Tomorrow will be four weeks in our new home. We are loving the weather but missing our friends. We are starting to make new friends and I find myself seeing old friends and aquaintences in these new faces. I say to my husband, "Doesn't so and so remind you of ______ back home?" Sometimes he sees it too. It's funny how certain people remind you of others.
Today I was talking to a lady named Peggy Sue and all I could think of was that she reminded me of my sons' teacher in elementary school. I asked her today if she was the reason for the song and she said, tongue in cheek, that the guy who wrote the song was her boyfriend. That's something Mrs. Grysk would have said for sure.
Like anything else there are pros and cons to living here.
I love the weather. I am not in the least missing the cold. I love that I can walk around in shorts and capris and barefoot most of the day, especially in December. I was outside in the driveway last week in a short nightgown, bare legs and feet saying goodbye to friends who stopped by to wish me a Happy Birthday. They laughed and said "you wouldn't be doing this in Maine." That's true. I wouldn't. They have snow on the ground up there that doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon.
I hate the traffic. It's more congested here. It's not as bad as some other parts of Florida I've been told but coming from Maine, it's an awful lot to me. The speed limit is lower in most places and the cops are all over the place. I'm going to have to really be careful watching myself. From what I heard around here, they mean business.
I also hate getting lost, but have to realize it's going to happen. The roads down here are crazy. One road got us all messed up. We found out later that in order to get over to the left side of the road we had to take a right. That right somewhere along the way curves around going under a bridge that eventually brings us over to that left we want.
I'm used to straight roads. North and South, East and West. The rotaries around here are messing with me. More than onceI went around the whole rotary without getting off trying to figure out where the heck I was supposed to go. We live in a maze of rotaries here and I'm just starting to get used to them after a full month. Finally. To get out of our development to make it to the main drag, I first must go around six rotaries.
If you even go over two or three miles per hour too fast in a school zone, no warning is given. They don't just give you a ticket, I've been told, but they impound your car immediately and throw you in the slammer until you make bail. Hey what? I'm thinking I need to find out where these school zones are and stay away from them. It's really hard going only15 mph.
I love being able to run at night and especially in the winter. We've been going out quite a bit at night to run after work. Here it's very runner/biker friendly with the wide golfcart/bike paths and sidewalks along with all the street lights. We've met a few cranky golfcart drivers who wish not to share the road with us. It's funny but it's usually men, not women who are crowding us out. We've always noticed the opposite when it came to Maine drivers. Usually the women crowd us out, not the men.
I love the fresh oranges and grapefruits and even thinking of getting an orange tree eventually. That would be cool. I'm going to try and make an orange pie which is something I've never had before.
The women, are aggressive down here I've been told. With more women than men, these few single men don't stand a chance. There is a certain place we were warned NOT to go (too late) because it's really a pickup place. It's a restaurant with live entertainment everynight of the week. One lady told me NOT to let my husband go alone and another said if we want to keep our good reputations we need to steer clear of that place. Guess where my hubby took me for my birthday? Yep. So, let the gossip begin.
Ever hear of the Prime Time Twirlers? Well I hadn't until this past week. We saw them in that aformentioned bad place we're not supposed to go to. Anyhow, it's a group of 50-70 year old women who twirl batons to music. We saw them in their little white shorts, white long sleeved tops with little red vests and santa hats. I'm too young to join them. I have to wait until I grow up. Drats!
So while there are pros and cons to living here, it's certainly very entertaining. There's a saying here that says if you aren't finding something down here to do, you should check your pulse. You may be dead.
It's a wonderful day in the Villages.