Still Stranded on an Island in the Gulf of Mexico

     I cannot believe it has been 15 months since I last posted an update. Somehow one month in Cedar Key has turned into 27 months and I am, in the words of a Dan Bates song, still "stranded on an island in the Gulf of Mexico.".  

     In October a lovely southern gentleman who had been staying here agreed to become a work camper. Dennis had landscaping experience, and he picked up on and supported what I was trying to do. We argued, bounced ideas off each other, bought plants, visited Kanapaha Botannical Gardens (and came home with a truck full of plants!), haunted the nurseries at the flea market in Crystal River, dug and planted and together transformed the park into a wonderland. In November the Garden Club awarded the park Garden of the Month status and did a four-page article in the local paper. I was pushing to get everything cleaned up and ready for the Arts Festival in April. Dennis wanted to change sites, as he felt his site was too sandy. When he pulled his rig out to change sites---he left! He called from the road to say it had been an honor to work with me. He’s in Tennessee now. He never did say why he left. Ask me why I have a hard time trusting men . . . .  I believe everyone and everything has a purpose in my life. The painful things are the most difficult to understand and place in perspective.

     I never had many friends, so I haven’t had much experience losing them. It’s still very hard when I make friends, and then they’re gone. It’s the nature of the lifestyle, I guess.
     My sister Julie coordinated the first vacation I have had as an adult, and helped me scratch an item off my bucket list. Julie, her husband Terry, their granddaughter MacKenzie and I went to Disney World. Three days, three parks. We had a ball. Then Julie had a calendar made of various pictures of us in the park. Wonderful memories captured.  
    My biggest project was the cottage, a small structure on the park property. The cottage has been a beauty salon, produce stand, BBQ joint, pawn shop, and temporary housing for various Wilson children. It started as a small cinder block structure, and gradually the porches was turned into a kitchen and the overhangs became the new walls. It was several different colors, inside and out. The place was an eyesore. I painted the outside bright blue. Dennis found a supply of pickets in a neighbor’s discard pile and changed the plain porch to a picket fence, and added rustic shutters. I painted the porch railings white and the porch terra cotta (Mary Ellen, resident genius artist, picked the colors), Dan replaced and repaired all the light fixtures, Bruce had the tin roof replaced, Dennis and I landscaped the exterior. I painted the inside a pleasant light yellow. It is now a most attractive and charming little residence, and I’m proud of what I accomplished alone and in concert. But it makes me a little sad, as I doubt I will ever have the opportunity to live in a bricks-and-mortar permanent residence again. I miss my house.

  

    After 18 months of hissing and snarling, Simon, who is now an outside cat, let me pet him. He has turned into a love bug, begging for attention from everyone. I even pulled him onto my lap a week ago for the first time. Love conquers all, at least in the animal world.

 

 

     After the last flock of hens went to a local farm, I figured we were done with chickens. I cleaned the hen house and scraped the yard. Boss man Bruce casually mentioned he might like to get more chicks, but I didn’t pay a lot of attention—Bruce always has ideas. The first Sunday in May I received a text that the chicks would be at the post office the next morning. Yep, I’m a chicken farmer. Sixteen baby chicks call me mama. They’re seven weeks now. I have them all named. Wonder how that’s going to work on my resume?

 

Tipper and Thelma just learning to roost

 

                                          Nora likes to be held and petted. Henrietta is behind her.

     Health-wise, things could not be better. Thanks to ObamaCare and the ability to get affordable health insurance, I was able to get the minor hernia surgery I needed and follow up on the ovarian cancer with which I opened this blog almost three years ago. Surgery went fine, and tests show I am cancer free. I work out daily. I kayak often and I’m very active. I’d like to lose ten pounds, but working in a café makes that really difficult.

     There’s a great deal more that has happened in the last year plus, and I will try to update more often. I can honestly say I am the happiest I have ever been, stranded on an island in the Gulf of Mexico.             .