We got up early Wed. morning to pack again for our return to FL. It was a nice 10-day break from warm sunny FL to come to cold windy cloudy IL! Ha! It was great to see the kids and grandkids again, and we had a great time at Laura's house on Sun. celebrating Daniel and Paige's birthdays. A nice surprise was to visit with Stacia Finch, a good friend of Laura's from high school days. Doug Spicer, Diane's friend, took us to Midway airport at about 9:00, even though our flight was not until 12:30. We don't mind spending time at the airport. It always takes awhile to get through security, because I always set off the alarm with my two artificial hips and wires in my chest from open heart surgery. Sometimes I have to wait a little until they get someone to 'wand & pat' me down. Then Linda has to get all our stuff that goes through the x-ray, and that includes my shoes, belt, laptop, jacket, fanny-pack, and cameras - let alone all her own stuff. Lately we have asked someone to help her get it all off the conveyor belt. Then we usually get coffee and a muffin, sit and read the paper, read our books, and get a light lunch before boarding. The flight was uneventful, and we arrived in Orlando several minutes early. We got to the resort before 6:00, but for some reason they had not blocked off a room for us for 23 days, so she had to work for about half an hour so we could have the same room for 3.5 weeks. From now on, I'm going to call ahead for long stays to make sure this is done before we arrive. It would be a real pain to have to move from one unit to another in the middle of a stay. The units are very nice - lots of space, including large bathroom with jacuzzi, large kitchen, washer and dryer in the unit, TV in living room and bedroom, nice balcony overlooking a pond and fountain, free WIFI in the unit. They have a small shop for gifts, groceries, sandwiches, etc., so we picked up things for breakfast and some sandwiches for supper. We both were very tired, but we still watched American Idol before going to sleep. We are not used to watching TV while in bed, so it's hard to stay awake!

WEATHER: High today of 58, low overnight of 38. Pretty cool again! It seems we bring the cold with us when we come from the north. Predicted high tomorrow of 61, and then low 70's for the rest of the week ahead. That will be nice!

FL NEWS: I don't have a paper yet, so this will have to wait a day.