June 19th

Wendy in her self designed shirt

Shirt glowing in the dark

So with the CO#19, what is there to do? Fortunately, Wendy found an answer. She got a Cricut machine which does all kinds of fun stuff. When I came to her house she showed me the design she put on a shirt. Looked pretty fun and then she told me it glowed in the dark. I had her go in the garage, which has no windows and sure enough, it glowed in the dark.







I looked around closer and saw a number of projects. I like this one
with the monkeys. I think I need one of these.

She made these items on the Cricut machine. In addition she had foam figures and designs, stickers she could put on lots of stuff, and even stuff to decorate a pair of boots she painted.

Quite the little machine, if you know how to use it. I found that Wendy knows how to use it. So she said, what do you want to decorate? I liked the foam cutouts she was doing and thought my refrigerator could use some fun additions. Not surprisingly, I went with an ocean theme.

The computer and the Cricut machine do the heavy design work so it's pretty easy. I just had to decide what to cut out, the colors and the sizes.

When I tried to add these videos to the blog I got a message that said the file was too big. Checked on the internet and found software to make it smaller but I would have to buy it. I've learned, "Always check with Matt and Wendy or Rebecca first." Matt was the lucky winner today. Or, I should say "I was." Called Matt and he walked me through using a resizing software already on my computer. Who Knew? Well.....probably a lot of people but not me. Thanks again Matt!

Matt and Yoda at the
Mardi Gras Museum

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Matt in the Mardi Gras museum in New Orleans. totally unrelated to this sizing issue.

And another of Matt and Wendy. Matt served in the Marines. He has dedicated his career to service in the Marine Corp, with his final assignment as a Lieutenant Colonel at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.






Started me thinking. Linda and I love Matt dearly. (I'm sure Linda is still watching over him.) He has brought a lot of joy to our family. While Matt was serving our country, Linda and I explored a lot of it, following him and Wendy wherever they were stationed. Matt and Wendy always welcomed us with open arms. Thanks at least in part to Matt, by maneuvering his assignments, Wendy was able to continue her career in Social Psychology. We are very fortunate!

Garden of the Gods, Colorado

Gold mine entrance

You might be thinking I'm getting a little emotional. Isn't it great! I keep being told, "You don't have to forget Linda to remember the good times." I'm working on it. Here are a few  pictures of us enjoying our travels.

Pike's Peak Train

Back to the Cricut!  My refrigerator now looks very festive!

Wendy at Home Depot

My balcony

As I reported earlier I wanted to add to the one plant on my balcony. Wendy and I made a trip to home depot where she bought some plants for the front yard and I bought a Greek Oregano, a Basil and a Thyme plant. They are doing very well and I am enjoying having the fresh spices.




In addition to the arts and crafts, I am determined to stay in at least reasonable physical shape. I am still walking an hour to an hour and a half a day. There are a lot of fun places to walk. I enjoy seeing the very different types of trees and plants. I can't identify most of them but they are fun.

Snowy Egret

I also get to the beach often. I found a cooperative Egret the other day. I was actually able to get a pretty good picture. Notice the yellow feet. I am told that they can wiggle those yellow toes and attract lunch!

You can learn more about Snowy Egrets here. Interesting Facts, Snowy Egrets

It was a particularly good tidal pool day when I took these pictures. The anemones were opened up quite a bit. Also, I got a good picture of a Limpet. It is the little volcano shaped mollusk. They are amazing little creatures. Read to the bottom of this link to see how complex an animal this is. Limpets are amazing!

As I walked past Moonlight beach I saw this cascade of colors as the water flowed out of a small stream into the ocean. I took a video because I thought it was a beautiful natural creation.

I climbed the stairs and decided to go home through town. I walked past one of the landmarks in Encinitas. Years ago someone decided to build a couple "Boat" residences on land. They look like real boats but they actually they never saw water. Fun to look at. Linda and I thought they might be a place we could live if we moved off of our trawler.




I took a couple pictures of some striking examples of the trees and plants I see when walking. These are just two. I'll include more in future blogs.

June 2nd: Getting settled in Encinitas, California

Having moved into my new home I am very happy to live here. CO#19 is of course a concern but this area is fortunately not a hot bed. People in this area are pretty good about wearing masks and social distancing, even on the street. Masks are required in all stores.

Shortly after I arrived in Encinitas, I made one of my signature dinners per Wendy's request. Its fun to barbecue in her back yard under the Giant Bird of Paradise plants. Its a really enjoyable back yard.




The dinner turned out great if I do say so myself.



 BBQ chicken thighs, asparagus and fried mushrooms.

Steve, Matt, Wendy Linda & Rebecca

We've shared many fun dinners over the years. Rebecca's favorite is lobster. I ran across this picture from 2016 and decided to include it. It just didn't get any better than sitting outside enjoying a lobster dinner together.








I've started a morning routine of a little stretching and then power walking to the beach or around the neighborhood. Both the beach and the neighborhood are so enjoyable to walk around that I usually go for well over an hour.

Stairs to Swami's Beach

10 minute downhill walk to the ocean, Swami's Beach

To get to the  beach it's a downhill walk. It ends at a very long set of stairs. They lead down to Swami's beach.







I try to time the stairs so I am not close to others and once on the beach, if I go at low tide, I can easily stay a good distance away from others.

View from the top of the
stairs looking southwest

View from the top of the
stairs looking northwest

The views from the top of the stairs are incredible. You can see, from the picture looking northwest, why the stairs provide great exercise, especially coming back up.

Pelicans flying in formation

Egret

Once I'm on the beach, during low tide, its fun to walk along the bottom of the cliffs. At high tide the beach is under water. There are a lot of birds, especially the ever present flocks of pelicans flying in formation.

Its nice to see Egrets, just like

those in Florida.

Raised coral with tidal pools

My favorite part of the walk is the tidal pools. This raised coral bed is under water at high tide.

When the tide drops, water is trapped in the little pools in the coral. There are always anemones, barnacles, a variety of shellfish, hermit crabs, colorful algae and sometimes little fish.

Tidal pool anemones

Moonlight Beach stairs

If I am feeling ambitious, I walk past Moonlight Beach to another set of stairs. They are not quite as rigorous as Swami's but still a good workout going up and then back down. If I do the full route it takes about an hour and a half. The power walking turns into just walking as I climb the hill back home.

Technology equipment overload

I've been sorting thru things I brought with me from the boat. I decided to gather up all the electronics stuff under Linda's desktop. I know some haven't seen the light of day in quite a while and some are just extras. Matt and Wendy helped me sort it all out.










Speaking of Matt and Wendy, they found a very comfortable used chair for me to use on my balcony. It was a little rusty and black,which would get pretty hot in the sun. We ordered some vinyl paint and the chair turned out great.

It just fits next to a no longer used air conditioner that makes a nice little table. I plan to make a flat cover so it really works as a table.

I went to the local plant place and asked what type of plant would attract hummingbirds. I love watching them. They told me what to buy and they are starting to find it. I've seen several and expect to see more.

I hope to be able to sit in my chair reading and looking up when I hear their wings fluttering. I've seen a few but not from my chair. I've tried to get a video but no luck yet. Maybe in a future blog.



So... I am feeling settled. I spend a lot of time during the day at Matt and Wendy's. Its fun cooking for someone other than just me, and Matt and/or Wendy clean up. They continue to educate me on technology. I enjoy knowing I have learned a lot. I'm also having fun working on some artistic projects with Wendy. The next blog will cover some of those projects. The evenings I spend with Rebecca via Facetime. We just talk and/or watch a TV show together. Technology is wonderful.