A Little Mermaid Story

I'm a day late! I've been so busy, and I'm so far behind. I had visitors yesterday, so please forgive my delay!

This story begins in 2004. The hurricane season to be exact. What a busy hurricane season it was! I think we boarded up, and stayed boarded up more that year than any year since.

I think it was Hurricane Frances, although it could have been Jeanne, or Charley. The damage in our area was unbelievable. At the country club where I worked, there were 65 trees down on the golf course alone. Now in Florida, golf capitol of the world, that is akin to catastrophe.

My husband is in the pool enclosure/screen room business, and he was out on the job tearing down an enclosure to replace it with a new one. There was a pile of rubble that the home owner wanted removed, and asked if he would haul it off. My husband is always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, must be the boy scout in him :) and he gladly hauled off the pile. While he was loading it up, he noticed a female figure of some sort. He knew exactly what that pile of rubble had been. Now, being a crafty man, he decided to bring home this pile of rubble, and see what he could do about putting it back together. I thought he had bitten off way more than he could chew with this one. I should know better than to doubt his ability! I can't remember exactly how many days he spent on it, I know he put in many hours. His hard work, and ingenuity, resulted in our having our very own mermaid statue. I wish I had before photos!

I would like you to meet Fran!

Fran has a new place to hang out now, and she looks like she really enjoys gazing over the fish pond. She has lived in our screen room for the past 7 years, and I think she was getting bored with the same scenery. I tried to entertain her, and make her feel appreciated, and useful.

I thought she would be a good jewelry model......

Unfortunately, she wasn't a great model. Her pose is lovely, but she is a bit slippery, and jewelry slid from around her neck, to over her shoulder, and down her arm. I also wondered about having to label my photos mature  for Etsy. Fran had a short lived modeling career, but we  had fun trying it out ;)

It's hard to believe she was ever in so many pieces she was barely identifiable as being a mermaid! I love Fran, and I'm so glad my hubby was the one asked to haul off her remains. He gave her a new life, and I'm glad she is ours, thanks to a busy hurricane season. You can still see some of the breaks she had if you look very closely. I named her Fran, because I really think it was Frances that took her down.

I think she looks much happier here!

That is the story of how we came to have our mermaid. Now, if another hurricane were to come through here, you can bet that Fran will be moved to a safe place in the house until it is over!

Del