Update Jan. 3 - 8

 Hi all: Sending this update a couple days early because sis-in-law Julie and I are leaving on our cruise Jan 9, and I won't have easy access to the Internet.

Tuesday Jan. 5 -- Dawn and I found out today from our new landlords that our lease is not valid until we fill out an application from the homeowner's association (HOA) at Summerlin Trace and have it approved. This came completely out of left field, and I don't think John and Kim (our landlord's) knew anything about it either, since we signed the lease with them back in November, and were just hearing about this HOA thing now. So anyway, we filled out the four page application, and indicated to John that we felt the fees involved ($100 application fee and $75 for each Dawn and I for criminal background and credit report) should be paid by him and not us. He agreed to this. So now we are waiting while our application is processed. Why can't anything ever be easy?

 Also today, I started showing cold symptoms, including cough and scratchy throat. Fuck. Why does crap always happen right before a vacation. Mr. Murphy certainly had is eye out on me. I immediately bought OTC stuff to help with symptoms, including an antihistmine, and a cough suppressant.

Also, the ice machine in the freezer, yes the one that caused $2,000 worth of damage to the apartment back in Sept. when no one was at the apartment, is on the fritz and is leaking again.

 Aren't you glad you're reading this blog?

 Thursday Jan. 7 -- Bought a hair dryer today at the Dollar Store for $10 (think about that one for a minute) and thawed out the icemaker which was all jammed up with ice dams. Thing still didn't work, so I shut off the water supply to the icemaker and we are just going to leave it be for remainder of the lease and go back to making ice the old-fashioned way with ice cube trays.


We picked up Julie at the airport, and her flight got in early at about 5:30. We picked up her bags, then all went out to eat at Pincher's Crab Shack. I had a pound of large stone crab claws, Dawn had fried shrimp, and Julie had broiled Grouper. All very delicious. Afterward, we went to Walmart so that Julie could buy some new shorts for the cruise. We got back to the apartment about 8:30 and I baked up a batch of choc. Chip cookies from tollhouse cookie dough. Yum. To bed around 10:45, with Julie in the bedroom, and Dawn and I sharing the pull-out sofa sleeper, which was interesting. I ended up sleeping half the night in the recliner, which worked out fine because I've slept many a nap in that chair.

Friday Jan. 8 -- We were hoping to take Julie to the farmer's market this a.m., but the weather had different plans for us (rain) and thus we ended up at the Sunflower Café. After that, we did some book shopping at one of the Goodwill stores and Julie found four books for cruise reading.

 Julie and I took off for Fort Lauderdale at about 1 p.m. and got to our motel (Homewood Suites) about 3:30. Called Dawn to tell her we got to Ft. Lauderdale OK, and found out that she caught my cold.

Fu-Crap. (This is an expression Dawn and I have come up with ... it's a cross between fuck and crap.

Anyway, Julie and I took a hotel shuttle to the Tropical Acres Steakhouse, which is Broward County's oldest steakhouse, in continuous business for 65 years. Julie had a tenderloin, while I went for a T-Bone. Onion soup, lettuce salad, and baked potato for sides. Since we were "early bird" diners, we also got dessert and coffee thrown in. We both went for the rum cake, which was delicious. We walked the short distance (maybe 1/3 mile) back to the hotel, and we are now in the room now, just kicking back and relaxing. We get comp. breakfast tomorrow, and a $10 shuttle ride to the dock at 11:45 a.m. We are both looking forward to a good night's sleep.

 That's all for now.

Love,

Bruce and Dawn (and Julie, too!