Friday

We took Toby in the golf cart to the Palm Cafe at the Dunedin Fine Art Center for lunch. 

The temperature was only 89 degrees today, not as hot as it has been. And the breeze was blowing 11 mph.

Toby did the best yet at a restaurant.

We got the salmon pita wraps and side salad. Delicious!

The tile sample I ordered arrived after lunch.

I really like it. Every other tile is frosted with other tiles having a faint lined paper backing in white. 

The lines are light gray and varied in width and spacing. This close up shows the details pretty well. John likes it, but he hasn't give up on finding something with more color. I'm open minded about it.

We went to the dermatologists this morning in nearby Palm Harbor. I had him look at this spot on my forearm that I hadn't noticed before. He said it looked harmless, but since I hadn't noticed it before he cut it off and sent it off for biopsy. Today was our dermatologist's last day at the practice, but we learned that the organization has added a Dunedin dermatology location. It's located on Main Street, less than 3 miles from our house and accessible via golf cart. Since our doctor is leaving anyway, we're going to look into transferring to this new location.  Since it's the same organization, it seems our insurance would be accepted. We won't have to cross dangerous 19 that's going to be under major construction for the next few years. John had some warts burned off but was otherwise okay. 

After lunch, I rode my bike down to Weaver Park for yoga and weight lifting. I passed Cedar Creek (flowing out of Hammock Park) and got this picture of two kayakers heading under the alt. 19 bridge out to St. Joseph Sound. There was an 11 mph breeze at the park, so yoga was not as difficult as it was Wednesday when the concrete felt like a brick oven.

Toby took a nap while I read in the sunroom.

Thoughts on today's news . . . 

The Supreme Court made it easier to deny services to gay people today. The ruling today made it so a website designer can refuse to design a website for a gay couple getting married based on her religious beliefs that supporting gay marriage was immoral. It will now be possible for any business to make similar claims and deny services to gay people; that was the point of bringing this case to the Supreme Court: to establish a precedent to build on in future cases. One such future case may be the law DeSantis signed recently making it legal for health care providers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, even employees in health insurance companies) to deny services to gays, lesbians, and transgender patients if offering those services goes against their "sincerely held religious beliefs." It's likely that the current Supreme Court would go along with that based on today's ruling, if someone were to sue the state of Florida and for appeals to make it to the Supreme Court. Hundreds of similar laws have been passed nationwide in conservative states in the last year.

The ruling has hit us hard because of what it may portend. John and I just have to keep focusing on our kind doctors who treat us with respect and our many supportive neighbors. Today, at the dermatologist, John went first and while I was with the doctor, John made both of our appointments for next year and paid the balance on my bill. When I came out, the desk clerks said, "Your husband made your appointment and paid the balance due, so there's nothing you have to do." The assistant asked how long we had been married. When I told her we'd been together over 30 years, she asked: "What's your secret?" I told her the secret is to learn how to argue and to develop a good sense of humor. They were so kind. However, I'm not going to lie: today's court decision does make me afraid and I find it humiliating to wonder if the next encounter will be with a kind person or some other sort throwing bible verses at me. Even going to our first meeting with the kitchen designer made us anxious, not knowing how she might treat us. Fortunately, she was very nice and didn't show any discomfort or awkwardness.

I imagine our anxiety is similar to the way many black people felt during the Jim Crow era whenever they would go shopping, take the bus, or go on a vacation. I've read stories about how difficult it was for a black family to travel overnight in the South during that time. Even if they could somehow manage to make motel reservations over the phone, when they showed up, in full color, the reservation was somehow "lost" and there were no vacancies. The black people would never know when a business or public service might reject them, harass them, or even worse kill them. To instill fear and humiliation is the point of discrimination, in addition to the oppressor's need to feel superior.

Wednesday

After lunch, we couldn’t find Toby in his usual places, but we found him with his bear sitting on the bed. It looked like they were have a heart to heart private conversation.

This morning, we met with the designer and owner to go over the kitchen budget and individual items. We were pleased that the estimate came in on budget, less than what we predicted. He included replacing our can lights with the newer sealed LED all-in-one fixtures. He also included replacing the up lights in the kitchen and living room with LED lights, as well as new smoke alarms in the bedrooms (bring the house up to code). The under counter lights will be LED and inserted into a grove under the bottom of the cabinet, so no light shield will be needed. There will be a contemporary looking crown molding to tie all the upper cabinets together. We added a few more things (more lighting over the counter where the stove will be), stove vent, new washer/dryer hose surround). Then we looked at backsplash and countertop options. The backsplash sample above has texture and different sizes and subtle colors.

Here is how it would look on the vertical. Of course, it's hard to imagine because the grout is missing. That's what makes selecting backsplashes so difficult: we're looking at just the raw tiles, uninstalled.

We also looked at more tab pulls for the cabinets. We discovered a couple of issues: 1) the normal tolerance between the top of the cabinet and the countertop is tight. The countertop also hangs over the door, so there's not much room to grab the pull because not much will be sticking out. 2) The pull-out pantry is one tall slab, and the pull needs to be in the center, but these are designed to hang over the edge of the door. Both of these problems could be solved, but it will require some adjustments to their normal design. For example, the countertop overhang could be shortened. They could add more space between the door and the countertop to allow you to get a better grip. The pull-out door could have a slot in the panel for the tab pull to come through, perhaps with a fake indention horizontally to make it appear that the pull-out has two parts, a top and a bottom. Or we could get a novelty pull!

The white countertop has subtle veining. I liked the solid white, too. Countertops are difficult to photograph.

She liked the tile above that we found, too. She agreed to meet us at the tile store to look at tiles together. We agreed that finding the backsplash is the key to finding the right countertop and white cabinet color; otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels. I ordered a sample of the tile above so we can see it and touch it. It’s supposed to be white, but it doesn’t look white.

They both loved the faucet and said it was worth the money to buy a nice faucet. The owner said that Grohe faucets have always been expensive. We had one at Blue Bottle that we both loved. It's a shame that Mom and Dad's has been such a pain. He also confirmed what I read that major brands (not Grohe) will sell inferior faucets to box stores. The faucet will look identical to one at a plumbing fixture company, except the one at the plumbing company will be all brass inside and more expensive. Apparently, the big box shoppers want the look without paying the high prices and think they're getting a bargain.

After lunch, I rode my bike to Weaver Park and did as much yoga as I could stand. It was 90 something with a heat index of 99 degrees. The concrete was like a brick oven. I did more weightlifting because I could stand up and feel a breeze. I was completely drenched when I got home. 

We celebrated the day with a golf cart ride to Bambino’s for pickup pizza.

Tuesday

We had another early morning.  We walked Toby in the neighborhood at 6:30 and then we walked ourselves on the causeway at 8:00 when it was 80 degrees with a 4 mph breeze. Still the last mile was really hot at 9:00 a.m.

I did a mini yoga routine this afternoon since my regular workout tomorrow will be preempted by the kitchen designer/contractor appointment.

Toby’s continuing to do well. No skins issues in a while. In the picture above, he’s enjoying his kibble, flavored with fish oil and probiotic yogurt for his skin.

We took a golf cart ride around the neighborhood and then to Stirling Park for a walk this evening before sunset.

It has been a beautiful day. The breeze has kept it from being too hot. But we stayed indoors until 7:00 p.m. We rode around Highlander Park after our Stirling Park walk and then went home.

Monday

 

We were out the door at 6:20 a.m. with Toby for his morning walk. Then I was on my bike headed to Weaver Park for yoga at 7:50 a.m. I had a great workout, even though it was very humid. Not much of a breeze either.

I rode down the Pinellas Trail to Alt. 19 in Clearwater and turned around.

I stopped at Stevenson Creek for a look. I made it home around 10:30, about three hours of exercise.

We did housework and read in the afternoon. Then took Toby to Highlander Park to walk. We rode around in the golf cart a little bit.

We went to Azteca Huarache for dinner. We took the golf cart, of course.

We put on real shorts. John reviewed our kitchen project photo album.

I (re)found this beautiful Grohe faucet that I love. The colored hose can be any color. I’ve wanted this faucet for a long time. It has a magnet to attach the faucet head to the brace. It’s not a pull-down faucet, but the hose is flexible and the faucet head can spray or stream.

Today’s favorite backsplash 

Today’s favorite cabinet pulls

Our kitchen designer called. We’re meeting with her and the owner to talk about construction and the budget on Wednesday morning. We’re preparing a slimmed down photo album of what we like and what we are unsure about. We’re hoping to get some clarity on the budget and backsplashes.

Sunrise on our Toby walk at 6:23 a.m.

Sunday

We spent the morning pruning and weeding our beds. It was hot but shaded. You can't tell from this picture, but I filled up two 32-gallon bins and one paper bag full of bird or paradise leaves and dead stalks and flowers. It's still huge. I'd like to split it in two and move it more in the center to get it away from the house.

It hardly looks like I’ve done anything to the bird of paradise! I’m going to go after it again next week.

John weeded this bed and the bird of paradise bed. We might tackle the front bed against the house next week.

I caulked some joints all around the house with joint compound. There’s always a house project that needs doing.

We took the golf cart to Stirling Park for Toby to have some excitement. 

It was a beautiful day.

Saturday

 

We got an early start today to beat the heat. Up at 5:30. Out the door with Toby at 6:45. On our bikes heading to the causeway before 8:00. We finished our walk a little after 9:00. It was already 81 degrees.

We ran into our kitchen designer on the causeway drawbridge. She says they have final numbers and will call next week to meet for us to meet with the owner and talk about construction. We’re so glad that we ran into her so we don’t have to call. We didn’t want to bug her.

We stayed inside and read the rest of the day.

Friday

 

I rode my bike down the Pinellas Trail this afternoon and stopped downtown to take this picture of the Dunedin Pride flag on a streetlight pole. Unfortunately, even with this reminder staring me in the face, we forgot that tonight was the pride golf cart parade. I think our food poisoning and the frequent rain showers have messed us up. Oh, well. We might go to an art exhibit next Tuesday night to make up for it. There are events through the end of the month.

I continued riding south and turned around at Stevenson Creek.

I stopped to take the usual pictures. I passed two of my gym friends on the trail. It's nice to know people when away from the neighborhood, even if they are acquaintances. 

Looking north on the Pinellas Trail. It was 89 degrees with a 6 mph breeze coming from the south. Going home was much easier. I really enjoyed the bike ride, probably because I was so relaxed after yoga. A 6 mph tailwind helps, too!

After lunch, I did yoga for over an hour. I’m now so relaxed. Great workout.

Mas Fina came a little late today because of the morning rain. Does our magnolia tree look like it's grown to you?

Here's a picture from the listing photos back in the fall of 2018 when the house first went on the market. The tree does look bigger now, doesn't it? Grass looks better now. The frangipani and bird of paradise have really grown. Makes me want to do some major pruning. I've heard that you can split up a bird of paradise.

There was only a 15% chance of rain today, but we got it all from 8-10:00 this morning. Torrential rain. By 10:30, the sun was out and Toby was ready for his morning walk. He had turned down two opportunities earlier. He hates to get wet.

I put our stuff on the street late this afternoon. No takers so far, though John did pitch the contents of one box in the trash. We brought the remainder in and will try again tomorrow. Monday night is when trucks with trailers come through, the night before trash pickup. Now that I'm looking at the pile, I noticed that one storage box got taken. Yahoo! Unless John brought it back in the house when I wasn't looking.

We had a delicious salad for dinner, followed by a PB&J.