The girls made it safely to FLL; Alex drove a good part of the way and then Leah took over and brought them home; they made it in about 13 hours keeping a healthy pace and driving on the safe side of the speed limits. Very proud of them!

On Monday, Alex took off for Gainesville at about 7 AM, and Leah went to school. Alex was able to mail me my medicines via UPS from Gainesville (I had only brought supplies for two weeks), and they made it here on Tuesday at about midday. Good job Alex! Leah discovered that her credit card was missing and then, to complicate matters, her car started acting up. She took the car in Tuesday to a mechanic who’s been looking after it for the last few months. She picked it up on Wednesday night and the mechanic could not find anything wrong; and so, he charged nothing. Very proud of her handling of all her responsibilities under adverse circumstances!

Jan and I have been working full time, while trying to get small projects done in between calls; doing them after work is a challenge since it starts getting dark at about 4 Pm and by 5:30 it is pitch black! At any rate, we had DirectTV installed late last Sunday, late enough not to see the Dolphins debacle, but early enough to see the Eagles send the Vikings packing… Additionally, progress has been made in the wood trimming, electrical trimmings (relocating or changing plugs/suckets), installing the mirrors in the kitchen bar, building the stairs rails and banisters (what a big job that is!), finishing the installation of the elevator, etc.

Yesterday, and for the first time since we’ve been here, it snowed (well, that could be an overstatement); in the middle of the afternoon the sky went gray and the white flakes started to fly. It lasted for about 15 minutes and then it stopped suddenly; the sun came back out and all the flakes melted. But it was terrific while it lasted!

Also yesterday we had another first: the first ever flat tire on the Escalade; holy Toledo, what a process that is to lower the spare tire (mounted underneath the trunk), shake it lose (from the hoisting wire), and then place the jack underneath the carriage; at any rate, live and learn…

Jan and I (and the pups) are driving back on Saturday, providing the local tire dealership receives the new tires we ordered on time tomorrow; otherwise, we will drive Sunday…

The girls drive to FL by themselves!

It is Sunday, January 04, 2009; Alex and Leah left for Fort Lauderdale at about 8:30 AM CST; should be arriving there, God willing, between 9:30 and 10:30 PM EST.

I had asked my boss’ opinion on Friday about me staying one more week up here in ‘the Bluff’; since I received no feedback at all by yesterday afternoon, I decided his silence was loud enough and I had to return with the girls and Jan would stay up here one more week. However, at about 7:30 PM last night I got a message from him apologizing for not answering before and saying that it was OK with him for me to work from here next week. So, I and Jan get to stay for one more week and Alex and Leah went back to the Florida home to go to their respective schools…

After we decided this last night, we went out to grab a bite at the Pizza place that replaced the Down Yonder; as we walked in there were Stuart, Terri and Hank Daniels; after a brief conversation they left, but not before inviting us to go watch the Dolphins game with them; and so we planned. However, as we were getting ready to go watch the game, the DirectTV guys called saying they were on their way to install our TV feeds.

While waiting for the installers, Jan and I hung the drapes and window treatment in both Alex’s and Leah’s rooms; good team work.

The guys got here at about 1 PM and, as I write this, they are still working on it and I am following the game via the NFL web site; it is half time and we are down 3-13.

This morning the temperature climbed up to the upper 60s; almost shorts & t-shirt weather; as of now is 52!

End of 2008; begining of 2009...

… and so it was that 2008 came to an end. The Temperellis (Mike, Nancy, Jesse and Rocky) left early Tuesday morning heading back down to Florida. We had a great time. They made it down uneventfully, except for a small glitch (a 2-hour traffic jam caused by a wreck) around Orlando.

Paul Bradley, a VP of Sales for PayCargo who works out of Nashville, came to work with me; we had a very productive day in which we exchanged ideas and agreed on PayCargo critical success factors…

Pat Ross invited us to come over to her house (about ¾ mile away – closest neighbor) for end of year celebrations; we will be there.

The elevator doors were installed (no more falling through shafts!) along with some of the railing on the stairs, and the replacement of some exterior fixtures that had been damage by staining; and, in the typical fashion of two steps forwards and one step backwards, as we were leaving for Pat’s, I dropped a frozen roast beef in the sink to defrost for the New Year’s day dinner and the sink fell off; I mean, it became completely unglued and unhinged from underneath the granite slab. Jimmy will be here today to fix it…

At any rate, we went to Pat’s and had a great time; I don’t know yet most people’s last names but Danny & Donna and DJ, Sammy & Nancy, Hank & Terry, Fireman Dan and Claudette were there, along with us and Pat. We made some Glühwein (spiced wine – German style) and took it to Pat’s; people experienced the sensation of warming up from within!

On January 1st we called my mother (her 80th birthday); we also hung drapes in the basement, built a standing coat rack, assembled a bench for mud room, installed a dead bolt on an outside door, built a fire pit.

We are starting to plan the return to South Florida… and so begins 2009!