Monday, September 6, 2010

Weekend in Review: The Water Edition


Ft Myers Beach...Labor Day weekend...2010

Water.

If my weekend had a theme, it would be water...isn't water a wonderful thing?

I spent Friday morning in Florida, waiting for the guy to show up who was going to install my recently purchased water softener/filter unit.

I had discovered - to my horror...well, actually, more to my hair's horror - that our water in Florida was extremely hard, and extremely full of chlorine. And ammonia. Gah! That week we spent in Florida last month had done a number on my hair - to the point where even my hairdresser had exclaimed, "What the heck happened to your hair??!!"

If you're getting chewed out by your hairdresser, then you know that something needed to be done. And soon. So, without further ado, I purchased a water filtration system, and it was to be installed on Friday. Oh joy.

The guy showed up only 90 minutes late (gah!) and with my assistance ("Where do you want it, ma'am?" , or "Where's your nearest GFI?" and "How much salt do you want?" and so on and so on), we got it done by noon.


Isn't this a thing of beauty??!!

After the guy left, I looked longingly out the back door at my pool, and heedless of the doctor's warnings about swimming so soon after my surgeries, I plunged in. To heck with it - the pool was full of chlorine, so how infected could I really get? I mean really? And even if a teeny, tiny bit of infection was to occur in the incisions, that could be managed with some antibiotics, and the pool was looking so inviting and so refreshing...and you could really see where my brain was going...



The pool water was fantastic...in it's late-summer glory of absolutely divine temperature that cocooned my body and washed all my cares and worries away....

And it felt so, so good.

After the dip in the pool, I took a shower - and it was pure joy...

....I have to say that my hair was very happy and pleased with the results. My shampoo was foamy and bubbly; my skin felt clean; and my hair? Was doing the happy dance afterwards. No more lectures from my hairdresser. She will be so happy, too. Happy hair and happy hairdressers are the simple things in life we should savor....

That evening, I drove down to Ft. Myers beach and had a delicious, old-fashioned chocolate soda from Kilwin's Chocolate Shop. And I will confess, dear readers, that the heavenly scoops of chocolate ice cream and foamy mounds of soda water was my dinner. Hey - I was by myself, and I had no children around that I needed to be setting good examples for, so veggies? Organic? Poo on you....I was having a chocolate soda for dinner.

And it tasted so, so good.

Saturday morning and afternoon was spent fiddle-farting...I read some more Randy Wayne White, I shopped some more at a home decor shop, and I swam some more in that delicious pool...

At about 3:00, the phone rang, and it was Kevin, my Hub's boss. Kevin is the one who initially bought a house a year ago in Ft. Myers, and convinced us to do so, as well. Kevin was also down in Ft. Myers for the Labor Day weekend.

Kevin says, "What 'cha doing?"

I said, "Nothing of importance. Why? What's up?"

He says, "I'm fishing off my boat. Wanna' join me?"

Before he had said the last word, I was already jumping in my car and heading on down to his place. Kevin has a kick-ass boat...and when I say, "kick ass", I mean this thing is monstrous...it has a 600-gallon gas tank, and has two bedrooms, a kitchen, and enough room to hold 30 people. I like boats...fishing? Not so much - but I could watch while he fished, and I could enjoy the boat.

We spent several hours on his boat - watching some of the other boats go by, including this monster:



And fishing? All Kevin would have to do is throw out a line, and a minute later, he'd have something, like this:



...we then took the boat out for a cruise around the beach, and I managed to snap a (blurry) photo of what appeared to be a bald eagle in the mudflats....


...the evening was beautiful and it was just an awesome trip...Kevin's wife, Debbie, had joined us and the three of us kicked back and relaxed.

And life was so, so good.

Sunday, it was time to come home. First, though, I went next door and socialized a little with my Florida neighbors, Larry and Linda. They are some pretty cool people and I needed to say my good-byes until the next time.

Around 11:30, my car had arrived to take me to the airport - and so off I went, locking up the house. It's always sad to leave the house - wondering when I would be able to return...hoping that it's okay while we're gone....

A very, very bumpy ride home, as there were lots of thunderstorms and giant clouds we went through as we flew north....but we landed safely in KC around 4:30 and I was met by my smiling family.

Coming home, I was met with piles of laundry and piles of mail...and some happy pets.

And being home is so, so good.



Peace.

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