Light at the End of the Tunnel?

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 82, low 52)

 

On the way home from Mom’s the other day,  the weather started to get bad. We ran into some hard rain but nothing horrible.  Once we got home I started seeing these pictures on TV of the shelf clouds that were seen all over the Tampa Bay area.

I’m glad I didn’t see these clouds because they were pretty scary looking.

Interesting looking clouds, aren’t they?

By the time we got home, the front had passed.  Phew…..

 

Things are going about the same with Mom. We’re managing with her at home.  My brother takes care of her when he’s home, we have a caregiver paid for from her long term policy for 6 hours a day, and we take up the slack. Our taking up the slack means we have to be there 5 days a week, which leaves little time for anything fun and zero time to travel, but I’m working on that.

I’ve been trying to find someone to live in the house to help care for her.  The problem is that she can’t afford to pay anyone, so we need someone with limited money who needs a free place to stay, in exchange for helping out with Mom.

I have been asking everyone we know to spread the word at churches and with friends, hoping to find  someone we could trust. 

As it turns out, there was someone right under my nose.  She is a friend I’ve known for many years.  She’s a wonderful person, is/was a Registered Nurse, and needs a place to live.   She has had some health issues and some bad luck, so this might just be perfect fit for all of us.  I would completely trust her with my Mom without a second thought.  The only problem is that she is physically not able to do any lifting or heavy work, so she would basically be a back up for the regular caregiver and my brother.

We have discussed it with Mom and my brother and both are on board with our friend Cindi moving in.  As of right now, she is planning to move in the first of May.  Of course things can always change, so we’re trying to not count on it too much.    If she moves in and if things work out the way we hope, we are hoping to be able to go up to our place in the Georgia mountains this summer.   We haven’t discussed our potential summer travels with either Mom or my brother yet, but Cindi is on board with it and willing to do what she can to make it happen.   So…..wish us luck that this works out.  It will certainly help Cindi and even if we can’t leave town, it will help us be able to get our life back.

 

We haven’t had much time for fun, but a few weeks ago we went to MOTB (Music on the Bay). It was held at a beach side resort along Tampa bay.   It was a 4 day event with many different “trop rock”(tropical rock)  groups playing from 11 am until 11pm.

Our favorite band, Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band” were playing, so we made a point of going.  Howie is very popular in the Keys and is actually a neighbor of ours on the next Key up.   He is described as Jimmy Buffet on steroids.  We usually see them a few times each winter in the Keys.

 

The venue was great.  The weather was great and in early March in Tampa, that is not always the case.  We had a great day.

They had a crazy hat contest.

You were not supposed to bring in coolers, but we seemed to be the only ones there buying our cocktails from the bartenders. 

There were huge gas fireplaces for warmth and they were appreciated because once the sun started to set, it got pretty chilly. 

It was a perfect place to watch the sun set.

We almost missed it.

After the sun set, we walked back over to the venue, but by this time it was getting really chilly.

The music was great, as usual. 

When Howie plays, he always makes Margaritas from “his Johnson”, which is a vintage Johnson boat motor.  He rigged it up with a blender on top which is powered by the motor.  If you want one of the specially made margaritas, you have to bid on it.  We’ve seen the bids upwards of $5,000 for one margarita, with the money going to Care Camps for kids with cancer.  It’s always fun to watch them start up the old Johnson and make very strong margaritas.

We have yet to bid on one though.  We prefer the $5.00 margaritas.

We left before the show ended because it was getting pretty cold and someone had too much to drink even though she only had three.  

 

That is all the news for now. We are heading to the Keys on the 11th, so it will give us a nice break.