A New Chapter

There we were, settled into our lovely little homestead in Washington, and Kevin's company lost government funding, so Kevin had his contract terminated. So, after some months of searching,  he finally found a job to his liking,  completely across the country. We couldn't have gone any further.

After some months working in Florida,  Kevin started looking for a new home for us. This wasn't as hard as it would have been a decade before; the internet and skype let kevin share real-time showings of houses with me, so that i could also stay in WA and deal with selling up our properties there. So, it was with sadness that we found homes for our animals and birds and packed everything up for a cross-country trip to our new home.

Seven years later

We have been in Florida for just over 7 years now. It's been quite a change for us both. Kevin is almost retired, although he still has a few hours a week devoted to the *Italian Job*.

View from front door

The pool and deck

The back *garden*

We have just under 2 1/2 acres of countryside, with a well sorted, single story house, pool, and very large, air conditioned outbuilding with 2 offices as well as huge work area. The house is much smaller and even better, a single story, which is far easier for me to maintain that the 3 story one in Washington. With temps often in the 80-90's much of the year, the pool is a big plus.

We are in the middle of setting up a garden area for herbs and vegetables, and this year we are enjoying our first crop, Aubergines. I'm not good with plants, but luckily I'm married to an engineer. All the planters have drip systems an so far, everything is working well. We did have a bit of a disappointment earlier this year; we had planted tomatoes in January,  and they grew wonderfully. Then, the lovely big tomatoes, got hit by frost. Of course,  the plants died, but I did get to try, for the first time,  fried green tomatoes.  They didn't disappoint!

Sadly, the few hundred acres at the back of the property have been sold, and are currently under development. We planted a row of bamboo, and a privacy hedge of viburnum. While not a perfect solution, it will, hopefully, leave us some privacy. I really don't want to move again. 

Quarantine 2020 and covid 19

When I was little, I heard many stories of the hardships of war (WWII) from my parents. Both parents served in the Air Force; and they spoke of their fears of friends not returning from missions, dying alone abroad. I heard about the rationing,  during and after the war, and how everything changed. I didn't understand, I simply couldn't comprehend those things, only in part because I was a child, but mostly because it was not a lived experience. 

Today, I think I can understand a little better with the things they told us. Their enemies were more tangible than ours, and mostly on foreign shores, but just as scary. Our foe is in some ways more difficult, because it's not something we can negotiate or reason with, it "must" be fought and defeated if we want to survive. 

Just as the last great war changed my parent's generation's lives, this pandemic is changing ours. 

Hurricane Matthew

It's October 6th, and our first Autumn in Florida. We are expecting our first hurricane, and of course, it's the biggest they have seen in decades, it's building, and could possibly go from a 4 to a 5.

I am somewhat scared as I have seen news reports of what these hurricanes can do, and the devastation they bring. But, I'm also a little bit excited. I'm hoping to get video of it as it approaches and builds in intensity.

We were out getting gas a little while ago, for the generator and the car. If we lose power, we will have the generator, and if it gets bad, we can leave.

While we were there, the rain and wind started. There is a lull right now, but it's due to start picking up again in a couple of hours. It's supposed to get above 50 by 1 a.m. I don't think we'll be getting much sleep tonight.

Last beach trip in Washington (6/2015)

Last week the weather started to get hot. Here in the PNW, humidity often accompanies heat. So, since it was a weekend, what could be better than loading up the truck with sodas and dogs, and heading to the beach! It got up to 93º locally, but I don't think it got above 80º at the coast. What surprised met too, was that there were several degrees of difference between the actual beach, and the area before getting to the beach, on the other side of the dunes.

The dogs love these trips, but this was especially nice since Scruff also had some fun. The boat launch where we had been taking them, has very little room for her to run, and the launch area is covered with oyster shells which tear their feet up if they spend much time on them. The beach on the other hand, was just fabulous.

While it looks like the beach is empty, there were quite a few people there. I think they stayed out of our way though - these dogs are BIG and boisterous, and Kevin was really throwing that ball some distance!