Feb. 7
Up to 54 degrees this morning - it’s warming up. Supposed to be 74 today, 78 Sunday, back to 80 on Monday, mid 80’s by Wednesday. We are leaving for home on Tuesday, so I hope it’s at least half that warm there. It sounds like it has changed back in IL also. Relaxed in morning, lunch here, then we went to Coconut Point mall to finish shopping for Daniel’s and Paige’s birthdays. Spent lots of time at the bookstore, then to Panera Bread for coffee - snack - reading. Home for lite supper.

Feb. 6
Not so cold this morning. Went to Miromar mall in the morning to shop for Daniel’s birthday, went to Waterside Grill for lunch, then to library. Early evening, we went to Scott and Maureen Sand’s place in Stoneybrook for another Fri. night party. They have visitors from Dwight, Marianne Hall and a couple who are teachers. The Sands are renting a condo in the same area where Ahearns own in Stoneybrook. Had a very nice time, even got into a political discussion without any anger.

Feb. 5
While it got down to 31 at Port Charlotte, it was only 40 here. The citrus growers were not too unhappy. Stayed home most of the day, went to Starbucks at the mall, then the library. Home for lite supper.
From the paper: Citrus growers and vegetables growers appeared to have weathered the statewide freeze better than expected, but tomato growers took a hit as temperatures stayed below freezing long enough to cause damage to some of those crops. Florida is the top producer of fresh tomatoes in the nation.
Citrus growers dodged a bullet because the temperature didn’t stay at 28 degrees for more than four hours - the breaking point when damage begins.
Most of the state’s strawberry growers also got by relatively unscathed by using their irrigation system to create a protective layer of ice around the fruit. That keeps the fruit about 32 degerees - above the threshold where serious damage can occur.