Monday

It was raining the whole day long.
Washing some stuff. Not possible to put it onto the clothesline.
Then sewing. At least it's not so hot in the florida room when it's pouring down..

I finished the madeleine mini bloomers that I wanted to do for a long time. I don't now why I always hesitated since they were really easy. I just don't have the required elastics and ribbons to try them on and we couldn't make it to the thrift store today.

 I guess one of those is not enough. They're so cute!

St. Pete - Raw Food and Concerts

Yesterday we went to St. Petersburg. It's like 2 hours south from Inverness and we went there for a concert. But since we had to drive so far we were lucky ('cause nobody needed the car) to combine this trip with some other stuff.

We went to IKEA to get a mattress and a slatted frame for our bus. The shop was kind of the same as in germany. But still not completely. What I appreciate about those european companies is that I feel like they seem to care more about ecology. Even if it's just little tiny things like signs asking the people to switch off their car while in the loading area. Just stuff like that.

The other thing we had planned on doing in between this shopping tour and the concert was eating out. There are several (not too many but still some) options for vegan dining in the tampa area. And two of those even offer 100% RAW vegan food. We had to check one of those out.

We went to that one I prefered which was a little bit further from the venue. But we left Inverness early and after IKEA there was plenty of time. So we drove to St. Pete Beach to check out "vida de cafe". Since this island has a beautiful beach the town seems to take this for profit and the parking spaces were pricey. So we decided instead of eating there to just stay for an affordable hour, grab something to go and eat it on the beach. As a snack. Then afterwards drive to the other restaurant to sit down without a rush and eat there.

And so we did. We shared tacos and Sisto got himself a mango shake while I already had made my decision for cheesecake. Yes, raw cheesecake.
You know what: this food was f*cking awesome. We never tasted a mango shake that was so rich and creamy. The tacos were insane and my cheesecake heavenly. Nothing more to say. I made pictures. Haha.

The hour passed quickly. We got the food. The inside of the cafe was very welcoming, too. Simple and quiet. No big time scenario, just homely wooden furniture and green walls. An open counter. Big windows. We went to the beach. It was beautiful. Sunny. A little bit crowded, but ok for a saturday. We had our meal and went for a short walk around the block. There were many nice houses, close to the beach and all in all it was as you imagine Florida to be.

We left around five. Still enough time before the concert to check out the "leafy greens cafe".
I was already kind of full from the cheesecake but wanted to eat a little bit since the evening was going to be long and I was curious about the food. So I took the thai curry soup and decided to share pizza with Sisto. The pizza unfortunately was out. It was like the main thing we wanted to try out. So Sisto ordered a Burger and we decided to share a sandwich.

So, the food here also was delicious. The soup was so refreshing but spicy at the same time. Sistos Burger was great and I really loved the sandwich that had a cashew cheese inside which really made you scream for more. And after we finished it all up we were so full. Nobody ever thinks you can be so full from just vegetables. But go to a raw restaurant (because they know what they are doing) and order    a starter and a main dish and if you feel like a dessert: you won't be able to move afterwards, I promise.

We didn't stay inside but sat down in front of the shop. So I can't tell you about the interior. It was little bit more restaurant style. The outside was nice, just the neighborhood isn't the best, so there were some strange people passing. And we were the only ones on the street. (At least parking was free..)

What us bothered at the second cafe was the service. Maybe it's an american thing - I read something about it, so it doesn't necessarily have to do with the venue at all - but from the moment we went in until the second we left we wouldn't sit for a minute without the waitress to come and ask if everything's ok. Like we went out. With her. We checked the menu. She was out. If we wanted to drink. We denied. She was back after a minute. Who can read and decide about a meal in such a short time? She came back after another minute. We felt rushed. We ordered. She brought the soup. While we were eating the main dish she came out to ask if everything's ok. After we had finished she was out to ask if we want a dessert. When we said no she brought us the bill. Hey, if I'm going out to eat I want it to be restful. I want to enjoy my food, not rush over it. I want to sit while it fills me up. I want it to be unhasty. Eating out to me is something special. I don't eat out every day. And I dislike to feel watched: if I finished my dish, wether I like it or not, how I eat and how quick I leave the table (especially if it's not full). We felt uneasy and though the food was delicate and tasty we wouldn't come back. What a pity.

So when we left the cafe it was early. We had planned way more time for this part of our day. However we went to the club which actually was the home of the organizer. It seemed to be some workshop with a huge garage in the past. Now the garage was the space where the concerts took place. 15 or 16 acts. And in his living room they had opened a gallery. Full of pictures of a guy that had passed away some time ago. His widow gave away all of his paintings and they took them and put them there. You could buy all the pictures for 5 to 10 bucks which they pass over to his widow for medication and stuff. The most impressing piece was one of a girl and a dog licking some ice cream together. Light and dreamy, playful and naive. I loved the picture (that unfortunately was already sold). He painted a lot of portraits, too. Ordinary people and well-known ones like Clinton or the pope (last one without his eyes).
Altogether they looked amazing.

The concert was cool. For me after this day it was too long. So around twelve I went to sleep a bit in the car. And Sisto woke me up some hours later. There was a wide range of different noise related projects and bands. And a lot of people came to see them. Which to us was even more startling.
Around half past three I think the concert was over and we drove home.

 

We had to stop for a little baby racoon that wouldn't leave the street because it was so busy eating something from the ground and a deer was running cross the street in front of us. We slept too short. And I wrote a lot. So this is it for today.

Animals / Flowers

We have been into that little old house. It somehow belongs to my brother-in-law but it's half broken and after some attempt to fix it and live there it now is no longer in use. There's some stuff. Nothing special. Otherwise it wouldn't sit there. We wanted to look at a dog crate to sell it on craigslist. The crate was inhabited.

 Another crazy animal was spotted on the wall before we went inside. Walking stick. Talking stick. Ok, just the first..

And a walk through the garden offered some hidden beauties. Some tiny little flowers - yellow, purple and pink ones - hide between the grass this weeks. Lovely. Some more flowers let us hope for yummy vegetables soon. By the way: one little Dill plant survived.

Crime Scene

Let's make some noise. It's loud.

State of affairs

This morning we towed the car to a workshop. We have to let it check to continue working on it. Why it's not starting. And what we can do to fix it.

And I got to know how it's like to stir a car without a power steering. Because when Sisto was pushing the car out of the driveway I had to sit inside and steer. Hard work I can tell you! Even more when the car is just rolling at such a low speed.

Now we are waiting for the mechanics to call us. Fingers crossed there's no major thing wrong!

- - -

Regarding some incidents that happened in Colorado lately: while politics are debating about the weapons law the sales of weaponry increased about 25% after the shooting. How insane is that?

Kitty Litter

What a stupid idea!
Some time ago I read that you can extinguish bad smells from old objects by putting them into cat litter for some while.
When we got the bus, I thought about that trick as a good thing against its smell. Actually it wasn't. Instead today I had to realize what a mess I made. I found myself for three hours trying to get the small little clay pieces out of the carpet. Like Sisyphus. I had to vacuum over and over again. And still you can see little white pieces skipping when you brush it firmly.
Lets face the positive: the smell is gone!

The car

I promised to be a bit more specific on the car we bought. But then we started cleaning and working on it and there wasn't a lazy minute in the last two days. So I broke my word. You will understand!

Unfortunately the last owner wasn't completely honest about the condition and after we took the van home, it wouldn't start again. The battery was broke. But something else was wrong with it, too. Cause after we had gotten another battery and replaced the old one it still didn't start immediately. 

When we opened up the motor case (that's between the two front seats) there was a revelation. Some little animal, a squirrel probably, had built a nest inside the insulation. And the whole motor block was full with acorns and dirt. So i was vacuuming the nuts out of every tiny little corner and from between cables and plugs.

The thing had also bitten trough some cables. So one of the cylinders wasn't working. Probably the problem why it didn't start properly. We have to get it checked by a mechanic. But first Sisto needs his Florida drivers license, so we can get a license for our car.

Rear seats and bench were thrown out by Sisto. We try to sell them. We wanna built a bed in the back, so we can really do a comfy trip to the West and sleep in the bus wherever we are. Without worrying about motels and costs. We already fell in love with that old thing, though it's a little bit frustrating that we can't just get going immediately but have to fix it first. But still it's better to have it fixed here than having major issues while our trip. 

One last thing: yes, this car is absolutely a no-go when it comes to economics and pollution. I know. We know. And we would love to have one of those lately-on-the-market vans, that have the space and the good fuel economy. But since we are just poor, at this time of our life we cannot afford something like this. In any other situation I would never ever buy such a big and reckless car. But we have to travel the country. We want to sleep somewhere. And we have some stuff to transport. 

So far for today. Enjoy your sunday!