Where's Winter? Who Cares?

SHIP'S LOG:

One of things you miss when you make a Trip like I did last year is getting together with family and friends fr special celebrations. You hear about them second hand via emails and phone calls which always include "You should have been there" and "Everyone was asking for you."Well this year is different and I got to go to a special celebration yesterday, the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Tom and Shirley. Being he "givers" that they are, the thought of their kids surprising them with such an event not what they wanted but their "objections" got overwhelmed by the real outpouring of love and celebration. The felt that they hadn't done anything "deserving" such a fete, but their children, and their grandchildren and their family and friends begged to differ. It was a wonderful time. Perhaps the only down side was that it made me feel a little "old." Then again, I guess I am.

Winter seems to be hesitant to put in an appearance. It seems to get "chilly" for a couple of days but it so far lacks the fortitude to stick around for long. This weekend is supposed to sport temperatures lower than normal but beginning the week will see the temps rise up above the normal to "unseasonably warm." And while parts of the mid-west are to get "substantial snow, it looks as though we are going to get a pass again. Not that I am complaining mind you. Still, what is winter without snow? It is one thing to be in Florida where snow would be an abomination, but here in New England it is the expected norm. I suppose that I should be careful what I wish for as it it is still very possible that we could get blasted. And when we do, if we do, I would be the first to grumble.

Other than that, the days pass peacefully and I am still waiting. I suppose something will happen soon, or at lest eventually, but until it does, I wait. I had a wonderful conversation about Haiti with a table companion last night. He seems very eager to go and experience the place and its people. It is difficult to explain to someone how a people could be so incredibly poor and yet be filled with joy. The things that we tend to worry and fret over, all the things that cause us stress are as nothing to the Haitians. They have sense of peace and joy that is incomprehensible to us of the first world. Maybe he will actually make the trip down though I warned him that it would change him forever. Still, it would be great for him if he made the journey.

It is one day closer to launching, though still months away. I am going to have to start planning the spring projects for they are not months away. With the way the weather is, it is very possible that late next month I can begin at least with those that require "destruction," sanding, scrapping, dismantling, cleaning and the like. It is drudgery but it is what helps to make the sailing season such a joy. There is nothing like laying in the wet mud, sanding the bottom in the cold March wind to make those steaks cooked on the grill in some anchorage taste all the better! AH!