November

First of all, Hi Sarah!  I think you are the only person that reads this :)

My tomato plant has three little blossoms.  The plant is healthy but still seems too small to me to be able to support any tomatoes yet.  My cucumber plant also has blossoms, and also seems small.  I fertilized them both today to hopefully give them a little boost.

Also today I planted broccoli sprouts that I got from Holly's school almost a month ago.  I was supposed to thin all but one of the sprouts and then let it grow and then plant it.  But I never thinned... and they never really grew.  Today I separated the sprouts into five groups and planted them all.  If even one or two survives, I will be happy!

Reason #36 that I love Florida:  Gardening at the end of November.

I had a lovely quick trip to Maryland and West Virginia last weekend to see my parents, my grandparents, and a group of girlfriends.  Also got to see my brother and my Aunt Carol, which were both happy surprises.  It was really freaking cold up there, and while I enjoyed the chill and even seeing snowflakes, I was happy to come home.  Of course as soon as I got back to Orlando the temperatures dropped and we got our own cold front -- down into the 30s one day.  Today was back to mid 80s and I am happy.

Me and The General in West Virginia

Playing in fall leaves

Yo

Faithy got gifts and balloons at school on her birthday

Birthday cake for Thea and Faith at Cracker Barrel

Thanksgiving party in Holly's class

Warmth in winter

When I get up in the mornings and think "Whew it's cold!!" because it's 50-something degrees outside, I know better than to complain about it. When the sun comes out, it will be in the 70s, but back in Baltimore it's struggling to reach 20. I think I can handle this.

 Yesterday after a morning shopping trip at Walmart, I went to open my trunk to put my groceries in, and the key snapped off in the trunk lock.

 

Not cool.  It meant of course that I was stranded in the Walmart parking lot until Dan could come from work, 29 miles away, to rescue me with a working key.  Again... in FL, this is not so bad as it could be.  I sat in the car with the windows down, basking in some sun and listening to birds singing in the trees.  I reflected on an observation I had made in the Walmart:  There are about the same amount of people riding around on electric scooters in the Walmart in Mt Dora as there were at the Walmart in Baltimore.  However,  in Mt Dora the riders were all elderly people.  In Baltimore they were not; they were obese, or swollen and possibly diabetic, or once in a while in a cast, but often just joy-riding.

At Walmart I bought a cilantro plant to put in my kitchen window.  Whenever I need cilantro, I only need a little bit, and I have to buy an enormous clump and waste it.  I thought a little plant would provide me with just the right supply.

This is what it looked like this morning.  I hope when the sun comes up it will perk up.

Here is one of those songs that gets in your ear and stays there.  It runs all day in your head and you find yourself walking in rhythm to it.  Then at night the infinite loop makes you an insomniac and turns your thoughts dark and you feel like there is SOMETHING that you are missing deep in yourself that would make this song bearable and then you could sleep.  Or is that just me?

"Midnight City" by M83

Mornings With Dog -- Spanish Moss

Before I get into my travels with the dog, I have to say that I committed the sin this morning of thinking to myself that I hadn't seen a giant roach in about a week.  This thought spiraled out of control and soon I was sure that giant roaches had been eradicated from my home, possibly even from my entire town.  Oh happy day!

Then I opened the dishwasher.  Yes, a roach was inside the dishwasher (which was admittedly full of dirty dishes, since someone forgot to run it last night).  Oh horrified day.

By the way, Floridians, you can call it a "palmetto bug" all you want, but it's still a giant freaking cockroach.

All right, so today Chester and I decided to share something else that is ubiquitous in Florida:  Spanish moss.

This stuff is everywhere.  It especially loves to grow on oak trees.

It spreads when wind blows fragments into other trees, or when birds carry it.  Spanish moss doesn't have roots, but neither is it a parasite -- it collects water and nutrients through its own scales, not from the tree, plant, or power line that it is growing on.

Your science lesson of the day, brought to you by Wikipedia and the University of Florida.

Our jack o'lanterns did not fare well in this weather.  Back in Baltimore, the pumpkins could last all the way into December without rotting, although they did often attract ants.  But these guys didn't make it beyond a week before they started to age and collapse.  I found it strangely compelling to watch.  Dan did not.

The pumpkins are gone from the front patio, but their legacies (and gooey stains) live on!

Mornings With Dog, Chapter One

And now for a new segment I shall call, "Mornings With Dog."  "Segment" suggests that this is something I will be writing on a regular basis, but we all know that it's more likely I will write one or possibly two and then drop it.  Kind of like my NaNoWriMo attempt this year, in which I passed 11,000 words the first weekend, and haven't written one word since.

But anyway, now that the time has changed and it's not completely dark at 7 am anymore, I'm trying to renew my habit of taking Chester D. Dog for a morning walk.  He appreciates it, and it is good for me to wake up and get my blood moving.  Mornings are also a nice opportunity to wear long sleeves or even a jacket, and feel like there's a coolness to the air, without having to deal with my nose going numb or my ears hurting from the cold.  Florida's nice like that!

I thought on some morning walks I would take a picture or pictures around my neighborhood to show everyone how nice it is here, or if at some point it becomes nasty, how nasty it is.

So without further ado,

This morning the sun was out and I wore a fleece jacket for our walk.  The temperature was right around 60 degrees but going up.  This morning Chester and I found real, live (dying) fall-colored leaves.

Real yellows and reds among the browns, right here in central Florida.  Makes a Marylander feel a little more at home.

Fall in Florida

Fall in Florida...  for now the days are still in the 80s, but at night it gets down to the 60s and sometimes even the 50s.  I have the windows open in the house most of the time.  The sun is not quite as blazing as it was in August.  It's beautiful here, but the Facebook feeds of my friends back North are full of the trees in fall color right now and I miss that so much.

Faith and Holly at Thea's school

Last weekend we went to Thea's school for her first orchestra concert in four years.  Unlike when she was in elementary school and was, for a while, the only cellist, she is now one of nine cellists in the high school orchestra.

Thea strolling like Big Man On Campus

The unfortunate thing about being the only freshman out of the nine cellists was that she was seated in the back, and I couldn't get any pictures of her while she was playing.  I got plenty of lovely pictures of the senior girl who was sitting in front of her.

That's Thea on the top right;  you can see she is actually holding a cello and I am not making all this up.

We finally acquired a television.  We still don't have cable (seven years now!) but now there is something on which to play the Wii, the PS3, and the Nintendo64 (vintage!), and watch DVDs and Netflix.  So you can see that if I seem to sound pompous about not having cable, that's really meaningless.

Holly likes to watch Dan play Little Big Planet

In other news, Emily the cat has a serious sweet tooth.

Sneaky cat going after the butter/honey mixture I was dipping a soft pretzel in.

Mmmmm.

Back in Baltimore Emily eradicated the spricket population in my basement.  Here in Florida, we have other issues.  We have those huge nasty cockroaches.

Notice this dark shadow inside the kitchen light.  Yes, you guessed it.

I would say I see two or three a week.  Out of those two or three, one is usually dead -- presumably killed by Emily or Benny during the night.  If the cats can work their magic on the cockroaches and make it so I don't have to look at live ones, I would be forever grateful.

In other bug news we have been watching a spider rebuild a web every day outside on the back patio.  It's a very disturbing looking spider called a Spiny Orb Weaver.

I looked it up online and Holly and I read about it -- that it is not venomous, and is considered beneficial -- and, as often happens, something that was scary became much less so thanks to the power of information.  Next thing you know, that spider had been named "Mrs Spiny," and several times a day she was checked on and reported excitedly on.

Days later I was puttering around with my morning coffee and came face to many-eyed face with Mrs Spiny's sister, sitting in a web that stretched across my dining room.  Thanks again to information and familiarity, I did not freak out, and instead watched the spider for an hour or so before relocating her outside.

But don't let you cockroaches get any ideas.

Family Times

On Friday evening we drove up the road to Mount Dora, an old town on the shore of Lake Dora.  The downtown area consisted of a few streets with little antique shops, boutiques, art galleries, and cafes.  I imagine it would be really nice to stroll around in the evening, maybe without kids next time.

We ate at PizzAmore in downtown Mount Dora.  The pizza was OK, the garlic knots were yummy and swimming in olive oil, but nicest of all was just sitting outside and enjoying the falling of the evening.  They decorated their patio area with cobwebs, orange lights, and a few surprises -- such as a zombie foot -- that Holly enjoyed finding.

Dan is probably checking us in on Facebook in this picture.  Surprisingly enough Thea is not texting anyone... or is she?  What is she holding on her lap, hmmm?

Today we took the boat out onto the nearby lakes again.  As we were standing on the boat ramp, I saw two bald eagles flying overhead.  There's something about watching eagles that just gives you goose bumps.

Here I am tubing on Lake Dora.  None of the three kids wanted to go on the tube, so Mom was forced to step up to the plate.  I had a good time -- the water was not too cold, and Dan did as I asked and didn't try to throw me off.  Near the end of my ride, though, the wind picked up and the water got choppier.  The spray in my face made it impossible to keep my eyes open.  It's kind of no fun to tube with your eyes shut.

This is likely one of the reasons that Holly didn't want to ride the tube.  She had a fever most of the day Saturday, and although today her temperature was mostly normal, she said her throat hurt.  Faith was home sick from school on Thursday and Friday.  I wonder if these germs will make the rounds of the house.

Pros and Cons

For the past several mornings I have taken the dog for an early walk.  Early for us is 7 am.  I love walking at this time of day and seeing the neighborhood when most people are not out.  Our neighborhood is very nice -- large lots, tons of trees and foliage, every house different and unique as opposed to cookie cutter.  When we were preparing to leave Baltimore, I felt that I was going to miss the variety of plants and trees.  I assumed that down here there were only palm trees.  This was a very wrong assumption.  :)  I love looking at other people's landscaping to see all the different kinds of things they have planted, and in our neighborhood there seems to be a lot of area remaining as it was before the houses were built.

Lest you think it's all fun and contentment here... this morning I saw the second Florida roach in the house.  It was in the drawer under the sink where I keep my hair supplies.  The first roach was on the ceiling in the kitchen, Monday night, and Dan got up on a stepstool to grab it with a wad of paper towels.  This second roach I thought I would get with a wad of toilet paper, but I hesitated out of sheer disgust and terror and the thing scurried away.  UGHHHH.

I found an informative link from the University of Florida that talks about dealing with the roaches (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig082), but unfortunately for the moment we are apparently providing a perfect place for them to live and breed, with all of our boxes sitting around and nice tight dark piles of stuff.  It makes me even more motivated to unpack.

I have not yet told the girls about either of the roaches.

I could be writing about so many other adventures and experiences we are having as transplants to Florida, but you can see I am fixating on these nasty bugs.

Florida Observations

Today I saw an old lady driving an electric scooter down a sidewalk next to a busy road.  She careened along on that thing like it was a Jeep, and at one point she took a corner so fast, I was sure it would tip over and I'd be forced to go provide first aid, but nope.  On she bounced, on down the road.

Next into my field of vision came two sports cars, one after the other, both convertibles, both driven by old men in Hawaiian print shirts.

Within five minutes the bright sun was obscured by dark clouds and a downpour erupted on me.

Florida is funny.

The Long Trip

We did the drive from Baltimore to Orlando in two days.  It wasn't a terrible drive.  The girls were mostly good sports.

Rainy and dismal the morning we left.  Faith stood on the front porch for the last time, watching the rain.

My last look at my first house.  Three family cats are buried here.  Holly was born here.  So many good and bad times over the seven years I lived here.  I will always think of it as my home.  Goodbye...

Holly is annoyed that we are stuck in traffic.

Krispy Kremes to fuel the second day of travel.  I had never had a Krispy Kreme fresh and warm.  It was almost heaven.

Looks like we made it!

A Week In

A week ago this evening we had just arrived at our little apartment at a retirement community near Orlando.  I simultaneously cannot believe a whole week has passed, and cannot believe that we have only been here a week.

Slowly I am getting used to things.  For instance, we get a storm of some kind come through every day.  Seriously, every day this week.  Sometimes it will just cloud up and thunder will boom for a while.  Sometimes wicked lightning storms scare me.  Sometimes there is a torrential downpour.  Sometimes the wind blows but no real rain falls.

At least the clouds bring a drop in temperature.  It is really, really hot here.  The sun blazes down with intensity that is different than in Maryland.  It's so bright that it still surprises me.  But when the sun is not shining, it actually can get relatively cool.  Evenings are almost always very pleasant, unlike Baltimore which remained hot and stuffy all night.

Thea has been in high school for a week and she really seems to be enjoying herself.  I had some trouble getting Faith and Holly enrolled in school, but everything has been worked out for them to begin on Monday.  Holly is beside herself with excitement.  Faith grumbles but I think she is interested in how it's going to be at a different and larger school.  I am looking forward to having all of them out of my hair at once so I can actually get some work done.

I still feel unsettled and transient.  We have another two weeks here at the old folks' home and then we go to our rental house.  Since we will be there for at least six months, I hope it will feel a little more like home.

Pictures next time.

Sunset

While I was in Florida in June I marveled at the beautiful sunsets.  But apparently I had just not paid enough attention here at home.  Yes, even in Baltimore...  In the evenings when I take the dog out for his walk, I look down my street, towards the place where train cargo is unloaded all day and all night and trucked away by huge rigs, and above that place is a colorful display in the sky that surprises me every time.

Today after I admired the western sky, I turned to the east and there was the almost full moon, a beautiful peachy-pink.

Which means I spent the rest of the dog's walk humming "Pink Moon."  :)

I think I will miss the city a little bit after all.  I'm excited to be starting a new chapter in my life down in Florida, for many reasons, but Maryland is home, and I took some pride in being a Baltimorean.

"Pink Moon" by Nick Drake

Focus on your ability!

I'm currently obsessed with this song by Foster The People.  I got the album "Torches" while in Florida to play while driving around in the convertible.  Unfortunately Dan didn't particularly care for the album aside from "Pumped Up Kicks".  (I loved that song last summer but I've been kind of done with it for a while now.)

I didn't agree with Dan;  I enjoyed the CD a lot, especially the track "Helena Beat" and this one, "Houdini."  It in fact may be contributing to my insomnia because it's so catchy that it's hard to remove it from the replay in my head.

Enjoy, and sweet dreams!  Hehehe.

Last Week In Florida!

Dan's busy week at Microsoft TechEd began.  My lazy week doing absolutely nothing began as well!  I spent my days reading, surfing the very slow internet, trying to get in touch with my kids in Atlanta and lounging by the pool.  The days were hot and sunny, but every afternoon a storm rolled in (usually while I was at the pool), rained for an hour or so, and then rolled out, leaving the air cooler and less humid.  In those evenings Dan and I enjoyed the convertible very much!

On one of those evenings we decided spur-of-the-moment to go over to Downtown Disney.  I had avoided going there because I figured it was basically just another way for Disney to take my money, but hey -- there was free parking, and we had already eaten dinner, so I thought it would be interesting just to see the place.  Turned out I really enjoyed myself.

Dan on the bridge between Pleasure Island and West Side

On calmer evenings this balloon apparently takes people on rides.  Tonight, the winds were too high, so
it remained safely on the ground.

Do people who live in Florida still notice the sunsets?

A service dog trying on apparel in the Harley Davidson store.

Sunset and palm trees

We sat for a while and watched a dance party going on beside the water.  My girls would have loved it --
and if they had been there, I would have had a good excuse to join in!

We splurged and had a brownie sundae at the Ghirardelli chocolate shop.  The staff was working furiously churning out tasty treats.

On Thursday evening we went to the TechEd closing party.  They rented out Universal Islands of Adventure for us, so basically they kicked the regular public out of the park at 6:00 pm and bused us in at 7:30.  :)  Of course it began to rain in the afternoon and was still raining when we walked down to the bus.

Saw this guy on the way to the bus.

Here's me on the bus laughing at the people who had to wait in the rain for the next bus.  This was after WE had to wait in the rain for the bus, so you can see I'm a little bedraggled.

When we arrived at the park (a little late because our bus driver took "the scenic route") the rain had stopped.  We got free ponchos in case it started up again (it didn't).  All the food and drink in the park was free, too.  Pretty cool!

After grabbing dinner we decided to ride this Jurassic Park prehistoric ride of some sort, but only after we had waited in line for like 40 minutes did we find out the ride was having mechanical difficulties.  D'oh, way to waste time.

So we left Jurassic Park and went to Hogsmeade.  Where we waited in line again for like 45 minutes to get into the main Harry Potter ride.  Here we are in line, looking up at the towers of Hogwarts.

The Sorting Hat

The ride was fun, but by the time we got out, it was already like 10 pm.  I thought having the park to ourselves for four and a half hours would mean we just sailed through all the rides, but nope.

However we got free food and drinks, did I mention that??  Here we are enjoying Butterbeer.  (No real beer involved.)

Frozen Butterbeer, Butterbeer on the rocks, and pumpkin juice.  We brought the pumpkin juice home for the kids so I cannot speak yet as to how it tastes.  :)

After we wandered through the rest of the park, we rode one more ride (and we had to wait in line for 20-30 minutes for that one too).  It was the Hulk roller coaster, and it was pretty awesome.  By the time we were done, the party was nearly over, so we listened to the band that was playing, and then we caught the bus back to the hotel.

Friday it was time to leave.  :(

Before our flight out, Dan stopped to visit colleagues at the Florida Conference office.  We went out with them to a tasty Mexican lunch.

At Orlando airport, this little guy was going through security behind us.

We had to switch planes in Fort Lauderdale, and then home (by way of Philadelphia).  One more beautiful sunset to round off a great vacation!