Monday, December 24, 2012

A Southern Christmas

It's still a little strange to me that Christmas here comes with 80 degree temps, shorts and tee shirts, and possibly a run up the river in the dinghy tomorrow. In a perverse way, I miss the snow and the cold this time of year. But only a little. It's easier to adopt what my niece's husband (and frequent boat visitor) calls the Florida attitude. 

To me that means paint the toenails, put on my flip flops, walk on the beach and try to remember to wear a sun hat! Another big part of the Florida scene are the boat parades all along the waterways at Christmas time. I've always wanted to see one, but we never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. 

This year we saw two-- the first quite by accident in Fort Pierce where these photos were taken and the second here in Fort Lauderdale was a bit more planned. We were fortunate to have the company of our niece and two of her friends join us for the last day of our southern trek, from North Palm Beach to our marina here in FTL. They were lots of fun and are old hands at parades, Mardi Gras or otherwise, and were smart and considerate enough to buy folding canvas chairs and stake out a place on the dock for us. We watched the parade in comfort, with a glass of wine perched in the arms of our chairs.

Since the parade last Saturday, we've begun to settle in here, as we expect to be here for a few months. A kind friend has loaned us a car, which we've been enjoying. We had given up on rentals, which are barely available here during the holidays and ridiculously expensive.

Paul has been working hard to get both of our computers back up and running properly, and I think mine is finally healthy, not to mention a great deal faster! 

Now we're ready to kick back and enjoy the holidays-- the red velvet cupcakes just came out of the oven, next I'll start the sauce for the pasta. We'll put on one of our Christmas CD's, pour a glass of wine and put aside our projects. 

And to all our you, we send our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2013!














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