~ Stay in Fort Pierce ~ Week 2

Sunday, 11/24/19 ~  Heavy rains came in again last night, but they weren't strong enough to clean all the birds' berry droppings staining the deck. 
     Thankfully the skies cleared by the time Pete left to join Al and Vicky for dinner which was made from shrimp purchased at the Farmers Market yesterday. The garlic shrimp was delicious, catching up with friends, and watching a wonderful sunset rounded out a really great weekend!

Monday, 11/25/19 ~ The mechanic came this morning.  As soon as he looked at the alternator/regulator he spotted a problem.  The wire was attached improperly.  He also identified a cracked bracket and arm which supports the unit.  He also checked the engine mounts, and found them cracked. (Pete has asked all the mechanics over the past 2 years to check them, but this is the first report of damage.)  The generator still needs to be looked at, but the mechanic will address that when he installs the new bracket for the alt/reg.
     After the mechanic left, Pete was able to track down the perpetual salt-water leak that is seeping in under the stairs.  Then it was time to clean his tools, a number of which the mechanic borrowed as they weren't in his truck.
     Lunch and dinner was sandwiches made out of the delicious shrimp dip/salad Pete picked up at the Farmer's market yesterday.  Pete is really enjoying it!  Work and reading fill out his afternoon, then it was time to watch Monday night football. Or rather listen with 1/4 ear as the book was so much better.

Tuesday, 11/26/19 ~ The mechanic returned today, just to check the heavy duty bracket he made for the alt/reg to make sure it will fit.  He will be back when he has all the parts he needs to finish up aboard PEKABU.

     

     When he left, Pete took the bike over to Publix to pick up the rest of the provisions needed until he has access to a car. The 2+ mile ride each was wasn't a problem. . . until the tire went flat.  He needed to repair it with the bike loaded with groceries behind the seat and the small thermos bad holding the ice cream attached to the handle bars. The repair worked and as he was returning to the marina, someone stepped out onto the street, almost into Pete.  It was a miss, but as Pete started to continue, he turned and realized he knew that face.  He turned around and met up with Hugh and Deb from SV SIMPLICITY.  They had dropped anchor across the ICW and were in town exploring.  With perishables, he had to keep their visit short and return back to the boat.
     Today was my sister's last radiation treatment. Following tradition, she rang the bell 3 times and applause could be heard through out the clinic.  Fingers crossed that this round of heavy cranial radiation does what it should.  She won't have initial results for a a month or so.
     On our way home from the clinic, we ran some errands. When we came home we found a Chicken Picatta dinner dropped off by one of Deb's co-workers. It was delicious.

Wednesday, 11/27/19 ~ Pete and George had a very busy day.  Things had to be wrapped up prior to the long Thanksgiving weekend.
     I headed out around 10 am to Heather's.  She was off today and I wanted to beat the super heavy traffic that always happens the afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving.  Smart move as there was no traffic all the way there.  My only delay was for the the utility company replacing some overhead lines.  Who am I to complain about a 10 minute delay?!
     Thank heavens for Bluetooth. En route I was able to catch up with my good friend, Deb. They are aboard SV SIMPLICITY currently in Port Canaveral for the next few months. Hopefully, after the New Year all four of us will be able to get together.
     Since I was early, I was able to get to an urgent care facility not far from Heather's.  The folks at AFC were wonderful.  The doctor was thorough and laid out the options for treating my rosacea.  This outbreak continue to worsen. Unfortunately, I have used most of the prescription topicals and oral antibiotics, which are usually first line of treatment, I can't use as my system can not tolerate them. She prescribed a topical I have used successfully in the past. Hopefully, it will work.
      Once back at Heather's we decided to head over to Carucci's Grill over in Yardley, PA for a delicious Italian dinner.  We enjoyed stuffed mushrooms, fresh pita bread and salad, then Heather had Tortellini Bolognese while I had Eggplant Arnaud ~ very thin, breaded eggplant, pan fried, then rolled with mozzarella and ricotta cheese and topped with marinara sauce. We were too full to try any of the deserts, but those that were served at other tables, looked wonderful.
     Back at the apartment, we continued to talk and watch  "the boys" antics.
     After reheating one of the 35 frozen meals I sent down with him, Pete prepared the veggies that he will serve with dip and hummus for Thanksgiving with the Freedmans.

Thursday, 11/28/19 ~  Howie picked up Pete around 10 to head back to Delray Beach to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family.
     Heather and I watched to Thanksgiving Day Parade. The acts were OK, the floats - unremarkable, and the winds required the balloons to be kept close to the ground, but 3 commercials really made our day. They were better than the Super Bowl's:
  ~~   Microsoft is offering voice, language translation software.  In the commercial, a girl sees her mom conversing with clients in Japan and the software making the necessary translations. That night, looking out her window she sees reindeer.  She grabs her mom's computer, greets the reindeer and asks if they can speak.  The translation comes back "yes" and she proceeds to fire away a bunch of important questions. "How do you fly? How can Santa deliver to everyone in one night? Does Mrs Clause really cook that good?"  and more in rapid fire succession!
   ~~  Chick A-Filet has an animation where a young girls request for building a snow man was not well received by her family.  Following 2 strange cats, she enters a hall clock and emerges in a work shoppe where an old man is fixing clocks. Lost Time and Time Flies clocks are seen.  He gives her a card to give her family. When she give it to them. "Sharing time is the greatest gift of all" Yep! They built a snow man.
   ~~ The longest was a 4 minute Comcast ad.  In it kids build a snow man and from behind it appears, E.T.  He is looking for Elliot, who is their father.  The mix of the movie and the commercial was pretty special.
     Heather and I headed over to Jenn and Greg's for dinner.  Greg did a great job on the brined turkey. Jenn made delicious corn souffle, sausage stuffing, potatoes and beans, while we brought a winter salad, a bottle of wine, and freshly baked apple and pumpkin pies.  It was a wonderful dinner. The only thing missing was Pete!
     This morning Pete and Howie played 9 holes of golf.  They returned back to the house where Tania, Andrew, Cookie and Cliff joined Ann, Howie and Pete for a wonderful dinner.  There too, they spread out the food preparation among them and everyone had a great time and delicious meal!
     Around 9 PM, Heather and I returned to her place, while Pete returned to the boat in Fort Pierce. Once back Pete and I shared our day. Thank heavens for phones!

Friday, 11/29/19 ~  Heather took "the boys" for their first veterinary visit. They are typical 9 month old kittens, but did very well at the vet's.

Heather's Tree

     Once home, I helped Heather put up her tree. The cats were still traumatized by the car ride and the visit, so they hid in the bedroom for most of the afternoon.  That gave us plenty of time to decorate without them underfoot. Greg and Jenn also put up their tree, but Nala was so intrigued that she climbed into the tree and toppled it.  Pete also got into the spirit and took our tree out of the front storage area, unrolled it (It is a 2 dimensional tree already loaded with red bows and red and blue small Christmas balls.) and hung it.  He wants me to "fluff" and decorated it when I return. (Which, hopefully, will be soon!)
     Dinner was another BLT Pizza.  It is sooo good! and it will be a while before we visit Heather again. After wards, we watched the movie, Hacksaw Ridge, the biographical WW 2 drama about a conscientious objector who refused to carry a weapon, Desmond Doss, a medic, received the Congressional Medal of Honor. During the battle of Okinawa, our troops were ordered to withdraw from the Ridge, but Doss stay behind, carrying 78 wounded soldiers and belaying them by rope down from the ridge.  I remember when it came out, it received lots of accolades.  Now I know why!
     Pete spent the morning writing out Christmas cards. In the afternoon he enjoyed the quiet, read up in the cockpit and spoke with most people who walked by.  He has told them that he has a wife, but he is pretty sure they don't believe him.

Saturday, 11/30/19 ~ I really enjoyed my time with Heather, but I need to return to Debi. I left in the AM so that traffic was light.  They are already posting "Travel/Snow Advisories" along the highways.  An unpredictable storm is forming in the Atlantic that will merge with one traveling up the east coast.  High winds and 3-6 inches are due late Sunday and into Monday in northern Jersey.
     Once back at Debi's, we chilled and watched some Hallmark Christmas Movies. Dinner was leftovers from the Thanksgiving Dinner that Chelsea's boyfriend, Matt, had prepared.
     Pete took advantage of the Farmer's Market before biking over to the the gas station for dinghy gas.  On the way back the bracket for the basket broke holding the gas can.  Thank heavens for bungee cords. He made it back with nothing lost or damaged.

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ P & K