ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

How quickly this past year has unrolled. Even in the frustrations of the permits (garage and addition) dim in view of the fact that WE ARE HERE! It is always good to take a good look of the year in review- Health-We always joked that it would take a year for Bill to catch up on his sleep after all the shift work...........it is true; he is finally starting to wake up early and get an energy level back! And me? I feel great-rested and relaxed.

Empty Nesters-after a few false starts, we are enjoying living in a home with just the two of us. The housecleaning is easier and so is the cooking! Bill is doing 99% of the shopping-a promise he always gave and is now kept-a result of my dislike of the chore and his love of shopping and shopping for food to boot!(And he always said he could do it better 'cuz he likes going to different stores for the best deals and I didn't do that!)

Grown Children-all of our children are now 21 and older-2 married and 2 developing careers while single. It is wonderful to be able to keep in touch and visit with them(grandchildren are a mere skip and a jump away (8hrs)-even our oldest son will be visiting with his bride from the Northwest this year! (He has never seen our new home and she has never visited FL!)

Weather-is absolutelly perfect-to be outside and in our yard every day is a blessing which words do not do justice..........The sun is out, the air is clear-even the hottest summer heat did not discourage us because it was only 'too hot' for a few hours in the middle of each day-mornings and evenings were still great.

Friends-While we are farther away from many (thank goodness for cell phones and e-mail!) we have moved closer to some and made new ones, too. Finding a church home was a major hurtle overcome pretty quickly after being here-a blessing we still do not take lightly.

Landscaping progress-we added trees, flowers, grass and beat the jungle growth back on most of this 10 acres! Bill even beautified the wet area into a pond and lawn now!

Driveway-graded and laid with asphalt millings so it does not wash out on the road every time it rains! (Tracks less sand in cars and house, too!)

Septic system-we have a whole new system with a drainage field moved out of the way of the new addition!

Well-a new well is drilled and placed where it will be away from the pool area to come--no sulphur either!

Contractors-we have eliminated dozens of them and have a few leads on possible workers in the area!

Power Service-added new pole and laid the foundation for underground service to come with the addition.

Snakes and Bugs-are not an issue-we learn how to deal with ants-(don't go barefoot in an ant hill), roach tablets and a quick swat with a shoe controls the Palmetto bugs (only dealt with 6 in the house so far), spiders all get the shoe or sprayed (no larger ones in the house than we had in the old farmhouse!) the snakes, only 3 so far, startled us outside but haven't seen them in a long time (are told by locals that having cats around the yard eliminates their presence!) Thank you Tommy and Bling!

Birds-an abundance all the time is incredible.........from chickadees to sand hill cranes--all are welcome and in abundance. We have lots of berry trees and it is an 'all you can eat' feast for all the birds (and squirrels, too!) We have tons of the northern robins now-they are looking fat after a few weeks of the aforementioned feast! And we learned that our hummingbirds also go south-er for the winter-Central America in fact!

Seasons-Yes, we do have seasons and it has been wonderful to see Florida for a whole cycle. We have been visiting here for 30+ yrs but have never seen the whole picture-it has been so exciting to see and we have learned so much. Most of the trees that are also found in the North have just about lost all of their leaves now. The colors that started their demise didn't start until November.
Flowers are a feast all year round-many species flower for 6-8 months and then rest a bit until they start all over again-others, like the rain lilies literally sprout a bloom overnight (in the first rains of late spring) and last only a week-all are beautiful and worthy of our attention! Most of the locals take their vacation in the Fall-the weather is truly perfect Sept - Dec, warm, sunny and no humidity (and most will tell you that the snowbirds aren't here yet either!)

Yes, it is good to reflect on the past year....even if they do not all hold the 'firsts' that this year produced! Like most years-it has had its high and low points yet I am so glad this dream of living in Florida has been realized!
In the memorable quote of Jackie Gleason when asked if he had lived here is whole life, he replied, "Not yet!" Lord willing, we will be able to say the same.



[As for pics...most have already been added to this blog under earlier posts!]