A Special Day!

Sunday was my 65th birthday! I had a wonderful day....being here in Florida and waking up to the view and sounds of the ocean was just the beginning! I feel very blessed to just be here! Special thanks goes to Sandy, for having the vision of us spending the month here, and to family who joined us, and also to those who weren't able to make it, but were here in spirit!
Laurie, Scott and I took a ride to 113 Jackson Circle to visit Mom & Dad's homestead. When Sandy and I first drove by a few weeks ago, we were very impressed with how nice it looked!  New siding, nice lawn, and it looked well taken care of, like when they lived there! As Laurie was taking pictures, the homeowner came out and waved...I'm sure she wondered who was stalking her home and taking pictures!  So we pulled over and went up to the door and I introduced myself and said that my parents had lived in this house and you could see the lightbulb go on in her head. "Ohhh, thank you for my dream home!!!" she said! "I love this place and thank you, Virginia (as she raised her hand up to the sky) for my dream home!" Judy remembered Mom and explained to us how she had come down to Florida in 2003 from New York two days earlier to visit a friend two streets over, fell in love with the area and decided then to look for a home....we had just listed the house for sale, and she bought it immediately after seeing it.  At first, she was still working in New York, and just came down part time, until she moved here permanently in 2007.  In 2004 and 2005, the area was hit by hurricanes, and the home was damaged by the winds.  The roofs of the Florida room and carport were ripped half way off, so Judy had it all repaired and updated.
As we were leaving, she gave us hugs, and was truly happy we stopped by and we told her how great everything looked.  When Laurie hugged her, Laurie said "Thank you for loving this place as much as we did!" I believe Mom and Dad were looking down and smiling at all of us standing on the sidewalk of their house!! We then walked next door and talked to the neighbor Barry, who lived there when Mom was still there.  He still travels down each winter from Ontario for a few months, and was glad that we were still coming to this area.

Driving away, we all had such a good feeling about stopping there to visit.  We couldn't wait to get back to the condo and tell Sandy about our adventure on Jackson Circle!!!
Then for dinner, we tried a new place that was recommended by my hairdresser back home.  Its called "The Garlic" and Sandy and I had checked out the website before coming to Florida. The website was very interesting, and the food descriptions and photos looked awesome, so we decided that it would be a nice place to go for my birthday dinner! First, you walk thru a long vine covered path thru an outside dining area among the trees and vines to a small store-like section selling beautiful Italian pottery and serving dishes, all with a very Tuscan feel. The inside dining area is full of very long tables that were filled with diners, with ropes of garlic hanging all around, along with vines and clusters of lighted grapes....we felt like we were in Tuscany! The waiter brings a long baguette on a cutting board along with a plate containing 3 slow roasted garlics, which he then proceeds to mash into a pulp...then you spread it on your piece of bread...yum! One of the features is a small menu of items cooked "Il Forno" which is in an 800 degree oven.  My bacon wrapped filet was from that part of the menu, and was absolutely scrumptious!! Sandy, Laurie and Scott all really enjoyed their choices also, and I think we are all looking forward to returning at some point in the future.  The restaurant is described as "casually sophisticated" and food prices reflect the high quality and great selection. It was definitely a special treat!!

I did miss being with the rest of the family, but will just have to have another celebration once we return home! But I was definitely happy to share the day here in Florida with Sandy, Laurie and Scott!