I walked a lot today, I would estimate about 8 miles. I started out for the motel Julie and Irwin are staying in and realized I had forgotten to give Brunswick his epilepsy med that he gets at 9 a.m. I tried to phone Ed and my phone was in the wrong mode, must have pressed a wrong button, and I couldn’t read the dial. It’s an old phone. So I walked back, even though I had gone half way. I started out again and got to the motel and Julie and I walked together. I took her over the bridge so she could see a different scene. Then I walked home after making arrangements for them to pick me up for an outing.

Ed had canceled out of the day because he is not feeling well. So I went with them to the Calusa Indian mounds even though they offered to let me be. I think it was just graceful to go. (A nap would have been nice.) The mounds are in Pineland about 12 miles away. It is a lovely area and we walked the trails and they read all about the Indians on the information plaques. Julie loved being there, so it was a good trip to make.

I started back to the car before they did and was waiting for them on a picnic bench. A family group came by and the teen daughter stopped by a rock and exclaimed over “the lizard” she had found. And I ventured to say it was a gecko and asked her if it spoke with an Australian accent. “No,” she said, clueless. I let her be. You win a few, you lose a few.

Julie and Irwin want to know what they can do tomorrow and I am going to suggest the Thomas Edison winter estate located off McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers. The grounds are beautiful – Edison imported a lot of different plants. There are banyan trees that are remarkable. He had a lab, a separate building, with all of his work materials in place. There is his house, a modest Florida style wood cottage, and there is another cottage that Henry Ford stayed in. He was a close friend and they spent a lot of time together. I think my friends will enjoy this, since they are both very scholarly.

We didn’t do dinner tonight. I ate party leftovers and so did Ed. Tomorrow is their last day and then it’s back to “normal”.

The house has been chilly – it never got above 67 inside today – and I have resisted turning the heat on, thinking the sun does its job most days and we warm up. But we haven’t. I walk around with sweaters and don’t have any motivation to do chores. I mostly want to either sit at the computer or get under the covers. I have always been like this. Cold indoors gets to me. I tend to be hypothermic. If it’s like this tomorrow, I will insist on heat. Living in a warm climate thins your blood and you are less able to tolerate the cold. And yet…I would live in NYC again in the right circumstances. I’ve said it many times. I miss the energy and the mood, the crowds, and the action. It’s like I’m a Borg without my people. (Star Trek fans will know what I mean.)

xx, Teal