On September 17, our World Golf Village neighbor Francoise Marquis will celebrate her 100th birthday.   The day might end with Mrs. Marquis playing cards with her family – a favorite pastime – which she  usually wins. Mrs. Marquis lives with her daughter and son-in-law Michelle and Louis Petrarca in Turnberry. “She joins us just about everywhere we go during the day. Her energy level is amazing,” said her daughter Michelle.  Turnberry neighbors may spot Mrs. Marquis puttering around the yard or taking a stroll when the weather gets a bit cooler.

Petrarca explains her Mom spends her mornings watching Mass on TV, followed by breakfast and a routine of simple chores. She does crossword puzzles daily to keep her mind sharp as a tack. She’s healthy and takes no medications, just a few vitamins.  Says Petrarca, “Mom will tell you that she is not ready for the rocking chair yet.”  She still washes dishes by hand and does her own laundry.  “Her bedroom and bathroom look like a model home with everything in its proper place,” says Petrarca.

Living in the King and Bear has many perks. As a home owner, I always take a deep breath as I drive through the gates. I never forget to take a moment to appreciate the pristine beauty of my St. Augustine golf course community. The curvy streets are lined with Oaks. The landscape is always lush and perfectly maintained. But enough about how beautiful the King and Bear is. Let me tell you what I really love. I love Spa Laterra!

Spa Laterra is the perfect place to cure any ailments, whether you need an hour to relax or an entire day! In these busy and stressful times, there is no greater gift to give than some time to your self to relax and regain sanity. One of my favorite ways to spend a day is with my girlfriends at the spa. After I put on my robe and slippers, I head to the meditation room for some tea and to begin unwinding with a magazine. I also really love relaxing in the private rooms outside.

After I get my chill on, I love to start with a facial to help ease me into a deeper relaxation. There are several to choose from. I would recommend the Journey from Bliss facial if you really need to just focus on relaxing. A few of my girlfriends love getting the Age-Defying Fountain of Youth Facial.  Then it is always nice to meet the ladies out by the Laterra Resort pool for lunch.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, 8/30/11, researchers say, “Taking in the sights and sounds of nature appears to be especially beneficial for our minds”. At the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, researchers are studying whether interacting with nature can be therapeutic for relieving anxiety. University of Michigan research shows that performance on memory and attention tests improved by 20% after study subjects paused for a walk through an arboretum. The researchers found that cognitive performance improved after a “nature break” – and they weren’t talking about a trip to the restroom.

The research also found that for those folks not living in or near a nature-filled environment, that a quieter city street with interesting natural elements to look at, such as containers of plants and street trees, could do the trick.

Although I am no scientist – I do know that our St. Augustine golf course community is the exact kind of place that will let you unwind, relax and even boost your mental performance.

When we planned the 6,300 acres of World Golf Village, we set aside over 2,775 acres (44%) of naturally forested mixed-hardwood lowlands and uplands. These forested lands have been recorded in Conservation Easements, to be protected in their natural state, in perpetuity.

There is something about beginning the work week knowing that a three day weekend is ahead. Communications and party plans increase when there is an extra day added to Sunday Funday. Although every Floridian is sick of the heat by Labor Day, many of us know there is no reason to try and fight it. The only option for us is to be by, on, or in the water. That especially holds true after being in the heat all day Saturday for the Village Panthers cheer and football. With that being said, my crew will be leaving our St. Augustine golf course community and heading east on Sunday.

 Serenata Beach Club is the place to be! It is absolutely perfect there for the whole family. They will be hosting a cookout on Sunday and Monday from 11:30 am – 4 pm with live music ($16.95 for adults and $8.95 for children)! I can think of a few of my girlfriends that are willing to play “Let’s Make a Deal” with their husbands to get some adult time at the pool with live music and a frozen concoction or two. Then it will be the husbands turn. By the time the kids are done boogie boarding and the tide has come in, we will have packed our things up and headed to the kid’s pool. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday.

When I kept hearing the term Energy Star, I called my friends Frank Cirillo and Robert Goettlicher at Providence Homes to understand what all the fuss was about. I was amazed at what I found out! There’s a lot more to an Energy Star home than you may think. What I found most interesting is along with many energy saving features in each home, the homes must be independently tested to verify that it qualifies to hold the title of an Energy Star home.

It all starts with the home being designed properly – including window placement, heating and cooling duct design, planning for the air handler to be placed in conditioned space, and even truss design to allow for proper insulation all contribute to energy efficiency.

Check out the video above where Frank demonstrates the truss design. I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about until he went and got a normal truss and compared it to the truss that goes in a more energy efficient home. A picture is worth a thousand words!

Of course, high performance low- E windows, insulated doors, programmable thermostats, energy efficient appliances, and water heaters all add to the energy savings.

Providence Homes guarantees that all Energy Star homes will score 77 or lower on the E scale which measures energy performance; however, they have recently been averaging 69. This matters to you because a home achieving 69 will use only 69 percent as much energy as a typical new home which is 100 on the scale.

For The Meadows resident Michelle Crownover, living in our St. Augustine golf community has been a family affair.  Michelle first moved in with her sister, Dianna, in The Meadows in fall of 2006.  From the start, the sisters loved the neighborhood’s mix of young professionals, families and retirees.  “There’s a real sense of community in The Meadows. Neighbors are friendly and the mix of generations gives The Meadows a warm and inviting energy,” said Michelle.

In early 2009, Michelle’s family grew.  She and her new husband, Jason, decided to buy a home of their own across the street from her sister in The Meadows. Their World Golf Village wedding was on July 4th.  Wedding guests stayed at The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village where the ceremony was held. “It was so beautiful,” says Michelle. The reception was at The Slammer & Squire club.  Says Michelle, “Our guests loved the Village feel!  They also enjoyed nearby downtown St. Augustine and of course golfing at The Slammer & Squire. The whole experience was a hit.”  She added, “To top it off, World Golf Village provided some amazing settings and beautiful backgrounds for our wedding photos.”

Michelle works in the St. Augustine area too.  She serves as Customer Relations Manager at Galaxy Aviation at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport.  “We take care of all the needs of corporate aviation and general aviation,” says Michelle.  Her and Jason are enjoying calling World Golf Village home. “We love to bike ride around the community. We also entertain at home a lot, and love having neighbors over for cookouts, birthdays, and any reason to celebrate,” says Michelle.  “And The Meadows is so dog-friendly.  I think everyone knows me as Blue’s Aunt!  He’s my sister’s Neapolitan Mastiff who I walk around the ‘hood. Everyone loves petting him.”

During my almost 10 year employment with Davidson Development, I have come to understand the importance and dynamics of growth and I’ve seen and experienced the spectrum of it in that short time. We all know that the last few years have resulted in a slow down of growth in our area, which has affected a multitude of services. 

There is however some positive signs on the horizon that things may be picking up.  For instance, just across the street from the King & Bear, there is a new McDonalds under construction.  In the same shopping center, a Chiropractor has leased retail space, another tenant is expanding their space and the shopping center owners tell me that more contracts are in the works. 

It is exciting to see a new elementary school under construction at Palencia, to add to the portfolio of the best schools in Florida.  The school is due to be ready for the school year 2012-2013.  In addition, a new fire station recently opened there, reducing insurance rates for thousands of residents.

Home construction is also on the rise.  St. Johns County recently reported that the number of commercial permits has doubled those of last year and residential home permits are up almost 10 percent.  I can report that here at World Golf Village, we have  approved a total of 77 residential units for construction so far this year.

Growth brings jobs, services and improves our quality of life and I for one support that! Enjoy the Growth video blog!

Not too long ago I spied some wild turkeys strolling around the King & Bear front entrance.  It was really early in the morning, the sun was just coming up and I think I said a soft “morning” to those turkeys as if I was nodding at my neighbors leaving for work.  It’s great to be reminded of all the creatures that call our community home.  In fact, a fantastic variety of wildlife thrive here.  Some of our lesser known “neighbors” include bobcats, wild hogs and even black bears. Fox squirrels are one of my favorite.  They are bigger and more exotic looking than the common grey squirrels that dart around our lawns. In fact, they are the largest species of tree squirrels in North America. I snapped this photo of a fox squirrel right here in the King & Bear. 

For me, seeing an otter in the wild, right here in Royal Pines, was an amazing experience. Since I’ve been living in Northeast Florida for most of my life, I was under the impression that I had seen all of the wildlife the area had to offer. So I was understandably surprised one night when I was walking my dog and caught a glimpse of a funny creature waddling across the street. It never crossed my mind it could be an otter until it stepped into the light. It was going from one lake to another. While otters are graceful in the water, they definitely have a clumsy looking hop waddle when they move on land.

The thing that struck me about talking with Letti Bozard of Bozard Ford Lincoln Mercury was that, despite her family’s legacy of owning and operating the successful St. Augustine dealership for generations, Letti was focused on all the great things Bozard is doing now.  From the new Quick Lane Service Center to the numerous ways the company supports area schools, Bozard is not a company to rest on its laurels.

Its laurels are plentiful by the way.  The company was founded in St. Augustine over 60 years ago and three generations of the Bozard family have operated the local institution.  Today Letti Bozard, Vice President of Community Involvement & Customer Strategy, and her brother Bo Bozard, Controller, are following in the family business.  Jeff King serves as General Manager. The dealership has received numerous awards over the years, including 14 Ford Motor Company President’s Awards, Ford’s highest honor in customer satisfaction. And just last month, Bozard was #1 in sales volume among area Ford Lincoln Mercury dealerships throughout Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties. “It was especially great to see the strong rebound in truck sales last month,” says Bozard.  “July 2011 was the biggest month of F150 Ford Trucks sales ever in our history.”