Remind me again why we are
taking up residence in Florida? In particular, in the Florida Panhandle
alongside the Emerald Coast? Oh … that’s right; fall and winter are mild in
comparison to what we experienced in Colorado. Having watched the news and
seeing monstrous snowstorms hitting the Rockies and the Sierra Divide, not to
mention the more recent bomb cyclone that caused even greater havoc in
Washington State, we have become appreciative of the milder conditions fall
delivers in this part of North America.
In my previous post I wrote
of how we were warming to our new location. As yet we have not put our toes in
the water, even as we are now the proud owners of our very first pairs of
Crocs. That will likely change shortly but for now, even with the mild
temperatures we are experiencing, this week we have seen daytime temperatures
dive down to the mid 50sF. Ouch … finding the right attire for such chilly
conditions saw us pulling out clothing we had tucked away in our closet.
In that prior post I also made reference to the imminent arrival of our daughter, son-in-law and a collection of small children. Actually 3 kids, but Margo and I had just one so three sounds like a lot. Really, they do sound like a lot! Not sure what to expect but we are looking forward to it and will be on our best behavior hoping to influence them all that visiting their grandmother won’t imply that they will have to pass the big bad wolf. In the development where we are building, the big bad wolves are the excavation tractors, large sets of incisors glowing shiny between plunges into the earth, as even more foundations are dug.
Those promised daily and
sometime twice-daily trips to the lot to view the progress being made on the
construction of our new home, continues. And what a surprise it has been.
Having participated in two previous new home builds, we have been amazed by the
progress made almost daily. The photo above was taken towards the end of the
third week following the initial survey of an empty plot, back on October 21.
At times, we have counted as
many as a dozen construction workers on site where the most impressive thing we
witnessed was when the crane needed to lift the roof trusses was delayed, the
crew got together and man-handled the bulky frames into place. When the crane
finally arrived, it was called upon to just lift the few remaining trusses
supporting the entry doorway. Absent mechanical assistance, it seemed, proved
to belittle deterrent to progress.
This week we were subject to a torrential downpour that lasted all day and into the evening. Not sure, but it seems to have been from outer bands of rain associated with the latest tropical storm, Sarah. Even as the rains fell, the roof that had just been completed afforded the team shelter and they just kept on installing the HVAC ducting. Just this week, they wrapped up the plumbing rough-in and we now have a bathtub installed.
My colleagues from the time
we all worked for Nixdorf Computers in Australia might remember when we
attended the annual computer conference in Melbourne, where the field
engineering team always took responsibility for the annual first-night grill.
Melbourne may be famous for their all-meat restaurants such as Vlados,
but on that first night the team was together, our field engineers put them to
shame.
Being Nixdorf Computers,
there was a strong presence of engineers from Germany and Austria among the
staff. And as I watched the grill doing its thing, I distinctly recall one of
those present as the grill was ignited, shouting to his colleagues – “get the
meat! Zen, ve vill be cooking!” I may be harboring memories that have been
embellished over time but as we installed a new mainframe, I recall hearing a
similar shout emanating from that same engineer except this time, it was power
being called for and not meat.
As Margo stood behind what will emerge later as the kitchen island of our new home and where behind her would be found the cooktop, absent the wonderful smells of steaks being grilled, the memories came flooding back and for just a moment, nostalgia overwhelmed me even as the memories are fading. And yet, as we grow older it seems to take little prodding to bring the fondest of memories to light.
One aspect about the arrival
of fall is the softening of the light. The photo at the top of this post being
one example of how this less intense light creates new vistas. Late in the
afternoon, sitting in the dining room of the Latitude Margaritaville Water
Sound (LMWS) Chill and Grill restaurant, the view to the intracoastal waterway
was similarly affected by the soft light. In a positive manner to be sure, but
the soft light dulled the edges of the foliage in a way that suggested the
coverage was amply littered with down feathers.
But there is news to report
from this stretch of the waterway. Approval was given to the plans for LMWS to
construct a marina, with a covered stacked storage for boats of all sizes.
Plenty of rentals will be available, or so the promotional material suggests.
There may even be another café although catering to lighter fare – but for
Margo and me, anywhere we can go on the estate for simply a cup of coffee with
a view over the water will be most welcome.
We may be getting ahead of
ourselves here but one comment stood out. Perhaps we will see trawlers tying up
at the dock, delivering fresh fish from the gulf. With a grocery chain also
being touted as taking up residence, maybe there will be a steady supply of
Gulf Red Snapper at hand. One of the main reasons we became as enthusiastic as
we did about residing alongside the Emerald Coast is the location in Destin,
Florida, of what is claimed to be “the world's largest charter fishing fleet in
the world! You can take the fish you caught, walk right off the boat and have it
prepared at any local seafood restaurant on the harbor.”
As the weather cleared up
and skies cleared once again, it was time to install the windows. Did I mention
we now had a front door? In the words of a long forgotten popular song from the days of vauderville, "Open the door, Richard!" As this week draws to a close, the electrical rough-in
will be completed. This will be followed by a series of inspections before
there is a “white glove” walk through to ensure everything is not just to spec
but cleared for major interior construction. As the internal framing is of
metal construction, we asked our builder to consider adding blocking at several
places so we can be assured of hanging our heavy paintings as well as having
the option to install lengthy, floating, decorative shelving.
We have a plan to do
something a little different from what normally you would expect to see as a
fireplace. What comes with these homes is builder’s grade fireplace – it is
just not appealing to us so we will be following a plan that will take us in
another direction. To know more of what we have in mind, you will just have to
watch and then read subsequent posts. But you can be assured it will be a
little different even as it becomes a focal point of the great room.
There are other design
decisions we are making that will take us further down that path. Not for us
will there be any faux roof beams. Gone! As for decorative shiplap feature
walls then they too have been axed. Nothing screams post 2000s than shiplap and
faux beams. There’s just been too many HGTV programs featuring such décor. As
for lighting in the entry and main rooms, then we ditched the builder grade in
favor of lighting of our own choice.
We have already made some
bold decisions about the furniture, with two art deco pieces on their way. Not
to overwhelm the home but to add a little variety to what all other homes
pursue as the Florida Keys style. Nice; but too much can become quite bland and
for those who know us well, we are not bland advocates. If it is not pretty, it
will not find its way into our home. As for the pictures adorning the walls of
our home anticipate seeing many Billich Cityscapes as you walk the corridors.
The biggest eye-opener for
us both is how little fine dining there is to find along the Emerald Coast.
There are some good ones in Rosemary Beach that we have tried – a Sunday Brunch
being a particularly fine example – but in general it requires a drive west to
Destin before things get better. In the town of Sandestin we have had lunch at
Emeril’s Coastal and a dinner featuring a fixed menu with wine pairing at
Flemings and we plan to continue going west but it’s a situation where an
overnight stay at a nearby hotel is required.
These relative slim
pickings, from a dining perspective, is one reason why we are integrating a
sizable grill into the design of our new home’s Lanai. On one side will be the
same bar and stool set-up we had in our Windsor home lower level with the other
side of the Lanai having the same grill, gas main attached, as we had on the
upper floor of our Windsor home. I have always liked spending time by a grill
and with the company I keep, grilling experiences are expected and I promise I
won’t let down any guest that drops on by; take a seat, enjoy a cocktail and be
prepared for Prime Filet cooked rare to medium rare. Should you want a
well-done steak I am sure there will be neighbors nearby who might help you out,
but not in our house!
Again, just walking through
our future home, as bare-bones as it is in some places, we are already talking
about what meals we will prepare. We have even finalized where cocktail
cabinets will be placed and where China, Crystal and Flatware will be kept. The
plan calls for a drop zone as you exit the garage and before you enter the
kitchen and, already, we have made sure there is ample power available to the
key drop counter to keep slow-cookers, cooking!
When we purchased the golf
cart it was just the second day of our build. During that first week we took a
nail into a tire and had to retreat back to the dealer for a plug to be
inserted. “Don’t worry; you are building a new home, right? We can expect to
see you dropping in on a regular basis. Everyone watching their home being
built will experience multiple nail penetrations over the course of the build.”
Fortunately, one month into the build there have been no repeat occurrences.
But we are prepared for more and wouldn’t be surprised to find yet another nail
or screw in the tire in the days ahead.
This incident reminded us to
check the tires on our SUV. Our Jaguar F Pace SVR has been our true workhorse,
taking us back and forth between Colorado and Florida. When I took a closer
look, it wasn’t the presence of nails but rather the absence of tread. Our
Pirelli Scorpion all-season tires had 35,750 miles on them and showed
considerable wear and tear. Not chorded, mind you, but worn down to the tire
tread / wear bar. A quick check with Tirerack and a visit to Discount Tire had us
refitted with Toyo Proxes ST III – tires from a company we were familiar
with from our track outing days. Have to admit reviews were mixed but even with
a different construction and tire pattern to what we had on the track tires but
already, the presence of these tires on the SUV gave it a new feel for the
road. Who knew the car would be sluggish in the turns with no tread for grip!
Of course I had to end this
post with vehicle related commentary. Even if I did precede it with a
restaurant observation. Before calling it quits it would not be a usual post unless I passed on to our readership the latest weather forecast. Fall may be making it's presence felt but even so, the temperatures make for good reading. However, this forecast update along with these brief anecdotes, within an evolving
storyline that is very much focused on our new home, cannot detract from what we are experiencing together. There comes a time in your
life when circumstances steer you in unexpected directions in unexpected ways.
Coming to Florida was never in our plans as leaving Colorado never made it into
any conversation that included our living situation. Now that it has, and we
are getting acclimatized to the Florida winters, its as if this was the plan
all along.
We had often talked about
building yet one more home but never took those discussions seriously. But here
you have it; a condo in Colorado and a home in Florida. We will be changing our
residence status to become Floridians and will obtain drivers licenses and
register our personal car in Florida. So in case you have as yet not surmised
how we feel, than let us be clear. We have most definitely warmed to Florida.
We will likely change
preferences for airlines as United poorly service this part of the world. Or
not. Denver International isn’t all that far away and we so do enjoy the drive.
And we have a place to call home whenever we are there. Margo still sees very
much the kid in me as it takes little to get me enthused about something.
Anything. But yes, the sign says it all. I can confidently say, I continue to
grow old but in the eyes of those who know me well, not up!
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