With Kelly in Cali and all of us here in Florida we are always keeping an eye on the weather.

Florida has somehow become a hurricane free zone. The last hurricane to hit Florida was in 2024. While Long Beach just got hammered by waves from Hurricane Marie.

Long Beach has had a long, hot and yes, even humid summer. OH THE HUMIDITY! People there were suffering because most (except Kelly!) don’t have AC.

Then one morning the news talking about how this could be the first time in 100 years that no.Atlantic hurricanes hit the USA. At the same time also taking about 3 major hurricanes in the Pacific. One of which got Hawaii pretty bad. It was also a day that it was hotter and more humid in Long Beach than it was in Jax Beach!

Later that day we called Kelly to tell her the bad news. California is Florida now and Florida is California. She said “no”.

What sealed the deal was the Black Cherry Fresca. Previously only available Florida. Not a single can in all of southern California. Kelly liked it. Drank it. She even transported Fresca across state lines (we think legally) and brought bunch home last time she was here.

Then low and behold, while it’s 72 feels like 72 in Jax Beach and 84 feels like 95 in Long Beach. While there are zero hurricanes in the Atlantic and 3 (of 6) hurricanes churning in the Pacific, which also includes hurricane Polo, at cat5+ !

Kelly scores Black Cherry Fresca at Ralph’s

With this Kelly had to admit, and I quote:

“California IS turning into Florida!”

Right after Dolly Parton’s passing, I had a layover in Nashville on my way to Kelly’s to Betty sit. Passing one the shops on way to my gate I noticed a sticker on a gift rack that said

What Would Dolly Do?

Thought it was cool but went on my way. Somewhere over Amarillo I started having regrets that I didn’t buy that sticker. I told Kelly and Barb about it said I’d try to pick up a few on my way back home since I’d be back in Nashville again. NO LUCK!! UGH!!

Came home disappointed but determined. I checked out what they had online and on Amazon. There were stickers out there but they weren’t anything special AND they were $4-$6 range, for one sticker!

But right along side all these overpriced stickers was : create your own custom stickers

So I did! Instead of paying $50 for 10 not so great stickers, I can pay $50 and get 50 of my own custom made stickers. Now we can spread the love a little further.

Isn’t that what Dolly would do?

That’s how much I drink a day. Minimum.

Since February 2025, when my doctor told me to start drinking 100 oz a day, I have been doing so consistently. I don’t know how much I was drinking before but it wasn’t a 100 oz.

Typical day goes like this:

Wake up- 14 oz water with Metamucil and 14 oz coffee

16 oz water

14 oz tea around lunch time

16 oz Bai flavored water with Fresca splash

14 oz Afternoon tea

16 oz water or Roar electrolyte drink

I track it all on my smart watch. When I get to 100 I stop counting.

It must be working because my numbers have improved significantly and my doctor is happy. So I’m happy too.

CHEERS!

Opal stress eating. Sweets hiding out.

Fun Fact: A teetotaler has nothing to do with drinking tea.

Yet I am one now.

I never thought I would be a tea drinker. Growing up nobody I knew drank tea. My parents and everyone else in our world were big time coffee drinkers. The only tea we saw was when we went to Chinese restaurant, and nobody drank it.

Earlier this year when I was trying bridge the gap between morning coffee and afternoon snack I started drinking Twinings oolong tea. We had that in the house because Barb’s mom drank it. I put a little zero sugar coconut creamer in it and fell in love.

Started to try other types of tea. English Breakfast, Earl.Grey Chai. All good. I wanted to try something a step above the Bigelow or Twinings level.

Hello Whole Foods. Whole Foods is walking distance from the house so we shop there a lot. When you look at the WF tea section it puts Publix to shame. So much to choose from! On that day the brand Rishi was on sale so I bought a 4 pack of English breakfast, earl grey, ruby oolong and masala chai. And never looked.back.

Rishi brought the tea drinking experience to a whole new level for this tea novice.

Fun Fact: All those teas and even green tea come from the camillia sinensis (tea) plant.

EXAMPLE #1

I do a 30 minute ride on my Echelon bike. I take a photo of the Echelon screen at the end of my ride. Then I upload the pic to Google AI and ask it “Rate and review my ride on Echelon 5es”

First thing Google says is that the screen is a Pelaton screen then goes on to review the ride. So I inform Google that it is in fact an Echelon. It comes back and says “Oh, sorry your right.” You’d think reading and comprehension would be the first thing an AI would learn.

EXAMPLE #2

We ordered a new dresser on Amazon. It arrived today. On the outside of the box it said “Box 2 of 2 – another box may arrive separately” That wasn’t what we expected so I took a pic of the product description label and uploaded to AI. AI described the dresser but didn’t say anything about 2 boxes. I asked where the other box is and AI told me it’s only in one box. So I told it about the whole box 2 of 2 yada yada yada. And AI comes back and said “My mistake, after re reading the label you should be expecting another box”

WTF AI?!

Little baby Barbie and big sis Melinda

A game of ounces.