Friday

We rode our bikes out to Honeymoon Island this morning. There were lots of clouds but no breeze. It was a tough slog. We walked from the Main Beach to the other side of the bridge and back. 

But the skies cleared and Mas Fina (lawn service) came. 

We had a rain shower so we took a nap. 

We took Dee Dee to the Dunedin Community Center for her evening walk. 

Miles walked: 6.5

Miles biked: 12

Thursday

Morning sky. 

Evening sky. 

Dee Dee had her annual checkup and vaccinations today. The doctor included blood work. He said he didn’t request it earlier because he didn’t think she would live and he was just trying to make her comfortable. 

He was pleased with her progress. He still wants her to gain more weight. We are certainly trying. 

We got another month’s worth of medicines. 

The rest of the day was truly depressing. How is there even one American in the country supporting this president by now? 

Miles walked: 3.6

Miles biked: 9.6

Wednesday

We had a calm night weather-wise and thus got a good night's sleep. We had a picnic lunch down at the marina. It was 87 degrees with a 6 mph breeze. We had the place to ourselves.

We found a shady spot underneath these palm trees, looking out towards the water.

The marina has been emptied out for a dredging project. This berth in front of us is for the Clearwater-Dunedin ferry. It has been very successful; in fact, the city had just voted to increase the runs before the pandemic set in to ruin everyone's plans. We fear that this service might be a corona virus casualty, along with many others. Our post-pandemic world is going to involve a lot of rebuilding and recovery.

In the meantime, life is good. We had a good lunch and a nice bike ride downtown. Astute readers of this blog will recognize one of the Free Little Libraries behind John's shoulder.

This view is from the end of the marina pier looking back towards Marina Park and the city beyond.

This view is from the marina pier looking south. Those copper-topped condos are a landmark that can be seen from the Dunedin Causeway and the Clearwater Causeway. It helps you to know where downtown Dunedin is when you are miles away.

This morning's walk on the causeway was nice. The humidity and temperature were about the same: in the low 80s.

The skies were cloudy all day, but no rain. 

Together we fixed Cajun Curry Chicken. I made the sauce while John cut up the chicken breasts. The best part is we have leftovers for another meal! I fixed a salad for an appetizer.

After dinner, we rode out to Honeymoon Island to view the sunset.

Miles walked: 8

Miles biked: 17.96

Tuesday

We took Dee Dee on a sunrise causeway walk this morning. 

Thunder and lightning last night kept her nerves jangled. She couldn’t get settled. Add that to taking her out to pee pee several times and you know it was a busy night. As a result, we didn’t get much sleep. We both woke up grumpy and so tired. 

Nevertheless, it was still beautiful and quiet on the causeway.

After dropping her off, we rode our bikes to the island and walked back to the draw bridge and back. By then the causeway trail was much busier.

We came home, had lunch, and took a long nap. 

Getting Dee Dee to take her pills is an evolving challenge. What works today might not work tomorrow, so our skills and imagination have to keep up. So far, we've been able to come up with new successful strategies, but nothing works for very long. Today's invention is to start with rice cooked in low sodium chicken broth with chopped turkey bits steeped in with the rice. I use a teaspoon to form the pill balls because that keeps them small (don't want her filling up on rice!) and I can apply pressure to make them firm. Next, we coat them with sour cream and then top them with turkey. The sour cream works like glue to keep her from licking off the turkey and then destroying the ball and spitting out the pill. She will no longer eat the rice ball plain; it has to be enhanced with something flavorful. I prepare them all at once and then hand them off to her one at a time in quick succession, so she doesn't have time to think. If she spits up a pill, I don't panic. I quickly pick it up and move on to the next one and then try again.

Thank goodness for frozen leftovers! We pulled out this delicious leftover of Chilean Dal for dinner. We even froze the cilantro that serves as a topping. It was great. It's one of those meals that John says he never looks forward to but loves it when he has it.

Miles walked: 6.6

Miles biked: 12

Monday

 

A chalk drawing on the causeway this morning. 

It was 82 degrees with 81% humidity on our morning causeway walk. The breeze was barely blowing at 4 mph. Still, it was a good walk. Some days are easier than others. Seems like all the days have been easy since I finished teaching. I used to spend the walk venting, but now we have normal conversations or just look at the water. 

My favorite meal of the day. The fruit bowl was to die for: mango, banana, honeydew melon, red grapes, and blueberries. The sandwich was tuna and Swiss on toast with lettuce and tomato. We had spinach and artichoke dip with our corn chips. 

After lunch we headed to Clearwater Beach, the weather finally cooperating.

We passed through downtown Clearwater, taking Cleveland Street to Coachman Park on the waterfront, which will soon be under re-development. 

This is a view back towards downtown Clearwater from the park. 

Then we took the corkscrew ramp up to the bridge. 

The ramp gave us a view of this shipwreck. 

It's like an amusement park ride, only it's free!

We finally made it to the beach. We found this stand of palm trees and lingered, enjoying the view and the shade. It was 86 degrees with a 10 mph breeze.

I took my non-electric bike so I could get more exercise. 

We had a super salad for dinner. 

Miles walked: 7.8

Miles biked: 19.81 (pedal powered)

Sunday

We took Dee Dee for a walk on the causeway at sunrise this morning. It was a cool 77 degrees. 

We walked almost a mile. 

The sun popped out when it cleared the clouds.

The recent rain has helped my lawn repair project. 

We headed downtown for our walk after we dropped Dee Dee off. 

It was a beautiful day. 

We decided to make a lunch and bike to Weaver Park and sit alongside the water. We found a bench in the shade. 

I don't know if you can tell from this picture and the next, but we had a rain storm late this afternoon that lasted about 20 minutes--just long enough to spruce up the grass. The avocado tree is weighed down with avocados. We need to start harvesting them.

Miles walked: 7.6

Miles biked: 10.5