I am: Scottish in origin, Canadian by choice
I live: near Bancroft, Ontario, Canada
I do: writing and editing plus photography as a hobby. I also knit like a fiend.
I am: mother of three, grandmother of a wonderful little boy and a wonderful little girl; C-L spouse of Joe
I like: going to auctions, walks in the bush when there are no flies
I love: to travel anywhere they’ll take me
I read: anything that is well-written and that includes the toothpaste tube
I am: extremely fortunate to have great kids and lots of good friends and an extremely affectionate and amusing partner
I have: no patience for bullshit
I don’t: work well with others
I enjoy: being with animals and working in the garden
I wish: I could play the piano
I must: find time to do some drawing again
Valerie Winsor's Blog 
I too am a Scot living in Florida. We have the notoriety of living in, “the most desirable town in the USA for retirement with our hugely depressed real estate market. Homes may be purchased on canals leading to the Gulf of Mexico for as little as $120,000. We have lots of sunshine, mosquitoes, fire ants and vultures. Dolphins and manatees swim past our house. Commuting is only 4 miles to my office and the fishing is excellent from my dock. We have our own wee beach and can see the space shuttle when it takes off on a clear day.
Life is good but our unemployment is estimated at over 30% by some and for the first time in many years our population is shrinking.
So, you may ask, what’s so good? Well this year we have not had a hurricane and we have managed to stay busy. We have no shortage of obese people and we can help them.
I could waffle on but this is a start.
By: David Winsor on October 3, 2009
at 3:46 pm
$120000 huh…………………!! It is snowing here today.
By: Sue on October 3, 2009
at 10:44 pm
Would that be Naples, David?
We had a little condo in The Glades. I wonder if
there are any good buys there again? We bought once before when the prices were low and sold it when we needed money for renos on the place we
bought when we moved back from the States.
I must Google for prices.
We loved Naples, but it grew from a nice little village to a huge city while we were there.
By: Betty Morgan on January 3, 2010
at 6:50 pm
Betty, David probably doesn’t look in here very often so I will answer for him. David and family live in Port Charlotte, not too far south from Sarasota. He is my nearest brother in age and is a chiropractor and natural health guru.
By: Valerie on January 3, 2010
at 7:49 pm
Val, As you know, I am not a Scot but did spend an interesting week in Scotland about a hundred yeas ago or so it seems. Cairo, today, is a miserable 14c with wind. The locals say it is freezing. 14c is much more palatable in Ottawa. Your blogs are wonderful. I do so admire your literary talents.
By: Janice on March 2, 2012
at 8:13 am
Dear Val
Here’s a blast from the past! We are still living in Stoneleigh. Geetha does Facebook and maybe you could become friends again after nearly 40 years!
best wishes
Gopal
By: Gopal and Geetha Srinivasan on June 10, 2012
at 6:17 pm