A
ribbon pinned to the front door. Updated signage indicating that this new home
had become a private residence. A glorious Florida Friday morning. Our latest
new build pursuit was open and we were moving into our Florida Keys styled
home. Just one year after we first drove to the Latitude Margaritaville Water Sound
(LMWS) sales office and walked through the model homes, this Aruba, single-family
house, was now our home. We still have our condo in Longmont, Colorado, but
Panama City Beach is where we will be spending most of our time.
There
are programs on the HGTV channel that depict homes build in 100 days and in
reality, ours was finished all but for a final clean and inspection but
including pool, spa and birdcage, in 120 days. Another two months passed before
closing took place as the developer closes in batches to ensure construction
moves down the street. It’s already noticeable that with evening, all
construction noise and disruption die down with the sound of local reptilian
residents takes over – we have never heard the likes of such a mass chorus of
frogs around our pond as happens with nightfall here.
Margo
had worked her scheduling magic and as we left for our home closing, a local
moving company began loading a truck with what we had filled our rented cottage with in the past year. Once we were handed the keys to our new home, the moving
truck arrived and, in no time, what was simply vacant rooms became places that
took on a familiar hominess we had planned in advance. Even so, some purchases
didn’t make the final cut but became valued treasures for other couples just
moving in elsewhere in the community.
That
is not to say we have finished with decorating our home, as many pieces are yet
to arrive. Margo and I still have our Colorado storage “garage” to sort through
but already, we are reconciling ourselves to the healthy donations to charity
that will follow. For a short time, we speculate that our condo garage will
provide an interim location for those pieces we are reluctant to let go but
both of us know all too well we have no desire to hold onto what, in the
moment, we don’t know will be of use longer term.
Morning
coffee has arrived and practices that have been part of our lives for so long
continue. Dawn in the months before summer truly descends upon us is witness to
the sun coming up through the trees of the nearby reserve. That patch of dirt
will be where the next phase of home building will begin. Likely still a year
out or perhaps longer, it’s not too concerning for us as this is not our
primary view. Nevertheless, we are hopeful that future mornings will require a
little more patience before the sun climbs past the rooflines.
Margo and I sometimes talk in terms similar to counting the number of angels on the head of a pin. The reality is that we are so grateful for the circumstances that brought us to the Florida panhandle. We have driven down to Ft Lauderdale to board cruise ships and we have driven to Tampa for business conferences. All the while, we look at each other, smile and then take in the vacation-like surroundings. Dawn will see the sun move with the seasons, the horizon shifting as we look due east, but it will continue to be a reminder that decisions made over the past three decades have brought us to this place and to this time and it’s so far removed from any of our plans that in our surprise, we are finding peace.
Beachie
Chiq. If we were to
label our style for our new home, it would be contemporary with just a touch of
a beach vibe color palate right alongside a mixture of art deco and modern
accoutrements. We both love the basic building blocks; fabrics, metal, glass
and a collection of objet d’art that has come together through the
years. Items that will not find their way into our temporary garage storage, no
matter what or where sentiment takes us both. We have wonderful blinds and
sheers being mapped out that will add a necessary splash of color but about
that, I will leave to a future post.
What
drives us and perhaps presents a different take on turning a house into a home
is that we don’t touch the basic home, As and Bs as chosen. And we like to be
bold, in this regard. Rather, it is the interior furnishing where our energies
are directed and no, this will not be your typical Jimmy Buffett beach house.
While we like the informality that comes via the Margaritaville lifestyle, it
is very much an external presence for us and, as such, injects little of its emotional
connection into our home.
When
it comes to beachie chiq, there’s no hiding from the bold colors we chose for
the kitchen that is part of our great room. Whether it’s called Navy or Admiral
Blue it plays well with the color of the walls where imaginary palate creators
went out on a limb, calling the color “window pane.” Once again, we have been
blessed to see how positive a response this has generated among the various
vendors that have been suppliers, meeting our interior design needs – they
haven’t been shy in telling us that what we have done to date and the path we
have chosen to go down, it unique among the houses built to date in LMWS.
For
those who may recall how we furnished our former home in Windsor, Colorado, the
kitchen rug might look familiar. It is from the same rug vendor and is an
all-wool abstract creation. We liked the rug we had in Windsor and have to say,
were disappointed to learn that the purchaser wanted that rug. We waived
goodbye and while no tears were shed at the time, the disappointment lasted a
lot longer than we thought. So much so that Margo went back to the internet,
located the rug vendor and found a very similar pattern and purchased it
immediately. When our local LMWS rug vendor arrived with our new great room
rug, he saw this abstract masterpiece and told us that that the particular rug
vendor was known for the quality of rugs that he designed and manufactured.
It
is following such comments that Margo and I have enjoyed hearing. Confirmation
that you aren’t being entirely crazy or out of your mind, is all the
encouragement we need. Coming soon? Our floating electric fireplace but
likewise, I will leave further comments about that to a later post. What I will
say is that I cannot recall seeing Margo any happier than she now has become
and after an unexpected health scare, it is she who comments the most on how
vacation-like our home and surroundings have become. And for that I have to say
I feel especially blessed to the point where knowing the journey we have been
on for almost three decades, it has come as a pleasant surprise to us both.
When
it comes to being blessed, I am also happy to report that some familiar sights
have begun to appear. Margo cooking Polish dishes. Turns out our builder Dave
has Polish ancestry and together with another builder, visited us two weeks
after we had moved in for a taste of Poland. It was an auspicious visit under
the guise of checking in on us both but the opportunity to share in a Polish
lunch was simply too much to ignore. To say we had a fun time would be an
understatement as Margo excelled with the meal she prepared and the flavors it
provided were welcomed by our builders.
There
is something to be said about a company or vendor where the actual builder
overseeing construction wants to come visit after the handover to an owner. A
certain level of confidence in his team’s workmanship was apparent and he was
among the very first to smile at the décor decisions we had taken. We may now
have a semi-custom, manufactured home, but it’s appeal will last for many
decades. Everyone wants to take a long time-out, head to the beach, and enjoy a
Key West no shirt, no shoes, no worries lifestyle.
The
homes being built in LMWS often border large ponds and small lakes. Adjacent to
these bodies of water are nature reserves set aside to never be built upon – a
natural barrier between development phases. Throughout the community, there are
connecting pipes with multiple pumping stations capable of moving bodies of
water around should it become necessary and these pipes feed drainage systems
in some places. It is quite a network and even as it feeds landscaping
watering, there is plenty of opportunity for wildlife to benefit from their
presence.
At some point we asked builder Dave if there were any alligators in these waterways – swimming between ponds and using the network to follow food supplies. Absolutely, came the response. As soon as they grow beyond four feet, they are “relocated.” Nice … and for Margo and me, not something to worry about. And yet, providing a tour of the community to visiting friends, we sighted our first alligator albeit quite small. You may have to strain to pick it out but once again we were reminded of how the Florida panhandle is as much their home as it is ours.
Nightfall
is an amazing sight. With our home built facing north where the backyard runs
east to west, not only do we see the early morning dawn but the evening sunset
as well. With our location, we get a view down the full length of our small
lake. The lights in our pool and spa change color according to a preset
schedule but even so, there are moments where the contrast between the evening
sky and the color of the pool’s waters amplifies the beauty of the scene that
unfolds right before our eyes.
The
nightfall that follows is distinct for another reason. Not only do the ponds
and lakes become homes to alligators as they navigate their way through
man-made channels, but the banks are home to thousands of frogs and the cacophony
approaching a well-orchestrated prelude to each evening’s performance is quite
amazing. It has become part of our nightly routine to head to the spa and wait
for the performance to begin knowing that it signifies the end of a day and a
time to retire for the night.
The wait for evening may
long in coming but particularly during the weekends, an opportunity to sit
back, behave as if we are on vacation, sip a glass of wine, and dwell on the
blessings bestowed upon us, is an acknowledgment that nothing really happens
all that quickly. Honey, I am home, sounds superfluous and indeed unnecessary –
yes, we still work from home – but the sentiment is real. In the Florida
panhandle, the vacation lifestyle may be proving hard to take for Margo and me
but well, for the moment, there’s no signs that we want to abandon it; no signs
at all, whatsoever.
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