Oct 13/14 - a routine

I'm trying to get into a routine -- riding every second day and then "stuff".  The 13th, I rode.  I got wet; some heavy rain.  If I avoid days where it's supposed to rain or I see rain on the Doppler, I won't ride at all.  Yesterday my main accomplishment was cleaning up the bananas as many of the larger stalks had been blown over by Irma. 

Last Spring I didn't cut the bananas to the ground thinking that way I might actually get some to harvest.  Well, I was correct; several stalks had produced bananas.  As they were the larger ones, they were either on the ground or mostly knocked over; now they're out at the curb for pickup.

We also had a number of 2x6's that had come with the storm surge on the house-side of the mangroves.  They're also out at the curb.  We're gradually cleaning things up.  It actually looked pretty good when we got here but bush trimming was necessary and bits of cleanup.

Today ... yes ... hopefully ride day again.  It looks like we've got a steady east wind so I may ride south for variety.

I see that it's 79F at 5:30 a.m. ...

I also got the skiff going yesterday.  As usual when I go to use any boat hanging around here for several months of extreme heat, it needs work.  This time it was the fuel line, the connector at the tank leaking.  I picked up a replacement at our marina.  Cassie and I went for a spin and she got some fetching and swimming at the South Causeway sand bar.  Good deal.

On the 13th, Friday, we were at the Tiki for the grand re-opening.  We'd gone for a drink but stayed for dinner.  The storm was a blessing in disguise from the Tiki's standpoint with all new coolers and equipment.  The place was hopping.  Just as we started to eat, it started to pour.  We were seated at the bar and rushed under cover and joined another couple at a table.  We mostly talked about dogs ... an easy subject.

We're still awaiting coffee roaster parts.  Sandy picked up roasted beans from a local place; I tried the coffee; I made a Starbucks run and brought home a pound of their Italian roast.  It's better, but not much, not a dark enough roast for our taste.

... and I'm waiting for the satellite dish.

I bought a Jabra Freeway for the M5 and Sandy's car (to share).  Our two old cars (2001 & 2002) don't have handsfree telephone.  It's a visor mounted bluetooth speaker/microphone for phone use.  It worked well on the highway calling Sandy but on US 1 it was constantly disconnecting & reconnecting.  I've posted a review on Amazon and hopefully someone will give me some ideas or it will go back to Amazon.  It's also supposed to integrate with any phone apps and Siri.  I don't use Siri now but of course it could be used to make calls, once trained.  I did try and use Google Maps but it wasn't speaking over bluetooth ... it wasn't speaking at all, so obviously it was trying hard but failing.  I'm sure that's an easy problem to solve, unlike the connection issue.

Onward ...