Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #26 - 2/21

This is the final entry of this series of blog episodes - the homecoming.  Without any undue haste I pulled away from the motel at 7:45 AM local time, which in hindsight was a bit silly.  With the big buildings around Portia had trouble "acquiring satellites" and didn't start being useful until I had in fact probably missed my initial turning, but, other than enduring the rush hour crawl she guided me pretty quickly to I-65 and I was on my way.  The day was decent, if cool and I made great time for a long while.  In the middle of Kentucky we had a slow-down through a very long stretch where they 3-laning, each way, another section of I-65 (Oh! how I wish Indiana would do the same between Indianapolis and Louisville).  Otherwise all went very slickly, especially as the formerly closed I-64 bridge at Louisville is back open again, easing traffic.

My timing was good, putting me at The Brick right at lunchtime.  I am now recognized!  Apart from my drink selection (coffee) the bartender-cook told me (correctly) what I was going to have rather than ask me & served me promptly.  Afterwards I stayed on Route 11 coming on into downtown and the Post Office where I picked up my mail & started delivery again as of tomorrow.  From there it was on to Marsh for fresh and refrigerated stuff to get me restocked, including a bunch of flowers to cheer the place up and then it was on to home, completing a 2526.4 mile odyssey.

First I turned the thermostat well up from the 50 degrees at which I had left it and then began the unloading of the van and the putting away of everything.  I called the dentist early on and they would see me for an evaluation at 4:00 PM.  After X-rays and a poke and prod my only reasonable alternative is, as I feared, yet another crown.  I chose the "cheap" porcelain version over the more expensive gold and it will only be a little over $1100.  Not exactly the  economically austere recovery from the trip that I was expecting!!!!

All in all it has been a good break for me, although I don't want to make any long distance drives for a while, and I am very glad that I went.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #25 - 2/20

Today's leg, under mostly sunny skies was right around 500 miles so I am sitting in Nashville with the trip odometer at 2268.5 and right around 250 miles to go to be back home, an easy leg for a change.  This was simply a day of driving with just two hiccups.  The first was way up north in Alabama where they have completely closed I-65 northbound so we were routed a solid 15 minutes due east where, of all things, they just had a 4-way stop to get the long stream of traffic turned left on to a northwest road back up to what I assume was the next interchange back on to the Interstate.  One would have thought they could do better than that!  The overall delay was around 40 minutes, making me even more glad I wasn't trying for a marathon one-day drive home.

Zipping through Birmingham at 75 mph brought the adrenaline up a bit as well as the concentration, and since I hit Nashville ("road construction ahead") right at rush hour my final 6 minutes of Portia time to destination was suddenly expanded by almost 15 more.  I was very glad to reach the motel.

There were two bright spots today.  My "last supper" on the road this trip, at the desk clerk's recommendation of "nearby" (like two miles) and easy to find was eaten at a Longhorn Steakhouse, a nice salad, a loaded baked potato, and a 7 oz. medium rare filet steak to absolutely die for!

The other was to find, when I logged on this evening, an email from Jean with some pictures including these two, one of me in my "office" at their home (the same room from which we stripped the wallpaper) and the other just seconds before I climbed aboard, after all the goodbyes had been said, to head for Alabama.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #24 - 2/19

This partly sunny, partly cloudy and (no partly about it) windy day was Rita and John day.  Poor Bob was very sick and stayed in bed all day.  Rita ensured we stayed apart to avoid the risk of infection.

After the usual excellent breakfast & general organization I headed off to the campground for what became my day with Rita.  We drank coffee and talked up a storm for a while, then I was given the full Monte tour of the campground and its facilities so that I can at least relate when we are talking on the phone.  We had an early lunch in the RV and then left Bob in peace while we came into town in Rita's car.  I showed her the hotel room and we found that Marissa was working in the afternoon so we would have to Skype later, but to test that it was working I "called" Beth and we three had a delightful Skype conversation, especially as Rita and Beth hadn't seen each other for quite a few years.

We then headed down to the coast at Gulf Shores, walked in the wind for a few minutes and I took some pictures before we cut our losses and climbed back into the car for a run along the coast, first to the west and then back and on to the east, ending up at a State Park that is about 95% campground and it was completely full as this is Mardi Gras weekend.  We again took a short walk on the boardwalks and checked out a picnic area building that is obviously meant to provide shade from the summer sun, but had an interesting design, especially the roof.

We headed back to the campground for more coffee and conversation and to check on Bob.  Eventually, promising to "behave", we headed for my hotel room, only to find that Marissa was eating in Evansville, so after a little while we went ourselves a few blocks up the road to Ruby Tuesday's where we had a delicious dinner, a tasty fish dish for me and a large and tasty hamburger for Rita, all very nicely served.  Before we left we got a call to say Marissa was home so again we headed to the hotel and had a nice long Skype chat with Zoe and Marissa. Hearing our voices but not seeing us (apparently she doesn't "do" computers yet) Zoe was very confused and excited.  It was a nice catch-up, especially for Rita.

Eventually we signed off and Rita headed off for "home".  Since she intends (with his full agreement, despite not liking the doctor) taking Bob to the clinic tomorrow morning we said goodbye for this trip and I in my turn will head out earlier than I had anticipated but will go rather further, thereby making my last run in to home that much shorter on Tuesday.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #23 - 2/18

This was very much a traveling day - 513 miles-worth to be exact!  The day started pretty much as usual, but I did the bathroom/ dressing routine after only one cuppa tea to give myself some extra time, but both Pete and Jean surprised me by appearing a good half-hour earlier than usual.  However I did have time to strip the bed and also give the bathroom vanity a bit of a proper clean as well as get the van ready for leaving.  After a poached eggs/sausage/toast/mushrooms/cooked tomatoes hearty breakfast it was time for hugs all around and lots of thanks all around and promises of "again" and then I was on my way.

I did have a minor delay before starting as both hotel and the street on which it stands have been built since my Garmin ("Portia") was programmed and we had to look up something else in Foley on Jean's PC in order to set a destination.  I also ran into, not for the first time, another case of Portia not knowing about big city Obama pork barrel road changes, especially of ramps/access (as well as bypasses) which makes me wonder whether I should upgrade to a more easily (or automatic) upgradeable version before I go traveling again.

The next many hours were drive, drive, and more drive without stopping at all (once out of Valrico) from 9:30 to 2:30 EST (knowing I would end on CST).  I filled up a little more than half a tank, again cursing the Florida law that says you have to actually hold the pump nozzle lever the whole time you are filling!  Then it was to McDonald's next door for a big hunk o' meat in burger form.  I took in Marissa's book to force myself to take a decent period away from the driving position.

The second portion of the previously dry journey had intermittent light rain (minimum wiper speed) on and off for a good while but close to Pensacola we were hit twice with major torrential squalls that dropped all of us from 75 down to around 60.  However, they were a mere bagatelle compared to the truly horrific downpour that hit just as I was searching for signs of the hotel.  In fact from the other side of a 4-lane divided highway I missed it completely.  Feeling I was nearing the end of town I pulled into a Home Depot parking lot and called for instructions thereby discovering I was literally a single city block in each of two right-angled directions away from it.  I don't ever remember trying to check in under such wet conditions, thank goodness for the portico for at least some protection.  Checked in, with bags inside the lobby, I noticed an empty slot quite close and managed to reverse myself into it, but still soaked a golf umbrella doing the 25 yards from van to portico.

I had called Rita from a half-hour out (according to Portia) & got the news that both of them think they have (different) ailments and neither intended to join me for dinner.  Once in the room I called and said that in this weather I did not intend to try and find them in the dark, so I will head out there and see what's what at nine CST tomorrow.  My "room" is almost a suite, large bathroom, wet bar with coffee stuff on the counter, microwave & fridge as well as the usual TV in addition to a comfortable king bed, an easy chair with ottoman, and an executive chair at the large desk.  I shall be quite comfortable this evening.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #22 - 2/17

This day was devoted to winding up (winding down?) my visit to Peter and Jean.  I vacuumed the now-dry debris from the stripped room so it won't get tracked through the house, we fixed a garbage can handle, we did a significant tidy job on Pete's garage-workshop and so on and so forth, clearing "Jean's list".

The day was dull and mildly threatening but after a while Jean and I decided we could chance taking our nice long walk and got back as dry as we left.  I started sorting out such cases as I had brought inside but just as I went out to continue the process in the van the rains began so I quickly abandoned that idea temporarily.  It continued raining for several hours, thereby putting paid to any chance of my making my last contribution - my intended significant leaf-blowing exercise.

In mid afternoon we all went out for a circuit - library for a quick pick-up, doctor's office for a renewed Rx, a Europen Foods shop for Coleman's mustard (of which they were out to my disappointment) and a place to look at and discuss replacement windows.  We got back just as the rains ended.  P&J remembered they had literally pounds of mustard powder in their freezer so gave me a good-size tin to take home, and I was able to finish reorganizing the van.  The rest of the day was spent quietly.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #21 - 2/16

 An alternate title for this very nice day could well be "enjoying nature in the big city".  It was our last "outing" day of this year's visit.  Since we were not taking a picnic lunch we made an early start, by Emery standards, and using freeways almost all the way went to downtown St. Petersburg.  There we started by visiting Sunken Gardens, an almost overwhelming time with nature.

Over 100 years ago a plumber/avid gardener drained a small lake, exposing very rich soil, and started creating his own paradise.  It became so popular with his neighbors, friends and other that he started charging admission.  In 1999 the city bought it from his descendents and continues to maintain it along with a large children's museum/indoor playground.  The gardens are truly lovely in a grand scale kind of way and Jean and I took an absurd number of pictures.

By the time we had followed every wandering pathway and seen our fill we were all hungry so I suggested I treat to a lunch at Appleby's, which turned out to be very tasty and very well served by a charming and attentive waitress.

On leaving the gardens we had inquired as to other attractions in the area and were recommended to visit the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, still in the suburbs, alongside Lake Maggiore, which we found with just a little trouble.  From several spots alongside the lakeshore one can simultaneously see large water birds, an alligator and downtown St. Petersburg.  Everything here is natural and preserved, equally interesting but quite different to the gardens.  We walked a number of the trails, most of which are shaded from the sun, taking more pictures of course.  Finally we headed home, this time taking the tall bridge and not one of the causeway crossings over the bay.

I called Rita Stevens, confirmed they were back in Alabama (although Bob was somewhat sick yet again) and have made arrangements to make the switch on Saturday.  Despite her fears that hotels might be full for local Mardi Gras activities I had no problem making reservations, initially for two nights but I might extend my stay depending on weather, health, and enthusiasm for making outings.

I have whittled down our pictures to a manageable few and added them to Flickr, which may be seen in my winter set available here.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #20 - 2/15

This was a day of great success but little news.  We successfully stripped a very hard-to-remove wallpaper from two walls, one of them 12 feet high and ended up with a great deal of satisfaction.

On a more depressing note, while eating a poached egg on toast I noticed something hard in my mouth and it turned out to be a significant chunk of one of my molars, so I'm very much afraid I am in for a long, painful, and very expensive session or two with the Doctors Bardonner, DDS when I get back to Columbus.

We started promptly by hanging some wetting sheets first thing and getting that paper off after it had soaked all through the breakfast process.  We immediately hung rather more wetting sheets and then Jean & I went for our usual 40 minute walk, getting quite warm as the temperatures have come roaring back up and it was sunny.  After a lengthy removal session we again hung the sheets and let the wetting happen during the whole lunch process.  Our next "kill time while wetting happens" sessions involved a trip Pete and I took a very interesting nearby Harbor Freight Tools store which made me very envious that my nearest one is all the way up to Indianapolis!  Our last session, and some clean-up, was completed right about 7:00 PM and we decided to eat out, but not until after Peter had lain down for a while to get over one of the several discomforts which periodically ail him.  We went to a Mexican restaurant where the food was excellent and the service - wasn't!  However, we were too hungry to care and enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #19 - 2/14

This Valentine's Day (which only I remembered initially) was mostly sunny, comfortable & a bit breezy and was an "outing day" while we let our aging bodies recover from yesterday's efforts.  Moving at Emery warp speed we pulled out at 11:40 and headed on a pretty long drive, passing over the Tampa Bay Bridge and on to Fort De Soto County Park.

We had an enjoyable picnic beneath the palm trees beside the (very extensive) parking lot, towards the top right of the upper picture above, and then cruised down to the "fort" itself.  In its heyday it had been more of a military encampment (now long gone) and the only structure remaining was the heavy concrete combination of mortar batteries and magazines, which had been covered in earth upon completion and on which grasses and shrubs had been allowed to grow - briefly interesting but not photogenic.  The 1898 British-built rifled gun against the remains of which I was photographed was never part of the fort when it was operational but was cleaned up and moved there for posterity in more recent times.

We visited the gift shop and I found a suitable memento and then we returned to the top of the park and headed down to the beach, where we set up "camp".  While Peter sat and guarded our  stuff Jean and I took an extensive ocean-side walk of this complete section bounded at one end by an inlet and at the other by a seabird nesting sanctuary.  Once back we all settled down to read, do crosswords, etc.  Unfortunately a light persistent cloud cover took the heat from the sun and the breeze escalated to an unremitting wind so we abandoned a little earlier than we otherwise might have done & headed home.

We stopped at Costco both for a gas fill-up and a resupply of primarily fruits and vegetables and in response to my broad hints Peter suggested Jean pick out a nice bunch of cut flowers from the unusually plentiful supply that were there for obvious reasons.  Then we headed home and had a quiet evening.  It was a nice day.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #18 - 2/13

 This day started with a light ground frost but was primarily sunny and gently warmed up all day.  We started a little earlier as it was Jean's turn to go to the church and count money.  On her return we hung a number of wetting sheets up against the old wallpaper in the study.  Then we went for our walk while the water solution was soaking in.  It was a good day for birds near the lake's edge but the highlight was seeing a truly huge alligator (maybe the biggest I've seen "in the wild") basking on a mud bar.

On our return we started removing the wallpaper, which was exceedingly reluctant to leave the wall!  But little by little we were winning the battles.  Then came more sheets/soaking, lunch, and more removal.  While the next soaking was going on we took an outing to the hardware store for assorted supplies, so all was ready for more removal on our return.

After setting up another section for soaking we all three had an enjoyable Skype session/video chat with Marissa.  We moved some furniture, tidied a little, then did more removal.  We set up the last soaking and had our evening meal while it was working then did the final removal session of the day.  We are pleased to have completed the whole "window wall", twelve feet high at one end and eight feet at the other.  It was a really good productive day.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #17 - 2/12

Although 20 degrees warmer than at home even Florida was chilly today, starting in the lower thirties and not moving up too terribly far despite sunshine all day.  The day was a gentle at-home day.  While Jean went off to sing in the choir Peter and I removed some sheetrock from the back of the former closet and arranged some wiring that had been behind it.

Later we searched and eventually found a roll of insulation and subsequently created a cozy home for their water well pump & piping that is above ground, since the night coming was supposed to be colder still.  That was the extent of any outdoor working activities.

In the afternoon I accompanied Jean on a trip to a hardware store and supermarket while Pete rested his gimpy leg and subsequently we started experimenting on removing the wallpaper in the study room.  The good news is that it can be removed without wall damage, the bad news is that it is going to take a lot of man-hours to do it all, but at least I/we have made a start.  Beyond that the day was essentially R & R.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #16 - 2/11

In our loose system of alternating days at home "working" and days "out" this was an outing day.  However, as it turned a fair bit cooler and there was a stiff breeze all day our original plans of visiting a beach were postponed and we took a trip to Florida Southern College.  Although this small (500 student) college has been in Lakeland since the 1880's the campus was almost entirely rebuilt between the thirties and later fifties to a unique design by Frank Lloyd Wright.  It has not worn well and needs constant repairs and his magnificent Water Dome draws so much power to operate fully that it may no longer be run at more than 30% and then only for a few hours a day, making just another attractive pool and fountain.

We did see photos in the Visitors Center of what it once looked like with all the sprays coming together high and in the center.  FLW was a small man.  All steps and stairways have below average rises, and the covered walkways that connect much of the campus together are not very high - it's a good job they don't have a basketball team!  Jean and Peter are at best average height and can easily touch the "ceilings".

The campus is beautifully landscaped with lots of green space and I especially liked this section, temporarily enhanced by a Yellow Trumpet Tree.

The main chapel was being extensively repaired and was closed but the smaller chapel, which has the only use of leaded stained glass on the campus was open.

            We had lunch in the cafeteria/snack bar in one corner of the "new" library overlooking the water dome fountain soon after we arrived and spent the afternoon wandering around with our self-guided tour pamphlets in our hands.  The clouds had largely cleared away and it was nice in the sunshine, but we were all glad to be wearing a sweater.

The rest of the day, once home, was dedicated to relaxing, drinking tea or coffee, eating, chatting and reading with nothing sufficiently notable to be included here.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #15 - 2/10

This was a multi-part day.  After a later than usual breakfast Jean and I went for our walk and in addition to the various birds seen previously were several roseate spoonbills, as in the photo.

The major task of the day was the breaking up and stacking into containers all of the sheetrock and other debris from the dismantled study closet which was piled in the carport.  Once stashed into liftable units we loaded them in the SUV and drove them down to the garbage pick-up area at the bottom of the yard.  I then swept up the little stuff and finally hosed down the area.

After lunch I did a major amount of leaf-blowing to clear the driveway and carport and the large theoretically grassy area between them and the fence that separates this yard from the neighbor's.  I came in for a cuppa tea and a rest and started slipping into a nap.  Pete took the hint and went and had an even longer one himself while Jean pottered and then did paperwork.

After an early dinner we headed back to Tampa to the same performing arts center as before arriving concurrently with a vast number of people all wanting to use the parking garage.  This time we were in one of the major auditoriums.  Despite being up in the third floor Balcony we had front row seats and a great view of all 50-60 members of the Florida Orchestra.  The program was Raymond James (sponsored) Pops doing A Night in the Tropics with Charles Lazarus (a trumpeter) conducted by Sarah Hicks.  The program was really very good and enjoyable, although my personal preference would have been for a bit more orchestra only and a bit less trumpeter.

About the time we arrived it was starting to rain (first time in quite a while down here and badly needed) and clearly it rained throughout the performance and continued to do all the way back home.  I was very glad that "the youngster" Jean and not my one-year older self was doing the driving.  It was a good day.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #14 - 2/9

This was manatee day.  The weather was pleasant with a high light overcast to partially diminish the sun's direct heat but still allow some shadows and was completely dry.

We had learned during our dolphin cruise that despite their size manatees have no blubber and are very sensitive to low temperatures.  Historically, when coastal waters cooled in winter they migrated up the rivers where water was warmer.  After a power station was built, discharging its warm cooling water into the estuary of a small river emptying into Tampa Bay, manatees discovered a warm haven for the winter months and became such regular winter visitors that an attraction was created of boardwalks for viewing as well as a riverside walk & the usual food and gift concessions.

With our usual morning efficiency we departed a little before noon and drove to the inappropriately-named Apollo Beach (actually a large marina, huge canal-side developments but no beach at all) and the Manatee Viewing Center.  Now, watching a manatee in the wild in a murky river is just marginally more exciting than watching grass grow, but to someone like me who has never seen a live one it was still a thrill.  The black specs in the upper picture above are all manatees.  Just before that picture was taken I counted an even dozen on the surface simultaneously.  The upper part of their heads rise periodically for a breath of air, a flipper is occasionally seen and tails are seen as they dive down for a mouthful of sea grass.  How many were there in total we do not know, but when on the riverside walk we saw an additional "pod" of 7 or 8 who were slightly more active.  As with the dolphins, getting a photograph of any action is nearly impossible.

Having had our fill of wandering and seeing we went into the surprising "un-tacky" gift shop.  If one was still trying to decorate a home with quality knick-knacks there was an abundance of tempting, good quality stuff, but I just did my usual, getting a Florida Christmas tree ornament and a pretty mug with a manatee decoration.

By then we were hungry so we drove a little way to a marina-side restaurant Jean had been to before, took a table outside, and at Peter's suggestion had our main meal of the day.  We all ordered the same thing, a shrimp, artichoke hearts, linguini concoction beautifully presented and served.  Old greedy-guts managed mine but both Peter and Jean needed a "doggy box" for almost half of theirs.  We all passed on desserts!

We eventually headed home, with a stop to get two new keys cut, both of which turned out to work ALL of the locks I had installed a few days before.  After our labors of yesterday, and a fair amount of walking today we deliberately took it easy for the rest of the day to give our aging bodies a recovery period.  I helped Jean set up a Flickr account, after we had exchanged the daily photographs, and we mutually friended each other.  This was a good enjoyable day, as usual.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #13 - 2/8

Since this was the only photo I took today you get to see one of the Emery's resident gopher tortoises.  This is a protected species and one may neither dispose of them oneself nor damage the burrows they dig, creating large holes and piles of dirt outside.  There are at least two resident near the house, doing territorial shoving matches occasionally.  They are about 15 inches long.

This lovely sunny day was a very productive at home, DIY event.  While it was still comfortably cool and Peter was doing his exercises Jean and I went for our standard 40+ minute brisk walk out to, around, and back from the nearby small lake but saw nothing worth photographing.

Our first major activity was the installation and the dismantling & reassembling to the correct length of the blind in the guest ("my") room.  At times it took all three of us together but diligent adherence to the instructions, written in micro type, eventually was successful.  The new blinds look so much better than the old ones they replaced and work well.

While P&J found other things to do (like make lunch!) I separated Jean's severely root-bound collection of spider plants into the two new pots we recently bought using largely new potting soil, watered them, put them in stands and cleared up the mess.  To me - no big deal.  Since neither P nor J "do dirt" (as Maria used to say) and both have "brown thumbs" - my efforts were much appreciated.

In the afternoon we attacked the "study prep" project by removing the trim around the windows and then with some difficulty and lots of patience managed to extract, without damage, the two faux marble windowsills.  The contractor is to remove the windows, enlarge the openings, and install bigger windows, but there was no point in paying a high labor rate for what we did which required no special skills, just effort and time.

After a few minor efforts our last major effort of the day was to remove, with hammers and crowbars, the multiplicity of nails from the framing lumber of the closet Peter had previously dismantled from the study and which was taking up space in the carport.  Once done we hauled the 2x4's and bigger trim pieces down to their shed complex and put it in storage.

To me this was an entertaining and satisfying day and I was somewhat overwhelmed at the end by the effusive thanks and hugs to which I was treated.  I need definitely feel no guilt by imposing myself on their hospitality.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #12 - 2/7

 This was our day to take the Eco-Cruise to see wildlife out in Tampa Bay.  The day was overcast and had intermittent local showers, none of which affected us in any way.

We took the morning gently, although I did take down the old metal blinds in "my" bedroom.  Then we headed into Tampa to the Aquarium and the cruise boat.  Our choice of day was inspired as the dullness and cool helped keep the number of passengers way down, making it easy to see from by any railing we chose plus giving lots of opportunity to ask questions of either our guide/narrator or of the

several volunteers & aquarium staff who came along with us.  We were however very glad to have taken light wind cheaters as the breeze & the boat movement made it seem cool.  Our narrator was excellent and gave us a wealth of information both about the port as we headed out and the wildlife, primarily waterbirds, and the natural and man-made geographic features.  Many years of dredgeing have created some significantly large islands which, having no predators are popular nesting sites/bird sanctuaries.

Just about the time we feared we were going to be one of the 5% of cruises that do not see dolphins in their natural habitat we ran into a good size gathering of largely females and juveniles and were allowed a good while to look.  However, trying to photograph them is all a matter of luck as they surface only briefly and reaction time and digital camera shutter speed usually result in empty pictures of water!

Additional pictures of our cruise may be seen here.

Heading home we stopped at a Sherwin Williams store for Jean & Peter to see and discuss the plain, background-hiding, paintable wallpaper that I had recommended to them as I have used it successfully to cover the paneling in my family room and also the rough walls in my bathroom.  I think they will go that way in their about-to-be remodeled study room.

Back home we started installing the new blinds, but will have to demount them again as we suspect the control cords are tangled inside the header.  It was a very good day and we all enjoyed it.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #11 - 2/6

This pleasantly warm day we designated as a day to "do stuff".  We demounted P&J's bedroom door, lightly planed where it was sticking & put it back.  We removed a conventional deadbolt and jointly climbed up the learning curve of installing one with a keylock on both sides (better for doors with breakable glass windows in reach of the locks).  While Pete started painting the two door edges we had planed I replaced another 2-lock deadbolt and also replaced an old regular lockset with a new one that matched.  By the end of the day the door edges had three coats and both locksets (removed to make the painting easier) had been replaced.

Jean & I went shopping, to Lowes for a floodlight replacement & two planters so that we can split and re-pot an old, rootbound spider plant that had been her grandmother's.  Since the standard size holder of the mini-chip in my camera was coming apart and giving me lots of troubles I bought a new conventional chip.  One more stop and we returned.  We replaced several floodlights and with me as ladder-man and they sitting in strategic places to see me adjust and set the holders to the right height and angle.

I managed to download all the pictures from my suspect chip and reload then on the new one so my camera is again good to go and all my trip pictures for temporary back-up.  It was a good, satisfying, and productive day and we are whittling down Jean's collection of "to do" post-it notes!

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #10 - 2/5

This was another less hot day, but still very pleasant.  At the house we did little of note, but we left in the early afternoon and headed to Tampa, with a stop at a Lowes to get some already-purchased blinds cut to length.  Then it was on to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, a multi-theater complex beside the river.  The surroundings were beautifully landscaped and being a little early we had time to enjoy them.

Our theater was surprisingly small, and coming from the sunshine into the very dark interior was hard on the eyes.  Unfortunately Peter failed to see two lighting boxes foolishly located while people were moving about and took a tumble, skinning both of his shins almost as soon as we entered.  The play was --- interesting.  We knew it was to be a parody/farce and at times it was amusing & the stage management was clever.  Four actors, three male and one female played multiple parts very cleverly, but afterwards we all agreed that our enjoyment would have been much greater if the actors had not raced at warp speed through their lines.

Heading home we debated evening food and at my suggestion went for soup and sandwiches at Panera bread which was delicious and quite adequate.  Once home the evening was quiet as might be expected.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #9 - 2/4

This day was somewhat warmer and sunnier than the one before.  Since we were going into the city the next day to see a stage play it was decided this would be a stay-at-home day in which we could get a few things done.  In the morning, before it got too warm Jean & I again went for our nice long walk, talking all the way.  (Between their healthy eating style and getting in a bit of exercise my "numbers" have been pretty good down here).

A highly used but overtight door had been bothering them for some time so between Pete and I we took it down, removed the lockset, took it into the workshop, marked it carefully and then planed it using Pete's very nice hand-held power planer.  Once restored to its proper place the door fits perfectly, to Jean's delight.

Having overheard some comments I unilaterally elected to take on their carport gutter which over the years had converted itself to a flower bed, or rather a weed-bed.  Although a bit mucky it was not difficult and was completed sooner than I expected.  Some clean-up followed and subsequently I started on the project of blowing dead leaves and thousands of small acorns away from the house.  It was a good active day and my efforts, as well as suggestions were much appreciated.  We are trying to get Pete to realize that ideas and schemes suitable for a 30-year old can not all be achieved by even a reasonably healthy 80-year old and some must either be abandoned or sub-contracted out despite having the knowledge of how to do them.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #8 - 2/3

This day was slightly cooler and less sunny than the day before but we still decided to go out "for the day".  With typical Emery efficiency we managed to be pulling out of their driveway by 12:02 PM and headed towards Tampa.  We stopped at a AAA office to get discounted tickets for a future "dolphin cruise" and then headed on to Lettuce Lake Park beside the very sluggish Hillsborough River.

We parked near an empty shelterhouse and had a late picnic lunch, after which we spent a lot of time on the boardwalks through the cypress swamps at the edge of the river.  We only saw one alligator, a small young one sunning itself on a big log, but we saw far more big wading birds than we had last year.  We saw several sizes and shapes of herons, several wood storks (the nearer bird in the picture), several ibis and a whole lot of egrets (such as the rear bird in the picture).  At one point we (or something else) disturbed the nearby egrets, although the storks were unfazed, and it was as though a snow squall passed overhead - very impressive.

Eventually we moved away from the river to a more open area, set up our lawn chairs and all sat and read newspapers, Kindle etc, which was all very relaxing.  Towards the late afternoon we actually began to feel cool since we were all in single light tops so we packed up & headed home, but first we made a stop at Costco - my first experience of a Costco (which I found astonishingly similar to a Sam's Club) - and looked around an J&P bought some supplies, mostly fresh foods.  Once nearly home Jean also popped in to a regular food store for some things in smaller quantities.  Once home we quickly prepared and ate late dinner & then sat and relaxed.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #7 - 2/2

In the middle of the morning Jean & I went for a nice long and fairly brisk walk, a good portion of which was around a nearby artificial lake.  While there were assorted large birds all around, at the point above we could see an alligator (just beyond the lillies at the extreme right end of the little island) and a pair of anhigas (the male with its wings spread and the female up in the little dead tree) egrets across the lake, and not visible in the picture above some ibis and varietal ducks.

By the time we returned Peter was dealing with a very helpful cable/phone guy who fixed the problems Pete had unearthed during his recent remodeling.  The rest of the day was largely social, but at one point during a teasing exchange I was informed that that I do not count as a "guest" but instead count as "family", which I thought was very nice.  We ate, we chatted, we pottered about and looked at a few more pictures and generally all took it easy - which suited all of us.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #6 - 2/1

This warm and largely sunny day (with a high of 80 degrees) was also a lot of driving, 393 miles to be exact so the odometer reads 1254 miles since leaving my driveway.  Everything went smoothly and speedily but not dramatically so, largely excellent but not Interstate roads initially and then Interstate all the way in.  Dothan to Valrico was achieved with just a single stop, an iced coffee and a large sandwich at a MacDonalds where I deliberately took in my Kindle and enjoyed a change of position for a while.

The law enforcement efforts in Florida have clearly brought back speed discipline.  Three lane Interstates have a 75.00 mph lane, a 74.95 mph and a 74.90 mph one, and on 2-lane roads just the upper two with just a few idiots not holding the pace and the occasional fool bucking for, and getting, a ticket!  When less than 20 minutes out (according to Portia's forecast) we suddenly went from 75 to zero, the car in front of me even swerving on to the safety lane to avoid rear-ending the one in front of it.  I don't think I needed the extra margin but was glad to have it!  The next 20 minutes we crawled at 2 mph.  Although massive construction might be called the root cause the actual problem was two idiots more interested in looking at the work than at the road & having a spectacular wreck, and of course once an Interstate has a bottleneck it takes forever to clear even if both lanes are free and clear.

Once on city streets I stopped to fill an almost-empty gas tank & empty an almost full bladder and then was pleased that I remembered the location of a big supermarket close to journey's end and so was able to get a nice big bunch of flowers for Jean, who seemed very surprised to get them!  Like last year the house is still a work in progress in places but all the essentials are fine.  However, for reasons none of us understand, after working fine at Marissa's and again in the hotel my laptop will not connect to their router via Wi-Fi, and the error message & self-diagnostics are little help, but would infer that it is "my" problem although I find it hard to imagine the card going bad between one shutdown and the next start up.  Luckily I always carry a hard wire & when plugged in I am fully connected to the net, but it limits me to only using the laptop in the "under renovation" room in which they have their router.

Socially, thirty seconds after greetings and hugs all around Peter started talking and was still hard at it as Jean quite literally dragged him off to bed!  To be fair Jean & I did do our own small share as well, but beyond that the two items of note were a delicious dinner that Jean prepared and a start through my 2011 Flickr pictures.  Their new large screen TV is basically a computer by itself so we were able to access Flickr and look at pictures, especially the ones from my visit last year in giant size, before calling it a night.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #5 - 1/31

This was just a long day of driving.  In Marissa's driveway, after the trip down & a couple of excursions to Evansville the van odometer read 293.8, now, here in Dothan, it reads 861 exactly, so I have driven 567.2 miles today.  The mild and overcast morning (and I had dry roads all day long) was nice for driving, and once the sun was to the west the evening was OK too, but the broken skies with intermittent brightness and gloom during the middle part of the day were very wearing on my old eyes with their slow iris reaction time.

I managed the whole trip with just two stops, both at MacDonald's for a fancy coffee, once with food and once without, plus a half-tank fill-up at the first McD, which was enough to get me to Dothan where I have now filled again ready for a fast start tomorrow.  I again shot myself in the foot mentally, forgetting that Alabama is on Central Time when I thought it was on Eastern.  I was feeling good about being 20 minutes from the hotel until Portia popped up and told me to run 94 miles before my next turn!  Then the penny dropped & that last hour or so seemed endless.

On the upside I never got lost or into an irretrievably wrong lane.  The hotel is nice, I have the corporate rate (the lowest available), the room is super - king bed, nice desk, armchair and ottoman and a nice big bathroom, I couldn't ask for anything more!  I decided I needed a reward for all that driving, solo, so I dined at Ruby Tuesday's on a "trio", shrimp sauteed in garlic, a crab cake that was 95% crab and almost no cake, and a lobster tail with drawn butter.  I even had a yogurt-based dessert, so all is well in John Priddis world.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #4 - 1/30

Being a Monday this was Marissa's "split day", working morning and evening and having a free afternoon.  In due course she went off to work, and I.....didn't!  I had a gentle morning with my PC, my phone, and my books, including making a hotel reservation for Tuesday night.

When Marissa came home at midday we all three piled into the van and headed for Evansville.  Our first stop was a Sonic drive-in for lunch.  We then headed to the far end of the peoples' trail atop the Evansville levee, parked the van, and embarked on a good long walk beside the swollen Ohio River - not desperately high but enough to inundate some riverside parking lots and lower trails and walkways.  The wind was almost as stiff as the previous two days, but the temperature was a good thirty degrees higher making it quite tolerable.

Once we were all exercised we headed to a large Rural King for a nice browse around and a series of miscellaneous purchases by Marissa, including a wood chisel.  Since gas in Evansville was cheaper than in Mount Vernon I filled up the van's tank ready for tomorrows run southwards.

Back home the chisel was used to improve the functionality of Marissa's patio door deadbolt, and the pump & hose & electric cable used for the water pumping all put away & the crawl space entrance closed and covered so that until the heat trunking is fixed Marissa need only heat part of Mount Vernon, not all of it!

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #3 - 1/29

This day was the antithesis of yesterday.  Despite bright sunshine it was chilly and the wind howled all day long.  Added to the fact that Harmonie State Park was officially closed and that New Harmony was already under flood from the swollen Wabash we chose to simply remain indoors all day.  A doorknob was fixed and a follow-up pumping out of the crawl space entrance was soon completed but otherwise, reading, TV/DVDs, and some games were the order of the day.  Significant time was spent with the original 1982 Trivial Pursuit, surprising the two of us both ways - in what we did know/remember, and conversely what we had forgotten or never knew in the first place! 

Although the stuffed pork roast that we had for dinner in the evening was nice (and plentiful) the culinary highlight of the day was our oh-so-British luncheon of "Bangers And Mash" which both of us enjoyed enormously.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #2 - 1/28

This bright, sunny, but very windy and chilly day was quite a mix.  We started gently, as is typical when I am here, and having ruled out most seriously outdoor activities decided to go "shopping" (mostly window) in Evansville, but not before addressing a home hiccup of Marissa's.  Back in the summer we had established that a lack of forced air in a bathroom was due to an air duct coming apart.  This was found by my crawling around uncomfortably in the aptly-named crawl space, and the successful fix involved the heavy use of many yards of duct tape.  It was also agreed that this was my last such exercise of that nature.

Marissa has now found that her largely unused study is significantly colder than the rest of the house and no air can be detected coming from the vent when the furnace is running, leading to the likely conclusion that yet another duct has become disconnected, which will require the hiring of a professional to investigate and, if our suspicions are correct - fix.  However, in the light of recent weather conditions a look at the crawl space entrance seemed to be in order and our fears were realized - it was several inches deep in water.  Our first order of business, despite the chilly conditions, was to set up a pump & drain hose to the street and leave it to run while we spent much of the day in Evansville.  When we returned the water was virtually gone.

We headed to and across Evansville to the "East Side" and

commenced our "window shopping".  After a while we took a time out for a coffee break at a conveniently located Starbucks.  Before leaving that particular area we visited The Fresh Market and bought some British bangers and also a stuffed pork roast, plus Marissa added some hard-to-find things she needed.  Since the timing was right we had lunch in the Food Court of a mall, both of us having a delicious open face gyros sandwich and a side.

We continued our mix of exploration of that side of Evansville with additional shopping and in the end both actually bought in Sears, of all places.  I got a comfortable pair of sunglasses for my long drives to come and Marissa found several pairs of jeans for both here and Disney.  We then headed home, had a cuppa tea, and took the "neglected" and long-suffering Zoe for a walk.

After a rest period we again embarked for Evansville, in the van this time as it has heated seats, and met up with Becca (owner of Zoe's sister) at Quiznos for a sandwich and conversation prior to making the very short run across the service road to the movie theater complex where we saw and all enjoyed "One for the Money" the first movie version of the first of a long series of books that Marissa & Becca had been reading and enjoying for years.  On returning to Mount Vernon we treated ourselves to a Dairy Queen treat to complete a very enjoyable day.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Day #1 - 1/27

By late morning everything was packed and in the van and the house completely prepped for being left.  With the odometer zeroed the adventure began and less than 15 minutes later I was here:

The Brick in Jonesville with its unprepossessing exterior (and interior, come to that) but the purveyor of great soups and even better, if messy, hamburgers.

With the inner man fully fortified the serious driving began.  The trip was uneventful and the gray (but rain-free) skies meant no sunglasses were necessary.  While I had realized that we have had more than our share of rain recently I was unprepared for the sight of flooded fields and overflowing streams everywhere I looked for the entire journey.  Water was encroaching on the pavement of the Azalia road between highways 31 and 11.

A stop was made, much as usual, at Schnucks in Evansville for a few edible supplies and then the last short leg was completed.  Zoe was surprised and excited to see me, and once I had become basically unloaded and organized she required amazingly little encouragement to accompany me on a lengthy walk around the neighborhood.  However, as can be seen in the accompanying photograph she was far from tired and still keen to play!  It can also be seen that she is well recovered from her autumnal shearing and is now quite shaggy, or should that be fluffy.

It became increasingly obvious that in Zoe's little mind "grampa" was here for only one purpose, to actively play with, or at least give constant attention to, herself, and nothing else!  Considerable pouting would ensue if Marissa, or food, or the TV got any attention.

Winter Wanderings 2012 - Preamble

While much of early January was used for the usual reorganizations at the start of a new year, especially as it pertained to files both electronic and paper, the Priddis penchant for such activities over the last couple of years meant all was comfortably in place by mid-month.  Since no big indoor schemes, such as redecorating various rooms, was planned the dull, dreary, and largely snowless winter loomed as seeming to be endless.

The solution was to combine various "invitations" primarily the one to visit the Emerys in Florida for a couple of weeks (February being convenient for them) along with a visit to Marissa for a weekend at the beginning and a visit to the Stevens in southern Alabama on the way back home.  Thus were plans made (with an awareness that weather conditions could affect chosen travel dates).

Travel will be by van, loaded with a large proportion of my wardrobe to allow for a wide variety of weather conditions.  Initial departure from Columbus will be at the end of the morning on Friday 1/27/2012.