LindaJean: February 2019

February 2019

I am writing to you from Pelican Bay-Cayo Costa.

When I returned to Fort Myers after being in Maine the weather was warm and while I was gone it was cold, rainy and windy. Thank goodness I was up north so I didn't have to deal with that weather.

My nephew spent time with us in February leaving February 3 just in time to watch the Brady Bowl in his own home. Chaz arrived in Fort Myers Beach by the Key West Express after spending work time in the Keys. The Edison Birthday celebration started with a juried artist show. The local kids do judged sidewalk art, drawing out their picture before Saturday and spending a great deal of time transferring it to the sidewalk with colored chalk.

Rob, Chaz and I walked to the Edison Ford Winter Estate and on the way back we stopped at Steve B's for a burger let me say upfront that we had not eaten there before. The day we were there someone had 3 adorable puppies they were selling the puppies were loose and begging for our attention. Two of them laid on Chaz's feet. The puppies were going to grow up to be a combination of Great Dane and Great Pyrenees. While we were waiting for our server which was a very long time, we were inundated with manic behavior from the puppy owners and their children. We still don't know if they serve a good burger and never will.

Chaz arrived from Key West

Dogs for sale and want to go home with Chaz

We left Steve B's for another eatery

The kids display their talent

The children's parade

The Parade of Light finishes the two week celebration of Edison's birthday

Chase tells us he is back and brought Connie and Joe with him

Joe and Connie returned to Fort Myers just in time to have fun and be part of the Super Bowl party on the dock before everyone returns to their own boat. The Patriots won.

Pre Super Bowl party

Wally, Darcy, Rob and I made a trip to Naples to visit The Naples Botanical Garden. The garden is about 50 miles away, admission is very reasonable, and they have a great gift shop. Had I been by myself I would still be there checking all the beautiful things out.

Of course the gift shop is at the end of your trip to the garden. There was so much more to our visit other than the gift shop and Fogg restaurant. We were there for hours taking in the sites including the special exhibit, Reflections on GLASS.

"Frabel's Glass (from Wikipedia) He is a fascinating artist to read about.

Hans Godo Frabel (born 1941 in Jena, East Germany) is an East German–born lampwork glass blower, now living and working in the US.

Hans Godo Frabel is one of the very first lampwork glass artists in the world. He turned the technique of "working at the lamp" to an art form back in 1968, when he opened the Frabel Studio in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1]^[2] At that time crystal glass was not considered a serious art medium and few artists were utilizing the beauty and diversity of glass to create unique art pieces.^[3] "

Sprinkled in with all of this fun are impromptu times spent with all of our friends pictures can't capture feelings that go along with this journey.

Naples Botanical Garden

My Best Friend

Frabel's Glass

The men folk

Rob, Tricia and Wally

Frabel's Glass

The old Fort Myers

Jane, Kent, Rob and I spent hours at the IMAG (imaginarium) History and Science Center. we were there during the week, so there were very few children there. The center has a "living lab", three 3D movies, imagination playground and a virtual Fort Myers. We were kids and left no knob unturned.

There really were children there.

She told her mother not to put a time limit on her she is 2.

The Annual Mutt Strut better known, by only me, as the Pooch Parade

DOG our marina dog

DOG falls in love

A special dog, Bandit, teaches Tricia how to do tricks

I took a two hour painting class with Darcy and that was really fun just two of us there.

Another class I took was silk scarf painting with Marie Dyer.

Sprinkled in with all of this fun are impromptu times spent with all of our friends can't capture feelings that go along with this journey.

From Rob: The Teak Project

The first pic of the eyebrow, which runs all around the main cabin, represents just two years and three months in the south with Captains varnish. We have a second, smaller strip of teak that just runs the length of the cabin on both sides that we never touched because I needed to stand on the rails to heat, scrape, sand and varnish. It took courage to do that, but I did.

Second pic is after using the heat gun and scraper, followed by sanding. Prior to taping, I had to wipe it down with a slightly damp microfiber. I read the instructions very carefully and followed them to the letter. No cleaners. No tack cloth. Nothing, except water.

In the mornings before I could apply Awlwood, I went out early and wiped dew from teak and gelcoat above to prevent more from running down. When it rained, before I finished sanding, I had to go back and lightly sand the previous work where there were water spots.

Once sanded and taped, the clear primer went on. Had to wait overnight for the first topcoat, but no sanding. After the first topcoat I had to wait another day and lightly sand it, wipe it down with slightly damp cloth and apply 2nd topcoat. As I applied the topcoats, I became more efficient and could finish all of it in 45 minutes. It took 1 hour to dry enough so I would not leave a fingerprint. Awlwood likes very warm and humid. That we had. The next day I put on almost all the rest, but. Prior to the last coat I was to wait overnight, sand with very fine paper, wipe it down, thin the topcoat by 10% and get that last coat on in the morning. Yes, morning. I assume they wanted it to set up real good before it cooled down at night... only a guess.

The last pic shows 10 coats of Awlwood. Why 10? One pours off a very small amount of this stuff into what looks like a clear 8oz yogurt container with a gazillion marks and measurements all over it for mixing various small amounts of finishes. I had 10 left over from a previous project.

Although I started this project while Tricia was in Maine, I am still not done yet. I have to put tape on the teak and the gelcoat (boat), leaving a very small space so I can apply caulking where they join.