On the way to becoming a Floridian...

So begins my version of Ferris Bueller’s Day ON:

Mon., 8/13 - movers pack up Arlington house
Tues., 8/14 - Barb drives to Venice condo
Wed., 8/15 - Barb pays an arm & leg for FL auto registration & driver's license

Nearly 1 hour and $500 later,

my car is an official resident of the sunshine state.

 

Thurs., 8/16 - Barb meets Pam (FL realtor) to check out some Sarasota, FL homes
Thurs., 8/16 - Barb enters first Sarasota house with Pam - decides immediately that this is the house for her - saves Pam the trouble of going anywhere else (a realtor’s dream)
Thurs., 8/16 - Barb consults with Pam (whose house is about 2 miles from this one) regarding an offer
Thurs., 8/16 - Barb & Pam put together an offer for $235,000 (house is listed for $259,000), which includes conveyance of 3 very cool bar stools, a dinette set (1 glass table + 4 chairs), & a very expensive washer and dryer (complete w/computer manuals an inch thick)
Thurs., 8/16 - Seller agrees to convey all the above for asking price of $239,500 (Barb & Pam shout for joy)!
Fri., 8/17 - seller & buyer sign contract. Inspection on 8/30. Closing scheduled for 9/27
Sat. 8/18 - movers arrive & unload furniture into Venice storage unit

Two things in life I could never do for a living -

move other people and clean other people's homes.

(Hope nothing's broken in this storage unit).

Sun. 8/19 - Barb drives back to Arlington
Mon. 8/20 - Cleaning company comes to clean Arlington house top to bottom
Thurs., 8/23 - Arlington, VA home closing @ 10 AM

Here's the link to my new home (pictures do not do it justice):

http://mfr.mlxchange.com/5.5.14.26728/Tools/MultiImageViewer/MediaViewerDlg.asp?Mode=2&DefaultTab=0&ShowImages=1&Address=&SysPropID=40862419&VarList=lNulA%2FrR%2FPvr9RSzu7qZB9mbHY5vIbA1Toz0HXCtC6XgLpYNJGD4WxkTzObbevNF&SiteCode=MFR

Barb celebrates the extraordinarily “fruitful” and successful week by buying an avocado tree
(only 1-3’ tall).  She tried to order a lemon tree and a lime tree, but FL law does not allow citrus plants to cross state lines.  So, I’ll have to content myself with getting one of each at a Sarasota nursery.  These will all have a place of honor near the pool, soaking up the warmth and the sun under the shelter of the screened-in lanai.
Whew!
 

Here is what I know about the Venice-Sarasota corridor…

People are so much nicer, patient, friendly and kind (I think it is the extra vitamin D from the lovely and invigorating sun).  Case in point…one of my biggest pet peeves is pumping my own gas & selecting “yes” for a receipt on the pump’s screen, only to find out that I have to go inside and request one from the harried cashier whose line of customers is the inverse to the number of cashiers – the fewer the cashiers, the longer the line.  When I entered the store after filling up for my return to VA, the cashier asked me if the pump was out of paper.  I told her I wasn’t sure but there was a message on the screen to “see the cashier” for my receipt.  Then I told her nicely about my pet peeve when it came to that.  She apologized profusely and then asked me to have either a coffee or soda on her for the inconvenience!  (Yeah, like that would ever happen in the DC metro area).

Life is slower near the Gulf – I can feel my blood pressure decreasing.  Strangely, things always seem to sort themselves out without too much energy on my part.  I needed a gym; Pam pointed out a brand new LA Fitness location, due to open September 15^th, less than 2 miles from my new home in Sarasota.  What to do for the month I’d be living in my Venice condo?  Just so happened that LA Fitness bought out Lifestyle Fitness, 1 mile away from my condo – and my membership is good for both places! Problem solved!

Putting off knee replacement for a more convenient time – and come to find Sarasota’s Doctors’ Hospital is not quite 2 miles from my new home!  I could drag myself there after the surgery, since I can’t maneuver the stick shift in my car.  Failing that, there is the SCAT bus for traveling all around Sarasota and the beaches, downtown, the cultural center and other environs.