N.O.A.A. Strikes Again! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

     I should have known that the weather forecast would not quite be the weather endured. All day Tuesday and all day Wednesday, the forecasts were calling for lots of wind and a moderate amount (3" - 6") of snow, in addition to freezing rain and ice. The forecasts were so dire that I canceled the trip with the broker and set it up for next week. Responding properly to the forecast insured that we got none of what was forecast, except for the wind. The wind we got but that was it. The forecasts evidently proved accurate for Massachusetts and north and the they are still calling for snow later today, but it seems that the boys and girls of NOAA are still a little bit less than  accurate for the local scene. Ah, such is life in the big city.

    I will be heading up to White River Junction, VT,  tomorrow for the weekend. It is a small gathering of college buddies. We will eat and drink and play pinochle, a game we were all addicted to in college.  We try to do this once a year and it will be great to see them all once again. Perhaps we'll get snowed in. Too bad, none of us ski anymore. Old age, brittle bone and aching joints will keep us off the slopes and that probably is a good thing. Having a surgically repaired hip, I am very unwilling to run the risk of dislocating it, especially now that I have gotten it all checked out and having found that it is in first class shape. The Pain that I have been dealing with in it is actually from my lower back. The doctor put me on a med pack for inflammation and it did its job though I am going to have to do more yoga and stretching. It take a brave and fearless person to get old.

     I have been looking for a wrench, crescent or otherwise, that can handle a 2 5/8" nut. That is the size of the packing and locking nuts on the drive shaft. I have this rather cheaply made wrench that can do the job but as I said, it is cheap. Locking it in place at 2 5/8" is easy enough but it slips from that setting too easily and make the task of tightening/loosening the nuts a real pain. It doesn't help that I have to lay over the back of the engine and transmission to reach the stuffing box. The search so far has been unsuccessful and right now I am looking at using the cheap wrench and a Stiltson.

     I am hoping that this storm is the last of the season and that the weather finally begins to moderate and stabilize. I really want to get started on the work. winter for boaters is just too boring. It also allows to much time to spend money in the marine catalogs. Not that I actually spend it for I can't spend what I ain't got, but I could, easily.

     I got another surprise yesterday as glasses frame snapped in half.  I had to get a ride to the mall and first find an optical store that had a frame that could take the lenses I have and then get the frame replaced at a reasonable amount. I have to go to three stores before I found one that had frames that I could use and then pay for the new one. Bottom line frames were still $70 and they were on sale. I did pass on the Ray Bans which were also on sale and being offered at a"steal" price of $189! But once again, as the deaf man said, "I can see!"