Happy Anniversary to Me!
April 15, 2020 – Five years ago today I set out in my Honda Civic, packed to the gills along with my kitty Ziggy for our new home in Melbourne Florida. We spent the night somewhere along I-95 in South Carolina and arrived at our new home on April 16th at 4:30 pm. Our furniture arrived at 7:30 the same night. It was snowing when I left Berwyn, PA on April 15th only to arrive to 80 degrees once I got to Florida.
A lot has taken place in the last five years. For one, Ziggy passed on to kitty heaven in July of 2016. I took a part time job with a local investment advisor shortly after arriving, and we still work together on many of his various projects. I’ve worked from home for the last 2 years. I wrote and published several new books since being in Florida and continue to have art play a major role in my life with mixed media and of course hand-crafted journals. I also traded in that Honda Civic for a Honda Accord and still drive it today.
My new kitties – Oscar and Buttercup – joined me in the fall of 2016 – rescue kitties who had been in numerous foster homes for three years prior to me adopting them. Now, each age ten, they’ve settled in quite nicely in the Augustine Palace. They run the place, I just pay the bills and make sure the litter is clean. ^ . . ^
In the last five years in Florida, I’ve endured three hurricanes too. Matthew and Dorian last minute went out to sea, but Hurricane Irma traumatized us for 36 hours on Sept 10, 2017. We get pretty violent thunderstorms all summer long, and we’re known as the lightning capital of the world.
My travels in the last five years have taken me to Toronto, Canada and Paris, France, and in the U.S. to many of the northeast states, plus Colorado and Louisiana. I’ve visited almost every corner of Florida too.
It’s been interesting living in Florida considering I was never a summer person. Autumn is my favorite season and next is winter then spring. I always enjoyed cold crisp air, turtlenecks and boots. Though I wasn’t crazy about shoveling snow, I certainly enjoyed looking at it when it was falling from the sky. I’ve embraced the year round summer weather in Florida. I’ve changed my wardrobe from jeans and a blazer to sleeveless dresses, shorts, and sandals. I still wear boots in cooler weather and have been known to wear socks with my sandals – the true sign of a Floridian. The best part about living in Florida, and Melbourne in particular? Being a five-minute drive to the beach… so beach walks are frequent in my life.
So, with this anniversary, I look at the next five years, and wonder what fun things will come my way. Trips to more foreign countries? Travel to different U.S. destinations? Write and publish more books? Create more art? Probably all of those and then some. Hopefully, Florida will still be a lovely place to live five years from now barring any additional global warming issues, hurricanes or governmental restrictions in our moving about the U.S or abroad.
Here’s wishing our nation a speedy recovery from our global ordeal with COVID 19. Stay safe and healthy. I’ll do the same along with enjoying spring in Florida and our daily 80 degree temps. I’ll be wishing for cooler temps come July and August, just like my northern friends wishing for warmer temps in January and February.
Happy Anniversary to Me!
Love and Hugs
Rosemary Augustine
PS… That’s Ziggy with me in the picture
^ . . ^
. . .
