In keeping the story line going from my last post, we were able to return to Wisconsin from Minnesota on Sunday as planned, but not before we took Stephanie to see a model townhouse on Saturday. She was able to walk fine, and she wanted to view an open house built by a contractor that was about to build in a neighborhood that Stephanie has been watching for a while. The condensed version is that Rick totally approved of the quality of the construction, Stephanie met Jenna who is now her real estate agent, she liked what she saw in the townhouse, and yesterday she signed papers to buy her new home in her ideal neighborhood.
During the course of the week, Rick and I looked into moving to Rochester also, but lots of research and number crunching told us that moving to Minnesota would be "marginal" money-wise (to use one of Rick's favorite terms). Yes, we could do it, but in doing so we would commit to a 30-year-mortgage that would not allow us to do anything else. I do not want to spend the last third of my life living to pay off four walls in a state that I could only stand to live in five months of the year. We love both of our daughters dearly, but we are no longer fans of the frozen winters in which they live.
Our time in Minnesota allowed us to spend quality time with Stephanie, and we are really happy she has made the decision to move. Her new home will be completed in mid-summer, so we will be available to help her pack and move. We also were able to spend time with Lindsay and Chris, and of course to try to spoil our grandson Owen as much as possible! We hope he is having a ball building towers with his new 200+ building blocks.
Our trip back to Florida went smoothly. We drove to Milwaukee the evening before our flight because we booked a 6:50 a.m. flight to Tampa. Up at 3:56 a.m., we had a quick breakfast at the airport and were cued in line for check-in before 6:00 a.m. Neither of us got Pre-TSA approval this time, but as we got closer to the gate, we were herded into two lines. Ours went to the right and we were able to keep our shoes on and keep everything in our bags as we set them on the x-ray machine. The only thing people had to do was to empty their pockets. We were through with no problems! The other line had to do the whole regiment of taking off shoes, opening luggage, taking out electronics, etc. We were lucky to get into the fast line which was second only to the TSA approved line. The whole experience, though, convinced us that we needed to get Pre-TSA approval. More on that in a bit...
On the flight we sat next to a cinematographer who was traveling with a film crew to the Gasparilla Film Festival in St. Petersburg. He said his film, The Surface, was the lead film for the festival. We watched the trailer, and it might be a film we want to see. The man said that it is just being released in the theaters next week. I am cheap, so I probably will wait until it comes out on disk.
Florida welcomed us with sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s. I love it! My hands have been frozen for the last two and one-half weeks, so feeling the sunshine was marvelous. Gladys looked great when we got home; however, our neighbors have purchased a very large boat that is currently parked in their driveway. The neighbor lady welcomed us home and confirmed that the boat is, indeed, theirs. I hope that the driveway is not going to be the permanent parking place for their vessel. It somewhat blocks our view when backing out of the driveway, and the boat in the driveway means that their other vehicles must be parked on the street in front of our house. This is beginning to look more like a parking lot than a neighborhood. (Stephanie, I know you can relate!) I will hold my tongue for now because I suspect that other neighbors will complain before I will.
This morning we did something that we have waited five months to do: we each took a shower in our new master bathroom shower. What bliss! The new shower head is great, the water was warm, the plumbing worked fine, the water flowed down our new drain as planned, and the light streaming in allowed me actually to SEE what I was washing! The new fan kept the steam to a minimum, and I could move wherever I wanted without touching a wall. I have to admit that after the last shower, this one felt sort of like taking a shower in a subway tunnel. Everything was tiled, white, and cavernous, but overall, the shower was great!
Yesterday Rick and I went online to apply for the Pre-TSA status so when we fly we do not have to wait in line to check in. Rick had read that if a person did not apply online and make an appointment, the chances of getting in for approval were not great. He read horror stories of people waiting for eight hours three days in a row because they did not have an appointment. We filled in the forms and made appointments at the Tampa airport for this afternoon. Am I glad that we did!
We arrived early and checked in with the Pre-TSA office agent. She said that she had appointments every 15 minutes but tried to take walk-ins when she could. We saw no less than a dozen people stop by, register, and wait around. Rick's appointment was first, so five minutes before his appointed time, she called him in ahead of the four people who were waiting. He was in and out in about 10 minutes. She took two more people after that and then called me in for my appointment. Since we had filled in the forms the day before, I simply had to show my passport, double-check that the information she pulled up on-screen was correct, and then enter my Social Security number. That was the easy part.
She then asked me to put my two thumbs on a fingerprint scanner. I did, but I was not pressing hard enough, so she asked me to do it a second time. This time the thumb prints scanned correctly. Then she asked me to put the other four fingers of my right hand on the machine. Sigh. I knew I was in trouble. After 49 years of taking 10 - 12 blood tests a day out of those fingers to control my diabetes, I knew that my fingertips were in pretty rough shape. She tried five times before the word "failed" did not show up on the fingerprint screen.
She then asked me to do the same with the other four fingers on my left hand. What? Seven out of 10 fingerprints is not good enough? I tried once with the left hand. "Failed" flashed across the screen. I explained about the blood tests, and showed her my beat-up fingertips. She asked me to moisten my fingers and try again. "Failed" again. For time three, she held down my baby finger which was not showing at all. "Failed" flashed again. For the fourth time, she told me not to press down as hard. No go. "Failed" again. As with the right hand, the fifth time was the charm. The government of the United States now has a copy of my fingerprints, for what they are worth.
When I came out of the room, I told Rick that he did not have to worry. If he wanted that townhouse in Minnesota, he just had to give me a little time, and we could afford it. When he looked at me like I had lost my mind, I explained that since a highly trained professional could not get my fingerprints, I was going to turn into a cat-burglar. I could steal all kinds of loot to fence for a fortune and pay cash for the townhouse. With these fingerstips, the authorities would never catch me!
We are happy to be back. I smiled all the while we walked outside today, I'm looking forward to getting back on my bike before the weather gets too hot, I enjoyed a wonderful shower today, and I just feel so much better in the bright sunshine. Yes, I see work that we have to do around Gladys. Yes, I know that traffic and other minor annoyances are present here too. Yes, I miss my family, but no, I am not sorry that we are back at Gladys. I missed the old doll while we were gone, and I am content to work around here -- outside -- until summer returns to the North.
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