12 Oakdale

December 10, Alec and Winston appeared with our new 75” TV which has taken over the south wall of the living room, starting a domino effect. I agreed to have the 3 paintings be hung in our bedroom, but first I will paint the wall behind our bed. That will happen after Grant removes the existing screws and mollys, then patches the wall. Plus I have to measure the square footage to see if I have enough green paint left from the living room to avoid buying more. More importantly, it means we don’t have to make another color decision. For the nonce, the paintings are lying on the guest bed. We also can reclaim the bookcase for the books stacked on the ottoman and Dad’s sea chest. That means Suelen, the Brazilian woman I’ve hired to clean twice monthly ($115/visit) will have less stuff to move, dust, move dust.  She and her assistant Frabrina came December 20 and spent 5 hours deep cleaning the house ($250 and worth every penny). They scrubbed every surface, wiped the grime, mopped the ...

Dang, I forgot to pack my pajamas. My legs were cold at night, so I woke up enough to find my long socks. At home, I would have clicked on my electric mattress pad and enjoyed a full-body heated experience. We’ve put away the flannel sheets, but decided the one-touch warmth was good for all our aches and pains. Such luxury. Tomorrow night, I’m putting the extra blanket on the bed. I was able to come on my planned visit because Trish and Paul so kindly accepted my offer of a free Florida vacation. Grant is getting around just fine with his walker. He was able to cook bacon to add to the Cobb salad I’d left him when I went to a garden club event a week after he fell. Just needs the right motivation. Now 3 weeks in, he would have been fine home alone, but it was nice to have time for a long visit with his sister and bil. This will be the longest Grant has gotten to see them since 1989, when we rented a house together at the beach in North Carolina Outer Banks. Bella and I are committed to...

It wasn’t a white Christmas like in most of the rest of the country, but it was dang cold. Three nights in the 30s this weekend. Something seemed odd when I brought in my orchids, then I realized there were no lizards jumping around inside like always happened in South Florida. I’m still not quite used to living here. Per tradition, we started the day with oyster stew. Annie and Grace each got a tablespoon of broth, which they lapped right up, or would that be right down? Afterwards, both took long baths, then withdrew to their respective sleeping areas. Neither are interested in going to their kitty litter boxes on the porch. Several times we pitched them out our bedroom door, and each time, they raced over to their cat door and come right back in. One time, Annie stopped for a peek into the little cave I made William by hanging a towel to cover the doorway of his shelter. She’s too big to get all the way in, so she hustled on. I am pleased that the heating pad in the roof of his area...

Sixteen days ago, I resolved to swim every day. Back and forth, back and forth, breaststroke over, backstroke return. Not fast, nothing fancy. My goal was to get the habit restarted. First for 5 minutes, then add a minute every day. I’m up to 22 minutes. It was fairly easy. Granted my right shoulder is really sore, and my left hamstring still aches, but I just stand on the second pool step, turn, and fall in backwards. Once wet, I swim until my timer goes off. All good until the temperature dropped three days ago. From the 70’s at night to the 50’s.  Even though the air was cool, the first day the water hadn’t cooled very much. I’d struggled into my wetsuit top a few weeks ago when the first fall days came, but I deemed that too much trouble for the little extra warmth it gave. Now, shoulder ache be damned, I would have to start wearing clothing as I swam. My first time was with just the top, next day top and my swim pants which aren’t thermal, but help a little. Yesterday I tried ...

The virus continues to kill people, the protestors continue to march, the government continues to flounder in response. We continue to separate ourselves from the world. And this seems to be the plan for our foreseeable future. I really do not know what else to do. So, I’ve given myself the goal of having our art hung by the end of the week. The world would continue to spin with our paintings still wrapped up and leaning against the dining room wall, but it’s better that I force myself to make decorating decisions than my spending too much time slumped on the couch, reading the news online. Amid all this, our pool person decided he no longer wants to service our pool. After George didn’t come Thursday, which was not surprising because it poured all day, he also didn’t show Friday (some rain, but intermittent), nor Saturday (sprinkles), or Sunday (good weather). I left a message Monday morning. His wife/office manager called back to tell me they had decided they had enough business ...

Oh, happy day. Spaulding and Molly came over, and he cooked roast pork ramen with two kinds of mushrooms, sautéed  bok choy, soft boiled eggs, and noodles. The house smells so good. Patten drove up with gardening tools as my Mother’s Day presents, and he took his leaf blower up on the roof and cleaned out our overflowing, mulch-filled gutters. Stephanie and Clara delivered the groceries we’d asked for and brought peach cobbler for dessert. Mary called, and Bella chatted while Remi slept and Ryan doctored Happy, happy. Only sad part was not getting to hug them, still maintaining the suggested 6’ physical separation, at least most of the time. Girls Have Landed on Edge of Spa And, of course, I have to eat my words. I am loving our pool, even though it’s a little chilly for my south Florida body. Everyone swam, including granddog Emma, a Sharpei/Lab mix. She had to be coaxed in, even though she’d already run into the canal without slowing down. I’m sure there are alligators, but...

Our New Street  Was this a good idea? After 40 years of homeownership in Fort Lauderdale, we sold our house, then rented a condo on Key Biscayne for a year. Hurricane shutters didn’t close? Call the landlord. Sink leaking? Call the landlord. Smoke alarm needs a new battery? Actually that we did ourselves, but that was the only maintenance other than housecleaning, which took about a half an hour each week. I could dust mop the whole place in 15 minutes. Now we are back as landed gentry. A little, remodeled, 1950’s house with a pool after I swore, dang it, swore I would never own a pool again. Yard with grass and fruit trees in central Florida, a whole new gardening hardiness zone for this 70 year old south Florida gal. And we have neighbors to meet, and a new community to learn. But our daughter and granddaughter are 15 minutes away.