Sep 16 - our usual tricks and more

Yes, we're up to our usual tricks. Upon arrival, I made bread; I went shopping; we went for Sushi; Sandy organized; I got the computer going. Yesterday the process continued -- I got my bike cleaned and assembled; Sandy did more grocery shopping; we both made our respective olive tapenades; Sandy did laundry; we both ordered some things on the internet; we roasted coffee beans. Today it will continue -- I'll go for a bike ride; Sandy will pickup pet food, olive oil and whatever else she may need to continue her good cooking "habit" (I'll eat, naturally).

We had tuna for dinner last night with green beans and rice ... ah, back to a non-crappie fish selection :).

We also embarked on some key projects yesterday:

-- Sandy called Vic re the cabinetry work in the master bath -- he was out for the day but will call back today;
-- she also called Jeff, who came over at 5pm and we reviewed the powder room and master bath work. He will start said work while we're gone (powder room) and hold master bath until we're back in November.
-- I searched, agonized etc. looking at boats on Craigslist and Boat Trader, comparing specs and listing prices with NADA and the manufacturers' web sites. It's a lot faster here with cablemodem internet service and besides, we're in a position where we can actually go look at boats in which we are interested
-- Sandy also went for a massage ... she's in a lot of pain with her neck/back. She has an acupuncture appointment on Friday.
-- naturally we had a glass of wine, crackers, aforementioned tapenade with an SG1 episode
-- I did some cleanup down the slope, cutting and pulling vines that have grown since we left in June. There are some new mangroves starting on the salty land and the palms at the crest of the slope are doing quite well without the Brazilian pepper crowding them out.

Soon ... I'll start cutting drywall and attack that bathroom door.

Speaking of the Pepper, I had cut most branches off a large root adjacent to our property in the vacant land, and applied some round-up to the cut thinking that this would kill the darn thing. I found that some of these huge branches that I'd cut were lying on the ground spreading out in perhaps a 50' diameter circle. Well, some of the branches are still alive -- seems that they have the ability to root along the branch where it touches the ground -- amazing stuff. I'll get in there and do some more with it at some point, I'm just trying to keep it out of our place. All of the stumps that I'd treated, save two, seem to be dead on our property. I cut off most of the new growth (four feet high since June !) yesterday and I'll cut and treat the stumps in the next while.

It was nice to be able to see the sky and clouds out the back while we ate dinner last night. Speaking of clouds, although the forecast is scattered thunderstorms for the next long while, there's no sign of rain where we are. Of course that might change as I go for a ride :).

Back to boats ... I am finding that the Craigslist listings tend to be a) older boats, b) smaller boats, c) a lot of fishing-style boats, d) unrealistic expectations of selling price vs NADA (+20-50%), vs the boattrader listings that are usually around 10% higher than NADA and tend to be dealers, who are more in synch with the market, obviously, and 24' and up. I have not made any calls yet ... I think I found something this morning though ... a 21' Maxum priced slightly below NADA, in Daytona Beach so easy to view, appropriate weight (3368 lbs) at double that of the Bayliner so it will be better in chop yet still trailerable for us. I'll call the owner (private sale) later today with my list of questions -- said list of questions found on the internet in a guide for boat buyers.

It's hot, but it doesn't seem to bother Abby. She's quite content to lie inside or out in the sun. Sandy intends to take her to the beach today -- she'll be happy with that but not as happy with the bath / hose-down at the end.

Tomorrow we'll go look at some boats, perhaps this private sale if I can get hold of the seller and the answers sound good and also see some dealers just to get our heads into the process and options. Used boats are a great deal right now, since it's a buyers' market. A used boat drops to 1/2 of the new boat MSRP in two years or less. That 21' Maxum retail value, according to NADA, is about 1/3 of the MSRP, for example. A key question is how many hours on the motor, although one website that I consulted for buyer guidelines cautioned against very low usage because a boat that sits for a long time deteriorates with dried out seals and dry/wet rot depending on storage conditions. So that means that the "like new, 50 hours on motor in last 5 years" advertisement is not a good thing ! Any offer that I make will be conditional upon inspection at a dealer or marine survey (like a home inspection, just as (un)reliable (ha).

Ok ... it's time to organize in the garage since this is garbage & recycle day. I'll get out for a bike ride asap although unless I leave while it's dark, there's no avoiding the heat.

Onward.