Home things

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Feb. 8-10, 2012 DUNEDIN, FL – When you are in one place for as long as we have been here, there are quite a few ordinary days for relaxing, shopping, and getting little things done. It has been great having this time to really use our motorhome to the fullest, and make refinements in our comforts. We had a mess of shoes at the door, since there are sandals, runners, and slippers for the two of us. And our clothes were really jammed in the closet (and yes, I’m guilty of hogging the most space!). In the tiny bathroom, there was little space to hang two bath towels, hand towels and face cloths, and keys were cluttering the small counter. So, a couple of fruitful shopping hours later, we addressed all the issues. Hanging shoe pockets have cleared the clutter at the door, self-adhesive hooks on the bedroom wall have relieved the congestion in the closet, and a tension rod across the width of the bathroom provides plenty of hanging space. A handsome row of key hooks on wood that matches the cabinets has tidied up the counter. We are very pleased at how much more organized we feel with a few small additions! On Thursday afternoon, we headed for the airport while it was still daylight, to make sure we were in plenty of time to meet Mum’s plane coming in from Ottawa. Our plan was to eat a leisurely dinner at one of the restaurants and then meet the plane. We lucked out at Carrabba’s, an Italian restaurant with branches across Florida and Texas. Our meal of minestrone soup, spaghetti with meatballs and sausage and seafood cannelloni was absolutely superb! Val said he hadn’t eaten such good Italian food since he was in his grandmother’s kitchen. We will definitely look for another one to repeat that experience. After a bit of browsing through some of the airport shops, it was time to wait at the baggage carrousel for Mum. We had checked to ensure she would be met with a wheelchair, since at 86 years of age, trekking long distances wasn’t very appealing. Sure enough, after a few minutes, a smiling attendant wheeled Mum out of the elevator, looking fresh as a daisy! She’d had a lovely flight and felt totally pampered the whole way. It was great to see her, and when we got back to the RV park, we brought her to her lovely little suite at the Blue Moon Inn just a short walk from our site. Mum was ready to go this morning, after breakfast in the sunny breakfast room at the Inn. We took her on a little tour of the RV park and dropped in to see John and Fawn at their new trailer. Then we drove in to Dunedin so Mum could see the Gulf and some of the old homes in town. Our afternoon tour took us to Wall Springs Park, north of Dunedin, where there were some lovely paved walkways that Mum could easily navigate with her walker. Some people were throwing bread for the fish and seagulls at a boardwalk over the spring, and we were amazed to see both species scrambling for a free snack. The fish churned up the water, and the gulls actually snatched bits of bread in mid-air as they were thrown their way! The people kindly shared their bread so we could join in the fun. Mum was delighted to see the palm trees, green spaces and even some flowers – a welcome contrast to the snowy climes that were just a few hours behind her. We finished off her first day in sunny Florida with a hamburger barbeque – not your average Canadian February fare.