The Great Winter Escape

~Well...we're here in sunny Florida. I must admit that having the doors and windows open in January suits me just fine. I think that's what I hate the most about winter back home. Having everything closed up feels claustrophobic. Gray skies and short days seem gloomy to me. I start fantacizing about summer and life on the porch. I imagine the tanned, smiling faces of our grandchildren coming back from a day at the beach and evenings sitting around the firepit, telling stories and singing songs.
~Our ability to spend our winters in Florida stems from a long range plan that began over thirty years ago when we purchased a small townhouse condo near the beach just south of the Kennedy Space center. There wasn't much here then. It wasn't spiffy or upscale. But it was on the barrier island and there were miles and miles of beach with little parking areas every five miles or so. You could just pull off the road, grab your beach towel and flop down in the sand. We used the condo as an investment property for most of those years. We redecorated a couple of times and as we did, we watched the area grow. We started to see restaurants, and grocery markets crop up in commercial spaces that had been deserted during the downturn of the 70s. Beautiful condos were constructed along the beach. Due to height restrictions in the area, none of the buildings took over the clear blue skies...and you can still pull off the road every half mile or so with free parking to access the beach. Carefully planned commercial development brought jobs to the area. New hospitals located over the river on the mainland. That development opened up new prospects for pharmacies and medical practices on the island. A burst of energy was thrust into just about every facet of life here.
~Now that we are retired and get to enjoy our little condo and all the things this area offers, we are grateful for the chance to escape the New England winters. Snow was a welcome sight when we were young and we took our four children skiing. But once you give up a snow hobby, the wet, white stuff just means work. And cold work, at that.
~This winter up north sounds especially bad. No just wet, but bitter cold. Not a day goes by down here that I don't thank the big Guy up there for leading us in the right direction way back when we fell upon this cozy little southern abode. Funny how life works out.

A New Year

~A New Year....Is it really something special when it happens? Or is it just the same old...same old? I must confess that around here it has become just another year. But deep down, I know it is something special. It's a rebirth for many folks; a chance to look at life with new aspirations. If you're overweight, you swear yourself on a diet. If you are a shopaholic, you cut up your credit cards. If you are a bit lazy, you join a gym. But what happens to those best laid plans?
Usually, by mid January, you are back to your old habits, completely forgetting about having resolved to do this or that. Yet, every once in a while, someone, somewhere sticks to his or her resolution and life changes in a good way.
~I've known people who resolved to do something about their weight on New Year's Eve and then really did something about their weight. And it stuck!
I guess the good thing about making a New Year's resolution is that it shows how humanity always holds out hope. No matter how many times you break a heartfelt resolution, you usually make another one the next year. Hope usually comes with a strong sense of passion. It feels good to hope.
~Hubby and I are just about ready to head south. Except there is snow looming in the forecast on the day we want to leave. It will be hard to wait, even a day or two. In my old age, I've become completely intolerant to cold. Hubby says my
circulator doesn't work. The cold starts in my feet and spreads to my calves and soon overtakes my whole body. When we were young, we could hardly wait for snow so we could ski. That's what winter sports do for you. Make you wish for snow. But these days the cold means inactivity which leads to being...well... cold. Now that the hustle bustle of the holidays is over, I can't wait to get into warm sunshine, balmy breezes and sun, sun, sun. I can take my daily walk without freezing; fiddle around in the patio without a down jacket, drive to the store without warming up the car first. Lovely, simple thoughts that make me very happy. Florida, here we come.
~Be sure to check out our online store to see more aprons like the one granddaughter Emily is modeling at:
http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/
~I'll be adding lots of new items soon.

Heading South....

~Packing up. Making lists. Programing the GPS. Getting out of this cold! Good Lord, it's gotten cold here in the Northeast. Reading 17 degrees at the moment on our trusty LL Bean thermometer although it's nice to have central heat in this old house after so many years. Many a night we sat here watching the rug blow up and down as the wind barged through under the old floorboards. When your house foundation consists of granite boulders spaced few and far between the sill and the ground, it's an open invitation to not only the blustering howls of winter but a few critters looking for shelter as well. Oh, the stories I could tell. But now we're toasty and warm here on the inside. Ah...but I miss being able to go out in the yard and fuss around. It's just too cold and everything is frozen solid. So, it's off to warmer parts.

~We enjoy our winters in Florida, something I never thought I'd be saying. When hubby first suggested going for two months many years ago, I agreed but secretly harbored the fear that I'd go nuts after three weeks. To my surprise, I loved every second of it and the time just flew by like those giant pelicans that swoop overhead while we're taking in the rays at the beach. Now we're there a little more than four months. It's all good. Fun loving people...most of them bionic, but full of spit and vinegar nonetheless. Someone should do a documentary on the life that seniors lead during the winter in the sunshine state. Most of our neighbors and friends range from their mid seventies to their mid eighties and they all run circles around hubby and I who are the babies of the bunch. Not a group to take pity on, that's for sure.

~So we're off. The picture along with this post is credited to one of our southern neighbors who had the good sense to get out of Dodge early and was there for the shuttle launch in November. We spend the winter along the Space Coast where the temps never get much over 80. (I don't like it too hot!) Watching the launches at the Kennedy Space Center from our beach across the street is just one of the advantages of living in our area. The nighttime launches are the best.

~I'll pick up with a new post when we arrive sometime next week. We meander on our way down and make a vacation out of the trip, stopping along the way to visit friends and family. I'm grousing right now at all the work it takes to get ready but I guarantee I'll have a big smile on my face when I'm sitting in the sunshine next week!

~Oh...by the way...I do take my sewing machine and all the makings for my aprons with me.

~Check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

What the heck?

Where'd the sunshine go? And it's dark at 6 o'clock! Turning myself inside
out trying to get the hang of it not being summer anymore. Even the mailman asked me this morning, "Where did everyone go?" He had become accustomed to greeting us on the front porch each day when he brought the mail...(we are addicted to having our morning coffee out there.) He'd even have a dog biscuit in his pocket for the visiting Lab, Max. What a guy. But...that's suddenly all over. Seems like the doors & windows are closed
and the TV is always on. It signals "being inside," which I don't like.
In order to force the summer to last longer, I've committed myself to scraping and painting our pergola. It's usually covered with pink roses, but this year, the roses suffered some sort of a blight so we've cut both vines down to the quick. Alas...that exposed the awful condition
of the paint so here I go again. Scraping and painting. Not my favorite job. I'm almost wishing it was a rainy day so I would be tempted to stay indoors and sew. I hate painting! But I'm doing it. (See...Old lady painting. Looks like the old lady needs a work-out with the weights on her arms.) I'll show you the finished product when it's done.

I guess the sewing will have to wait for the moment. This is turning
out to be more of a job than I'd thought!

Check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

I Thought It Was Spring?

Isn't spring supposed to be warm and sunny? Did Cape Cod forget how to have spring? After a straight week of dreary cloudy skies and constant threat of rain (and then some actual rain) we finally had a gorgeous day yesterday. We put it to use and worked so hard outside that our bodies were sobbing by dinner time. Woke up this morning and thought we were in for another beautiful day. Hubby and I sat out on the back deck in our new zero gravity chairs and soaked up some rays while having our morning coffee. Nice. Got started on taking out the summer furniture for the deck, washing everything in nice hot water in the nearby outdoor shower. But, by noon, the clouds rolled in and the day ended up threatening rain and very chilly, indeed. As I sit here writing, the sky is gray and foreboding. I don't like it.
I decided instead of complaining about the weather earlier in the week that I would put my indoors time to good use and sew. It's a bit hard right now to throw myself into a sewing project because the kids will be here soon, and for the time that my sewing room turns into a guest room, I put everything away and out of sight. Soooo, I don't feel like making a huge mess as I usually do when I sew, only to have to clean it up. I had a yard and a half of a pretty white on white fabric that told me it wanted to be a pretty peasant blouse. Voila! Here it is.
Check out the details in my etsy shop at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com
I wonder what tomorrow will bring? I hate the uncertainty about the weather. We're getting down to the wire now with daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren arriving soon. The air conditioners need to be put back into the windows, beds need to be made up, quilts aired out, bathrooms cleaned, windows washed...you know the drill. I need sunshine to do all this! I'm getting depressed! Isn't it supposed to be spring?