April 1, 2002, Monday- the start of a new month and a new quarter of the year, but also the continuation of some of last month's problems. Susan and I discussed the now dry carpet in the bedroom that may still have been damp below, especially between the pad and the wooden sub floor. This is Florida and mold and mildew spring up everywhere. So, the decision was made, and I ripped up the bedroom carpet between the bed and the closet. What did I find…..damp areas. Good thing we still have the fans. By the evening all was dry and maybe tomorrow I'll figure out how to reinstall the carpet.
The other day the Porsche started having a brake warning light go on when at idle. First it was at 1000 RPM. Yesterday the light stayed on until 1800 RPM. Today it was over 2000 before the light went out. So off we headed to the dealer, and by the time we arrived, I noticed the oil pressure light was on within the same RPM. Bad news looms. The oil pump may be failing, and where is it located….inside the engine block. To repair this the engine must be removed and the block split into its two elements. Not cheap. As long as the block is separated, they usually rebuild it. Also, since the engine is out, the clutch can be more easily accessed. Bottom line….not what we want to hear. Short term possibility….remove the multi-weight oil and add a straight 40 or 50 weight. With luck it may get us through the near term. But, it won't be until next week that they can work on it.
Stopped off at four plumbing supply places that were closed on Saturday- none had the brass fitting that we needed for the hot water heater. Finally went to the local RV repair place and they had the needed item on the shelf for $7.
April 2, 2002, Tuesday - installed the replacement brass fitting the water heater. Now we're 100% up and running.
Surface Works, the folks that did our driveway spent an hour plus doing some small punch list items. Now the driveway is 100%.
Irv and Beth joined us for dinner and an evening of cards…hand and foot. Nice change of pace.
April 3, 2002, Wednesday- watched new neighbors across the street continue on their landscaping. This was day number 3. It's a big corner lot that now has tons of tall Royal Palms, big Bismarcks, fountains, acres of concrete, and more to come. It was rumored that they will put over $20,000 into landscaping.
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At noon we joined Gary and Sheila, and headed to Joe and Susan's new place at Pier 81 on Marco Island. Top notch place. The builder was working on the pier along the building where the largest slips will be 107 feet long. Big bucks. Enjoyed Susan playing her new piano…quite accomplished.
Lunch with this group at the Snook Inn, a casual fresh fish place along the water.
We took a bike ride around the park this afternoon. Best estimate is that 112 coaches have folks in residence. Out of 289 spots, we are getting onto the lighter side of occupancy.
April 4, 2002, Thursday- Susan called at 11 to reconfirm her 11:30 appointment for her surgery follow-up, and she might have been calling Mars. They didn't have a appointment showing for today, but one for tomorrow. Since we had known that we were one car short, there's no way we had an appointment for Friday. Long story short, they told us to call back at 1:30. At 2 we were in their waiting room, and after an hour and fifteen minutes, we got to see the doctor. Ninety percent of the time was a post op visit. 10% was a follow-up of previous discussion on hormone replacement. Bingo, now we are charged for an office visit and not just a free surgical follow-up. It was a cheap shot in our opinion to generate more revenue. The good side was that the polyp removed had a benign pathological report.
Last dance lesson tonight for the season. We reviewed the rumba, tango, foxtrot, swing and waltz. What an hour!
April 5, 2002, Friday- early start (well not so early), 9 AM to head across the state to pick up Mom for the weekend. First I did a few household projects…always glad to help her out. Coming back across the alley we got lucky. Solid traffic in the left lane, and we're behind a U-Haul trailer in the right lane. All of a sudden an alligator (actually a 7 or 8 foot long truck tire recap) was flopping around like it was alive. Several cars had some significant damage. We got lucky and avoided it all. A mile down the road the semi and a police car were on the side of the road. A black BMW in front of us, that was damaged by the debris, pulled over to file a report (my guess), to help his insurance claim.
Jerry and Lois returned from the west. Good to see them at temple tonight, along with a 100 or so congregants.
April 6, 2002, Saturday- afternoon activities included an art show in downtown Naples, and getting a fresh as can be salmon filet for dinner with Jerry, Lois, Mom, Susan and myself. Shopped at Wynn's a high end gourmet market and couldn't believe that their butcher counter (as opposed to their prepackaged meats), had filets and tenderloins at $19.99 and $21.99 per pound. Am I missing something?
George Foreman came though again with our salmon being grilled to perfection. Susan and I taught the rest of the group how to play the card game "hand and foot". Caught up on stories and happenings during Jerry and Lois's two month's in Vail.
April 7, 2002, Sunday- welcome daylight savings….
Lunch at Backwater Nick's on Isle of Capris - great grouper sandwiches. Two hour training session today with Mom on our old Fijitsu computer. First time she's used a mouse, used a full blown computer, booted up or logged off. She did great. To prevent overload, our training session was enough for one day.
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Dinner at Lois and Jerry's with Mom and Beth and Irv. A 3 hour game of Hand and Foot capped a great evening.
April 8, 2002, Monday- picked up Jerry to drop him in Del Ray at his Mom's for her doctor's appointment to help her through her renal cancer. Hope that the radiation treatments aren't too disabling.
Took Mom home, hooked up her computer, and continued the tutorial sessions. She did great being up on-line with real action in mail, surfing and word. With her copious notes, she should be geared to go.
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Don't know if I mentioned it before, but the Naples Philharmonic offered a one night show with Jerry Seinfeld. Price $87.50 per ticket. Knock my socks off if it wasn't sold out in 90 minutes. Go figure!
April 9, 2002, Tuesday- sat in on a Board workshop session for 2+ hours and was pleased to see the progress that a group working together can accomplish.
Spent 2 hours on the phone with our financial advisors. After spending the last two weeks analyzing our portfolio reviews and forecasts, I came up with a ton of questions. Bottom line, between the two reports there were many instances of inconsistencies. After questioning the details, we learned of several shortcomings on the presented program….so back to the drawing board in order to plan out our future. This data is too filled with errors to permit any intelligent decisions.
Only one panic call today from Mom regarding the computer. After we got through the "that stupid screen" cry, we returned to basics and everything came up rosy!! She's a champ!
April 10, 2002, Wednesday- boiled the house batteries in the coach today. What this does is send a reverse charge through the batteries sending any sulfate deposits off the cells and back into the solution. Have to do it twice a year…
Tried for a walk along Loudermilk Beach but these big machines were digging down into the sand, about 4 feet, making big piles of cleaned sand off to the side. Into the trash pile were tons of stones and other debris. Naples is doing this reclamation project along their entire beach, but for us to walk for an hour, another beach was in order.
Picked up the Porsche today with heavier weight oil, straight 40 grade. Not much better. Looks like a $5000 to $8000 job, with the clutch that we don't want to do at this time. We'll probably put it away for the summer and worry about it in the fall.
Spoke to Les and Maureen and found out that his mother passed away and he was in the hospital for some 10 days after neck surgery. The top 4 vertebras were fused together. With a procedure going in from the front, and having to move aside his wind pipe, vocal cords, etc, the swelling and return to normal function will take in excess of 6 weeks. After that time frame the neck brace can come off, but then therapy will commence. What an ordeal, but hopefully it will get rid of his excruciating pains.
April 11, 2002, Thursday- worked on the battery compartment this morning. Removed corrosion on the battery posts and washed and cleaned the entire area.
Went to Tiger Tail beach for a few hours of reading and relaxing. The crowds are gone. Plenty of parking space.
Played Euchre with Gary and Sheila at our coach. It took a little time for them to get their distant memory cell into 2002, but when they did, we had 3 close games.
April 12, 2002, Friday- more sadness in the Middle East with more Homicide Bombings in Jerusalem. Will it ever end?
Did the Costco trip today, and during a rain storm the big box warehouse went dark. Good thing it had some emergency lites.
Twelve at Happy Hour in the clubhouse and then some 75 for service on Marco Island. The crowds continue to diminish.
April 13, 2002, Saturday- took a bike ride around that park….now down to 60 coaches with residents, out of 289 spots. Watched one of our neighbors leave towing a new trailer. Imagine a 45' coach and a 32' long trailer that is 13'6" high, the legal limit for Interstate travel. They shoved in their Corvette, Suburban, golf cart, motorcycles, and the kitchen sink.
Saw a story that the additional costs of smoking has be calculated at over $7 per pack (some $257 or so Billion dollars). Incredible that society has to pay so much for such an addiction.
Saw a great movie this afternoon called "Monsoon Wedding", filmed in India. Heart warming.
April 14, 2002, Sunday- a surprise last night at 11:30, a knock on the door….we were up and the door was open. Our friends Gary and Sheila invited us to join a last minute pancake breakfast at the clubhouse. At 11 we arrived with about 20 other couples and had a fantastic 2 hour brunch and catch-up before several of the couples hit the road for the season.
This afternoon we join Jerry and Lois at their house for a lobster dinner. Jerry's Mom, Ruth, donated the main ingredient, and pig-out we did. Followed and preceding were several hands of "hand and foot". It was gracious of the girls to the let guys win both games.
April 15, 2002, Monday- Happy Tax day….not! Spoke to the Porsche dealer….not good news on the engine….$5000 just to replace the oil pump. Another $5000 to do the engine. Will start looking for someone else to own the car. Sad…
Susan picked up her altered wedding outfit…it looks great.
Worked for a few hours with the Pelican entertainment financials….some questions to be answered before I'm satisfied with all of the documentation.
Several alligators have been seen outside the gatehouse and now a 6 footer has made our lake its new home. Time to call the state for removal.
April 16, 2002, Tuesday- worked early this morning to finish up the "Finance Committee" report and was skunked at the meeting. Presentations are only permitted at the work sessions and not the Board Meetings. So, as they say, much to do about nothing.
Took the Porsche to the dealer to stop a small oil leak that has started since last week's oil change. Tried to work the mechanic over to see if we can get some discount on the engine repairs. He will check with the big boss to see if it can be a summer project.
Susan prepared a great dinner which we brought to Jerry and Lois's. Ruth isn't doing well. It's sad since she is such a nice lady. Cards after dinner and the men were gracious enough to the let the women take back the winner's banner.
April 17, 2002, Wednesday- time for a tech update for Mom, so eastward we headed this morning. An hour on the computer and she's continuing to amaze everyone. Mom's got that keyboard a blazing. Added her Merrill Lynch links so she can monitor the portfolio hourly or at least on a semi-regular basis.
House projects some new and some old jobs. Old…replacing her a/c filter. New for me….replaced a fiberglass screen in her front door. Went much smoother then I expected. Mom wanted a new small computer desk to clean up her "wire" mess, so off we went to check out the options at Wal-Mart, Office Max, Office Depot, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, Circuit City, and Comp USA. Whew, she was exhausted. Finally got the right one in Wal-Mart, headed to her house, assembled the knock-down pieces and hit the road at almost 9:30. A late return to Naples.
Listening to NPR, found out that the alligators are waking up after a winter rest. It's now mating season, so the males are wandering everywhere to do what comes naturally. Thus, the one's we've seen in Pelican are just doing their natural thing.
April 18, 2002, Thursday- errands were us today. A few too many stops. This evening we did dinner at Steamers with Lew and Sue and then over to a Reggae band night for casual music and lots of talk. Last time we were with them we found out that Lew grew up a town away from me. One of their last businesses was a sign shop. Also, Susan's family had a ladies shoe store. How many more coincidences?
April 19, 2002, Friday- 8 am board meeting then 2 hours of accounting review at the office. Finally, a 2 hour walk along Tiger Tail Beach, around the point where we've never walked before. Nobody else in sight around to point of little Marco Pass.
Dinner at Amigo's a little Mexican restaurant. First time for spicy food this winter. Finally, joined 75 other congregants at JCMI.
April 20, 2002, Saturday- Susan went with Lois and Ruth for a ladies lunch at Tommy Bahamas followed by shopping. It was good for them to get out. I started working on getting the coach ship shape with cleaning and waxing.
Dinner and cards at Jerry and Lois's. Fresh kingfish caught by Jerry, sweet as can be, from the grill.
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April 21, 2002, Sunday- this morning my feet were fine after having problems last night requiring some prednisone. Not fun.
Caught up on a ton of phone calls with Phil and Rick. Then over to Jerry and Lois and Ruth for some more cards. With Ruth feeling ok this evening, over to Buca Di Beppo for some good pizza, followed by watching a setting sun on the beach.
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April 22, 2002, Monday- a day filled with too many things. Tried to print out the invitations for the rehearsal dinner on the new printer and it wouldn't print in the correct field. Spent over an hour long distance with the HP expert. They couldn't get it to work although all the parameters were set correctly. They wanted me to tape the invitation blanks and envelops to the center of an 8.5 x 11" sheet. No way! Got lucky. Mom didn't need the old printer so back came our old 722C, and everything printed without error.
Spoke to Al and he was familiar with his local CPA affiliate. I should speak to the managing partner and see what we can work out for next winter.
Stopped at the Porsche dealer and we're going to try a small investment of changing the oil sending unit on the chance that it's bad and the oil pump is good.
Poor Ruth, Jerry's mom….she's ok but must have fallen out of bed. Jerry walks in and finds her forehead split open, blood everywhere. She needed a large number of stitches at the ER to close the wound.
As if the news wasn't bad enough, the young Dr. that did Susan's procedure last month tripped in his garage and put his right hand though a window. He lost 4 units of blood before the 911 call response team came and cut his hand/wrist so badly, he may never have use of it again. Not a good day.
April 23, 2002, Tuesday- took the Porsche back to the dealer for the one last attempt at a quick fix, replacing the oil sending unit. Maybe, just maybe, it's a bad sending unit, so for $250 we shall try our luck.
Took Hobbes for his annual shots, blood and stool tests, and pills. He did well, the wallet always suffers.
Returned home and continued on the outside cleaning process….now one side of the coach looks fabulous. Brought dinner to Jerry and Lois, where we were joined by Carol, Beth and Irv. Great dinner followed by some "hand and foot" cards.
A better day then yesterday.
April 24, 2002, Wednesday- helped Susan pack and delivered her to the Ft. Meyers airport where we lunched and then parted in separate ways, she to Denver via Cleveland, and me back to the coach.
She enjoyed dinner with Debi, Steve and Becky, while Hobbes and I had some deep conversations.
April 25, 2002, Thursday- checking on the AT&T website today, noticed that they still have bad minute totals. So, I called their help number and they must be so afraid of losing customers, I got another year of 1000 minutes for nights and weekends free, plus 200 anytime minutes free. Bottom line, they will soon be paying us to use the phone since we have 1200 free minutes per month.
I continued working on my resume while Susan got a good report from the eye doctor.
Down to 45 or so coach with people here out of 289 spots.
April 26, 2002, Friday- more coach waxing, some Pelican tax stuff and drove over to Beth and Irv's to check out a problem garage door. Only found a noisy, but operating door.
Susan continues to enjoy Denver and the kids.
Dinner with Dick and Carol for some hand and foot cards.
April 27, 2002, Saturday- finished waxing the coach, wheels and tires. Caulking completed. Down to only a few coach projects to go.
April 28, 2002, Sunday - met Mom at the Naples Dinner Theater for a matinee performance of "Fiddler on the Roof". She came across on the bus from Plantation with 57 Hadassah members. The show couldn't have been better. First class in everyway. Our table was a front row one and every actor's expression could be seen and appreciated. Long show, 2:45 minutes with only one 15 minute break. Many more songs then are on the "Broadway Cast" cd.
Dinner with Jerry and Lois, Ruth and Jerry's brother Steve and Steve's in laws…Whew. Fantastic filet minon steaks on the grill. Yum.
April 29, 2002, Monday- busy day cleaning, Pelican accounting, haircut, shopping. Jerry, Steve and Ruth came over for a few minutes to show Steve the coach.
Checked the AT&T web page. Friday was the first day of the new billing period, so I should have had a ton of night and weekend time used. Pulled up the page and no nights and weekends, some of the new 200 extra minutes, and a ton of "regular" minutes used. Can't be. Spent 30 minutes on the phone with them and guess what. They don't have a clue. Told me to wait a week and see if it corrects. Dumb as rocks.
Best part of the day, was going to the airport to get Sue. Convenient that her flight was 20 minutes early, and that her bag came off in a few moments. She had a great weekend. Can't wait to hear the stories and see the photos.
April 30, 2002, Tuesday- joined Bob and Elaine at their La Palya Beach Club in the Vanderbilt Beach area. First class operation with valet parking, beautiful pools, combed beach and staff to set up your chaises lounge chairs, umbrellas and cold water. Perfect temps and a light breeze off the water. Dinner at the new PF Changs. Nice to have some quality Chinese food.
Sue's Colorado trip
April 24, 2002, Last night we had a great time with Lois and Jerry, because of that I never even thought about packing until this morning. Somehow I am one of the lucky ones when it comes to timing. I finished the packing and the house organization with about 10 minutes to spare. We had plenty of time to enjoy our last meal together at the California Pizza Kitchen…a good idea since the airlines don't serve very much these days. The flights were packed but otherwise fine and I arrived in Denver on time. Steve met me at the baggage area while Becky drove around out of the security areas. A great dinner was had with Debi, Steve and Becky…the best part of the day for me.,,,too bad that the California kids weren't there too.
April 25, 2002, Off to the eye doctors for a checkup on the old eyeball. He was very pleased, wrote me 2 expensive scripts and said that I should be perfect when I return in June…good news! Upon leaving his office I thought about grabbing lunch but stopped at D.S.W. instead. While I was purchasing a great pair of shoes the phone rings…I had Debi's phone and couldn't imagine who would be calling me…turns out it was Fran and Allan- they were in Denver about 5 minutes away. We spent a great afternoon and evening together…great family and then friends too- like wonderful icing on top of the perfect cake!
April 26,2002…My day with Debi! She picked me up about 9 and we started on one end of town and steadily worked our way across. All the way to Prestige to get the oil checked…they kindly washed her new car- well enough for us to see a long, long scratch down the driver's side. The best news was that this wonderful man buffed it out and we were all smiles again. Back across town where the kids did a switch and now I'm Steve's partner. Becky spent the day in Vail, wedding stuff, so it was just the 2 of us. We actually cooked at home- very unusual and fun. We shared a lot of laughs as we went through several hundred photos….late to bed, again! A great day!!!
April 27, 2002,….Saturday, Shower Day. Steve made some great smoothies for breakfast, a great chef! Up to Cami's to meet the girls so that we can head to Cindy's for the shower. The afternoon was a huge success. The hostesses did a lovely job…perfect table settings, a cake almost too beautiful to eat and wonderful conversation. Becky looked beautiful as we all looked to her for the smile of youth and love. The day was great…the evening was not as good…only because we got a flat tire on I-25 in the fast lane. Steve rose to the occasion by changing it in record time, very impressive. Dinner with Steve and Becky and then we all hit the sack, exhausted.
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April 28, 2002, Sunday. We all pitched in and did some cleaning…but not for too long. Debi came over and we headed for a hike in her lovely new Audi. Roxborough State Park was our destination. A beautiful day for our 6.4 mile hike. Nice path to the top with great scenery. You sure can tell that Colorado needs rain. Red dust covered our shoes, socks and legs. Time for another shower and then up to Evergreen for dinner with Becky's folks. We had a wonderful evening, eating, laughing and thinking about what was left to do for the wedding…the time is getting closer.
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April 29, 2002, Off to ecollege this morning where the van was picking me up to whisk me off to the airport back to Florida and my boys, Larry and Hobbes. All went well during the day. The flights were good- we even landed ½ hour early! The trip was wonderful…all the kids were wonderful….now I can't wait to get back there again.
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