She's beautiful

Dear Friends and Family,

We are please to report some progress. After months and months of sanding and grinding,  Sanibel is taking shape. Jimi and I painted the primer coat on the top side of the hull and she looks fantastic. Jimi has since sanded the primer to a smooth finish and she is ready for the final coat of paint (hopefully to be done soon).

The weather has not cooperated; Jimi and Ray have not been able to spray anymore gel coat on the deck, but several sections are ready.

Next steps are: the non-skid needs to be painted on the deck when the gel coat application is finished and the bottom side of the hull and the keel need to be sanded, primed and painted. All the hardware needs to be reattached to the deck as well. Regardless of what's left, what's complete is encouraging.

.

I bought myself a Nook colour and I LOVE it so far. I can use it to read books, watch movies, play games and when I have Internet, check email. I have already read one Nora Roberts book "Angel's Fall', gotten hooked on angry birds, and mastered Sudoku. I really want to begin another book on my Nook, but I'm trying to finish up my TEFL class.

.

One day last week Jimi brought home a surprise; a large turtle he found walking down the middle of the frontage road. It's shell measured a little over 13 inches long. Jimi took her down by the river to release her, but she headed straight back up for land. The next day we saw her crossing the road in our neighborhood.

The cardinals are taking over our yard. Practically everywhere we look we can see a male and/or a female buzzing around. I've tried to get pictures but they are very fast and rarely stay in one place for more than a few seconds. Anyhow, we love having them around. Their unique chirps are without a doubt recognizable and pleasant for background noise. We've come accustomed to keeping the air conditioner off and the sliding glass door open. We enjoy the fresh air and sounds of nature throughout the house.

.

A pretty little dove has made a nest in the tree right outside our lanai door. I watched for a few days as she gathered twigs and things from the yard, flew them to the nest and then came back again for more. I knew she was building a nest somewhere, but I didn't realize it was so close. Jimi spotted her and showed me. We're certain she's now sitting on eggs, as she always stay put. Jimi was able to get a great picture of her. We try to steer clear of the area, so we don't frighten her away.

We are expecting rain the next several days, which will slow progress on Sanibel down a little. We would really like to get the gel coat applied and top side hull painted, so Jimi can reattach the lifelines and other deck hardware and can move on to the interior of the boat for the upcoming rainy season.

That's the latest. More to come as we keep you posted.

.

Love to all,

Lorie & Jimi

A new appreciation

Dear Friends and Family,

As Jimi works on the exterior of Sanibel, he alternates his time between the gel coat on the deck and the topside of the hull. Most of his days are filled with sanding and more sanding. He comes home daily covered in a white dust. He's a little concerned he will not have the exterior done by May, so he's increasing his time spent at the yard and recruiting help. He spent this past weekend there and I helped him half of Sunday. After sanding with him for half a day, I have a new respect for what he's doing. When Jimi would come home dusty and tired I thought I understood how hard he had worked all day, but actually doing it myself I see it differently; it's not just hard work, it's really hard work. I told him I was going to start being nicer to him - ha ha - I'm always nice, but we got a chuckle out of the statement anyhow. I can now honestly say I am very happy with our arrangement  of me bringing in the income while he works on Sanibel. I definitely have the easier end of the deal. Regardless, with the time strain I have committed  to helping him one day every weekend as needed.

My work load with Cencorp has not let up and when I'm not working I find myself putting a great deal of time in to my TEFL class, The class is coming along ok and I hope to be finished with the first half by May.

Other things to report.......we went to the Annual Charlotte County Airshow last weekend. The show was really neat. Ii was the first time Jimi had seen the US Navy Blue Angles. It was a little hot, but a great day.  Jimi was able to get some pretty good pictures.

One day this past week I discovered a 3+ foot black snake in our lanai. I watched it for a while and took some pictures and then opened the lanai screen door so it could go free. When it finally found the door and left I followed it to get more pictures.

We've gone to the beach a couple of times in the past two weeks, Jimi swims in the ocean, but it's still a bit chilly for me. I sit on the beach content to read my book. I uploaded a video to my Facebook page of Jimi body surfing the waves. Check it out. We found a secluded walking trail through the mangroves opposite side on the beach. It was a nice walk even if it was a developed trail.

As requested by many of you, extra pictures are attached.

BTW - what do you think about Jimi's Crocs? He loves these shoes and refuses to buy or wear anything else. How much longer do you think they will last?

Love everybody,

Lorie & Jimi