I could have been waking up to the sounds of waves crashing against the beach, but instead it’s the roar of leaf blowers as they clean the downtown streets of Portland. The good news is that it’s a Monday and I’m not working and haven’t for nearly four years. Retirement has definitely made these viral times easier to tolerate, but the inability to travel has taken away one of its greatest joys. I could have crossed off Bali, Egypt, and Kauai on my bucket list. Will this continue through 2021? At least, we will be able to get to the Florida beaches once we’re settled there permanently in the Spring. 

We hope to get all the paperwork finalized this week to secure financing approval. It’s been a long process selecting the site, picking the options we want, and working with the mortgage company. We anticipate closing in less than two months and moving there in three. There should be some more pictures from our project manager coming soon, with maybe a few more walls and the start of a roof. It certainly gives us something to look forward to, when there’s little to do around our apartment these days. 

We visited my wife’s daughter yesterday, delivered a birthday gift to her husband, and took their dog Falco for a walk. They were supposed to join us in Kauai this week along with her other daughter and husband. Going for a short drive like this is about as exciting as it gets. Our schnauzer Tally also needs a break from her routine and it gives the two pups a chance to romp together. Tally loves to ride in the car, or just get out the door for that matter. We’re all suffering from cabin fever after about 90 days of going nowhere but on a run, walk, or to the grocery store. I did get Christmas presents ordered for the grandkids last night and the cards are ready to go out.  

The eleventh and final season of Shameless starts streaming today. I also found free access to many of the James Bond movies that I want to watch. Apparently, with Sean Connery’s recent death they are now available. Last week, I sat through License to Kill (#17 1989), Doctor No (#1 1962), From Russia with Love (#2 1963), and Goldfinger (#3 1964). I want to revisit all 24 of them on my list that started with A View to Kill (#15 1985), Goldeneye (#18 1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (#19 1987), and Die Another Day (#21 2002). (See Post #888) It will be a busy week getting through all of these 007 classics. Bond…James Bond, not to mention Honey Rider portrayed by Ursula Andress.