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| Sunset at Marlin Bay |
6 December 2025
I had an agenda this morning to make the rounds from the City Marina Boaters' Flea Market to the church store to the church bazaar. I pulled out my bike to get underway around 9:15 or so, checked the tire for air, and yelled for Clark that I needed his help as the tire was squishy! Not a great start to my day (or his)! He pumped up the tire from 19 psi to around 80, and I was on my way.
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| Didn't even get off the boat to pump up the tire |
The city marina flea market starts around 9:00, in theory. I arrived at 9:40 and almost no one was there yet. Folks were still wheeling in items to barter when I left a few minutes after I arrived. My quick look around told me that no one was there that I knew, and no one had any merchandise that I wanted to buy. Someone begged me to take the free dinghy pump he had saying he did not want to take it back "home" again. I had absolutely no use for it. We already have one, and it is not what we use for our inflatable anyway.
From there I rode down Route 1 to the Thrift Store where I thought my friend Nancy would be working. She said she would be at "the store" starting at 10:00. Well she meant the furniture store the church operates - not the clothing store they run. Oh well. The used furniture store is too far away for me to ride my bike there even if it was in tip top shape!
However, I did get to say hello to the folks who were working there, but it was not Nancy! I checked out the merchandise. Their clothes marked XL appear to be at least two sizes too small for me, and XL was their largest size that I saw for women's clothes. Oh well again.
Clark mentioned that he had run out of bagels, so instead of going to the church bazaar, I detoured, i.e. crossed the street, and went to Publix shopping. I had brought a backpack "just in case" I needed it, and I did. The tough part of shopping at Publix with a bicycle and a backpack is often times having to pass up on the BOGO offers. Today I needed bread, and they offered get two loaves for the price of one.
Great! I had no way to carry two loaves home, and I did not need two loaves - just one! I struggled but finally put the second loaf back on the shelf and walked away. If they had a bin at the front of the store to accept food donations, I would have taken the second loaf to donate. They have no such setup that I am aware of. The room in my backpack that might have been used for the second loaf of bread was already taken up by a pumpkin pie which was not going back on the shelf!
My errands were complete and I was back on the boat by 11:00 with a good bike workout already complete for the day. The weather today was perfect, and I was fidgety, so after lunch, I decided to go up to check out the pool. I invited Clark to come along, but he was in the middle of listening to something on his phone and did not want to turn that off in the middle.
I found a reasonable number of boaters in our corner of the pool. We typically float, stand or tread water while we chat about whatever comes to mind. Eventually Clark did join us. Not too long after he appeared, however, the majority of the folks in the pool got out to go to the bar for Bingo.
I had not planned to participate but decided "what the heck" and took a seat at the bar.
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| Boaters at the bar with Bartender Jason |
Winners receive prizes in the following order - 1) $$ off snacks at bar, 2) $$ off merchandise at the marina store, and 3) the grand prize of $$ off at the bar. The free drink is the real attraction. I won the second prize!
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| Just need to figure out what to buy! |
After everyone left Clark in the pool by himself, he swam laps. Eventually he walked over to the bar to see what was happening, and I showed him my winning coupon. We left together as the sun was setting to walk back to the boat for dinner and a movie onboard.
7 December 2025
Today, being Sunday, was church, and Clark would be playing in the band again like he did last season. With my flaky bike, I decided (unbeknownst to him) that I would go to church with him early as opposed to coming on my own later. We checked the tire for air, and of course, it was flat!
He pulled out the pump to bring it back up to full pressure, and it would not hold air. The air hissed out loudly and instantly. We decided we needed to borrow a bike from the marina. Fortunately, they decided not to charge a rental fee this year. Unfortunately, the bikes are big one-speed bikes. I felt so uncomfortable on the bike that Clark agreed he would ride it, and I could take his.
This Sunday was the second Sunday of Advent. The Contemporary service does not start until 11:00, and we got there before 10:00. Clark has practice with the band starting as soon as folks from the first service (at 9:00) have left. With time on my hands, I went to check out the bazaar and church decorations.
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| Train setup at the church entrance |
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| Closeup of Merry-go-Round as part of train setup |
Looking at the Bazaar tables, a person not-in-the-know would think that they had poor turnout at the event. However, those of us who saw it before the event started were amazed at how much "stuff" had sold. I looked for the reindeer I had assembled, and all six had gone to new homes.
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| The reindeer flew away at the sale! |
All of the Christmas trees had sold including the two that I tackled during the prep for the event. It made me happy that my efforts were fruitful for the church!
Attendance is generally sparse at the 11:00 service and more so today. Many folks have not arrived in the Keys yet for the season. However, most of the band is back in place. The drummer, Jacob, was absent today though he played last week.
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| St. Columba Church Band John, Clark, Steve, Tom, & Nancy |
After services, folks meet for lunch in the seating area by the kitchen. However, today, the tables in that room were consumed by bazaar items for sale. As we stood around chatting, Nancy introduced us to a fellow who ended up at our service on a spontaneous whim. He told the story of how he came to attend.
This man (I did not get his name) is a very interesting person with an unusual background. He is a boater / fisherman who lives on Hoopers Island in the Chesapeake during the summer months. When he is not working off his boat, he is a traveling artist. His artwork has a religious focus and is truly amazing. His pieces are typically 5' x 5' and done in chalk!
He was on his way to Key West to create and display his art when he had a mishap in Miami. Someone vandalized his vehicle. A window was broken and a fender damaged. What he did not know until his vehicle stopped working near Marathon was that besides the physical damage, someone had put sugar in his gas tank.
He said that he is unable to continue on until his vehicle is repaired, and the backlog of people needing their vehicles repaired is so long here he will be here for quite a while yet. Given his situation, he is making the most of it. He found a place to stay, picked up some work locally, and found our church!
Although lunch is offered at the church after services, Clark and I tend to wait until we are "home" to eat. I do snitch some cookies, so basically I always "eat dessert first" on Sundays.
After lunch Clark and I just stayed on the boat for the rest of the day. I played some games on my phone for a while. Clark was listening to a presentation on his phone on Black Holes. I had no choice but to listen since he was in the salon with me. I took in none of what I heard. In fact it put me to sleep, so I had a nice nap. Later, I looked over .. the presentation was still going, and Clark looked like he was out cold! Nap time for both of us apparently!
Clark decided to work on my bike yet again! This time he found that the valve had a problem. If he pushed it over to one side, air stopped flowing out. If he let go, air gushed out. He suggested we use elastic to pull the valve over sideways. My response was an emphatic "no way!"
For now the bike is dead! It is upside down in the corner of the salon like a dead animal with its feet in the air! So sad!
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| Blue one is mine! |
People keep telling us there is a bike repair shop just down the road. Well, my bike is British with an unusual tire size. Not just any tube can be used. It has to be the right one -- special order from a dealer of Brompton bikes. So, all we can do now is wait for spare parts to come in the mail. All other options have been exhausted.
After dinner, we watched a Christmas movie and some Castle reruns and then called it a night.
8 December 2025
When Clark saw I was finally awake this morning, he asked if I had heard the storm last night. I told him I heard pouring rain. "Did you hear the thunder? Did you feel the boat rocking?" My answer, "Nope!" He said the storm passed through around 2:30 or so. I had trouble getting to sleep last night, and the last time I checked the clock was around 2:00! I just missed all the action!
Today, for a change, neither of us had anything on the calendar, and no need to go anywhere. I took the opportunity to do some art. My grandchildren like to receive cards in the mail that I send. I generally draw something on the front that I either color or let them color, and often I enclose something for them to do inside. That could be a picture to color or a puzzle of some sort like Sudoku, for example.
Some examples ...
As I sat enjoying making my cards, Clark came in to give me some bad news. The bike tube we were expecting to arrive today appears to be caught in an infinite loop in the mail. It seems to be bouncing back and forth between St. Pete and a Tampa distribution center. He said he found another place he could order it from but it wouldn't get here until Thursday.
He said, "Should I order it? They come in pairs. We'll have four if they all get delivered. It costs $25." My response, "Four is better than zero, and I need my bike!"
My friend Nancy mentioned at church yesterday that I could borrow her 3-speed bike until mine was in working order. She offered to drop it off for me today. I decided to accept the offer. It is frustrating to have no reliable means of transportation. I don't want to taxi everywhere, and the marina bike rentals make me uneasy.
We had bad weather today (shocking) as a rainstorm passed through the area. I had to wait until the storm passed to walk up to the marina building to mail my cards. Just as I was getting ready to walk up, my personal weatherman (Clark) told me to wait as rain would be starting imminently. I looked outside, and before it started to rain, I ran out with my phone to take pictures of the sky. Thick dark clouds covered the sky in every direction!
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| A wall of gray to the north |
After the storm passed and the radar looked clear, Clark and I walked up to the marina building together to put my cards in the out-going mail slot. Clark left, but I stayed up there to meet Nancy when she stopped by with her bike for me to borrow.
Between the two of us, Nancy and I managed to get her full-size bike out of her vehicle. I am so used to my foldable bike. The bulk and size of a full-size bike is unfamiliar to me. It was a bit of a wrestling match to get the bike out of the back of her vehicle.
I said goodbye to Nancy, wheeled the bike up to the locked entry gate, typed in the wrong code for the gate, and locked myself out of the marina. I accidentally typed in the pin code for my phone as a type of reflex action I guess. Well, the gate rebelled at the attempt to gain access. Even though I typed in the correct code afterwards, it would not unlock. I hoped that someone would be walking by and I could yell to get them to open the gate from the inside, but no! Not a sole!
After multiple failed attempts entering the correct code, I gave up. The bike is too ungainly, i.e. too long, for me to turn it around in the narrow passageway, so I had to walk it backwards to the street down the curved walkway. Normally there are two pedestrian gates for marina access, but one has been closed to foot traffic since we got here and is still closed. I decided the only way in would be via the gate for car traffic.
I walked up to the box to call the desk. The phone rang and rang and then went to voicemail! No one was home. I had seen the Concierge Desk person leave the marina while I talked with Nancy! Now what! Please! Somebody let me in!!
Magically and mysteriously, the car-entry gate started to open! I looked up and saw that one of the staff, whom I think is in housekeeping, had done whatever is necessary to open the gate. I got in!
I rode around the grounds a bit to get a feel for the bike. It has 3 speeds and feels a bit awkward to me given its size, but I should be okay until my own bike starts behaving itself again.
When I was hanging around at the marina building waiting for Nancy's call, I had a chance to look around. I found a never-opened jigsaw puzzle sitting there on a table just waiting to be worked on. It looks like a real beast of a challenge!
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| Worker on roof of apartment building nearby |
Downstairs, I found Marley and Reef who had gotten themselves into trouble.
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| Melted Snowman ... "But he said he was cold!" |
We had all sorts of workmen here today -- some doing routine maintenance like mowing the grass. Until we got a text message from the marina staff, it was unclear what others were doing. Curiously, the rental units were fully enclosed in tarps for their work which turned out to be routine fumigation maintenance for vermin control. Lovely!
I spent the rest of the afternoon on this blog update. Tomorrow is art class at the library. Depending on the weather and how I feel about it, I will have to decide if I am walking, riding the borrowed bike, or passing this week. I heard rain is expected!
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