So Long 2016

Last posting for this blog in 2016. As I've said from the beginning, these musings are more a journal than anything else for my own edification and remembrance. As someone once said, you should maintain at least a nodding acquaintance with the person you used to be.

I am glad that a few of you have enjoyed the (mostly happy) journey with me, while enduring my occasional grousings, rants, and pet peeves.

As I write this on Friday Dec. 30, Southwest Florida is experience what for me is some blessed relief from unseasonably warm temps. It has been in the high 80s for most of December. Fort Myers has set several temperature records, and we (sister Dawn and I) have been running the AC near constantly to maintain an indoor temp of 72 degrees. This, by the way, is considered "sweater wearing temperature" for most native Floridians, but for us two northerners is quite pleasant. So today will reach 68 degrees. It won't last long. By Sunday, it is predicted to be back in the mid- to high 80s and will stay there.

There are certainly worse things that could be happening (see earlier comment about grousing), but I miss the winters past down here when I could open all the windows and let the fresh, 70-to-low-80s breeze blow through.

Dawn and I had a very low-key but nevertheless festive Christmas at the condo. As we've done in the past, we agreed not to exchange gifts. However, I couldn't resist the temptation to buy two tickets for us to see a production of "Anything Goes" at the Broadway Palms Dinner Theater here in Fort Myers. We'll see that in March. I guess you could say it was as much a gift for me as for myself ... these are some of my favorite "gifts" to give!

For Christmas dinner, I went kind of full throttle on the menu. I cooked a prime rib roast ... my first. I cooked it by time rather than a temperature because I've never had any luck with those damned meat thermometers anyway. It turned out a little more rare than I would have preferred, but it was still very delicious. We each had a generous portion. Gross weight on the roast was 2.6 pounds, but I figure we lost a pound with the bone and trimming away the visible fat once the slabs were on our plates. We had baked potatoes and a pear/Gorgonzola salad for sides. And for dessert, a "Tuxedo" 3-layer cake procured from the incredibly sinful bakery at Fresh Market at the nearby Bell Tower shopping center. If there is a devil, one of his lieutenants surely resides at the Fresh Market Bakery.

We experienced a couple of power outages here this week. Weird because they occurred almost at the same time (3:30 p.m.), two days in a row, and both lasted approximately two hours. Florida Power and Light (FPL) has a neat online reporting procedure in place that sends you text alerts to notify you of what the problem is, approximately how many people are affected (so I guess you don't feel you are alone), and when they expect to have the problem resolved. In both instances, the outage was blamed on "a small animal causing power wires to short." I guess a couple of squirrels decided to commit suicide. The holidays are rough on everyone, I guess.

For exercise this week, I've been to Planet Fitness twice for 1 hour/20 minute workouts, and once to Lakes Parks to walk the perimeter, which comes to 1.25 miles door to door. I must confess my fitness goals mentioned earlier in this blog have fallen on tough times. I blame this partially on the fact that my knee has been acting up ... patellofemoral pain syndrome which has plagued me for several years. But it's mostly laziness on my part. The knee problem mostly aggravated by  bicycling. I can still walk, work out, and swim in our condo community's beautiful swimming pool; none of these has any ill effects to the knee. I need to get back on a more regular exercise routine again and -- here's the key -- STICK WITH IT!

I completed a nifty little craft project this week. Since October, I have been toting this carrying case in my car:

I got it at Delaney's Surplus between Baraboo and Sauk City for the bargain price of $7. Orascoptic is a company that makes optics for dentists so they can see their patients' mouths/teeth more clearly. I think Orascoptic reject the boxes because they printing is upside down relative to the front of case where the latches are located. Thus, they ended up at Delaney's. The box is nicely lined with foam rubber, and I thought it would make a nice carrying case for watches, so I bought one for me, and one for my friend Mario who is also a watch collector. I have been trying to figure out how to economically turn it into a watch display case, because foam rubber is quite expensive if you must buy it new in the craft stores. Well, after watching a Youtube video of a gal making a display case for her fashion watches, I came upon the idea of using a "pool noodle" to make spindles upon which the watches could be mounted. The result looks like this:

I realize it looks a little "cheesy" with the blue pool noodles, but hey for $1, how can you go wrong? If I want to class it up, I can always cover the noodle segments with black faux leather later on. Anyway, this will be a nice way to take some of my watches to shows, including the upcoming show in February at Lakeland, Fla.

Also watch-related, I wrote a story this week for one of my other blogs on budget watch collecting. The topic is "Care and Handling of Vintage Watches" written mostly for beginner collectors. I have been asked to comment on this a number of times from customers and window shoppers, so I finally decided to write a blog on the topic, and you can read it HERE if you are interested. Anyway, I wrote the entire blog entry while downing three high-test caffeinated coffees at Starbucks because now that I am in their "club" I get free same-day refills on brewed coffee. My fingers were flying across the keyboard, and it took me nearly three hours to unwind once I left the store. It reminded me of Cosmo Kramer in that episode of Seinfeld where he settles a lawsuit with a coffee shop for free lifetime cafe lattes.

Whew! I  wasn't quite as tweaked as Kramer, but even Dawn commented that evening that I seemed a little more chipper than usual. Happily, the guy for whom I specifically wrote the blog entry replied to thank me profusely, and and now I have all that good information down on the blog for all to see.

I am also working on my presentation for the Florida Mid-Winter Regional watch show in Lakeland. I'm doing this completely on Powerpoint, which I have never done before, so I am learning Powerpoint as I go along, and it's proving to be most enjoyable. I should have done this years ago.

Well, it's been a good 2016. I know a lot of people are grumbling about what a crappy year it's been. Yes, we lost a lot of amazing people this year, from Leonard Cohen to Leonard Nimoy. And a former reality TV show host is about to be our next president. But we have a lot of amazing people left, and more are coming up the ranks every day. Most of them are not famous and never will be, but are nevertheless amazing. And we will survive Donald Trump. We live in amazing times; we truly do. I was introduced to a comedy skit this week performed by the comedian C.K. Lewis on the talk show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." The skit is titled "Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy."  The skit is brilliant and I think puts in perfect perspective our modern day "problems." Check it out; it's only four minutes long:

So may your worst problems of 2017 be the occasional slow Internet connection and 40 minutes spent on the tarmac on your next flight.

Bruce

Merry Christmas 2016

"It's Christmas Eve! It's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we... we... we smile a little easier, we... w-w-we... we... we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be."

-- Bill Murray, "Scrooged"

Hi everyone. We (Dawn and I) are preparing for a small and quiet (but nevertheless jolly) Christmas here in Fort Myers. I found a lovely little prime rib roast at the Winn Dixie. Just two joints, so it is just the right size ... 2.6 pounds to be exact. I'm going to rub it down with some rosemary, salt, and pepper, and roast it for about 45 minutes to medium-rare. Serve with baked potato, and I'm thinking a pear-Gorgonzola salad with balsamic vinaigrette as the greens. Something festive for dessert, perhaps a red velvet cake, I haven't worked that part out yet.

I'm just going to cite a few highlights from this past week rather than going chronologically. We have more or less settled into a routine here, so not every day is newsworthy.

I quote Bill Murray above because I was somewhat miffed at the little MTV missive this past week. Don't know if you saw or heard about this, but it was basically a "public service announcement" about what white males could/should do to foster better race relations between "us" and "them," i.e., people of non-white ancestry. I don't normally get into this kind of stuff on the blog because racism -- like politics, religion, abortion, etc. -- is another one of those un-winnable arguments. Plus, this is a blog about my travels, not about my political or religious beliefs. But I feel compelled to state for the record that this MTV message is, in and of itself, racist. I didn't need or want to hear this -- especially at this time of year -- that I should feel guilty about being a "white guy." Especially from MTV, which has done more than its share to propagate discord among races, sexes, and the "haves" and "have-nots." So blow it out your ass, MTV. I much prefer the Bill Murray philosophy.

And that's all I have to say about that.

On Saturday (Dec. 17) I attended a holiday party of the Widow and Widowers Meetup Group at the home of "Karen V." in Bonita Springs, between Fort Myers and Naples. It was the first "meetup" of that group that I have attended since arriving here in November because of low activity in the group right now. A couple of the group's main organizers have been MIA since November, so there hasn't been much of anything going on. Hopefully this will change after the first of the year. Well, it was very enjoyable, and gave me a chance to see all my "buds" from the group, and catch up. Many of last year's "singles" have now hooked up with "significant others" and have migrated from the meetup group. The party was a rare opportunity for members to brings their "SO's." This is another reason for low activity. We need some more "raw recruits." One of the drawbacks of a group like this is that, by its very nature, it is a temporary sanctuary. Most people -- including myself -- do not see widowhood as a permanent lifestyle. Were it so, the Internet dating sites would not be pulling in billions of dollars annually! But any way, the party was great fun, the food and drink were delicious and plentiful, and there were games and prizes. At the gift exchange, I received a "Green Steel" thermal mug, which is something I actually can get some use out of for my smoothies and my overnight bedside ice water. And, it was the first time since being here that I wore long pants and a shirt with a collar! (I've been in shorts and T-Shirts the other 99.9 percent of the time.)

On Tuesday of this week, Dawn and I went to "Manchester by the Sea," at the Prado Cinemas in Bonita Springs. There are closer theaters, but this one has a cafe, so it provided us a chance to grab a quick bite before the movie. The movie wasn't my first choice; I think we would have enjoyed "Rogue One" or "Passengers" more as an opportunity for some escapism. But MBYTS will be a likely Oscar winner, and Dawn and I love watching the Oscars, so we feel it behooves us to see at least a few Oscar contenders so that when the program airs, we have some sense of knowing what the hell they are talking about.

It was very good, but very depressing. Not the type of movie I would want to see again, or that I would want to own. It is definitely an Oscar contender -- just the type of brooding, raw, painful movie that Academy members love and vote for. There will certainly be a showdown between this and "Fences," the latest Denzel Washington movie of equal -- if not more -- pain and intensity. In any event, going to the movies was a pleasant diversion from our routine evenings at home.

We (Dawn and I) received some rather unpleasant news from cousins Pam and Steve from Lansing, Mich. In their annual Christmas letter we learned that Steve has been dealing with cancer on and off for the better part of 2016. The source seems to be his lungs. But the cancer has manifested itself elsewhere, including the brain where a mass was removed in August. In September, Pam and Steve traveled to Pittsburgh for a specialized radiation treatment, and as "extra insurance" Steve is currently undergoing four rounds of chemotherapy. I'm sure I speak for all of us Shawkey/Quam relation when I wish the best for Pam and Steve for the coming year.

Well folks, I'm going to cut it short(er) today because I feel my last couple of entries have been rather rambling and long-winded. As we come to the end of another year, may we all be reminded that every day is a gift. I heard a great quote on a documentary this week that struck a chord at this time of year when so many folks are focused on materialistic pursuits -- Black Friday, Cyber Monday, I-Phones, and PlayStations. It's all just "stuff" folks. In a year, two at the most, it'll all be sitting on a shelf or in a landfill. Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (the "Minimalists") have got it right:

"Love People, use things. The opposite never works."


Bruce

Baby It's Cold Outside ... At Least in Wisconsin

Sitting out here in the Lanai. I have a load of laundry going in the washer. Mundane chores still have to be done. (Cat) Abby is to my left. It's sunny and 82 degrees, while in Madison where most of my "peeps" are, it's 4 degrees ... a 78 degree temperature difference. Been a bad week for you all with a big snow dump, and then bitter cold. My sympathies. With last two mild winters, and mild temps into December this year, it's easy to forgot how booger-freezingly cold it can get up there. Well, the wheel of fortune finally came up bankrupt, and you're in the deep freeze. What do we have for them, Vanna? Slippery roads and sidewalks, cars that won't start, freezing pipes, and enforced idleness. Well, hope you can make the best of it. Break out the books, the board games, and the hot cocoa. (Niece) Kris and (Nephew) Jim, all kidding/ribbing aside I really hope can make a break for it, that they can clear a runway for you, and you can get down here for your cruise.


Recapping the past week ...

Friday Dec. 9

Had breakfast at "Crave" back in the "old" neighborhood because I was hungry for a monster breakfast. This is a great place for that, but I will say quite expensive. A tummy filling Western omelet, potatoes, and one large pancake (I brought my own pure maple syrup), and coffee. Cost $21 with tip, which would have bought me four breakfasts at McD's, but sometimes you gotta have a breakfast made with love, and whoever said that love was free was sorely mistaken. Next to Fleamasters to pick up a watch repair and recycle "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, back to Chris the Book Guy for future credit on another book. "Walk" was a good read, about Bryson walking the Appalachian Trail, but it wasn't his best work. For one, he only walked 800 of the 2,100 or so miles that make up the trial from Georgia to Maine. (Though to be honest, I don't think I could even do the 800 mile partial walk.)

The guys who run the watch-repair booth at Fleamasters still didn't have my watch ready after more than a week. Very frustrating to me, because this is a minor 5-minute repair, one that I have performed literally hundreds of times in my 30 years of collecting and dealing in watches. But lately, I have developed hand tremors, and I didn't trust myself with this $1,000 watch, especially since it is a consignment and not my own. So I reclaimed the watch and took it to Prestige Time on McGregor instead. Ben Daidone, the proprieter, re-installed the second hand in less than 5 minutes. Ben is somewhat of a flake, and I don't like taking repairs to him where I have to stand and listen to his rants. But he is good at what he does, when he focuses, and I do use him from time to time. Just in small doses.

For dinner, I had previously bought (on Wednesday) a pound of stone crab claws at "Skip One Seafood" on Hwy. 41. I knew Dawn wasn't interested in that, so I went to Fresh Market, an upscale market and deli in the Bell Tower Shopping Mall. and got her some cheese Manicotti and a couple of meatballs from their deli counter. Everything was delicious. I had shelled the claws before dinner to save Dawn the annoying pounding and the flying of shell fragments at the dinner table. So what I had before me was a luscious pile of de-shelled crabmeat, drizzled with melted butter and a squirt of fresh lemon. Served with potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans to which I had added nice big pieces of maple-brown sugar bacon. Delicious. Dawn said the Manicotti and meatballs were excellent also.

Saturday Dec. 10

Watch and clock collectors meeting today at the Myerlee Golf Course clubhouse. I wasn't expecting much to happen because most of the members are clock collectors and are pushing 100 years old. But I traded a watch with a fellow collector named Duane Dodson with whom I've done some previous trading. Also bought a fairly rare Elgin World War I trench watch from a fellow for $150, and he took two watches in partial trade, so my net cash outlay was closer to $100. I have a nicer case for this watch back at the apartment in Janesville, and once I make the switch, I figure the watch will worth close to $1,000. Not a bad day's work. This guy who traded with me was something else. He came into the meeting room huffing and puffing, carrying a 20-pound display case for his watches. They guy was easily 100 pounds overweight, and had big nasty looking purple blotches on both legs, telltale marks of diabetes/poor circulation. After he set down his watch case, he went outside to the Tiki bar, and came back holding two 20-ounce Bloody Mary's in styrofoam cups. I gotta have a certain respect for a guy who, against all conventional and well meaning advice and warning from friends, family, and doctors, says "screw it" and lives life in his own terms.  For however short a time that might be, it doesn't matter. Quality, not quantity.

I also met a fellow there who is retiring from the clock repair biz and disposing of his holdings, which includes some wristwatches and parts. So I will visit him in Cape Coral on Monday. So all in all, this was a very good meeting for me compared to how visits to this watch chapter usually go where I come away with nothing.

Sunday Dec. 11

Made a nice breakfast (eggs, potatoes, meat) for Dawn and I, and then we watched CBS Sunday morning, as is tradition with us. I think Jane Pauley is doing a fine job, having to fill some big shoes left behind by Charles Osgood. I read somewhere on google news that the show draws 6.5 million viewers and is the number one magazine news show on television. Then to Planet Fitness for a workout. Next we went to the Walmart Supermarket for our  weekly (or thereabouts) big grocery run, and we spent $89. For dinner, I made a meatloaf with baked potato, and carrot coins.

Monday Dec. 12

Made an appointment for scheduled maintenance on the Prius for Friday. Time for an oil change. I've put 51,000 miles on the car since buying it July of 2014. Like the Pruis before it, it's been a great car. Not particularly good in the "fun to drive" department, but she's got it in spades in the economical and reliable departments. In the afternoon, went to Cape Coral to see the guy with the watch parts. Fewer things give me such joy as digging through boxes of dirty dusty watches and parts in search of treasure. You never know what you'll find. I came away with a gallon Ziploc bag of (mostly) parts and partials, but also a few lo- to mid-grade complete watches as well. Paid $200 for the lot, and should be able to make that back plus $200. For dinner, buttermilk pancakes and bacon, for the old "breakfast for dinner" trick, which some people consider anarchy, but I like to do this once in a while.

Tuesday Dec. 13

Today, I called customer service at T-Mobile to try and find out why our bill was nearly $200, which was $70 over the amount estimated by our saleswoman when I signed up to be with (sister) Dawn on her "plan." The CSR told me that we changed plans in the middle of a billing cycle, so we were charged for a half month, plus the next month ahead because we're always paying for the month ahead. I thought this was bullcrap because we've only had the plan for a month (signed up Nov. 9), not a month and a half. But I didn't have it in me to argue with the lady, and she said the next bill would be $136, which assuaged my anger sufficiently to just "let it go." Does anyone else think that the mobile phone companies make their bills unnecessarily confusing and always -- always -- to their favor? Unless you work at NASA, I challenge anyone out there to spend a half hour with their mobile phone bill and understand exactly what the hell they are paying for. I guess if you're going to avail yourself of most any modern convenience such as cable to satellite TV, or Internet, or mobile, you must will willing to bend over and grab your ankles from time to time.

That is, unless you are on a no-contract flat rate service (as was I) such as Boost or Walmart's "Straight Talk" plan, etc.  The tradeoff then is that you have cell coverage about half the time. And when you DO have service, voice quality is akin to two soup cans and a string! Believe me, I know from whereof I speak, having struggled with a "Yank" phone (my nickname for Boost) for a couple of years, and finally throwing in the towel when I couldn't make or receive calls in LaCrosse, WI, a city of 51,000 population.

So I'll take T-Mobile and endure the occasional anal probe.

Wednesday Dec. 14

I rode my bike over to the Farmers' Market at Lakes Park. They hauled away some poor woman in an ambulance who dropped from a heart attack. I think it was the lady who runs the Cajun kitchen food stand. I do know it was a heart attack because some other woman was running up and down the aisle yelling if there was anyone who knew CPR. It cast a bit of a pall over the event for for a few minutes, but after the ambulance left it was back to business as usual. But for me, two reminders in week of our fragile mortality. This poor woman woke up today, went to work, and thought it would just be another day. And, boom, next thing she's in an ambulance. Live each day like it's your last, folks.

Thursday Dec. 15

Went to Planet Fitness today for a much-needed workout. Lunch at a new (for me) Asian place called China Wok at a strip mall by a Publix supermarket. Every Publix has one of these, and there's usually a dry cleaners, a tax place, some kind of restaurant, etc. The China Wok has gotten good reviews on Yelp for cheap, good food, so I wanted to give it a try. They have 26 lunch specials for $5.99 each, and this includes rice and a can of soda or ice tea. Now when you figure most places charge you $2 (or more) for a soft drink, this is a pretty darned good deal. I had the General Tso's Chicken, which is about as Chinese as Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it was nevertheless tasty, and there was plenty of it. China Wok makes my list of the best cheap eats in Fort Myers.

That's all for now.

Bruce

Back in the Watch Biz (At Least For a While)

Friday Dec. 2

Fleamasters flea market today. Visited Chris the Book Guy with a grocery list of about 12 books that sis-in-law Julie is wanting for the cruise. Only found one of them, "Personal" by Lee Child. This is another in the "Jack Reacher" series, which is way outside Julie's usual wheelhouse of "chick lit," but whatever. I also found an art book, photo mosaics by artist Robert Silvers. These are really cool, and made up of hundreds and even thousands of individual photographs. One of his more famous works is "Flamingo."

I will use these mosaics as background to take pictures of watches. (See Saturday's entry for more info on this.) The two books cost me a grand total of $4.

Today, (sister) Dawn attended the memorial service of Wilhelmina Corbin, ("Mother Corbin") mother-in-law of Dawn's boss, Randall (Randy) Henderson Jr., who is mayor of Fort Myers. She died Nov. 16 at the age of 98. Services were at 4 p.m. at Cypress Lake Methodist Church, just a short distance from the condo. She was quite active in the community, especially in her role as "First Lady of Fort Myers" when her husband, Oscar, was mayor of this city from 1967 to 1976. So it's kind of neat that two members of the same family served (and continue to serve) as the mayor of Fort Myers. Randy has been mayor since 2009. He and "Mother Corbin" were very close.

Anyway, we kept dinner plans casual because I didn't know if Dawn would partake in the after-service meal. She chose not to, so arrived at the condo about 6 p.m. hungry. I had bought a take-n-bake pizza from the Walmart Neighborhood Market deli, so I popped that in the oven and --- surprise --- it was actually quite good. I added some more mozzarella because they always skimp on the cheese, but the fresh toppings (green pepper, onions, mushrooms) in addition to sausage and pepperoni were good and plentiful, and the crust excellent. We will keep this in mind for future meals when we are in a pinch. And the best part? It's only $5.99 for a medium-size, which was plenty big for the two of us.

Saturday Dec. 3

Breakfast was "out" today at the "Sunflower," a spot where regulars gather at San Carlos and Summerlin. It's your typical Greek family restaurant, and food leaves the kitchen at near the speed of light. Today, they were a little off their game and breakfast took seven minutes to arrive. Great service, and we saw several members of the "Peckerheads" bicycle club who were there having breakfast also.

Well, it looks like I'm going back into the watch business while down here, at least for a while. My "plan" was to put the business on hold (except for a brief session during the mid-winter regional in Lakeland in February) and concentrate on improving health. However, the family of an old friend and customer of mine, "Bud', from Washington state, contacted me and asked if I'd be willing to continue to help liquidate Bud's watch estate. I had been doing this for them for about the past year, but hadn't heard from Bud's family for quite some time, so assumed they found someone more local to help them out. But the reason for no contact was that Bud's daughter (who was my point person on this project) was dealing with some serious health issues, and has finally turned this over to her husband, who will be my new point man, with the daughter still having final say on setting minimum prices and so forth.

Anyway, I acquiesced and said I would do it if they were willing to "be cool" about the whole thing and not try to micro-manage me ... that rest and recreation were still my major goals down here. They agreed, and the shipment arrived in the mail today. There were 16 watches in all, and a good number of them are high-grade pieces above the $1,000 mark. I will be putting them on my website after the New Year because I don't want to be mired down during the Christmas madness, and also I don't want/need any more reportable income for 2016 for income tax purposes. If they don't sell off the website in 30 days, then they will go to eBay. So looks like I need to "ramp up" with shipping supplies, including Priority mail shipping boxes, padded mailers, and so forth. I think I can still maintain my exercise regimen, especially since the local postal station is "bike-able" and also on the way to Planet Fitness.

OK, for dinner, I decided to try my hand at crabcakes. And to my way of thinking, the only way to go on this is with jumbo lump crab. The regular crab just kind of turns to shreds in the crab cakes and doesn't provide the sensation of biting into a real "chunk" of crab meat. So we broke the piggy bank and bought half a pound at the fresh seafood counter at Publix. That ran us $18.99, which converts to $37/pound. I used the classic "Old Bay" recipe from the can of seasoning by the same name, but added finely chopped celery, green onion, and sweet red bell pepper to the mix. I formed them into four good-size patties (2 apiece) and fried them in canola oil for four minutes per side, being ever so careful when I flipped them to avoid breaking them. I was good on three out of four, and the fourth one held, but had a deep fissure in the middle!

We served these with potato salad, cole slaw, and baked beans. I sprinkled mine with a little extra Old Bay, and Dawn went as-served. Unless you've had one of these, prepared the old fashioned way with lots of crab and just enough bread crumb to hold the cake together, there is scarcely a way to describe it. We both agreed it was one of best meals we've had down here, whether dining in or out. Even lobster rates below this, at least in my book.

Sunday Dec. 4

Made a rare weekend trip to Fleamasters flea market today because one of Bud's consignment watches needs a small repair (re-attach the second hand floating under the crystal) that I didn't want to attempt myself due to increasing shakiness with my hands. If this were a $100 watch, I would have done the job myself. But this is $2,500 Buren pilot's watch from the 1930s, and I didn't want to chance it. Unfortunately, the watchmaker I use there didn't have correct tool with him, so I had to leave it for pickup next Friday. I had lunch at "That Mexican Place" at Fleamasters. I think the actual name of this place is "J-One Concessions" but everyone just calls it "That Mexican Place" and everyone pretty much knows it because it stands alone in the "Green Aisle" of the flea market rather than in the food court in the "Blue Aisle" where most of the other restaurants are clustered. Chicken enchiladas with bean and rice, and a side of chips with salsa. Everything was excellent, due in part to the fact they don't over-salt their food.

Manwiches for dinner. Introduced in 1969, it has long been an occasional staple in my repertoire of "comfort foods." And brings back memories of "Sloppy Joe Days" at my high school cafeteria, another one of the many injustices endured during those painful years of adolescence. So I am somewhat ambivalent about the "Manwich," but sometimes the craving prevails.

Monday Dec. 5

Started working on Bud's watches today. Decided to use the camera on my phone to take the pictures because I can transfer the photos to the internet by wi-fi instead of messing around with a memory card. I was looking into buying a new stand-alone digital camera, but ones with wi-fi transfer capability start about $250 and I just didn't feel like spending the money right now. I think the pics are going to work just fine, and here is a sample, and the background is from the art book mentioned earlier.

I try to avoid talking weather in this blog so as not to "rub it in" with my friends and family in Wisconsin. However, it is worth nothing that Fort Myers set a new record high temperature of 87 degrees this date, breaking a record set in 1941 of 86 degrees.

Picked up a tool (digital caliper) today at Harbor Freight tools. Eight dollars with a 20% off coupon and also got a free pair of scissors. I love this place! Their motto should be "Great Tools if You Only Need to Use Them Once or Twice." Lunch at Five Guys Burgers ... single burger, half-n-half Coke, and course free peanuts. 

For dinner tonight, I made chicken quesadillas and chips/salsa. For dessert, I made an orange cake with lime/cream cheese icing.

Skipped the exercise today due to the excess heat, and also to give the knee a rest.

Tuesday Dec. 6

Continued work on Bud's watches today, and sent the family an email with suggested prices on the 16 watches, and got approval on all. Got a book order today, so went to the local postal station and thank goodness I was able to print a prepaid label and drop the parcel in the mailbox because lord-a-mighty there was a long line of people mailing Xmas packages. I was completely flumoxed today as to where to have lunch, so I defaulted to McDonald's and used a coupon to get a BOGO on a sausage/egg/cheese "McGriddle," that sweet/salty combination breakfast sandwich. I know, I know ... a complete sellout move in a city filled with so many great restaurants. But I just needed a food pill today, and I got out for under $5, which is becoming a near impossible feat these days. From there, I went back to the "Market Place" shopping center to buy something for the gift exchange at a holiday party being held Dec. 17 and hosted by the Widow and Widowers Meetup group to which I belong. This is first time this season I will hook up with the group. This group was a great social outlet for me last year. But this year, it has nearly fallen apart because nearly everyone "paired up" with another person from the group, and now the new "couples" have no further need of the group. Thus, many at the holiday party will be bringing their "SO" and it's certain to have a completely different vibe to it than last year's party. Anyway, I put together a nice basket of goodies (edibles) from the Cost Plus World Market.

Box from (niece) Kathy and (grand nephew) Cameron arrived today, containing goodies from Cameron's school fund raiser. Chocolate chip cookie dough (non refrigerator stable for up to 21 days) and pickle/olive fork. (Brother) Curt mailed it, thus box was plastered with interesting stamps that I will save for him. Dough is now in 'fridge and I'll report later when I bake a batch of cookies.

Wednesday Dec. 7

Litter change day today. This makes (cat) Abby a very happy girl! Next, peddled the bike over to the Lakes Park farmers' market, and damned if I didn't aggravate the knee again. I am simply going to have to walk my bike across intersections to avoid putting too much torque on the left knee. Lunch at a place called the "Shrimp Shack" which as you might guess is a seafood place with emphasis on shrimp, cooked most any way you want. They are a bit off the beaten path, situated along a stretch of Metro Parkway which is known mostly for professional office buildings. Thus, they do a lot of "couponing" which has earned them a bit of a reputation around town as a bit "dive-y." But my lunch there was excellent. I had a "light portion" of their deep fried shrimp with a salad for $7.99. My only gripe is that the platter came with just one hush puppy. That's like getting one piece of toast for god's sake! So I asked the waitress if I could have two more, and got charged 60 cents apiece for them on my bill. But not a huge deal, and I will be back. I'm guessing the "regular size" platters come with more than one HP!

(Sister) Dawn went Xmas shopping after work, so I was on my own for dinner and had a couple of hot dogs from the fridge along with some potato chips. Zero imagination, but it filled the hole.

Thursday Dec. 8

Spent some bucks today. First to the Florida Cafe on my second attempt to score a homemade cinnamon roll there, but with no luck. This is another one of those quirky one-person restaurants that operates pretty much on the whim of the owner/operator, Chrissie. Seems I need to get there earlier in the week. On Thursday, she stops baking them because she is closed on weekends. There is an old fashioned barber shop in the same strip mall, so needing a trim I stopped there next and had "Ben" give me a fine crewcut for just ten bucks (plus a $2 tip). This included a finishing razor trim around the neck and ears, something you don't see much any more. Very satisfied. Next to "Skip One" seafood restaurant and fish market on Highway 41, just a couple miles south from the strip mall. Dropped $31 on large stone crab claws (1.25 pounds), which I'll enjoy during the weekend. Back to the condo to work on watches. (Sister) Dawn and I are dining at Outback Steak House tonight to give the "chef" a little break. Hard to beat their 6-ounce sirloin dinner at just $12.99 plus our AARP card gets us 15% off the bill.

Hope everyone is well and in good spirits.

'Til next time,

Bruce and Dawn

Billy, I Love Ya, But ...

To quote comedian Dennis Miller, "I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ... "

... has anyone noticed the prices recently of going to see live theater events? I was thinking the other day a nice Christmas gift for (sister) Dawn -- and myself -- would be tickets to see something live at the Barbara B. Mann, our local performing arts center. The Book of Mormon is playing there Jan. 24-29, and Billy Crystal performs for one night on January 30. I went to BB Mann website, thinking I would find some nice tickets for around $100 a person.

Anyone want to guess what floor (orchestra) seats cost for either event? Anyone? Bueller?

How about $265 per ticket? That's right. Over $500 for the two of us to see either Mormon or Crystal. For $100 apiece, I couldn't even get a pair of nosebleeds up on the balcony.

Sheesh. I mean I not one of those old codgers who sits around mourning the loss of nickel candy bars or one dollar haircuts. I realize the cost of living has gone up. But there's fair, and then there's outrageous. Five or even $10 for a hamburger is fair, if it's a good burger. I've paid that much and felt I got a fair value. Twenty dollars for a burger, however, is outrageous. Fifteen or $20 for a haircut nowadays is fair, But somewhere around $40, I would draw the ine and say it's outrageous, especially given my ever shrinking number of hairs to cut.

So nearly $600 for two seats to see a play or a comedian? 'Cause that's what it would be by the time they added sales tax and various "convenience fees." (Don't you just love that little euphamism?) Granted, both would certainly be good. But c'mon. And in Fort Myers, Fla., no less?

Outrageous.

Well, I guess it's what the market will bear. But it saddens me that performers and event organizers have turned live entertainment into a diversion for the rich. And goodness knows we have our share of rich folks down here for whom $500 or $600 is a pittance. But for us folks of modest means who love the performing arts, we'll have to settle for dinner theater and watching our great performers on TV. Guess we'll be going to the Laugh In Comedy Cafe, our local comedy club, for $15 apiece. And "Phantom" will be playing at the Broadway Palms Dinner Theater for $60 apiece which includes dinner. Certainly less thrilling, but at least I can sleep at night knowing I didn't spend a month's rent on an evening out.

Well, enough of that. Here it is, week four in Florida already. A month. Sounds like a long time, but it passes in a blink, doesn't it?

Nov. 25-27

The three days following Thanksgiving were restful, especially for Dawn who was off work and had an opportunity to rest and recoup. On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Dawn and I ventured across the bridge into Cape Coral to try out a brew pub and grill called "Big Blue Brewing" which also features a full service menu. The place is run by the same folks who own the Cape Coral rum distillery where "Wicked Dolphin Rum" is made, and one of the principals is the husband of my former landlord (and current friend) Heather Mangan. We went during Happy Hour (3 to 6 p.m.) to take advantage of the $5 happy hour appetizers and reduced prices on drinks. I ordered a "flight" of four beer samples, settling on an orange wheat beer, and Dawn had a strawberry daiquiri. For apps, we ordered a grilled bacon/cheese sandwich with tomato bisque, cheese sticks with marinara, and mild chicken wings. Everything was delicious, and our server, Thomas, was very nice. We brought the cribbage board and played two games, winning one apiece. It was a very pleasant afternoon. We finished the "rubber" game back at the condo, and Dawn won the series, one of the few times she's beaten her older brother which gave her a good feeling of learning the finer points of the game.

On Saturday, I aggravated my left knee pretty badly by biking to Fort Myers Beach and back. I have a condition known as "patellofemoral pain syndrome" which is a fairly common knee disorder among athletes (not me) and overweight people (me). It comes and goes, and my primary doctor says there isn't a whole lot I can do about it other than to let it rest and -- guess what? -- lose weight. So I gave my knee a good icing on Saturday night. No bike riding for me for while, and when I resume, I will have to learn to "push off" with the right leg instead of the left, because that's where most of the stress comes. The terrain here is virtually flat, so once I get going, there isn't a whole lot of stress on the knees.

Monday Nov. 28.

Back to work for Dawn. I walked a lap around Lakes Park for exercise today, with no apparent further knee aggravation. Then a smoothie and coffee on the lanai. I went to the Market Square shopping center again to browse the shops and also try lunch at a place called "Crispers," a Florida chain with 24 locations throughout the state. They pretty much stole the playbook from "Panera Bread" right down to the "Pick Two" lunch where you choose two items from their soup/salad/sandwich menu. I had a deluxe "summer salad" of greens, smoked turkey breast, fruits, nuts, bleu cheese (good) and half a Reuben s sandwich (just OK) and an iced tea, all for $12. Don't think I need to go back, and I don't know if this place will make it over the long haul. There is just too much competition around here for sandwich/salad places. I also stopped at "Total Wine and Liquor" which is a wine/beer/liquor superstore and bought three mini bottles of Tolon-Tolon creme liquors imported from Spain. Tolon-Tolon is the Spanish equivalent of "ring ring" in English to describe the ringing sound that a bell makes. This is an example of an onomatopoeia, a word that phonetically imitates the sound that it describes. Examples would be buzz, boom, baaa, moo, etc. My 10th grade English teacher, Miss Dahl would be very proud of me for remembering this. Anyway, each bottle of Tolon-Tolon comes with a little bell fastened around its neck. I had no experience with the brand; I simply bought them because they were amusing. Similar in strength to Baileys Irish Cream. I've had the Macadamia Nut Cream so far (in coffee) and it was delicious!

For dinner, we declared a chef's night off (tired of turkey) and went to Pincher's Crab Shack on San Carlos with a 10% coupon we clipped from the Florida Weekly. I had stone crab, while Dawn had a shrimp platter. Everything was excellent.

Tuesday Nov. 29

Oatmeal for breakfast with pecans, dried cranberries, and maple syrup for sweetener, watermelon, and coffee. Workout today at Planet Fitness which thankfully did not aggravate my knee too much. Then to DJ Chinese on Cleveland for a plate lunch of chicken cashew, pork fried rice, eggroll, and hot tea. All delicious. Then to Chase Bank to deposit (sis in law) Julie's check that she sent me for the upcoming Jan. 13 cruise. I couldn't deposit the check on my mobile phone app because -- get this -- Julie's handwriting had extended into the MICR at the bottom of the check where the numbers identify Julie's bank code and account number. The mobile app was unable to decipher the numbers. So I had to deposit the check the old fashioned way by actually going to the bank. Been a while since I've done that. Just another one of those menial tasks rendered near obsolete by technology.

Wednesday Nov. 30

Farmers Market today across the street at Lakes Park. Rode the bike over there and had breakfast of a guava/cream cheese Danish, fresh cut fruit, and coffee. I was thinking of riding the bike further today, but it is too windy. The wind is a big deciding factor for me because it can make a huge difference between enjoying the ride and struggling with the ride. I am not aerodynamic; in fact I am the opposite of aerodynamic. Today, two watch cases arrived in the mail from a replating outfit in Montreal, Canada. I mailed these out just before leaving for Florida, and a month later I have them back. Cost me $115 Canadian which converts to about $86 U.S. Kind of expensive, but worth it especially on a nice watch. One of these is for a Gruen day/night watch; the other is for a 1920s Haste (pronounced HAS-tay) with awesome Art Deco design. The movements for both of these are back in Janesville, so these cases will go back with me there to be re-assembled and sold. Tonight for dinner, a barbecue sampler platter from Sonny's Barbecue. Big enough to share ... four meats (ribs, chicken, pork shoulder, beef brisket) a baked sweet potato, beans, and corn muffin.

Thursday Dec. 1

It's a brand new month, and also marks one month since (cat) Abby and I left on our road trip to Florida. (Sister) Dawn officially starts as a full-fledged city employee today and leaves the temp agency. Hooray! Raise in pay and city benefits, most of which will kick in after six months (notably health insurance and vacation/sick days). At 5 p.m., I met up with (former landlord and current friend) Heather Mangan at Blue Water Brewing in Cape Coral for beer, appetizers, and conversation. Dawn caught up with us about 5:30, driving direct from work. Always nice to catch up with Heather. She is just 32 years old, but a real go-getter and it does my heart good to see a young person with gumption and a healthy dose of self-reliance and zero sense of entitlement. Everything she has, she has earned. Anyway, she just got married last May to a fellow who is another energetic entrepreneur (he is currently master distiller at Cape Coral Distillery) and partner in this brewery and pub. Her married name is now "Termini" and she goes with a hyphenated last name, "Heather Mangan-Termini." Her hubby's name is Danny, and he has an identical twin brother, Joe, who is also a principal at the brewery, and the two are constantly mistaken for one another, which makes for fun and hi jinx at the brewery. Sounds like a pilot for a TV comedy, no?

Anyway, Heather quit her job at "Rich Dad Coaching" (Robert Kiyosaki) and got her real estate brokerage license and started her own brokerage firm, operating on a flat-fee basis ($2,500 to sell any home, regardless of price). We ordered beers and an assortment of appetizers, and even ordered burgers off the dinner menu. Everything was delicious, and Heather generously picked up the tab. We parted company about 7 p.m., crossed back over the Cape Coral bridge into Fort Myers. Cape Coral is certainly an interesting city with a character all its own ... quite apart from Fort Myers, even though the cities are practically within spitting distance of one another. But with virtually no beaches (save for one miniscuminuscule located within "Yacht Club Community Park") I'm happy to be on the other side of the bridge in Fort Myers.

Well, that's all for this installment. As I complete this on Dec. 5, I note the folks back in Wisconsin got a rude awakening yesterday overnight to today in the form of some wet heavy snow ... up to six inches in some areas. More rudeness is on the way later this week with temps in the teens and night time lows in the single digits. Buck up. Meanwhile, the first of the strawberry crop is coming in down here. Mmmm.

Bruce