Sanibel Journal

Sunrise on December 18 December 22, 2015 -- As the blank page stares me in the face, all I can think is that this is a "Sanibel Journal" and so much of what has been happening in our lives isn't about Sanibel at all.  You see, we've had medical adventures during the past month.  Tom had a bout of a rare, deadly hemolytic anemia, but he is better now that he spent five days in the hospital and is able to go through his regular chemotherapy for leukemia again.  His chemo makes him feel better, not worse, so long as he doesn't catch a cold while his immune system is suppressed by the drugs. After the hospital stay, this house on Dinkins Bayou was so nice to come home to.  Seeing the sunrise every morning instills a deep sense of well-being, and an acknowledgement that we weathered a storm.  We feel like we moved here in the nick of time.  Some of that feeling is because of practical matters like the elevator, which Tom uses frequently.  The res...

Yesterday's sunrise on Dinkins Bayou. November 11, 2015 -- All the exterior painting on our house came to a grinding halt last Thursday.  Our paint contractor had unwittingly allowed his Sanibel license to expire.  A competing painter reported him in to the city. A competing painter gave us an estimate of $21,000 last spring for the exterior painting. Understandably, we sought other estimates and hired a different painter -- one that was not so expensive. Yet as our painter's crew was working away last week, a competing painter's truck and car were seen multiple times lurking near our house -- even though the road is posted "private."  Once, the snooping driver of the vehicle even had the nerve to turn around in our driveway!   A competing painter's timing was impeccable.  He probably called in the complaint on the day before the  city's contractor review board met.  The city inspector showed up at our property on the day of the monthly contra...

November 3, 2015 -- The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) came out with a report this year that confirms something I've long believed:  it isn't the chlorine in a swimming pool that makes your eyes sting; it is the chemical formed by the combination of chlorine and urine that does that.  (See Newsweek article about the CDC report by clicking here .) Swimming in public pools has always made my eyes sting.  I swim laps for a full sixty minutes every day, so my eyes have much exposure to the water.  Of course, when swimming laps in public pools I would wear goggles.  But goggles do leak.  Or, if they don't, they're so tight that they're uncomfortable. Now I swim in a pool that is used my nobody but me and my husband.  I don't wear goggles.  I still swim laps for 60 minutes or more, and voila.  My eyes do not sting at all. Yes, our pool has chlorine.  The company that built the pool is the company who maintains it weekly...

November 1, 2015 -- The painters are here.  The house has been stripped of its pseudo shutters, plantings have been cut away from its walls, and it is about to washed with pressurized water.  The house is getting the attention it deserves.  Soon it will be light gray, with a little brown and black here and there.  Gray, with the red tile roof -- Buckeye colors! Bill finished the travertine floor in the foyer during the week before my birthday.  His work is impeccable.  We look forward to his return! Then last week I celebrated making it to 60 all week long.  Already we had three parties to attend that week, so I didn't feel the need to have a birthday bash.  Already I had purchased a new computer and a new phone, so I didn't want any more presents. Besides, every day is a gift.  We love to wake up before sunrise so we can watch the bayou coming to life.  The water is loaded with fish, manatees, dolphins, and crabs.  Circular, ...

October 24, 2015 -- So much has changed for us since June 6, when I wrote "Finding the Unexpected" in this blog.  We sold our house on Old Banyan Way on July 3, and moved into the house on Coconut drive during the first five days of July.  On July 5, we left for Paris. When we returned from Paris on September 27, it was well after nightfall.  We could not see much of our "new" house until the next morning.  And oh what a glorious morning it was.  The sunrise was dramatic.  Most of the windows in our house face the sunrise. The six-hour time difference between Paris and Sanibel made it easy for us to rise in time for the show.  What a show it was! Sunrise on Dinkins Bayou on September 28. In the four weeks since then, we've been plugging away at working on the house, and having work done to the house.  Yesterday, the pool cage had 25 sections of screen as well as 48 bolts replaced. This work was miraculously completed just as the weather ...

"I thought I'd go shopping, at all the usual places, up and down 41," Tom said.  He loves to shop.  I don't.  "All the usual places" means his favorite consignment shops and thrift stores.  He's an incorrigible collector. I was ready to go for a workout at the pool, but I reconsidered.  It had been a long time since I went on one of these outings with Tom.  This time, instead of aimless shopping, he had a couple specific things in mind that we are looking for:  a new bed, and a piece of furniture we could turn into a bar to replace an ugly built-in bar in the new house. Tom asked me for the camera, knowing he should not buy major things without my input.  He'd photograph potential purchases, show me the photos later, and then go back and hopefully purchase any of the things that met my approval. Old Banyan Way at sunrise. That seemed thoughtful but inefficient to me.  So I told him I'd go with him.  He was delighted.  I br...

May 25, 2015 -- Sanibel Island is loaded with visitors on this Memorial Day weekend.  Bailey's grocery was busy on Sunday after church.  Many customers spoke Spanish.  A dozen or so sported tattoos all over their arms and even some necks. A double rainbow over Sanibel in June 2013. The bicycles on the shared use paths are ridden by people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages.  On the average, visitors on Memorial Day weekend are younger than wintertime snowbirds and visitors. At this time of year, the assortment of people on Sanibel looks a little more like the rest of the state. After all, this is the time of year when Floridians visit Sanibel.  Times are better; gas prices are lower. Unemployment in Florida is dipping below 5 percent.  Working people are opting to take a mini-vacation to Sanibel Island, a dream spot for Floridians. They come to bicycle, to fish, to enjoy the beach.  The weather is not too hot for them; they're used to it....