A Leisurely Beach Stroll

Today, on my first day off in two weeks, I had thought it would be wonderful to laze about with my coffee and not be in a hurry to do anything. I'm glad it didn't work out that way. One of my friends saw me on Facebook and texted me to see if I wanted to meet her for coffee and a beach walk. Did I mention that it was about 7:15 on a Sunday morning? At first I was hesistant, holding fast to my plan to do nothing, but then I thought it would great to get out, and the salt air would be good for my almost-gone sinus infection. We had a great time! We lingered over coffee at an outdoor table just two blocks from the beach, catching up on each other's life. Then we ambled down the brick-walk (one of my favorite features of the beach closest to me is the quaint brick sidewalks) to the beach. According to my phone, we walked about three miles, not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning. We tentatively set up another round of the same next Sunday. We both work too much and go to the beach too little; it was perfect. Yesterday's rain cooled things down and the humidity was low (for Florida), just around great.

The other good thing that came out of my short beach trip was that I got inspiration for my kitchen and flooring re-do. I've decided to go with "beachy" colors, light blues and greens, and either white or sand (or something in between). This is a big deal; I haven't had a chance to browse cabinets, countertops, and floors, but now I at least have an idea of what I want. If I work it out just right, I'll have made my choices and received my insurance money by the end of the month. That way, my contractor can get the materials and do the work while we're on our little family vacation. I'd have to be out of the house for the work to be done anyway, and at least if I can pull that plan together I won't have to move to a hotel close to home when I get back. I enjoy staying in a hotel as much as the next person, but when I'm working and trying to get things accomplished, it's a big pain in the ass not to be able to go home. And there's the added allure of leaving the mess to go on vacation and coming back to a remodeled (or at least updated) house.

After work this week, on at least a few evenings, I'm going out to choose my materials. I've been working hard to get my life in good shape; having my house in order will be a nice step in that direction.