Bonus Post: Thing 1 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 1 doesn't require any site-specific photos (or any cell phone videos, in case you're following along with this countdown on the Facebook instead of the blog).  Just one google image aptly captures the sentiment relevant to the countdown's top spot (although the fact that it's written in sand is a nice touch in light of the current locale) ... because sure the outside decorations and flora and fauna and architectural features and bat-libraries and back yards and displayed collections and bathroom facilities and photo walls are great and all (yes, that's a recap of the items that have come before tonight's final post), but when it comes to ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead, it's about the people and the animals that spend time in it.

Truth be told ... it could be a set of cardboard boxes (not that it isn't nice that it isn't), because the *best* thing is that it's a place for me and mine to take care of us and ours ... including friends and family who come to visit (just give some notice first, okay?)!

The *best* thing is that ye NEW 'olde' homestead is where the heart is ... and who could ask for anything more!

Bonus Post: Thing 2 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 2 is actually a work still in progress ... but it *will* be the return of the photo wall (last seen in the last of the Chicago apartments).  For now, the chosen frames have all been spray-painted black (for the new look), but the actual photo selection hasn't quite been finalized ... nor have the items been hung on the wall (which will also serve to cover up a hole and a fuse box).  But, when finished, I am so certain it will be deserved of *this* spot on this countdown.  (Until then, I offer up photos of both sets of "kids" in the photo wall's place.)

Want to know a secret?  When you live so far away from so many of your loved ones, putting them on the wall where you can see them every day makes it so much easier to remember how much support is out there ...

Bonus Post: Thing 3 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 3 takes place in the bathroom.  Although it's true I'm excited that it has its own AC vent (there's nothing I hate more than sweating-whilst-defecating), I'm MORE excited about the fact that the hot water heater here lasts forever ... and that the shower had the special head pre-installed that's more like a rain shower ... and that there is a window that opens up so that you can feel like you're showering outdoors.

Besides ... is there anything that beats taking a bath and watching the birds take a bath at the exact same time?

Bonus Post: Thing 4 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 4 is all about the penguins ... ALL of the penguins.  The layout of the new house made it easier to display my collections ... ALL of my collections ... but I'm happiest to see that the penguins have a new home where they all can be seen ... including the one that started it all:  the bobble-head penguin from my paternal grandmother's collection.

After all ... if you can display everything artfully, then it's not really hoarding, correct?

Bonus Post: Thing 5 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 5 is how the back yard turned out, after a good bit of work and a ton of mulch (note ... that may not be an exact measurement ... but I bet it's close).  There are still a few major projects to be scheduled (namely a fire pit area and a vegetable garden box and a side privacy fence), but it's already extra relaxing to sit on the thinking bench or on the upper patio or in front of the storage shed and enjoy the previously mentioned in this series flora and fauna.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... if you live in sunny paradise, then you best plan to spend a good bit of time outside!

Bonus Post: Thing 6 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 6 is the "bonus" room, as visible through the images in last night's post.  What was once a porch got enclosed at some point and now serves as the batcave/library -- i.e. a place to display the bat-collection PLUS a library for books and a listening library for all the cassettes and CDs that Columbia House and BMG can send to a college student for only a penny!

Let's face it, though ... every boy needs a bat cave, am I right?

Bonus Post: Thing 7 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 7 is the feature of this house that made it an instant "must-rent" ... what's been sometimes called the "cut-outs" or the "pass-through" ... and what *currently* houses almost all of the chess set collection ... and what *will* house almost all of the nativity set collection this holiday season.

Nothing opens up a smaller space than some well placed holes in the wall, right?

Bonus Post: Thing 8 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 8 is the fauna to go along with the flora from yesterday (and to those in the know, the flora artwork from the last homestead did *not* make the move, so she's ancient history now).  I haven't managed to capture in photo or video the various birds that make use of the birdbath or the butterflies that frequently visit said yard-flora, but the lizards (both day and night versions) ... well, they *are* well represented in images I've taken.

Hey ... the more the merrier, no?

Bonus Post: Thing 9 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 9 is this giant fern (a Kleghorn?  Claghorn?  Staghorn?) hanging from the tree in the front yard to let the 'hood know that we take our landscaping all serious-like up in here and that we're not afraid of a little uniqueness in these environs.

Who knew that I had horticulturalist tendencies in my middle age?

Bonus Post: Thing 10 I Love About Ye NEW 'Olde' Homestead

100 days after moving in, it's time for another countdown ... this time the 10 things I love about ye NEW 'olde' homestead.

Thing 10 is the fact that the landlord decorated the outside of the house with two giant suns ... one on the back that glows when the sun rises in the east ... and the other on the front that lights up as the sun sets in the west.

Which, for sunny beautiful southern Florida, is directly 'on point'!