Past Travel: Key West, September 2023, Part Two

For more about this series, see Part One.

We last saw out hero in her hotel room, getting ready for dinner on the first day in Key West. The group was meeting at Martin's on Duval Street for drinks, so once everyone at the hotel was ready, we headed out to catch the Duval Loop (an awesome free bus service that loops around).

Saw this fun old car on the way!

And some pretty flowers.

Color everywhere.

Do you think they're mushroom enthusiasts, or does it mean something else?

You know I love a rainbow!

We met up there with the friend who drove and everyone had drinks (something that is possibly a bit more fun if you drink alcohol, which I don't do much of, but eh, it was still interesting). There was discussion about staying there for dinner or going elsewhere, with a few in the group hoping to go dancing too. Three of us agreed that we weren't up for a late night, but just wanted dinner in air conditioning, so we walked down Duvall and ate at Mangoes, which had killer air conditioning--normally it would have been too cold for me, but in this case it felt fantastic. And the food was good too!

We walked back to the hotel and found that we were in time for sunset; the hotel is right on the water, and we got there when the sky looked like this:

So instead of going to our rooms, we walked along to the boardwalk on the water side.

It's such a pretty area.

We ended up meeting some of the others there and watched the sun go down, and I took a zillion pictures, here they all are, see you soon for Part Three.

Past Travel: Key West, September 2023, Part One

I was able to go on this long-planned trip with friends to Key West last September, as my mother was in rehab after her (first) fall, but just after I got back, she came home, it was fraught (she still wasn't supposed to put weight on that leg), and in less than a week, she fell again and it was hospital and surgery and more rehab and a whirlwind. What I'm getting at is that I never fully wrote up that trip, just teased it, which is a shame as I took a lot of, quite frankly, great pictures! So guess what, I'm going to do it now. Here we go.

We were a group of eight, and six of us were taking the Key West Express ferry out of Fort Myers Beach* To my great relief, one friend's husband was happy to drive three of us up there (the rest of the group went in a rented minibus). Leaving before the crack of dawn is never my favorite, but I was especially grateful not to be driving to an unfamiliar spot in the dark! By the time we were on the boat, the sky was just starting to lighten.
*One was flying from her northern home, and another drove.

Since I was taking these first pictures from inside, there were reflections from the lights, and sometimes streaks on the windows as well. I still like the effect.

Starting to move now.

If you click on these photos to look more closely at the boats, you may be reminded that a year earlier, Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers Beach directly, and very hard.

Not just the boats, for that matter.

I mean, look where that boat landed!

It was very sobering to look at these as we went by.

The boat then goes south, along the west coast of Florida, and once you're past Naples, there isn't a ton of development, but there's some.

If you zoom in on that one, actually, you can see the bridge and buildings of Marco Island--the last land for a long time!

After that, it's water. Sun and clouds and ripples and water.

(I was, of course, knitting and snacking and talking with my friends, in between getting up to take more pictures.)

I also went out to the back of the boat to see things without a window between.

Getting close now, because look at that cruise ship.

Sooo big.

At the terminal, we gave our bags to the service that will take them to your hotel for you (you do have to pay, but it's so worth it), and walked into town ("town") to find a place for lunch, ending up at Alonzo's Oyster Bar on Front Street.

Let me note this now: it was hot. I was surprised by how much it affected me, since it wasn't really that different from where I live, but then again, I don't often go out and walk around for an hour or two when the weather is hot. So, yeah. I had a great time on the trip, but I was a sweaty mess not infrequently.

The food was good, and sitting with a cold drink was so good! And as it was open-air, there was a bird-watching element to it, surprisingly.

Just walking around. Okay.

After lunch, we walked around a bit.

And finally we got to the hotel, the Opal Key Resort, where happily, we were able to check in early. So glad to get into air conditioning!

This trip was a rare splurge for me--I'm not sure I've ever stayed at a resort in my life--and I further splurged on a room to myself, so that I could recharge my introvert energy as needed. Amusingly, my room would have easily slept 4:

And had multiple places to sit down, both for writing:

And not:

Even though I didn't need this much space, it was nice to have. My stuff and I will always expand to fill the available space.

The closet was behind the sliding door, so I guess you could choose which you wanted to show, clothes or coffee.

And there was a little bitty lanai, looking over the pool. Which was pretty, but not quiet. Ah well.

The bathroom was its own aesthetic.

Including the art, which didn't bother me but would have freaked out one of the group, who had mentioned earlier in the day not liking the reptiles at all. Good thing she didn't get this room!

After doing some unpacking and cooling down a bit, I joined part of the group by the pool. 

I did get into the water, but it was actually warm! Which normally I like, but the air was too hot for me to enjoy warm water. I did hang out for a bit, then went back up to my room to get ready for dinner.

I think I'll stop here for now. This recap is going to be arbitrary anyway, might as well embrace that. To be very much continued...

Tiny Movements

I wrote this title and thought about the different posts it could work for, which is kind of fun. In my case, I am referring to my current plan to incorporate small amounts of stretching and movement into lost minutes of the day, what Frank Gilbreth called unavoidable delay. I've been doing this online stretch class for a while now, 15 minutes at a time, three days a week, and it has me thinking about ways and times I can add movement to my day:

• Filling my water glass: I drink a lot of water, and I like to use the ice and water dispenser on the fridge. It doesn't take that long, but I'm there a few times a day, so why not do calf lifts or bicep curls at the same time?
• Waiting for the water to warm up in the shower: If no one has run hot water right before showering, it takes a minute or two to get warm in there. So why not move? I'm careful with the foot moves, as the water spreads around underfoot, but there are things I can do (holding on for safety--I'm too uncoordinated to take chances).
• Microwaving food: Sometimes I go do something else that will take a minute, but if I'm just standing there, then stretch.
• Waiting for the elevator, and riding the elevator--it's working, but it's not a fast-moving machine, so why not do some hamstring stretches?

It isn't that I think this counts as exercise, but even tiny bits of movement are better than nothing. Right? 

Maggie, of course, thinks that I should fill all moments of the day with tasks that are to her benefit. Including laps.

Lookit!

Working on my shawl today, I had to switch to a larger needle, so while I had the chance, I spread it out somewhat. If I do say so myself, isn't it pretty? Coming along nicely!

Books and Other Things

Yesterday turned out to be a busy day. It started as just the day Mom was to go back to the surgeon for final clearance. Then we decided we should go to Costco after, since it's right near the office. And once you're that far up, you're nearer to Trader Joe's than we usually get (it's only an hour away, but we just don't go that way that often). Then the doctor's office called last week to say they wouldn't have an X-ray tech in the office (again, sigh), so we'd need to get her X-rays done ahead of the appointment. At that point, I decided to take the day off work so I didn't have to fret about making up the time.

I slept until 8, thank you eye mask, and we left the house at 9:30. The X-rays were easy enough, and left us with enough time to get lunch and go through the car wash before the doctor. I went to get my knitting out of the car when we got there, and realized I had left it in the restaurant! Yikes, bad knitter. I left Mom at the doctor's and went back (fortunately, not far away) and got it again. After she got out, we did Costco, I ran into TJ's, we stopped for lottery tickets and to pick up library books, and finally got home around 4. Long day! When I was knitting last night during the Bruins game, I realized it was the fourth spot I'd been knitting in during the day--that has to be a new personal record. 

******

Thank you all for the supportive comments on my recent post about needing some quiet; it really helps to feel less alone. I am trying to make more plans to get myself out of the house; even if I'm spending time with others, rather than alone, it will still be a good break. I belong to a Facebook group for women in my area, started last year I think, for when people are looking for someone to join them doing something, whether it's a show, a new restaurant, or just a walk on the beach. I proposed a coffee (and knitting, for me) meetup tomorrow morning, so that will be a nice change. 

And there's nothing to keep me from sitting in my car for half an hour afterward, just being quiet, before I go home.

******

Engie wrote about the books she had out of the library right now, and I have my own little stack, so I thought I would share that.

The top one, The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, is the only non-library book; KJ Charles was on a recent, very enjoyable author talk with three other authors I like, Martha Wells, T Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon), and Malka Older, so I figured it was about time I read one of hers! She mentioned this one on BlueSky, I thought it sounds good, and while it isn't available direct in the US yet, the bookstore Blackwell's in the UK will ship it, and that was easy to do. I look forward to reading it.

Next down is Where Peace Is Lost, which my friend Mary Ellen recommended--she knows my tastes pretty well, so that's promising!

I think I heard about The Only Purple House in Town on BlueSky as well--I follow a few authors there, and so other authors tend to pop up in their conversations. This one sounds like a good found-family story.

Next up (or, rather, down), speaking of T Kingfisher, here's What Feasts At Night, the sequel to What Moves the Dead. That one wasn't my favorite of hers, hence going to the library for this one instead of buying it, but I did enjoy the first and have heard good things about the second.

Finishing off with two non-fictions, rare for me. As a former English major with a soft spot for the man, Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature sounds interesting--we'll see if it grabs me all the way through. And you can guess why Hot and Bothered: What No One Tells You About Menopause and How to Feel Like Yourself Again got my attention, unfortunately. 

I have one advance copy ready to read: Hamlet is Not OK, by RA Spratt, which caught my eye due to my, again, English-major-Shakespeare-lover history. I'll report back on that once I read it.

I'm waiting on just two holds right now:

• The remarkable retirement of Edna Fisher, by E.M. Anderson (the library lists it as Older women -- Fiction, and Dragons -- Fiction, if you want to know why)
• The new Kate DeCamillo, Ferris, which sounds cute.

Finally, I have a list of books I want to get from the next-nearest library system, which is bigger than my nearest one, but requires me to go in once a year to "renew" my reciprocal borrowing privileges. Kind of annoying, but hey, I'll do it for the books! I'm hoping to get up there next Saturday. And then, there will be more books! So many books! Bring on the books!

I might be a little giddy about the long weekend (Monday is a holiday). Ahh, yessss....

Sleep!

Last month, I was reading a blog* and came across mention of an eye mask to block out light while sleeping. I've tried that some years back, but found it to be uncomfortable, in part because not being able to open my eyes was weirdly claustrophobic. But this one mentioned a specific mask that is deep enough that you can open your eyes; I pondered on it for a bit, then ordered my own to try. And what do you know, it works! For me, anyway. It is slightly uncomfortable around my head, and makes me wish I had thicker hair as a cushion, but it's not too bad. Worth it!

*I had to dig back a little to find the blog I read about this on, and it's Elisabeth's! So my most sincere thanks to her for gifting me extra sleep.

Here's my sleep situation: my bedroom is naturally on the dim side, since the one window, instead of facing straight outside, is on the breezeway near the elevator, so it isn't bright light even when the sun is strong. I have regular blinds, not room-darkening ones, so there's a little bit of light leakage there. Then the door has to be left ajar for cat purposes, which doesn't let in much light at night, but once it gets light out, there's definitely more coming in from the living/kitchen windows. 

This time of year, it isn't light when I get up at 6:30 on work days, so that's not an issue during the week. On weekends, though, when I can usually sleep in, I have found that once I am aware that it is "late" enough to be getting light, my brain starts turning on, whether I want it to or not, and I can't get back to sleep. This has led to me grumpily getting up and looking at the time, and saying, Well, at least it starts with a 7. 

With the mask, though? I woke up early Sunday morning, went to the bathroom, and put the mask on, and when I woke up again, it was 8:55. Almost 9 AM! Woo, so much sleep! Which I clearly needed. 

My plan is not to bother wearing the mask on a work night, at least until it starts being lighter in the mornings. On nights when I can sleep in, I still don't need to wear it all night, since I wake up at least once and usually twice in the night (stupid bladder). So I'll put it on then, and block out that disturbing light, and hope that it goes as well as it did last weekend. I'll keep you posted.

Things I Don't Need to Know

I need to vent a little, things that come from frustrations living with my mother--I lived alone for a lot of years before I moved in with her, and I still miss some things about being on my own (except for cats).

• In the morning, Mom often gets up after I do, and she will come out of her room to say good morning (which is fine), then go back in to take her blood pressure and so on (also fine). But every damned time, she announces that she's going to do her blood pressure and so on, and I don't care. I don't need to know. It doesn't need to be said. (Why, no, I'm not a morning person, how did you guess?)
• When Mom and I are in different rooms, and she sees the cat heading my way, she will call out, "Incoming!" And honestly, I don't need to know that. The cat will get my attention on her own, every time. There is nothing I need to prepare. What am I supposed to do with that information? I asked her that once, and she said she just thought I wanted to know. My saying that I didn't has had no effect. (And somehow it seems incredibly petty to tell her again. I don't know, that doesn't make sense even to me.)
• On nights when the Bruins aren't playing, we often turn on another hockey game. I enjoy having hockey on as background noise, but I am not following closely. I don't feel strongly about it. But if I leave the room, say to feed the cat, Mom will call updates to me. I don't care! I don't need to know that Ottawa scored, or that Carolina got a penalty. I. Don't. Care.

Your turn: what do you not need to know?

Duck!

I got a new toy.

He has a trick.

One of my friends suggested naming him Duck-key. Of course.

Planning and Keeping Track

When I recently re-posted a book review from last year, the only reason I remembered to do so was because I had put a note on my calendar for it. I primarily (more on that below) use the Google calendar, and while my methods are not foolproof, the way I use the calendar as a running to-do list keeps me on better track than I would be without it.

Google allows me to create different "calendars" (what I would call categories) for events. I mostly use the general one, but some of my others include:

I track my exercise, such as it is: this is my way of giving myself stars, but also it lets me look back and, for instance, see that I was going to so few water aerobics classes that the membership was really not worth the cost for me. In health & head, I track days when I have a headache (that's a whole post to itself!) or when I start a new medication, that kind of thing. LR is my mother, for her appointments and so on. I find having these color-coded helps me see what's happening at-a-glance.

I have some things set up as recurring events when they are really reminders to myself. Download my pay stubs or 401(k) statements, get a credit report*, back up the computer, that kind of thing. Change the water filter on the fridge--it's exciting stuff! Though sometimes it's more fun: since our local paper dropped a couple of comics I enjoyed**, I set up an entry with a link to go comics, and every day I go look at those, then move the reminder to the next day.

*In the US, at least, there are three credit reporting agencies, and you can get a free report from each of them once a year. So I have annual reminders set for each one, four months apart, so I can keep on top of it if something weird shows up.

**I read the Boston Globe first, then (parts of) the Washington Post, but there are three comics that were in the local paper only, that now are not. Thank you, go comics!

Then there are the things I want to get to at some point, so I'll stick a reminder on the calendar because, especially these days, if I don't write it down, it's doubtful I will remember later*. These might get done on the day I first put them, or they might get moved along until they do get done. Call Summit about the phone acting up; write up blog posts about my September trip to Key West; block a shawl. 

*Especially true if I am trapped with a cat on my lap. Frequently heard around here: "Damn it, what was that thought I had?"

There are also things that don't move, like when library books are due. I mean, I guess that moves once I've returned what's due that day and have books due on another day, but you know what I mean. 

As for other than Google, I generally have a to-do list of some sort going. Back in the day, when I worked out of the house, I would use this very basic template to keep an eye on my week and what I wanted to get done:

Things that needed doing at home (and specifically on the computer) or out, and room to note on the days of the week things that I planned. It worked for me, but became less necessary at some point, and I dropped it. 

A couple of years ago, Mom and I started using a magnetic weekly calendar to update each other on what was going on; we had a two-week rotation. I stopped using it when Mom fell last year, but then I needed something to keep myself on track, so I came up with this:

That way I could note which evenings I planned to visit Mom, etc., with the last square being for to-dos. I have actually kept using this since then; I sometimes think I should go back to the ones on the fridge, but eh. I haven't.

I also keep separate shopping lists: right now I have ones for Costco, Trader Joe's, and the grocery store. And sometimes if I'm going out and planning to do a bunch of errands, I'll make a list of those to take along, so I don't forget any.

Finally, I use my camera as a reminder all the time. If I want to look something up, or post about it on social media or here, I'll take a picture or grab a screen shot.

If you made it this far, congratulations, my fellow lover of minutia and the quotidian! Any questions?

New Favorite Word! And, Yes, More Yarn

I'm sure I have mentioned multiple times how much I enjoy anticipation, looking forward to trips or events, and then I ran across this in a comment on Jenny's blog:

I love the German word for joyful anticipation: Vorfreude (vor = before, Freude = joy). Many people say it’s the best kind of joy and I tend to agree!

Yes! I love this word! Thank you for it, Catrina.

Meanwhile, speaking of joy, I got some yarn recently: the purchase involved a new-to-me dyer, Holly Dyeworks*, and the magical combination of the words 'sale' and 'cashmere' (you're not surprised, right?).

*or as it is in Ravelry, Holly & Ivy Dyeworks? that's funny; the label on what I got clearly just says Holly Dyeworks, as does the website

I got three skeins that will work well together, though who knows in what*, or when. The base is named Balsam, and they're light and soft and lovely.

*One of the knitting friends I went to the yarn store with last month asked me recently if I had a plan for the yarn I got there, and I kind of almost laughed at her. Plan? I don't shop with a plan!

A Singular Movie Rating

I usually post these fun movie ratings when there are a bunch, but this one was so good, it couldn't wait. And by good, I mean bad.

Zero stars! Not one, not even a half, but zero! I had to read the review, and as you can imagine, it was scathing.

So tell me: does this almost make you want to see the movie? Like, how can it possibly be this bad? I don't know, though, I don't think I will.

Review Repost: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

As I mentioned I would, I am reposting my book review from August, now that the publication date is close--next week! Order it now!

If I did not actually squeal upon being approved for an advance copy of The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, the sequel to The Mimicking of Known Successes (my review here), I probably came pretty close! One of my favorite parts of working at Barnes & Noble, all those years ago, was getting to read books before they came out, and clearly I still feel that way.

This one comes out in February (when I will repost this review)(hurries off to make note on calendar), so if you don't want to know anything more about it yet than that it's good, feel free to opt out of the rest of this for now (though I am trying to avoid spoilers).

Like the first book, this is a mystery in a science fiction setting; the issues of where they are (Jupiter), and why (humans utterly destroyed life on Earth and there are many disagreements on what to do next, and/or how best to start it over), definitely play into the mystery, but at the heart of it, "what happened to this person who seems to be missing" is the mystery. 

Mossa and Pleiti are working out their own relationship as well, what they mean to each other and who is willing to say what, but they work together well, playing to the strengths of each in researching what happened.

Side note, I do appreciate how many words I had to look up, as they turn out to be from a variety of languages; of course, not all words should be derived from English, I had never thought about it but why would they?

Who knew that the mystery/sci-fi mashup could be so appealing? Malka Older is firmly on my check-this-author-out list from now on.