Thursday, February 26, 2015

2-25-15 WAXING, WATCHING, WORRYING

When I went out this morning and took the cover off the Goldwing I decided it'd be a good day to wax her. Kinda overcast so the sun won't streak it. It's been awhile since I last waxed a bike. I've forgotten how many nooks and crannies they have. Before I knew it about 3 hours had passed. It sure was purty when done. I even had a few neighbors stop in and noticed it. Grin-grin !!

Ms Heather took the turkey carcass and leftover turkey from Sunday and made a pot of turkey soup. I was sitting nearby and I'll betcha I put on a pound or two just smelling it cooking. Great dinner tonight.

We took a walk down the street and listened to a new group playing music at The Olde Fish House this evening. Banjo, mandelin and bongos cranked out some tunes. If it'd been warmer or less windy they would have had a bigger audience. Got a little less warmer after the sun went down and the wind picked up.

I guess I should figure out something to do inside for the next 3 days as it's supposed to rain.

Gonna start watching my bank account for my IRS refund. I'm glad the tax return is done. Also waiting for my new license tags to arrive.

I got a little worried about fellow bloggers “Old Fat Man” as he was under the weather and had slowed down his blogging for a few days. I also follow “ Billy Bob “ and noticed his attitude going up & down. Must be the dreaded “ Winter Doldrums” getting to them. I sure do enjoy reading their daily blogs.

THURSDAY 2-26-15

The good Lord is watering His garden today. Woke up to light sprinkles and it was on and off all day. Same thing called for tomorrow and Saturday. I've got a short list of things to do on a rainy day. I started out on the list after a nice leisurely coffee hour and managed to keep busy til 1300. Got a nap accomplished and took a nice hot shower. Of course we had our normal happy hour and did manage to get outside between raindrops a few times. I may slip on the rain poncho and go up the street to see if the music is still on tonight.

We have a great mystery going on here ! Almost every morning our satellite signal is “lost” ! I have to go re-aim the dish. It only takes a little tweek, usually to the left, to obtain the signal. I'm wondering if this island moves ?? Never have this problem anywhere else we stay. It's happened here, regularly, for 3 seasons now ! Hm!!!

Carl said he was making biscuits and gravy at the “ Snatch & Sniff Cafe “ in the morning. Yum ! He does that a few times every winter. I need to steal his recipe.

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie & Heather

Monday, February 23, 2015

2-18-15 HUMP DAY ???

Had a little rain last night. Just enough noise to wake us up for a few moments. I'm glad we had our LP gas refilled as it got a bit cool. We ran out last Saturday but no big deal. Our electric heater has no problem down to 40F. We have freeze warnings for tonight and maybe tomorrow night so we'll need the furnace assistance. I feel a bit guilty complaining about our temperatures after reading about our Up North friend's weather. We had to make our percolator coffee on the outdoor gas grill for 2 mornings but that's simple. Dang good coffee.

I went to the local Publix store this afternoon while Heather was at her jewelry stand and I stocked up. When I came out and tried to start the engine it did Nothing!! Now what?? I used the jump starter and got back to the RV Park okay. I played with the starting a few times and sometimes it works and some times it doesn't..I hate these on again, off again problems. Oh well ! Now I have a tomorrow project.

I'm still manuvering all the health insurance crap. I'm amazed at the different excuses I'm getting regarding everything. If I call the same company 4 times, I get 4 different answers. The 'net sites have done some pretty amazing tricks too. They sure lock up a lot. BUT...I'll GET 'ER DONE eventually...

Making plans for a Daytona 500 party this weekend..gonna eat well !!

Thursday 2-19-15

A little less warmer for SW Florida this morning. If the wind would diminish it would be better.

I had to run into Walgreens to pick up some Rx's. As long as I was next door to a Publix Store I grabbed a few items we needed. When I went to start the rig NOTHING happened and the dashboard was dead too. NOW WHAT ????? I tried shift and wiggling the key and NOTHING !! *&%&* phooey! Okay, let's see if the emergency jump start switch works. IT DID !! I went right back to the RV Park. WHEW !! I shut down and again it wouldn't start. Hmmm!! How the heck does something quit like that ??

I decided to start at the battery, checked it with my voltmeter and only got 9 volts, I wiggled the battery connection and noticed the VM reading varied from 9 to 12.6 volts. I removed the battery clamps and cleaned them up and reconnected tightly. Okay, now I have an active dashboard and starting is normal. WHEWWWW!!

Turned out simple to fix. I did have passing thoughts of a faulty ignition switch or a bad wire or, or, or....ya know?? We musta not tightened it correctly when we replaced the motor..

Another close call--- I took a nap the other aternoon and woke up smelling smoke... OH-OH !! Heather's concave makeup mirror was in the sun and started her cloth purse on fire, I threw it outside...I'm glad I was here..that coulda been real bad. One of us had disconnected the smoke alarm battery due to it beeping when we were making toast and hadn't reinstalled it. Bad boogeys buddies.

Isn't Rving fun??

Tomorrow is the Daytona 500 race. Gonna have a cook out. The plan is to deep fry a turkey.

2-22-15 Sunday

Nice & balmy today. We took a stroll down the road to the Olde Fish house for a few beers and to listen to some Island Music. When we got back to the rig it was time to cook dinner. Got the deep fryer out and Carl had prebrined a big turkey overnight. Got the peanut oil up to 350F and fried the bird for 45 minutes then did the potatoes. Carl made up some cranberry & jalepeno sauce for sandwiches. Oooooh is that good!! Life is good !!

2-23-15 Monday

80F and sunny today !! Perfect !

I decided to play in the water this afternoon. Buckets of suds and hose came out and I scrubbed the Goldwing. Lookin' pretty good now. It sure accumulated a lot of dirt and salt residue.That's one thing ya gotta be aware of when you're by the ocean. The night air deposits a lot of salt onto everything.

With my birthday coming up I had to order my license and plates online from Michigan. It's a nice option compared to most states. Michigan doesn't have any mandatory inspections either. They will get sent to our address up there and my friend will forward the stickers and license to me. I still have a couple weeks before they're needed and if all goes well it'll work out okay.

I can't believe other bloggers are starting to talk about heading home alredy !! Way too early unless they want to drive on ice & snow !!

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!!

Charlie & Heather

Thursday, February 12, 2015

2-8-15 SUNDAY

This week flew by. Most weeks do. Do we all have the same timing ? I remember, when I was younger, that time was slower. A week was longer. A year was forever. I have a birthday coming at the beginning of March and it seems like I just had one a few months ago. Is this normal or a consequence of aging?

We've had a great week on the Island. Did a little running around, got some shopping done and had a couple cook outs. As usual we heard some great music down the street. Had a few more snowbirds pull in and they're both newbies. It's been interestng chatting with them and recognizing their newfound adventures. We had a small bonfire this evening after “ Carl “ fed us all. I ate way to early and as usual my motor wound down after dinner. I usually like to eat late do to the “ grandpa “ effect it has on me. ZZZzzzzz !!

2-9-15 MONDAY

Woke up to a rain forcast. It's supposed to have light rain all morning. The Good Lord's gonna water his garden. Since I'm researching insurances I can use the time productivly.

Got a suprise in the mail. My previous to retirement employer has decided to go with a cafe' style program. They've started a RHA (retirement health account) We have to get our own insurances. Of course we pay for them and get reimbursed.

Since we get our mail from a mail service and we got delayed in Alabama for 1 ½ months getting our engine replaced, I was a little behind on mail. When it finally caught up with us I discovered I have no insurance since 12-31-14. Isn't that great ?? So I had to read 10,000 pages of gobbldygook lawyer talk, research dozens of options, and wait on hold for a zillion hours, etc, etc, etc...everything has to be approved and so I won't be covered for a few weeks. Damn glad I haven't been sick ! From the looks of it I'll have to go thru this every year in December. Makes my day !! Of course, half the internet sites are screwed up and directions to click here or there don't work. It's amazing how everyone wants your email address but won't use it to communicate. I was notified that some of these companies need a letter to show my employer has quit providing insurance. NOWHERE does any of the afformentioned letters say that. Soooo, another delay.

Another option I'm researching and applying for is a VA Card. I had some friends suggest that. I was told the Rx's were cheaper.

I've decided to modify the Honda Goldwing. My legs are too short, for comfort, to have the floorboards on the bike. I ordered standard foot pegs and I removed the floorboards. I'm guessing my feet will be planted more firmly on the ground. It's difficult on loose gravel to move the bike around so I'm fixing that ! Has anyone else had that problem?

My old friends in lower Michigan have really been getting some crappy weather and lots of snow. YUK !!

As usual our feline friends are showing up every day as they have in years past. All we have to do is move in the rig in the early morning and we hear scratching at the door. We always have cat food onboard and they know it. The other evening I went into the rig, I'd left the door open, and I got surprised by a strange cat inside. It kinda took me by suprise as it was a large cat. He scooted out the door. I wonder who's cat he is ?? We really don't mind our 'regulars' showing up.

2-12-15 THURSDAY

MAIL CALL.. Got more mail from the P.A. Mail service..new insurance info and all my tax stuff. Now I can do my taxes ( is that a good or bad thing? ). I also received a package with the foot pegs for the Honda.

I have actually had to order a second set of Honda footpegs as the 1^st set wouldn't fit. The 2^nd set were correct for this '83 Goldwing. I had already removed the floorboards so it was only a matter of minutes to install the pegs. I hopped on it and my legs and feet are much more firmly planted on the terra firma. Should be a lot easier to keep 'er steady.

The floorboards were forcing me to have my legs out at a 20 degree angle and on loose ground it was very iffy to keep the bike from falling over, 800#s isn't something I could stop ! ( I already lost it twice) Very embarrasing !!

We've started our annual physicals. I still am waiting on some more insurance forms before I can get any more Dr. stuff done.

The sun is blazing, the temp is 75F so enough rambling.

Is it happy hour yet. I'm sure it 2PM somewhere!!

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie & Heather.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

1-27-15 Not missing winter.

Just NOT missing winter as I watched the national news this morning. I wonder if our Northeastern neighbors are “skeered” ? When we lived in Northern Michigan we never feared winter. We respected it and sometimes even welcomed it. We lived on an unimproved trail so we had no county plow service. When we got snowed in we just took the covers off the snowmobiles and used them til our plow guy, Chris, dug us out. We had a generator for any power outages so we were always secure. Why the news services make such a big deal out of a blizzard I'll never figure out. Maybe because they are broadcasting from a non-snow region ??

Now that we spend winter in S.E. Florida we're hearing the local weather guessers calling for cold temps. Ha ha ha ha ..at 60 ??

They should be saying less warmer..maybe a week's vacation up North would clarify that for them??

1-28-15 Wednesday

The sun was up today but the wind was still blowing. We've been wearing light coats all day, tomorrow we're supposed to get back to the high 70's & sunny.

How do you spend time in Matlacha?? Heather has been setting up her jewelry crafts table every afternoon at The Olde Fish House. Been meeting a lot of snowbirds. I replaced all the hinges on the rig's engine access covers. A little puttering helping out with our neighbors stuff. Of course cooking for each other on a daily basis. Great Happy Hours every day. I dug out the fishing gear and am planning on starting the fishing routine like last year. We've been studying the local music venue for the next few weeks and it looks like that will be fun! It seems like the hours just fly by every day.

2-3-15

Where'd the week go? Had a great weekend. Down at The Olde Fish House we listened to some fun music last Saturday. Swamp Blues, they called it, it kept the crowd all evening. The guy's name was Ben Prestage and his “ one man band “ show was fantastic ! He played non-stop from 5:30 til 9 with no breaks. His show involved playing guitar, foot drums ( snare & bass drum ) a crash and harmonica and singing. He went from 1 song into another and the crowd was very motivated ! Full house til the end. Great show !!

Our friend, Carl, had a food fest for everyone on Sunday. He turned out Chicago Style shaved beef with au jus. Fantastic !! His cat, Puppy, even had some !! Crazy cat ! Carl always makes Great Food.

I guess I'd better look up my sunglasses and get this day on a roll..later !!

REMEMBER, LIVE YOUR DREAMS AS TIME GOES BY QUICKLY !!

Charlie & Heather

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