Staycation

 You'd be smiling too if you just took a another step forward in becoming a permanent resident of Florida.

Actually, that smile belongs to this fish, believe it or not. It's called a sheepshead. We were forced to learn about this type of fish because one followed us for about an hour while we were swimming a few days ago. We had no idea it had human-like teeth. Wearing my snorkel mask, I came face to face with this innocent looking fish. I have no idea if it goes after humans. It doesn't matter though, after seeing that it has a great set of choppers, I'll know to keep my distance in future.

Yes, it looks like we'll be on a permanent staycation here in the incredibly hot right now, state of Florida.

All that waiting on phone calls and signatures that we've been doing determined our future here in the sunshine state. Our next move hinged on that one signature and today we all finally sat down and doodled our John Hancock.

To alleviate the stress of waiting we've been frequenting the beach. This is our favorite beach so far. It's in Pinellas County and has beautiful white sand but the first several feet out into the water is rocky and rough on the feet (water shoes are a must). If you have a hard time spotting this tranquil beach just...

look for this dazzling smile. Since moving to Florida, I've never seen Mi Miguel smile so genuinely big. You'll only see this sheepshead grin on Mi Miguel on a beach in Florida. He is home and he is happy.

Every time we go swimming I become more comfortable with the water. I can't believe how much learning to swim has changed my life. I don't hang out on the shore much anymore. If  you don't know how to swim, do yourself a favor and learn. 

We know we are both happy now in Florida. We know that we want to stay in Florida. But, our permanent staycation hinges now on the closing. We've signed a contract but now our next goal is the closing. 

If all goes as planned there will be lots of blogging about home renovating.

If things don't go as planned then there will be lots of blogging about shopping for a home. Either way, I'll blog more about it come Thursday. 

Until then, I'm going to keep perfecting my swimming. C'ya Thursday!

 

Florida: 10 Things I Love, Hate, Don't Understand

We've been here twenty-five days now. It's too soon to form opinions about Florida. But, I've pretty much made up my mind about a few things and there are some things that have me confused. Let's start with ten things that I love about Florida.

10. The cool breezy mornings and evenings
 9. The daily sunshine
 8. The abundance of seafood 
 7. The friendly people
 6. The happy vibe
 5. The moss covered trees
 4. The vibrant flowers
 3. The beautiful birds
 2. The wide array of opportunities
 1. The beach/ocean

Now the ten things I hate about Florida:

 
10. The heat
 9. The pop up, almost daily thunderstorms.
 8. The heat
 7. The LONG traffic lights
 6. The heat
 5. The mosquitoes
 4. The heat
 3. Sweet and sour grouper as a menu option.
 2. The heat
 1. The traffic

Ten things I don't understand about Florida:

10. U-turns in the middle of busy freeways
 9. The recessed bathtubs
 8. Sprinklers that water the road
 7. People bike riding in the heat of the day
 6. Charging folks to go to the beach
 5. The stores getting "Fall Merchandise"
 4. How the moss winds up in all the trees
 3. People feeding seagulls on the beach
 2. No one uses their backyard pool
 1. Obsession with "gated community"

While we continue to wait, Mi Miguel has his lemon tree and lime tree to tend to and they are both still alive. I believe they have grown an inch or so too. Who knew he had a bit of an horticultural thumb! 

I simply have a Brachydactyly Type D thumb and we'll just leave it at that.

The good news is that we may be able to empty one of our storage units soon. I miss some of my things but I learned quickly upon moving here that we sure don't "need" most of our things.

The bare necessities are good and a much easier way of life. It gives us so much more free time to enjoy other things rather than spending so much time cleaning things that aren't necessary in the first place. We now have time in the mornings to...

go for a walk/run and at least every other day we go to the beach to swim. 

We've found some pretty amazing things while swimming in the gulf. Mi Miguel found this really large shell. Even though we continue to be patient while waiting for a home, we both feel like moving to Florida has been a good thing. We both feel stronger, happier and closer than we ever have since our cabin days in Metropolis.

Visit my Florida Restaurants A-Z Facebook Page to read our review on Currents in Tarpon Springs, FL Next up is the letter D.

Exotic Backyard Birds

After being here three weeks we are loving it more and more here in the sunshine state. We don't have a home and all of our belongings are still in storage. Yet, it still amazes me that we are happier than we've ever been. The people here are so friendly, relaxed and kind. The neighbor lady brought me an African violet plant to welcome me to the community. I'm sure to kill it before it has a chance to call anyplace home. Until then, I will take any advice on how to keep it alive. Since my post last Thursday,we continue to patiently wait in this state of limbo, I'm using this time to acclimate myself to the weather and my surroundings. The variety of large birds in Florida fascinate me.

Indiana has cranes and heron. But the cranes and heron and other birds here in Florida aren't nearly as skittish as the ones in Indiana. I'm not sure what type of crane this is but I love the way he stands. He can stand like this for several minutes. I've often confused this type of bird for a lawn ornament. This is one of many unusual (to me) birds that I see every day outside "my" window. I say "my" window because Mi Miguel and I don't have a window or a home right now. So it's not actually "my" window.

I'm not sure what type of bird this is all white beauty is either. But, I do know that he is a crane and I can tell you that he doesn't like bread. In fact he scoffs at bread. I've learned that if you throw bread out for the birds you'll only attract crows and sea gulls.

This crane may be the same as the all white one above. He is much taller than the one pictured above. Every evening he flies to the same yard in hopes of the home owner will feed him. He also comes in every evening to her yard to do this...

play in the lawn sprinkler. He is a very lanky bird. Look at the way his neck curves when he walks...

isn't he gorgeous, almost swan-like. 

This may or may not be in the crane or heron family. When I first got here one or two would come across the lawn and poke their long skinny bills into the lawn. I have no idea what they are after. It seems to me they are an asset because they aerate the lawn for free. We started out with two but now four of them walk abreast in a line and vigorously poke holes in the lawn every morning. They lawn jab those long skinny bills clear to their eyes.

This little guy is a dandy to watch. He walks along the dock as if it is a balancing beam. He is very graceful. The feather on his head and on his tail can do amazing things when he is showing off his good looks. 

I caught a glimpse of this bird through the lanai window and thought he looked really peculiar. There is good reason why his bill looked odd. 

He had caught a fish that was almost too big for him to handle.

If you enlarge this photo you will see that he has a long stream of a feather growing out of the back of his head leaving it lay along his back. This too is a crane or heron, even though his legs are so short. He doesn't care for bread either.

Since my last post, Mi Miguel and I came across this peacock while taking a walk. He flew up on the neighbor's roof and then comfortably perched there; for the night I suppose.

I don't know anything about peacocks. I'm guessing he is sleeping up there to avoid predators like raccoons and dogs and so forth.

Last evening while Mi Miguel and I were relaxing on the lanai, I asked him if whooping cranes lived in Florida. He said he didn't know anything about whooping cranes. While googling, "Do Whooping Cranes Live In Florida" one landed across the water. So yes, Florida does have whooping cranes. It's not a good photo but it is a whooping crane.

As you can see, we are waiting patiently. Even though we don't have our belongings or a place to call home, we're content and enjoying the nature, the beaches and warm welcome we have received since moving here. 

I want to give a shout out to my husband for being a wonderful father to his children. I bought him a lemon tree and a lime tree for Father's Day yesterday. So let's watch and see if he can get them to grow. 

If you are following our Florida restaurants A-Z go to my Facebook page, Florida Warmth And Water. We went to our letter B restaurant. Check it out.

Florida By Nature

I'm not a botanist or a bearer of any kind of green thumb. But I'm pretty sure we can not naturally grow things like this anywhere in the Midwest. This is just one of many plants that I have discovered growing most everywhere here in Florida. I love walking around the neighborhood and absorbing the beauty of the trees, flowers, birds and insects. I haven't been on any trails yet because I'm still mesmerized by what I'm seeing in everyone's front yard. I'm hoping to have lots of native trees and plants in my yard...when I get a yard.

Mi Miguel promised me trees. I love Indiana and I love the four seasons. I especially love the oak and maple trees. It's what I grew up with, it's what I love. While this majestic Florida oak tree may never change colors, it does hold a strength and form of character that I've never seen in a Midwest oak tree. Let's not forget to mention the moss. Even though it eventually suffocates the tree, it's a sure indicator that it's a  southern tree.

One stem of Bird Of Paradise will cost you in any floral shop in the Midwest. It amazes me that they grow so vibrantly in parking lot landscaping and other unlikely places. We treat them so delicately up north when we purchase them in a bouquet. Who knew they should have been named, "Tough Old Bird Of Paradise." They take a beating with the daily storms tossing them around and critters constantly perching on them.

I've never seen a mango tree. Every day when we go for a walk I see one now. I want one. I want a mango tree and an...

avocado tree. I've met a lady that tells me she can help me grow both of them. If she follows through and accomplishes this for me, she will be my new best friend here in Florida.

There are lots of palm trees in the sunshine state. I had never noticed when visiting here, how many different types of palm trees there are. This one is my favorite. I love the blueish fronds. I think it's a Bismark palm, but I'm not sure.

The Coconut palm is not unusual to see on our walks.

The Royal palm is what we're all used to seeing. They're everywhere in this tropical state. 

Maybe someday I can have all the beautiful palms and plants of Florida growing in my front yard. But, first...

I must obtain a yard. I've been taunted the last ten days by all the ideas that keep popping into my head. I can put a palm in my yard, or an oak,or maybe both. But for now I'm content with learning the area, making new friends and patiently waiting to move forward with our lives.

In the meantime my sweet little potting bench sits in a storage warehouse serving no purpose at all. 

We started our alphabet restaurant journey. This evening we went to Amarit Thai Restaurant. Search for Florida Warmth and Water on Facebook for all the details of how our visit went. Leave me a comment letting me know where you like to go to eat here in Florida.