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