i know i have promised a post about the cockroach, but that will have to wait a minute.
i am happy to say that things here are cautiously getting back to normal...not sure what that means, but they just announced at today's county meeting that they are dropping the beach parking restrictions. that is normal enough for me! they were restricting parking from 10 am- 9 pm, which basically meant that i could not park there for morning walks, so my motivation to walk 1.5 miles to the beach from cortez village was relatively low... but i've already set my alarm for tomorrow morning, thank you commissioners!
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| mama turtle tracks-it's season! |
That said, i went yesterday after work, and they allow 2 hours parking. so i walked a little, then pulled out the hammock for a bit. my time limit came to an end and it was before the sunset, but i knew that if i wanted to get to the store, i needed to go because they have been closing by 8pm...and i needed some greens! i made it, but it was tight! i did a little splurge as well, but it was something that i'd been thinking about for awhile and the time had come. i had been putting it off because apartment living is the devil in disguise as far as space goes. i have so many kitchen items, but so little space in my kitchen. i did some researching, and i have several ninja products, so when i saw that they produce a toaster oven that flips up for storage, i was sold! and the walmart near me had said item.
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| there will be an abundance of roasted veggies in my future! |
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| the roasted chicken and roasted peppers...yummers! |
so mom and dad, next time you visit, we can actually make toast without firing up the oven...i may or may not have roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli for lunch, then roasted chicken, peppers and onions for dinner. it has already been worth every penny! and i may or may not have tried some mini blueberry turnovers...and sugar cookies. oops. #covidcurses
this past weekend was a good weekend- i went to help a friend lay a few patches of sod, then came home to celebrate my sister-friend's birthday on a zoom celebration...then after a little nap, met up with a couple friends to go do a little kayak/paddleboard adventure! same place as before, in the sarasota inlet....it was a strong current, so we stopped at the first clearing, knowing that the return would be brutal. there was a moment when shea's pup was chasing a stick by the point and could've easily been swept away, but fortunately ezzie and shea were able to man-handle the 100 lb beast and get him out of the current and move around the rocks toward the beach! all's well. on the return we saw some dolphins- it seems to be a good area to chance encounter these friendlies!
now, the parking may or may not have been blocked of, so we may of may not have parked in a secret-ish lot behind the abandoned tennis courts and hiked a quarter of a mile to the bay...worth it!
then mother's day was relaxing. i did get out to the beach, and parking was not an issue
(still the 2 hour limit), no issue because rain had been predicted- in fact there was a 30-40 percent chance, so i had checked the doppler radar, and kept an eye on it. i got in a good little walk, then set up the hammock and it was beautiful! then as my 2 hour limit was approaching, there came that quick brisk breeze, which was my first indicator, i looked at my radar app, and it was upon us; thankfully my take-down time for the hammock is record, so i was back to my car just as the big raindrops began to fall from the sky. i love to be dry, so i was glad that i remembered the lessons learned from joe at kamp in regards to the weather!
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| it was slightly comical watching other running to their cars from my dry fortress...don't judge. |
what else? well...i'm trying to help the local doughnut business- thank you, peachey's! they should be preparing for their fair circuit up north, but it seems rather uncertain right now, so we'll take advantage of them being in town as long as possible...it's kinda' like when you get ready to leave and you keep saying goodbye, and then running in each other again- like if you were in the tsa line and you keep seeing each other as you round the corner...only it's me showing up buying donuts, so not like tsa at all. whatever, make up your own anecdote if you feel you need one.
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| snicker-doodle glazed, and the most amazing buttery sourdough pretzel-just what the doctor ordered...yep...pretty sure i heard fauchi say this was the covid19 cure in one of those pressers... |
i had allowed my tx conceal/carry to expire, so i was all in when my friend mentioned going to take the class to qualify for the conceal carry permit here in florida. it was at a little mom and pop target practice place, and to be quite honest, it seemed a little suspect. the others in the class were all men, there was a very strange guy who sat up front-i don't ask questions, but he seems like the type who is probably not married and lives in a little cabin in the mountains
(only there are no mountains here)...so i don't know what the equivalent here would be...burial mounds? idk. anyhoo. there was a guy at our table who didn't seem to have a firm grasp on the language, and a young buck who had probably never really spent much time around guns. then two older gentlemen who were former leo, or current guards. so the class was nothing like i imagined. you have to understand that in texas it seemed a little more serious. here it seemed like a bit of an after-thought, and even at that, the trainer said he was one of the more exigent of trainers in the area...
(insert sketchy-face emoji here).
i mean...the classroom was under a tarp off to the side of the building, held up by branch poles and a ladder where the important documents were held. no video. no internet. nothing but a little story-telling and guidance. i wasn't sure what to think. actually, i was very glad that i had previously taken the course in texas, and had plenty of practice time. it was pretty close, and they do have a good membership deal, so i will probably go back just for the practice.
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| i may need to just take my own targets- i miss the place i used to go in plano! |
in other news, i walked to the little mail kiosk last week, and on the way back i saw something going on in the sky, so i had the boys join me in the shade to see what was going on. at first, i thought it was a request or advertisement for toilet paper, but the plane continued to churn out more letters until the word TRUST was written in the sky. i don't think there was anything else, but i had to go back inside because: work. but it was something different!
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| i was amused at first, and then the pilot had to go on and make it philosophical... |
and i have been trying to transition to hot tea in the afternoon instead of coffee because sleep is a good thing at night. anyhoo, i've tried to like hot tea before and it just never stuck. so i decided to follow some hints that noom dropped, and the republic of tea delivered! i think this could be a game changer...we'll give it a go. so far, so good!
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| i do enjoy both. |
find your calm and wind-down zone, get out when you can, and always keep an eagle-eye on the strange guy in class!
julie
