#207 Good Morning Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Hello World,

Again, today we’ll be discussing:

Red2 and Me in Naples

I had such a blast on Red2 yesterday.  My day started out at Steve Kirby’s shop to fix my glove box on Rose.  Turned out that the glove box he had wouldn’t fit.  Of course he tore the box all apart to find that out.  It was funny.  Anyway, we’ll try again with another one next time.  He is quite a guy I’ve come to find.  I’ve always liked him and his sobriety and he has an open heart and a big one.  He feeds 12 (count ’em) feral cats at his shop.  His shop is a “junk yard” all itself.  I’ve never seen such a place.  Stuff everywhere!  Old stuff – stuff that will never be used in the “fixing up” of any car.  It’s a stitch!  I was trying to help him a little and had to bend down to pick up a tool that had fallen to the ground and I looked at his tennis shoes.  They were completely falling apart.  He says everything just gets destroyed at his shop – clothes, shoes etc.  He is always in clothes covered with oil and grit.  He says he buys his shoes at the thrift shop because they just don’t last.  I think if I worked there, I’d be in my Harley Boots.  They’d make it through.  Anyway, back to the cats.  He has one little orange tabby that is so sweet.  It’s a male and he just lies around and watches him work.  The cat is so greasy, I just wanted to take it home and give it a bath.  But surprisingly I only saw one flea on him so I guess the grease works.  It’s a little cat, like Metaxa – sharp claws.  But I was fooling around with him and I think he’d let me clip his claws – not like Domino!  So after an hour of not getting a new glove box door, I went back home.  BTW – he had to go to the chiropractor so we had a late start.  Turns out he was helping someone in the program move a piano down some stairs.  WHAT!!!!!  That is just what he does.  He used to be chair of “Special Needs” and he said that really changed his outlook on life.  What a sweet man.  I hope he finds my glove box.  I owe him for the hour and a half he spent with me not getting the work done, but making me appreciate another person in this great program!

So now……on to RED 2.

We started out by getting a beach sticker:

Getting Ready for The Beach with a Sticker

I’ve discovered East Naples Community Park.  What a place!  It is off of Rattlesnake Hammock Road on the other side of 41 that may be named something else, but if you travel down that road, you eventually get to “Kelly Road” now named something else but it takes you to the Botanical Gardens.  East Naples Community Park is right next to Avalon Elementary School.  It wasn’t very busy yesterday.  By the time I got there it was about 11:30AM.  There are tennis courts and they play “pickle-ball” there.  I think it is like “paddle tennis” (like “up north”) and ping pong.  It doesn’t take as much “running” as tennis.  One day I think I’ll try to see if I can play that.  I used to love tennis when I was younger and I just may like that game.  I’ll have to “Google” it one day.  Anyway, I drove Red2 around to the other side of the building and entered in through another door.  There were 2 tables of retirees having a luncheon.  I walked right through their set up not knowing how else to get to the desk for my sticker.  I asked the sweet young girl there what was going on.  She said it was a “free lunch” for seniors and that there was a woman in the kitchen that runs the program.  Now that is pretty cool.  They also have programs for little kids (pre school) and all kinds of things going on.  The last time I picked up stickers for Rose and Red, they were having a Zumba class that was well attended.  Anyway, it’s a busy place and I’m glad it’s in my neighborhood!  It’s well used and a little messy but that’s what happens in a busy place on a budget.  I think things get “collected” in case they have a use, and then it just gets bigger and bigger and messier and messier – but one day they’ll have a garage sale and start all over again!

So after getting the Beach Sticker we went to The Botanical Gardens.  I fully intended to go see the dinosaurs, but there must have been 6 “school groups” there.  Lots of noisy kids running around having fun.  It was REALLY HOT by the time I got there, so I just went to the Fogg Cafe and bought lunch.  I had the best veggie wrap with hummus.  It was great!  They had real cold glasses – not plastic – like we used to have at our bars – for the drinks.  Plus the salt and pepper shakers on the tables were pretty cool too.  It made me think about the old days at the restaurant and how people would steal the salt and pepper shakers – wonder if people do that from there – I’m inclined to say no.  Each time I go to the Botanical Gardens I’m amazed.  I bought this really cool skin cream that has lavender in it.  I also saw a book for $65 that was written about the old homes on the beach in Naples.  I thought about buying it but it was a little pricey – although it is for a good cause – maybe another time.  Anyway, I recognized the title and it turns out that the authors have a family member living at Orchid Terrace.  I found out that he was a lawyer somewhere and his wife met him in the courtroom years ago.  They are both retired now and created this wonderful book in collaboration with Paul Arsenault.  There are beautiful pictures of beach homes interspersed with paintings and sketches by Paul.  Anyway, now I have a conversation to begin with them next time I see them.  With this “conversion” at work, they’ve been at my desk about things not working.  They are always so positive and nice about it though.  So much so, that I sometimes wonder if it’s an act or if it’s genuine.  I hope it’s the latter.  So here are some pictures of the most beautiful orchids at the garden:

Orchid 1	Orchid 2
Orchid 3	Orchid 4

My new phone takes GREAT Pictures don’t you think?  I LOVE THEM!  So now I’ve been thinking about my “down load” folder on this computer.  Don’t you think it needs to be “un cluttered” by removing the down loaded items?  Especially if I’ve saved them somewhere else and won’t need them any longer?  I think it would free up space on this computer and I would think that there should be an “easy” way to do that.  I’ll have to ask Bill and Steve about that —— what do you think about that?  This computer has started to “freeze” up and slow down a little and I’d sure be unhappy if it crashes on me.   So I guess it’s time to get some direction on “maintenance”.  But I’ve run out of time today and I’ve got to get going.  It’s gonna be busy today when I get to work.  Got to get my focus on!

Have a great day today and thanks for visiting!