Seven Year Anniversary

Seven years ago today, on a Saturday, we finished the last leg of our long drive in a car and a U-Haul truck from West Des Moines, Iowa, to The Villages, Florida. We were welcomed by Tropical Storm Debby, who began her deluge within 90 minutes of unloading the truck into the garage. She didn't subside for three days!

The Villages itself has changed so much since we arrived and made this home, along with 90,000 other Villagers.

Some current Villages stats:

• 125,000+ residents
• 32 square miles in three zip codes
• 78 "villages" within The Villages
• 200-250 new homes sold per month
• 12 country clubs
• 25 family pools (children permitted)
• 52 neighborhood pools (adults only)
• 10 sport pools
• 8 fire stations

If you're as amazed as I was when I first heard about The Villages eight years ago, you can find more information here. And yes, this is a golf community; we do not golf.

Living in as-close-as-we-can-get-to-Paradise-on-earth, it can be easy to take for granted the mild weather and scenic beauty around us. So it's time for a review of what we enjoy about living here.

Farmer's Market is held at one of The Villages's three squares: Brownwood. It's here that we buy our weekly produce for making daily fresh-pressed vegetable juice. It's nice to know several vendors by name. 

We never take for granted that we get to go nearly everywhere on a golf cart (top speed: 20 mph), as  many other Villagers do too!

golf cart parking at Brownwood

The Villages has more than 90 miles of golf cart roads, some of which are shared with walkers, joggers, and cyclists on designated "multimodal paths." Because golf carts aren't permitted on state highways, tunnels throughout The Villages get us where we want to go.

Like Publix, Walgreens, and more. The Villages has 13 commercial areas, with golf cart access to the library, banks, and doctor's offices too. It couldn't be any more convenient to get around.

Multimodal paths take us past ponds, wetlands, golf courses, and lovely scenery.

We go everywhere in our golf cart, and this is the second one we've owned.

Since January 2015, we've put 23,156 miles on our golf cart!

Sometimes the golf cart road is a lane alongside automobile traffic. 

Also The Villages has many automobile roundabouts. Like several dozen of them. We always know when out-of-towners are here because many of them drive like they don't know what they're doing... and they don't!

The Villages' 35 recreation centers are where more than 2,500 clubs and activities happen, like my weekly Big Cypress Quilters. Outdoor courts for shuffleboard and boccé are popular, especially as neighborhood activities.

The exterior of our house certainly looks different than on move-in day. That Bismarck palm, planted in August 2013, 

August, 2013

...has become a real show-stopper, and gives lovely afternoon shade for my sewing room. 

June 23, 2019

This is our view out the front door. I adore that Bismarck, and the smaller European fan palm on the right. I'm still all about palms!

We left Iowa because our two children no longer lived there, and well... the weather. Winter snow and extremely cold temperatures made it inconvenient and uncomfortable to be out-and-about. We lived in West Des Moines for 22 years and 10 months, and I certainly left friends behind. Though I still miss them, we're no longer in touch. Lives move on.

Also what I miss more than I can express, is belonging to a church. In West Des Moines, we were active at Lutheran Church of Hope which is now a mega-church. Churches in this area aren't the same, and believe me, we've tried them! We have worshipped at 13 different churches in the past seven years, even going so far as to attend new member classes at three of them. Each time, we've been surprised and disappointed to read through a "membership covenant" to find a "rule" or expectation that doesn't sit well, that we're expected to sign. Whatever happened to a simple verbal commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, and in the Holy Trinity? Sigh. Lately we're worshipping at a Baptist church with an excellent preacher, though I've resigned myself to never belonging to a church again. So you might understand how grateful I am that twice a year I have opportunities to participate in women's Bible studies (7 to 10 weeks long) in recreation centers. These studies and women are "my church."

On the healthly side of life in The Villages, Dan and I are both in much better physical condition than we were in Iowa (my breast cancer and peripheral artery disease aside, of course). He's lost 23 pounds since taking up regular Tai Chi (he takes a class and teaches a class), yoga, and abs workouts, and I'm about ten pounds lighter saying active with line dancing, power walking, and Zumba. Along with daily juicing, we both feel healthy.  

So all in all, living in The Villages is still our happy place, and hope it is for another seven years. A few times a year I desperately miss our children and grandchildren, but I know I'm not alone in those emotions. Lots of my grandmother-friends share the same feelings. That's when we go for a visit

And now, something more quilt-y related...

If you like fabrics, or English paper-piecing, Sashiko, or any hand needlework where quality threads are used, sign up for Red Thread Studio's newsletter. Jen, who came to Central Florida MQG last November to teach EPP, has an online shop in Palm Coast, Florida.

If you register for the newsletter through my link, I earn points. So if you're inclined, go here. And thank you! Linda