2010 - 7/18 - 7/30 - more 'stuff' and Susan's birthday

Week of July 18th: If you remember last week, we had troubles with the a/c and the new Toshiba laptop. We got an a/c guy in, he added some Freon and everything’s honky dory now. I spent days calling for help from Kyocera, (the router), Toshiba and HP. They were no help. Wayne put it in ‘safe mode’ and restored it back to 7/7/10 - voila ! And all is right in my world. My grandson, Antonio Vincenzo Radosti (Anthony) is visiting David in NC. We didn’t
                                       Anthony-4 years old

know if his mother, Heather, would let him stay with David or I would have waited to go to NC. He called today and I couldn’t believe how grownup he sounds, using big words and all. I hope for the day when

Anthony - 12 years old

David will have him full time. I haven’t seen him since 2002 in Naples, he was 4 years old. Soon after, Heather took Anthony & moved back to Ohio. The marina bought a new big screen for the lounge and movie night returns - we watched The Forgotten -strange. A new storm is brewing, TS Bonnie and heading for the Upper Keys. Sue (Remedy) and I had a lovely afternoon going to Walmart and Bealls outlet. Wayne is still working on the inverters. We Played Dominoes with Tom and Susan on Saturday night and I WON for a change. To Woody’s Roo via RIVER SKIPPER on the 20th. Karaoke night. OMG! Wayne got up to sing FEVER. Denise sang too & she was great! Week of July 25th It’s HOT, HOT, HOT ! This week is focused on installing the new Stanchions and the inverters. Good news, the handrails are in place and secured - what a difference 3” make. However, the Inverters are a whole ‘nuther' story ! Mind you, at this point every conceivable tool box, wire, and gadget is sprawled out all over the salon - just to make dinner and to sit at the dinette requires moving everything to another space ! The inverters were tested and put into place. With fingers crossed, Wayne fired them up…sparks flew, heard a ‘sizzle’- sound then a terrible smell. I got the fire extinguisher ready. He turned the damn things off. Both circuit boards were fried. The company admitted that their instruction manuals were a bit confusing and needed to be re-written - Now they tell us! Pretty depressing day. They sent us two new circuit boards-for free. In the meantime, I started

                                                                       Susan & Nymah

sanding and painting the port and starboard window frames. Susan’s birthday was on the 30th - we joined Denise and her friends on the RIVER SKIPPER & visited a nearby sand bar for a swim. Lots of food, birthday cake and drinks.

Very enjoyable break in otherwise depressing events.

2010 - 7/16 - 7/18 - Anna Marie Island with Tom and Laurel

Friday 16th Laurel and Tom picked us up late afternoon. 1st stop, the ‘Chop Shop’. WOW, fabulous store! They have everything you could want and the meat - to die for. Tom bought all kinds of goodies. Huge shish kabobs and Key Lime Pie. The duplex is on the beach. Very eclectic and I loved it. These are custom valences - I sent pictures to our neighbor, Frank and said I’d love these for the cottage. The hanging lamp made with very thick acrylic - waaayy kewl…Saturday the 17th Tom and Laurel picked up the four of us (the ’girls’too) and drove back to the island. They were moved to another property which was even nicer than the first and still on the beach. It has a nice pool, pool table and tiki huts on the beach. You can tell these units belong to the same owner - color, color, color and very eclectic…I’m lovin it. All the art work is done by one person. These are custom window boxes. The wild painting is in the pool room. It says, “take me to your ‘liter’ (get it ??) I wish I had as much imagination. We had a glorious day on the beach. Good ole Wayne, he can find the most beautiful women. This is a mom and her girls. The mom and one daughter (24) are nurses, the youngest, 18, is a dancer. They were having so much fun taking pictures of each other romping on the beach. We cleaned up and went to the Sand Bar for dinner. Obviously, a very popular restaurant as cars were parked everywhere for blocks and blocks. There was a 75 minute wait to eat outside! We ate inside with the a/c. While the boys were paying the bill, Laurel and I went shopping in their boutique and found the most darling and unusual tops. Turns out if you spend $100+ at dinner, then buy something in the shop you get a really nice carry bag for free…it was all good. They left the next morning to Green Cove Springs.

2010 - 6/27 - 7/15 - July 4th festivities

Week of June 27th 1st coat of gloss…almost ready to put the rails on…except it became overcast and rainy every day from July 1st and continued this pattern until the 6th. Happy hour at the Riverhouse on July 1st.

Week of July 4th Shame for those who had 3-days off for the holiday. The city of Palmetto forged ahead with their plans for the 4th and determined to have the fire works too. Venders set up all around the park by the marina. At least the sun wasn’t baking us and it sprinkle a few times keeping us cooler. We wandered around and the girls had a great time - they didn’t know what to make of the ponies. Wayne just had to get cotton candy. (how did I ever let him off the boat in this outfit!) Sure was different from

the old days when they made it right in front of you then wrapped it around that thingamajig. Despite the uncertain weather, crowds of people showed up. Remedy Tom and Sue set up chairs and snacks on the dock. I bought a chicken dip (the one I learned about in the Tortugas) The rain cleared and the night was perfect for the fireworks - even Molly and Scupper watched in silence. Beautiful show. I set my camera to take multiple pictures in succession. YIKES! All of a sudden, I had taken 600+ pictures.

Despite the fact the marina is very nice and the people are terrific - GET ME OUTTA HERE ! Can’t stand to be in the air conditioning but can’t function without it. Without the rails on the Port side, I can’t get on and off the boat without help. I’m cranky and miserable…Could it be I have cabin fever like Tom said? I yearn for the open water, to be at anchor with not a soul around. Hopes are dashed as Wayne signed us up for yet another month ! The sun didn’t appear until July 6^th. The DC electric was off for most of Tuesday and Wednesday while Wayne was working on the wiring - this, of course, limits what one can do on the boat. On the 8^th I drove to the Turvis store in Osprey-amazing store. I returned four, 12oz glasses, no questions asked, and they were replaced with four new glasses. I shopped at Walmart and this tiny bit of activity exhausted me. Exciting games of dominoes at Tom and Susan’s. Friday the 9^th I took my broken bracelet to the Webb Brother’s jewelers here at the marina. Got chatting about re-doing my wedding band into a circle of diamonds. We searched book after book to find a design that would hold my 10 diamonds. By Wednesday, the 14th .. I was longing for ribs, not just any ribs, but Kojack’s baby back ribs. Off we went with Tom and Susan and early enough for happy hour. Wayne got his usual homemade Sangria - a bit too sweet for me to drink with dinner. A terrific meal with good friends but then the conversation turned to politics - a subject that should not be discussed especially in today’s environment and certainly not with friends or loved ones. Next thing I know, I’m crying…I told you I was cranky, prickly and now, emotional. Thursday 15^th Overcast, hot and steamy. A/C not working.- blocked intake? . Wayne cleaned & flushed the system. Oh, there’s more- I can’t get on line & the computer doesn’t recognize the HP printer. I am SO over this. Just learned that Tom and Laurel are coming from Jacksonville and staying in a cottage on the beach in Anna Maria Island. I'm excited.