Celebration Life

Hard to imagine you’re coming here for this kind of news, but I’ll pass it along anyway. Celebration is currently under a “boil water” alert due to a water main burst in Kissimmee.

For more information, visit the website of the company we buy water from.

I haven’t been there yet, but there’s an article in today’s Orlando Sentinel about Jean Pierre Bistro & Bakery. Looks tasty!

The tree is missing, but don’t be sore.
The ice is gone, and Bloom is open once more.
Santa’s workshop has vanished, and the soap blowers are put into store.
Celebration downtown is once again returned to the residents… at least until July 4.

And while the tourists are fleet of feet,
we’re just happy there’s parking on Market Street.

I’m no poet.
In case you didn’t know it.

So long Christmas decorations, see you next Thanksgiving.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Celebration residents and visitors!

Things to look forward to in the New Year, in no particular order (‘cept the first one):

• We will move into a house. We’ve been patiently waiting out the purchase of a home via short sale. It’s been a long road, one that started mid-July. I think the end may be in sight, but that may just be an illusion brought on by extreme temperature changes.
• House projects. Related to the above, my list of house projects is officially empty. My expectation is that moving into a 7 year old house vs the 37 year old one we moved out of will translate into a shorter house project list, but maybe that’s hilariously naive?
• Grill! Also related to moving into a house will be bringing the grill out of storage. Not being able to grill despite so many fantastic grilling days here in Florida has been like living in a straightjacket.
• New businesses. The arcade next to Kilwin’s is shuttering its doors, I believe at the end of January. There’s also another spot still available on Market Street where the Village Merc used to be. I’ll be interested to see what kinds of businesses choose to open their doors this year; I’ll be sure to write about them here when they do. I’d love to see a small corner market type store here in Celebration… you know, things like milk, eggs, chips, beers, some staple produce. That, coupled with the produce stand at the Sunday market, would mean we only have to leave the bubble for meat!
• Geocaching. Did you know there are several geocaches stashed away around Celebration? If you don’t know what geocaching is, you should check out geocaching.com. You’ll need a handheld GPS and a sense of adventure. You might even be able to get by with an iPhone 3G or 3GS and the right GPS app. It’s a great family-friendly excuse to get outside for a few hours to see parts of the world you may not otherwise have seen… and get a little exercise, to boot. Our new GPS arrives Wednesday so we can find & log the caches we haven’t found yet.
• Epcot After 4. Looking forward to getting the maximum return on our brand spanking new Epcot After 4 annual passes!
• Meeting neighbors and making friends. Once our five month old is a little older, we’d like to be a bit more social again. “How so?”, one might ask. Good question.
• Tennis! I’ve been trying to take tennis lessons and get to the point where the other person I’m playing with won’t want to slice me with a rusty razor blade after 10 minutes. I’ve had some trouble maintaining a consistent training schedule with my coach but expect to work something out in the next few weeks. If you’re an OK tennis player (or a good tennis player with plenty of patience) and live in Celebration, drop me a note at blogmail at celebrationblog.com.
• GREAT food. Bangers & Mash at Shannon’s. Stackers and Clam Chowder at the Town Tavern (and I’ve been neglecting my beer checklist). Pad Thai (4 star hot) at Thai Thani. That mozzarella/basil/balsamic flatbread thing at Imperium. Lunchtime California Combination at Seito Sushi. Tapas and Cuban bread like I remember from Tampa at Columbia Celebration. And I hope to frequent Cafe D’Antonio, Angelinas, and Jean Pierre’s Bistro more often as we find babysitters. Celebration is truly a place for great food.

What am I missing? What else do Celebration residents have to look forward to in 2010 and beyond?

There are no fireworks for New Years Eve in Celebration for 2009. Just in case you happen to read this before heading over.

Update 2010-Jan-01 12:03: While there weren’t fireworks, it was still an enjoyable time. The Town Tavern featured a live musical act, and the company (hello, Chard family, Leah, Rory, Fitz, whoever I’m missing) were a delight. A fantastic — but not over-the-top — way to ring in the New Year.

Another collection of photos I’ve taken around Celebration. Enjoy and, as always, click in to each for the large version.

This is my first Christmas in Florida in about 7 years, and my (Canadian) wife’s first ever. I’m starting to remember what a strange thing a Florida Christmas is.

Sure, we have a tree now, and Celebration is decorated to the nines, but: it’s not cold, there’s no snow (or even frost!), it doesn’t get dark at 4:30, we’re not wearing heavy clothes, and there aren’t any presents bought yet for under the tree. We watch the days tick down closer to Christmas and, while the Christmas spirit isn’t really here, the gift-giving obligations are.

All of this leads to Seasonal Shopping Stress Disorder, something I’m sure exists but may be called something else. I’m too lazy to research it on an iPhone. Ultimately, I can envision forcing myself to sit in front of Amazon to get ‘er done. Christmas has morphed from an exciting and festive time of year to a stressful logistical test. The saving grace will be our son. In a few short years he’ll be old enough to be excited about Christmas, and that will rub off on us.

The decorating the management company who manages the downtown area does helps some… nightly soapfalls, Santa visits, the Christmas tree, carriage rides, and the ice skating rink. But it’s the things I mentioned above, and family, that makes the holiday for me.

It’s 55 degrees and raining out, and yet there are people out frolicking in the soap snow on Market Street. Go figure.

In other news, I got some of the “snow” in my eye as I was walking to Thai Thani for dinner and it was less than pleasant. So let that be a lesson to those among you who were thinking of rubbing it in your eyes. It stings.

Goodyear blimp passing through…

Click in to each for better size.

And the “snow fall”: