Florida Mermaid Musings

The holidays are here! Are you ready? Is your tree up? Lights on the house? Are your cards and packages mailed? Have you finished your shopping? You didn't forget anyone, did you? Did you get a new dress for the holiday party or do you think you can get away with wearing last year's? Maybe if you change up your jewelry and shoes... Are the cookies baked? Do they look exactly like the ones on Pinterest? Is your house ready for guests? What about that one relative who is allergic to cats or that one friend who can only eat gluten-free? HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING?! Stop. Just stop. Yes, the holidays are here. You don't have to fit the mold of a Publix commercial or Southern Living Magazine. Your house is fine. Last year's dress is perfect. Or if you'd really rather stay home and binge Netflix with your cats, do that instead. People gather together because they want to be with each other. They want to be with YOU. The best gift you can give your loved ones is yo...

Guest Post By TJ Fish, who knows more about Central Florida than us natives. If you love the water (like I do), if you love fishing, if you love boating, if you love exploring, this is a must read! Enjoy. As I sat at my dining room table in Jackson, Tennessee studying the atlas page of Florida, I had just endured an hour-long phone interview.   I was ready to leave the bucolic tranquility of the Volunteer State for the robust and shiny Sunshine State.   I had just talked with the bosses at city hall of a town with a name that sounded Southern but looked Portuguese.   They offered me a job.   As I stared at the map, I became fascinated.   Tavares was located on a land bridge. Geography gurus call it an isthmus.   I was fascinated with what a place that looked so cool on a map might look like in person.   I took that job.   That was 15 years ago.   What I discovered starting with my first day in Lake County is that Tavares is surr...