Today is March 1. Our winter in Florida is down to one month. So much for keeping this blog up to date as things such as two weeks without a computer have interfered. However, it is time to update it and explain what we have been doing for two months. First of all we have not been having adventures and visiting tourist attractions. Instead, we have been living in Florida and enjoying it greatly.
This is the house where we are living, on the Banana River. It is a split level and we have the downstairs. It is comfortable and quiet and we are enjoying it greatly. Notice there is a fence in front of the house. There were three white pelicans (one of them broken) on the fence. The rest of the posts were empty. Gary has spent lots of hours getting a great suntan while designing and sculpting eight new white pelicans and repairing the three that were there. There was no mold or pattern, just handful after handful of cement. Each of them is different. They were painted last week and are now complete. Many people going past have stopped to talk to him about them.
Here he is midway through the process with the birds coming into existence.
And here is the finished product. There are 11 penguins in all.
And a close-up of one of them.
In addition to the fence, Gary has painted several new paintings. He paints on Tuesdays in Cocoa Beach at the gallery where he has been painting before.
In addition to art, we have been to the beach a little, although the weather has not been very cooperative. The ocean is beautiful, and to smell the air and hear the waves is one of life's pleasures.
As the weather improves we plan many beach visits this month.
Gary celebrated his birthday shortly after we arrived. Here you see his "cake."
Louise has been busy knitting. She has finished a sweater for herself:
Also a shawl as well as several smaller projects. She knits twice a week with two different knitting groups.
We have seen many manatees as the cold weather has drawn them into the canal to stay warm.
We have joined a gym and spend much time there. We are doing weight machines, water classes, and cardio exercises. Gary is doing two miles on the treadmill. We go at least every other day. So life has been busy, and we are happily engaged in social and physical activity. We have even joined our landlords in playing Bingo on Monday nights. There is an ease of living here that has made us happy this winter. There is no stress, the pace is as slow as you want to make it, and it is easy to find things to do. Gary is picking up watercolor supplies for a watercolor painting class he is going to teach for SAGE shortly after we return home in April. In summary, life is good!
