The transition from being on the road back to being at home, has always been a hard one for me. Since our move to Florida though, it’s a little less difficult because Emma, Claire & Sara are at the end of the rainbow which also includes not being snowed in freezing cold for the upcoming winter months. So, here are bits & pieces of the last eight weeks since I’ve been back.
I vowed that I would make a point to dress in the clothes I wore to the wedding & not let them just sit in my closet to never been seen again. And with that intent, the girls got on the crazy train & the four of us, looking very pretty & handsome, went out to a local hot dog & ice cream place one night for dinner. #dressupdineout
I’d been putting off this surgery since a couple of days before I left on my summer trip. No I wasn’t willing to postpone the whole summer before having Moh’s surgery done on my sun damaged nose. And, so I got it done; it went well; lucky they found it & it didn’t spread while I was out having a great time exploring the west (not ever, ever, ever in the sun). I had the girls decorate my bandage since it was sooooo obvious right in the middle of my face. They did a good job & so did my surgeon!
The worst thing to happen during this time frame was that we had to make the hard decision to let our Bob-kitty go. His health had been deteriorating all summer long & Danny had done his best to change the inevitable.
But as he got worse, we knew there was no more we could do. Danny postponed his trip to the lake & we made one last visit to the vet. These times are brutal. We have now lost both of our cats, & find ourselves for the first time in our lives, without a pet. I know this gives us a type of freedom we didn’t have before, but the heartbreak & missing our sweet kitties is huge. Huge. Bob was a one of a kind, very cool cat. We miss him everyday.
I have the girls once a week when they get out of school early & we’re always having fun. It’s never long enough though, because between all the homework they have (it’s a lot), two softball practices & 1 game a week for Claire & a soccer practice & a Saturday game for Emma, not as much time for fun as this Gki would like…but we make do.
Anyone who knows me well, knows my fave holiday is Halloween. I thought mid September was too early to decorate (it’s really more I thought OTHER people would think it’s too early) but when one, then two of my neighbors decorated for Halloween, I felt like it was OK. So, the girls & I planned a Halloween party for a day after school when I had them….YAY!
They dressed in last years Halloween pjs (my tradition to give them a pair every Halloween) & came ready to eat & with ideas to decorate our little house.
I made Mummy pumpkin handpies which were a hit.
Then we dove into the Halloween decorations & lit up the place…inside & out!
A few nights later, my fave cocktail bar was ready to party…spooky style!
And yummy scary cocktails too!
A friend sent this to me & said “This made me think of you”. Yep…that’s me.
And then came the Fall Equinox. I’ve celebrated this once before when the girls were much younger, but Claire remembered & asked to do it again. And so we did….complete with food, head wreaths we made, ceremonies & celebrations!
All three of my Florida girls are Swifts & they’ve made me one too. So, I treated them all to the Taylor Swift movie showing of her new album….of course they already knew the lyrics. We had a good time preparing & at the theatre. It was fairly empty so we got to all get up & dance in the aisles. I love making these kind of memories!
As everyday since this administration took over, there’s always political turmoil. But, Florida politics are it’s own kind of crazy. Slimey, creepy, sneaky people do wrong things in the middle of the night because they are trying to get away with something under the cover of dark & while most people are sleeping. This administration has tried to pass bills late at night, hauled off people they “just believe” to be wrong & fly them out of the country, etc. hoping no one would notice. And our idiotic governor desantis—a trump wanna be & ass kisser is just like all the republicans in office right now. So, late at night, he had the rainbow colored Pulse Club memorial crosswalk painted over in white…did he think no one would be upset or notice? He didn’t even let our city Mayor know.-
And early the next morning when it was noticed, people were out there with sidewalk chalk repainting the crossing. Then desantis (not the mayor) sent street cleaners to wash it away. As soon as they left, more people came with chalk. And, it’s still going on. They don’t want to forget the 49 people murdered or the 53 injured. They will never forget. Now they have a police officer stationed nearby to protect the ‘whiteness’ of the crosswalk. Yet, still, people are chalking it up.
And now as I write this, our government is shut down. All the republicans left town for a two week to vacation (except the VP….we’ve been paying for him to take an awesome vacation every month since he’s been in office) & finger point & keep causing world chaos. While trying to plan a camping trip this weekend for me & Danny, this is what’s posted on the National Forests home page:
I call bullshit. They are bullies & I wouldn’t agree to anything to they “promise” in the future, as they are known to be liars, law breakers & never to be trusted.
Very grateful for this neighborhood lake to stroll to & around to watch the sunsets at night. Looking for peace during these chaotic times & nature is always a good thing.
Danny is noticeably gone during this time. He took a month long trip to his family’s lake house in the Ozarks to work, work, work & rest a bit. It’s his happy place. We all missed him a lot.
Check back in early November on the trips 2025 page because another trip is on the books for the year!
Peace to all.