buckle-up

  Oh very young, what will you leave us this time You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while And though your dreams may toss and turn you now They will vanish away like your dad’s best jeans. Cat Stevens What designated the month of this March, for me, was how it marked the passage of another major milestone. I’m not telling, mind you, but it was a significant milestone. It represented a time for introspection. A time to think long and hard about whereto, now? The watches represent a mild indulgence on my part but each one tells a story about which, more will follow later in this post. As for the opening lyrics, it was way back in June1974, sitting in the old Hordern Pavilion within what was then the Sydney Showground that I attended my first concert; Cat Stevens. Not too rebellious for the times and safe to say, well before the times when anthem concerts would prevail. Oh, very young was more than appropriate for those times as I had little inclination as to wh...

It’s raining! How hard can it rain? Walkways are awash and the pool is full to the brim. More than once have we resorted to stretching out the blue tube, the “blue snake” as we call it, and switching to backwash. There is a drain separating the pool area from the covered and, as best as we have seen to date, protected, lanai. Winter has descended and reminded us that we live well above the line separating tropical Southern Florida from the subtropical Florida Panhandle. Yes, it just gets colder when you drive north. We did not realize, or put much thought into, any of this when we built our house, the lanai and the pool and spa (under a “birdcage”) in the Panhandle. For comparisons sake, and for the benefit of my Australian family, the latitude of Panama City Beach is 30.22 North whereas Sydney is 33.8 South (and Brisbane, 27.47 S placing Panama City Beach and Coffs Harbor, NSW, Australia at 30.29 S equidistant from the equator. And we know how much it rains at Coffs, let alone further...

  The decision has been made. Our home beginning mid 2025 will be Florida and we will be residing in Latitude Margaritaville Water Sound (LMWS). The decision made included settling on a block of land in the community and paying down for the building of a new construction home. Hopefully, it will be completed mid 2025, so that for now, our plans for the coming twelve months are firmly set. Why LMWS? Why Florida? If you have been following the posts for this year, particularly the most recent posts going back to May, you might recall our decision to move to sea level. Our choice of Florida, as far as it is from Colorado, was influenced by the beach-focused lifestyle and the selection of a location in the Florida panhandle, smack in the middle of Florida’s most hurricane prone coastline, is something we took into consideration but came to the conclusion that the upside greatly offset any negativity or reservation we may have had about moving this far east (and south) in the US....

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news With good friends you can't lose This could become a habit! The focus on movement continues. It has its variations but movement is so important for all of us. Whether you consider this in the context of our physical wellbeing or the pleasure we derive from a constantly changing landscape, ignoring any deep-seated desire to remain stationary is an integral part of our makeup. Call it what you want, but what is around the corner or on the other side of the hill is what drives us. Perhaps the grass is much greener somewhere else, but before we can add anything further, we have to move and see for ourselves. Consider this post as the third in a sequence documenting movement. When Margo and I look back on what took place in 2024, I suspect the overriding theme will be movement. Or, more precisely, the many moves we made. Home front; vacations and travel, we have already addressed the move to our Longmont, Colorado, condo...

But I would not give you false hope (no) On this strange and mournful day Looking out across our home’s deck as the temperatures plummeted, the dreariness of the scene hit me rather hard. As the thermometer continued to drop into the minus teens Fahrenheit, memories of walking along the beach at Manly or taking in the view from our cruising yacht seem to be fading quickly. And yet, as Paul Simon wrote so long ago, on this strange and mournful day , I would not give you false hope as it wasn’t just the drop in temperature or the bleakness of the scenery that led to our melancholy but rather, the very clear ending of one of life’s chapters. Doors may close, they say, but windows will open. Or is it the other way around, I can never seem to get this right. But the combination of birthdays, anniversaries and an upcoming change in scenery has hit us hard and a reminder, as you might guess, that you cannot wait-out time. And have we had many memorable times particularly those that left us...