Photos

So I'm going on week four of basically no face-to-face human interaction. I'm starting to think of it as a human experiment. The only exception I had was when I did that grocery shopping trip a couple of weeks ago and starting re-packing my stuff. The cashier/bagger looked at me questioningly, so I told him I had to get it all on a moped. He then informed me he was surprised, I looked like the "sedan and two children type."

I'm pretty sure I'll never have to
worry about this.

I was about to get offended by this observation (not that there's anything wrong with having a sedan and 2 kids) until I realized he could have just as easily said I looked like the Cadillac granny type (not that there's anything wrong with a Caddy-driving nana) and let it go. I was reminded why I rather enjoyed being alone though.

Other than that, it's just been me and the two cats. I've even set a few records, including longest time without eating out (Michael & I usually eat out once/week), and longest without eating pizza (usually what the eating out meal happens to be). It's not that I won't eat out by myself, but money's tight, and I'm holding out for good news, hoping to eat a slice in celebration...soon.

The other morning, after a run, I had a little freak out when a strange object was in the middle of the bed. It turned out to be a leaf (which was certainly better than a toad). I threw it outside, took a shower, and when I came out, guess what?

This is Jack's reaction to my question:
"What did you do?" Translation? "Wha?"

Yes, every once in awhile, Jack happens to be sitting outside when one of these big leaves flutters down from a tree (the previous tenant called this place the "treehouse," which is quite apropos). He can't seem to resist bringing it in as a present. I'll toss it outside, he'll retrieve it a couple of times, and we'll call it a day. Until the next one.

It doesn't take much to entertain either of us, which is a good thing. Things are pretty quiet here, by Key West standards. I do have a couple of places I want to visit this week (one free, one not), so hopefully I can regal you with a bit more excitement by the end of the weekend. In the meantime, there have been a few pretty Key West pics on Facebook that I thought I'd share. We've experienced thunderstorms the past few mornings, and one morning we also got a nice rainbow (or two).

Only in Key West

Fury: Captain Shon and Kaley

Louis Wray/Visual Sanctuary

Pretty cool, huh? If you didn't have to worry about lightning/hurricanes, high fuel prices for the dinghy motor (the anchorage is a pretty good distance from shore), and dinghy docking fees, living on the water would be pretty tempting here.

Michael's doing okay in St. Kitts. He has a couple of prospects, but nothing ever happens quickly in the islands. It looks like we're going to run right up against our self-imposed deadline. Sigh. Luckily we're not clingy, and we do email once/day and Skype occasionally (no video). We must be doing something right, we've been friends for almost 30 years and just celebrated 23 years of wedded bliss (on the 28th). And when I say celebrated, I mean, we sent each other snarky e-cards. Romantic, I know, but the fact that either of us remembered it was saying something. It would be nice to couple up again and know what our near-future holds, if only to confirm that it doesn't include us going broke...

More Contrasts

I have to admit this blog has ended up being rather strange. Our hearts, and half the time one of us, are in St. Kitts, but we live in Key West. We're kind of straddling both worlds at the moment. I don't necessarily think one place is better than the other, but they do offer completely different atmospheres and events. While one place (St. Kitts) certainly suits us better than the other, I still find what's happening in Key West interesting too. Today started the Keys lobster mini-sport season. As one post put it:

At the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, July 24th, thousands of South Florida divers will hit the water for Florida’s annual two-day lobster mini season. The special two-day sport season occurs on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July each year to let recreational harvesters collect spiny lobsters before commercial lobster traps are placed in the water on Aug 1. The regular spiny lobster season is always August 6-March 31 (6 lobsters/person).

There are lots of rules to follow, but plenty of people hit the water - above and below - and have been posting their pictures all day long. The Sheriff's department said it was pretty quiet out there overall though. I'm kind of glad, since I'm rooting for the lobsters.

Yikes!

Meanwhile, Michael crashed a "Brits-only" party meant to celebrate the royal birth (with much sarcasm, as only the Brits can do). Michael's excuse for showing up (with camera) was that he was representing the U.S. paparazzi (just about any "news" organization would have worked too, same thing really).

They look like they're standing on the ramparts of an old British castle, don't they?

Does anyone else see cannons?

Cheers to little George Alexander-Louis (and the kazillion other babies born recently)!

Contrasts

First, let's give the claps to the Hemingway winner (this was his seventh attempt!). Paula Deen's husband, Michael Groover, was a runner-up -- for the 3rd time.

Sloppy Joes

MileZero

While this group celebrated the last of Hemingway days with an arm-wrestling contest,

MileZero

and these smart folks joined today's Floatilla,





I had to contend with this. Can you tell that my chef and shopper has left the building? I wonder what I can make with olives, scallions, brown sugar, and cat food...

Anyone who knows me knows I hate to cook. I'm also not a big fan of shopping. So I've been eating through the perishables since Michael left over 2 weeks ago. I'm now down to boxed pasta/rice and frozen veggies that can go on top of the boxed basics. But that means, I now have to cook. Ugh. So I decided to drag my butt to and around the grocery store (Healthy: fruit/yogurt. Not so healthy: pretzels/Diet Dr. Pepper), got it back on the moped without losing anything, and spent an hour cooking up the staples so that later in the week all I'd have to do is microwave and reheat everything. I'm pretty sure this is a first for me -- all four burners are being used. I'm nothing if not efficient, especially when it comes to boiling water.

Quinoa, rice & beans, mac & cheese, Miracle noodles -- enough to get me through another couple of weeks without cooking or shopping again. I was quite proud of myself. Look at the fridge now!

Meanwhile, Michael was doing this.

Hmmm. Hopefully we'll both be doing the above, together, in a month or two. Michael's probably missing his dishwasher (that would be me, for those of you who can't imagine life without the appliance).

Happy 114th Birthday, Hemingway

There were reportedly 125 entrants for the Hemingway competition, can you believe it? Some came from as far away as Arizona and Massachusetts. Here are about 40 of them at a gathering on Thursday. All of these guys could come back and play Santa at Christmas.

MileZero

This is what they're going for:

I wonder if they specify the age, it's not like Hemingway always looked like that.

Friday's "excitement" included the Hemingway lookalikes fishing. Ernest liked to fish, bull fight, shoot big game, etc., so I guess this was a nod to that. It was about as exciting as watching anyone else fish.

This was the moment I was waiting for though. I'll bet Hemingway's running with the bulls experience was just like this.

Photo from Facebook/no attribution

Scary, I know.

In the next pic, they almost look like they're riding those little scooters you see some older people tootle around in, only bull-shaped.

These guys looked a little more enthused. Can I get a yee-haw?!



Behind all the Hemingways was the rest of the crowd. They had to go around the block, so I guess they were pacing themselves.



Yep, Key Weird.

There was also another street fair on Duval. They're never all that big, but I like that there are usually new artists at each one. After an hour and a half in the sun, I was so soaked in sweat, it was as if I'd jumped into a pool with all my clothes on. As a matter of fact, if there had been a pool around, I would have jumped in with all my clothes on. The cool snap is definitely over.

Drip...

It's been raining a lot. It usually clears up by noon (and restarts later at night), but Wednesday really meant it. While some focused on this mess:

I got all giddy when I could do this:

The windows are open! The windows are open! I really don't know how people stay cooped up in a/c all the time. It's claustrophobic! Fresh air, I need fresh air. Well, as fresh as air is these days. Finally, a break from the never-ending buzzing of the a/c window unit. We woke up to 72 degrees this morning (which tied a record from 1888), and at noon it was still under 80 (Key West is one of the coolest places in the country, whoudda thunk?). I actually find that quite chilly, but I'm weird that way and am not complaining.

Hemingway Days, a week-long event, just ramped up, so there are a lot of guys with soggy, white beards, sloshing around Key West. There are many strange events planned for these Hemingway lookalikes, including a running of the bulls, so this should be interesting (last year Paula Deen's husband was a runner up!).

I sort of hate to root for it to clear up because I don't want to go back into the steamy 90s. For now, I'm going to enjoy the pitter patter of raindrops and luxuriate in the natural a/c funneling through my open windows. Aaah, the simple things in life.

Mel Fisher Weekend

Despite a couple of scary moments, Zura seems to have come through the toad incident ok without a vet visit (or going blind), so that's a relief. For my run Saturday morning, I got an extra challenge when I ran into some tires and jumping thingies.



Wahoo, watch me zig zag around them (although I was tempted to do the tires)...  They were part of the first annual obstacle course race on Smather's beach. They were still setting up when I was on my return, and I couldn't help but sneak a peek. It was a pretty long course, all the way down the beach and down the sidewalk to the fort. There were even obstacles in the water. I would have been lucky to get about 100 feet down the beach (click here for Mile Zero's action shots).

The other big event this weekend was Mel Fisher Days. Back in the 1980s, Mel Fisher & family found two Spanish galleons that had sank in 1622, loaded with goodies. After many lawsuits, the spoils went to the Fisher family (and their investors). They still look for treasure (they just found what they're calling The Lost Merchant), pulled up some emeralds from another site, and they sell some of their finds (or hand out some freebies at events). The Mel Fisher Museum is actually one of the few museums we haven't been to yet in Key West. It's still on the list (when we want to splurge).

Mel Fisher Days is a 3-day event to celebrate the discovery of the motherlode of the Atocha (July 1985) and to raise funds for Wesley House Family Services. There have been costume contests, chili cook-offs, and today a silent auction and block-long carnival. The Fishers themselves were being doused in the dunk tank.
     


The weather held until about 6pm on Saturday, when storm cells moved in and brought rain, lightning, and thunder.

Captain's Corner Dive Center/Henry

Sunday's excitement for some would be bingo brunch and Texas hold 'em for late night. Hopefully all those events give the Wesley House some much needed funds. Good thing the events all inside because the rain continues on & off.

Personally, what I thought was pretty funny was the Lower Keys Underwater Musical Festival held farther up the Keys. A couple of these pics are from last year, but one is from this Saturday (from the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce/Bob Care).

You have to admit that looks pretty cool. Underwater was certainly the place to be. It's hot!