I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord. And I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh lord.

Phil Collins

I don’t know what’s been going on lately, but I feel there’s a cosmic shift in the universe. Things have been changing and developing at lightening speed. When I saw the Astro Twins headline “Why are so many changes happening?” it was confirmed for me, in a planet sense. Apparently Saturn has entered Pisces, disturbing the status quo and causing havoc. They noted that April might be the most pivotal month of 2023!

On the home front, we’ve had a bit of bad news. The person whose been building the “small house for her parents” that’s turned into a mammoth monstrosity, is now moving into the house herself. She got an offer “she couldn’t refuse” for her house, so she’s decided to take the house off the market and move in next door with her family. Ugh! Positive thoughts.

As you may recall, my last dealing with her was over a survey that showed OUR property was infringing into HERS. There were two other surveys showing the opposite, so Zeke decided to end all the speculation and paid someone to do a survey for us. It showed (drum roll) that we were on her property, but not 5 feet all the way across (as her contractor had said), but 5 feet at one point and then tapering down.

It’s “mostly shrubbery”, as she had dismissively said when I first met her, but there’s also a fence (next to my meditation garden) involved that will need to be cut. Zeke seems to believe they are still too close to our property in certain areas and that they will need a variance to get the final inspection of the house approved. You can bet I will appear at the hearing to protest loudly. They’ve been building this house for the last 1 1/2 years!

In my family, there are matters pending which have brewing for years which will hopefully soon be coming to an end. That includes my husband, two sisters and son Christopher. Fingers crossed the outcomes will go the way they’re hoping. I think the hardest part is the waiting (like Tom Petty said). If you get bad news or good news, you can handle it but being in limbo sucks.

And people are moving!

My friend Ellen who I met with Sherida through tennis is moving next month to a 55+ community with her husband and I am so sad! She was a nice friend to have and we three always celebrated our birthdays together, as well as getting together for Happy Hours and movies. Ellen is on my B-1 tennis team (one of the reasons I joined) and we would play tennis together every couple weeks at her courts. She moved down 12 years ago to help her daughter with the grandchildren and has been very involved in their lives. But they are both getting to be teenagers, with lives and friends of their own, so she feels it’s time to move on. Plus, the stairs in her house have become an issue for her husband.

In happy news, Emma is moving to a small house with a yard in West Miami. She’s been wanting to move for a while, since her apartment in the Gables is small, and she wanted a yard for Lucy. She made quite a few offers on other houses, had a couple contracts fall through. It’s been an exhausting process; the housing market in Miami is crazy. But she finally found a house in her price range that meets her needs and she closes Monday. Yipee!

For me, on the work front, I’ve gotten some good news lately. An article I wrote about Morris Lapidus in Coral Gables awhile ago is finally getting published in Coral Gables Magazine’s next issue. It’s the longest article I’ve ever written for them and it was a passion project of mine. It took more than a year to research and write so I’m very glad it’s seeing the light of day. It’s already available online, under latest issue. It’s titled “Lapidus Legacy.” They even used one of my photos (of the Law Library) in it.

And a story I submitted to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get out of your Comfort Zone months ago, has made it to the final round. It’s titled “Yes, Please!” and is about taking an Improv Class at OLLI at UM. That book comes out in July 2023.

In the saddest news (for me), A.J. and her family, including my grandsons Wyatt and Phoenix are moving to Saint Augustine this summer. I don’t want to even think about it now, because I can’t imagine my life without them. I’ve babysat Wyatt at least once a week since he was born and of course I got to see him grow up when they lived with me (which I loved). I still pick him up from school once a week and take him to tennis lessons and, of course, see him and his brother at other times during the week. And now…

I bought my Mini Countryman to fit all three grandsons; it will now be empty, at least of grandchildren. I have used it to drive Wyatt and Phoenix home from school, but I’ve never had all three grandsons at the same time. At a dinner at Apocalypse BBQ (in the Killian Greens Golf Course) to celebrate Justin getting the contract for the job, I played Hangman with Wyatt, who had never played the game. I picked an easy word (cars) but his was long.

Why did you pick such a long word?

I asked.

He just shrugged and I could see him sounding out the words in his head, to figure out where they went. I left the game to take Phoenix outside to run around and A.J. finished it with him. When I came back, he told me his Mom lost. I asked Wyatt what the word was.

And so…

I’ve been trying to eat a Mediterranean diet lately- more seafood, less red meat and more vegetables and grains. Processed food, like most desserts, are frowned upon. Fresh fruit is encouraged. I was on a raspberry kick a couple weeks ago but I went to Publix and they were $7.99! For raspberries! So I tried blackberries, which I normally don’t care for because they can be sour, but these were sweet and delicious. So blackberries are in, raspberries are out and, of course, strawberries are in season right now.

Speaking of desserts, I made wreath shaped cookies for the Villager’s Garden Tour, which was in Pinecrest this year. I decorated them with lavender, butterfly pea flowers, dried cranberries, poppy seeds, candied rosemary and dried citrus peel. I wrapped them up in cellophane and they were a hit at the Villager’s boutique in Pinecrest Gardens.

I picked up a few treasures of my own from Sallye Jude’s estate (a brooch and some plates) and then had a hot lobster roll from Cousins Maine Lobster food truck at Pinecrest Gardens. They are there on Sundays, during the Farmer’s Market.

Since I had an abundance of organic lavender, I made some Honey Lavender Ice Cream (from Scooped) for a Birthday Dinner for my sister Elise at Kelley’s house last week. She had grilled steaks, mashed potatoes (Becky’s Party Potatoes), mushrooms and onions, salad and Challah bread. My Mom made her famous chocolate cake, which we served with my ice cream. I feel more than ever, we need to celebrate every day.

And so… life goes on.

You know its not the same as it was, as it was, as it was.

Harry Styles

Up Next: Felix’s Grilled Oysters