Christmas Celebration at Our Campout

Monday-Thursday, December 5-8, 2016
It appears I've not been very good about posting our activities since returning from Texas. But we certainly have been busy doing things.  We realized once we returned we only had one week to get out all the Christmas trims and get them in place as well as do our Christmas letter and get it out to everyone along with gifts that had to be mailed.  That kept us hopping all last week but we managed to get most of it done.

Then on Monday we reloaded the motorhome and drove to Citra, Florida for our Mid-Florida Winnies December campout and Christmas celebration.  I've decided the easiest way to post that experience is simply to attach the newsletter article I wrote for Mid-Florida Winnies since I had to get it done along with the minutes quickly as tomorrow we spend helping get the huge Missions Yard sale set-up and everything priced to prepare for the sale on Saturday.  Then Sunday morning we are off our cruise on the Celebrity Silhoute.

Today after we returned from the campout, we cleaned out the RV, moved back into the house, found  all the items we are donating to the Missions Sale and reloaded the car with all those items so we can take them in the morning.  Then I tackled the job of baking chocolate chip cookies and meringue cookies for the bake sale also held on Saturday.

So here is the newsletter as I sent it off to our president today:

"Merry Christmas from the Mid-Florida Winnies! Colorful lights, decorated trees, candles and

greenery along with lots of red and green greeted us in the hall at Grand Lake Golf and RV Resort where we gathered for our December campout.  Motorhomes sported wreaths, lights, Christmas trees and other delightful decorations too.  All of us were in celebration mode and eager for a few days of fun with each other.  And we were delighted to have a Winnebago couple from this park join us for many of our activities.   Dell and Judy Jackson had met several of our members while doing the Music Caravan this past summer and were eager not only to see them again but meet the rest of us

Our hosts, the LaFlammes, Parks, and Smalleys, had created a great agenda

of activities including a entire page of things to do and places to eat in the area complete with colorful pictures of those spots so that we could acquaint ourselves with this area.  Unfortunately, we had a fair amount of rain on our “free morning and afternoon” on Tuesday but that didn’t stop members from locating a winery for a little tasting and some great restaurants and stores both in Ocala and Gainesville the nearby cities. And of course, there was Happy Hour on Monday for loads of hugs and conversations and time to share what we did when we regathered for Happy Hour on Tuesday.  

Tuesday evening we had Christmas dinner with ham and loads of delicious salads, potatoes, and vegetables plus a great display of desserts.  That was followed by a Christmas quiz that had us searching our brains for answers including how many gifts would you receive if you got all the gifts promised in the Twelve Days of Christmas.  One math whiz got that one right and then had to explain the process to the rest of us - 364 was the number.

By Wednesday morning a little of the Artic air from the frigid north was beginning to show its face, but lots of sunshine and a fantastic breakfast kept us warm and looking forward to another great day together.  Following our breakfast of juice, fruit, a selection of egg casseroles and coffee, we had our monthly meeting.  Refer to the minutes to learn more about what was discussed at that gathering.  Afterwards many of the dog owners went to the dog park area together so they could continue socializing while the dogs had a chance to run.

Following lunch many of the women gathered in the clubhouse to help put together some of the baskets our chapter will donate for the door prizes at the Florida State Rally in February.  We’ve received many wonderful handmade items to include so had fun looking at them and pinning on the “Handmade just for you by a Mid-Florida Winnie” tags.  Twelve baskets were completed and we’ll do another twelve or so at the January gathering at LazyDays.

Happy Hour again brought us back together to enjoy more time with one another followed by a

Sloppy Joe dinner in the clubhouse and a rousing session of brown bag gift exchange.  That is always good for some laughs and good hearted “stealing.”

During the evening fun, we took time to step outside and watch an Atlas rocket speed through the skies after lifting off over at Cape Canaveral.  Our hosts kept close track of the time for the event so we could get in position looking off to the SE horizon just in time for the orange glow of the rising rocket to appear and flit in and out of the clouds.

And before we knew it, it was time to enjoy one last of coffee and a Danish while we said farewell till next time.  See you in January at LazyDays."