House Arrest

My neighbors think I'm some kind of strange voyeur - I'm sure of it at this point.  If this were a small town, I could almost hear them talking about me:

"There's that weird lady who used to walk her dog every day and sometimes sing or laugh out loud.  I wonder why she stopped?  Why does she stand and watch out the window instead?"

Well, how does one explain to neighbors one has never met that she's not spying on them?

Just now, I let Jack outside after he came and whimpered to me at my computer (as he so often does these days).  His face is so sad.  "Mommy, are we ever going to walk outside again?"

So I stood at the back glass door and watched the activity several houses down our block.  I've never met them either (much less the ones right next door), but this particular group is fascinating.

There are small and middle-sized children in this family, and they have some sort of (artificial, I'm guessing) ice-skating rink in their back yard that provides frequent activity.  This particular morning, an adult, all bundled up, appears to be raking leaves in that same back yard, while several children skate and a large gray dog meanders around.

I just had to jump up and bring Jack inside, because he was barking - probably wanting to join them.  I want to join them too, but I'm under "house arrest" today - Stu's rules - and he's right.  My Weather Channel link on my desktop computer indicates it's between 29 and 31 degrees out there, and it feels like between 20 and 24 degrees.  One can only assume that's wind related.  Avon Park FL shows 70, but I'm not there.

It doesn't do any good to be angry about a virus that hangs on relentlessly for more than 18 days in some form or fashion.  I must choose instead to be grateful for at least two weeks of temporary work in an office, and the dear friend that's responsible for that, starting tomorrow.

But I want to be outside playing today!  I don't care how cold it is!  I promise I'll bundle up!  The sun and blue sky are so pretty and there are other living creatures out there!

It's really hard to be middle-aged and know that the very act of throwing a tantrum is liable to cause yet another relapse.  It really is.

My Other Blog

If you like the rantings in "Discovering Life's Value," you might also enjoy or appreciate my new blog called "The Message Medium."

The posts there are much shorter and less rant-like and intended for a broader audience.

Check it out at http://themessagemedium.blogspot.com/

No, I don't miss Florida (much)

It's January, that magical time of year when almost anyone with a lot of money has the good common sense to run away from the snow and ice.  Who in the world runs TOWARD the snow and ice?

Well, there are a couple of St. Louisans who did something really financially silly in 2009.  They bought a bed and breakfast in central Florida (not coastal Florida, mind you, and there is a difference) from a couple of con artists from the UK, who made it clear they were returning to the UK.  They cited missing family as their reason for return, and yet, they admitted to having no children and "interesting" relationships with what family they did have.

Without even pretending to give a          about the British couple who pretended successfully to be our "new best friends" for just long enough to sell us a beautiful old house and a completely worthless business, I must say now that naivete is definitely in the eyes of the one holding the money at the end.

A year ago, we had just adopted the beautiful dog named Dixie shown in the photograph above.  Although we thought at the time that we were in a great position to be a two-dog household, little did we know that the real fun had just begun.  We actually still thought we might remain in Highlands County Florida for life, although we knew we were going to sell the old energy-inefficient house ASAP.

About the time (March of 2012) that we realized we should probably consider moving back to St. Louis where I knew people who could help me get a real full-time job, Stu did in fact get - of all things - a real, full-time job in Highlands County.  He deserved it, and he did a great job at it for over four months.

I'm still scratching my head over what made me think that moving back to St. Louis MO would magically provide me that wonderful job including health insurance that would allow me to support Stu and myself.  I've always been the one who said "you can't escape from what's in your own head by moving around" and yet... well, duh.

I'm still also wondering what made me give up such a sweet dog after only 4 1/2 months.  I realize in retrospect that her acting out that particular week had more to do with my working all day four days (away from her) while Stu was already gone all day five days each week.  So she tore up a couple of cloth shopping bags that were on the counter in the laundry room "out of her reach" (NOT).  So she dug a few more holes in the yard, one of them right underneath an airconditioning unit, almost unseating it.  So she ate one of Stu's good work shoes.  I get it all now.

But in the interest of fairness, let's play the old "what do we miss back in..." game and get it out of my system, at least for now.

I miss:

Dixie.  I may never stop missing that dog, even though I know she would HATE the cold weather here with her very short fur.

Taqueria Merlo and their authentic Mexican food at ridiculously low prices.

My dear friend Vicky, always walking distance away, even over rocks in flip-flops.  Also, her husband Mark and their beagle Xena.

My other dear friend Judy and her husband Burt.  Judy was farther away than walking distance in Avon Park Lakes, but she made it clear she was ALWAYS available if I needed her.  That's a true friend.

Shuffleboard.  They simply do not do court shuffleboard here in Missouri.  Apparently we are not far enough north (unlike MI and OH) to have the snowbird summer demand for it.

All my friends at Avon Park and Sebring Shuffleboard.  I keep in email and Facebook touch with more than a few of these, but it's not the same as being there.

Revenue from sales of avocados one at a time for $1 from the trees in our back yard.  We actually did go out to eat numerous times from our unreported and therefore untaxed revenue.  No numbers, though.

Other retired and unemployed people who had time to talk, to listen, to CARE and who weren't dependent on a million different smart gadgets to entertain them.

11 From Two Homes To One

They say that every cloud has a silver lining.  My firing from a semi-abusive job environment, once I recovered from the initial shock, definitely had its bright side.

After Stu had lost his job in March of 2009, we almost immediately put our villa up for sale.  It was a very nice new construction condo unit in the center of what I called a three-plex on the property where he had worked for seven years.

When we chose our second home, we had many dreams for the future, including retiring and living in that community with many of the people we had come to know and love during his time working there.  So, as I always say, if you’re gonna dream, you might as well dream big.

We chose a really prime lot right on the golf course with a deck overlooking it.  We paid a little more for this location, but we really loved it.   It was the floor plan that we wanted, and we got to choose all the interior fixtures, cabinets, flooring, etc. ourselves.  It was such fun feathering our little “love nest” with some really nice upscale furniture.

We also had lots of “toys” out there, including some items that were nicer than those at our real (larger) home closer to civilization.  One of our favorite toys was our golf cart, a beautiful dark blue metallic vehicle which we personalized with our initials SMC and MRC on the front using decals.

As I recall, Stu had gotten a deal he couldn’t pass up on this particular cart due to his relationship through his job with the golf course company.  It was lots of fun to go flying around the course in our little blue buggy with our golf clubs in the back and waving to everyone we knew out there.  That, for me, plus my beautiful pink and purple golf clubs, were the highlights of my brief golf career.

While it was sad to have to say goodbye to our sweet, well-appointed little home that didn’t smell like teenage sweat and animal accidents, we knew it was an economic necessity.  Stu also felt some degree of disappointment over his job loss, plus there were a very few people living there that never liked us anyway, apparently.

During the brief period of my employment in the summer of 2009, we got the sought-after offer on our villa, with a closing date at the end of July.