AUTUMN

It appears autumn has finally come to the island! Guess this last cold wave made the trees decide it was time to change.

This tree met us on the way out of our subdivision yesterday. Doesn't it look fine in all its glory? Makes me kind of hanker for the mountains.

But that's during leaf season. Not this time of year. Definitely not! I know some of you love the snow but I've had enough of it in my lifetime, thank you very much!

So I'll admire the little tree and enjoy the sunny weather!

WEATHER

Doesn't seem like Christmas here on the island. We had a couple of cold snaps, but currently it's 73 degrees and a beautiful sunny day. That's supposed to change tomorrow. Rain and cooling off. Christmas Eve low will be  (shudder) 38 while Christmas Day will be 50 for the high!

But it seems I have some bright spots in the yard. Thank you, former owner! Below is the Christmas cactus, blooming despite my attempts to kill it this summer.

And in a secluded corner is a poinsettia. Flowered all by itself without my doing a thing, thank goodness. I'm not known for my green thumb. I always thought you had to put them in a dark closet and mutter incantations to make them turn red. Guess not.


Here's a blossom close-up.

And here's the whole bush.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas!

MORNING WALK

The weather -- with apologies to the northeast -- is perfect down here! Temps in the sixties, mostly sunny! We rode around the island yesterday with the top down.

This morning, our usual walk took us out of the complex. See the azaleas at the street? All over the complex, they're blooming. They must think it's spring, but I'm afraid they're going to be surprised in a few days!

So then we walked on down by Mallery Cafe, through the Village, and down to the pier. No big ships in sight but the tide was near high. Took a couple of shots of water dashing on the Johnson rocks. There was practically no wind today, but since the highest point on the island is nineteen feet above sea level -- the average is nine feet -- it's kind of scary to imagine what some really big winds would do to us.

And if you're wondering why they're called Johnson rocks, it seems that they were brought in during President Johnson's administration to keep the beach from further erosion!

WEATHER

We managed to walk again this morning. Not as long as usual but we're gradually getting over the crud.

The weather--on January 15th!--is wonderful. Mid seventies again today. This is why we moved down here!

These photos are of the church across from our complex that we go by when we walk. Notice the poinsettias in the foreground? Still lovely this long after Christmas. And behind them is a blooming hibiscus. It and the azaleas think spring has sprung! Are they gonna be in for a shock when the cold weather swoops down, maybe this weekend. Not looking forward to it.

COLD WEATHER

So it got down below freezing last night. Brrr. We'd hoped to be back at the beach by now. Instead, we're still in north Georgia.

So we go to bed -- my guy, the girl cat, the boy cat and me -- and pull up the blanket. He wants the comforter pulled up on him, too. I don't and push it aside.

He says, "You better not kick the covers off tonight," as I sometimes do during the night.

I say, "We might have to buy an electric blanket with twin controls."

He says, "Then the cats would pee on us and we'd be electrocuted."

I get to laughing so hard the cats stalk up and down angrily till I can stop and they can settle back in their usual places.

I didn't kick off the covers though. Too cold.

MOVING IS THE PITS

We are in the process (slow process) of moving back to north Georgia. Took stuff up the past week and kept appointments.

The stove fixer came. I now can cook (if I want to which is a big IF) on the range rather than using the microwave or the George Forman grill. Except the hot surface light stays on all the time so I never know if the top's hot or not but, hey, the oven and all the eyes work. I'll take it.

The duct cleaning people came. You should have seen all the dog hair and other mess they got out. Revolting. Unfortunately, they discovered our air conditioning doesn't work. And neither does the fan, unless the heat's on. It was cool enough for heat, thank goodness. Now we have to make an appointment to meet the HV/AC people next time we're up.

The termite inspector came. We're good. Nothing eating up the house.

The washer and dryer came. My guy thinks the floor needs reinforcing though. After reading the manual, we suspect the whomping noise on the spin cycle means the flooring's too flexible. But we can wash and dry.

And Granny has shingles, poor soul. That's the worst thing.

So it wasn't the best visit, but a lot of stuff got done.

Glad to be back where it's warm though!

GORGEOUS DAY

We walked out around lunch. Temps in the 60s. Sun shining. Blue skies. The ocean was tranquil with several pelicans diving and finding fish to eat. Reminds me of why I love it down here.

Came back by the park and the tennis players were out. Was surprised to see the cute tennis instructor with his shirt on but my guy pointed out he was instructing men. Not a pretty woman in sight!

BACK TO THE SUN

Lake Lanier

North Georgia was cold. We got away just in time to miss the snow.

We had the plumber in to fix the washer faucets which he did. Then we discovered the washer walks across the floor when washing. Something about the drum being loose. And the dryer refuses to cut off by itself. I realized the 'new' washer and dryer we got twenty years ago, are now the old washer and dryer. Guess we'll spring for a new set.

The heat and air guy came. He got the heat fixed.

The landscaper came. He blew leaves and fixed a sagging walkway. Put out some solar lights by it and my guy put down 3-4 bales of pine straw. More is needed in 2 weeks when we go back up.

The lady redoing the screened porch finished up so it's ready for the cats to move back up. They're terribly excited. We, not so much. We remember the howling six hours in the car moving down.

And finally, the kitchen stove mechanic came for the third or fourth time. Looks like they'll be back since he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

So the stove's still to be fixed along with the duct cleaning, the pine straw, the bathroom leak we spotted before coming back south. We also have more storage stuff to bring up and lots of leftover junk under the house and on the dock the tenants left still to be carried to the dump.

So we'll be going back and forth for another few weeks. And then it'll be warm in north Georgia. We like it there but not the cold!

TRAVELING TO N GA

Again. Just as the bad cold weather is about to strike - talk of teen degrees and snow flurries - we're heading north.
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My guy keeps wondering why the northerners can't learn to control their weather and keep it up there. I keep wondering why we can't figure out better times to travel.

Evidently, we're gluttons for punishment.

WEATHER

The weather channel shows it all today! Snow, ice, you name it! So much for the sunny south.

It's cold here, and raining. My poor guy took off in the mess to make necessary rounds - the post office, the bank, and Southern Soul to pick up stew and barbecue, yay!!!!

The weather may be bad but we'll feast tonight!