Our trip to Dunedin yesterday started with a long, uneventful drive to Milwaukee. For some reason, Southwest Airlines charges an extra arm and leg when one wants to fly from a regional airport, so we rented a car and drove one-way to Milwaukee for far less than two tickets to fly Green Bay-Milwaukee would have cost us. We were blessed with a bright (think reflection of sunlight on mounds of new snow) and sunny day. The roads were dry, so we made good time and that left us both time to eat and time to fill the car with gas before we got to the airport.
Our flight was a late flight -- 6:55 p.m. When we entered the plane, we found it half-full of people who had flow to Milwaukee from Las Vegas. We took two seats next to an elderly lady. The poor soul had started the day at 11:00 that morning in Reno, flew to Vegas and then Milwaukee, and was staying on the plane for Tampa. I told her she needed to get a new travel agent since she actually was on the plane from 11:00 Mountain Time to 10:35 Eastern Time. Any way you look at it, that is too long to sit on an airplane! By the time we got on, she was sitting on one hip (I understand why!); unfortunately, that meant that her knees were resting on the side of my leg. Once we were in the air, she started to jiggle her leg up and down. I wanted to grab her knee and say, "Knock it off!" but I felt sorry for her, so I just endured the bouncing to Florida. Other than that, the flight was uneventful (thank God!) and we arrived a few minutes early. Our super Shuttle to get to Gladys took another hour, so we did not get home until 12:30 this morning. The house was a bit chilly, but a warmed rice bag in bed soon soothed our tired bodies into a weary sleep.
This morning dawned sunny and warm. Rick started in a long sleeved shirt but soon came in and changed to a short-sleeved polo. I was in a light long-sleeved shirt and was just comfortable throughout the day. Since we had only water and Bel-Vita crackers to eat, we quickly showered and went to McDonald's for breakfast. I have never felt younger in my entire life! Lord, the whole place was filled with people 20 years my senior shuffling with their walkers to the table to have greasy food and hot coffee with all of their friends. The place was swarming with grey-haired people who must make breakfast an occasion to get out of bed in the morning. Mental note: if we MUST eat out for breakfast, find a different diner!
We stopped at our bank to withdraw our food budget and some cash for the week, and then we went on to Publix Grocery Store since the refrigerator and the cupboards were bare. We stocked the essentials, shopped the specials (including the buy 1, get 1 free deals), and actually got out of the store after spending only $180.00. That will give us at least two or three dinners along with breakfasts and lunches for the entire week.
All of the while we were doing this, Rick could not stop smiling. "Look, Sher," he said as we walked outside. "No snow!" A little later he commented, "I'm outside in short sleeves with no jacket!"
"Yes," I replied, "and the most wondrous thing is that it's January 5." Later in the day, we started to see people wearing shorts, and one brave soul even had on flip-flops. This seems so strange at this time of year, especially when people in shorts walk past a house that still sports Christmas lights on their palm trees.
After Publix, we were able to do one of our favorite things: we went to the Green Market (Farmer's Market in Wisconsin) to buy fresh fruits and veggies. Our favorite baker was there, although we did not need any bread having just come from Publix. We did get some fresh tomatoes, but we were disappointed that the fresh pasta vendors were not there. Maybe next week. They have these markets both on Fridays and Saturdays, so we will try the Friday market to see if they have different vendors.
The motivation mentioned in the title was to get running water into the kitchen today. When we left in October, we had all new granite and a sink installed, but we did not have time to do any of the plumbing. The rest of the day was spent putting faucets on the kitchen sink, hooking up the garbage disposer, running a line through the disposer from the dishwasher, and figuring out the plumbing for the whole set-up. Plumbing is NOT Rick's strongest skill, but we survived with only a few blue words and a record of only two trips to Lowe's. As I sit here, the dishwasher is engaged in its maiden wash, and the kitchen is not under water!
As we drove back to the house after a celebration meal at Steak and Shake this evening, we noticed more motorcycles than we ever saw in the summer. Apparently, summer is too hot to ride cycles, but they are out now in full force. Again, this is surreal to us... pulling up to a motorcycle the first week of January!
To say that we are having a bit of culture shock is not an exaggeration. (I actually saw the little neighbor girl run around her daddy's truck with bare feet!) However, the wonderful weather is the whole reason for working so hard to make Gladys a place we want to live in for the winter months. She needs a good vacuuming tomorrow, but for the most part she is clean, dry, and a welcoming place to come "home" to. We have yet to see Sam the wood stork, but we saw a couple of egrets. The lizard population seems to be way down from summer, but Rick's parrot friends are back, and we were delighted to see Monarch butterflies coasting on the warm breezes in our front yard.
I think we're going to like it here. (Rick's still smiling...)
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