I'm Late

The 2017 Firecloud Calendar should have been done by now...I'm just getting the pictures selected...Google took away my Picassa photo editor which has been making me batshit frustrated..but I found a site in New Zealand that let me reload it...

50th anniversary with Mrs. Phred  for Christmas Eve on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Tortola.

Somewhere in Alaska

Barcelona Zoo

Hunter S. Thompson said that peacocks can't fly above 7,000 feet.

On the Chattooga with Mrs. Phred where they filmed Deliverance.

Detroit, Michigan

An orchid in the Dominican Republic

Florence, gelato and two of the grandchildren.

Florence

Homer, Alaska

Melody the cow on the Finger Lakes wine trail.

Birdseye view of the Coliseum.

Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.

Same church.

Somewhere in Europe where the Romans once dominated.

Ithaca, New York storefront

Tortola, B.V.I.

Watkins Glen, New York

Yellowstone

San Juan

We're on Holland America's Niew Amsterdam. We've been on it before for an Atlantic crossing to Barcelona.

In Grand Turk we went snorkeling and played with some stingrays. The stingrays are sort of on the payroll. They get bits of food from the locals and seem to enjoy having their undersides rubbed. The big ones are female. The little ones are male and have some extra equipment in back.

We took a cultural tour in the Dominican Republic. A lot of island history, a museum, a fort, an amber market and lunch in a garden.

San Juan hasn't changed much. I've been here many times on business for a week or two.

We still have St. Maarten, Tortola and Half Moon Cay coming up. We'll be in Tortola for our anniversary on Christmas Eve,

These Sand hill Cranes were in the backyard a few times this month.

Sunset in the Dominican Republic.

We're at a table for four with an interesting couple from Canada. They were in the Foreign Service and have been stationed all over the world.

A view from the fort at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The locals claim Sir Francis Drake pretty much destroyed the fort and town. Maybe he did.

Apple Cobbler and Impending 50th Anniversary

Place six peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples in an 8 by 15 baking dish that has been lightly greased with butter.

In a bowl, mix 2 cups flour, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs and a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Cover the apples with the mixture and the pour 1 cup of melted butter on top of everything.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F (177 Celsius).

Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

After the RV trip up to Ontario we spent a month in the new condo and then moved back into the RV at Sun & Fun in Sarasota on November 8th.

We've been waiting two months for five replacement basement doors and a water heater after I scraped a concrete barrier on US 15 in Pennsylvania.

Our 50th anniversary is coming up on Christmas Eve. I'm taking Mrs Phred on a cruise so we will be celebrating in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. A good meal, a tuxedo, some champagne and maybe a corsage or flowers?