I’m still out in “Tampa”, there is still St. Pete a little bit further west than the Village of Tall Trees….been here since just after Thanksgiving.  The 2 month bout with 2 different bugs is behind me.  I’ve been given the ok to stay here till the Spring, but I’ve come up with ANOTHER (yes another) IDEA for income which would allow me to live in my own rented space, a footprint of a house, instead of a small bedroom with someone else’s furnishings and no real place for much of my “stuff”.   The Mustang is still (knock on wood) taking me from point A to point B…thank the Good Lord for that.  I haven’t been on a golf cart in weeks, and I’m not thanking ANYONE for that bummer.   Hardly have time for dancing, but have given my 2 weeks notice on the 3rd “part-time” job and I’m taking on 2 new, less hours, more pay, appointments.  And, there’s ANOTHER IDEA on the horizon…hope to report good news sooner rather than later!

I don’t know how long I’ll be staying here…when I’ve not been working, sleeping or trying to do something fun for myself, I’ve been “meaning to” see about getting access to the internet from “home”.  I’d found that there are 3 secured wireless accounts in range of my PC, but just had not had the time to investigate who/where they are in relation to this mobile.   On Sunday (yesterday), I FINALLY took the time to search for the one of the three that was an actually name…and I stopped by, finding the owner of the residence out in the front yard.  I parked the car and got out, walked around the card towards her and said “I’ve got an offer you can probably refuse”.  She laughed.

Long story short, for $13/mth, I have internet access (THANK HEAVENS!) from “home”.

And, the offer to visit 4 beautiful cats whenever I want.  One is an outdoor beauty…the other 3 indoor cats.  The two sisters, one computer literate, the other a writer, have invited me to visit whenever I feel the need to be with their animals.

The world is a beautiful place…sometimes, I forget.

Within the first week, when I couldn’t think of a reason to keep on keeping on…I noticed my Angel and Saints cards…I’ve probably mentioned them before??  Anyway, I was worried about my health, the smell, the dampness, the 56 degree temperature INSIDE the mobile.

I picked up the deck with the question “AM I SAFE, IS IT HEALTHY TO LIVE HERE”…

I read the instructions and started shuffling the deck (after hitting the deck with my fist to knock out any other energy).

As the cards “jumped” out of the deck, or slid out, or otherwise appeared to be “meant for me”, I placed them, face down, on the bed.

I’m actually sleeping on my own blow up mattress…been using it since I “hit the skids” starting around 2008.   I like how it feels and I KNOW it’s clean, or as clean as I can make it….anyway, the bed is NOT the story here.

So, I had 10 or so cards, and as the instructions had stated, I “knew” it was time to stop.  I can’t remember IF I shuffled the 10 cards or not, or if I just picked them up and laid down the first 3, but the instructions say the first is the PAST, the next is TODAY, and the third is the FUTURE.

The first card was Generosity.  I can read meaning into that one, but I’m not certain about the context.   It was the next two cards that helped me sleep for the FIRST TIME since moving in…

The second card, the one for NOW, was the HEALING card.  THE answer to my concerns.

The third card, for the future, was the HEAVEN IS WATCHING OVER YOU card.  Can’t ask for much more than that!!

Do I believe in the cards?

I believe that I am loved and that someone (my Dad, the spirit of a departed and beloved animal, or my Guardian Angel?) used those cards to help me feel safe enough to sleep.  They gave me HOPE.

That’s all that matters.

I wanted to give it a few days, just to make sure any stray pieces didn’t miss their mark!!

So much I’ve wanted to write, and if the truth be told, I SHOULD BE WORKING right now, but if I put this off any longer, it may never get recorded!

I’m on a 5-acre “farm” with my sister’s 3 horses, 2 dogs and “once feral, now kinda tame” cat…been here since last Wednesday evening and having a wonderful time!  Once I overcame the sneezing, that is.  I’m somewhat allergic to animals, dander, dust, you name it.  But, sniffles and sneezing behind me, I’m thankful that I didn’t get hit by space junk.

Which means, I can continue working the new 3rd part-time job, the original 2 part-time jobs AND I can live happily in my new digs, the in-law suite in The Villages.   I haven’t yet figured out HOW to get all the required work done, move, and have a life too, but I’m working on it.

But, I really wanted to write about the animals.   There’s Indy, she’s a pit bull mix, and she’s the QUEEN of the house.   Travis, a brindle pit mix of some sort, defers to Indy, WHEN Indy is not around!  I’m speaking of the two knuckle bone “treats” my sister and her husband left in return for abandoning their “children” for the week.   Indy took possession of both, and only today did I notice that Travis has been allowed (?) to have one for himself.  Although both bones are a little less for the wear, at least Indy has relinquished on to the subservient Travis.

One morning, I don’t remember which, Indy made her way from my sister’s room, out to greet Travis who was sleeping near the location where I spent the night…she actually touched him, her nose to his, in greeting.  It was so cute.  I’ve noticed that the horses are also friendly to one another…there is an older mare, Maggie who is in the same pasture/barn as McCloud, a Mustang rescue.   Valentine is in her own area, something about the two mares not getting along, I don’t remember the details.  But, I’ve often found McCloud over at the adjoining fence, seeming to be communicating with Valley Girl, as my sister sometimes calls Valentine.

All of the animals, Thump (cat) included, have distinct personalities.   I’ve learned that a treat in hand makes for a part-time friend, in every instance.   Even though I’ve stayed here on numerous occasions, the animals, in varying degrees, take some warming up to.  They are very well loved and taken care of, and I have to rise to the high bar that has been set!   After a day or two, or three, everyone seems to be acclimated and “life” goes on as usual.  Just in time for my sister and her husband to return home…and for me to get back to my life.

Already I’ve forgotten all of the cool things I WANTED to write here…about the dead squirrel “gift” Thump brought me the second morning I was here…my sister had warned me of the things that go bump in the hallway, when Thump hasn’t quite killed the offering he brings in from the wild.   I forgot to mention waking up on the first morning here alone to find a 15 lb cat sitting on my head!!  Forget the 8AM alarm, it’s time to get up when the cat wants to eat.  Oh, and the time when Maggie and McCloud, backside to backside, each demanding (quietly) his and her turn at scratching…Maggie isn’t one to warm up to anyone touching her but my sister, but when I tried using a brush on her, she found she liked it…so much so that AFTER she indicated (ears laid back) that she didn’t like it and I stopped, she then saw me brushing McCloud and decided she DID want some attention too.  McCloud had already backed up to me, indicating he wanted the area above his tail brushed/scratched…and Maggie agreed.   I only had the one brush, so I’d work on McCloud and Maggie would bump into him.  Work on Maggie and McCloud would bump into her.  It was comical, especially considering that Maggie has never really warmed up to me!

I’m sure there’s more I’m not remembering to record…but I have so much work to do, that I can’t indulge myself with writing right now.  Glad to get this much down.  And, glad to have the opportunity to get away from “it all”…I love my life in The Villages, not so much lately, hardly get to do anything “fun”, but as I’ve mentioned before, I LIKE what I’m doing for income, and so, now it’s just a matter of scheduling everything so that there is a nice work/life balance.

Until next time…

Working 3 part-time jobs, trying to continue also having “a life” here in The Villages AND maintaining the weight loss and the healthy lifestyle…and began the move - using a golf cart, the only way to move (mean that in the BEST way) - and, looking so forward to a life without crumbs, second-hand smoke, and responsibility for someone other than myself.