Research & Relaxation

I apologize for the long gap in posting; situations around here have been very time consuming and hectic as of late and I would rather post nothing at all than post hurried nonsense pieces. I have not had a mind for dwelling on any one particular thing recently and have mostly spent my free time organizing my Pinterest account. If I stop and think about something for too long my mind drifts off to the recent passing of our beloved Basil. He had developed cancer and with limited options for treatment, we had little choice but to lay him to rest. After 12 years as my best and closest companion, it was a devastating blow that hasn’t left me too eager to sit and write about canning tomatoes or DIY projects.

Immediately after this tragedy, the Navy decided to send Loving Husband off to Norfolk, VA for some training over the entire week of Valentine’s Day. The day LH returned home we had out-of-town company for the President’s day weekend. All of these intermingled with bouts of flu like symptoms from both of us and the very unpredictable (but usually bad in one sense of another) weather has left the two of us in desperate need of some time away from here. We decided that LH would take a week and a half of vacation and we would travel down to Florida to see my father in Tallahassee. It is the busy season for him at work, so he has been particularly stressed out and was very distraught over the death of our dog (his “grand-dog”) as well. It will be good for him to see Brooni and have someone to talk to and see for a few days as he lives alone and there is no family closer to him than 900 miles.

Our plan is to spend a few days with him and then to drive the 4 or 5 hours to the Tampa Bay area and spend 4 days there. I have been to Tampa once before several years ago, but Loving Husband has never been. There is no time like the present I suppose! Even if it is raining the entire time, it can’t be half as cold, dank or boring as it is here in Wisconsin right now. There are plenty of things to see and places to go. I’ve researched a healthy list of museums, thrift stores and restaurants for us to visit while we are there including the Henry B. Plant Museum, The Ringling Museum of Art, The Florida Strawberry Festival, The Florida Aquarium and we even plan to stop at Weeki Wachee Springs for a mermaid show on the way back to pick up Brooni before we head home.

When we return, I hope to be relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to blog about all of the historic places and interesting places we have been. We are always interested in “vintage travel” and try to stay at historic inns or hotels and to visit kitschy vintage places like the Weeki Wachee Springs state park.  This time around we will be lodging at The Don Vicente Inn in Ybor City which I hope to be able to take many photos of to share with you! For fans of my shop, I also hope to find many “new” items to fill my virtual shelves with upon my return!