A first busy week in Florida

(Reading in email? Sorry, the formatting is off and may not work at all)

A new place:

I arrived Friday afternoon to find my one bedroom casita to not be ready. It’s been renovated, yet many obvious things hadn’t been done. For example, exposed electrical on every wall, layers of mud, broken AC, years of crud in various spots and an army of spiders. Just to mention a few problems. This in addition to the setup related stuff you’d have in a new house.

The good news is that the landlord has been good to work with and took care of the critical stuff quickly. Yet, I’m also having to do a lot of the work myself. This isn’t entirely negative as I wanted a place that would let me make changes without hassle. Like a large dog door. Plus, it will help me stay active.

There is of course an element of change. Moving from Nimitz to a far more affordable casita is going to be a shock. Which is ok, I was expecting that. Testing my flexibility is part of the plan. In the end, this little place will serve my needs while saving a considerable amount of money. Money I hope to spend on travel expenses.

I’ve also been living without stuff. The container with my furniture and everything arrived Thursday. So I’ve spent the week with an air mattress as my only piece of furniture.

An old place:

When I arrived Friday. Nimitz went on the market to be sold. It took a LOT of work to downsize and get it ready. But it looks really good. So good that I had an offer on it within 24 hrs for near asking. Because of the fear of a turning market and seeing similar houses having to drop in price, I accepted it. It’s now in escrow and one of the tricky things of the week. Doing most of it on my phone as I didn’t have internet yet.

A moon shot:

I have spent a little bit of time exploring. Went out to the Ponce De Leon inlet to (not) watch the Artemis I launch. Unlike a few miles south it had a lot of people, yet was not mobbed. I took a nice walk around and it wasn’t even hot until the end. I’ll probably go to the same spot for the next try tomorrow. Tickets for an up close viewing aren’t possible to get, but I’ll do that for some future launch.

How are we doing?

Change brings a lot of emotions. But I’m actually doing fairly well in all. I can feel some of the pains of the last few years mellowing and I’m excited for the new. There is adjustment and I don’t really know anyone here so that may lead to some down feelings.

Cinnamon is settling in and seems to be less anxious as routine develops. Although there are moments when there is unquestionably cognitive decline. All the new things to sniff and explore though do seem to make her happy though. I think the lack of stairs is helping as well.

This next week I should have my place setup and I plan to sit still a good amount. August was a LOT in many ways. Additionally, I think one of my first adventures here will be kayaking. Probably at first with a tour as there are dangers I’m unfamiliar with. Alligators and river currents.

Thanks for reading! 🙂