Mine the Harvest

Last month Syd and I decided to move to a new condo here in Tampa. It all rather just fell into place and happened quickly. We were growing a bit tired of our previous place and had been there about 3 years. The final straw was a dead rat in the ceiling which created a wonderful aroma for the better part of six weeks and the round shouldered condo association offering the absolute least assistance possible. We could literally hear the rats racing about in the ceiling between our unit and the ones above us. It sounded like cats playing in the unit above – too bad it had been vacant for nearly a year.

We did like the old place, especially in the pre-rat days when we moved in. It was very quiet, which we enjoyed, mostly due to about half the units either being up for sale in the collapsing Florida housing market, or winter residences for snowbirds. We had a nice view of the central court and pool area and had a good amount of space. But it was time for a change.

I had noticed a place each day on my way to work that look interesting, I liked the brick architecture and the proximity to work and central location. So one day I stopped in and found they had a few unit for lease. (They are selling them, but the horrible market played to our favor.) A few days later on the weekend Syd and I both went and looked at a few units, went back the next day and signed a lease and moved about two weeks later.

The move went fairly well really – as good as such can go. Syd was able to get a huge share of the pre-move packing done and by the time moving day came our nephew had come to live with us for a bit, so his contribution was a big help too.

Our new place is quite nice having just been fully remodeled. While they did not use the best possible fixtures, etc. they are still pretty nice and the cabinets are of good quality. One thing however is we went from about 1,100 square feet to 920 or so – and while not a drastic change it is enough to cause us to consolidate in some ways – which is not necessarily bad. (Do I honestly need three copies of the same book, and papers from three years ago?)

We have been getting settled in, but have yet to unpack the last few things. We do like our new place though. Although there are many more units than our last, the environment is quiet and the people are friendly.

Moving is always nice for us too – we enjoy the change of environment and welcome the change of new stores, restaurants and places to explore.

If we by chance accidentally neglected to update you on our new address, please let us know by email me at swiftsnowmane_at_earthlink_dot_net