Ordinary Patterns of the Day

Once you have been away from home for more than two weeks, and in our case, staying for six more you begin to establish your new "away from home" pattern.  While I previously wrote a blog about "settling in" we have truly settled in by week three.  For example, we no longer have to search and become familiar with the local grocers.  We have visited Winn Dixie, Harris Teeter and Publix and decided that Winn Dixie is most convenient and probably on par back home with Giant.  Harris Teeter is our favorite store largely because the employees are so very friendly and willing to go out of their way to help us navigate the store and find what you need.  There's another little plus that, for us, makes a big difference. You don't have to request a store card like you do at Winn Dixie.  You just announce at checkout that you are visiting and would like the store discount.  Done.  We like that!  While it's not a Wegmans, my favorite store back home, it's the closest thing to it.

Next to your housing expense, the food expense takes the biggest hit on your budget so it is important to us that we manage and track what and how we are spending our money.  Pretty much like we do at home in Pennsylvania.  Unlike a typical one or two week vacation where we would eat out pretty regularly, we only allow this treat a couple of times a week.  Besides helping us stay within our budget, it helps our waistlines too.  We all know that restaurant food is higher in calories, sodium and saturated fat.  We do not want to come back from Georgia twenty pounds heavier than when we left home in January.  Most of our meals at home are pretty simple and straight forward.  After all, I don't want to spend more time in the kitchen than I need to and my Georgia kitchen is certainly not equipped like my kitchen back home.  We did place an order through Omaha Steaks which really helped us to stock the freezer with some ready to go quality protein - filet mignon, sirloin steak, burgers, pork chops etc. at an excellent price and it's always nice to have food come right to your door with no shipping fees.  

Another important aspect of bringing normalcy to our life away from home is where will we go to church.  Let me tell you, for a small island community, there are many churches (at least ten) on St. Simons.  It certainly was a surprise to us.  While we are here on St. Simons, St. Williams is our parish.  

The above picture shows one of three buildings that make up the parish campus.  As you can see it's very Spanish in it's style.   The pastor is Msgr. John Kenneally.  What a surprise when he spoke with an Irish brogue!  He has been state side for many years and I'm sure a bit of the brogue has faded, but it is still nice to hear.  We feel very welcomed at St. Williams, perhaps because our fellow worshipers have been snowbirds at one time or another and are inclined to reach out and get to know visitors.  An added plus, is both Monsignor and the deacon are excellent homilist!  It is definitely nice to be spiritually fed and inspired on a Sunday morning.  Of course, St. Williams is not our home parish family of St. Maria Goretti, where we are known, loved and supported, but it's nice to feel that we have landed in a good place for spiritual support while away from home. 

Another aspect of our new "normalcy" is the opportunity to walk as much as we like each day.  St. Simons is a very walkable community.  Given our location, which is close to the village, this is especially true.  We are definitely walking more than we do at home because of our access to lovely streets and beaches.  At the drop of a hat, we are out the door and headed to town or the shores to discover something new or revisit the tried and true.  Of course, I am always hoping that the exercise offsets the extra serving of ice cream I may have had (okay I did have) this week. 

We are loving our time on St. Simons, even if it means the occasional chores that keep life running smoothly.  Having a washer and dryer in our condo helps a great deal to take care of the laundry with ease.  Keeping the place vacuumed and dusted are things that we have elected to do on our own.  We don't really mind.  It helps us feel more connected to living here even if it is only for two months out of the year.  Here are a couple of pictures from the condo. Peace and love to all!