Funny Video and a report from Memphis

Creatures of all kinds are often amazing...




Man! We've not been doing anything boat at all; although C 2 Shore has done an excellent job on our cushions.

 Finally done right... Thanks, Jeremy.

We had Capt. Will move Istaboa from Jupiter to Stuart. We're not sure what to think about that yet, but we'll see. It'll be fun to see Bob and Mary and others at Sunset Bay even though the place seems to be changing a bit and not entirely for the better. As it's often said, the only constant is change.
(Poor Capt. Will became incredibly ill right after he moved the boat and ended up in the hospital for almost a week. We're happy to say he's now home and recovering.)

Memphis has proven to be a lot of fun so we've just been enjoying being here. The apartment is coming along nicely and a few of the projects we started are nearing completion.
We find it interesting though... with business as bad as we're told, we keep extending opportunities for things such as lighting, window treatments, and cabinetry, but we're getting few, slow, or no responses. Seems no one wants to do anything anymore, even if we allow them whatever time frame they need. We're in no hurry, we'd actually like to have it all done while we're back on the boat.
A friend and Real Estate agent said everybody's waiting to see what happens with the election... Wha??? Does that mean that if their candidate loses they just won't do our projects? Don't get it.
Oh well, what that means is we'll just not spend the money.

The River Arts Festival was a couple of weeks ago and it was a resounding success, thousands of folks showed up. There was some doubt about attendance this year because they were charging admission for the first time and it was cold.
Didn't matter, there were more folks than ever.

We ran into an old buddy who was showing his art. He's a brilliant guy in many ways and always has been.
Eric Painter... The Painter.
We bought a piece from him that fit nicely in the little alcove of our entryway.

 You open our door and you see this. Looks almost 3D.

It's a nice feeling to buy art and help a friend at the same time. Keeping it local is the mantra in downtown Memphis.

Literally... Street Art.

 This fellow had the cat bird seat while enjoying people watching on S. Main St.

And... this was interesting. A young rock band (who's really good) was playing in the park in front of the Loraine Motel. In the background you'll see the wreath where Martin Luther King was shot.

We wonder what MLK's thoughts would've been seeing a young white rock band entertain this racially and culturally diverse crowd of all ages; right in front of his last stand.
Part of the dream is what we think. Wish he could see what things are like today.

And of course this being the arts district, they were going all out for Halloween. This spider is just some of the decorations. The parties? — Well, they start a little late for Mel and Me, but we heard from our younger friends that they're always a trip.

My brother Bill and his wife Priscilla came down last weekend. We made reservations at Felicia Suzanne's, which is not only one of the finest restaurants in town; Felicia is an acquaintance who lives in our building. She and boyfriend Richard are very nice folks who we run into all the time. She allowed us to dine at a table in her kitchen while she and her crew cooked for big Saturday night crowd.
That was interesting!
What we thought would be a somewhat chaotic kitchen turned out to be very organized.
Felicia's a very talented chef who just returned from New York where she had the honor of cooking at the James Beard House.
Interesting article here. Restaurateur's path to success paved with romantic notes

So that's about it... We've been enjoying our new life, the weather's been great, always something interesting to do, and the food's incredible. We've decided that as long as the weather's good we'll stick around, but winter's inevitable and that means we'll soon be heading back to Istaboa.

Thanks for checking in, we'll soon be floating around somewhere. We're feeling that perennial cruising itch.

Adios,

Istaboa