Category Archives: Daily Message

Bike upgrade for Christmas

15 Tuesday Apr 2025

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Last Christmas Michael upgraded my Huffy bike from Walmart to a Specialized from the local bike shop.

He wanted a different color but the only one available was black, and he wanted to make sure I had it for Christmas.

I love it! Classic and understated 🙂

The difference is amazing, it rides so smooth.  I also love the accessories that Michael added: the mirror and the lights. And let’s not forget the bright yellow helmet!

I am a lucky girl!

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” ― Arthur Conan Doyle

New wheels

New wheels- classic black

 

My black and blue beauty

My  old beauty is for when my sister comes to town.

Sunset Bike Rides

14 Monday Apr 2025

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I am blessed to start my day with walks on the beach, and to end it with bike rides along the Indian River.

I love discovering new neighborhoods and seeing all the different styles of houses, there are old Florida styles alongside very modern new homes.

But the best part of my evening rides are the sunsets at the Melbourne Beach Pier on the Indian River.

It is just spectacular!!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

Happy chaotic 2025

27 Monday Jan 2025

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Hi everyone,

I hope your 2025 is going well.  Whatever plans you have, start NOW!  Great advice, right?  Yet, I continue to be waiting on things to be finished so I can accomplish other things, so I can live my life.

I continue hoping for calm and order, but I will have to wait longer for that.  The construction/renovation on our condo will continue for a few, or several, more months. I am trying to keep positive and focus on the fact that things are progressing, but it has been a struggle. 

I like results and to have things completed and orderly, and my life at the moment is the total opposite of that.  There is dust everywhere. It is a daily ritual of vacuuming and mopping. Still, the dust persists.

We have been living out of the second bedroom. Everything we have is either there or in NY, waiting to be brought to Florida.  We will not be buying any furniture until all is finished.

Every day there seems to be little progresses here and there, so it seems there is light at the end of this tunnel.  At this moment some apartments are already having their exterior painted. I think ours will be painted in the next couple of weeks.

To renovate the exterior and correct all the damage in the balcony and exterior, they had to come into the apartment several feet. In doing that, there was damage to the floors, ceilings, walls and electrical work. 

We decided to take advantage of the fact that all is a mess and go ahead and remove the fireplace. In doing that we got more floor space and a little more view.

Everything is slow going as one crew depends on the other to finish their parts, and they all depend on the inspectors to come and approve the work. Nevertheless, I see progress and that provides me comfort.

To top the chaos, I have a physical audit scheduled, besides the regular audits – the auditors just love our little firm.  I also have dental surgery scheduled – more gum graft and laser surgery in my future.  Will expand upon those on the next post.

And then there is good, the ever lasting feeling of being blessed and the certainty that all that is happening now is for the best.

Love, light and blessings to all!

2024: The year of finding calm in chaos

19 Thursday Dec 2024

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Always a blessings!

Always a blessings!

Happy Holiday Season everyone! This year just flew by. A lot was accomplished but a lot was neglected as well. It has been a very stressful year. I have an ulcer to prove it.

I neglected friends. I neglected this blog. I neglected my mosaic work. I neglected my health. I am hoping to change that in 2025.

At the beginning of 2024 I thought we would have a relatively calm year, with some traveling between New York and Florida, and a couple of weeks in Brazil. Instead, it has been a very chaotic year.

It started slow with my regular work plus daily bike rides, trying new bread recipes, and sightseeing on weekends. In March we went skiing in Breckenridge and had an amazing time. We both adore everything about skiing and dream of buying a property in Colorado.

In May, while driving around near Cocoa Beach, we went by an open house and decided to go in. From there we went to another property, which we fell in love with, despite the major exterior renovations the building was going through.

Michael sold his place and I put one of my places in NY for sale. We thought that this renovation was going to be finished in a couple of months, instead we are still in the middle of it. There is talk of being completed in March. Fingers crossed.

This renovation is due to a fairly new Florida law that requires that buildings that are near the coast and 3 floors and higher must complete a milestone inspection. Our building failed this inspection miserably, costing each owner thousands and thousands of dollars in assessments – we still don’t know what the final number will be.

We spent July and August in Brazil, where I got a lot things done. The most important accomplishment was getting a person to help my parents with cooking and cleaning. The lady I found is Godsent. She has been such an enormous help.

I was happy to be able to take one week off while there to visit some Brazilian historical towns. I really enjoy taking Michael around my country.

In September we came back to Florida, and realized that our condo was not going to be ready any time soon. We stayed in an Airbnb for a week, but then decided that we had to make the condo work as is. The exterior renovation had to come in a few feet inside the building, making balcony, living room and master bedroom unusable. We are by now used to all the confusion and are making the best of it.

At that time, we didn’t stay long in Florida. When we heard that Hurricane Milton was coming we went to NY.

When I mentioned that I was setting down roots in Florida, my boss/partner decided that we would move our business to Florida from NY.  I though we would be doing that next year because we still have a lease in the NY office until July, but he demonstrated a sense of urgency.

As soon as I got back to Florida in October, I started contacting attorneys, and eventually got our LLC transferred from NY to Florida.

I also found a space in an old historical building, got furniture and I am making it into a nice office. I still have to get it all finished, but I am getting more and more comfortable here.

In November I went back to NY to close the office. There was a lot to do, get my assistant set up at home, give away the furniture, etc. I am happy I was able to have it all done, and not have to deal with that office anymore.

The other good news is that my condo sold and closed. One less thing to worry about it.

When I thought things were on the way to calm, I got a letter from JPMorgan Chase to inform us that they are terminating the business relationship. No reasons given. I was shocked and angry. I had never heard of a bank turning away a customer, for no reason.  I didn’t have time to dwell on it, I got a new bank account and I am in the process of notifying our customers about it.

I am now sitting in my new office in Florida. When I look at all I got done in 2024 I am in awe and pat myself in the back. Each item had layers of headaches, phone calls, emails, etc,  but in the end, all worked out.

In 2024 I had many, of what I call temporary priorities. I hope to now be able to focus on my “living more” priorities.

Michael has been my constant, my friend and partner.  Life is infinitely better with him.

I wish you the most wonderful holiday season. May 2025 bring you a lot of blessings and joy!

The twists and turns of October 2024

07 Thursday Nov 2024

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I feel my life is just like this tree I encountered the other day - all twisted - so different and gorgeous.

I feel my life right now is just like this tree I encountered the other day – all twisted – so different and gorgeous.

It has been over a month since my last post.  I keep waiting for normalcy to start writing more frequently, but I will probably have to wait longer for that.

I look forward to routine, but instead, I should learn to enjoy the adventure of chaos. I continue my struggle with not being able to stay in the moment and enjoying it for what it is, instead of dreaming with a perfect future.

After spending hurricane Helene in Florida, I decided not to chance it and went back to NY to wait for Milton.  I am happy to say that Milton came and went, and thankfully my apartment is still standing.   I still have plywood instead of doors and windows, but hopefully it will not be too long until I get my long-awaited view.

After the boss decided to relocate the business from New York to Florida, thanks to me, I spent some time searching for office spaces and legal firms.

After seeing some horrible office spaces, I found the perfect space in the historic part of Melbourne, FL. Well, not that perfect, because I don’t have my own bathroom and kitchen, but I figure I will have to settle. I got a fridge, coffeemaker, toaster and a portable sink.  I will get used to that.  I don’t plan on being in the office every day.  The bathroom is a shared one in the hall. Not that the end of the world.

The legal firm we hired worked on the paperwork and we are now officially a Florida company.  That part, after so much concern, was actually painless.  Fingers crossed that there will not be any unforeseen issues.

The time I spent in NY escaping Milton, was used to digitize all my files.  It has taken some getting used, but getting rid of paper is freeing. 

I also packed some more of my stuff from my apartment. I decided to have most of my belongings in Florida, and make that my official home.

Finally, the closing for the sale of my NY condo will happen next week.  I will not be there for it, the attorney will handle that. But I will get there a few days later to continue to pack some more of my belonging and to continue the closing of the NY office.  I have to set up my assistant to work from home, among other stuff.

And just when I think that things are quieting down, JPMorgan Chase has just informed my company that they are terminating their relationship with us.  I have never heard of that before. Why would they do that?  I am supposed to get a letter about it.  I am really angry about it, but powerless.

Now I have to scramble to get another bank account and get our customers and vendor to start using this other account.

Peace is a state of mind.  I repeat that to my myself, now more often than ever.  Peace is how I handle all the issues that I have to deal with and not the absence of any issue.

Michael has been the constant in my life, my routine and rock.

I hope everyone is enjoying a blessed beginning of November.  Be back soon.

Always blessed!

“It is possible to live happily in the here and now. So many conditions of happiness are available—more than enough for you to be happy right now. You don’t have to run into the future in order to get more.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

Today’s sights – October 4, 2024

04 Friday Oct 2024

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I have started riding my bike in the mornings again. It has been fun exploring my new town.

It feels great to start getting back to a routine.  Everything else feels in limbo, unfinished.  Will write about it on the next post.

Wishing you all a blessed weekend!

A successful visit to the DMV

11 Wednesday Sep 2024

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I could not have made it this far had there not been angels along the way. – Della Reese

I am now the proud owner of a Florida Driver’s License.

I am happy to say that the trip to the DMV was better than expected. I expected to be turned away because I didn’t have my Social Security card and didn’t have anything else to prove my number. All the documentation I had, such as a 1099, only showed the last 4 digits.

It turns out it was a non-issue, I only had to sign a paper attesting that I know my number. 

Michael had a later appointment at 2pm, to get car registration and plates. I asked if they could see him earlier and they agreed to get his items done along with mine.

While being helped, Michael pointed out to me all the angel figurines that the clerk that was helping me had on her booth. He, quietly, said to me: Look at all your angels! Even though he professes not to believe in such things, he has heard me, time and time again, mentioning that I always encounter angels in my way.  They always help me out.  I think he is becoming a believer!

Angels appear in many different forms to hold your hand through the difficult times.- Doreen Virtue

I was not able to see any office spaces today. I hope to be able to see a few tomorrow. I am eager to get a lot things resolved, and stop feeling in limbo.

Floppy in Florida

10 Tuesday Sep 2024

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“Disruption of our mental construct can be deeply disorienting. Still, it may also provide an opportunity for growth and reevaluation, prompting us to rebuild our mental frameworks perhaps more resiliently than before. (“Then everything was capsizing.”)”― Erik Pevernagie

Even though we have closed on our new condo in June, we are only now returning to Florida.

We chose to stay at an Airbnb for a couple of reasons. First, we have no furniture, linen, silverware, anything at all; and second and more important, we didn’t know how the work being performed on the exterior would be affecting the interior.  

In Florida, every building that is 3 stories and higher must undergo a Milestone Inspection to assess the health of the building. This building failed miserably and it resulted in major work to be done. And major assessments.

While the seller had paid for all the assessments by June, it turns out that there will be more assessments necessary, as the work continues. We expected that.

We just didn’t expect that the work in the balcony would be coming into the living room.   The doors, windows and wall facing the ocean have been all taken down.  At this moment, our beautiful ocean view is blocked by sheet rock.

Michael and I were a bit startled by the amount of work that needs to be done, and how dismantled the whole front of the building is. But we are trying to remain positive that in the end we will have a perfect structurally sound place.

 Fingers crossed that the work will go fast and be done correctly; and that there will not be tons of extra assessments. 

Tomorrow, I will be going to DMV to get a Florida Drivers License and will also be continuing my search for office space.  Wish me luck 🙂

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” ― Roy T. Bennett

Here and there, and everywhere

09 Monday Sep 2024

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Hi Friends,

I am not sure what happened to my last post. Al I see is one quote.  I am guessing that when I hit edit after it had been published, I somehow accidently deleted all of it, except for that 1 quote.

In that post I was talking about being back from Brazil after being there for 2 months, and all I did there. My time there flew by, and yet it felt like time stood still.

After 2 months in Brazil, I was in NY for one week, and now I am in Florida, working out of an Airbnb.

In the next few posts, I will be expanding on my time in Brazil, and will be posting pictures of a road trip that Michael and I took. I will also be giving you an update of my life now, in NY and FL.

I am also hoping to reconnect with my friends here. I have been catching up on your blog, and hope to have a chance to leave comments, as I cannot leave likes (thank you WP!)

Love, light and blessings to all!

“I come home—and I have a feeling of returning like a ghost to its haunt.”― Virginia Woolf

Absence makes the heart grow fonder :-)

03 Tuesday Sep 2024

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“For a moment I felt the quiet hungering thing that comes inside when you return to the place of your origins, and then the ache of mis-belonging. It was beautiful, this place, and it was savage. It swallowed you and made you a part of itself, or it you proved too inassimilable, it spit you out like the pit of a plum.
I’d left here of my own will, and yet it seemed the city had banished in much the same way I’d banished it. Seeing it now after so long, seeing the marsh grass pitching wildly around the edges of the city, the rooftops hunkered together with their ship watches and widow walks, and behind them, the steeples of St Philip’s and St Michael’s lifted like dark fingers, I was not sorry for loving Charleston or for leaving it. Geography had made me who I was.”
― Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings