Bermuda - Part One

Whoever would have thought that we could actually live on the Island of Bermuda.  Some people might be lucky enough to go there for a vacation, but not many actually get to call it home.  But here we were arriving at the Sonesta Beach Hotel for our next adventure.

Staff Housing in foreground

We moved right into staff housing upon arrival.  It was a two story cinder block structure with approximately 20 rooms designed to house employees, same sex employees, not husbands and wives!!  The rooms were like dormitory rooms, with 2 of everything.  Two beds, two chairs, two bookcases, two end tables and one bathroom.   So with a little ingenuity we made it home.  It was a stones throw from the ocean.  We had our own "staff" beach and a "staff" club with a busy bar and lots of dart boards!!

We were of course the only occupants with a dog.  And a rather large dog at that.  The head of security lived 2 doors down from us, but it didn't seem as if it was going to be a problem. We just kept saying we were going to find an apartment to rent.

Staff Beach

Peter started work immediately. He was a Sous Chef at the hotel.

Inside our little home

I, on the other hand was now a lady of leisure.  I ate all my meals in the staff cafeteria, spent the day at the beach, played tennis in the evening and partied in the staff club. This went on for a few months, and finally Peter thought it would be a good idea for me to go out and look for a job.  I didn't mind the idea, as I knew once I found the job it would take a couple of months to get the work permit, as we had already witnessed in applying for Peter's Permit!  So, I contacted an employment agency and was interviewed by them on a Tuesday.  They sent me on an interview on Wednesday to Royall Lyme Bermuda Ltd, for a secretary/receptionist position.  I must admit, I was a bit put off when the 2 girls that were working there laughed when I came in. I was told when I started that just before I had arrived for the interview, Mr. Anthony J. Gaade, (the boss) had said I sure wish they would send me a tall young blonde for a change!!!!!  therefore, on Thursday I got a call saying I was hired and needed to come in that day to fill out paper work for immigration as the Immigration Department met on Fridays. AND guess what?  I got called on Friday to say I was cleared and could start work on Monday!!!!!  I didn't know at the time that the lady who ran this employment agency had a very good connection with Immigrations.  She had been responsible for getting the necessary secretaries, etc to work with Scotland Yard during the murder investigation of the Police Chief.  I was excited about the job but a not a real happy lady of leisure that weekend.

Bermuda version of a Harley Girl

So we bought me a used moped so I could get to work.  We lived out on the south shore of Bermuda and my job was in Hamilton.  So I had about a 20 minute drive to work. Such a new experience for me.......neither rain, nor wind would stand in my way of getting to work!!

I loved the job.  The girls I worked with were great fun.  My boss on the other hand was a rather stuffy brit!!!  But I got him to loosen up though.  Every morning as he arrived for work he would ask me "how I looked?"  This seemed like such a stupid question, so finally one day I said "I think I'm looking pretty nice today don't you?"  We got along really well after that. 

Bringing Home the Tree

Our first Christmas in Bermuda was such fun.  We had to wait for the boats to arrive in port with the Christmas Trees.  When they arrived it was a feeding frenzy!!

Christmas Eve guests

It was interesting being with many different nationalities, and learning about their holiday traditions. Jiffy Pop popcorn, in the aluminum disposable pan was the biggest hit as a present, as many of them had never seen it before!!!

This was our Third Christmas. The first one was in Connecticut, the second in Vermont and the third in Bermuda.  Where will the next one be???  To be continued...........

Christmas Eve 1973

The  "UPS and downs"  of April

Aahhh, month four of retirement.  The weather is fabulous, the RV Resort is thinning out.  Lots of folks have headed home.  The majority of Snow Birds here are from Michigan, which is much nicer than  on the East Coast of Florida.  Most of the Snow Birds there  were from Quebec, and they really aren't terribly friendly toward us non French speaking Americans!!!!!

Our month started out with my Oral Surgery.  Not a great experience.  A little bone grafting, a tooth extraction, and implants!  Slowed me up for about a week. But all is proceeding nicely. I'm sure to have my smile back soon!!!!!

We didn't let my dental problems keep us down.  Once I felt up to it we were off and running again.  A day at Hollywood Studios at Disney, with a side trip to Epcot for Wine in France and a Cold Brew in England !!!  Our next outing took us to Tarpon Springs for lunch.  Father Wally the Pastor of our church had recommended a restaurant there for lunch.  So we had to follow our Pastor's directions, and had a great meal waterside in Tarpon Springs.  

The week ended with us getting ready for our yard sale at Paul and Erika's house. We downsized our storage from a 5' by 10' unit to a 5' x 5'. We had a great turnout for the yard sale. Sold the majority of our "Junk". Anything that we removed from the storage that didn't sell went directly to Goodwill.

Peter woke up one morning with a severe pain in his back and numbness in is right hand.  It became intolerable so we went to an Urgent Care Facility.  They took an XRay of his neck & spine and said it was the vertebrae in his neck causing the pain and the numbness.  They gave him prescriptions for pain meds and muscle relaxers.  After a few days of pain meds and muscle relaxers with no relief for Peter we went to the Watson Clinic here in Lakeland.  The Doctor that took  care of him suggested that they give him a shot of Prednisone and Lidacane in the pain in his back.  Ok, something is better than nothing.  However, after the shot, he neared collapsed, his blood pressure took a nose dive, and I thought we we were going to lose him.  They hooked him up to an IV drip, Oxygen, BP machine.............slowly he regained his color, the sweat disappeared and he started to feel better.  So we spent the next couple of hours waiting for blood test results, etc.  They could not come up with any cause except his hemoglobin was low.  Well, that scared me as he is still in the process of building his immune system.  We contacted his doctor in Miami and we were told not to worry. Sure, easy for her to say!!!!!  He is now under doctor's care here and seems to be getting better.  I see now why you need to retire so you have time for all your doctor appointments.  I think we made more trips to the doctor and dentist than we did to Disney World and Universal Studios combined !!!  May will be a much better month!!

 The majority of our time however, is spent with our Grandchildren.  We are having a great time trying to make up all the time we couldn't be with them in years past.  Claire loves doing "sleep overs" at Mormor and Papas!  I think we enjoy it more than she does.  She loves going to our church with us and knows that if she behaves, we will stay for juice and "goodies" after church.

If anyone wants to know where all the parks in Lakeland are that have swings, just call us!!!  We are also finding out where all the ice cream shops are too!!!!! Nothing like an ice cream cone and then a swing in the park.......Life is Good!!!