Today I thought that I would share some photos of our new vacation home in Lake Wales, Florida. To be honest, I never thought we would own more than one home. We always worked hard and my husband is a penny pincher, but at some point he decided that we could start spending those pennies, lol. I used to race sled dogs and actually like winter, but I also love seeing green grass so I’m enjoying southern winter much more than I actually expected.

We chose Saddlebag Lake Resort, mostly because our good friends Sandy and Steve Reid are here and we have so much fun with them. The barn quilt on the house is one that we purchased in Pennsylvania over 30 years ago. It hung over our fireplace in the living room until we remodeled (a long time ago) when it got packed into a closet and forgotten. It really made it feel more like our house once we got the barn quilt hung. The fish were here when we bought the place last March but were all rusty and didn’t have any color left on them so I repainted them.

This is the view toward the front from my door. We are putting in edgers along the drive way. We’re on our third trip to get blocks, because we keep changing our minds about how to do it, hahaha. Gary does such a nice job. I just handed him blocks and stayed out of the way. Oh, I did spend a couple of hours on my knees cleaning out dirt out of the rocks at the end of the flower bed. I think the neighbors driving by all thought I was crazy. It looks so nice now, I wonder how long that will last…

Here’s a view looking toward the back from the door. At this point, this area is the landing place for items we don’t want/don’t know what to do with.

Max enjoys supervising the projects. He seems to like it here but gets really upset when he can’t see us. I think he’s afraid we’ll leave him and not come back.

We have a beautiful view overlooking the channel which goes out to the lake. Max loves hunting the squirrels that seem to like the palm berries, if only he didn’t bay! At least our neighbors on both sides have dogs so hopefully are understanding. Have you ever tried to get a beagle to stop baying when he’s on a scent? Our ‘chair gate’ only works if we are out on the deck with him.

Thank you Sandy Reid for the matching couch and recliner! It’s great for stretching out on. My little stamping roost in the corner is actually nicer than my craft room at home in some ways. I can be crafting while Gary is watching a movie and we can actually be in the same room and talk to each other.

The kitchen and living room are all open, so snacking is quick and easy, whoops! maybe not so good for my waistline. The island seems to have become the inside landing spot for all of the things that we don’t know what to do with.

I hope that you enjoyed the tour of my little piece of paradise.