Tuesday: I arrived right on time at the Tampa Bay airport. David and Carol were ready and waiting for me! Yes! Since it was nearly 10pm when we arrived at their place, we decided to just retire for the night and catch up with each other the next day. It was a good plan!
I have a bunch of pictures to post of their house, inside and out, so I'm going to ... because ... you just never know when they will up and sell the place (!!) and buy another once-ugly house to make into a beautiful dwelling. This is not the first house they have rescued! Carol and David are exceptionally good at "re-doing" old and ugly things and restoring them to something nice once again. Plus, they do this TOGETHER ... which I find truly amazing. They enjoy each other and are good friends, good partners ... what a gift.
Here is an outside view of the house, street view. See the lovely covered front deck/porch? This modular is nearly 2x bigger than the one I live in. David told me it is 66' long x 28' wide (if I remember correctly). They have a super big driveway which even accommodates parking their boat.
These next few pictures are of the park's community pool and pond area ... I went swimming three times in it!
This pond area is just adjacent to the pool ... very pretty little place ...
... evidently there have been alligators in this pond in the past -- NOT when I AM THERE TO SEE THEM, naturally! Last year, the day after I left (!!!!) David told me Animal Control had to be called to remove a 6' gator ... AND I MISSED IT. So regrettable.
Here are a few pictures of the gorgeous flowers they have planted on the side of their house ... actually, David and Carol have planted one of these plants and it is starting to grow but hasn't blossomed yet. These pictures were taken down the street from their house.
This is the favorite flower of my nephew (Daniel) -- it is called Plumeria (Frangipani) -- and I think it is one of the prettiest blossoms I have ever seen ... it almost looks good enough to EAT.
Aren't they lovely?
Another view of their house. David's truck is hooked up to the boat and ready to go!
The flower garden on the side of their house. David said that a year ago, this was all overgrown and super ugly. It must have taken a lot of work to make it look like this--so worth it!
This is the view from their front deck.
Another Plumeria ...
Here are a couple of Great Egrets strolling their neighbor's yard. These egrets are all over the place. I love them!
On the last day I was with David and Carol, I walked around and snapped pictures INSIDE their house so that I would remember just how beautiful it is ...
The pillow says: "Always kiss me goodnight." Mmmmm.
This is their Master Bath ... it's bigger than this picture shows--I just didn't get all of the angles.
The Master bedroom ... that double door leads to a nice walk-in closet ... so much nice storage space!
Another view of the master ...
This is looking out of their bedroom to the hallway. Do you see the sign above their door? "In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus."
They have a very nice laundry area! These machines were given to them by a friend in the Cayman's who had moved to the islands and put a lot of their "stuff" in storage. When Dave and Carol returned to the USA last year, these friends told them to help themselves to whatever they wanted out of their storage unit. How kind is that?
This is the main bathroom ... isn't it pretty?
This is the side entry-way ... so inviting and welcoming!
These stairs lead down to their "basement" (HAH!) ... David said this part of the house used to be an absolute PIT--but you would never know it now!
See this cool floor? Carol and her sister, Doreen, stenciled the design! The room next to it has more storage, and then the light-colored door is the entrance to the workshop with tons of tools all nicely organized. These guys are amazing.
This is the great room of the house, nice and open. See the island? David just re-did the top of it. It used to be a two-tiered table-top, but how they changed it really opened up the room nicely.
Much of their furniture was from the friend's storage, but Carol is also really good at picking things up at thrift stores and repairing/remaking them.
This is David's office where he operates "Speedy Legal". I will have to explain the business at a later date. Just know that God has blessed the business David has with his son-in-law, Chris. They couldn't do it without the other person doing what they do best ... and without God answering prayer day after day after day ... He is so good.
I like the "Always Earned, Never Given" display of David's ribbons from his marathon days ...
I wish I had taken better photos ... these do not do their house/home justice one single bit!
I'm not sure WHEN to insert the COVID story ... but it may as well be now ... because due to my being found positive with the dratted virus, it somewhat grounded us here at home. I was so well taken care of! And I am so thankful I wasn't home in Grand Rapids to expose Emma and cause her to be quarantined from work for two weeks! Anyway, I am now negative for COVID and still weak but recovering well.
We did watch a bunch of movies--two or three with Denzel Washington--when I remember the names I will insert them! We watched "Behind Enemy Lines" which was .... SO TENSE! We watched a nice love story, "Return to Me" and a few others. We went on walks too. And I was able to watch David do his job that he does so well. Just being with my brother and Carol would make the trip to Florida worth it, even if we didn't get to do anything whatsoever ... ah ... but we DID do some great stuff. I'll get to all of that in further posts.
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