Deals and Dali

We took yesterday off from remodeling, and it felt SOOOO good to do so!  But before I get into our adventure, I will share some good news.

We were told by our insurance agent George and others that if we put in new hurricane-resistent windows and doors, we could get a break on our insurance; however, we had to jump through numerous hoops to see if Citizen's insurance would give us any break on the bill.  George was not overly optimistic, but we gave it a try.  Yesterday we received a notice that our insurance rate will be reduced by $630 each year, and we will receive over $400 back this year now that the windows are in.  We are waiting for a $230 rebate from Progress Energy for the windows and doors, too.  I wondered where the $30 at the end of both came from, but Rick said that was due to the square footage of Gladys.

Now on to our adventure.  For those of you who look at the pictures before you read, you will see that we took the day off, drove to St. Petersburg, and visited the Dali Museum.  Although the venture was expensive, we had a wonderful time.  The new Dali Museum itself, as you can see, is an architectural wonder.  The building certainly fits Salvadore Dali's weird art, and it reflects his love of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome and his fascination with mathematics and science as reflected by the helical staircase that takes visitors from the main floor restaurant and gift shop to the third floor galleries.  The gardens also were magnificent.  The Museum is on the waterfront, and the gardens were works of art themselves, both with the placement of trees, boulders, and flowers, and with Dali's art scattered throughout.

The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL

We decided to eat lunch at the Museum.  Their offerings are strictly Spanish fare, and the prices are, naturally, unreasonable.  We dined outside under a canopy with a wonderful breeze blowing off the water.  Rick said at that time that he heard a soft bee-eee-eeee-eeee-eeeeee sound.  Being outside and preoccupied with trying to eat my salad, I did not notice.  However, after we were in the museum again, I was wandering upstairs and said to Rick, "Do you hear that eeeeeeeee sound?"  He told me he did, but figured it was the air conditioning or something else in the building making the noise.  It was not too loud, but it was persistent.  Then it occurred to me what it might be.  I touched my insulin Pod, and the pitch of the sound changed.  Crap!  I told Rick the beeping was ME and that I had to go and replace a Pod.  Of course, changing a Pod in a restroom is not ideal, especially since the two alcohol wipes I had with me were both dry, and the position of the Pod was not the most ideal location.  At any rate, I changed the Pod, guessed at how much insulin I should take since my lunch bolus was interrupted, and we went on with our day with Dali.

Rick standing in Dali's signature mustache on the Museum
grounds.  The masts of sailboats can be seen at the far left.

Relaxing on Dali's melting bench as time also melts away.

The top of the helical staircase inside the Museum.

Dali has two museums dedicated to his work-- this one, and the one he started with his private collection of works in Spain.  If you come to Florida, plan to spend at least one day at the Dali Museum.  Take the tour or rent the headphones for the audio tour so you can at least BEGIN to understand the weird images before you, and enjoy the views both inside and out.

Yesterday after we came home, we decided to tackle the paperwork that seems to breed in corners when we are not looking.  Having two houses and keeping track of mail, forms, receipts, bills, etc. can become overwhelming.  As we had papers scattered all over the house, someone knocked on the door (of course!).  Standing on the porch was Rick's old colleague Mike who lives in Dunedin.  He just stopped by to see the house.  Wonderful.  The place looked like an unnamed hurricane had just blown through, so we got to show our unannounced guest Gladys at her worst.  Ah, well.  He was very gracious and commented that she was, after all, our vacation house.  We're remodeling, for Heaven's sake, so at this point, she's still a mess.  That is why we are not inviting any guests yet except for Stephanie and Lindsay.  They, at least, grew up with the constant chaos of remodeling, so this place is nothing new to them.

I learned yesterday that of the four classes I signed up to teach in the fall, I will be teaching only two.  I knew that one of them -- a 7:30 a.m. writing class -- was not going because not one person signed up for it!  A second class filled above 12 students (16 at last glance) at the last minute, but either one of the full-time people needed it for their schedules for full work-load or the powers-that-be decided to assign it to another adjunct.  I actually am OK with that since I have never taught the class (English Composition I) before, and it would have been another prep.  Additionally, it met on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday while the two classes I DID get only meet on Tuesday and Thursdays.  I am happy about that because that will give me Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays both for prep and correcting and to work on my Cengage Publishing work also. (If you are reading this, Beth, smile.  I promise I will meet the deadlines now!)

Our new microwave that no longer
clutters up the countertop!

Today's activities included sending our old kitchen faucet to Lindsay via UPS and picking up and installing the new microwave above the range.  I wanted to paint the interior and possibly the exterior of some of the doors and finish organizing the paper storm, but those jobs will have to wait until tomorrow.

A roseate spoonbill standing on a branch
watching people walk by on the
Pinellas Trail.

This evening, Rick and I went out after dinner to Weaver Park, a beautiful little park perched at water's edge.  Watching the sunset from the pier is very relaxing.  We took along our Kindles to read and two lawn chairs since there was a gorgeous breeze blowing in from the water.  While we were sitting in the shade in the park, I saw a large bird in a nearby tree.  "Look, there's Eddy," I said, referring to an egret. Then I looked closer and said, "Hey, his back looks almost pink."  Just as I said that, the bird raised his wing to peck at some insect the was bothering him.  The underside of his wing was a brilliant pink/red/orange -- almost neon in color. "That's a roseate spoonbill!"  These birds are rather rare in this area in the summertime, so we were thrilled to see him.  Unfortunately, we only had Rick's phone to take pictures, so I take no responsibility for the photos.  Actually, seeing him what quite a treat.

We both admit that although we are ready to return to Wisconsin, we will miss all of the countless little things that make Gladys and Florida very, very special.