Day 176
No Boat
Travel.
We woke this
morning to high winds and overcast skies. I checked my phone for the weather
and found the wind speed predicted NNE at 18 mph with rain expected throughout the day. Besides wet weather the front
brought much cooler temperatures. No more 80 somethings for us as the
thermometer read somewhere in the low-60s. Even so, since I wanted a shower up
at the marina restrooms, I dressed in shorts for ease of changing.
After
returning to the boat I settled in for a laid-back day, grabbed my cereal bowl
and my kindle, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a good read. I am
currently reading a set of Lady Grace mysteries by Grace Cavendish. Theoretically these
mysteries set in Elizabethan England are designed for readers aged in their
tweens; however, I find them well written, quick reads that are an enjoyable
change from romance novels. I borrow them for free from the e-library – just cannot
beat that price for a good book!
Clark had,
as he called it, “ship’s business” to attend to today. These miscellaneous
tasks kept him busy all day. We have no WiFi here as the signal from the marina
office does not reach our boat. This makes doing ship’s business a little
difficult although when the need arises, we do use our mobile hotspot on a
limited basis.
We looked
into doing the laundry, but we have to take it to a laundromat somewhere on the
island that is not particularly close to the marina. I hate doing laundry in
the rain especially if I have to drag it long distances. It is building up, however,
so although we are not at critical stage yet, we will be soon. I compounded the
problem by changing the sheets on the bed today, so I have clothes and sheets
piled up ready to be done.
Yesterday,
when I was out shopping with Jane from Jammin
Jane, I bought myself an acrylic paint starter kit which included 2 small
canvases, 6 paint brushes, a pallet, and an assortment of paint colors. I
really wanted to pull out my paints and work on a fun project, but besides
changing sheets, I had some other tasks to complete standing in the way of fun
time.
I needed to mend some clothes and get lunch out of the way before sitting down to paint. I also
wanted to print out a darling picture of my granddaughter in her winter attire. She is hanging out with her parents and maternal grandparents in Colorado playing in the snow and learning to ski. The photo is now prominently displayed on my boat refrigerator.
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| My adorable granddaughter - Sierra Rose looking too cute for words! |
For the
mending I pulled out my new travel sewing machine which I really enjoy “playing”
with. It made short work out of patching Clark’s shorts and doing some repair
work on one of his t-shirts. As soon as I had the mending done, I packed up my
machine and made lunch. Since we did not get up particularly early today, and I
showered, read, and sewed before making it, we did not finish lunch until after
2:00.
Finally I
could pull out my paint supplies and try my hand at painting a couple of
pictures. The pictures I had in mind to tackle were ones motivated by my friend
Jane on Jammin Jane. She found a
small print of a pelican’s head that she wanted for the head (bathroom) on her
new boat. The print cost somewhere in the vicinity of $100 and was only about 5”x5”
in size. She decided to try to paint it herself for less money. That got me
excited to try my hand at it as well. When she bought her starter paint kit, I
bought one as well.
The second
picture I wanted to paint was akin to the pelican head in theme in that it was
a flamingo’s head. I saw a picture of a flamingo in the home decorating store
as we shopped there yesterday, and I decided I would try to paint something
similar. I had photos on my phone of the two birds, so while I was printing the
picture of Sierra, I printed those as well so I had pictures to work from for
my painting.
When I finally
sat down to start painting, my main problem, as always, was coming up with the
right color combinations to complete the pictures given the limited choice of
paint colors in the kit. I used the acrylic painting technique taught to me by
Gerard at the Holmdel NJ Michael’s store. I like his technique much better than
the approach I was taught at the art classes offered by the Monmouth County
Park system. I took classes from both teachers last winter. The styles are
about as different as can be.
Mid-afternoon,
while I was busy with my art work, Jane sent me a text message to ask if Clark
and I wanted to join her, Ben, and their friends for dinner at the nearby
Japanese steak house for Hibachi. We readily agreed to meet them there for
dinner at 7:30. I looked at my watch. I had just over three hours to complete
my paintings before dinner. I continued my work and finished my pelican picture
with time to spare. I decided that, with two hours left, I still had time to do
the flamingo as well. When all was said and done, I think the pictures turned
out quite well.
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| Flamingo Painting |
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| Pelican Painting |
Dinner was
excellent with good food and better company. We all left there stuffed. Since
Jane and Ben’s friends are leaving tomorrow, we said our farewells after
dinner. Clark and I walked the docks back to our boat (the restaurant is
located at our marina), and the others drove the short distance back to Jammin Jane. Since we plan on staying on
Anna Maria Island for a few more days, we expect / hope to see a bit more of
Jane and Ben before it is time for us to move on to our next destination.
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