And she chose PINK, no less

Not sure why this picture looks so much like fun, but it does to me. The other day, Elizabeth broke her swim goggles, and headed out to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a new pair. The nose piece had broken, and while she remembered having gotten several nose pieces with the swim goggles when she purchased them, she couldn't remember where those extras were located. One possibility was the rental unit, and frankly it wasn't worth driving oneself crazy trying to locate them. So, I came home from one of my walks to find the old broken pair on Ripley's Rug, and a note. She said rather than go to a local dive shop, or try Wal-Mart or Target, she figured she'd go where she had purchased the last pair.

I recalled our last cruise where we both went snorkeling, and of course wearing the "rental gear" that had more DNA inside the mask and mouthpiece than a downtown Detroit crime scene. I'm not a big fan of having my face in the water anyway, but I know how much she loves this. I'd been thinking of going and buying her a set of personal gear, having seen it for sale on the cruise ship. Buying anything on the cruise ship is like buying coffee and a roll at the airport. Dumb idea unless you have a desire to waste money, which I never choose. I was prepared to find something for her that she could pack for the next cruise, and when I got the note I called her cell phone and told her to look at snorkels. Elizabeth said "but it's not my birthday" but I told her "Look, every now and then I come up with a great idea, don't rain on my generosity parade, and use the Royal Caribbean credit card."

So she did, and found two packages - one in the $40 range, another in the $70 range. I learn later that there was also a $100 set, but "they weren't pink". I'm glad she got the better quality ones, and the neat part is that these have the smaller flippers - not the Longfellow models that really are unwieldy when swimming. Her new gear has a hinged flipper with a more solid foot piece. I was impressed, and she likes them enough to allow me to take this picture and send it to our children. They sure are pink..........

Several "bark in the park" day trips

No, this is not only about Ripley (which I'm sure may disappoint his many fans), but also about me and a childhood buddy from back on the block in Indianapolis. John (his name too) lives with his wife in Wesley Chapel, Florida, where a recent dog adoption fair was held at the Wiregrass Mall. John lived at 4017 with his large family, while I lived at 4011 with just my mother and father. Later on, Leanne (RIP) would come through adoption, then two years later mother would conceive after eleven years and my brother Dan would come into the world. I'm not sure what type of birth control was being used by my mother, but I suspect the word "no" came into play a lot, and Dan's conception probably came only after the famous words of the American Sorority Woman "Oh, I'm SO Drunk".

But for my youth, my best friend was John, and we enjoyed playing on weekends and after school. I went to P.S. 66, and he went to St. Joan of Arc, so we never had classes together, and by high school we'd both moved. He moved away, and we moved next door to 4007. His large Catholic family was replaced by the Quinn's, who also had many children. I recall wishing I were Catholic in those days, because they had so many "holy days" where they didn't have to go to school. At Public School #66 (the "Henry P. Coburn School"), we didn't even have Martin Luther King Day yet. Of course back then we all recited the pledge of allegiance in school and prayer was not outlawed. I suspect Catholic schools today still have values, but political correctness has ruined public education. No more Halloween parties, no more Christmas programs, just the ascension of the NEA (Nobody Educating Anyone).

Anyway, lest I get too far in digression, John and I reconnected about ten years ago, and we try to visit at least once a year. At the dog adoption event in his home town, about 90 minutes away, we had an opportunity to see each other again. My wife took this picture of us, and Ripley of course mugged the camera. John had his Airedale with him, named Sophie, but she was being just a dog and lying quietly at his feet. Ripley was once again being a "star" and insisted on being in the picture. A couple of weeks later we were once again "barking in the park", this time in Gulfport, Florida - perhaps only one hour distant. It appears that when the kids grow up, the dogs fill that void. It's good that old friends are there too, with their dogs as well.

The Pool Sign Store

There must be one.....a pool sign store. Every sign I've ever viewed at a pool is different. Apparently the international sign code Nazis have not come to agreement yet on a standard sign.
Surprisingly, Longboat Key doesn't even have a Pool Sign Code, leaving it up to individual homeowners associations to determine what they want on "their" sign. Ergo, there has to be a Pool Sign Store, where trustees can go shop for things they find important to ban. Let's take a walk through ours today:

1. Shower before entering. OK, this makes sense, and our pool committee has even provided a shower with HOT water outside the men's room side of the pavilion. By the way, no hot water on the ladies room side, only the men's. Guess that's because we men are ALWAYS getting into hot water with the ladies.

2. No glass or animals in the fenced pool area (or 50 feet from unfenced pool). Well, clearly we don't want glass at the pool, but considering no code I've ever seen would allow an unfenced pool, isn't this a bit redundant. Right outside the pool is our "lake" and it's totally unfenced. Guess there's not a code (YET) for lakes, or their other name "storm water retention pond".Rule number 2 is not Ripley's favorite, as he got used to visiting this area during construction - before that darn sign went up.

3. No food or beverage in pool or on pool wet deck. OK, guess we can't even put a beer in a plastic Tervis Tumbler and drink standing waist deep by the side of the pool. And, aren't all pool decks wet? I guess if you want to eat, do it on a dry day.

4. Maximum water temperature is 104 Fahrenheit - oh goody, parboiled grandkids. This, I'm sure, also applies to the shower.

5. Do not use the pool if you are ill with diarrhea. Apparently you ARE allowed to pee in the pool, however. Any pool with grandkids will have the occasional source of 98 degree water, to be sure. Isn't the old rule "if it's not proscribed, it's allowed?

6. Do not swallow the water. It is recirculated. Attention swimmers: See Article 5 above and swim at own risk.

7. Bathing load _____persons. Here's one of those fill in the blank questions. Apparently the correct answer is 26. I suspect its a math question dealing with mass and volume. Will let you know if our 56 homes filled with skinny old folk ever exceed that number.

8. Pool hours _____AM to ______ PM. Here our Pool Committee apparently didn't want to deal with Daylight Savings Time issues in Florida where the sunrise and sunset are subject to seasons. Since the terms "civil and/or nautical twilight" would certainly not fit in that space, dawn and dusk have been inserted. Personally, I find nautical twilight the best part of the day, when the sun is twelve degrees below the horizon, but there's enough light to walk the dog, or swim alone at the pool. Civil twilight is six degrees below the horizon. You can generally see most things under nautical, and certainly civil twilight, however finding dog poop under astronomical twilight conditions (18 degrees below the horizon) is impossible, unless you've trained to dog to "go" under a streetlight. Another word for astronomical twilight is "dark". I prefer disambiguation personally. But you can also use the collateral adjective, crepuscular - especially if you're one of those party animals most active at night.

Suffice to say, the pool is not officially open in any period of disambiguation, but that never stopped me....I'm crepuscular.

Grand Opening of the Pool

Well, officially the pool opened this afternoon at 3:30 PM. I was not there to watch a lot of grandkids frolic, nor did I witness the first OFFICIAL entrant into those cool waters. Yesterday, the Sarasota County Health Department (those folk with challenged spelling ability) checked off, and it would be only the Town of Longboat Key left to please. In speaking with our Board Vice President, and a soon to be elected new board member Mark Hullinger (whom I credit with doing the most to salvage this project), I learned that we failed in the morning for a "trip hazard", but hasty repairs were made and after lunch it finally passed.

Mark informed me that the children thought the water was still "too cold" at 83 degrees, so Mark went and boosted the temperature to 85. Today was rather cool, and last night the water was actually warmer than the outside temperature. As I draft this blog post, it's only 49 degrees outside, but considering that this is WINTER here in Florida, complaints tend to fall on deaf ears amongst my northern resident friends.

This being a three day weekend (President's Day on Monday), I'm sure there'll be a number of people using the facility the next several days, but I have no reason to worry - just like this morning, I rather doubt anybody else will be swimming at oh-dark-hundred hours. The next challenge will be getting that oak tree that drops leaves in copious amounts on the pool deck and into the water resolved. If it isn't one battle with the Town, it'll be another.

Oranges -----> Orange Juice

You gotta love Florida, where breakfast sits waiting to be harvested. In this case, "gleaned", the act of picking fruit off the ground lest it rot and serve no good but perhaps to feed the rats. Yes, I did mean rats, in this case citrus rats which nobody needs to feed, least of all those on Ripley's evening walking path. We pass this way on our neighborhood rounds every early morning and late evening. There's also a lemon tree on that property, but lately no lemons have fallen. When they do, I'll make lemonade.

Of course, early morning is when the pickin' is best, especially after a windy night. These particular oranges fell to the ground on a nearby property which has been vacant and for sale for all the time we've lived nearby. The property is listed for over two million dollars, so I suspect we'll have another season of oranges.....way too high, even with the view.

The orange juicer is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, and very "man capable" of operating. To prove it, see how I've transformed three oranges into tomorrow's breakfast drink. After straining, I'll have a good eight ounces of cold, fresh juice for my breakfast. Oh, and Ripley also likes O.J. - but then again, whatever his daddy likes, Ripley likes.

And now, for those who love O.J. stories - what was the difference between O.J. and John Elway? One drove a slow, white Bronco. The other WAS a slow, white Bronco.

Nose Art

I've always enjoyed aircraft with images painted on their noses, but on a recent cruise I had the opportunity to see a much bolder "nose art" (or perhaps in this case "bow art") on the Norwegian Pearl, which anchored near our ship.

I'm told all the ships in their NCL fleet have these bold paint schemes, but this was my up close and personal exposure and I really enjoyed seeing these vibrant colors and bigger than life images. The Pearl berthed next to our ship in Cozumel, and when they pulled out to sea, I noticed that this art work was not only between the waterline and the lower deck - they had a similar "mural" running the length of their lower walking deck (generally on deck 5). As we ate dinner in our dining room, we saw this display as "moving art" as our ship (still tied up at the dock) watched theirs depart.

While I've primarily cruised with Royal Caribbean, and one foray onto a Carnival ship for the Rock & Roll Cruise, I'd be tempted to try this cruise line to see if their ships inside are as festive as their paint jobs are outside. You hear that you can't judge a book by its cover, but this cover may warrant expanding my personal cruise horizons.

Ripley Inspects the Pool

The Winding Oaks Pool looks ready, but apparently it failed its inspection this week. The gates (of which there are four sets) did not ALL swing closed, per code. Therefore the contractor has to come back and tighten the spring. The contractor also failed to follow the fine print in the contract, which requires (based on pool size and length) a second "life ring" and hook on a pole. The cost of this pool is such that the Homeowners Association is determined to make them provide a second set of ring and hook, even though we still have an older ratty looking set. We (the Association) are holding a check for $41,000 until they finish the job to OUR satisfaction. We'll see how long this Mexican standoff lasts - this is the pool promised for October, after all. October of 2010, that is.

When the pool finally was redesigned, it was made marginally shallower and a little bit longer - hence it went over the code length and necessitated that second set of safety rings and hooks. The Board of Health (those whose spelling prowess was revealed in an earlier blog entry) also said we needed to install new hardware on the partition in the rest rooms, lest somebody have less privacy while astride the porcelain throne. Now, here comes the best part - the sign says "no children in diapers" may swim, yet we had to install a diaper changing station in each bathroom. Oh, and those were installed originally too high on the wall. Supposedly we'll see another attempt to pass this coming Friday. Stay tuned.

Oh, you'll notice Ripley Wild is modeling the new pool furniture. It's on order - these are just demonstration chairs and chaise lounges. Yesterday we cleaned the old pool furnture (4 years old, including two years during the "no pool" period) and placed it up for sale - $30 a table, $20 a chaise, $10 a chair. Those eight chairs on the left side of the picture will stay until replaced, but the lounge chairs will be removed as they would scratch the new surface, if dragged. Five or seven remain, two have been sold already. Let Ripley know if you're interested, as I've tried to get him appointed to the pool committee where the first thing he plans to do is vote to remove the "no dogs" sign. Frankly, I don't worry since this is an infinity edge pool, without a open gutter, he'd have no problem getting out, even if he chose to go in. For now, he's content to sun himself in a chair and work on his tan. Ripley enjoys the Life of Riley, believe it or not.

A Sleepy End to a Busy Day

Yes, Ripley loves his daddy, and his daddy loves his dog. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Need I say more?

Goodnight everybody, and sweet dreams from the Bark-O-Lounger, in a sleepy house, on a sleepy street, on an island off Florida.

Talavera Iguana has little babies now

Several cruises ago, we found this great piece of outdoor art in Cozumel, and placed it on an exterior wall - not only because we loved it, but because we figured the HOA would have a fit when we dared to modify the look of our condominium home. Well, it didn't work - maybe because our indentures allow a one pet rule.

This time, we saw these adorable small iguana babies, also Talavera pottery, and they were one dollar each, so we splurged. When we got back, we positioned them as shown. What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?

That was our last port of call this time around, and instead of going downtown to "the Forum shops" and having to walk the mile or so back toward the ship, we skipped the $14 cab fare and turned right toward the Carnival Cruise Line facilities at Puerto Maya. It was only about a quarter mile, and we found a much nicer shopping area with a second location of our favorite restaurant "Pancho's Backyard", where we enjoyed conversation with a couple off another ship and several margaritas.

While there, I found a great tropical shirt, in orange (almost the same shade as my talavera iguanas) which I've used as a recent FaceBook profile picture. We also picked up a great Mexican blanket and a bottle of real authentic local vanilla to take back with us for Lori, who is Ripley's foster mom. Next time in Cozumel, and cruising out of Tampa there's always a stop in Cozumel, we'll know the best place to go if not choosing to return to the X-rail adventures. We've been there perhaps six times, certainly five, and still love it. You should take advantage of cruising - last minute fares make it very reasonable, and always fun.

I'm a Traveling Man

We just came off a really nice cruise, to four ports, with two full days at sea, and some really nice shows, including a tribute to Ricky Nelson, a rock and roll icon of the late 1950's into the early sixties. Hard to believe that he was singing songs like Hello, Mary Lou and Poor Little Fool way back before we found the Beatles and American rock went into the shadows. Ricky Nelson would die in 1985, when the DC-3 he and his band were flying crashed. But he left a legacy, born in 1967 - in the form of two hot swedish blonds, as his son Matthew referred to themselves when he appeared with his twin, Gunnar, in a performance of their father's music, as well as some of their own from the 1990's. Back then they were known as the Nelson Brothers, Nelson Twins, or just plain Nelson. Their hair was waist length and very blonde. Debut album was After the Rain, which went platinum in 1991.

That's Matthew on the right, Gunner on the left. Gunner is 45 minutes younger, and also played drums during a jam session up on the fourteenth deck the night before we left the ship. Both guys are very personable, and that hour on the top deck was something they invited passengers to attend. When the concert started, there was the usual Royal Caribbean announcement about "no photography or video taping", and then Matthew said "our rules are to ignore that nonsense and we welcome you to take pictures and video to your hearts content". Like I said, really great performers.

Oh, all that glittery nonsense behind Matthew apparently was a half-curtain behind him. When I uploaded the pictures I thought my camera was screwed up, but in no shots were those irritating spots in the foreground, only the background. Thank God, as the last time I was in Haiti, with a smaller camera, I got rain dried on the lens, and the left side of most pictures had dried water spots. This trip, I only managed to fall on a cement step, bruise my backside something fierce, get road rash on an elbow and actually bend the camera case (but it still worked). Like my wife says, "we can't take you anywhere".

Let's visit our pool once again

OK, truth be told, that's NOT the community pool, but the sign came from our former pool and I first saw it back in July of 2010 when we contemplated buying our new home, which was just a hop, skip and a jump from the community pool. We were told by the President and Vice President of the HOA (home owners association) that, yes indeed, the old pool was going to be demolished and within six months we'd have a brand new pool.

Well, clearly - they lied, and we still don't have a new pool in which to swim. The pool in the picture belongs to a unit across the street, where over the past 18 months we've seen people just two times, for maybe a week or ten days. It's owned by some German or Swiss industrialist, whom rumor has it will not sell because he's holding it over his wife who is also on the title. So, it sits idle in the sun, but a pool company comes every two weeks and cleans and applies whatever chemicals required to keep it clean.

This story is about the sign, which I've propped up and then given folks a close up view to inspect. What's wrong with this sign? Well, clearly the people at the health "departement" do not spell well. We noticed this extraneous vowel long ago, but today when shooting the picture noticed another grievous error. I thought that perhaps the guy who spelled department was French, but a buddy said "no, then it would be "arrondissement". Technically, you could use that word which refers more to political subdivisions, but in English the word Department turns out to be exactly Departement en Francais.

Now, armed with an extra vowel, I'm giving you a hint - you'll need to buy a consonant to find the other error. Hey, knock yourself out, there might even be a third error somewhere. Sarasota schools appear to have abandoned spelling lessons somewhere in their past, or perhaps it's just that asking that employees known English might be inconsistent with politically correct hiring. But don't get me started on the NEA, which really does stand for Nobody Educating Anyone.