One week in Florida

We arrived at Sunrise Resort one week ago.  We have one week left here.  Today it is supposed to be 71 degrees--this is the Florida weather we have been waiting for!  Up to this point, we have worn our lightweight winter jackets.    

 In our retirement, our lives are like being on vacation at home or here.  In some ways, this is more stressful because we have to figure out meals and what to get at the grocery store, how to run the washing machine, and maybe most puzzling, how to get the TVs to find the sports we want to watch.  But we are coping.  

My best moments have been going down to the bay mid-afternoon and sitting in the sunshine and just thinking "This is enough."  I don't have to exercise, or read a worthwhile book, or fix a meal.  I can just sit and look out at the shimmering water and listen to the seagulls and feel the sun on my face.  I have pulled out my phone and read through Sacred Space and felt thankful!

Other good moments have been getting our tropical drinks--at the tiki bar at Tradewinds, at Agave, and last night at a restaurant in Pass-a-Grille.  Our first choice, the Brass Monkey, was closed on Wednesdays.  Why Wednesdays?  We were disappointed but went next door and had a great meal of a crabcake melt for me and a large burger for Jim.  With a margarita and a mango colada we were happy--and we had a front row seat for the sunset over the Gulf.  

We are praying for friends this week who have undergone surgery.  One is the son of friends, a three month old baby who had his first plastic surgery yesterday to correct a cleft palate.  His grandmother sent me a video of him sucking on his bottle post-surgery and it was beautiful!  The other one is a friend of many years who is having serious surgery in Philadelphia today.  We are praying for his safety and his recovery afterwards and for his family as they wait for the results.  

January 19  We made our annual trip to John's Pass and the Pirate's Pub where we get Shock Top beers and a lobster roll for me (market price at $23.95!) and a hot dog for Jim (cheap date at $4.50!).  It is lovely sitting along the bay watching boats come and go.  We missed seeing the dolphins this time but were entertained by the middle-aged gentlemen (I use the term loosely) next to us who were ordering beer after beer and whose language was full of one four letter word used as a noun, verb, adjective or interjection. 

We made another almost daily trip to Publix on our way back to the condo and now we are all set for bread and cheese and fruit for supper and more milk and cereal for breakfast.