WINDY FRIDAY

[Colliemom]

Good morning everybody,

Going to be a windy day here in Northern Michigan. Windy advisory in effect for gusts of 45-50 again. I'm sure that any trees weakened by the last big wind storm will come tumbling down. Had some light snow around here yesterday, more in the line of snow showers than anything else. Cold this morning, only mid 20's. My dogs outside water bowl was frozen solid.

I'm up and moving this morning. Have to report to the Michigan Works office at 8:30 for an orientation session to a job help program. Supposed to tell us how we can better look for work and how to present ourselves better. Not that I need it, cause I my age, been there, done that, but it's mandatory and I figure you can always learn something. Hard to present yourself better when there are no jobs to present yourself to. I got a letter from the state yesterday informing me about the expiring unemployment benefits (federal) and if they aren't renewed, my unemployment will be over around latter part of January. So I'm looking for a little part time something for the winter months. Easier said than done.

Kitchen project is coming along nicely. Time to paint now. Just one minor little touch up spot with some mud, and that's it. Might get the first coat on part of it today. See what I feel like when I get home later on.

Soos, was nice chatting with you last night on chat. When I asked you if you were enjoying FL after all you went through to get there and you said you rholding your tongue for now, it got me to thinking. You've been through a lot these past few weeks, driving down there, getting set up, running back and forth to your house, getting messed up with the airport, unpacking and putting away etc. So you really haven't had time to just kick back and get into a "retirement" mood yet. Time to enjoy your surroundings and explore FL more.
You did make a remark that you don't like all the crowds, the traffic, the car exhaust etc.
You are a Woodswomen, an independent women living in th mountains, used to the peace, quiet and beauty tat surrounds you there. You built your leanto, haul in your own wood and try to live simply, canoe, and walk the woods trails etc.. When you were making your plans to head south for winter, packing and so forth, indecisions began to filter in.. You were leaving familiar things and hading off into an unknown thing. And your heart wasn't sure it wanted this. You went through trial and tribulation and made it. And now are trying to adjust to the change. All of us, myself included have asked how your are doing, are you enjoying it etc. You cannot answer.

Only after this winter, after your house is the way you want it and your have had time to sxplore FL more, the day will come when you will jouney home to your beloved mountains, enjoying the peace and beauty once again, walking in the woods and getting back to the life you enjoy. As the summer goes on, you will look back on this winter and only then will you be able to answer our question, "did you enjoy it and are you going back?" Your heart will know the answer.

[Nasoosie]

GOOD MORNING SUE AND ALL!

Thank you so much for expressing exactly the feelings I am experiencing here in the bustling south! It is very hard to know yet, as you have said, how I feel about being down here for the winter. I keep the pros and cons in my mind, and sometimes the pro list wins out, and sometimes the con llist. I truly miss my mountain home, and, as I had never spent a winter there without having to leave each day in the dark for work and come home in the dark only to have to get the house warmed up for the night so I could do the same thing the next day, I really don't know if I would have liked another winter there, or not. I love snow, when I don't have to rush and shovel and sweep and defrost, and shovel out the woodpile to bring in the never-ending supply of firewood. I will miss cross-country skiing. A deep, dark depression settled in on me last winter, however, as I realized that all I was living for was basically living alone like a hermit, keeping me and Molly warm. I had no time to get outside with anyone, or socialize in any way other than my school job. The faculty there is mostly young people with their own busy families, leaving no time to spend with a weird woodswoman in her own element! They are all wonderful people, and I loved commisserating with them at school, and joking and laughing, etc. But I was miserably lonely at home, no doubt about it.

At home, I can drive for miles on familiar roads without seeing a single other car. Down here, the highways are always packed, mostly bumper-to-bumper, all the routes are still strange to me, so I have no time to relax and just kick back and drive as I have to be on the lookout for my cues as to where to turn next. There are thousands of traffic lights, (very well laid out and programmed, however----a real plus in my mind for the FL highway system) and tons of turns and routes from which to choose. I am most at ease on the back roads down here, with just two lanes, one each way, and little communities rather than the humongous shopping mall layouts and the tolls and the restaurants and the touristy things on the main highways.

Down here I can ride my bike along the shorefront of East Lake Toho, and walk Molly there where dogs are very welcome. There are people there each day, pushing baby strollers, walking dogs, and jogging....all very friendly and it's fun to stop and talk with a real person! The beachfront there has the whitest, softest sand I have ever felt at a beach, and the water, though very low down due to the drought down here, is beautifully clear. I will look forward to going swimming there. The back roads of St. Cloud are very friendly, laid out in an organized pattern, and have tons of large (for my truck) free parking spaces. I have found one second hand clothing/furniture store where I know I will be getting any new clothes I might need---big name brands for cheap (5.99 per pair) jeans and shorts and shirts. This little town is very family oriented, full of polite, helpful people, and makes me happy when I get to interact with them.

It is also beautiful at my own southern house in the more touristy-oriented area of the Sea World area of Orlando. I have a beautiful pond where I can canoe and explore older FL rivers and creeks. I also have a community swimming pool there, a jacouzzi, a clubhouse where events are always going on, tennis courts, and more. Included in my monthly club fee is lawn care and garbage pickup.....no mowing or dump trips! I can also pedal my bike to the Publix grocery store there, and pedal around the smaller neighborhood.

And, best of all, I can be in touch with my son and future daughter-in-law----I love being able to see them and have fun with them.

I worry about my house back home, and hope it stays warm enough there with nobody feeding the woodstove all the time. I also hope I can afford the extra electricity it will take to keep the heaters running full-time. I have only two bills to pay there each month---electricity and heating fuel----but they are both very expensive. I guess they are cheaper than having to pay for a FL vacation, however! Time will tell, as you say.

Today is sunny, warm, and beautiful again. (I see by my taskbar thermometer set for my northern home that it is 25 degrees up there.)There are three sandhill cranes in the yard, squawking and doing a mating dance, blackbirds in the trees, some other little sparrow-like birds, crickets, resident snakes and tons of insects unknown as yet to me. This place is surrounded by beef cattle, all free with their babies suckling, roving around all day, making occassional lowing sounds which are soothing to hear. There is sometimes the smell of cow manure, but only rarely, when the wind is from a different direction, and I love that smell.

Time to get moving here and decide what is on the docket for today. I am hoping you all are having a good November, wherever you may be. Those of you on the road, be careful out there!

[AlmostThere]

G'morning!
Soos, good to hear a bit more on your new chapter in life. I can understand some of what you are experiencing. I went from a small town? of 300 in Illinois, to Alaska where we had basically one paved road (Spur Highway), and no stoplights. Altho the town in Alaska grew and we did get more stoplights and well known fast food and businesses started filtering in, it still was slow paced. Then in '01 when I moved here to SW Washington it was like someone dropped me in the middle of chaos! I hadn't driven on an interstate in 21 yrs, and to have the option of taking a dozen different routes to get to the same place boggled my mind (still does, kinda). I do appreciate not having to haul firewood, nor having the huge fuel oil bill or ice packed roads to navigate etc. I am lucky enough to be in a part of the country that is similar to Alaska in that I still have the ocean and mountains near. I can understand you missing your vistas of flora and fauna as FL is certainly vastly different.
Time, time is what is needed to adjust. I'm proud of all you've accomplished, Soos. You should be, too.

Today it's fairly cold out there, in the high 30s and now they are saying a chance of a few flakes come Monday. We'll see.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my DD who was on her way to work. She was asking me about helping my GD finish up her school project, which I have been a part of. We were making a cake that looks like a pyramid. It's due on Monday and my GD has basketball all weekend (a tournament), so it seemed I needed to get moving asap. So at 2pm I stopped by the grocery and picked up the frosting and headed up the interstate. (we made the cakes last week and froze them) I am no math wiz and cutting a cake to look like a pyramid was a challenge, but we did it and also got the frosting the color we wanted. We then mashed graham crackers to act as the sand to surround the pyramid, but kept them in plastic bags until Monday. I should have taken some pictures... Anyway, that's done!

I still need to read more posts and catch up to what's going on. Wishing everyone a safe, happy day!

[dayspring39]

Good Morning Sue and Soos and all others that are still to post... I so enjoyed reading both of your posts... I will say what happened to me after I got home last spring... I was mixed up on the seasons as I had not experienced true winter in Fl even though it was bitterly cold last year... but that is another thing to adjust to... Soos my place in McIntosh is very laid back and very little traffic it is a typical Florida town... you can even take your dog into the post office... there is no house delivery of mail only post office boxes... I truly like this place as it is actually quieter than Normal/Bloomington... however here I can go left and be in the country (corn fields) in less than a quarter of a mile... this is familiar Florida is yet to be explored...
I did get a few things done yesterday some laundry, DMV (stood there for 2 1/2 hours) but guess what I got it all done... am doing bedding now so it will be all clean... have yet to vacuum and clean out the frig... Tim is coming over to take the tv, computer, bose, dog food 40lb again, 3 drawer plastic cabinet all of my papers are in there... and other odds and ends... with any luck will be on the road by noon tomorrow... not etched in stone...
The sun is shining and I feel very good... guess the tooth thing is behind me... they wanted me to come back in today but am way to busy for that...
G M Lenora you came in while I was typing... have a super day... I sure would love to hear sometime about your time in AK...
Have a great day everyone...
Kathleen

[Readytogo]

Good morning everyone, its going to be a beautiful day here in Ala. Not much planned except dog has a grooming apt, and bookstore is in the same shopping center so Ill look around in there. Soos, I don't know you real well and can"t tell you what to do, but it sounds like there is much in Fl tou're really enjoying. You've just been busy settling in and anything new is a big adjustment. You're not giving up your beautiful mts. You can go back for part of the year and have the best of both worlds! Think of it that way! If Im not being too nosy, I missed the beginning of this. But how did you get a house in Fla anyway?Everyone have a great and safe day. Kathleen, are you coming through Al? Wendy

[dayspring39]

Wendy where in AL? That may be doable...
Kathleen

[BarbaraRose]

Good morning gals! Very foggy here today in SoCal. Supposed to rain all weekend. I hope my kitty finds a dry place to hang out (hopefully, someone's house). Will put up more flyers today further out.

Soos, I know how you are feeling too. This is a very busy area with tons of traffic, strip malls, highways, freeways, etc. I am used to a smaller town feel. I may eventually find another, quieter area to move to. But for now, it is home. Just have to drive to the rural areas to visit for now. Still want to get down to the ocean again. It just doesn't feel like California without the ocean to see, smell, hear, etc.

Got my first paycheck today! Just have to save my tips for the next week and a half to cover my rent. After that, I will be much better off financially when I am getting two checks per month. Hopefully, my hours will increase as well. They have me at 36 hours for next week, so that is really good! Hope it stays that way! Then I will be considered full time and will be eligable for health insurance. Also, still have to get my new driver's license, register my car, get new plates and CA insurance on it. Will do that next month when I have more money. I am sure the insurance is gonna go up quite a bit, from what I've heard. I know the the health insurance out here is almost twice what it was in MN.

Gonna go back to bed for awhile and then start printing up more flyers. Have a good day!

[Readytogo]

Hi Kathleen. Im in Birmingham. Sarah lives in Huntsville. I tried to send you a PM, but it kept saying no recipient. But my numbers are 205-854-0035 home and 205-276-5978 cell!

[Echo]

Hello Sistahs!!!

Yep it was windy here last night too. Gave the Bug House a little shaking. Poor Shade doesn't know what to do with the house wiggling and quivering under her feet. LOL At one point between Shade trotting down the hall and the wind blowing I kinda got that same slightly seasick queasy feeling i got during the earthquake this past spring in Blythe.

Soos? Why are you worried??? I have every confidence in you, that you will adapt and rule! You are so independent and free spirited that you will beat the nerves and whatever and beat it hands down. A do it yourself'er like you wont let it get the best of ya. You go girl, flex them muscles!!!

Suppose to get a storm moving thru the area on Sunday with a chance of snow. brrrrrrrr Low temp is suppose to be down to 17f. GADS Good thing we have 2 heaters, warm coats and lot of blankies. I still haven't trained Shade to lie on my feet to keep them warm.

Grrrrrrr, finally got the sewer line hooked up. The line coming out of the trailer is 3" and the hose and fitting I bought is like 2 3/4". Went back to where I bought it and that size is all I could find. That's the only size in town. So had to buy a roll of duct tape and tape the crap out of the fitting on the sewer hose to the fitting on the trailer. Sure looks high tech! Also discovered that the pvc pipe for the gray water is taped because it's broken. So will have to be fixing that. Yep, it's a daily adventure here! At least it worked! I didn't get a shower when I dumped my tanks yesterday. Now that is a BIG blessing. Sure did make me thing of Carolyn and Lotus tho!

I think it's gonna take us something like forever to get this place hoed out, sorted out, cleaned up and livable. We've been working on this place and about the time we have one thing cleaned, sorted and arranged the way we want? We have a mess in another space. Maybe we need to throw everything out the door and start all over again? Now that would be a whopping mess outside! (snicker, snicker)

But on a lighter, better note? We have a freezer, we are only 3 to 4 minutes from the grocery store and I am in heaven!!! I'm sitting here eating a bowl of ice cream. OH GOODNESS!!! I have been dreaming of bowls of ice cream. Mine, all mine!!!

Hope everyone is having a excellent day and staying safe while your at it!!!

Love to all

[Forestgal]

Echo, if it's getting that cold you need to think about how you're going to keep your pipes from freezing and bursting ...

I'm just saying ...

[Echo]

Doing the direct water thing. When it gets to cold in the next few nights I will be filling up a couple of jugs and taking the hose off and let drain. It got down to 17f or 15f up at the lodge while the trailer was unhooked and sitting in front of the park model. And I know nothing got 'drained' by the boss man.

All I can really do at this point is hope and pray like crazy!!!