My Sunday Photo: Mr. GBH catches a ‘Whopper’.

Yesterday Mr. GBH caught a really big one. Look, he’s almost dancing for joy. (He was obviously focusing better than my camera was, but at least I captured the moment.)

He managed to swallow it whole….no problem!

All done and dusted

So…… on Wednesday, the couple who came to view our home, just adored everything about it, and made us a cash offer at asking price on the spot. This of course is great, but the proviso that we move out by February 13th was less than ideal, especially as our son and his family were due to arrive on the evening of the 13th. Hmm……..we hesitated but only for a moment, as this offer was too good to miss, and one never looks a gift horse in the mouth…….right? Our nice Realtor lady bought us a bit more time until the 19th, but I think our son has decided to make other plans now, as he realises that life could be a trifle hectic here for the next few weeks. It looks as though we’ll be living in our new place much sooner than anticipated, kitchen or no kitchen. One of my friends said that having ‘no kitchen’ would suit her just fine, as she hates cooking. Another widowed friend has a dishcloth hanging on her oven door which proclaims.”My kitchen looks so new because it’s never been used.” Well, that’s not me, as I love to cook, but I think I’ll be able to cope for a couple of months without it. I guess we could have a barbecue with salad every day, or eat at the club, so we certainly won’t starve.

It’s been raining steadily for the past three days and the level of the lake has risen quite a lot. I saw what I thought was Mr, GBH walking on water, and then realised he was actually standing on the grass.

A very special visitor was Miss Rosy spoonbill. She arrived unannounced, went to chat to Woody at the far end of the lake, and then popped over to me for a quick photo.

Then she decided to fly across and consult with Great Egret about getting ‘digs’ for the night, but he was too intent on catching himself some supper.

Mr. A just totally ignored her as he wallowed in the shallows where he’d been for most of the day.

I haven’t seen her again, so maybe she’s gone somewhere where the neighbours are more friendly.

The bright-eyed Small Blue Heron was also a first sighting. He’s so dapper in his shiny suit, a real snappy chappy who looks like he wouldn’t miss a trick.

Talking about ‘not missing a trick’, the eagle-eyed Home Inspector is coming to have a thorough look at our house on Monday, so the trick is to anticipate any defects he might find, and fix them before he arrives. That will be hubby’s job this weekend.

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend. Unfortunately I’m feeling really achy and have a bad cough. I think I may have a bout of flu, which is something I really don’t need right now, so I’m going back to bed and will catch up with you all when I’m feeling a bit better.

I’m linking this post to Charlotte’s ‘Feathers on Friday’ weekly challenge.

 

WPC: Optimistic update on house renovations.

As some of you may remember, almost two years ago, hubby and I bought a house which was in a very sad state, after standing abandoned for over four years with the roof leaking in many places. It was full of black mold and some of the ceilings were on the floor. After getting a new roof put on in September 2014, hubby almost gutted the whole house, and has been steadily working away at renovating it, almost single handed. He’s filled three large dumpsters with tons of rubble. We did get a company in to rip up all the floor tiles, and also had all the windows replaced with hurricane-proof glass. The rest has been done by my one-man-band-do-it-yourselfer, in between three trips overseas, and a week long visit to meet family in Key West.

The WPC ‘Optimistic’ seems a good opportunity to give you another update on the progress made so far. I know that my blog friend Jude is dying to see some photos. I have to be very patient, as things always take longer than anticipated, but I’m optimistic that one day in the not too distant future, I will look out every day on this view from our lounge window. Unfortunately there’s no alligator, but maybe we could import one, if the two in the lake outside our present home should have babies.

This is my half finished bathroom,

with a round tub, which I can sit in and look out of the window. It will have steps up to it.

The shower between the two bathrooms is almost finished and we’ve just ordered the frameless doors, which will be installed in just over a week.

Hubby’s bathroom is also almost finished. I took this photo a couple of days ago, and all the black and white trim is now in place, so it looks quite different.

Hubby is very proud of the barrel ceiling in the master bedroom, which took a lot of effort to put up all on his own.

The bedrooms are at the moment full of boxes of our ‘stuff’ as well as furniture, sent over from South Africa.

This is going to be my little nook off the bedroom, where I can write and paint.

The guest bathroom is almost done except for the sliding glass door on the bath and the wall cabinet.

The front bedroom is finished, except for cleaning up and setting up the bedroom furniture which is still all wrapped up. Window blinds and drapes are in the mail.

The grand-children’s room is also done except for the furniture, and clearing out the boxes etc..

One day this will be our outdoor living area, protected by insect screening.

The large living area is being divided up, and this will take at least another sixty sheets of dry wall. Hubby has already used a hundred sheets for replacing walls and ceilings in the rest of the house.

This will be the dining room, which also has a barrel ceiling like the main bedroom.

The kitchen will be in this area, and it will have a pressed steel ceiling.

Here will be the laundry room with a door into the garage.

The family/TV room will sit at the end of this area., and my piano somewhere in between, and the sitting room is off to the left.

The twenty-four heavy round things, which I carried in after the kerbside delivery, are the bases and tops of the twelve 8ft columns, which will be strategically placed around the living area.  The two of us managed to lift each column onto the wheelbarrow, and wheeled them into the house one by one.

Hubby’s study will be here, just off the entrance hall.

There’s still a lot to do, including laying the hard wood flooring, designing and installing the kitchen, and of course lots of painting.

I’m very optimistic that by next summer, I’ll be able to hang a hammock between these two palm trees, and relax. I might even let hubby have a go in it, if he has nothing else to do.

To see more optimistic posts for the WPC, just click this link.

Mr. A sings “All By Myself.”

“All by myself
Don’t want to be all by myself anymore
All by myself
Don’t want to live all by myself anymore.” ~ Eric Carmen

Some individuals are destined to live a lonely life, and it seems that Mr. A falls into this category. Just yesterday he spotted two friendly looking Common Gallinules standing chatting on the grassy bank. He swam up alongside, thinking he could perhaps join in the lakeside gossip. “Uh-oh!” said the one Gallinule to his friend, “I think we’d better continue this conversation elsewhere.”

Miss Anhinga also wasn’t any too keen to engage Mr. A in small-talk, and took off in a great hurry, as he hauled himself out of the water.

“Well that was a great deal of effort for nothing,” mumbled Mr. A through his sizable teeth. “Some folk can be downright unfriendly. I’m never going to get to know the neighbours at this rate. Ah well, I may as well just rest here for a while in the sun, while I get my breath back.”

Two hours later he was still there, snoozing away, dreaming of becoming the most popular ‘Badass’ on the lake. Being an alligator is such a lonely life, and it seems that nobody wants to be his friend. All together, say “Aah, but he’s such a sweet guy!” Just look at that smile.

As I type this, he’s stretched out there again, just wishing and hoping for some friends to come play with him.

Have a great Monday. 🙂

 

My Sunday Photo: Great Egret has a Bad Hair Day.

We had really wild and blustery wind here yesterday, which caused Mr. Great Egret, who is usually so sleekly élégant and sophistiqué, to have a very bad hair day. When I stepped outside to take this photo, my hair decided to do the same.

Happy Sunday to you all. It’s cold here in Florida, so I can only imagine what it must be like for all of you who live further up north. Stay safe and keep warm.

Photo a Week Romance: Cinderella and her Prince

Just before Christmas in England, the whole family went to see the annual pantomime at the local village theatre. What a lot of fun it was, packed with songs, slapstick, silliness and an abundance of fairy-tale magic. Cinderella has always been one of my favourite childhood stories. I remember as a child, feeling such satisfaction when the ugly sisters’ big feet wouldn’t fit into the glass slipper and the beautiful Cinders was brought forth from the scullery to try it on. This was romance at its best. After the show, I managed to get a photo of the happy couple. I knew it would come in useful, and it does seem perfect for Nancy’s Photo a Week Challenge: ‘Romance’.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I’m looking forward to attending a dinner dance this evening with my Prince Charming. What are your plans?

Woody gets a bit ruffled.

Mr. Woody wood stork absolutely made my morning today when he showed up for an impromptu photo shoot. I could hardly believe my eyes that he was right there standing stock still in my backyard. Usually he just marches on past and is gone before I can grab my camera.  Not wanting to frighten him away, I crept into the lanai and as silently as I could, slid open the door. He obviously heard me because he turned as if to say, “Whatcha looking at, lady?”

He then decided to play a trick on me, and pretended that he was going to fly away to the other side of the lake. “Here I go! Ready for take off!”

But the promise of being internationally famous on WordPress was just too much of a lure, so he settled down again, although his feathers showed that he was slightly ruffled.

I really like his party piece which he kept repeating at intervals, just in case I’d missed it. He’s pretty good at balancing on just one spindly leg.

Before he left, I asked him if I could have one final close-up pic so he obligingly fluffed up his beard and presented his left profile, saying all the girls told him this was his best side.

Then he got bored with posing and stalked off along the bank.

What fun I had out there today with my camera. Hope you’re having a fun Thursday too.

I’m linking this post to Charlotte’s ‘Feathers on Friday ‘ challenge.

 

Meet Terry and Theresa.

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” ~ Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

It’s pretty obvious that these two Painted Turtles are an item, don’t you agree? 🙂

Happy Wednesday to you all.

It’s a nice day, don’t ruin it….

 “Say, Pooh, why aren’t you busy?” I said.

 

“Because it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.

“Yes, but—-“

“Why ruin it?” he said.

“But you could be doing something Important,” I said.

“I am,” said Pooh.

“Oh? Doing what?”

“Listening,” he said.

“Listening to what?”

“To the birds.

And that squirrel over there.”

“What are they saying?” I asked.

“That it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.

“But you know that already,” I said.

“Yes, but it’s always good to hear that somebody else thinks so too.” he replied…

  ~ The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff

 I hope that you’re all having a really ‘nice’ Pooh kind of Monday.

My Sunday Photo: Gilded Feathers

Miss Anhinga, soaking up the sun’s rays after a quick bout of fishing this morning.

Happy Sunday to one and all. 🙂