April 30 Florida, Day TWO

Tuesday: David is semi-retired and presently works 20 hours per week for a law firm doing very similar work to what he was doing at his own business, "Speedy Legal." He is basically a para-legal. He is amazing on the phone with clients! He is so patient and kind and gives such clear directions and information. However, he just doesn't enjoy being isolated at home (he has a home office); and clients can be extremely tedious, and his boss can be a bit "trying." Having said that, David worked from 9AM until 1PM today. I grilled some cheese sandwiches for us at about noon, and we took off for some FUN almost exactly at 1:00.

While David was working, I explored their little house. I'll show you some pictures; however, right now I am so mad at myself because I have many, many more pictures of their house that I uploaded to my computer yesterday ... but now I can't find them anywhere. Lots and lots of pictures of the inside of the house that seem to have just vanished. When (!!) I find them, I'll post them here.

But for now, these will have to do:

This is the FRONT view of their house, from the street.

Their backyard is really delightful--David said there was NOTHING back here when they bought the place except very dead grass ... and dirt. He has worked very hard to lay sod and do some landscaping too.

Meet "ECHO" the gecko! 
Little gecko's run around everywhere here!

Isn't it pretty back here? I did some reading on this slider/swing while David worked each morning.

There is a little string of lights coming from the watering can down to the flowers--I totally forgot to go out there when it was dark to see how cute it looked lit up. Rats.

I think this gorgeous flower is called a PLUMERIA--yes--Google confirmed it! When I look at it, I think of Carol. It's just that the softness of each petal and the allure of the coloring of each blossom is just like her! LOVELY. 

This must be some kind of lily ... sure is pretty, isn't it?

All of these flowers are in the front of their house. I love flowers.

These pictures are woefully out of order, for which I apologize; but when I try to move them around inside this crazy blog, it just deletes them. So ... it is what it is!

Look at this amazing PANTRY! Double doors that fold open to nice, deep, well-organized shelves and bins. Wow.

Below is David playing a piece on the piano (special request). He has my father's hands, almost exactly; but I try not to think about that when I am with him. David has many characteristics of my dad, just not the bad ones. I love to hear him play. By the way, this office space was once a disaster area in their house. It has all been renovated with the DO-IT-YOURSELF skills of David and Carol. Since I know absolutely nothing (actually, LESS than that) about DYI projects, I will just say that I really like the end result of this room (having not seen what it looked like prior).

This is the master bedroom with an attached bath. I didn't take any bathroom pictures because I couldn't get a good angle. It is very tastefully done with everything you could ever dream a bathroom should be!

This is the main room of their house. I love the bright feeling in here!

This is their kitchen, which I understand they did some work to also.

Another view of the front room ...

David, hard at work one morning.

The beautiful bookcase in David's office ...

This is one of two paintings that an artist/friend from the Caman's sent to them, all rolled up. They had both pieces mounted on canvas--just perfect!

More shots of the flowers outside ...

And this space (below) used to be part of their driveway--not a room at all! Behind that sliding barn door is their shed space which also used to be their laundry space. BUT ... it was not a very cozy laundry space and was actually open to the outside a little bit. Carol requested that David build this room, and he did! Look how nicely it turned out too. David said they obtained the washer/dryer units from FB marketplace for a really good price.

Here is the inside of their SHED. Carol and David are two of the most organized people I have ever met. When you walk in any one of their rooms, there is a space for everything and everything is in its place. My eyes were happy as I walked around--I wasn't at all wanting to "fix" anything or put anything away--it was already in order. Mmmm ... yes.

Oh! I found the pictures I took of the plaques and signage hanging on their walls. I just love each and every one of these:

This one is hanging in their bedroom (I think)

This one is hanging over the door of their
bedroom ... I think it is my favorite.

This is on a shelf in the bathroom.
I think it is my 2nd favorite!

This ship sits on top of David's 
bookshelves

The other painting ...

This one cracks me up ...

After David was finished with work, we jumped in the truck and headed over to Clearwater Beach! What a gorgeous place.

Meet RALPH ... I'm not sure WHY he is Ralph, but he is! The pelicans on the pier were very friendly and not at all afraid of people. I really wanted to reach out and touch him, but I wasn't sure he would tolerate me doing that.

Ralph looks like he has a bit of an attitude, doesn't he? 

We walked around Clearwater for quite awhile and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon. We got home in time to get dinner on before Carol got home from work and then we sat down to enjoy "The Equalizer." Yikes. What a tense movie!