1/2/16    Saturday   Cooooooler.  Stuart, FL


What a difference a day....and 20 degrees....make. The oppressive heat and humidity as dispersed and disappeared and with it our discomfort, malaise and lack of any energy. Kitty only threw up today because she ate tomatoes, I'm pretty convinced, and she is eating her own food again.

Great sleep last evening and expecting the same tonight in the cool air. We slept late then had cereal and coffee on the aft deck. Amelia came out to join us briefly. She likes moorings and anchorages better than docks. Less noise. Less visual clutter close at hand.

After breakfast I got into a deep-cleaning groove, literally! Took the sliding doors off the galley cabinets. Got my tiny knife and narrowest screwdriver. Cleaned out disgusting grime and sticky stuff that I know has been there since way before we owned the boat. Gross. Totally. And sooooo rewarding! I'm sure I was channeling Harriet Lutes who used to clean the corners of her kitchen w/a toothbrush. My Ram Island Dance buddies will appreciate that memory. I lived w/Harriet and her family when I first moved to Portland, Maine. Harriet danced some and was a sponsor of RIDC for many years. She was a delight and a model...more a model now than when I lived there. She is one of several people I admire(d) and want to be like as I age. Sigh.

Anyway, upper cabinets cleaned and vinegar-ed for the mildew, on to the bottom cabinet! Got rid of some stuff as well as dirt and mildew. Always good to get rid of stuff. Then David and I left Amelia snoozing (her favorite activity), dinghy-ed into the marina-land. I checked on some on-line payments and discovered I had made them, only a couple days late. But the bills ARE paid. Thanks, Shannon, for the alert,though. Left my computer to charge and went for a short bicycle ride on the loaner bikes.
Saw houses, birds, lots of traffic.      

Ms. Ibis was not afraid of us on our bikes and came into the road where we'd stopped to look 

This ibis was one of many we saw today. A group of about 10 were huddled, sunning themselves on the grass. They looked, were shaped like, guinea hens - big bodies and small heads, when you couldn't see their beaks. After the bike ride we took a little walk and saw an egret sized/shaped bird that was a blue charcoal color. It was "wading" on rocks and catching bugs w/a quick dart of its head. Watching it's feet as it stepped was amazing...how it's long toes grasped the contours of the rocks. It didn't look where it was going to step, just adjusted the footfall as it encountered the shape. We found a little bit of town which was fun. I'll go back there tomorrow for the "Green Market" which I assume and hope is something like a farmers' market.

Back at the boat dinner was an Italian-ish stew of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, green pepper over pasta. Tasty. First time in about 4 (hot) days I've felt like cooking. Domesticity was clearly winning today! Lots of music tonight from the New Years restaurant next to the marina.

love the reflection of pink

nearly gone