I had two guys show up on my Ring doorbell yesterday morning. They said that they were there to install my hurricane shutters. I had it in my head that they were coming Tuesday and I told them as much. I said “I show the install was supposed to be done November 13th”. After a pause the guy says, today is November 13th… Whoops. I apologized and asked if they needed me for anything, they did not.

The normal windows get a channel system with lightweight metal inserts that slide into the top and are secured at the bottom with bolts/wingnuts. The installer showed me the process to install them, it’s very easy compared to the plywood mess I used to deal with at the old house. I would guess I could have the house totally buttoned up in an hour or less.

The front door is protected by a roll down shutter with a hand crank. I again got a demonstration of the process. The door can go from open to sealed in a minute or so. The install looks cleaner than I expected and does not really stand out like a sore thumb which I was glad to see.

Finally he showed me the back lanai which was the most expensive part of this project, by far. There are two huge sliders back there that go into the main bedroom and the great room as well as a small window for the kitchen.

Instead of covering these individually my sales rep recommended installing accordion style protection that would seal off the entire lanai. I was hesitant at first about the idea and remained somewhat hesitant right up until yesterday. I was worried they would be overly obtrusive and that the rail along the floor would be a trip hazard. However, it’s all good.

The rail that actually goes right past the door is rounded and low profile. You would almost have to try to trip yourself on it, it just isn’t an issue. The shutters fold up nicely, tight to the walls leaving the views out the back largely unimpacted. The shutters even have two clear portals that allow you to get a peek outside even when the full force of a hurricane is upon you. Even though it was a very pricey option I value having the lanai sealed off in a rather bulletproof manner. The only negative was the pull down shades that were on the lanai to block late day sun had to come down. I didn’t really use them though anyway.

The install took the entire day, as I arrived home from work they were just finishing up. This concludes the last significant home improvement I have planned for the near future. At some point the carpet in the bedrooms will need to go and the master bathroom will get updating but that is as time, patience and money allows. I have dropped quite the wad of cash on this place since moving in. The good news is all of it is an investment in the property that will pay dividends down the road.

I am hoping to get a little bit of the chunk of money I spent on these shutters back via a reduced homeowners insurance rate. I need to see what my options are there.

It’s been a number of days since you have seen a post. I have not been standing still during that time period, just the opposite actually. On Wednesday I had my relationship end. I prefer to not go into detail about it other than my overarching goal is to ultimately be happy and feel at peace. I have sadness but also move forward knowing I did everything I possibly could.

I took Thursday off to get some loose ends connected to ending things taken care of. I played some pickleball at lunch and then AGAIN after work. Playing twice in one day is a rarity in my world but it was fun. During the evening session I played doubles with my buddy Rich. We played some higher skilled teams and did surprisingly well holding our own. On the way home from there I grabbed some dinner at the bar of Brunina’s.

My Friday was pretty unstructured. I went for a ride, got some chores done that I normally would do on Saturday and then went to dinner later with my buddy Don. I had told Don about my new reality and as is normally the case he primarily listened without being overly opinionated. Don has basically cut women out of his life for over a decade.

On Saturday I met up with Jason to get another ride in, this time at the Naples Greenway which he had never been to before. He didn’t even bring his wheel as he much prefers riding my suspension wheels. He loved the location with all of the diverse terrain and scenery. He did his first ever ride down a set of stairs which was a big deal. It’s been different and enjoyable having a riding buddy.

Yesterday I did something that I have not done in forever, went out on a personal boat. One of the guys that I play pickleball with owns a nice 26 footer. He had a free day and asked who wanted to come out of our group, I was the only person that said yes.

We spent the entire afternoon hanging out. We went out to a nice beach on the edge of the Everglades where it touches the ocean. We sat there and just chilled as we ate some sandwiches and drank A LOT. It was great.

When it was time to head out he did a quick spin into the ocean but suddenly the motor shut off. When he popped the hatch he got a salt water shower as water was flowing out of a hose, the clamp securing it had broken. Of course, I was concerned.

Luckily he carries a full set of tools as well as potential needed parts, like hose clamps. In less than 10 minutes he was able to secure the hose and we were good to go. During the ride back in he let me take the wheel for probably 15-20 minutes. It was my first time behind the wheel of a vessel, it was cool. I also got some familiarity with the ins and outs when we returned to dock and did the post ride clean up/securing that is required with boats. It was a great time and I hope to be able to repeat the experience more often in the future.

Two other things came to be over these 4 days. I booked two trips. I am going to fly to my sisters for Thanksgiving, something I last did two years ago. I also booked a trip to LA to hang with my EUC gang out there around my birthday.

Last night when I got home I was sandy, tired and a little sun burned but feeling my life now moves forward without a rear view mirror.

Yesterday after work I met my buddy/co-worker at the nearby East Naples pickleball courts to get some games in. Rich is a better player than I am so I thought it would be cool to team up with him to see how we would do. We first played a couple guys close to my age. While warming up I thought they may give us a decent challenge but we would up beating them two games rather easily, the second by 11-0, known in the sport as “A Pickle”.

We then played four games against some much higher skilled, younger players. Rich plays regularly with one of them. At first I thought we were going to get smoked, the game was moving in fast forward compared to what I am used to. However we slowly adjusted and got things stabilized. All of the games were close and we managed to even win one. It felt good to at least be competitive against higher level and younger opponents. I hope to get out there more regularly during some evenings.

The raised bed that was set up a couple weeks ago is working out well so far. Everything that was planted seems to have taken hold. I’m looking forward to starting to enjoy the result in the upcoming months.

On Sunday I got the urge to go watch the Eagles/Cowboys at a bar. I have watched football games at bars before but my choice of bars this time was unexpected, Foxboro. Yes as the name suggests this is a Patriots fan hang out but it also is around a mile from my house so it was convenient. The game wasn’t until 4:25 and the Patriots played early so I knew it shouldn’t be too bad.

I ate at the bar. My tuna melt, fries and chips were greasy but good comfort food. I washed it down with a couple Shock Tops. After I finished eating I started feeling cold, I think they had the AC cranked way down. I wound up heading home after half time to watch the rest of the game. Even when I got home the chill persisted. I threw on a sweatshirt and watched the rest of the game under the blanket on my bed.

Unfortunately that location is not ideal for football watching. I wound up falling asleep late third quarter but thankfully woke up for the last 60 seconds of the game where the Eagles defense almost blew it, allowing the Cowboys to drive the field with no time outs, aided by several defensive penalties. The D came up big at the end however, saving a win. It was tight game for it’s entirety. I feel lucky that we escaped with a W.

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I had the first somewhat significant issue with my Tesla Model Y yesterday. When I went to to leave work a persistent message popped up on the screen indicating that the 12 volt battery was low and that certain features were being disabled to preserve power. Many people are surprised to find out that Tesla’s have a conventional 12 volt battery under the hood in addition to the massive battery that covers the entire belly of the car. My car is just over two years old so I am a bit surprised the 12 volt battery is bad already.

The good news is Tesla makes this stupid easy to address. When I went into the app on my phone it automatically directed me to initiate a service call. It told me the cost, which is nothing since the car is still under warranty and based on my address I got signed up for a remote tech which is great. If things go as planned the tech will drive to my car next week, swap the battery out and be out of there without me doing so much as lifting a finger. I am familiar with where the 12 volt battery is and I would be perfectly capable of swapping it out myself but if it’s covered under warranty obviously there is no need.

Our new tax roll has gone live recently. This is the second year I have overseen the process which was the most daunting thing I had to assume responsibility for when my buddy and old boss retired. In the past he pretty much handled everything. I changed it to more of a team effort so the knowledge and ability to get things complete is spread among multiple people. There were more challenges in year two but we got it done.

Last night I had nothing going on for Halloween so I reached out to my One Wheel buddy, Clay, to see if he wanted to do a ride. He said he was just finishing up kite boarding but he was interested in riding our boards later, cool.

I have known Clay for a number of years. I last saw him over the summer when he came to clean the dryer vent at my new house. Since then he has become a married man which was a big surprise.

I also did not expect him to pull up in a Narwhal costume which he wore all night. He also wore it while kiteboarding earlier which made me laugh. We spent close to three hours rolling around downtown Naples which included hanging at the beach and even rolling down the middle of 5th Avenue at one point. Yes, we got a lot of double takes.

We stopped at a bar for a bit where I downed a couple beers while I hung out with Clay. Most of the staff and patrons there were wearing some sort of costume, I was not. This place had the fanciest urinal I have ever seen. It had a huge slab of marble or something like that with water running down it like a waterfall. It looked like a modern art piece, not something you take a leak into.

I didn’t get home until after 10PM. It was a unique and fun way to spend my Halloween evening.

I had a fun weekend where I got to do some dog sitting for a friend while doing a whole lot of whatever else I felt like. One of those things was going out for a ride on my OneWheel. During the ride I talked about the announcement by Future Motion regarding their new high performance version of the board which they have named the S Series. Ever since I bought my XR more than 5 years ago I have always immediately purchased whatever new models they have come out with including the Pint and the GT. This is the first time I am not planning on doing that. The additional performance would just be wasted on me with the way I ride. Evidently a lot of people are looking for S Series videos right now. Mine got over 3000 views in a day, way ahead of my normal pace.

After the ride I originally intended to go grab dinner at Carrabas by the bar. I instead punted that idea and had Dominoes deliver a pizza instead. It got the job done.

I started my Sunday morning with another pickleball session out at Talis Park. Now that season is resuming there are more people showing up which could eventually cause some court contention. I hope to keep playing with the core group for as long as possible. My being a guest instead of an owner/member could eventually ruffle some feathers.

I got out on a second ride Sunday, this time hitting Dunkin Donuts on the Sherman S. One thing I absolutely have not done as much of as I hoped since moving is getting out on rides. I want to correct that.

I watched the Eagles/Commanders game Sunday afternoon. Washington took it to the Birds, driving up and down the field on them pretty much all game long. The defense seemed to have very few answers. The offense had some blunders as well, twice turning the ball over inside the 5 yard line, normally a death sentence. Luckily the Eagles had a strong finish and wound up winning by a touchdown.

I haven’t really made any commentary on how the Sunday Ticket has been this year now that it has jumped from Directv to YouTube. The short answer is, fantastic. For 20 years I had to jump through so many hoops and deal with tons of frustration getting the ST to work via satellite. The YouTube solution has been flawless with high quality streams available on any device that supports it. I’ve been very pleased.

On Wednesday night I decided to take an impromptu ride to the beach on my Sherman S. The humidity was low and I had an open evening so I figured it was as good of a time as any. Although not originally part of the plan, I wound up hanging at the beach until sunset, the timing worked out. It was a good way to help reset myself mentally.

Last night was on the chill side as well. I recently completed my quest to re-watch the entire Game of Thrones. As mentioned before doing so in a shortened time period really added to my enjoyment of the series. Although I remembered the big story lines from the first time around there were infinite details that I did not remember making most of the experience feel new again.

This weekend should be more mundane than last where I got to enjoy Siesta Key. That’s fine with me though, I never have an issue keeping myself busy and/or entertained. I still have Siesta Key sand in the Tesla that needs to be vacuumed out anyway.

Yesterday the down rod arrived that I needed to complete the last fan install in the kitchen. I was not expecting it for a day or two. I also was playing volleyball last night so I was tempted to cancel it and just get the fan up. I didn’t.

Instead I started on the install before I left to play, getting far enough that the fan was up on the bracket before I left. When I came back I jumped right back in.

I don’t recall if I mentioned that the old fan in the kitchen was dead. I think I discovered why. The house wiring in that fixture was much longer than it needed to be, long enough that it had to have been pushed in there. I realized that one of the wires had damaged insulation. My theory is that insulation touched metal and shorted out the fan. You could tell the wire took some damage, it would also explain why the top mount of the old fan had rust on it. I cut the wires to a more reasonable length and repaired the damaged insulation with multiple windings of electrical tape.

When I got the wires connected I held my breath as I did the first fan power up. When I heard the initial “I’m alive” beep I did a sigh of relief. After I did the final finishing touches I stood back and admired the new fan. As in all the other rooms, the modern fan refreshed the overall look of the kitchen. I am now done with my part time fan installer duties for the foreseeable future.

I had a great long weekend up in Siesta Key. I got to relive my volleyball days when I got to play some ball on Saturday morning. Siesta Key was always my favorite beach to play on not only because it’s beautiful. It’s extremely wide, flat and firm, the ultra-fine white sand compacts easily. Although I am not at the level of play I was in my younger days, I did ok and enjoyed every moment of it. I also got to play some pickleball on the new courts that are on the outskirts of the beach parking lot. I again had a great time playing with a nice group of people.

The best thing about a trip like this is it pulls me out of my normal mindset which typically revolves around getting things done. Instead time was of minimal concern and I just got to enjoy myself doing whatever I felt like doing.

I got back in town around noon on Sunday after picking up Elsa from Ali. Ali and Shugs love spending time with her and surely wished I was away longer. It didn’t take long for me to fall back into a task mentality which is pretty normal following a trip, no matter how short.

Sunday night I watched the Eagles take care of the Dolphins. I fell asleep for most of the fourth quarter so I had to ask Alexa who won in the morning. What I saw looked pretty solid and it was a nice bounce back from losing to the Jets the week prior. It was cool seeing the team in their old Kelly green uniforms.

I am not sure why but I have seen next to none of the Phillies playoff run. My guess is since I have more or less checked out of major league baseball as a fan it’s hard to stoke that fire for the playoffs since I know very little about the team. I feel badly for not being more excited about their success.

I took Monday off and again tried to keep relatively busy. The biggest task was filling the 8′ x 4′ raised bed with 40 cubic feet of garden soil and then planting a nice little variety of vegetables and herbs. I’m hoping to have some mild success growing here. I haven’t made any serious attempts to grow my own food in quite awhile.

I spent some time testing out the sprinkler system again. I had my lawn guy take a look at it and he said all was well, it wasn’t. The one zone would turn on but never would turn off. I had to manually turn the valve to stop it. It turns out the solenoid for that zone was bad. I should now be good to resume regular watering shortly now that consistent rain is not all that consistent. With the garden in place this becomes more important. Significantly higher water bills here we come.