Hey Kids,
I know, I know. We've been MIA for  47  days😯 !!! (is that a record ?) Where have we been?

ORLANDO !!!

Mrs.D and Lily recovered from their bout with Bronchitis, but My Tess was still in bed🛌, not eating much and very depressed😢, and we were all pretty concerned. I've been keeping in touch with my parents by phone☎️ and email 💻and they were concerned because they love her too.
My dad is a retired Cardiologist ❤️👨🏻‍⚕️ and my mom is a retired dietician 🍎👩🏼‍🏫and she used to teach pilates classes. They met in college. I'd been planning to take Tess to see her doctor in NY when we're able to travel, but my parents suggested bringing her to see them first, so that's what we did.

My parents live in a senior community in Orlando. It's a great place, really beautiful, everyone has their own yard, there's a lake🚤 and golfing⛳, and there are lots of activities 🕺💃🎥🎭🎾🎣🎨🖌️🎤🎉🎢🛶🚲🍾🛍️🛒💈⚔️, but it's also really relaxing.Tess had never been there before. I told her I wanted to take her there for a change of scenery, but she said that she wasn't fit company☹️ and my parents would rather see me alone. 😄 Silly child.

My Mom: Come for Shabbos!
Me: It's after 4 o'clock.
Mom: Sundown isn't until after 8 now, Sweetheart. You have plenty of time to get here.

So I packed a couple of suitcases,
 👜👜, threw Tess over my shoulder😲, put her in the trunk of the car🚗 😄and drove like crazy😵!

In less than an hour we were sitting on my parent's deck enjoying iced tea and "assorted nibbles", as my mom likes to call them, before dinner.
Tess perked up as soon as she saw the lake (she loves water 🛀🏼🏊🏻‍♀️🧜🌧️🛥️) and the next morning she and my mom started planning a new diet and exercise program for her, while Dad and I went to play 9 holes ⛳ before lunch.
Tess told my mom that she couldn't eat meat anymore🤢, so we're going vegetarian again😣🍍🍊🍓. My
 parents are pescatarians🐟🐠 (mom occasionally eats chicken when🍗she goes to a restaurant) so that didn't seem  odd to them. Tess insisted that I don't have to change what I eat, that we'll work it out, but I felt so good when we went on our "Blue Lagoon" diet on the boat and I lost 11 lbs 😁 and it wouldn't hurt me to lose a few more. Good health is precious and if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. We can abuse our bodies from childhood until our thirties, if we're lucky, but once you hit fifty, everything counts.😞 EVERYTHING !!!

When my mom went grocery shopping a few days later, I tagged along.
I wanted to see what our options were.
Surprisingly, there are a lot ! Tess had been sort of vegetarian when she first came to work for me. I unknowingly ate MORNINGSTAR FARMS CHIK PATTIES as "chicken fried steak" and their SAUSAGE PATTIES in Tess' delicious Red Beans and Rice and loved both of them and I enjoy tofu in Ramen, but beyond those, I wasn't aware of what was new on the market.
Our beloved WALMART carries several brands of meatless "meat" including the aforementioned MORNINGSTAR FARMS, GARDEIN (who has beef,chicken, turkey and deli style substitutes as well as the first pork and fish alternatives that I've seen) and
We aren't going vegan because I'm not giving up eggs🍳🥚, butter, cheese🧀🍕or milk in my coffee☕🥛).

Left to right - Tillamook cheeses don't use animal rennet and they're really good !😋 Mountain High yogurt is delicious !! (We already ate that) MorningStar Farms has a lot of great meat substitutes including chicken, beef, bacon and sausage.  And Miso soup because Tess is still being Japanese. She loved my mom's lucky bamboo plant🎋. Tess' is still in NY.

          Tofu, of course.

GARDEIN makes "fish" and🐟we both love fish and chips, so we'll have to try that next.

There were a lot of other things I know we'll both want to try, but the cart was full of fruits and veggies and herbs, so next time.
I made ramen for everyone that weekend and Tess ate
most of hers. I smothered it with fresh veggies (the ramen is underneath, barely visible in the lower right hand corner). I put it a couple of the new "chicken" nuggets on top to tempt her.

We went swimming for the first time since we left New York and took rides around the grounds in my parent's golf cart (I miss my car 😢) and on one of our little jaunts we passed a house with a FOR SALE sign in the yard.
Tess: (squeals with delight) Oh, how darling!
Me: (slams on the brakes, almost killing both of us🤪)
Tess: Honey be careful, there are senior
citizens here! The sign says 20 miles an hour.
Me: I was only driving 30.
Tess: (looking at the house😍) Isn't it sweet? I wonder why it is for sale.
Me: Because someone's selling it😉.)
Tess: 😞 How sad.
Me: You're missing the house, aren't you ?
Tess:  We lived there for a long time.
Me: Do you want to go home ?
Tess: I should help your mother with dinner.
Me: No, I mean back to New York ?
Tess: We are not allowed to, are we?
Me: If we drove straight through.....Don't you want to go back to your mother's ?
Tess: I suppose we should, but it is lovely here.
Me: 🌺🌴🏝️🏡🐊🐻🐙. Do you want to look inside ?
Tess...........no.

Later, when we were all having dinner, Tess mentioned the house that we'd seen. Mom knew the couple who had lived there. Apparently, they wanted to travel 🛳️so that's why they were selling it.
Me: Tess wants to look inside.
Mom: Why don't you call the office tomorrow and schedule a tour?
Tess: 🙂.
Me: 🤔.
Mom: 😁.
Dad: 🧐.

So we took a tour and Tess fell in love with the house, but we're still thinking about it. We haven't listed the house in New York because of everything that's been happening and to be honest, I'm thisclose to officially retiring and we still need to decide what that will mean to the rest of our life in terms of where and how we want to spend it. We have some serious talking to do.

Two days ago we returned to Mrs. D's and found out that her maid has handed in her resignation and won't be returning (she ran when the 3 of them started coughing). So, Tess has to hire her replacement as soon as possible. It won't be the first time, as Mrs.D is apparently not easy to work for.
I think she missed us while we were gone, because she paid me the first compliment since I have known her.

Mrs. D : You are good for my daughter. (Me:😮) She looks happy again. I think I have misjudged you. (Me:😲)
Me: How so ?
Mrs. D: You are not like your😒.....friend. You are an honorable man. You are a Mensch.
Me: 😊. Thank you! That means a lot to me.
(I felt like Motel,when Tevye tells him he's a person, in Fiddler On The Roof !!!)
Mrs. D: Now, when is the wedding?
Me: 😒. Ask your daughter ! If it was up to me, we would've gotten married years ago !
Mrs. D : TESS!!!!!!!!😠
Me: Oy Gevalt !!! I have to get a front row seat for this !!! 🍿🥤

I'll let you know who won.😉