Karen at Fifty Four

I'm waffling!!! I took this picture when we were approaching MCO because I could see the downpours off to the west and was thanking my lucking stars that we were not in the midst of it. Great timing, I thought.  It wasn't even a bumpy landing! But it got me to thinking about the weather, because you know that will play a major part in my decision of where to live. I like the afternoon thunderstorms. I don't like driving in them, so I have to plan my road trips a little more carefully, but I love being home when the storms approach and come crashing down.  Reason to Stay: afternoon thunder storms which lead to lush tropical vegetation. Reason to go: FL is hot and muggy... really muggy, so muggy the air smells bad and it feels like it is weighing you down. So the real question is, can I overcome and learn to embrace the mugginess? Maybe if I had a pool-home. That would be a vote to leave the townhome, but not leave FL, and if I will stay anywhere in FL, I'll stay in centr...

I had a beautiful week in Salt Lake City. The lack of humidity was amazing!! The city itself was even a pleasant surprise. There were nice parks and I was able to wonder around inside the state capital (I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize this was the state capital prior to seeing the capital building). Another surprise was that Donna's friends, Rick and Jenny, live here and they took me on a fabulous hike and even treated me to dinner. The only disappointment was that the Mormon Tabernacle was covered in scaffolding so I did get to tour that. Oh well, a good excuse to return. I was so excited to see this area of the country and the neat (oh-so-different-for-me) landscape that my face was glued to the window as we made our approach into KSLC. This picture shows how the city is built right up to the edge of the mountains. These mountains are the western edge of the Rocky's. So dramatic!! On Monday night I did a quick survey of the city close to the hotel and f...

After my hill training I went to a neighborhood in Tavares, a town just north of Howey-in-the-Hills, to pop in on a few open houses. The prices were right, so I wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood. It was a 55+ neighborhood, which is what almost all are around here. To sum it up, no way. This trip did not win any points for the "stay" category. Reason to stay: cycling with El (but how long will that last, she has 12 years on me so I really need to find a cycling friend my age or younger if I want to use this as an excuse to stay). Reason to go: the heat and humidity (we have to risk heat stroke for more than half the year). Lake Harris at 7am and it was already uncomfortably hot! 

El and I have started hill training. She wants to prep for the Horrible Hundred and I want to prep for the next Woman Tours I do with Paula. I don't want to need an e-bike again. I need to get back in shape and am enjoying the challenge. This picture doesn't really show the hills, but they are big for FL (you have to look at the distance and see how the street lights dip then climb back up). The country roads out there are beautiful and we must enjoy them while they last...suburban spread is out of control.

Went with El, Diane, and five of Diane's friends on a kayak trip from Juniper Springs. The current was really moving (we even found a little white water), but it was tight!! Definitely needed paddling skills to get around the logs and branches. We saw three alligators and a bunch of turtles. It was a fun day out even if it was tough staying out of the trees. El said many times, "one and done", and I have to agree with her. There are much better places to paddle in central FL.

For today's assessment of staying verses going I have a picture of the fire sprinkler system alarm. This equipment monitors the fire sprinkler system in the townhouses, which is wonderful that we have a sprinkler system in place in the event of a fire. I have no idea where the sprinklers are since there are none inside my unit. Maybe they are in the attic. Or maybe they are those weird circles on the ceiling that I never questioned what they were. Now that I think of it, that must be what they are. I bet they pop down and spray water if there is a fire. Well, I'm not going to test out my theory 😆. So, there it is. The panel opens to access the controls. The issue is, it goes into alarm state often, making a loud alarm tone that I can hear when I'm on my back patio. If its very quiet in the house, I can also hear it in my kitchen and dinning room.  I can go outside and silence the alarm, but that only quiets it for about an hour and obviously doesn't fix the issue. I...

I need to decide where (and when) to retire. I can't keep putting it off. So I am giving myself a year, 365 days, to make a decision. I used my blog to make the same sort of decision when I was living in Florence, KY... and I ended up in Uganda with the Peace Corps. I doubt I will make such a drastic decision this time, but you never know. So, for this effort, everyday for 365 days (maybe once a week), I will take a picture of my current surrounding and think about a reason to stay and a reason to go. At the end of the year, I'll look back and reflect on what I have and if I'm willing to leave it all for the great unknown. For my first picture on this journey, I went to my courtyard and snapped a shot of my little Florida garden. The fun thing about this garden is where the plants came from... Boston ferns from Dad's garden, Elephant Ears from Donna's garden, and the Ti Plants from Mom's garden. There are others from Mom's garden, but you can't see them ...