"I have no idea where I am or where we're going"...

Terri will not let Garmin and I be together anymore...

I have spoken this sentence every time Terri forces me to get behind the wheel here in Miami.  For some reason, I am in no hurry to figure out how to get here and how to get there....and I don't know why.  In my youth, I was always eager to figure out everything...where I was, how to get to this or that, but not now.  Perhaps it is the 'old man' in me starting to come out...

"Isn't this the precise reason we got a Garmin, Terri?"

That's usually my follow-up when she tells me I need to learn where we are and where we're going.

Here's my problem....I can't figure out which way is which.  North is not the north I am used to - and as we all know, if you can't find north, you can't find anywhere.  On my way to write this blog I had a slight panic when I went to go onto the turnpike and one side was 'North', one side was 'South'.

"Wait, which way am I going??"

I managed to make the right choice but still....I DO need to get this figured out.  I think part of it has to do with Miami being so big.  I know if I can find out which way the water is, that's east.  From there, south is right, west is behind me, north is to the left, right?  So where's the damn water then?  Part two of the problem is that I also cannot SEE the water.  Perhaps if the Atlantic were visible to me, I'd be finding it easier to adjust.

I KNEW we should have lived on the beach!

Whenever she is in the car, Terri refuses to let me use the Garmin anymore and I am slowly coming around.  It is just familiarity after all right?  Now how do I get home from here....Where's that Garmin....(by the way, our 'house' is not even in the Garmin's maps.  So, technically, I couldn't get home if I was truly lost!!  Another reason to learn how....)

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Sangria Cheers!

Ok, on to other things...Terri and I had our first dinner 'out' last night.  To celebrate our first week in Miami (and because we have no cooking materials) we ventured to Carino's Italian Ristorante and Grill.  A quiet place on a Friday night but it was nice!  We had some decent food (not outstanding, just decent) and we quickly patted ourselves on the back for splitting the meal between the two of us.  Holy hell do they serve big portions here!  No wonder everyone is overweight!  We SPLIT our appy and entree and we STILL left the place stuffed.  We've decided that is now the way to go.  We'll split the meals....otherwise, they'll quickly be widening the doorways on our new home.  :)

I will say this about Carino's - the turtle cheesecake was UN-believable!  We then went home and took the 'kids' for a walk.  I still can't get used to it being 28 degrees at 10:30pm....in October.

Friday night is party night in our neighborhood.  The houses on the other side of the lake like to entertain their friends!!  The street was jammed with cars and the music played well into the night...and why not?  I said if I had a backyard like some of those fine folks, I'd be inviting people over every week as well!!  It is also a cultural thing I believe.  Terri says the hispanic people love to get together often and have fun together.  I've decided we need to get to know some of these people with their gorgeous houses!

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Quick Jonny update....he got his bandages off this morning!  His paws are a mess but he is now bandage free!  He has taken to licking them now that they are opened up and so he continues to be a 'conehead'...though the cone doesn't do the trick as much as we thought.  We'll have to adjust some things there....Doc says his paws look good and in a few days, they will be healed up enough (in the open air) to not worry anymore.  There is a slight chance of infection but Doc believes he'll be fine.

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Another update on the bed....

Slick Rick (SR) called us as we were departing Starbucks Friday and said he would have the parts we need by the end of the day.  YAY!!  With Terri working right near there, she could pick up the parts on the way home....which she did.

And SR was quite proud of himself, making sure Terri acknowledged how he came through for us.

"See?  I told you I'd take care of it!"

(Yeah....if you'd have taken care of it in the first place, you would be in my past SR, not in front of us anymore.)

After we got home and walked the dogs, we went about putting the bed together - finally.

But...the pieces SR got for us are too small to fit over the ends of the slats....They won't work...

"Are you f@ckin' kidding me?" Terri says.

She texts SR immediately and gets no reply.  I called SR this morning and I could hear the disappointment in his voice - just as I'm sure he could hear the disdain for him in mine.

"Well, the warehouse is closed for the weekend so I can't do anything until Monday."  He says.

"You think Monday is the day you'll finally be able to do something hey?"  I said cheekily - alluding perhaps only to myself that the guy has been utterly useless so far....

"Yes.  Call me Monday.  Oh, but wait...can you first return those pieces to me and I will get the new ones."

"Umm no Rick.  You get the pieces I need and I'll get these to you.  We're not making another trip to see you until you have the pieces we need, got it?"

"Yes sir."

No apology, no 'I'll break into the warehouse right now to get them'...nothing.  This place is a gong show...Wait, I'm old enough to remember 'The Gong Show'...this operation is worse than that when I think about it...

The saga continues...as does us feeling like squatters in our own home.

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And lastly, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  With all the stuff going on the past few weeks, we haven't even had time to think about the Canadian tradition.  We hope all of you who are reading this have some time this weekend to spend with family and the ones you love - and be thankful for all the wonderful things you have in your life....

Terri and I most certainly are.

Yes, we are 2,300 miles away, but we don't feel that far thanks to the blogging, the Facebooking and the texting.  As much as I wonder if we're better off with all this technology sometimes - being able to be reached at a moments notice - I can now say we are, especially for those at a great distance from loved ones.  We are thankful for all the support you have all given us and all the wonderful messages you have sent.

We miss you as much as you miss us, I'm sure of it!  But, as has been said down the ages, better to miss someone than not have someone to miss at all!

Keep those emails and messages coming!  And be sure to raise a glass in our honor when you gather to feast this weekend (and have some pumpkin pie for me!).