"The Florida Chronicles"...December 2012

I've spent the first few weeks down here in Palm City unpacking and settling in nicely. My experience from doing all of this last year has made this year's transition pretty smooth.
There have been a few "unpleasant" surprises...nothing major. The "fancy" trash can that I bought last year is missing. That "mystery" was solved when I discovered that my mom's boyfriend, "Ace", had taken it out and put it in my mom's kitchen at Assisted Living. Not a problem...I can (and did) always get a replacement. Some furniture has been removed...nothing important. One of the beds is broken...apparently with considerable force as the wood frame is splintered. My friend, Mark, and I will fix this later.
My UM Wolverines are playing South Carolina in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on new Year's day. So...my plan is to spend Christmas with my friends, Terri and Carl, in Zephyrhills...and then head down to Tampa to rendezvous with Roger and Gretchen and spend New Years with Ed and Molly.
But...Ed and Molly run into a few problems and...just a week or so before Christmas, Roger, Gretchen and I have to completely revamp all of our Tampa plans...we book hotels, restaurants and New Years Eve...all in just a few hours.
On Christmas Eve, I've packed up the cats, and we are on our way to Zephyrhills for Christmas. It's a nice visit, as always. Terri has a gigantic "Honey Baked" ham and plenty of "sides" for Christmas dinner. And, a few days later, she has gotten some great steaks flown in from Lobel's of New York...they are really, really good!
The only "down" note for the month cold December is the cold that I've come down with about two days after Christmas. I don't know it at the time, but it will take me a month to get back to feeling normal.
On New Years Eve, I head down to Tampa, check in to my hotel, and meet up with Roger and Gretchen. We have a fabulous dinner at the Palm Steakhouse where...despite my cold...I am able to polish off a four pound lobster, hash browns, creamed spinach and a huge bowl of ice cream.
After dinner, we take a cab over to the American Legion to ring in the New Year...very friendly people there and lots of fun. But...the big game is tomorrow, so we head back to our hotels shortly after midnight for a good night's sleep.