Too Soon to Open Shutters?

Hurricane Dorian, now a category 5 storm, has stayed offshore of Florida and spent most of yesterday wreaking havoc in the Bahamas.

In relief, we met friends for a late lunch at a Greek restaurant on Hollywood (Florida) beach. As too often happens, I agreed to ordering a huge amount of food and, because it was sitting there... Too many calories which cost more than I like to spend. We do so much better when we share an entree and an extra salad. Will I learn to hold my ground?

I am feeling pressure to decide what our next move will be, if it even is a move. Perhaps staying another year on Key B is the right option. It certainly is the easiest, but it comes with the hidden cost of lost opportunity. We have few years for active adventures. 10? Probably too optimistic. Since we cannot do everything, how do we prioritize?

On the way to the restaurant, we decided on three possibilities: stay where we are, move to another apartment/house, or buy an RV and tour around. Back and forth, back and forth on the 40-minute drive, we weighed the pros and cons of each. Finally, I suggested we pretend we each have 10 colored dots, each dot representing how much we were interested. Grant put 3 of his on each option, with the last dot probably on staying put. I placed all my dots on buying the RV next spring. He agreed that it would be exciting, however he's worried about having his own space. I hear his need and know I probably need it even more.

Perhaps that is why over-ordering and over-eating weighed heavily on me after lunch. I lived on a 31' sailboat for seven years. I learned to live small. Can Grant and I adjust our way of life to fit into an RV?

Hurricane Party

We, or some of us, are all a dither about Hurricane Dorian, which is currently in the Atlantic just north of Puerto Rico. My sisters have gone to the grocery store to stock up. When they return, we will drive south and meet my brother-in-law at Wildwood to transfer them and their groceries to his truck. I'll head for Key B, and they will go to Plant City to pick up the yard and secure whatever needs securing.

I, on the other hand, hope to go to the Marlins game scheduled for 7:00 tonight. Ah, the luxury of living in our little condo. Originally, Dorian was aimed at lower Florida, so Grant tested the shutters. They slide close and latch. That means we would just move the plants, two chairs, an ottoman, and three little tables in from the balcony; put William in a box and Annie in her crate for traveling; pack some clothes; get important papers; close the shutters; and leave.

That is certainly better than putting shutters on 70' of porch and all the windows at our old house. Even aluminum shutters get heavy if you have to install that many. And people get cranky.

If we do have to leave Key B, we will pick up our grandson (University of Miami sophomore) at the Viscaya Metrorail station and head north on I-95. We figure it would take, at most, three hours to get to our son's house in Fort Lauderdale. The house that we installed hurricane windows on last year, so no shutters to put up there. Good decision. BTW, I predict landfall will be North Carolina. What do the professionals know?

Sweetwater Preserve

Before all this hullabaloo, we were in Gainsville and birded at Sweetwater Preserve seeing the usual suspects for this time of year: gallinule (purple and common), osprey eating a fish, herons and egrets. Meager picking, but it is August. There was a garter snake crossing the boardwalk.

Victoria Water Lilies  

We went to Kanapaha Gardens to see the potential world record Giant Victoria Water Lily. The staff is measuring every day and hope for a Guinness Book of Records award. Since they had not marked which leaf was the one being measured, I can't point out the record winner, but I assume I saw it. I'll claim to if ever asked.

We also attended a Dining for Women potluck at an absolutely lovely townhouse which gave me another chance to interview potential apartments. It had a lot more living space than our condo, which we want in the next home. I decided a north-facing balcony is too dark. I would like a screened-in porch rather than a glassed-in sun room. Most of all, I need some sun rather than dark woods so that we have flowering plants and shrubs nearby. I really enjoy watching the butterflies and humming birds that come to the salvias around my friend's porch. Just trees is too sterile.

No First Floor Apartment in a Flood Zone 

The townhouse is in a group of maybe 50 homes in either duplex or quadraplex groups that back up on Hog Creek in Gainesville. Perhaps if we could find a south facing one this would be a good place to land. Near my best friend, biking close by, lots of activities and art in the area. The killer would be making one of these apartments ADA compliant. Four steps down from the driveway or two steps down from the garage is not acceptable. Maybe an architect could design a ramp. I'll check prices next week. May be cheaper after Hurricane Dorian.


Update: the Marlins beat the Reds 4 - 3, all home runs. Plus I bought a VIP parking pass on StubHub for $6 ($9.50 including charges) which beats $15 on the Marlins' site for a regular pass. Definitely doing that again.

Laid Low

Two Green Iguanas In Small Palm  

I am reduced to watching the iguanas climb up and down the four palms outside our balcony. I cannot make out any pattern to their movements. Sometimes it's large (not huge like we had on our docks) black ones, sometimes medium greens ones, sometimes it is two at once, maybe going in the same direction, or not. Once I saw one eating the flowers off an inflorescence, but those are all eaten now. I think they may go to sleep in the tops of the palms, however since I can't see the top of the tallest palm, I can't confirm that. And if they did, surely I'd see them come down in the morning and up in the evening, but they move up and down at random times. I'm going crazy stuck in this apartment.

Going to Bed?  

Ten days after my crash. Grant stayed home from work last week, ferrying Clara to swimming lessons; doing the shopping and cleaning; cooking labor-intensive, time-consuming, delicious meals; and being at my beck and call. I hobbled around with my walker, slept, watched the Tour de France, and whined. I also decided I rather suffer the consequences of adventures than not do them.

Until I absolutely cannot manage the physical requirements, I want to be out and seeing new things. I want to be in the camper, on the trip, at the new-to-me place. This will take plentiful negotiations between Grant and me, because I'm always sure things will work out. He is more cautious. Probably we prod each other to a better place than if we were on our own. Somehow this seems like progress even though I cannot walk. I can't wait to get back on my bike, only a little more carefully than before. Back to watching for iguanas.

Full Moon

We walked over to the beach to watch the full moon rise. Even though the temperature reached almost 90° today, the ocean breeze cooled the evening air. God, I love being at the beach, just watching the waves. We sat in Adirondack chairs at the private beach we can use because we joined the Key B Community Center. What lucky, lucky people we are.

My day was filled with learning about Medicare and its various permutations. I joined AARP and made an appointment with their long term care insurance sales person. I also made an appointment with SHINE, Florida's program to help elderly people learn about health care. I printed out the UM information on retirement, and I read Schwab articles about re-balancing our portfolio to manage our wealth.

Then I indulged myself and began thinking what 2020 will be like for us. In January, we will have our annual, and maybe last, cabin camping with old friends, this time at Bahia Honda. Then, Okinawa in February to see our new grandchild, due mid-January. As long as we're that far, maybe visit my sister in New Zealand and stop by Hawaii to see friends in Hilo on the way home.

After watching too many You Tube videos about van life, I concluded perhaps we should buy a motor home and tour the US. We could put the rest of our stuff in storage, pick up our Orlando granddaughter when school is out and go. A summer of bison and canyons. I'll need to start making reservations for the big national parks.

I pitched this idea to Grant as we sat at the beach. The full moon finally came out from behind the clouds on the horizon, glowing gold as if in tribute to the 50th anniversary this week of the lunar landing. What a gorgeous sight. However, even in the glow of the moon path, Grant was hesitant to sign onto my plans without seeing spread sheets of projected income and expenses.
I feel like one of those NASA engineers, trying to think of all that could go wrong with our own moon shot, then coming up with a plan to get us there. At least I have a better computer than NASA, in 1969,ever dreamed of.

Baby Steps

It has been raining for the past two days. Water has collected all along the roads, and it continues to come down. Poor Grant rode home tonight in pouring rain, fortunately ahead of the lightening and thunder. To add insult to injury, the elevator was out, so he had to carry his bike up the stairs.

Wet Clothes From the Ride Home 

He stood on the breezeway and began taking of his soggy clothes, wringing them out, and throwing them in the bucket I put out. The person delivering pizza next door fled when Grant got to just his biking shorts. Not to worry, he came inside to take them off.

Now we have a pile of wet clothes and towels that will not dry out overnight. Our AC comes on very infrequently, so none of the humidity is getting taken out of the air in the apartment. Things are beginning to be damp, so we ordered a dehumidifier last night.

This took much discussion, web browsing, and review reading. Eventually we made a decision. My contention is done is what we want. Grant wants to get the best which does not mean the most expensive, but rather a good deal we will be pleased with. Pushing our luck, we also picked out a bed frame. Again, I wanted done; Grant wanted the best. We decided not to consider mattresses until this weekend. My patience and energy were gone.

Friends of ours have decided to move to the city where his company's headquarters are. They went up over Mother's Day, looked around, found a house, and bought it. Good grief, we can barely buy a dehumidifier and bed frame. How will we ever choose where to life, much less buy a house?

Baby steps. At lease we did get some decisions made.

Make Way For Ducklings?

Am I imprinted like a duckling on my native area? Growing up in Naples, I knew the sun rose in the east over the Everglades and set in the west over the Gulf. Gorgeous sunsets were the norm.

Although we felt we lived far from the beach, after all it was 12 blocks, I was oriented by water and what was then wilderness. East: dry, west: wet. I remember how surprised I was when I moved to Fort Lauderdale as a young adult, and the Atlantic Ocean was on what seemed like the wrong side. More than once I took a wrong turn until I absorbed my new location.

Even after 40 years, I like sunsets at a gulf beach more than sunrises at the ocean. I prefer going to the beach in the morning, which I did all this past week with my girlfriend, her daughter and grandchild, plus my granddaughter. However, we were at Villano Beach, just north of St Augustine, on the Atlantic.

Villano Beach  

This wide, east-facing beach is her stomping ground, the beach she imprinted on when she lived in the area as a young child. My friend prefers to go the beach in the late afternoon, when the sun would be to our backs. With the 2 children, that wasn't possible. The first thing they said every morning was, "When are we going to the beach?"

Finding Shade In the Morning Sun  

We would attempt to leave the house by 9:00 when the sun wasn't too hot, and my little cabana gave me some shade. The sun shone on the water, getting brighter, rather than becoming less intense. The day got hotter and hotter. After a couple of hours of their bobbing in the waves, we would drag the children ashore.

Even on these calm days, the Atlantic is rougher than I prefer. It's not a place to swim, and the waves knocked me around more than my knees liked. It was also noticeable colder than the water down at Key B. The wide beaches are good places to drive. They are not good places to look for shells.

On the plus side, there is the ocean. I like the wide view, the constant movement of the water, and the sunlight. I have been imprinted on open horizons and clouds. The flatness of Florida means we can see from horizon to horizon most everywhere. When I'm in the mountains or amid the skyscrapers of big cities I am less comfortable. I enjoy them, but I'm not at home.

I know the Florida skies and what to expect from the weather. When my daughter moved to San Diego, she called me and said, "they think it's raining", when there was such a light drizzle she hadn't bothered to take out her umbrella. Today, it is pouring here, and I know, without looking at the weather app, that today is an all-day rain, rather than a heavy shower that will pass in the next few minutes.

All of this brings me to wonder how much change could I enjoy and how quickly could I adapt to another climate.

Changing Plans Without Gritting My Teeth

I had planned to drive to Orlando and pick up our granddaughter next Thursday for our weekend snorkel trip in the Dry Tortugas. It seemed like a plan. The fact that we were driving  to Orlando for her end-of-the-school-year unicorn-themed party the Saturday before, and she could have ridden home with us just did not factor into my decision.

Why? The reasons now escape me. We do have a meeting Wednesday evening, and I wanted to try the new mindful meditation class on Tuesday, and I have been enjoying my morning chair yoga class, all adult only. My guess is with all the nannies on Key B, there are no babysitters, or any teens in need of money. Maybe those were factors. Mostly it was because I had made up my mind to do it my way.

Grant made the case that it was silly to drive back from Orlando on Sunday, then drive up and back on Thursday, before driving to Key West on Friday. He made his case forcefully, so I got my back up and defended my decision. After much back and forth, not pretty back and forth, we stopped by and picked her up.

Now I am glad we did. It removes 10 hours of driving from this week. Plus she and I have lots of fun things planned. Dang, Grant was right.

How can I get to changing plans without having to put up a fight? There are a gazillion books about getting to yes, we have participated in our wonderful marriage enrichment group for 25+ years, and still, in the heat of the moment, my ego rares up and defends stupid stances.

The Deed Is Done

Our House  

The deed is done. That sounds like something from Shakespeare. (pause while I check the Internet.) No, from a play review by Ben Bradley. Ah, well, in our case, the deed is indeed done. We have signed all the papers, and the money is being wired from California via federal banks, title companies and brokers. Should be to us soon.

First we did a walk through with the new owner who says he plans just to fix the house up and see what happens. Could be true. I asked that he treasure the living room wall of coral oolite stone since ours is unusual and not available any more. We also walked the yard, with my pointing out the natives and telling him about the birds and butterflies that live here. The best I could do for them. The woodpecker was making little pecking noises from inside their nest while she waits for her eggs to hatch. I call it noodling, and I shall miss it.

Grant and I keep checking with each other, asking if we are are okay. So far. We took the garbage and recycling bins out to the road for the last time. Then we said good bye to our house. We had a wonderful life there. It is hard to know that part has ended and to focus on the future. How to remember without being maudlin?

The Start

After decades of living in Fort Lauderdale, FL, my husband Grant and I sold our house and moved to a small condo on Key Biscayne near his job. He commuted the 70-mile round trip for more than 35 years. Now he can ride his bike to work.

We are taking this next year as a gap year to decide what we want to do. We know we are extremely lucky to have this choice, and we want to be as deliberate as possible.

But not yet. For the first 6 months, we are going to enjoy our new-found paradise. A gap year for oldies. Finding ourselves in our seventies.