This morning, after that beautiful sunrise, I came home and was kind of wanting to run out to Walmart, for some hand soap, and a few odds and ends. I was in the bathroom and looked down and saw a huge bunch of ants in one corner of the door frame. I looked closer and saw that there was a 1/2” hole where the tile met the threshold, that was not caulked. I watched the ants run up and down that hole. I had ant killer for outside, but nothing for inside the house. Needless to say, I was off pretty quickly to Walmart to pick up ant killer and a few other things. Tonight, no ants! Yay! Mission accomplished.

Which leads me to the issue of bugs in Florida. MAN. They have sum ginormous bugs. Locusts, real locusts. Big grasshopper things. You don’t think about stepping on one, they are so big. Eww. Squishy mess. Cockroaches, they are also ginormous. I have not seen one alive, thank God. But dang…..they are scary.

These are offset though by the cute little lizards that run around everywhere. You can’t leave your door open while you run out to your car, because they’ll run right in. Not that they do any damage. But they eat a lot of bugs outside. They are cute, like little geckos. Everyone

I think I’m down to one box left, that is not Christmas or jewelry making stuff. I unpacked pictures today, and boy did I miss my son. I can’t wait til he comes to see me in January. I have to decide where to put all the family pictures. In fact, I have to figure out where to put all my artwork. Mostly things my sister has painted, but some of them are large paintings. And the Georgia O’keefe Lake George print. It was over my bed in my old house, but can’t go there in this house. It’s a big print, so will require some thought.

It’s so nice to not be working. Just so nice. To not have to go to work every day. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t really started a new routine, but I certainly don’t have my old routine either. I’m trying to make the sunrise into part of my routine, it does me a lot of good to start the day that way. It’s really nice to need something at the store, and just go. And it’s even nicer that everywhere I need to go is within 5 miles of my house. Nice that drinks are so cheap at the bar too.

I talked to my “going-out partner” at home tonight. She moved the same week I did. She only moved to another town in CT, but she had tons more to move. Both her adult daughters live with her. But boy did we have some moving stories to compare. I know she’ll be down to see me this winter. I do miss my friends. That’s the hardest thing about moving.

I like it here, it’s the lifestyle I love. It’s a town of old hippies, very laid back. Artistic, creative, writers. Weather that allows flip-flops and shorts year round. I have 4 pairs of jeans for long pants. Hoping I don’t need them. I’m not crazy about 100° humid heat, but I love the balmy nights that come with them, when you can sit outside and sip on a glass of wine into the wee hours of the morning.

And of course, being so close to the ocean is my life long dream. I always felt the ocean was my second home. I’m far enough from it that I’m not in the flood plain, close enough to walk there if I wanted. Pretty nice. 🙂

Love and light, everyone.

I went out with my friend tonight to St. Pete Beach (the real high rent district) and watched her and about a dozen other people get up and sing karaoke tonight. We were seated at a piano bar, a bar in the shape of a piano. And where the keyboard is there was a guy named Ron, who ran all the karaoke equipment and also played the sax with some of the people who sang.

I did not sing. I do not sing, lol. But then again, some of the people who sang, do not sing, lol. I just thought wow, that is awesome that they have the guts to try it, to do it, even if they can’t carry a tune for the life of them. I thought, what if they think they can do it, but get up there and can’t? I would be afraid of that. Putting my name on the list of singers, and then when I got up there not being able to sing, or whispering, lol.

I’ve had that feeling once or twice in my life, thinking I could do something  and then found out at the 11th hour that I cannot.  There are things I know I can do, things I think I can do but when push comes to shove, find out I can’t, and things I can’t do, and know I can’t.  Singing in front of a bunch of people is definitely one of those things I can’t do.

It started thunderstorming while we were there. We were right by the water, and there was quite the electrical storm going on. It absolutely poured for about 15 minutes. But by the time we left at about 10, it was over, and seemed to have cooled down considerably. It was 98 in my car when I went to pick my friend up at 5. Crazy hot.

I’m home, and going to bed. It was fun, it was good to get out of the house. Better yet, we bought drinks during happy hour, so two drinks cost us each $5. Total. Crazy cheap.

Love and light, all.

Best nights sleep since I’ve been here. Fell asleep easily, slept through the night. I got about 7 hours of sleep. Feels so good. Especially after the nightmares of the previous night, which had me in a subdued mood all day yesterday.  I was a little homesick yesterday, but this morning feeling better about it.  Back to the bigger picture, and know my friends will be down here to see me.

Today I’m heading to Home Depot for garbage cans, and to price up some windows for my house. I have to replace about 5 of them. The rest of the day will be more unpacking. I think I can clear out my kitchen today. At least that’s the goal.

I think I’m going to Bill’s Clam Shack with my friend tonight. She’ll sing, I will buy one glass of wine, which is so remarkably cheap down here, compared to CT, because the taxes on alcohol are so much lower. That will be fun. I need to get out, and meet people, and my friend knows people everywhere we go.

I’ve never lived in an area that has major league sports teams, but Tampa, which is about 10 miles away had a lot of them. Today is the home opener for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and OMG, it’s all I hear about if I turn on the local news, lol. My son has the same experience with Denver, and the Broncos. Probably even more so there. Different experience.

I think I’ll get dressed and head down to the water again. I so love watching the sun come up, it starts my day in such a good place. It’s also nice to walk in the early morning. It’s not so hot, and I’ve lost a couple pounds since I’ve been here. If I could lose 8 or 10 more I’d be where I want to be.

Life is good. Love and light.

I took a day off today from unpacking. Maybe I should not have because tonight I wish I’d gotten something done. But there were some big tag sales, and then it was free admission day at some of the great museums in the area.

There was nothing at the tag sales. I can’t buy anything, I have too much stuff to unpack. I told my friend, that “this whole place looks like my house.” It did.

Then we went to the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts. It’s a lovely museum with Monets, Georgia O’keefes, a lot of antiquities. We only walked through half of it. I was on sensory overload after half. We went back to the car to find a $35 parking ticket. Apparently we were in a “loading zone” where the parking is limited. But the signage was quite confusing. We’d seen the sign and thought it refered to the area ahead of us which was a driveway. Not the carefully painted out parking place that we parked in. So much for a free day, lol.

We rode through the arts section of St. Pete to get there. It is pretty, somewhat upscale, and there are many galleries, one of which my friend is signed up with to show her paintings. The museum is right on the harbor, a beautiful park like setting. I was glad to go, and I drove. To learn my way around a little bit more.

My friend wanted me to swim with her in her complexes pool, but she goes for 2 hours. I would have gone for 10 or 15 minutes, but not two hours, despite the fact it was 94° on my cars thermometer. So I dropped her off and came home. Have had a glass of wine, some snacks, and will be making dinner shortly.

I’ve considered going to the pier to watch the sun set over St. Pete beach, but am opting out of it. Not tonight. I am needing to find some peace in my own space at the moment. There is a bit of reality setting in here, that even though this is where I want to be, this is how I want to live, I can’t go back. I can only go on in the direction I’ve set out for myself. Tonight, I am missing my old peeps though. Wishing my sister were down here. Missing parts of my old life.

There’s some adjustment, it’s not all easy. That’s all.

I’m kind of wondering if I’ll ever be completely moved in. I suppose I will, but it feels endless right now. Not complaining, really, just worn out.

Day before yesterday, I found the lamps that go on my nightstands. I plugged them in, they did not work. I switched outlets, I flicked switches, and finally brought in another lamp that worked in another room and found that it would not work either.

In my bathroom, there’s a light over the bathroom sink that was missing a bulb. I got bulbs today, and put one in and it went on. There are 2 light switches in the teeny bathroom, and neither of them turn the light out.

I guess I need an electrician.

Back to the bathroom. The hot and cold water are reversed. And there’s a leak in the drain under the sink. I haven’t gotten down on the floor to check out the leak yet. But the hot and cold water, I am pretty sure I’ll need a plumber for that.

I bought groceries today, for the first time. It’s nice to have more than a yogurt and a frozen pizza in the fridge. I also bought all that stuff I needed, like a new shower head. Yesterday I went to take my first shower here, and there was no pressure in the shower head. I walked away from it for a moment, and it shot off the wall, across the tub. Glad I was not in there for that. I think it would have hurt. Anyway, so I bought one, and a bunch of other odds and ends. Light bulbs, nails, hooks, stuff….

When I got home I put in the new shower head. Pretty simple thing to do actually. But it leaks slightly, I was advised to put some teflon tape around the threads and it will stop. I got one of those poles that goes in the corner of the tub, and has shelves on it for shampoo, etc. I put it together this afternoon. So my shower is now at least working.

And then I unpacked 3 ginormous boxes of kitchen stuff. I guess I’m beginning to see daylight in there. But boy am I tired tonight. Gonna be an early night for me. Tomorrow I’m going to some huge tag sale, and see if I can find a few of the things I need for my house. Kitchen table, deck furniture, bed frame for my guest room.

Right now all I want to do is sleep. I gotta say it is so nice to have autumn show up, and not be fearing the friggin frozen winters of New England.

Love and light.