VTB: Visiting the Blog

I started blogging for two reasons: to communicate better with my friends and family and because I needed the creative outlet. I stopped because I got out of the habit. I have been feeling the need to blog again. At this point it is not a lifelong commitment or even a 2010 New Year's resolution, but here I am.

It doesn't seem possible that Mom has been in Port Orange for 8 months. This was definitely a good decision. Mom had the second surgery on her wrist, removing all the hardware that was originally put there and she has regained as much use as possible. Adjusting to apartment life was made much more difficult by a troubled upstairs neighbor who has now been evicted. Of course, Mom easily made friends at First Baptist and is now teaching a Sunday School class. She has continued to travel, making numerous trips to Vero and Palm Beach Gardens. Her big trip this year was a Christmastime trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown. On the same trip she spent time with friends and family. Perhaps our biggest "adventure" has taken place since she has been home. Mom had not been feeling like herself since she returned from her Christmas trip. She had a dry cough and no energy. Believing that she simply needed a course of strong antibiotics, she made an appointment with her general practitioner. He discovered she had an irregular heartbeat, sent her to the ER for a work up and warned her to be prepared to be admitted. Monitors revealed that her heart rate was 130 (normal is 70-80) She was treated with medication and, at first, did not respond. After a a second medication which did lower her heart rate, she was discharged. Fortunately, she also left with an appointment with a cardiologist for the next day. That was Monday, December 21. At 2:30 AM on Tuesday, December 22, Mom called to say that she was worse and felt she needed to call 911 and go to the ER. I offered to drive her - the hospital is basically "across the street" from her apartment complex. I am still debating that decision. She was in the ER for about 7 hours and they contacted her cardiologist at 4AM. he saw her in ICU at about 8AM and because the meds still were not doing the job. she was scheduled to move to Halifax Main campus for a test that checked for clots and then shocks the heart back to a normal rhythm. She got her ambulance ride but did not have to have the test. The meds finally did their job and her heart converted back to a normal rhythm. She was discharged by mid afternoon. I spent the night with her that night. She has gradually regained her "perkiness."

Which One Did She Choose?

DeDe heard back from the realtor for the Villagio that there was a three bedroom, two bath condo available. Although much like apartment living,this choice provded a maintenance free lifestyle. DeDe would have to do some downsizing and rent a storage unit while waiting for a garage to become available on the property.

Choice number two is the house on Crown Lane. DeDe would have her hands full caring for the house and yard this size but the rent was reasonable, the location perfect, and she could move right in with storage space to spare.

The lovely townhouse in Indigo Lakes was the newest and cleanest option but it was also the most expensive and the farthest from her daughter. Any adventure very far from home would involve high traffic roads.

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!

DeDe chose the Villagio Condominium. Let the moving begin!

Two More Choices for Consideration

We contacted a realtor only to learn he had nothing available in our "neighborhood of choice." He did, however, offer us a Port Orange alternative. The three bedroom, two bath house on a corner lot had a formal living room, dining room, family room, porch and a two car garage. I could never get over the feeling that the house and yard were too big but the rent was reasonable, the neighorhood attractive and the location close my house, the post office, the bank, Walmart and PUBLIX. It seemed like the scale was tipping heavily on the "pro" side when weighed against the cons.

Wednesday morning at work Kathy Smith mentioned that a "For Rent" sign had gone up in her neighborhood. These are adorable 2 car garage town homes with lawn maintenance included. This particular address had bedrooms and 2 baths, a glassed in airconditioned porch, an eat in kichen

Armadillo Research

Ben helped me write this: Ben's family has an armadillo in their yard and they are angry. The family brought in a armadillo trapper. Mommy let Ben come home from school and watch the armadillo trapper. Ben checks the traps every morning and every night. Last night there was a squirrel in one of the traps so Ben and Gwen let it out. We studied the armadillo and learned these fun facts: Nine banded armadillos live in Florida, three banded armadillos live in Brazil. Three banded armadillos are the only ones that can roll themselves into a ball. Armadillos like to swim, and they are very good at it. They have a strong dog paddle, and can even go quite a distance underwater, walking along the bottom of streams and ponds. They can hold their breath for four to six minutes at a time. When they need to cross larger bodies of water, they swim across. Because their heavy shell makes it hard for them to float, they gulp air into their intestines to make them more buoyant. Armadillos get run over by cars so often that they have earned the nickname of "Texas Speed bumps." Three reasons. First, armadillos will eat roadkill. Animals that eat roadkill often become roadkill themselves, because they are on the road more often than other animals are. Second, armadillos are nocturnal. It is hard to see animals by the side of the road at night, so it is harder for motorists to avoid hitting them. Third, armadillos jump up in the air when they feel threatened. This often works to startle a predator, but against an automobile it doesn’t work; they just end up jumping right into the front or underside of the car, with disastrous results.

https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/facts.html

I thought this was fun to investigate with Ben and is an amazing example of God's handiwork.

Prospects in Port Orange

Finally, a property under consideration in Port Orange! Villagio on the Lakes is located in the center of Port Orange with easy access to shopping, banks, and restaurants. The condo is inside a gated community with screened porch, heated pool, and party room. DeDe's daughter is about three minutes away. After seeing a three bedroom with the realtor, DeDe was hopeful she would not have to downsize as much as she had first thought. However, it is unlikely that a three bedroom is available on the first floor. A two bedroom condo combined with a garage/storage unit would also provide the space DeDe needs. The tough part of this selection is waiting to find out which units will be vacated by Embry Riddle students.

Not in the Running

The second possibility that caught DeDe's eye is a delightful peachy pink house on the river. She even tested the the circular driveway making sure that she could pull back into Beach Street traffic with ease. Again, the drawback on this house is the distance, it is even further north than the apartment. DeDe wrote down the information off the sign outside and called the realtor. She would have to wait for the realtor to get in touch with the homeowner.

Meanwhile, the realtor suggested another address as a possibility. This residence, a house, was in DeDe's old Ormond Beach stomping ground and only a stone's throw from her good friend, Judy. But the distance from her daughter is another story. This was the northern most address. Truthfully, 11 Brookside Dr was never really in the running . The yard was natural and leafy.

House Hunters on DeDeTV

Today we will feature a vivacious senior who is relocating to be closer to family. DeAda Ann Francey, who we all know as "DeDe" made a quick trip up the east coast of Florida to see her daughter's latest home improvements, visit friends, and check out possibilities for relocating to the city of Daytona Beach. DeDe is no stranger to the Daytona Beach area, having lived there with her husband and 4 young children for 5 years. She lives an active lifestyle, busy with church activities and entertaining. Her new residence can be either an apartment or a home. Two bedrooms are a must, a third bedroom or a garage would be desirable.

The prospecting trip to Daytona was made without a plan but not without a prayer. DeDe headed straight to Ormond Beach to see her dear friend, Judy Dick. On the way, she spotted two riverfront possibilities.

The first potential residence is an upstairs apartment over a riverside home. DeDe loves the idea of drinking her morning coffee while watching the sun rise over the river. The house has its own dock across the street. The apartment is very spacious, two bedrooms, two baths. It has a large living/dining area which will allow DeDe to continue to entertain. This is obviously an older home. One of the bathrooms has mint green tile on the floor and walls. The kitchen cabinets have slats, painted silver. The landlady is friendly and welcoming, leaving us to explore on our own. DeDe is concerned about finding a place for her orchids and discovers a large backyard complete with a well stocked koi pond and an orchid shed. Perhaps the landlady is a kindred spirit. The rent is very reasonable. While the idea of this spacious waterfront property is inviting, there is an overwhelming negative to consider. The entrance is through the garage and up a steep set of outside stairs. It is unattractive and and a little hazardous to maneuver. The other consideration is the distance between Ormond and Port Orange where DeDe's daughter lives. The Ormond apartment is almost the the Granada Bridge, easily in vew from the apartment dock.

The apartment is the entire second floor of the house. All the upstairs windows!

The dock (pictured above) The open garage door and the apartment entrance beside it (pictured below.)

This view (below) is from across the street and shows the apartments second floor entrance door. The garage roof is accessible but covered with loose rocky gravel.

This is more of the view across the river. Can you imagine the sunrise?

There is a small riverside park just yards from the apartment. This picture also shows how close the apartment is to the Granada Bridge.

TO BE CONTINUED....