Postal Delivery in Paradise

Living in South Florida is like living in Paradise.  I’ve read articles, watched TV commercials and TV shows, and even read posts, praising the wonders and excellent style of living one can experience if one lived in Hawaii.  It’s almost like there is a competition going on between the two.

So, I will not compete; I will just talk about my “Paradise” here in Florida, and let others rant about the differences (whatever they may be).

I, and so many other residents here (and wishful thinkers), can extol the benefits of living in the sub-tropical zone.  Let it be said that living here is more than:  colorful, exotic birds; greenery and flowers all year; lots of outdoor entertainment; swimming; sunbathing; surfing; sand and beach; patio parties; palm trees; etc.  It is essentially a wonderful style of living; one, it is said, that promotes longevity.

Of course, there is the weather.  There are hardly any days during the year when we don’t experience sun; if not all day, at least a good part of the day.  Then, there is the rain.  As of late, we have had afternoons and into the evenings and nights, when the rains came down in buckets.  Naturally, there was the accompaniment of the lightning and thunderclaps that rocked the house, and also, sometimes, cut out the electricity – sometimes momentarily; sometimes for quite a while (but rarely).  Yesterday was a particularly disturbing torrent; so much so, that I didn’t even go out to check my mailbox.

This morning was a bright, gorgeous clear blue sky with just some lovely, soft, cottony clouds.  Ideal to open the door, walk out, sniff in the clean air (ahhh), breathe out slowly, walk down the driveway and check the mailbox.

The rain did a good job.  My mailbox is so clean and WHITE!  Great.  That’s one of the benefits of living here – don’t have to clean the mailbox too often – the rain does an excellent job!  Same for the car!

So, I opened my nice, clean mailbox.

What? That envelope doesn’t look so good.

I went into the house, and got my camera.  It really was a very bad storm yesterday.  (In the meantime, I also grabbed a Sharpie to cross out my name and address.)

Ugh! This doesn’t look good. Didn’t feel too good, either.

Fortunately, it was only junk mail.  What if it was really important mail?  I don’t want to go there.

Welcome to my Paradise!

 

Another Rainy Day in South Florida?

Would you believe?  Well, it’s so much better than what is going on in the rest of the Good Ol’ USA!

I’m really not complaining.  I don’t do much of that, thank heavens.

I love when the day’s happenings are kind of “impromptu,” don’t you?  That’s what happened today.

I knew I had to get more litter for my “babies,” and it was getting real close to lunchtime.  A change of scenery is also most welcomed.  I called (guess who?) sis again, and, as she was available, we went on our merry way!

First stop was to Petsmart, of course.

Litter (and some extra food) was loaded into car and next stop:  PIZZA!

Our favorite Italian restaurant, of course.  And we talked and talked and laughed and laughed.  That’s what sisters do, right?

The moral of this short story is:  if you have the fortune to have a sister whom you love, and loves you back, spend as much time as you can, enjoying each other!

Finally – Sunshine!

The day has been really beautiful.  Yesterday was nasty and rainy and I remember commenting to my sister as we rode in the car, that it seemed like a Fall day in New York:  misty, drizzly, cloudy and wondering when we were going to see the sun again.

The night was horrendous.  It rained very hard all night, and the thundering on the roof prevented me from having a good night. 

I went out to the driveway to pick up my newspaper; it wasn’t there.  Then I realized the street was flooded.  I am not one to keep checking the weather report, so I just accepted the fact of the small lake in front of my house and went inside, sans newspaper.

I called the Sun-Sentinel and a recorded message told me today’s newspaper will be delivered tomorrow with tomorrow’s.  What good is that?  OK.  Had to accept that.

Was expecting a visitor this morning, but she telephoned that all the access roads to my community were flooded; in fact, there was a BMW stuck in the deeper water near the entrance.  Posted all the “good” news on the community website.  Daughter’s street was flooded and many major roads as well.  Heard there was a tornado in the area during the night, and her phone and electric were out.  She couldn’t get to work and went back to sleep.

The good news?  Most of today has been sunny and mild, allowing the excess water to disappear and there is no more flooding in my community!  January will probably be the wettest winter month in years, here in South Florida.  No prospect for a drought, that’s for sure.  And my Rusty is keeping me company on my desk.  Check out my blog for my cats:  pussycats3.wordpress.com

What is your good news for today?