A Year in St. Pete

Wayne's friend David is visiting the area this weekend. We originally had planned to go to the beach this afternoon, but the afternoon brought rain, so we just hung around my apartment. I'm not sure if it was some of the outer rings of Gustav or not, but it was a good afternoon to stay in.

As you can see, David is tall and I am short. No kidding, Sherlock! But actually, David is standing on a stool and I am sitting on the floor.

This weekend marks the first year anniversary of my move to Saint Petersburg! A year ago on this Saturday, I was surrounded by boxes. For dinner tonight Wayne and I went to Valentino's, which is located about 5 minutes from my apartment. It's a small place and the owner is very personable and comes out to talk to the guests. He was talking to a couple at the table next to us and the guy at the table asked Dennis, the owner, if he was from New York. Dennis said he was from upstate, from Schenectady. The guy said he was from the Rochester area. So naturally I had to let them know I was from Albany!

Wednesday Evening Walk

Went for another walk tonight. This time I walked over to 2nd Street N and walked to downtown. I found some interesting looking "urban" townhouses and condos interspersed with apartments and single family homes. I took a short break at BayWalk and had a "caprese" salad. Then I walked over to the Bay and back up northward along the Bay to my apartment. So . . . here are some of the things I saw along the way . . .

Tuesday Evening Walk

This coming weekend will mark the first anniversary of my move to Saint Petersburg. I cannot believe a year has passed! We went thru a period of off and on again showers, so I curtailed my walks. The weather has gone back to mostly sunny days and few showers so I've been trying to get back to a regular walk.

These shots were taken on my walk along Tampa Bay in St. Pete and around the Vinoy Resort and into the Old NE section where I live.

I went for a loooooong walk last night, all the way out to the Pier. I didn't bring my camera and the sky at sunset was spectacular. I figured I'd try again tonight. The walk was a bit shorter, but the sky was again beautiful. These shots at the Bay are looking East, with the clouds reflecting the setting sun in the West.

End of Summer Approaches

Una Voce had their annual pool party at Tom's and Nelson's this afternoon. Master chef Wayne made two dishes: the roasted shrimp and orzo salad (previously made for Valentine's Day. And he made a raspberry trifle with cake and custard with Amaretto. Another yummy! I'm not eating all this week!

Before desserts were served, there was this "contest". Contestants were to be blindfolded and then with arms behind their backs, they had to eat thru the whipped cream to get to the hidden quarter. The first to find it and spit it out on the table was the winner.

The contestants. The fellow on the right is Derek, the Artistic Director of Una Voce. Unfortunatly for him, this was a set up. After all were ready for the starting gun, the blindfolds of the three others were removed and they stood by as Derek dove in!

He's a good sport! He vowed to work their butts off at rehearsals now.


Two trifles!

Meandering Fay

Seems like I didn't get much of my first Tropical Storm" to experience. Fortunately the Tampa Bay area dodged another bullet. The most we got was a little wind and about 2 minutes of rain around 5:00 pm.

Work was pretty dead.

I moved stuff that I didn't want to get ruined, should a window blow in, to the interior halls and closets of my apartment. I closed all the blinds and doors when I went to work.

I spent Tuesday night putting everything back and re-organizing some of the stuff. I'm also getting in the mood to rid myself of some of the "junk". I wasn't sure about moving some things down here last year, and now after a year of not being used, I'm ready to shed again.

I cooked up some tempeh for dinner last night. It called for some soy sauce in the olive oil when cooking, but I had no soy sauce. I did learn something though. Never pour some balsamic vinegar into the pan with hot oil. I spent a little time cleaning up the stove top, refrigerator, counter . . . I did add some chipotle and lime marinade sauce . . . yum!

Another oink oink!