LindaJean: January 2019

January 13, 2019
This blog has nothing to do with rain, drops or roses I just like the song.

I am writing to you from my spacious home in Belgrade, Maine where I love to be. Driving home at night from dinner with my friend gave me delight in the falling snow. I knew that I was going into a warm house to enjoy the rest of the evening.

My last post was on December 13, 2018

Michael Babaro from the Daily, "Heres what else you need to know today."

December 14, 2018

We took a walk to the Vinoy Renaissance Hotel on our last day in St. Pete. I thought that someone would stop us at the door to this interesting hotel that looms over the waterfront of St. Pete, but they didn't. It was fun to see the hustle and bustle of guests arriving for the weekend and valet parking attendants taking cars to a safe place while guests.

I was still making Christmas cards and getting ready to mail them before we left St. Pete and with Rob's help addressing envelopes, we dropped cards at the post office.

December 15-20, 2018

We enjoyed a walk through the farmer's market and a special juried craft fair. It was pouring so I waited on the porch of the local yacht club (Rob had escaped back to the boat) with others that didn't belong. I think we all were prepared to say we were new members of the club rather than stand in the rain. The rain stopped and I enjoyed the art work.

On the 16th we headed back to Fort Myers retracing our steps on a three day journey from St. Pete. We had a great trip and looked forward to being at the Yacht Basin again.

We arrived on the 18th feeling like we had never left. It is amazing how many different things happen at FMYB and Fort Myers city during the Christmas Holiday.

December 19th we headed to the theater to see The Christmas Carol. Between you and me I don't ever need to see that story again. Every performance I have seen of this play has been great, but it is really depressing. An old man who had a hard life, was mean to lots of people finally understood what he needed to do before he died. All is not wasted on this story. Hurt feelings can melt away when we see change in others. Now that I have tied that up with a nice little bow...

I wish I could write poetry or a nice little jingle to talk about my Christmas experience at the Basin. I can't do either but know that if I could I would.

Oh gosh, I do have to tell you the story about going to the Laundromart (correct name). As I headed out from the marina I stopped at Janice's boat and asked her if she had any dryer balls and she yells out the window-"no I don't and are you going to do your laundry, you are crazy"! She thought there was going to be heavy rains and winds between 20-45 KTS. I frankly thought she was overreacting. I stopped to pick up the dryer balls. Do not go to WalMart a couple of days before Christmas to pick up dryer balls unless you have a dryer emergency.

I thought the Laundromart would be nearly empty that time of day, but several others thought the same thing. This place has walls made with garage doors that are always open, which on this day it was not a plus. I felt like I was in a Lucille Ball skit. I tried to load the washer and the door kept closing on my head. You know the carts have the bar across the top for hanging clothes well on this day the clothes acted like a sail sending my cart down the aisle. At one point a man was emptying his dryer and part of this laundry was flying by me. I left there to make one more stop and I had to wait for a down pour to stop before I could get to my truck. It was several hours after I was back at the marina before we could unload the truck. I don't know if Janice saw me sneaking by to go to my boat.

This leads me to December 21st, a day to start baking cookies. I started with peanut butter. It was windy and pouring outside so it was fun to do something for Christmas. I always eat a lot of dough while making cookies in fact that is my preferred method off consuming the calories. All the while I am eating the dough I was listening to a commercial on Pandora railing the dangers of consuming raw eggs and uncooked flour, a conspiracy to ruin my enjoyment. Let me be naive.

We walked around the dock hoping we weighed enough to keep us attached to the ground. We ended up at the face dock looking out at mean water, while feeling very safe tucked into a slip at the marina. Looking down to the A dock, the face dock on the Eastside of the marina, we saw a large concrete/styrofoam dock up against the wall having escaped attachment from a place west of the marina. We saw a man running on the face dock as if there was an emergency then realized he was running between the raindrops and the waves hitting the dock in order to get to his boat.

On December 22nd Jane, Kent, Rob and I walked to a little theater described as off broadway several times removed. The theater's interesting name is The Laboratory Theater of Florida. Oh dear, when Rob received a text from the marina that our boat was leaking diesel (we found out later it wasn't us), he had to leave at intermission and Kent decided he would probably need help. They couldn't get out of the theater quick enough. Let's just say it was a very interesting performance.

Our King and Queen of docktails are leaving their boat for a larger space, stick house, in N. Fort Myers. We all went out for dinner to celebrate/grieve their departure for solid ground.

Gosh I still had the tail end of my cards to post so walked to the post office.

As the days past plans were being made for Christmas dinner on the dock. There was steady talk as our plans firmed up for the big day. Lots of us were not at home or with family but we were good people planning for a good time. Eighteen strong for Christmas Dinner.

It was finally Christmas Eve and I remembered that I had not made my "Christmas meatballs". Rob and I have a tradition of having meatballs with pasta on Christmas Eve and watching the Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas DVD.

I love Christmas Eve it is a night of magic that will be in my heart forever. When I was little I didn't want to let go of all things dreamy and good. The best thing an older sister did was to quiet me so I could hear Santa's sleigh bells and I really could hear them. I was generally up at 4 or 5 unable to sleep and that was into adulthood. The magic of Christmas is one of the harmless beliefs that we can have.

We attended church with friends from the marina on Christmas Eve and that was fine but I really missed going to church with my friend a tradition for many years.

On Christmas Day I read an article looking at pictures from 2018 and predictions of the future. It was a difficult article for me to read leaving me with a wide spectrum of feelings.

The marina was a buzz with people calling there families, talking to their children, parents and friends from other place maybe even back home.

The marina is a small community not unlike a small town complete with drama and gossip. If someone is sick or has misfortunate most everyone is there to help. Sometimes help comes in the form of creating stories about what we can do about a transient that doesn't know the spoken or unspoken rules of our small community. Since I watch a lot of cop and mystery shows I can come up with the best plans to teach the transients what the rules are. Some of the plans are unsavory and I can see the dismay in other's faces that I am really weird you see I like being back home because my fiends understand my humor.

Rob and I renewed our membership to Edison Ford Winter Estates. On the 27th six of us walked to the estate to see the Night of Lights. My favorite was the dancing waters and a concert pianist playing a baby grand piano in the Edison Homestead.

New Years Eve - visiting with new friends, meeting new people, playing with new dogs while watching them do tricks. Walking to downtown Fort Myers to see sights, little girls enjoying the fake snow blown from a snowman in the courtyard, to eating calorie laden hot dogs from the food trucks. Watching the sites of people dressed in their New Years Eve costumes desperate to have their pictures taken to put them on record for the strangest outfit of the year. Jesus on the corner who had grown up far too fast from his birth date only a week ago. We hoped to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop and to hear Kent blow his conch at midnight.

It was a relief to be back at the marina to visit with those familiar and to wish Happy New Year to the people coming and going from their boats. For one small period of time everyone seemed happy and carefree even though I am sure they had their difficult stories to tell. It was an evening in contrast to last year's celebration when we spent the evening rafted up with two other boats anchored at Pelican Bay in sight of Cayo Costa State Park. As the sun went down we listened to bagpipers play their last song of 2017.

We did make it to midnight and it was fabulous! Boats in the harbor let us know they were happy by blowing their horns and lights on their boats regaling the new year. Kent did play his conch and our docktail buddies rang in the new year.

The new year was well underway with a new and faster motor for our dinghy. We made plans to take a long trip on the ICW to manatee park. The park is about 7 miles one way and we were in luck with very few boats and "No Wake" zones most of the way. At one point I looked back to see a boat with a big wake then looked ahead at the No Wake sign. We put the motor in high gear beating the big boat to the no wake zone.

We wound our way along a narrow inlet to manatee park. We didn't expect there to be any manatees, but it didn't matter because we know a place on the east coast with more manatees than we can count. Manatees are so lovable, big and slow moving thus the no wake zones. The big creatures are unable to move quickly enough to escape being hit by your motor unlike the dolphins who can that move quickly to escape danger from motors. It is sad to see the scars on the back of the manatees that have been hit.

This takes me to January 8, 2019 when I flew home to Maine for 10 days.

Today is January 13th and soon I will be going to visit our great neighbors and friends and this evening going out to eat with long time friends. I am enjoying my time in the cold and warm home. Temperatures have started out the day in -0 temperatures.

Now to the picture story