Is There Anybody...

...OUT THERE?

Yes... WE'RE ALIVE!!!!

Have you all forgotten about us?

Does anybody still care?

Well...

I think it's time to start blogging again.

I know, I KNOW... I said that about eight months ago, but I'm going to try to make a real effort to set aside time every single day (or... every few days... let's not get carried away here!), to once again put my thoughts on the blog whether you want to read about what we're up to or not.

That's right, people! You're powerless to stop me!!!!!!

How can I quickly recap the last eight months?

Here goes...

Mrs. TBF is doing very well at home and at work. I drive her to work every morning, and I pick her up in the evening. Fortunately, her office is only about 15 minutes from our house, so it works out great. In fact, we still only have one car, and we have no intention of buying a second car in the near future. We thought we'd try it for a couple of months, all went well, so here we are with me serving as Mrs. TBF's personal chauffeur. Maybe I'll buy me a chauffeur's cap.

I continue where I left off in Switzerland: full-time retired person. My job continues to be to make sure that all Mrs. TBF has to do is work and relax. I take care of all the stuff around the house, finances, shopping, etc. I joined a gym where I swim three times per week, and I manage to keep myself busy AND out of trouble. The two major differences between here and Switzerland are that we now have a car, AND I don't have to take language lessons since I am fairly fluent in American English after nearly 50 years of practice!

Let me tell you something...

Not having a language barrier is a HUGE deal!

Mrs. TBF LOVES our house, and I pretty much decided after about one month of living here that I HATED a lot about it! Therefore, we have decided to do a MAJOR renovation on our house that will require us to move out for a few months. The hope is that we will BOTH love the house after the renovation. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing major wrong with the house. It's just that we want to bring it into the 21st century and make it completely our own. We've been working with an architect/designer and a contractor for a couple of months now with the goal of coming up with something that will (hopefully) end up being pretty spectacular, and we plan on beginning the work sometime around the end of July or beginning of August.

Other than that, just your normal getting-used-to-a-new-house-and-new-area stuff. New York City is only a 40 minute train ride away, and we've been enjoying going into the city for dinner, etc. Also, let me say this: It sure is easier having West Palm Beach and Chicago only two hours away instead of twelve hours away when we want to visit family and friends. Plus... no jet lag!

That's enough for now. I'll just start blogging again (tomorrow?) in stream-of-consciousness like I normally do, and then I'll throw in the occasional flashback from the last eight months. It'll be easier that way.

Whew! My brain is exhausted. I need to rest!