Tuesday, June 5, 2012

News From Paradise

If  it seems I have been a bit lax in posting lately, it is because of the frenzy I have been in to get the condo ready for my first tourists/renters. 

We (my daughter Melanie, her two daughters and two of their friends) arrived here on Thursday...a full day ahead of what I had actually planned.  Thank goodness, because the tenant who moved out after having rented for the last nine months left me an unholy mess!  I guess he decided since he was leaving he would have a gigantic party, and leave the mess for me to clean up!  YUK!!

Anyway, after cleaning, scrubbing and desanitizing, the Management Company sent over a person to inventory the items in the unit before the first renter arrives.  Well, I had a ton of dishes, silverware, etc here and thought I was doing pretty well.  However,as it turns out they have their own idea of what you need to have.  Not 8 matching dishes or sets of silverware....but TWELVE.  Not eight glasses...but TWELVE and they all have to CO-ORDINATE or match!  Yikes.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find sets of twelve or even to find two sets of eight sometimes?  So off to K-Mart, WalMart, Ross, Dollar Tree and God only knows how many other stores to find all of that.  I had already been to the store and bought all new pots and pans and a Keurig coffee maker and tons of other stuff.  Then, because of the condition of all the pillows, and bedclothes I loaded up on new pillows, waterproof pillow covers, waterproof mattress covers, blankets....well, you get the picture. 

Nest we began to make sure everything was in perfect order.  First discovery was that there was a leak under the kitchen sink.  The tenant had totally ignored it and I thought the boards under the sink might have to be replaced.  Fortunately, there was no real damage other than CRUD and it was discovered that there was a leak in the disposal.  Sooooooo off I go AGAIN to Lowes to get a new disposal.  Fixed. Ironing board and iron had to be placed on a rack...geesh.  Fire Extinguisher hadn't been re-tagged for several years...another contact.  Anyway, you get the picture...I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger.

We have managed to squeeze a little fun in the week though, and the kids have had an absolute ball!
As usual the water and the temperature here have been fabulous.  This is truly paradise on earth.  Granma (that's me by the way) got in on a little tubing in the ocean...the kids tried to drown me!

But we had a great time in the crystal clear water that day. 

Yesterday, however, Melanie learned a lesson on her own!  Never put a kid in a boat until you are absolutely SURE they know how to paddle.  They all decided to go to the Bridge at Destin yesterday and paddle over to Crab Island...short paddle, mostly shallow water.  However, Melanie had not counted on the fact that although the kids though they knew how to paddle, not a single one did!!!
Long story short, they got out in the middle of the Channel area, and were going around and around in circles as the tide began to carry them out to sea!  YIKES!!!  Melanie is yelling directions to them in their boats (two in each boat) and they continue to go in circles.  Finally in desperation, she and another gentleman had to swim out and swim the boats back ashore!  Whew!  They won't try that one again!!!

Granpa took the kids "ghost crabbing" along the shore the other night.  The moon was full and they took their lanterns and granpas headlamp and headed for the beach.  It wasn't very long before I saw them heading back across the beach toward the condo.  Success!  TWO tiny ghost crabs. Last night the kids walked down to the beach an reluctantly returned the little creatures to their "families" along the shore.  They will surely become captured again by some other children enjoying all the fun at the beach.  Sometimes there are so many flashlights and lanterns along the shore it looks like stars.  Memories that will last for a lifetime.

Well, the Master Bedroom is completely re=decorated.  The unit is completely equipped with everything you can imagine.  The place is clean!  The view is fabulous!  We are ready for the arrival of our first paying renter on June 7th.  We will be leaving here late Wednesday, but I will be back at least once a month to keep a close watch on the place.  After all, this is my HOME now and I can't wait until I can live full time in Okaloosa...

One more note.  Always, always spread a little joy wherever you are.  Yesterday on yet another trip to the local WalMart....I don't want to tell you how many times I have been there....I was picking up some games and videos to leave in the unit.  People here for the most part are so pleasant and happy, but the checker at the WalMart yesterday seemed particularly grumpy.  I felt a bit sorry for her.  When I went to grab my first bag off the little roundabout thingy I said, "I hate these things, I always leave something behind!" 

She suddenly looked up and said, "I hate everything about this place!"  Oh, my gosh, I thought this woman hates her job.  I said back, "But, you live in Paradise, you need to be happy.  It's time for another job!"  She smiled then and explained that she was born here.  We began to talk and I told her about my horrific job setting two stores for Hobby Lobby.  It was supposed to be fun.  It turned out to be anyting but!  Anyway, by the time Melanie and I got done talking to her she was laughing, and told us we had made her day.  If only someone else had beat us to it!  So, just a reminder, no matter what is going on with you, always smile and always try to spread a little joy in the world around you.  Life is short and we need to make the most of it!  I know, easy to say from Paradise, but really is it all that hard to be pleasant? 

Well, I still have some things I must get done before leaving here tomorrow.  We are meeting with our Realtor who sold us the unit for dinner and a celebration tonight and I am looking forward to that.  So, I must run for now, but I will be in touch with more news from Paradise very soon!!!

God Bless - Peace, Love and Joy!

2 comments:

  1. Too long? Hmmmmm...thanks for the opinion, but there was a lot to cover here!

    ReplyDelete