We don’t have any plans until late Wednesday afternoon when we’re scheduled to meet two readers, mother, and daughter, Nancy and Tracy, whom we’ve never met. We’re meeting them at City Fire in Brownwood at 4:00 pm. It’s always fun to meet our readers, whether long-time readers or new to our site.

One by one, we’re working our way through the long list of readers and friends who’ve contacted us to get together. We are having such a great time here and look forward to many more gatherings in our remaining 53 days in The Villages. On the off times when it’s just the two of us, we’re also having a great time.

As seen in our posts, we enjoy the days and nights spent in this lovely house. It’s almost comparable to being on vacation with all the amenities and the ease of living. Our meals have been excellent, with easy access to many ingredients we like to use that haven’t always been available in other countries.

I must admit it’s fun hanging around the house all day. We have the TV on, a rarity in our lifestyle, playing popular news and talk shows, some of which we enjoyed in our old lives. Tom’s particularly been enjoying “Sunday Morning” and other news-type shows, and I am an old fan of Dr. Phil (yes, I know) with various episodes throughout the day.

Tonight, we’ll watch the second game of the Stanley Cup (hockey) with our favorite team from our current home state, Nevada, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who won the first game against the Florida Panthers (ironically). We haven’t watched any sporting events on a TV in any country unless we were streaming it on our laptops.

We’re not huge sports enthusiasts, but I love US hockey, and Tom loves US football, although each of us enjoys the other’s preference. We’ll be long gone when the football season begins, but we’ll see it again when we return to the US for several weeks to visit family at the end of September. By October 1, we’ll be on our way to South America, where all this will change.

You may think…hmmm…”Does their enjoyment of being in the US now mean they are considering ending their worldwide journey and living permanently in the US?” Not at all, but we’re reveling in these simple pleasures right now, as we always do when visiting other countries. Didn’t we write about how much we loved every moment in Africa? Even in lockdown in India for those ten long months in the hotel room, we found ways to enjoy ourselves and find purpose in our everyday activities, although limited during that time.

Today, again, we’re laying low. We did our walk, did laundry, and prepped for dinner. Neither of us is feeling any sense of urgency to go out. Knowing our passport renewal applications are in process has given us peace of mind since it was our objective to come to the US right now. Although it’s been fun, we didn’t come here to try out The Villages.

Will we return to The Villages for a short stay in the future? We may, especially if we’re awaiting a cruise embarking from Florida. Also, it’s delightful seeing our dear friends who live here and the new friends we’re making while staying here. The snow-free winter is also a plus.

That’s it for today, folks!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, June 5, 2013:

Decorating a holiday home is vital to making it appealing to potential renters in photos shown on holiday home rental sites and then after the guests arrive. Sure, today’s photos were taken out of desperation for photos to share. But, as I look around this lovely house, I see many items that the owner thoughtfully placed, some familiar, some unique.

After the guests arrive, pleasant decorating and design undoubtedly enhance the rental experience. It doesn’t have to be “Architectural Digest” worthy unless it’s a high-end property. But, the holiday/vacation properties we rent don’t require expensive accouterments and decorator items.

The simple addition of pleasing inexpensive artwork, throw pillows, candles, clocks, area rugs, and interesting lamps are all a house, condo, or apartment need to create an attractive homey feel, which is so vital in providing vacation properties.

We’ve been lucky over the years that most homes we’ve rented have been attractively staged and presented for rental, many of which we’ve shared in photos as we’re doing today and tomorrow. Although some of the items in this house may be “dated,” they create a pleasing atmosphere suitable for short-term renters.

Of course, if we rented considerably lower-priced rentals, it may have been an entirely different scenario. But, over the years, we’ve been fortunate that the houses we’ve rented appear as represented in the photos provided to such sites as VRBO, which we have listed on our site here.

We’ve been fortunate not to encounter any scams regarding holiday homes over the years, except for our first rental of a house on the beach in Belize in January 2013. The house was a disaster, with running water only three hours a day and window screens with holes too large to keep no-see-ums out of the house. Within 24 hours of our arrival, I was covered in bites. Unable to shower due to a slow dribble, within a week, we moved out, finding a fabulous resort where we stayed for over two more months.

The owners refused to reimburse us, and we took the hit. At that point, we’d only been on the move for three months and were discouraged. We each wondered if we’d done the right thing, selling everything we owned and leaving to travel the world. But, after those two months in the fabulous resort, which may be found here, we were thrilled with our decisions and have enjoyed our unique lifestyle since then.

At that time, we expected to spend less money on holiday homes. But that rude awakening made us realize that even outside the US, you “get what you pay for.”

Over the next few days, we’ll share these photos, giving our readers a greater insight into the pleasant surroundings in The Villages, Florida, USA.

Have a wonderful Sunday, and be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, June 4, 2013: