Faux Autumn Day

You know when you wake up to a day that is completely gloomy? It's all dark and gray and the clouds look heavy and ominous.Without checking the weather or stepping outside, you just know that it must be chilly outside and so you lay in bed just a couple minutes longer anticipating a cozy day filled with tea, warm socks, and a good book.

This is just the morning that I had. Oh! But wait! It was gloomy and dark and drizzly outside however this is FLORIDA and it's still almost 90 degrees outside. What does dark, gloomy, drizzle mean in Florida? Not only is it hot, but the drizzle adds to the humidity. ::sigh::

I didn't indulge in fuzzy socks, jeans, and a sweatshirt (not wanting to die of heat exhaustion) but I did haul out my tea. Oh tea! How I missed you! First, I made a tumbler of a peach blended tea. After guzzling that down, I made a tumbler of seven berry sangria rooibos and blackberry mojito green tea blend. I'm also drinking my tea out of my favorite teacup. Do you enjoy teas?

I'm also indulging in my book and books in general today. I'm currently reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I had a really hard time getting into this one but I'm finding it interesting now that I'm smack dab in the middle of it. It's definitely different from what I normally read. As for as "books in general" goes, I got myself organized to do a Goodreads challenge called The Seasonal Reading Challenge. I know that I'm not good at these things, but this is so different with so many varied tasks that you can pick and choose from, that I want to give it a try. Plus, the challenge runs for the entirety of the Fall season, Sept 1 - Nov 30 so I'll have a lot of time to play. You all should give it a look see if you need something to do with your time.

Falling Back

Autumn in Rural Ohio

So far, fall has been quite eventful for us. First of all, it certainly doesn't feel like fall in Florida. We had a couple cool'ish days in October, but they were only a few days and overnight lows didn't get out of the 50s. Having lived the majority of the past 16 years in states with moderate climates, the one thing I miss about living somewhere with definitive seasons is the autumn.

My grandmother passed away last week. She had a history of diabetes, the childhood kind, not the fat people kind, and heart disease and had been on a steady decline for a while now. For some, the release of death is a kindness and not a devastating loss. For my grandma, who had been shocked back to life by a defibrillator several times in the past several weeks, knowing that she was finally at peace was a relief. Added to that, when my grandparents sold their house back in 2009, I had said goodbye to what was. We didn't make it back to Ohio between that last visit and my grandma's passing. Yes, I'm sad that my grandma is no longer with us, but I've come to terms with her passing and I'm okay.

We took the girls and Bailey and drove to Ohio for her funeral. The trip north was quite picturesque. Once we got into Tennessee, fall colors started showing themselves on the trees. As we made our way further north and into Ohio, the colors were more vibrant, varied, and plentiful. The last time we had been able to enjoy fall like that was when in the fall of 2006 when we were still living in Vermont. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was in the middle of it once again. Still, you'll never, ever hear me say that I miss the snow and winters, lol.

The trip north wasn't all about my grandma. We also took time to visit what family that we could, carving out special time with my dad. Recently, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He actually got his third round of chemotherapy while we were there. I hadn't seen my dad since 2010 when I was in Ohio for his last open heart surgery. You might get the idea here, that my dad isn't always in the best of health. Seeing him and the drastic physical changes he has undergone was the most difficult part of the trip for me. As you could probably guess, he's lost a lot of weight. According to my sister, his hair has started to thin, but from the way he's wearing it (in a hippie ponytail, lol) I didn't notice a difference. The most startling difference was that he now looks older than his 62 years. It was hard to see. My dad has already had surgery for the cancer and the chemo is to, hopefully, ensure that the doctors got everything and that it doesn't come back. We are optimistically hopeful. Despite the circumstances, I was glad that my girls got to spend this time with their papa and that he was well enough to go to Chuck E. Cheese (I have an 8 year old nephew) with his grandkids.

After spending a week in hotels, we are more than thrilled to be home. I missed my cats terribly. We hired our 14 year old neighbor to look after them and she did an excellent job. We are back in the land of summer though. It was 80 degrees when we got home and it's in the 80s today as well. Time to put the winter clothes back in the closet for a few more weeks. Fall is all about change. Change comes a little later for Floridians. We'll have to wait and see what it'll bring.

My First Autumn in Florida

It occurred to me the other day that this is the first time I've ever been in Florida during the fall months. I briefly lived here in 1998 and I've been to Florida on several occasions for vacation, but all those times were during either spring, summer, or winter. Huh.

I'm really enjoying the cooler temps. We're still getting into the lower 80s, but overnight, it's been in the 50s and 60s. Overall, it's cool enough that I've had the windows open this week for the first time and the ac off. I don't think the home owners ever opened the windows. They were nasty dirty and required cleaning and vacuuming. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a lower electric bill. Hopefully. Speaking of bills...

Our water/sewer bill has gone up $15-$20 every month since we moved into this house. I was expecting an increase from June to July since June would have been a partial billing month, but every subsequent bill has had an increase. Not only has it increased, but it's now $50 more a month than the average for this house. I'm not happy. One reason was that the hall bathroom toilet was leaking. The flapper was warped. We replaced that last week so I'm hoping that will reflect on next month's bill. I also went all dictator on the fam and made a list of rules for water/sewer usage. Ugh.

Anyway, this fall ushered in the first tropical storm system that we had to deal with:  Karen. First, we had hurricane watches. Then, the storm weakened and we had tropical storm watches. Finally, it weakened further, changed its track, and we barely got any rain and hardly any wind at all. We had worse thunderstorms over the summer. Seriously. All this storm did was ruin weekend plans we had. So, we have all of our canned food, water, batteries, candles, etc. on hand so if something else comes in before the hurricane season ends in less than a month, we're all set.

Navarre Beach from the Pier before Karen. Scary, right?

Something else this fall in Florida...

We're upping Bailey's weight loss program. She's lost quite a bit of weight since we moved. She's been getting daily walks in the evening once the pavement has cooled off and with the weight loss, she's been more playful and moves around more easily. She seems to have reached a plateau though, so now I'm walking her in the mornings before it gets too hot. She's not enthusiastic about this additional walk. I have to constantly encourage her to keep going after about 15 minutes. I even let her take a break at the bay. We have a fishing dock in the neighborhood that is on the banks of the East Bay. It's really very lovely. Still, after that first 15 minutes, it's a chore to keep her going. I'm hoping that with repetition, she'll start to enjoy the additional walk instead of acting like I'm punishing her.

View from the dock as Bailey and I relaxed during our walk.

Lastly, the Mister signed us up to go to the Marine Corps Ball this November. The jury is still out on whether or not I'm going. He has to. The only reason I even considered going this year (the last ball I attended was in 1998) is that it's supposed to be at a really nice resort-type place in Destin, FL. I, like Bailey, have gained some poundage. I have to tell you. Using this blog and my social media peeps as a support system for keeping up with diet and exercise was a dismal failure. You people sort of suck at it. Anyway, shoving myself into a muumuu isn't my idea of fun. However, if I can find a dress that isn't muumuu-like, and I don't look like a stuffed sausage in it, I'll go. I don't like the idea of the ball to begin with. It's a bunch of adults going to prom. It isn't dignified. And it's also a thinly veiled excuse to get drunk at the prom like you couldn't necessarily do in high school. It's annoying.