Updates on Sunday

The tire repair worked fine, the second time! I have driven over 20 miles since the repair and it is not losing any air! Yay!

Finn and Louis in a Sunbeam
Elkridge, MD
July 28, 2019

I love it when repairs go well, even if it is the second attempt. It had been a while since I plugged a nail hole in a tire and it took me some time to remember the tricks. And there are tricks. 

Today is a lazy Sunday. I have been sitting by the pool while the animals are basking in a sunbeam. I think that they are cute. 

I have projects to get started today and with it quiet, I will likely get them done. Today is very different from last Sunday when I was on a golf course in Trumansburg playing in a golf tournament. Chris and I had a lot of fun last week. And we finished only four shots out of third place!

It is the last Sunday of my favorite month of the year. I guess I will begin the countdown for next year soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Repair Fail

Repaired Nail Hole

Sometimes in my best effort to save a time or money, I repair things and they don't work out--at least the first time.

Tire monitoring Center on my Ram
Definite Problem with Left Rear

Case in point was last night and the tire on my truck.

The tire had a nail in it and Chris was kind enough to drive to the garage to have it repaired during the week, however there was a two-and-a-half hour wait. TOO long!

So, I bought a kit and tried to do it myself. Last evening I worked on the tire for some time and repaired it, or so I thought. Later during the evening I took the truck for a test drive. Very soon it was apparent that the repair had not done its job. I was lucky to get back home with 29 pounds of the 39 pounds of air that I started with. I parked the truck for the night and determined to work on it again in the morning. 

Flat tire
July 27, 2019

This morning the tire was flat. I mean really flat. Too flat. When I had to roll the truck forward to get the hole on top, the truck gauge indicated that I had 3 pounds of air in the tire. That, friends, is the definition of flat. So I pulled out the repair kit and tried it again about two hour ago. I repaired the hole and put 39 pounds of air in the tire in the hopes that the repair would hold. 

After sitting for two hours, I just checked the pressure and it is holding at 39 pounds. I am almost afraid to take it for a test drive. But I will take it out in a bit. 

I hate having to do things twice, but given the cost and time required to get the tire repaired at a tire shop, hopefully, this experience pays for itself. Not to fear, however, Cat, my Jaguar, is ready to serve as my transportation for the day should I need it. 

Maybe I'll go play golf.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

July's Salute

Crepe Myrtle in July Against a Clear Blue Sky
Elkridge, MD
July 25, 2019

My favorite month of the year is slipping by at what seems to be an ever increasing pace. There are only five days remaining in July and 

The pool is beginning to show the signs of the lengthening summer, but the water is fantastic. The days this week have been idyllic with cooler temperatures and lower humidity. The Crepe Myrtle are in full bloom and dropping their petals into the pool at an alarming rate and require frequent removal. They are pretty gracing the surface of the pool, however. We have two colors of Crepe Myrtle around the pool, violet and red. When the petals mix in the pool it makes it look as if someone has covered the surface with confetti. I was not particularly smart in planting the Crepe Myrtle so close to the pool, but they were very small those few short years ago when I planted them. They are not towering over the pool and providing much needed afternoon shade, and color. 

July is the month when the Crepe Myrtle begin to bloom and unlike the Lilacs of springtime, their flowers and color will last for the remainder of the season well into September. 

As July slips by and August arrives next week my favorite month of the year will have passed, but the memories will remain.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clouds and Birds

Cloud Over Tequesta
Tequesta, Florida
July 18, 2019

They are usually above us, unless we are above them or the sky is clear, that is clouds.

Gray Heron
Jupiter Island, Jupiter, Florida
July 18, 2019

I saw this cloud on the morning of the day before we departed Florida. It was hanging directly over Tequesta as Chris, Finnegan, and I were preparing to walk the beach. It was an awesome cloud in its solitary existence. I took the image looking back across the intracoastal waterway at 7:24 AM. The day was just beginning and it was our last full day in Florida. The walk that morning was beautiful as we watched some storms forming out over the ocean.

I took some pictures of a gray heron that was fishing along the shore. It allowed me to get very close, but even after two tries I could not get a good picture of it taking off as it moved down the beach.

A beautiful day to remember.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

After the Sunset

After the Sunset
Ithaca, NY
July 20, 2019

Saturday evening, after a day of driving to Ithaca, I was outside after the color of the sunset had left the sky and I saw the treelike silhouetted against the waning light of the sky. It was the fitting end to a day which had seen me drive for about six hours, after flying home to Elkridge the day before form Florida. I was engaged in a travel weekend. 

The stark blackness of the trees reminded me of an event 50 years before when two Americans, for the first time in Human history, stepped foot on the Moon and the images were broadcast back to Earth for all of us to witness live. I recall the stark white of the lunar surface and the inky black of the sky. There were no trees, no signs of life except for Neil and Buzz.

Who says nothing good happens after dark?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Calling an Audible

Chris and Finnegan on the Beach with Sargassum
Carlin Park,
Jupiter, Florida
July 19, 2019

Chris and I tried to walk the beach every day while we were in Florida, but some days the sargassum washing ashore just made that impossible, especially with Finnegan.

Unfortunately, our last morning in Florida, that was the case. The sargassum was so thick on the beach and the tide was coming in--there just was no place to walk--and we went to two different beaches to attempt out morning walk.

On a morning like that we were just thankful to be in Florida enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the beach and looking to over the broad ocean. 

Life goes on and so did we. 

NOTE: Due to travel, Monday Musings was not published this week. It will return next week.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, Maryland

Looking out the Window

Finnegan out the Window
July 19, 2019

Sitting in the car waiting for a drawbridge to raise and lower is a time investment with little return. The other morning, while we were still in Florida we caught the drawbridge on our way back from the morning walk on the beach. Finnegan was very interested in the activity occurring in the river and so Chris opened the window for him to enjoy the light breeze. I saw his reflection in the rear view mirror.

We sat there for at least five minutes and he remained transfixed on the activity all while the interminably slow drawbridge raised and then lowered.

— Bob Doan, writing from Ithaca, NY

The Best Happy Hour

Happy Hour
Intracoastal Waterway, Jupiter, Florida
July 16, 2019

People who know me, understand that I love celebrating Happy Hour and especially enjoying the time with friends. 

The other evening, we observed a great happy hour in Florida with friends that was one of the most memorable in a long time. 

Happy Hour Along the Intracoastal
July 16, 2019

Happy Hour lasted about three hours because the water was flat, the day was warm, and the company was inspiring. That was what made it such a memorable Happy Hour. Coming at the end of a busy day which saw a lot of work accomplished to complete the new Key West room of the condo and so it was nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful ending to the day from the shores of a quiet and picturesque spit of sand along the intracoastal.

We were in sight of the drawbridge connecting to Jupiter Island and there were schools of fish of all sizes in the channel. We did some snorkeling, but the current was swift, I thought it was like doing a drift dive in the Gulf Stream.

It is a good memory from a great time with friends. But now, I'm back in Maryland and headed to a golf tournament tomorrow.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, Maryland

Project of the Day

The Sitting Room
July 18, 2019

Today marks the end of our all-to-short trip to Florida. It was supposed to be a mid-summer vacation and while we enjoyed being away from the heat of the mid-Atlantic region by walking the beach, snorkeling, and visiting new places for happy hour; we did a lot more work on our Florida home than either of us imagined. 

Fran Adding a Junction Box in the Master Bath
Note the White rectangle Where the Old Light unit Resided
July 15, 2019

The big objective for the trip was to receive the chairs for the sitting room and which would complete placing furniture in all of the rooms of the house. We successfully accomplished that objective and have created a very nice sitting room off the kitchen as a place to enjoy morning coffee and to write my blog. The chairs arrived yesterday, as promised by the shipping company, and we were ready to position and place them into service. 

The Master Bath is now the Key West Room
July 18, 2019

But there was so much more we accomplished during the trip. A new light was planned for the master bathroom--and we had purchased the light during our last visit to the house. The problem was that the footprint of the new light unit was significantly different from the existing one and that meant the area behind it would need to be painted to match wall. Well, as it turned out, that became a project that transformed the master bath into the Key West Room. 

Chris Installing the Blades on the Ceiling Fan
July 18, 2019

But wait, there's more. Through a series of discussions it was determined that there needed to be a filing fan in the living room to replace a fairly unbecoming ceiling light. Guess what? Yup, a new ceiling fan was installed and the light unit form the living room in the new sitting room. Chris was right there in them mix helping to get the ceiling fan installed and operational. 

To get the projects accomplished there were the obligatory shopping trips which also included finding more wall art and items to soften the look of the house. Chris tells me we are nearly there! Yay! There are only a couple of projects outstanding life under-counter lighting and lighting for the wall unit. These projects will have to wait for an other trip.

There is so much to do no matter which house I am living in at the moment. Projects seem to be a way of life.

But they keep me busy!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida

Cup of Coffee

Why does it take longer to drink a cup of coffee than it does to drink a glass of wine?

Fin began Paw Prints in the Sand
Carlin Park Beach
July 17, 2019

My first, and only, cup of coffee of the day lasts over an hour. Sometimes, longer.

My first, of two or three, glasses of wine lasts at most 30 minutes. Why is that?

I am sitting this morning looking at a cup of coffee that I brewed an hour ago--it is cooler now, but I like it that way, and the cup is just under one-half full. I guess it is like walking on a beach with Finnegan, it just takes time. 

Well, since it is my only cup of the day, I guess I should take some time to enjoy it. 

Maybe I should head to the beach now for a quiet walk with the surf and leave the remainder of my coffee for my return?

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida