-08T07:54:00.000-04:00

Captain of the Great Eightball

2006-05-08T07:53:00.000-04:00

Illustrous Eighball Crew

2006-05-08T07:51:00.000-04:00

Someone is having a bad day.

Raymond Visits Bashaw

2006-04-12T07:31:00.000-04:00

Raymond visited Bashaw elementary school last week. Brenda was Raymonds personal escort for his visit. Raymond and her have now become close friends and Raymond gave her this Autographed photo! Thinking that we will visit with Ray at a game this spring. Maybe when the streaking Red Sox come to town.

National Champions!!!

2006-04-04T08:14:00.000-04:00

All is well in the Gator Nation. Luv that guy Noah! It will be truly amazing when the Gators are champs in basketball and football at the same time. Did you notice that Gator fans can party without burning cars and cities and things. Way to go!!!

Too CCCold!!!

2006-03-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

Too cold this weekend for the mighty Eightball to set sail. The squadron hosted a midwinter regatta for several classes this past weekend. We fully intended to sail but with temps dipping into the low 60s it was just too unbearable for our thinned blood to stand. We did partake of the Shrimp Boil which was fantastic.

Eightball Wins Again.

2006-03-22T20:17:00.000-05:00

Last weekend saw the end of the winter sailing series at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. We managed to clinch the winter series with a third place in our last race. We have really had a great time racing this winter. The weather has been fantastic. The group of sailors is reallly top notch. Every week someone new manages to eke out ahead and usually the finishes are bang bang bang and depend on who gets the last shift. This weekend is an invitational regatta with several fleets joining for their midwinter championships. Should be a lot of fun with sea stories and a big shrimp boil on Saturday eve.
AJ is accepted at Florida Southern College for next fall. She is really looking forward to begining the college experience. It will be the first year that AJ and Mia will be at the same school together in all their years!
Sailing is good, golf is good, work is good, school is good, family is good. That about covers it.

Sailing on SRQ Bay....Priceless

2006-02-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Another of our updates on a fantastic day of racing on Sarasota Bay. Temps in the 70s and about 8 kts of breeze. Made for a great afternoon of tight racing. This week we had 10 boats racing. Once again things were tight at the top. We managed a 4th for the weekend, one point behind the 2nd and 3rd place boats. As I had mentioned in previous posts the finishes are often bang bang and this week was no different. We got nosed out by inches in the last race to get a 2nd. A first would have had all the tiebreakers for the day put us in 2nd for the day. We are still sometimes a little out of synch with sail trimming, mostly to do with, I think, getting the right combination of vang and mainsheet correct. When we do get the boat dialed in we are scary fast.
A great group of competitive sailors, a great bay to sail on. It just doesn't get any better.

Eightball on the move

2006-02-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

Great day of racing yesterday for the intrepid Eightball crew. With very light fluky winds we managed a 2nd in the only race of the day. Definitely a day of playing the neverending shifts from start to finish. It was an interesting day of trying to balance catching Leprachan and at the same time holding off the rest of the fleet. Before the race we tweeked the tune of the rig a little. We enjoyed some of our best boat speed of the season. Next week the Cherry Pie regatta.
On another note, Had a fun visit w/ Geoff from Maine. Caught up on some news from the north land. If only he hadn't brought that cold wind and rain with him. As soon as he left we were back into beautiful sun and fun again. Go figure.

Defending Stanley Cup Champs

2006-01-25T08:02:00.000-05:00

Bren & I ventured to our first Lightning game last night. It was a blast. Although the Lightning didn't get an overtime win, they tied the game up and earned a point for a tie with the goalie pulled and 48 secs. left in the game. The stinking Panthers goalie made 48 of 50 saves. The Lightning look like they are ready to step up and defend the cup. GO BOLTS!!!

Fantastic Sailing

2006-01-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a fantastic day on the bay. Winds about 10-15, Temps about 82 degrees. We had 2 races. The fine flying scot "Eightball" finished 4th and 3rd with 12 boats racing. This was good enough for 3rd on the day. Could have been better but in the first race we (stupid us) lost track of the winward mark and overstood by about 50 yds. Having to head back while other boats rounded was quite painful. Chalk it up to another reminder to keep the head out of the boat and looking around. Once again we had a finish with 3 boats abreast. 3 feet back and our 3rd would have been a 5th! We have been more aggressive tactically lately and now that the boat us up to speed we can enjoy making decisions on tactic and not desperation. Love the level Flying Scot Racing.

Frostbiting in the Sunny South

2006-01-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

Great day of sailing yesterday. It was probably the coldest day of the winter sailing around here. (I hope) Had to resort to the old flap hat over the Cap to keep warm as temps dipped into the 50s! About 60 degrees most of the afternoon.BRRRRRR We raced with 12 boats and covered all areas of the fleet during 4 races. Have not finished last in while but we did this weekend in one of the races. Also had a 2nd in one of the races and a couple of races somewhere in the middle. Very tight racing, during the first race, 5 of us crossed the line overlapped in a dead heat so we really don't know yet how we placed in that race. Cannot be more fun than this.

Flying Scot Update

2006-01-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

Fresh off the Fall Series win. We are now into the winter series. It was a little nippy upwind yesterday. Temps in the 60's. Even wore the old "Jackpot" polar fleece jackets! The last series was won the old fashioned way. (Going in all the races) We did not have blazing speed though. That is now under control. A new suit of North Sails (snug rig) have definitely got the Eightball up to speed. Now although we still occasionally go the wrong way at least we are going there fast. It has been a while since we had some speed to burn and it feels pretty great. Even lifted the boat on the hoist this weekend to work on the smoothness of the centerboard. Wicked fast.

2005-12-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

Family Cruise

2005-12-23T22:27:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Pats Rule

2005-12-17T17:24:00.000-05:00

Wow,
What a butt kicking the Bucs endured today! The mighty Pats chewed the Bucs up and spit them out with seeming ease. Back to the drawing board for the pirates. Lesson learned: Pats rule, Bucs don't. Alas the Bucs are still improving so someday, hopefully soon, they will be as strong as the mighty Pats.

Ride that Cadillac

2005-12-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

Bucs are back on top of the NASCAR division and looking tough. Next road test for the Cadillac is a little run up to New England to face the defending champs. Definitely need to bring the A Game! Tighten that chin strap. This clash of titans will be huge.

Adrienne Gets a Scholarship

2005-12-07T07:52:00.000-05:00

Adrienne received the Joe Turnesa Scholarship Award from the Sarabay Country Club and Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association. This will certainly help a lot for college next year. Congrats AJ.

Flying Scot update

2005-11-13T19:58:00.000-05:00

We've been racing the Flying Scot " Eightball" for a few weeks now. We have had some successes and met some very nice people. This weekend we raced in the Florida circuit race that came through Sarasota. There were 26 boats and we had a fun time. Actually is was a very humbling experience. Our best finishes were a couple of 10s on Saturday. It is facinating to try to figure this boat out. We are not up to speed with the "A" group of traveling sailors yet, but the challenge of getting there is one we are looking forward to picking up. The racing actually makes us want to practice to get better. Again nothing beats racing on SRQ Bay. Can't wait til next weekend.

Wilma Leaves

2005-10-26T19:34:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was quite eventful around here. On Sat. eve we celebrated Mom & Dad's anniversary. It was a great time with wonderful music, food and company. Sunday we quickly turned our focus to the huricane. One move that proved later to be a good one was that we moved our boat from the sailing squadron parking to a more protected lot behind my work. We returned to the squadron with boat in tow on Monday only to find the the SR21 usually parked next to our boat was laying on its side in our spot! Certainly this would have caused significant damage if it had landed on our boat. As it is we are now looking forward to stepping the mast again on Sat AM and sailing in the Great Pumpkin Regatta. The entertainment for the regatta party will be the Lost Marbles Band. Should be a lot of fun. On Tuesday we learned that Blaine's fleet survived the hit on Marco Island intact. He is having what must be a wild ride down the east coast of Florida on the new addition to the Kahuna Sailing fleet. Going to Fl Southern College tomorrow for a concert under the stars at their outdoor band shell. That's all for now.

Anniversary

2005-10-22T07:25:00.000-04:00

This summer while in Boothbay, Mom & Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Today we are celebrating it with them.

Adrienne Sarasota Herald Article

2005-10-21T08:20:00.000-04:00

The following is a recent article pasted from the Herald Tribune yesterday. Way to go Adrienne

GIRLS PREP GOLF

Twinem takes last shot

Senior finishes her career in region event Monday after failing to qualify for theClass 2A state tournament.

BY ALAN DELL

CORRESPONDENT

EAST MANATEE -- Adrienne Twinem believes golf is a microcosm of life.

It's one reason she is so much in love with the game.

The Lakewood Ranch senior was a steadying influence for the Lady Mustangs' young girls golf team this season. She was the leading scorer and provided the incentive for a team that had only two seniors and no juniors.

Twinem finished her high school career on a disappointing note at the Class 2A-5 region tournament when she failed to qualify for the state tournament. But there was nothing disappointing about her four-year career. She was an inspiration to others, says Lakewood Ranch girls head coach Greg McGrew.

"Adrienne has so much determination. She is a neat kid and type of person that makes you want to coach," McGrew said. "She is not the biggest kid, but she has a great swing that she has really developed. I am very proud of her. It was so enjoyable to watch her progress the past two years."

The 17-year-old got a late start in golf. She didn't begin taking the game seriously until she was about 14 years old. But once Twinem decided to dedicate herself to the sport, her game grew by leaps and bounds.

"It's awesome how golf can teach you so many things. It mirrors life in so many ways," Twinem said. "It teaches you the value of dedication and discipline. I like golf because it's hard and you can never be satisfied with it. You can always improve."

Twinem played her first two years of high school golf at Southeast High where she was the team's MVP her freshman and sophomore seasons. She attended the school because of its International Baccalaureate program, but lived in the Lakewood Ranch district and decided to switch schools for her junior year.

In her first season with the Lady Mustangs last year, Twinem had to get used to being No. 2 on the team.

She settled in easily and this year took back her role as team leader. McGrew believes she was a perfect fit for such a young team in need of senior leadership.

"The mental aspect of the game is so important. I've gotten better at it because I take the attitude that if I have a bad hole I just move on," Twinem said. "I've learned to play golf for every shot, not for every hole. You have a bad shot, you have to get over it quickly."

Twinem feels golf should be fun. It's what got her into the game in the first place and what has kept her going.

"The only reason I play golf is because I love it and think it's fun," Twinem said.

One of the highlights of Twinem's career came as a freshman when she qualified for the region tournament and was able to compete against her older sister, Amelia, a junior at Lakewood Ranch at the time.

She wants to join her sister at Florida Southern College in Lakeland next year and would like to play golf, although Amelia is not a member of the school's women's golf team.

"I want to attend either Florida Southern or Flagler College. I like both of those schools because they are small and close to home," Twinem said.

When Twinem looks back at her high school years, she will see a career that saw her make regionals three times and be a team MVP three out of four years. It proved to her that hard work does pay off.

A few boats behind the Eightball!

2005-10-16T19:55:00.000-04:00

Eked out a narrow victory on our first day of racing at SRQ sailing Squadron. two 1sts and two 3rds were good enough for a 1/4 point victory on the day. Above the captain is shown intent on covering the fleet and enjoying our first win with this fine boat. The best part was we met some fun sailors at a great sailing club!

Eightball Launched!

2005-10-15T20:07:00.000-04:00

Today was the maiden voyage of the Flying Scot "Eightball". We had a glorious sail up and down Sarasota Bay with Granddad, AJ Bren and me. Tomorrow is our first race date. Should be another great day for a sail.

City Championship Runner Up!

2005-10-09T20:05:00.000-04:00

Way to go Adrienne. Sarasota city girls golf championship division ages 17-18 runner up. Nice trophy.
Next week the mighty flying scot hits the water for our first race. We are now official members of the Sarasota Sailing Squadron! Yahoo.
Bucs 4-1 still in 1st place. All is well.

BUCs 4-0

2005-10-03T21:08:00.000-04:00

What a great ride our cadillac provides. BUCs are cruising now to NY to ground the JETS.

Had a nice ride back to Fla from ME with the Flying Scot in tow. Next race is Oct 16th. If we can figure out how to rig and launch the boat next weekend we should be ready.

Thanks Tom for the ride from NH to ME, it was a great help and it was fun to catch up on the news. Especially cool was the short construction detour requiring a rest stop at Brads. Thanks.

Rays Rule over the Hated Yankees!

2005-09-09T13:04:00.000-04:00

So far this season the Rays are 11 and 5 against the Yankees, winning every series! Everyone in the BoHose Nation should send flowers and candy this way for the way we are doing our part (crushing the Yankees while laying over for the Sox) for another world series in Boston.
Nice opener for the Pats. The Bucs will follow suit and take no prisoners when they visit the Vikes this sunday.

Rays get Robbed in Boston

2005-08-31T07:57:00.000-04:00

Love the Rays! No wonder the BoHose win games, the crappy cheating umpires give games to them. No better proof than last night. How can anyone sleep at night with this travesty of justice lingering in the air?

More Paradise

2005-08-27T16:04:00.000-04:00

Backstay Beauty

Paradise

2005-08-27T16:02:00.000-04:00

A beautiful day for a sail and shelling at the beach.

Flying Scot!!

2005-08-16T18:25:00.000-04:00

Whoopee!! Now this is flying! We hope to catch a few rides like this skipping down Sarasota Bay this winter.

New Racing Yacht

2005-08-14T18:34:00.000-04:00

The yacht shown above is a Flying Scot. It is currently located in a remote shed in Southport Maine. In about a month it will be rescued and transported to the sunny south to race in Florida. We can't wait to race again. Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters, children, grandchildren and friends will make up the team of racers! Probably not all at the same time. Sarasota sailing squadron will be the new home. I think the first race for us will be Oct. 16. Better brush up on rule changes etc. Yahoo.

Sox are too tough

2005-07-28T08:11:00.000-04:00

The D Rays once again did their part. Laying over for the Bo Hose in their march back to the World Series. Losign 2 out of 3 wasn't pretty, but, to make matters worse, I had to put up with AJ loving it, as we watched the games from the couch with her adorned with her Sox hat. 2 days to Marco Island and counting. Sorry to hear about Toby. He was a good dog.

D Rays Take Game One

2005-07-26T20:16:00.000-04:00

D Rays rule the mighty Red Sox in game one of the pivital series. The Rays once again are within 20 games of first place and are making a run for the pennant. I'm writing this as game 2 is in progress, Sox 5, Rays 1. A little hill that the streaking Rays will probably be able to overcome.
AJ qualified for the Tournament of Champions tournament for SRQ Jr. Golf next weekend. It is a first for her and it is the last tournament before the school golf season begins. We are going to see Blaine D. this weekend. Yahoo. Will be a lot of fun, lot o sailing and perhaps a little bit of fine dining.. Can not wait! Biggest month ever at Signs2Go.! Not bad for the dog days of summer. Love the Florida heat. Later.

Whiplash Rules the Waves

2005-07-12T13:44:00.000-04:00

Way to go Ted. Nice job dominating the Championship weekend!!

Dodging the Canes

2005-07-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

Looks like another year of dodging hurricanes. We will try to zig when they zag and see what happens. Bren and AJ have been having a fantastic visit up north with Bren's mom and their friends. Getting a little quiet around the homefront these days. Just going to have to Mow the lawn and fight off the lawn related bugs. This should pass the time til the family gets back. Monday it was warmer in Falmouth Me then Bradenton FL, go figure. The most interesting little event from Brens visit north was on Sunday. She and AJ went out on Jackpot in Boothbay with mom and dad for a beautiful sail. During their ride they called me and as we talked on the phone I could watch them sail by on the web cam set up at the research lab in Boothbay. Very Cool.
That's it.

D Rays are Back!

2005-06-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

Luv Da Rays! What was I thinking. just a couple of days ago I was a wimpering sniveling bowl of jello think about crawling back to the Bo Hose Nation. Not today. After destroying the Bronx Bombers in a 3 out of 4 series in the Big Apple the Rays are back! So what if it is 18 games or so back at least they are back. Glad that it is Friday. Probably play a little golf this weekend. Golf will be fun but many wandering thoughts will be with the crab smashers that I imagine will be off the coast of Freeport in this week's Man o Man, in your face pirating, racing and general mayhem event called the Harraseeket Regatta.

E-Commerce

2005-06-23T07:50:00.000-04:00

In an earlier entry I mentioned that I set up the Signs 2 Go, Inc. web site. I am now happy to report that we have gotten our first two new customers directly related to the web site. The first is a Real estate company that will become an on going customer. They manage many properties that require signs. The second is for a company putting on a golf tournament. Our first successes in e-commerce. Yippee!!

On something completely different. The D-Rays are driving me crazy. Fortunately it is just a few more weeks til NFL training camps open.

Dr. Beach don't know nothing!

2005-05-31T20:12:00.000-04:00

We had a great fun Memorial Day weekend. AJ Mia and I went golfing on Saturday AM with my mom and had a great time. I mowed the lawn in the afternoon and with flag flying we were quite festive and settled in for some chicky on the grill. Sunday was a day to relax at the beach in the AM. Majorly disappointed in the rating that Dr Beach bestowed on the Fort Desoto Park Beach. Last week he rated it the number 1 beach in the country. Since it is about 30 mins from our house we thought we would check it out. We must be spoiled because this beach did not hold a candle to our local beaches. When thinking of all the beaches that we have visited in the past the closest to match this in quality was the Rang Pond Beach in New Gloucester ME. No offense meant but probably not one of the top 250 beaches in the country. We did manage to leave in time to watch some of the Indy 500 which was quite entertaining. Sunday eve we visited Patti, John and the rest of the family at their house for a great cookout of ribs and chicken. John has a gift for the southern grill and we all enjoyed the fine dining experience. Later a little dual TV with the Red Sox and NASCAR racing made for a relaxing eve. We wrapped up the day with an evening dip in the pool as the Sox put away the hated Yankees. Monday we visited St Aramand Circle. and did a little window shopping. All in all a fine weekend, leaving us rested and ready to dive into the next week. Not much else to report other than we talked to Blaine D. this weekend and plans are in the works for a rondezvous in the near future.

Bradenton news

2005-05-15T09:34:00.000-04:00

Man O Man it has been a while. Seems like everything else. Once a habit is broken it takes a while to get back to the routine. I put off writing because there didn't seem to be much to write about. I am still trying to catch on the the concept of writing for the fun of it. The latest news is that Amelia is home for the summer from Florida Southern College. She is going to spend most of the summer at the local YMCA as a camp counselor. Adrienne has been playing a lot of golf and had an 87 in the tournament yesterday. She wraps up her junior year of high school in a couple of weeks. She's getting into the SAT ACT etc swing now and starting to look towards college. Kind of hard to believe for Bren and I, but we are learning to cope with the thought of having both girls off at college. Lately I have been helping out with my mom on getting her web page up and running. We are still workng out some kinks but take a look here. www.coastalmainescenes.com The site is devoted to photographic images from the coast of Maine. She is doing a really nice job on the page
and is having a lot of fun getting it going. As far as music goes we went to a nice outdoor cafe last eve and saw a jazz band featuring a great piano player who grew up in New Hampshire and studied at UNH. Thats about all the news for now. I will try to be more diligent in writing. Actually I'll try to be more diligent in doing things to write about.

De Soto Heritage Seafood Festival

2005-04-05T20:08:00.000-04:00

The Big Z Band ( love da horns)
Last weekend was the De Soto Heritage Seafood Festival in downtown Bradenton. We had three days of fun listening to great music. It is kind of interesting to us that in the last month we have probably heard more live music than in the past 5 years. Friday eve was the hot local Billy Rice Band. They covered all the classic great songs and had hundreds dancing in the street on a wonderful balmy evening. A great way to kick off the weekend. On Saturday eve the Dan Toler Band brought us back for some great blues and southern rock. Dan played with the Allman Brothers band for about 20 years and it was obvious why. Sunday afternoon was a chance for us to have a final cool one, hook up with Lisa Fath (who arrived by boat), and take in the soulful tunes of The Big Z Band featuring Sheldon on vocals. Being able to stroll the waterfront listening to the tunes mixed with the rustling palm fronds is one of the great benefits of living on the west coast of Florida.

spring is here

2005-03-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

Been a few weeks since the last update. The reason being that nothing remotely extraordinary happened. This week was different. Last Thursday, Bren and I joined my sister, Lisa and a couple of her friends and went to see a Pat Matheny concert. We had a very enjoyable evening. Neither Bren nor I knew recognized any of the tunes yet we really enjoyed the show. Pat is truly a phenomenal guitar player and his band is excellent. The music and light show were quite a contrast to the Glen Campbell concert that we saw about a month ago. Its funny we went to both shows on a whim with uncertain expectations and thoroughly enjoyed both.
On something completely different. I installed a new dishwasher this weekend. We are giving it a first test run this eve and all seems to be well with the installation. This home improvement project was actually kind of fun and it went in with very little profanity. Tim the toolman would have been proud.

Glen Campbell

2005-03-02T07:59:00.000-05:00

Had a fun evening yesterday. Bren and I went to the Van Wezel to see a Glen Campbell concert. It was a lot of fun. He had a five piece band that included: drums, bass, acoustic guitar, electric piano, and of course Glen on the lead guitar. A wide range of songs included a beach boys medley, some great covers of old standards and of course a string of his biggest hits. Highlights also included duets with his daughter Debbie Campbell. His guitar playing was fantastic and his voice was true. Who would have thought that this would have been such a good time. Only problem now is that I have to go to work humming refrains from a Rhinestone Cowboy.

Web trials and tribulations.

2005-02-15T20:50:00.000-05:00

Lately I have embarked on a new learning experience in the great world of the web. I started working at a Sign2Go a couple of months ago and althought they owned a domain on the web, their site was dormant. Thinking that it would be fun to learn a little about web design and perhaps a little helpful to the company, I took on getting the page up and running. The visual design is pretty much done for now. Little did I know that that was when the fun began. After publishing our page we have bounce from oblivion to the front page and back to oblivion. (Quit laughing Tom) Hopefully learning from our mistakes we will be back soon. (I think) Check out the site. Any insights on snags to avoid will be greatly appreciated. Hola.
Almost forgot. 3 Days til pitchers and catchers report. Could this be the year of the DRays!?

Patriots

2005-02-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Pats are at it again. They are simply amazing. This weekend my folks are hosting a Superbowl party. I can't wait to eat pizza, mex dip, wings, etc. and watch the mighty Pats shred through the Eagles. Who says there aren't seasonal changes around here. I only have to mow the lawn every two weeks this time of year as opposed to every 5 days in the summer. Another seasonal change to note is that all the snowbirds are clogging up the roads! We got a call to crew on a Flying Scot for next weekend but we are tied up. Hopefully the call will come again for another time. These boats look like a lot of fun. They have a small fleet at Sarasota Sailing Squadron. It might be fun to get into racig with them sometime.

Mid Winter Golf etc.

2005-01-16T21:42:00.000-05:00

Winter blew in this weekend with blustery northerlies. Temps dropped to the 60s for daytime highs. Saturday Bren and I watched AJ play a golf tournament at Myakka Pines Golf club in Englewood. After months of warmer climes the weekend chill was a bit of a suprise. For the most part our sweaters and windbreakers kept the chill off. Not realizing it would be so cold most of the golfers wore shorts and were probably chilled to the bone by the time the sun went down. After warming up, Bren and I went to St Arman's circle to 15 South to see The Big Z Band. They play there about once a month and we enjoy heading out on the town about that often. We love to dance to their second set when they perform a Smooze Brothers (Blues Brothers) set with many of our old favs from the Fabulous Icons days, such as Mustang Sally! Today, Sunday was mostly spent cooling out around the homefront. Pretty much acing the NY Times Xword puzzle then watching the Pats destroy the Colts in the snow. Having been to a game in Foxboro on a snowy day I really was glad to be home on the couch watching today.

Wowowowow

2005-01-05T20:17:00.000-05:00

This is a truly red letter day for the Twinem4 blog. When I checked in I noticed 2 comments posted. I think that this is a first. Thanks mucho. I will consider the sage advice and for a while focus on my own part of the world. Of course that makes things a little difficult as today not much happened. One of the highlights was to learn that on the web based game: Blogshares.com, our blog was ranked number 9 out of the top 100, in value for incoming links to the blog realclearpolitics.com. I have no idea what this means. If anyone else does, let me know. Even so, it seems kind of cool. On the home front, another day at 78 degrees. (just about perfect outside) Got out a little at work today to install a couple of signs and it was glorious. As much as I like to read about winter in Maine on friendly blogs, I do feel compelled to write about my drive home in the car at about 5:30. The sun today was over my left shoulder, low on the horizon. My side window was down, where in short sleeves, I could rest my arm on the door. I listened to some public radio music, then some oldies. Watching the sky change to beautiful shades of orange and red, it was very very nice for the wind down on the way home.

Blog Resolution

2004-12-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

I, like millions of others resolve to be more diligent at writing in the blog during the coming year. That being said, I am still trying to figure out if I should post more often about day to day activities. As in a journal interesting to me, but probably no one else. Perhaps observations on current events. Or even some modest attempt at descriptive writing using tools learned back a few decades. These skills are a little rusty to say the least but it might be fun to give it a try. Or perhaps write a little great prose as I wax about how current events affect my day to day activities.

2004 Xmas break

2004-12-22T22:18:00.000-05:00

Busy around the home front theses days. Brenda's mom Thelma flew down from Maine this week to spend Christmas in the sunny south. It may be the first time in 40 or 50 years that she has been away from Maine for this holiday. Although Bren, I and the kids have acclimated to the southern celebration of Christmas, I'm sure that Thelma is finding the experience different than she is accustomed to. Getting around and seeing the sights without worrying about ice and snow can't be all bad. Mia is home from school so we have a house full. Lots of food music and games going around.

In a very quick review of 2004:
Bren is enjoying her work at Bashaw Elementary School. It seems to me that she is in charge of goings on there. Her principal may disagree but that is my observation. I recently changed jobs and am working at Signs2Go, making signs etc. Mia is in her 2nd year at Florida Southern College. She is enjoying it there. Joining a Sorority this year, Alpha Chi Omega. Still outstanding on the flute. AJ is a junior at Lakewood Ranch HS. She loves working on the school yearbook doing the graphic layouts etc. She also is a mainstay on their golf team. We missed visiting Maine last summer and are already looking forward to visiting next summer. Once again to our northern friends, say hey if you get this way this winter, see you next summer. To our southern friends, see you soon.
Merry Christmas to all and Best Wishes for a happy and health 2005!

2004-12-19T07:53:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

Christmas Concert @ FSC

2004-12-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day for a Christmas concert. My parents, Bren, AJ, my sister, her daughter Veronica and I loaded into the car and went to visit Amelia at FSC for a beautiful concert. The annual concert is a great way to kick off the Christmas season and start to feel the spirit of Christmas. The concert included several chorus' and many small and large ensembles playing a wide variety of Christmas music. The quality of the show was really breathtaking and the finale of a carol sing-along brought tears of joy to our eyes as the show ended with a great crescendo.

After the show, we had a fine dining experience at the Olive Garden and viewed the impressive lights decorating Lakeland. Next, Amelia gave those who had not seen her dorm room a brief tour of her digs. Then full in belly and spirit we had a quiet ride back to Bradenton to reflect on the beautiful afternoon that we all experienced together.

Seasons Change

2004-11-29T07:37:00.000-05:00

Winter is approaching and we are in full holiday swing. Amelia was home for the Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoyed a fantastic turkey day meal at Patti and John's with lots of family and friends. It was a great day to give thanks for the blessings that we have. Over the weekend we decorated the Christmas tree. It looks great although for some reason the blinking lights were left off this year. The good news from this minor fact is that there are more blinking lights for the outside of the house. Got the house trimmed with the lights but will wait till next week for the lights in the tree out front as well as getting the wreath and spotlight going. In the back of my head I keep picturing the people at Florida Power and Lights humming its the happiest time of the year. Next week we will visit Amelia at Florida Southern College and take in their annual holiday concert. They put on a great show and we are really looking forward to it. Not much else to report. Oh yeah, AJ shot her first couple of par rounds over the past couple of weeks. Fun to see her enjoy the sport and get some positive results from a lot of hard work practicing.

State Championship Results

2004-11-09T19:32:00.000-05:00

AJ And the girls wrapped up a great season. They stayed at a Club Med over in Port St. Lucie for the tournament and had a really fun time. Visiting the PGA hall of fame AJ even touched Tiger Woods' shoes. ( He wasn't in them but the experience still caused a big swoon) The Mighty Lady Mustangs finished 13th in the state. Not too bad for a state with 400 high schools. On their first day they posted their best score of the season and on the last day they topped that. Their effort was strong enough to out place cross town rivals Manatee HS for local bragging rights. AJ took a couple of days off and is back at the driving range practicing up for the winter tournament series. Not much else to report other than we are getting a little chilly. With highs around 78 degrees it is time to think about changing to some long sleeve shirts. BRRRRRRRRRRR!

Great Day For America

2004-11-03T16:46:00.000-05:00

Wow!!! What a great day! We are sooooo glad that we came through with the great State of Florida chalked up as a red colored state.

Hell Freezes Over!

2004-10-28T22:16:00.000-04:00

Congrats Red Sox Faithful!

State Championship Qualifiers

2004-10-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

Pictured above is Coach McGrew and the Lady Mustang golf team. AJ, (fourth from the left) and the girls are having a great season. They finished the regular season 11-0, Won the District Championship Tournament and just qualified today for the Florida State Tournament next week by finishing up as their regional runner up. Good luck girls next week at the PGA village in Port St. Lucie.

President Bush in Fort Myers!

2004-10-23T14:34:00.000-04:00

Airforce One Landing

2004-10-23T14:33:00.000-04:00

The President & Mrs. Bush as well as the Governor of the Great State of Florida, Jeb Bush

2004-10-23T14:31:00.000-04:00

President Bush touching down on the outfield grass at the Red Sox spring training ballpark in Fort Myers! What a great day we had. Three generations of us piled in the car at 6:00 this a.m. and headed off the see the president. The rally was extremely motivating and moving. President Bush delivered a great and impassioned message. He spoke from the heart and to the heart. Although I was one of 12,000, I felt as if he was, at times, speaking directly to me. At the same time, I felt sure that he could sense the support each one of us sent his way. I hope and pray that this man wins next week.

District Champs!

2004-10-19T20:04:00.000-04:00

Nice Job AJ, Good luck in the regional tournament next week!

Fever Gone

2004-10-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

That fever thing that I was all worried about turned out to be a one day thing. Thanks for the cure Win. Not sure if the sure fire cure did the trick but I do feel at ease again. Thankfully the fever only lasted a day this year. I wonder how the DRays will do next year. Maybe fourth, maybe third. It just doesn't matter. One thing that I do know is that they will not get my hopes up only to dash them once again. Nice. Luv the DRays!

2004-10-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

AJ Ripping one down the fairway at the Junior Champions Tour Tournament

Rainy Monday

2004-10-11T20:07:00.000-04:00

What a thoroughly strange thing happened today. We had a rainy Monday. Made for a long dreary day for us worker bees. Fortunately we will regroup our psyches with a string of 80 degree sunny days. Maybe a little golf next weekend or perhaps sailing on the sunfish. Pleasant thoughts to get through this rainy day.

Fever

2004-10-05T20:06:00.000-04:00

What a difficult time it is these days for transplanted Mainers living in the sunny south. Each Sunday is anxiously anticipated with thoughts of a resurgent Bucs effort. About 4:00 like clockwork we are left to ponder and shuffle off to another work week with hopes and dreams dashed. Do we need to get out the bag heads as our team stumbles to 0-4? Mercifully the DRays are off golfing somewhere. Yeah out of the cellar woo hoo. 70 wins woo hoo. As I lay on the couch Bren notices I am breaking out in a sweat. Could it be...............? I am trying to fight it but the pull is just getting to be too great. Bren has seen this all before and I always deny it and fight it off but the pull is so great. Still sweating I will fight the onset of this desease as best as I humbly can. But it is becoming all to apparent that I am showing classic signs of SOX FEVER! I will continue the fight but perhaps I will tire and give into the sweet temptation.

A Few New Shingles On The Roof

2004-10-04T19:40:00.000-04:00

Had a little post hurricane season chore this past weekend. Over the past few weeks we lost a few shingles to mother nature. I have not done roof repair before but figured that you probably don't have to be a rocket scientist to do this. I managed to find some shingles to match the existing ones and with some trepidation, headed up the ladder. Once I was on the roof I realized where the rocket scientist part came in. The rocket scientist probably would have sent someone else up on the roof to risk life and limb for a few shingles. To my amazement the roof was slippery and seemingly steep. I could not stand for fear of sliding off. I ended up sliding around on my rump which created enough surface area and friction to keep me on the roof. Once the job was completed and I was back down on the ground I had a great sense of satisfaction as I reviewed my work from the road. After this chore Bren and I headed to the beach to enjoy some relaxation and a swim. As we looked out on the tranquil gulf we could only count our blessings as the storms had passed by our house on the North, South, East and West.

Deja Vu All Over Again

2004-09-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Jeanne.....Nice satellite image of the latest hurricane. This storm took vitually the same track across Florida as hurricane Frances. It travelled faster so it had a little more umph when it went by our house. We had a nice game of scrabble today and certainly stayed inside safe and dry. I wonder what next week will bring.

Local Humor

2004-09-24T19:01:00.000-04:00

Don't know if we should laugh or cry.

Mustang Golf

2004-09-23T21:49:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day for the Lakewood Ranch High School, Lady Mustang Golf Team. They stampeded onto the cross town rival Manatee High School's home course and came home with a hard fought victory. They now sport a sparkling 8-O record.

A Few Jokes For The Times

2004-09-22T19:19:00.000-04:00

Man there are a ton of these out there. Something to cheer up hump day a little.

"John Kerry says the 'W' in George W. Bush stands for 'Wrong.' But he still can't explain what John Kerry stands for." —David Letterman
"John Kerry keeping a low profile this week. He said he wanted to get away and go someplace where no one would expect to see him. So I guess he showed up at his old seat in the Senate. Nobody's going to look for him there." —Jay Leno
"You see the pictures in the paper today of John Kerry windsurfing? He's at his home in Nantucket this week, doing his favorite thing, windsurfing. Even his hobby depends on which way the wind blows." —Jay Leno

Monday Monday

2004-09-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

9/20
Still experimenting with this.
This weekend was a nice break from the chaos of the previous month. Took the boards down from the windows and let the light back in. It is perfect golf weather these days and AJ is taking full advantage of it. She played a couple of times this past weekend and had a lesson. Her high school team has some big matches coming up and she is ready to have some fun with the team. This was the first weekend that Amelia wasn't around in a while (no storm evacuations from her school) and it was quiet around the homefront. Thinking about putting the W-04 bumpa sticka on the car for the stretch run. Go Bucs! Please try and get a touch down soon.

Working out the kinks

2004-09-18T11:41:00.000-04:00

Always something new to learn and figure out. Still not too sure about the whole blog thing. So far so good I guess. I do know that I have really enjoyed reading a few over the past year. Today AJ has a golf lesson always looking to improve on her form. May or may not mow the lawn today. Thinking about being shaggy for a few more days.

2004-09-18T08:33:00.000-04:00

Sailing in Maine

NO Storms This Weekend.

2004-09-17T18:22:00.000-04:00

NO STORMS YEAH