Cozumel, Whale Sharks and Hurricane Grace

 

I won't write too much here as the video will describe most of what happened on this trip.

In an attempt to miss one hurricane, Fred, heading to Florida, we changed flights to go through Dallas only to be delayed by severe weather in DFW. We did make it to Cozumel in one day but it was a long day.

And then we got to experience another hurricane, Grace, head on. Originally forecast to follow Fred, Grace decided to make a straight line to Cozumel. It did eventually move to just south of the island but you'll see that we had to shelter in the hotel and take precautions nonetheless.

The main purpose of the trip was to swim with whale sharks! Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean. Are members of the shark family but feed on plankton so are filter feeders.

They congregate off the coasts of Mexico and Belize in the Caribbean Sea in the months May - September. Dave did all the work finding a tour company and making arrangements It turned out to be fantastic. Highly recommend Blue H2O Cozumel. Cozumel Scuba and Whale Shark Tour Experts - Blue H2o Cozumel

The video is about 12 minutes long. There are lots of video clips included. Click here for the video of the trip. 

BWCA 2021 Edition

 Well we did it again. The foursome of Brian, Jenny, Julie and Jeff ventured into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, BWCA, Wilderness.

This was the 20th anniversary edition. I think Jenny is the only one that has made them all.

I created a video for this year's trip. The link will be below. But a short recap...

The plan was to paddle Hog Creek from Entry #36 to Perent Lake and find an island campsite on the lake. That would be no portages. Side note - portages are where the team carries the gear and canoes from one body of water to another.

We had been warned that because of the drought our planned all paddle / no portage trip would be twice as long with several places where you had to get out of canoes and transport gear. Well, fortunately it did not turn out that way.

There were a few places we had to do just that but mostly the slow downs were caused by three large beaver dams that we would have had to negotiate anyway. Beavers are amazing architects and construction workers.

We did make it to Perent Lake and landed a very primo campsite. Nice layout on a private island.

We had an unbelievable encounter with a bald eagle. Saw a darling trumpeter swan family. Also, more loon action than we had seen in a long time. And a pesky red squirrel who we are pretty sure is now the proud owner of an orange spork.

Click here for the video. I suggest watching in landscape mode. It is 6 minutes long.

Home Improvement - condo style

Storage is premium. I purged and purged from the house of 30 years. I am purging more. There are years of stuff to let go of.

But there is some stuff that you have to have. That includes towels and sheets for a two bedroom unit and impending guests. 

There is this space above the master bath toilet that isn't worth decorating. So I installed shelves to hold my towels and washcloths. I need a couple of baskets to make it look nicer.  

Thank goodness for having a Dremel tool. Wire shelves come in 36" length and the space was 35 1/2". Dremel with a grinder tool works wonders.

Having these shelves frees up space in the linen closet for the bedding.

  

Oregon - Jill's Birthday

 Made another trip to Oregon to see my dearest friend, Jill. It had been over a year since I travelled by plane and that trip was also to Oregon.

This trip was to attend Jill's cousin's wedding and celebrate Jill's 65th birthday.

I flew into Medford where Jill picked me up. Spent the night in Ashland then we drove to Bend, Oregon. It is only a few hours to Bend but we stopped in Rogue River Gorge (you will have to ask about Prospector Bob) and Crater Lake.

Photos do not do Crater Lake justice. It is a place you have to see and experience. We got to use my birthday present from Jill, a National Parks Senior Pass.

On to Bend via Oregon 97...very straight road through the high desert. The photos make our trip look very green and lush but we went through a good deal of desert-like areas and also burned out forests. In some places the entire forest has been burned to nothing.

The cousin's wedding was beautiful. Bend is beautiful. 

Click this YouTube link to watch a video highlights.

Backyard Finale

 Thank you to everyone who gathered today to celebrate the end of a long tradition. Now looking forward to new beginnings.

One last project?

 These were really "get ready to sell" projects.

The window molding in the main bedroom was looking very dingy though I liked the yellow...not that the rest of the moldings in the room were in any better shape. They just didn't stick out...at least not to me.

Can I tell you how long it takes to prep then paint 3 windows that have multiple panes?! Yikers.

It does look cleaner and neater and I should have taken photo with the custom roman shades but you'll get to see those photos soon enough.

Main bedroom window trim repainted a "neutral" color

I like to call the upstairs bathroom door my "magic" door. It is the original door for the bathroom but had been removed because the toilet and the door did not get along.

When I had the bathroom remodeled in 2007, I convinced the contractor to saw the door in half. I found the bi-fold hinges that would fit. He was very nervous. He said we only get one chance to do this.

The door had to be cut exactly precisely or it wouldn't hang, swing and close properly. It ended up perfect! But I never painted the hall-facing side. Well, now it finally is and looks fantastic.

The door does close like a normal door and hinges out of the way of the toilet. It is truly magic. :-)

What I call the magic door finally painted

Kitchen Project - Home Repair - sell prep

My kitchen has needed a new paint job for a while. Nothing like selling my house to push me to do it.

There were a few places to repair like the ceiling where the paint had peeled off due to a freeze. And around the radiators where I removed the quarter round which pulls plaster off with it.

The paint was a gallon of very dark green exterior that I bought when I thought I was going with a tri-color job on the house. I toned down the green with left over white paint. I think it came out pretty good. Totally by accident the color matches the dark green tiles in the backsplash.

Plaster repair in progress

Ceiling and spackling patched

Custom mix

Custom paint color

Matching tile