Greetings From Sunny Florida!

PNN regulars may have noticed that I've been M.I.A. for a while.  After a few frantic months of negotiating on a house and signing every piece of paper in the world, I moved to Sarasota, where I'm enjoying 70 and 80 degree temperatures, beautiful palm trees, a shop with light, airy vegan donuts, and the biggest Whole Foods store I've ever seen in my life!

It's basically everything I had hoped for here!

Of course, getting here was a nightmare. Just before I left Norfolk, a huge Nor'Easter swept through and I lost power. That was about 2 days before my power and my phone and Internet were supposed to be shut down. It was so frustrating!

I had been planning to do a "goodbye" post before I left, but obviously I couldn't. I also lost a few e-mails and never got to tie up some loose ends either.         

But the worst part was that my dog Carly was scheduled to have a little growth removed on the day the storm really hit. The growth was benign, but because it was near her rear and it kept getting irritated when she rubbed against things or licked at it, I wanted to have it removed so we didn't have ay emergencies en route to Sarasota--or when we first got here. I knew she'd have enough stress without being taken to a strange vet in a strange place! 

She's fine now and she's really enjoying her new private backyard and all the space we have (we used to live in a one-bedroon apartment), but I was worried that we were going to have to postpone the move. It took us an hour to get a cab to the vet, which was 5 minutes away, and when we got there, they weren't sure if they would be able to do the surgery because they were short staffed and might lose power. But they did and she came through perfectly.

I have to share my story about the good samatarian I met at the vet clinic too. A nice woman saw how stressed out I was because I was practically in tears. She asked me if I was alright and I told her about the cab and the move and all that, and when I was in the back with Carly, this wonderful woman left her number with the receptionist and told her to call when Carly's surgery was done, so she could came back for us.

By then, the streets were getting flooded, but she had a big SUV and was just a kind soul who was willing to help us out. She wouldn't accept any money; she was a real bright spot in a dark, stressful day!

When Carly was cleared to travel and the movers were scheduled to come, I called Nationwide Van Lines to warn them that the weather was pretty bad and that I didn't have power. I was assured that the movers were used to everything and that they would have flashlights. They did not. And since they didn't come until it was almost dark, they had to move my stuff by the light of my cell phone, which died just after they left.

My power came back on the next day, about an hour before my parents came to Norfolk to pick us up for the first leg of our journey. Carly fared much better in the car than I'd expected and she settled in at my parents house in Baltimore, and a cheap hotel room in S. Carolina, like a little trouper.

But it was a long trip and were all glad to reach Sarasota on November 19th. I LOVE my new house. Here's a pic of the kitchen that my parents took before I moved in.

Carly really seems to like it here as well and she is breaking in the beds and the sofa nicely. I bought new high-def TVs too. Yay! I used to have an old-school tv and the color-tube broke a couple months before the move. My parents got me some nice furniture for the living room and guest room, so the house is really starting too come together.

Unfortunately, the movers didn't get here until December 3rd at 11:30pm, so I just now am begining to get settled in. That's partly why I have been M.I.A. for so long!

I still have lots more stuff to buy and do though, so I probably won't really be settled in until after Christmas. I'm hoping to write a health-related post or share some more vegan holiday recipes before then, but in case I don' get to it, I wish you all a happy holiday and I'll look forward to reading about what you've been up to--and to sharing more info on health matters--in the new year!