Merry Christmas To All

Christmas Eve weather here was expectional - 70s and sunny. We enjoyed hanging out on the beach waiting for Ed's brother Dave to arrive from Kansas City where there was a blizzard.

We started off celebrating Christmas Eve at Our Lady Of Lourdes beachside church in Daytona Beach. The kids from their school were all dressed up as angels, Joseph, Mary, and shepherds. It was quite a show including a real baby to play Baby Jesus. There were a lot of families and we had a good chuckle over the one behind us. Their 18 month old was very excited and kept wanting to know when we would be singing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus. It reminded me of when Ida was around the same age and kept asking to see baby Jesus during the Christmas mass. Diana made her traditional French Company Beef Stew and Chocolate Cheesecake with Cherry topping for dinner.

Christmas Day dawned with a few clouds and a sprinkle but it was in the low 70s. KC was still having a blizzard and it was 14 degrees. By mid-morning the sun was out and we're ready to hit the beach. Pleep was in charge of baking desert for Christmas dinner. He decided to use Alice's recipe for homemade peach pie: Drive to grocery store; buy frozen pie; bake in oven and try not to burn it.

We wish all our family and friends Merry Christmas. Delete's message was the same as Tiny Tim's - God Bless Us Every One!

Pleep Goes Christmas Shopping

Pleep decided he wanted to do a bit of Christmas shopping. The two closest stores (across the street) are a liquour store and an Ace Hardware. He was confident he could find the perfect gifts in these stores. It turns out he was right. First he headed into the Ace because they were having a big sale and Alice had trained him to always look for sales. His favorite item there - Antimonkey Butt powder. They even had a Lady Anti-Monkey butt powder. Evidently the biker crowd in Daytona really likes this product. Pleep thought we should buy several bottles as stocking stuffers but we convinced him no one in our crowd needed it.

Next he headed into the liquor store where the selections were right up his alley. He really wants to load up on the Lord Calvert to take to Mississippi for Harold Parker. We keep telling him there is plenty of Lord Calvert in Mississippi. He pointed out that in his experience it is very hard to find Lord Calvert. He also said that with the Murphy girls sucking down Manhattans maybe the Lord Calvert would be handy for them to have on hand. We managed to get out of the store without buying any but with 4 days to go before Christmas there is still time.

Heidkamp Cookies

We had such a successful day making the Ritter family cookies, we decided to take a whirl on Grandma Heidkamp's Potato Chip cookies. After close review of the recipe, Stan was a bit concerned that there might be a few ingredients or instructions missing. He was also concerned about the ratio of butter (a lot) to sugar (not much).

Peggy wasn't a lot of help because all she could remember was pressing the cookies with a fork. Stan dove in and whipped up the mix - by hand too. Pleep and Delete stayed out of the way because they didn't want to take the blame in case things turned out wrong. Ed decorated the fork marks with a bit of green sugar. He thought it might help. In the end, the cookies came out great and we only overcooked 4 of them. Pleep said Alice would be proud of the "brown" ones because they weren't black on the bottom.

How Sweet It Is!

Stan & Ed have been very busy cookie baking. It has been a 2 day process. The first day involved mixing the dough up. It involved a lot of butter, sugar and flour. Stan has been baking these cookies since he was a young boy in Allentown. He always mixes the dough by hand so it is quite a process. Pleep and Delete offered to help but Ed was afraid Pleep would just eat the dough. After the dough was mixed, they had to form it into logs and then put it in the refrigerator until the next day.

Friday morning the real process started. Ed & Stan got out the boards and rolling pins. The secret to Stan's cookies is how thin he rolls the dough. It takes a lot of practice to roll it out so thin. This is only Ed's second year of rolling but he is getting pretty good. With the dough so thin, cutting and transferring the cookies to the cookie sheet is a challenge too. Pleep decided he would help Diana with step 2 - Decoration. Peggy had the last step - baking. Pleep was very worried about this because the Heidkamp family tradition seems to involve burning things rather than baking them.

Everything turned out and no cookies were burnt. We aren't certain how many cookies we actually baked; they covered the dining room table and were stacked fairly high. After everything was cooled, we filled a lot of containers. Pleep and Delete were in charge of the containers. Pleep is trying to decide with whom he wants to share his cookies.

It's A Family Affair

We had a great time with the Collins crowd in Boca Raton. Things there are as hectic as ever. Pleep really liked seeing his sibling, Pleep waiting for him at the front door. Boca Pleep was in full Texas regalia. He didn't want to be outdone by KC Pleep. As to why everyone in the family is named Pleepleus, Pleep explained it was similar to George Foreman naming all his sons George. Plus, when asked who drank the whole bottle of red wine, the answer is Pleep but no one will be able to tell which Pleep.

The Pleeps and Delete had a nice visit with Lulu, the Westie, and Mitzie. There were 2 parties to attend and the consumption of food and adult beverages was impressive. Because the weather was perfect, all the activity was outside on the intercoastal where we could watch the parade of large, extra large and mega yachts go by. The largest ship we saw was Princess Sara, Fergie's yacht. It went by flying the British colors and we were a bit concerned that the wake would wash up taking the Pleeps out to sea. Pleep and Delete really enjoyed hearing Pam's stories from her days in Chicago. Their favorite one was about how she was stuck for the whole bill at Pizzeria Unos. They also enjoyed hearing more of Keith's stories from his days with the Secret Service. His stuff is much better than the recent book and Pleep is starting to think about ghost writing a book that covers both Pam & Keith's crazy stories. His one concern is that many of them seem to involve the Heidkamps.

The Collins house was fully decorated on all levels. There was no place that did not have a grouping of Santas, lighting, a creche or other Christmas decorations. They were all exceptional and grouped by origin or maker. The Russian Santas were very interesting. Our favorites were the Irish, Scottish, and Alaskan Santas. Our favorite creche was the one from New Zealand.

Pleep and Delete had a lot of fun playing in the various Santa displays. Lulu really enjoyed hiding under the Christmas tree. She blended into the white tree skirt and feathers making it very hard to find her.

We think Keith deserves at least a full week off from all chores after all his work hauling the Christmas decorations from storage. He must have agreed with our assessment because he headed out to go hunting for a week in South Carolina. We headed north the same day leaving Pam to start organizing the next round of parties.

New Coaches

Pleep has taken over the exercise coaching job. He has been helping Diana learn the stretching exercises and then making certain everyone is getting a good work out on the beach. We think Pleep just wants us out of the condo so that he can have complete control over the 3 large tvs - 2 of them are 52". Delete decided to take over as nutrition coach and found a new, easier way to make the steel cut oats. He just boiled water, tossed in the oats and then let it sit overnight. All he had to do in the morning was simmer them for about 10 minutes. He had it all ready when the excercising was done.

We found a couple of interesting condos in our search yesterday and hope to be putting in a bid soon. Pleep really likes the one building because it is so close to everything and a very easy walk to the Deck Down Under.

We will be driving down to Boca this morning and reporting in on the activities of the Collins family.

Bows On For Boca

Pleep and Delete are very excited about tomorrow's trip to see the Collins crowd in Boca Raton. Pleep can't wait to hook up with his sibling who has been traveling all around the lower 48 and Alaska. He hasn't visited with him since last February in Pensacola.

Delete is all packed up and has his Generali bow neatly tied. The Collins crowd has several holiday events planned and he wants to be the most festive moose in Boca. All this caused Pleep to be more than a bit jealous. He pestered Diana Ritter until she made him a new gold bow. He figures it is much better than Delete's little red one and certainly better than anything Pam will have on his sibling.

Weather here is perfect - in the 80s and sunny. The wind is strong but it makes for nice beach hikes and perfect for sitting out on the intercoastal with adult beverages. We enjoyed watching a family of dolphins (known as a pod) swimming up and down in the area just off the deck. The entire experience was greatly enhanced after we received text messages from friends and family struggling with cold, snowy weather up north. It is tough duty down here but we promise to keep at it.

Yes We Have No Bananas

Pleep was very happy when Stan & Diana unpacked their car. He found a bunch of bananas. He had been concerned because the bananas Peggy had picked out were still a little too green for his tastes. His happiness was short lived. Stan & Diana make certain to eat bananas every morning with their cereal. Now Pleep's worried that the banana supply will be depleting too quickly. Stan said he might have to hide one or two to make certain there are still bananas for tomorrow.

We had another good day on the beach despite the clouds and an occasional shower. It has been very dry in Florida and the locals are glad to have a bit of rain. Thanks to the library card, we enjoyed watching George C. Scott as Ebenzeer Scrooge in The Christmas Carol followed by Jack Nicholson in The Bucket List. The Ritters had not seen The Bucket List and enjoyed it.

We rounded out the evening watching the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night football. Pleep spent more time monkey butting the screen than usual for a Green Bay game. We were just happy to see the Pack win.

Penguins, Sand Castles, & Lazing About

When Pleep spotted his buddies from the surfer bar out in the surf, he explained to Delete that the penguins were out. The Parker boys had taught him to call surfers in wetsuits penguins. Pleep and Delete wanted to play with the penguins while we went on a long beach hike. They stayed out of the water but did manage to talk the crowd into building a sand castle.

We joined the Daytona Beach library so that we be able to get books, movies, cds, etc. Pleep was very excited and headed straight to the movie section to pick out a couple of his favorite flicks. Because it is Christmas season and he had been talking to Ed about London, he wanted to get one of his favorite recent British Christmas movies, Love Actually. It was there and then he also found The Bucket List. In between football games, we watched Love Actually and waited for Ed's parents to arrive. They made it in time for dinner and the Sunday night game. Pleep and Delete are very happy to have a few more people in the condo to entertain.

It's The Sunshine State Again

The sun reappeared yesterday afternoon and Delete commented that Florida may indeed be the sunshine state again. It was unusually cool which was fine with Delete. He didn't think too much of the spa activity. It was all too warm for a moose. He had a great afternoon heading out to the beach. He also pointed out that we hadn't spent enough time enjoying the nice intercoastal views so he headed out to one of the several decks to soak in the afternoon sun.

The cooler weather made everyone think about Christmas. Pleep and Delete found Santa relaxing on the beach. Evidently he spends a lot of time in Florida even at this time of the year. The elves have things well in hand back at the North Pole. Delete is trying to talk Santa into giving him a part time job pulling the sleigh on Christmas Eve. He thinks he can do the work of several reindeer, including Rudolf. His red Generali bow makes him the perfect choice to lead the sleigh and he guaranteed Generali would insure the sleigh against any mishaps. Delete also found a new buddy, Frosty the Snowman. They spent the afternoon sharing stories about cold weather, snow, and the advantages of being in Florida.

We had a full day of watching all the college football games. After watching Cincinnati beat Pitt, we headed out to watch the later games at the Shores Festhaus. It is a German version of the Emerald Inn except that instead of all the ABC people the crowd is primarily locals and surfers. It was an interesting place to watch the Florida vs. Alabama and USC vs. Arizona games. Everyone was cheering for Arizona and it was about 50/50 for Florida. All the FSU fans were cheering for Alabama. The other main entertainment there is a coaster game. Everyone throws coasters at the Festhaus board trying to get them through one of the holes or slots. Most of the coasters end up on the floor.

All in all it was a great day, topped off by Pleep winning the day's football picks in the Leatherhelmets pool. While he was sorry it was at the expense of the Murphy's Gators, he was especially pleased that he picked right in Arizona beating USC.

It Never Rains In Southern Califorinia

On our second day of rain and clouds, Pleep has taken to singing "It Never Rains In Southern California" off and on all day. He says the Parker boys have the best weather but he prefers the shopping, bars and restaurants all in walking distance here. Ed said the weather reminded him a lot of his time in London. So we whipped up a load of Chicken Tikki Masala for last night's dinner. It wasn't as good as the Chicken Jalfrezee but it was still very tasty.

When we headed out to the Farmers Market, Pleep told us to just bring back fruit, especially bananas. He had been reading all the email traffic from the Parkers on the differences between fruits and vegetables. He liked the concept of dipping fruit in batter, then frying and finishing it off with chocolate.

One rainy day activity that Pleep and Delete enjoyed was hanging out with Ed in the hot tub. Pleep did not like the "no animals in the spa and no drinking in the spa" rules. After all, he is an experienced spa user. He cited the beer bath hot tub in Prague as the best example of combining two of his favorite things. As an experienced spa user, Pleep decided to head for the sauna as his best option for cleansing the toxins and preparing for the day's activities: watching all the big football games and maybe a trip to The Shores Festhaus, the local surfer bar.

Beach Bums

Pleep and Delete really enjoyed the wide beach at Daytona. It is perfect for hanging out, long hikes and generally goofing off. The surf has been nice with 3 to 4 foot waves. Water temperature of 76 is very nice too. Pleep pointed out it is much warmer than the Pacific seemed to be. Watching the parade of cars on the beach makes for interesting viewing. The large RV that got stuck in the sand made Pleep want to monkey butt the driver but it was too funny watching them try to figure out what to do. We're sure the tow truck eventually showed up.

After a long day on the beach, we headed over to the Deck Down Under where they were all happy to see Pleep and us return. The first thing he did was check in with his friend the Corona parrot. After swinging on the perch for a bit, he ordered up a pitcher and headed out to the deck. Enjoying sunset on the outside deck with a pitcher or two of beer was very nice.


The intercoastal was very calm and we didn't see any of the normal group of dolphins. Delete did have fun chasing a few of the birds. Ed explained to them their job was to keep the birds away from the beer and his head. They were successful at keeping things clear but were happy once the sun went down because we headed inside.

All in all, life on the beach is hard to beat.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Pleep and Delete are very happy to have taken to the road again. According to them, things were getting a bit too routine around KC, especially since Peggy returned to work. They didn't think there was enough action compared to the fall road trip.

We hit the road very early Monday morning with Pleep in full command of the new satellite radio in the VW. He especially enjoyed the ability to check in on traffic reports around the country. The Chicago one was very interesting, even though we weren't going anywhere near Chicago. Switching between Mike & Mike In The Morning and the St. Louis Traffic report kept him plenty busy. He left Delete in charge of the Garmin.

The new VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI was a great road car. We had it fully loaded and it still made 41 miles per gallon. The car needs far fewer pit stops than the occupants. Pleep enjoyed the repeat trip to Florida. He wanted to stop in Metropolis, IL because it was the home of Superman. Ed said no because we didn't need any gas and we wanted to see how far we could go on 1 tank. Pleep had to settle for his imitation of flying like Superman.

We landed in Daytona Beach Shores mid-day on Tuesday and unpacked everything. The beach looks as great as ever and we've been able to get back in the daily long hike on it. While we were out getting our excercise, Pleep and Delete decided to open up the boxes labeled Christmas. To their surprise there weren't any Christmas presents. They did find the tree and ornaments and decided it would be fun to decorate.

Delete suggested using a fluffy white towel for the tree skirt because it reminded him of snow. Plus his nice red Generali ribbon was the perfect match for the season. Not to be outdone, Pleep kept digging through the box until he found a very large gold ribbon. He thinks he looks quite handsome. Ed didn't have the heart to tell him it was more than a bit on the gaudy side.

This evening we will be heading to our favorite bar on the intercoastal to check in on our friends. Pleep wants to go with but Ed told him he will have to lose the bow if he wants to get in the bar.

Puttin' On The Ritz

We headed out to New Orleans on Continental via Houston. It was Pleep's first airline experience. Ed tried to warn him but he was very excited. We hit the first snag in the security queue at KCI. The guy in front of us had 4 bags (one an oversized 70 lbs. plus), a guitar and no clue what he was doing. Pleep wanted to monkey butt him but we stopped it. The flights actually went very smoothly but the number of bus people flying was very high. Pleep did join the frequent flyer program and he enjoyed the banana muffin on the KC-Houston leg. Ed explained it was highly unusual to be given food at all. In the end, Pleep still prefers the freedom of the open road.

We hit the airport in New Orleans and ran into a odd mix of people. The anesthesiologists are all in for their annual convention and the New York Giants fans have descended en masse for the big game on Sunday. Pleep wanted to team up with the Giants fans because they were clearly already in full tilt party mode. He thought they looked as though they would be a lot more fun to hang out with than the gas passers.

When we arrived at the Ritz we were very surprised to learn that our reservations were actually at the Ritz's Maison Orleans their hotel within the hotel. It is an entirely separate wing with full "club" amenities - lounge, library, full bar, 4 meal/cocktail periods, etc. The room accommodations are spectacular as well. Pleep made himself comfortable while we unpacked.

We headed out for a walk through the warehouse and art district, the WWII museum and the Quarter. After enjoying cocktail hour, we had a great dinner at the Bon Ton and concluded the evening with Caucassians in the lounge. Ed has to go to work on Saturday morning so Pleep wants to tour the Quarter and scope out the action. He figures the NY fans will be kicking things up.

The Big Easy

We head to New Orleans tomorrow for a few days. Pleep is very excited about hitting the Big Easy. The first thing he did was to don his Mardi Gras beads and start planning - a quick pass on Bourbon Street, a few galleries on Rue Royale, Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee, a little jazz, plus dinners at great restaurants. We have reservations at K-Pauls for one night. It's one place we've never been and it is still getting great reviews.

Right in the middle of planning and packing, the french drain project started in the front lawn. After the driveway was finished, we still had an issue with water draining properly. So, the crew started in this morning to install a french drain that will allow everything to run down the hill next to the house. Pleep went out to inspect because he thought maybe knowing how french drains worked would be a big help in his visit to New Orleans' French Quarter. He thought french drains had something to do with drinking wine in French areas.