A Happy Weekend

We had a great weekend here in Naples. Callie and I played some Fortnite. They had an event Saturday where JJ Abrams came on live and showed a preview of the new Star
Wars movie coming out on the 20th. It was pretty impressive. Then the Fortnite world changed slightly, and we could now find lightsabers in a few rare chests. Those lightsabers are AWESOME— so much fun and you’re practically invincible with them, and when it comes down to the last two people having one, a lightsaber duel inevitably takes place, and it’s really spectacular. I was able to participate in a few, and won two out of three.

We also painted this weekend. I got a few new “ready to pour” paints, which aren’t truly ready to pour because you still have to add pouring medium. But the process was much simplified, which made painting more satisfying due to less time preparing the paints and easier cleanup.

I did a few pours, but despite the easier process, I wasn’t super happy with any of my compositions, but my back was hurting, so my mind was a little distracted trying to will away the pain.

Yesterday, we went out to lunch at Outback and did an escape room. The room had a 50% success rate, and we made it out with 13 minutes to spare. Not bad! This place we go to has top notch puzzles, so if you’re ever in Fort Myers, FL, check out Escape Room Adventures.

This upcoming weekend will last five days, because I’m taking off the 23rd, and our office is closed the 24th and 25th. We have a lot of family activities planned, including a possible trip to Universal Studios.

Aidan is coming on Sunday, I think. So, that’ll be great.

Today, our morning doctor is out, so I technically don’t have to be at work until 12:30, but I think I’ll go in at 9:00 to help the doctor who rents some of our space with his clinic.

Lately, I’ve been working on two of the treasureman caches—the one near Keating, PA, and the one near Waterbury, VT. I brought my partner in the FF chase in on it, and we think we know where the VT cache is. We’re very confident, and I’m thinking spring would be a great time to go get it, if it’s not found before then.

The one near Keating might be a little trickier. I haven’t reviewed the notes I took while reading it yet, but will try to do that today.

Anyway, I love the history involved with his treasure hunts! If you’re interested, just search for “treasureman” on Facebook.

Well, that’s all for now...Happy Monday!

Callie for Christmas!

Well, my precious Callie made it home safe late last night, then stayed up all night to finish an essay, and is sitting up with me til I get ready for work. I have a feeling it’s gonna be hard to get her on FL time. Just like always. Lol.

Our plans for the holiday are to maximize quality family time, but we don’t have any specific plans. I’m sure we’ll do an escape room, some thrift shopping, and definitely some painting. I’m really liking the ready-to-pour paints that are coming out, but they’re expensive! Probably worth it, though, since it saves a lot of time, math, guesswork, and mess.

Hey, and how about this? I think this is awesome!

In other news, I’m working on Treasureman’s cache in Vermont, and I actually have a good idea about where that one is. I’ll probably also work on his other ones, too. They involve a lot of interesting history, so it’s right up my alley!

For the Vermont cache, I think it’s important to note what Biel added to the official account written in the Vermont State Police archives. For example, Biel added a suspect in the murder of Pauline Molony. This person was never a suspect, and the occupation of this suspect is very interesting relating to the area where the Waterbury Inn used to be. :)

You can find a link to this cache here.

Anyway, time to get ready for work. Happy Thorsday from the original, genuine progeny of Viking Kings—me!

Joe’s Home!

Well, Joe made it home safely for winter break! With “season” boiling over like a witch’s cauldron, I couldn’t take off work to pick him up from the airport, so he had to Uber, and I had to work late. He had one request—that I bring home McDonald’s, which are plentiful here and almost nonexistent near Dartmouth. I happily obliged and brought him 20 McNuggets (I didn’t steal any), and a large fries.

While he ate, he told me about school. He really likes it, and enjoys living in the dorm. He’s started working out six days a week, which he’s continuing even here on his break. He’s part of Model UN, and has made friends with many other political science majors. He’s also seriously contemplating law school and from what I understand, that’s his current plan.

Callie will be here Wednesday, and I’m excited for that!

Oh yeah....here’s my Christmas party story from Friday...I’d decided not to go, because the car needed charging, and I was a little tired, and wanted to spend time with Joe. So, I came home, and joe was asleep. I was pretty tired, so I decided a catnap would be good for me, too.

About an hour later, right after I woke up feeling invigorated, I got a text from my boss:

They had a local axe throwing pub come out and set up in the restaurant parking lot! It was supposed to be a surprise, and I was touched that they chose an activity they knew I’d enjoy. I threw on some jeans and raced over there. I was the axe throwing champ, but surprisingly, one of the doctors who grew up on a cheese farm in Minnesota was probably better than me. He doesn’t look like a guy who throws axes. But then again, I don’t look like a girl who throws axes, either. Lol.

Anyway, it turned out to be a lot of fun, and I met a lot of people from the Fort Myers office, who made me feel very welcome, although many were drunk by the time I got there, and I may be just a hazy memory today.

At least they can put a face to the name now. Before Friday, I was just known as “the other Mindy,” because there’s a Mindy who works in Fort Myers, too.

In other news...

Several people have asked if I’m still searching for Forrest Fenn’s treasure. The answer is: yes and no. I’m reading the plethora of recent Scrapbooks, but that’s about it. I haven’t read them carefully. I haven’t analyzed them like I have with others in the past. I’m just not as interested anymore, because, in my mind, I have some real doubts that a physical, literal treasure chest full of real gold and real artifacts are out there. At the same time, I don’t believe it’s a hoax.

One thing the bugs me— Forrest knows the exact value of everything. He’s valued things over and over in his Scrapbooks. So, why can’t he assign a value of what’s in the chest? He knows exactly what’s in that chest. He’s counted the coins, weighed the gold, and no doubt had every artifact appraised. He knows the value. So why does he repeatedly say he doesn’t?

Anyway, my other special interests are taking priority— painting, archeology, and history. I’m also enjoying my playthrough  of The Witcher 3. And deciding where to move and looking at homes takes up some of my time, too.

Here’s one of my smaller recent paintings done with leftover paint:

Anyway, have a great day! Mine’s gonna be busy!

Starting to feel it...

What am I starting to feel? Why, the “Christmas Spirit,” of course! Maybe it’s because Joe will be here today, and my precious Callie next week. I miss those munchkins so much! It’s nice when holidays come during what I call “coasting times” in life, when there isn’t an overload of stress or overwhelming overstimulation.

Here’s a memory from a Christmas past—as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, my mom was the Christmas Queen:

All three kids are doing well. Aidan is still working two jobs, and making good money. She seems really happy, and says both her workplaces are fun. I can’t wait to visit and go to Iron Axe to see her throw a mean axe. And, of course, I’ll throw, too. Apparently, the owners can’t wait to meet me, the shameless axe thrower before axe throwing became popular. Lol.

Tomorrow, we’re closing the office at 11:00 for our formal office Christmas party. We rented a casual restaurant in Fort Myers, and the Naples and Fort Myers’s offices will merge there for festivities.

I’ve been debating whether I want to go or not. There’re a lot of people who work at the Fort Myers office that I don’t know, or don’t know well. These types of events usually have one of two effects on me— I’m either glad I went because I learn people like my special kind of weirdness, or I’m not happy I went because I see how socially awkward I really am. Usually, the former turns out to be true, but if there’s a majority of people I don’t know, sometimes I experience the uncomfortable social awkwardness. I guess I’ll ask how many from our office will be attending, and if they go, I’ll go, because I’m comfortable with them and call them friends. And if the doctors I work with will be there, I’ll probably go, because I get along with them really well.

If I don’t go, I’ll still have a good day because I’ll take Joe to Cracker Barrel, which he’s been hinting at wanting to do when he gets here.

Let’s see...what else? Today is “injection afternoon,” where one of the new doctors holds her injection clinic. It’s fast paced, physically demanding, and fun. The doctor and I share a similar sense of humor, so it’s easy to laugh. But also serious work, with strict rules about creating and keeping a sterile field, and doing things as done in a hospital surgical suite. The exception is that I do almost everything except the injection itself—prep the patient, create the sterile field, get medications ready, and operate the C-arm.

We have the process down to a smooth, fast flow, and can do as many as 8-10 injections in an hour and fifteen minutes. Not easy when you’re wearing 20 pounds of lead, but the fun and satisfaction are more than worth it.

Funny, I Googled “C-arm” memes, and this:

...came up before this:

Not much else is going on, just enjoying the coast while it lasts...

Trivia Tidbit: Ancient Florida

Since I have to be at work very early today, I’ll leave you a teaser for a post I’m in the thick of writing.

Ancient Florida, and even “old” Florida used to be very different than it is today. Periods of glacial melting and cooling have changed the landscape and climate drastically.

I’m reading a very old book that I found on eBay. It’s called Archeology of the Indian River, and talks about some pretty limited archeological digs done around my hometown of Merritt Island. It also details all the factors that are essential for understanding what you find on a dig, like geology, ecology, and climate.

The author compares what was learned and found on these digs with the accounts of the early Spanish, English, and French explorers.

It’s fascinating to learn that the very same woods and swampland areas I played in as a kid was the home of a fierce tribe of hunter/gatherers. In fact, the area of my old home is basically the exact spot of an Ais town.

And also fascinating to learn that before the Indians, or maybe even at the same time, depending on how long they inhabited the area, mastodon, giant tapir, sloths, camels, pre-Columbian horses, and other long extinct animals roamed the marshlands.

I’ll post my observations as soon as I can, with photos of some exquisite archeogical finds that makes me wonder how “fierce” the Indians really were. Maybe they were only fierce when THEIR homeland was threatened. I know if some stranger barged into my home and took my kids as slaves, I would be fierce, too.

Happy Woden’s Day!

Brutality

The seasonal influx of Northerners is brutal here to those who live in SW FL. The traffic and daily bottlenecks that some elderly drivers are causing every day going to and from work grow more ridiculous every year. I mean, some of these drivers shouldn’t be on the road. One even hit a school bus the other day!

I won’t say how long it took me to get home that day, but by the time I got home, I was ready to pack up and move away.

“Season” also fills up the hospitals and doctor’s offices, including ours. Most of the patients are very, very nice, but some seem to feel that since they’re only here for a few months, they should automatically command priority over those who live here permanently.

Not so, señor.

And just because you might have a pickleball game scheduled for 3:00, doesn’t mean we can squeeze you in on an already overbooked schedule, and does not mean the doctors and medical staff should stay late to accommodate your “pickleball elbow” after hours.

But we often do, because we are committed to giving consistent, quality care, despite the toll it takes on us physically and emotionally. We care about everyone equally, and honestly, most of the snowbirds are very considerate. But the few bad apples, the ones who snarl traffic, and make unreasonable demands, tend to sour the season for the locals.

The upside is that Naples is a prestigious place to live, and has a generally well- funded police department which makes it nice and relatively safe (except for the occasional school bus), although I’m not a big fan of the uppity-ness, nor am I in love with the high cost of living here. I do, however, like my generous paycheck, bonuses, and insurance benefits, as well as other perks, like the considerate snowbirds who bring us Christmas treats.

And as the holidays grow closer, I’m not a fan of the warmer weather. I have a friend in Denver who showed me a pic yesterday of his patio. I told him I wished I was in Denver, because I’d be lying on the couch with a cozy blankie in front of a warm fireplace.

Instead, I had to be content taking a long, hot bath after my nearly hour long drive home (off-season takes 20 minutes) in 85 degree weather. That bath did help calm the angry muscle spasm gnawing on my lower back.

Sorry if I seem to be complaining. I’m really not—just venting a little. There are many, many things I’m thankful for, which I’ll talk about tomorrow or Thursday.

But at the same time, I am entertaining the thought of moving somewhere quieter much more often. I still love the idea of moving to Vermont, but just am not sure about the cold. Maybe I can retire sooner than later, and become a snowbird myself. But not to Naples. Nope. I don’t want to become the problem.

So, today’s schedule is brutal, and it will be a long day. But, the five day weekend will be glorious!

Early Florida

I remember being delightedly amused reading the journals of Lewis and Clark as they attempted to describe the new animals they found along the way.

That delight returned reading the various journals of various English, French, and Spanish explorers.

The first thing I’ll say is that Florida was very different in the 1500’s than it is today, and I don’t just mean in population, culture, and architecture. It was an entirely different climate.

First of all, Florida was nearly twice the size as it is today. So, the earliest map may have been more accurate than uninformed readers may think.

This map was drawn by Jacques ale Moyne de Morgues, a French artist tagging along with Pedro Menendez de Aviles.

So, yeah, Florida used to be a lot bigger. Some archeological sites of the early Indians have been found as far as twenty miles off the coast of Florida.

Secondly, Florida’s climate used to be much colder. While reading The Journal of Jonathan Dickinsin, he repeatedly mentions how bitterly cold the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral was, especially at night. However, this wasn’t in the middle of December, but July, August, and September. Reading it, I was incredulous, because I grew up very near Port Canaveral, and the summers were never cold. Surely never so cold as to render limbs, “black and useless” as Dickinsin describes.

However, upon further research, his descriptions were confirmed. Florida used to be pretty dang cold. 

Okay, so the animals...

One thing I found really amazing was the animal the Spanish explorers called “Sea-Wolves.” I imagined they were referring to something fierce or blood-hungry, like sharks or orcas, but they weren’t. They were referring to manatees. Playful, gentle, manatees, like the ones that would come play in the little cove near my old condo in Merritt Island.

Here’s Flappy making waves:

And here’s Matilda and her pup, Bubbles, being happy:

Some other descriptions of the animals amazed me, but didn’t really surprise me, since I’m aware that the encroachment of humans has disastrous results on wildlife.

For example, there were once large black bears roaming in great numbers on the Florida Keys. Statistics say that the bear population is only 45% that of historic Florida, and that’s sorta sad, isn’t it? Key deer, now endangered, were also proliferate, being spotted often by early explorers.

The journal of Fontaneda, who became a captive of the Calusa and remained with them 17 years, describes what I think is a raccoon:

“And I also relate that in these islands (the Florida Keys) there are many deer, and some animals that look like foxes and aren’t, but something else different. They are very fat and good to eat.”

And lastly, for today’s post, Fontaneda describes sea turtles, which were so plentiful back then that the Tortuga Islands were named for them. Of course, they are now a protected species. 

“...The turtles are of the size of a shield, and have as much meat as a cow. They have all types of meat, and it is a fish.”

A fish. Lol. But not too far a stretch, as sea turtles live their entire lives in the sea, coming ashore only  to lay their eggs. 

Oh, just one more...the captive Juan Ortiz mentions the Florida panther in his journals, which seemed to be more plentiful, more ferocious, and less timid in the 1500’s, maybe because they were often found carrying off the Indian dead, who had a unique way of burial. I’ll mention more about that in a later post. 

Anyway, that’s about all I have time for this morning. I’m looking forward to seeing the kids for Christmas! Joe will be here Dec 4th (he’s enjoying Dartmouth immensely), and Callie the 11th. Callie is still enjoying the U of San Fran, and is playing guitar and singing in a band. She wants to start an all girl band, though, and I’m excited to see where that goes! Aidan is coming home just for the holiday, because she’s now working two jobs. She just started her job at a brand new axe throwing pub in Daytona, and she loves it. She had her axe throwing orientation last night. An appropriate job for a Viking!

All of my kids are different, but one thing they have in common is they’re pursuing their passions, not money. When you do something you love, it’s a labor of love, not work. I’m glad they’re pursuing the things they enjoy, because when you pursue those things you’re passionate about, success is easy.