Delete & Pleep Compete For Kate's Attention

Delete spent some time teaching Kate the finer points of blogging. He thinks it is an important skill set because it requires her to exercise technical, creative, and editorial talents. He was very pleased when she spotted a number of mistakes, especially one in the post's headline. Delete is hoping that if he can get Kate up to speed she may start blogging more about him. He is secretly hoping she starts her own blog starring him and that he can attract more viewers than his pesky sibling.

Pleep and Delete were very sorry to see Kate head out to the movies with Georgia boy and his family. They decided to sit right at the front door and wait for her to return. Kate explained to them that it would not be polite for them to bug her with text messages while she was at the movie. Pleep reluctantly agreed and added that she would have her phone turned off anyway. Even though they normally hit the bed by 7:30, they stayed up until she returned. Kate could hardly get in the door but she thanked them for being so thoughtful.

The weather cooperated again today with just a brief shower in the the middle of the day. Kate hit the beach early and spent time at the indoor pool during the rain. Having a bit of a jealous nature, Pleep decided to keep a close eye on things and got out the binoculars, which were too heavy for him. He had to solicit Delete's antlers to support his gazing. In addition to watching Kate enjoy the day, he spotted a large group of dolphins and a very special '69 red Camero convertible. Kate, Delete and Pleep all seem very tired from all the activity. No naps will be permitted because, if he naps, Pleep has a tendency to stay up all night watching bad tv.

Kate Digs Hole & Finds New Friend

Last night Kate had everyone convinced we needed to go to the beach and re-dig the hole from the prior night. With an assist from Pleep and Ed, it didn't take as long. The purpose of the project was to pose a picture of Kate reminiscent of the days when she was shorter than her mother. Plus, Kate was hoping that the nice boy from Georgia she had met earlier in the day would show up and help. He was staying in a neighboring condo so we thought there might be a slight chance. Pleep suggested that perhaps her odds on that would have been better if she had given him her cell number.

Once the hole was dug, everyone helped bury Kate in it. Ed helped insure she was firmly cemented in by ferrying water back and forth from the ocean. Unfortunately, the only thing he had was the small pink shovel. Pleep made a lot of noise about Ed and the girly shovel but was careful to stay out of range. During the ferrying process, Pleep snuck in a picture session with Kate and Tammy. Everyone was very pleased with the result; Kate only reached to Tammy's shoulders. It was a bit like the Tim Conway gig where he played the short people. Pleep pointed out that while Kate did indeed appear to be shorter, it was easy to see that something was wrong based on where Kate's waist was in relation to her mother.

The weatherman predicted rain for the afternoon, so everyone headed out to the beach early Sunday morning. Plus, Kate thought there might be a small chance or running into the young man. Upon hearing he was from Georgia, Pleep aptly nicknamed him "Georgia Boy" and admonished Kate that the wise girl usually asks for the boy's name. Fortunately for everyone, Georgia Boy, whose name turned out to be Adam, promptly appeared and joined in the daily hike. Kate and Adam abandoned the walkers at the 2 mile mark, heading back to his family setup on the beach. Pleep observed that Kate finding a new friend was very lucky for Tammy. It meant that Tammy did not have to get up every 10 minutes to boogie board, run around on the sandbar, swim etc.

The afternoon thunderstorms finally materialized around 2:00 and everyone had to scurry indoors. Kate's project this evening will be to start pulling the dried, dead mollusks out of the shells. Pleep pointed out that the smell on the deck was not pleasant so he really wants her to get things shaped up.

Pleep Boogies In Daytona & Kate Makes Carnicelli Happy

Kate made a trip to Walgreens in search of beach toys. She ended up with a boogie board and a Princess shovel. Pleep and Delete asked her if they could play too. Kate gave them lessons in boogie boarding before she headed out to the surf. Pleep said it was very similar to the Superman maneuver he always makes when passing through Metropolis, IL.

It was another perfect day with long beach hike where Kate found several mollusk shells. The only problem is the mollusks were still inhabiting them. Being rather squeamish, Kate made her mother and Peggy pick them up and carry them back to the condo pool deck. There were a few screams when she saw the mollusks coming out of the shells but everyone made it back. Then, putting the shovel to good use, Kate placed all of them in the shovel and poured in fresh water. Pleep insisted it all go in a vat of beach water when everyone came upstairs. He can't wait until everything is dead and dried out. Pleep is taking bets that Kate will really start screaming when Ed gives her the pliers and sends her to the deck to pull the dead parts out.

After receiving an email from Carnicelli alleging that Kate was leaving towels on the bathroom floor, Pleep decided he better check up on things in the guest bath. The bad news for Carnicelli was the towels were all nicely hung up and there was no water on the floor. The good news for Carnicelli was Pleep discovered that Kate had left her bathing suit in the sink. This caused Pleep to award Kate a couple of demerits. Delete is currently arguing on Kate's behalf saying Kate was being very tidy leaving the suit in the sink rather than the floor or tub. He claims that Kate knew her mother was going to be showering so she didn't want her to have to deal with the wet suit. Being more of a skeptic, Pleep is waiting to hear what Tammy has to say before he makes his final ruling.

A Perfect Day On The Beach

While waiting to pick up Kate and Tammy, Pleep insisted a trip to the Daytona Ale House was in order. He spent most of his time there admiring the snazzy Harley Davidson and the largest assortment of vodka's he had ever seen. Everyone arrived on time and quickly settled in to vacation mode.

Because the flight didn't arrive until 11:20 pm and no one made it to bed until after 1, Pleep decided to be nice and let Kate sleep in past 8:00 am. He was very happy when she finally got up because he knew she was going to hang with him on the living room couch. He started drumming up ideas for shenanigans for the day.

The weather continued to cooperate - full sun, no clouds and a great breeze off the ocean. The group made a couple of nice beach walks and Kate had a great time spotting shells, crab parts and other marine life. She always made certain to make her mother turn over the crabs to make sure they were indeed dead. When everything came up from the beach, Pleep showed Kate how to mix up a bleach solution to soak everything to insure nothing would survive and stink up the house.

As any Ritter house guest knows, Pleep is a stickler for rules and closely inspects bedrooms and bathrooms. He was very pleased to see that Kate took herself immediately to the shower and did not stop to sit on any of the furniture. Because it is her first day, Pleep granted waivers on assembling all the pillows back on the bed. She also did a very good job securing her beach towels and cleaning up the coolers. It is early days yet but the Carnicelli position could be in jeopardy. Pleep said if Kate can get Ed on a boogie board she may shoot up in the rankings.

First House Guests Due To Arrive

It's been another fabulous day in Daytona Beach Shores. It did hit 90 today but the breeze was very nice and now the temperatures have dropped. Pleep is enjoying a great night on the deck and is very excited about the arrival of the first house guests.

In preparation for the visitors, Pleep insisted Ed and Peggy dust, vacuum and generally spiff up the place. Plus, several loads of laundry were run through the new washer & dryer. Pleep's favorite feature of the new equipment is the musical notes played at the completion of a cycle. He much prefers the pleasant "ring tone" to the large buzzer noise for most other machines. He said it doesn't disturb his napping.

The guest room is all ready. Pleep is a bit concerned that Kate will have issues getting all the pillows back on the bed and in the right order. Getting the duvet folded properly may also prove to be a challenge. At this point, Pleep has decided not to include the Kapellers in the Ritter House ranking until he meets Kate and determines if she is going to be a regular fan. Rumor has it that Carnicelli is worried Kate may buddy up to Pleep and pass him in the house rankings. According to Carnicelli, "Pleep seems to favor the teenagers. I'm already in a hopeless race against Dan Carvill. If Pleep falls for Kate's charms, he may move her and her mother both up higher than me. I can only hope to stay ahead of Mel Carvill."

LG Means More Than Life Is Good On The Beach

Being a very clean monkey, Pleep was pleased to take delivery of the new LG front load washer and dryer. Of course after the Sears men hauled out the old stuff, Pleep insisted the Hoovermate get fired up and the entire area spruced up before the new machines came up the elevator. Pleep studied the owners manual and thinks delicate/handwash is the right cycle for laundering monkeys & moose. Of course, he insists Delete be the first one to test that theory.

Because the machines were LG, Delete kept trying to figure out where the tv buttons were. He liked the LG Plasma and LCD tvs in the other areas and thought being able to watch tv while dealing with laundry would be perfect. Pleep tried to explain that LG makes a lot of things besides tvs but Delete was not happy when he learned there were no tv options on the laundry appliances.

Now everything is fully operational. Pleep and Delete are ready to entertain the first official guests, Tammy and Kate Kapeller, who are due to arrive late tomorrow. Peggy and Ed will be heading to the Deck Down Under tonight to celebrate the new appliances and hopefully mark the end of the buying. The final furniture items are scheduled to be delivered Monday. This will also be cause for celebration.

Alls Well That Ends Well

As the sun set this evening, things were looking a lot better than earlier in the day. First, Ed woke up to issues with the high def boxes hooked up to the tv sets - no audio on set and missing channels on the other. After a call to Brighthouse, service was scheduled for midday. Then the washing machine developed issues and the calls to Sears started.

By the time the Brighthouse tech had both sets working, Ed had decided that it did not make much sense to pay for the service call plus repairs on the washer & dryer. He used the time waiting for the tv repair to be completed to research his options on laundry. Plus, as Pleep pointed out, we hadn't had any major expenditures in the last 72 hours and to be patriotic, we really should continue to fuel the Central Florida Coast economy. After a very nice visit with the salesperson at Sears, we arranged for the purchase of a new front load washer and dryer. Delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. How great is America - you can arrange for everything, have it installed and the old stuff hauled away all in under 24 hours.

Pleep enjoyed the sunset period on the balcony where the temperature had dropped from the 90's to the mid 70's with great breezes off the ocean. Of course, cocktails were in order and everyone enjoyed watching the action on the beach. Pleep insisted that Ed have a couple of beers with him to toast the evening. He is looking forward to the installation tomorrow and getting everything ship shape for the first real visitors on Thursday. Ed is just looking forward to the possibility of no more repairs, replacements or cleaning.