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!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Take Two And Hit To Right!
SHIP'S LOG:
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
Would that I had something truly interesting to write, but alas! such is really not the case. Perhaps.if I was a political junkie, I could get all into the New Hampshire Primary but it is hard to get excited about it. Now if Ron Paul had won, or Rick Santorum or even Newt Gingrich, but it was the "Steppford" Mitt Romney as expected and some sort of total cataclysm, it will be he for the GOP come the fall elections.And even those will be pretty much of a bore. That will mean that everyone will have to endure 7 months of increasingly negative political ads that will fill every spare moment of air time. I guess there is something good to be said about being without a television. At least we will have the Baseball Season to ease the pain.
Checking back in the log to last year on this date, I found that I was still in Fort Pierce enjoying the weather. I had become rather sedentary and had no reason to move but then one showed up. I had to empty the holding tank. Now that's a reason for making a journey! Then again, it was really living in the moment. Back then, I had to very aware of such things - food, water, electricity, sh*t, garbage, etc - for the simple reason that had to be handled very differently on a boat than on the land. Can't just "run out to the store." You are forced to do a lot more thinking, reflecting actually, and a lot more planning as you have to basically move your whole world to meet the need, whatever it might be. At the very least, it would entail rowing/motoring in the dinghy to the shore and then finding a way to get wherever it was that you need to get to get what you needed to get or get rid of what you needed to get rid of. Now it is very easy to go and get without much thought, but I find I still do the thinking part. I think about what I need, and then where I have to go, and then the best way to get there and all before I head out. Sort of like the UPS guys who plan their route so closely that the endeavor to make only right hand turns all along the way.
Like I said, not much of interest today but enough to let you know that I am alive and well, and that's a good thing!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
And The Weather In Florida . . . ..
SHIP'S LOG:
I got a chance to get around s see a couple more people who are on "The List" today. It is really something when I show up at their doors. They look absolutely shocked, stunned, like they can not believe their eyes. It is a great way to spend an afternoon, for both me and them.
The weather here has gotten a little bit "warmer" or shall I say unseasonable. A year ago, I was still in Fort Pierce battle the wind and the temps in the 70's. This was the day of the great battery replacement when the "old" house battery bank went away and a new one took its place. After a couple of days without electric "juice in the can" it was great to be able to run things again without firing up the engine or the portable generator. Basically I was still heading south though my pause at Fort Piece and my visits with Jerry had caused a bit of a delay. soon I would touch base with Brad and that would cause even more of a delay as together we worked at getting his boat "seaworthy." There are times when I think about him, whether or not he was able to finish up, whether or not he was able to get away before the local constabulary forced him to have his beast of a dog "fixed?" I will have to see if I still ave his cell phone number ad give him a call one of these days. I tend to think he is probably still on the hook in Fort Pierce, still planning to go but not being quite able to get going yet.
The first of the year brought a couple of big financial blows. The first was the bill for the dues for TYC - $708.63! Ouch! The second was the balance for the hauling, storage and launching from Yankee Boatyard - $786.53! Ouch! ! ! And the third was also from Yankee, the maintenance bill, I mere $663! Ouch!!! Ah, but then it is only money and had I gone south, I would have spent it anyhow. Then again, hauled out in some DIY (Do It Yourself) Mom & Pop boatyard someplace off the ICW down in "sunny Florida" I probably would have already been hard at work with the projects I have planned for the spring. Boy, is that list growing! Then again, it never really shrinks. Every project you begin reveals 3 more that need to be done, usually before you are able to finish the initial project, so it is better to leave it until spring when you can force yourself to stop because it is time to launch the boat. And that's a day that can't come soon enough. Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?
I got a chance to get around s see a couple more people who are on "The List" today. It is really something when I show up at their doors. They look absolutely shocked, stunned, like they can not believe their eyes. It is a great way to spend an afternoon, for both me and them.
The weather here has gotten a little bit "warmer" or shall I say unseasonable. A year ago, I was still in Fort Pierce battle the wind and the temps in the 70's. This was the day of the great battery replacement when the "old" house battery bank went away and a new one took its place. After a couple of days without electric "juice in the can" it was great to be able to run things again without firing up the engine or the portable generator. Basically I was still heading south though my pause at Fort Piece and my visits with Jerry had caused a bit of a delay. soon I would touch base with Brad and that would cause even more of a delay as together we worked at getting his boat "seaworthy." There are times when I think about him, whether or not he was able to finish up, whether or not he was able to get away before the local constabulary forced him to have his beast of a dog "fixed?" I will have to see if I still ave his cell phone number ad give him a call one of these days. I tend to think he is probably still on the hook in Fort Pierce, still planning to go but not being quite able to get going yet.
The first of the year brought a couple of big financial blows. The first was the bill for the dues for TYC - $708.63! Ouch! The second was the balance for the hauling, storage and launching from Yankee Boatyard - $786.53! Ouch! ! ! And the third was also from Yankee, the maintenance bill, I mere $663! Ouch!!! Ah, but then it is only money and had I gone south, I would have spent it anyhow. Then again, hauled out in some DIY (Do It Yourself) Mom & Pop boatyard someplace off the ICW down in "sunny Florida" I probably would have already been hard at work with the projects I have planned for the spring. Boy, is that list growing! Then again, it never really shrinks. Every project you begin reveals 3 more that need to be done, usually before you are able to finish the initial project, so it is better to leave it until spring when you can force yourself to stop because it is time to launch the boat. And that's a day that can't come soon enough. Have you noticed that the days are getting longer?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
70 Degress, Humid and Sunny!
SHIP'S LOG:
I took a look back at the blogs of a year ago. Ah! That was the life! Vero Beach! Fort Pierce! Temperatures in the 70's! Swimming! Working on my tan! Wonderful! And as you are quiet aware, very different from what I have been experiencing recently! NULITELY - The Industrial Strength Bowel Cleanser! The Colonoscopy it self, though the drugs were very nice! Temps in the teens for crying out loud. Suffice it to say that I do day dream about last year, the good parts especially of which there were many, many.
I have to say that the routine of the trip, while galling at times, did keep things tidy. I have to say that over the last few months, I have lost "the routine" and even the ambition to create an on-shore version. It is not that I "have to do anything," for "wasting time," as some people call it, is not a waste of time at all. I can pretty much do what I want when I want within the strictures of my bank account and the criminal justice system, but being completely "free wheelin'" can be as boring and as unappetizing as any dead end job. And I still have to struggle against "should-ing" on myself. You know, "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do that." Having the free time to do what you want when you want is wonderful as long as you have a sense of what it is that you want. There is a big difference between " being " and "doing" but also as beg a difference between "being" and "rotting away."
The again, i had to pay the bills today. Well, actually I didn't pay them so much as organized to pay them - balancing my checkbook, listing the bills, - that sort of thing. And as the bills get paid online, it really only takes the moving of electrons from here to there, so long as my electrons are the right ones for the right amounts. Of course, it didn't help that "POWERBALL" raised the cost of a ticket. It was hard enough to justify spend $1 when the prize got over $100,000,000. Now with the cost going up to $2, I doubt that I will be able in good conscience to buy why shy of a half-a-billion pay out! It would be fun to win though. I would become a reincarnation of "John Bersford Tipton." Who is he you might ask. Well, if I got the name right (I'm close), he was the fictional "extremely wealthy millionaire" who used to send "Michael Anthony" out with checks for $1,000,000 to be given to randomly chosen people in the show called "The Millionaire." I wouldn't do it randomly though as there are a number of people who I would like to help out and different causes to do something for as well. Who knows, perhaps I may get the chance someday but it will be a tough call at $2 a ticket!
I took a look back at the blogs of a year ago. Ah! That was the life! Vero Beach! Fort Pierce! Temperatures in the 70's! Swimming! Working on my tan! Wonderful! And as you are quiet aware, very different from what I have been experiencing recently! NULITELY - The Industrial Strength Bowel Cleanser! The Colonoscopy it self, though the drugs were very nice! Temps in the teens for crying out loud. Suffice it to say that I do day dream about last year, the good parts especially of which there were many, many.
I have to say that the routine of the trip, while galling at times, did keep things tidy. I have to say that over the last few months, I have lost "the routine" and even the ambition to create an on-shore version. It is not that I "have to do anything," for "wasting time," as some people call it, is not a waste of time at all. I can pretty much do what I want when I want within the strictures of my bank account and the criminal justice system, but being completely "free wheelin'" can be as boring and as unappetizing as any dead end job. And I still have to struggle against "should-ing" on myself. You know, "I should do this" or "I shouldn't do that." Having the free time to do what you want when you want is wonderful as long as you have a sense of what it is that you want. There is a big difference between " being " and "doing" but also as beg a difference between "being" and "rotting away."
The again, i had to pay the bills today. Well, actually I didn't pay them so much as organized to pay them - balancing my checkbook, listing the bills, - that sort of thing. And as the bills get paid online, it really only takes the moving of electrons from here to there, so long as my electrons are the right ones for the right amounts. Of course, it didn't help that "POWERBALL" raised the cost of a ticket. It was hard enough to justify spend $1 when the prize got over $100,000,000. Now with the cost going up to $2, I doubt that I will be able in good conscience to buy why shy of a half-a-billion pay out! It would be fun to win though. I would become a reincarnation of "John Bersford Tipton." Who is he you might ask. Well, if I got the name right (I'm close), he was the fictional "extremely wealthy millionaire" who used to send "Michael Anthony" out with checks for $1,000,000 to be given to randomly chosen people in the show called "The Millionaire." I wouldn't do it randomly though as there are a number of people who I would like to help out and different causes to do something for as well. Who knows, perhaps I may get the chance someday but it will be a tough call at $2 a ticket!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Almost Christmas!
SHIP'S LOG:
I have successfully avoided "It's A Wonderful Life" for the 47th year in a row . . at least. I am not sure if I have ever seen the film but from all that I have heard, I have no desire to do so.
Over the past couple of days, I have continued to visit people on "the List." The visits for the most part have been short as most are hip-deep in their own Christmas Celebration preparations and I didn't want to tie them up too much for too long. All though have made me promise a longer visit in the weeks ahead. Sounds good to me.
A year ago, I was ensconced in the Cocao Village Marina freezing. I had gotten past the point of being amazed at just how cold the winter was in Florida as the weather had been positively arctic for nearly a month.I can remember thinking that as bad as it might have been for us northerners wintering there, it had to be, and was, far worse for the poor locals. The concept of "winter clothes" and having " a furnace" were completely alien to them. It has been far warmer here this year than down there last year, and so far, no snow. That will undoubtedly change but so far, so good.
Come the first of the year, I will go pay a visit to ABISHAG in her winter quarters basically to see that her deck and cockpit drains are clear so there will no build up of water leading to ice, leading to water getting inside and thus to a whole host of troubles. It will also be an opportunity to sit down and visualize the projects that need to be done come spring. It is not too soon to begin that process as we are, as of today, one day closer to launching. Ah, what a wonderful thought.
I hope you all have a holy and Merry Christmas!
I have successfully avoided "It's A Wonderful Life" for the 47th year in a row . . at least. I am not sure if I have ever seen the film but from all that I have heard, I have no desire to do so.
Over the past couple of days, I have continued to visit people on "the List." The visits for the most part have been short as most are hip-deep in their own Christmas Celebration preparations and I didn't want to tie them up too much for too long. All though have made me promise a longer visit in the weeks ahead. Sounds good to me.
A year ago, I was ensconced in the Cocao Village Marina freezing. I had gotten past the point of being amazed at just how cold the winter was in Florida as the weather had been positively arctic for nearly a month.I can remember thinking that as bad as it might have been for us northerners wintering there, it had to be, and was, far worse for the poor locals. The concept of "winter clothes" and having " a furnace" were completely alien to them. It has been far warmer here this year than down there last year, and so far, no snow. That will undoubtedly change but so far, so good.
Come the first of the year, I will go pay a visit to ABISHAG in her winter quarters basically to see that her deck and cockpit drains are clear so there will no build up of water leading to ice, leading to water getting inside and thus to a whole host of troubles. It will also be an opportunity to sit down and visualize the projects that need to be done come spring. It is not too soon to begin that process as we are, as of today, one day closer to launching. Ah, what a wonderful thought.
I hope you all have a holy and Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Visiting Here & There
SHIP'S LOG:
I am at last getting around to doing something that I really should have done before this. I have started to visit those who have been my support over the last year. True, I have seen a few, but I ma going to try and work my way through "The List," all those people who have been so supportive of me on my journey. I made four(4) visits yesterday and, as with the previous visits, it was a wonderful experience. And rather humbling too. Everyone was eager to hear the latest news and to hear again the stories of the trip that were given over in the blog. They wanted more stories, more details, more updates, more of everything like that. I wish I could write more about what took place on these visits, but it is really an exhausting thing. I will try and make a few more this week and then probably hold off on the rest until after the holidays.
I am at last getting around to doing something that I really should have done before this. I have started to visit those who have been my support over the last year. True, I have seen a few, but I ma going to try and work my way through "The List," all those people who have been so supportive of me on my journey. I made four(4) visits yesterday and, as with the previous visits, it was a wonderful experience. And rather humbling too. Everyone was eager to hear the latest news and to hear again the stories of the trip that were given over in the blog. They wanted more stories, more details, more updates, more of everything like that. I wish I could write more about what took place on these visits, but it is really an exhausting thing. I will try and make a few more this week and then probably hold off on the rest until after the holidays.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Winter
SHIP'S LOG:
I haven't got up the gumption to hit the sail loft yet. You don't now what boring, dully repetitive, mind-numbing work is until you have worked on building sails. Truth be told, I am also in no hurt to stitch my fingers, burn myself with a cutting iron or pull a muscle in my back from being hunched over the cutting table. It is truly a drag but one which I will have to get back into unless I want to pay mucho buckaroos come spring in order to get my sails back. And what is a sailboat without sails?
I have done such exciting things as change the oil in my car, go to the bank, hit the "Paperback Book Trader" and check my mail in the Groton location. Overwhelming, n'cest pas?One thing that I have enjoyed is dropping in to visit with people who, over the course on my journey, bailed me out with a little cash, in some cases a lot of cash, in order to keep me financially afloat. If, or I should say when, The Publisher's Clearinghouse Prize Patrol finally tracks me down, all of that assistance gets repaid, if only to allow them to be generous again to the next person in need. I have discovered there certainly are a lot f us out there. It is wonderful beyond description how each of them was so genuinely glad to see me and offered further help the first thing. Not being completely out of the woods yet, that time may come, but for right now, it is quite humbling again to know that the help is there, ready and willing to be given.
The calluses are slowly coming back to the finger tips, far too slowly though. No blisters yet, then again that is because I have the good sense and lack the dedication to play until they form. And the fingering memory is returning too, but the dexterity is lagging far behind. It is not just a lack of "practice," ol Arthur Itishas expanded his foothold, or should I say handhold. As disquieting as it will be to the people around me from time to time, I am going to have to get back to some serious knuckle-cracking to loosen up all those left-hand finger joints. All in all I can play for about an hour before it all goes to pot and the finger tips scream and the fingers get clumsy and I really sound terrible. This too will pass and one day it will all fall into place and be smooth as it ever was, but getting there is not the most fun in the world. Then again, no pain, no gain . . . the motto of everyone who has the gain and has forgotten the pain as well as physical therapists everywhere!
Ed, who owns the house in which I sit, got back from a five day trip to Vero Beach and is complaining about how cold it is up here. Actually, he is lucky as if he had been down there last year, he wouldn't be complaining at all. Last year, Florida was in the midst of one heck of a cold snap that would last until January 3rd. A couple of days from now, one year ago that is, I pulled into the Coco Village Marina for Christmas. Wonderful place, wonderful people and they had a sauna. I, along with many others who had head south for the warmth of Florida, spent a lot of time in that sauna. So far, this winter has been a snap. I am sure we will get cold and snow, but the longer it stays away, the better for it will then last less longer and be less severe. Does that sound like wishful thinking?
I haven't got up the gumption to hit the sail loft yet. You don't now what boring, dully repetitive, mind-numbing work is until you have worked on building sails. Truth be told, I am also in no hurt to stitch my fingers, burn myself with a cutting iron or pull a muscle in my back from being hunched over the cutting table. It is truly a drag but one which I will have to get back into unless I want to pay mucho buckaroos come spring in order to get my sails back. And what is a sailboat without sails?
I have done such exciting things as change the oil in my car, go to the bank, hit the "Paperback Book Trader" and check my mail in the Groton location. Overwhelming, n'cest pas?One thing that I have enjoyed is dropping in to visit with people who, over the course on my journey, bailed me out with a little cash, in some cases a lot of cash, in order to keep me financially afloat. If, or I should say when, The Publisher's Clearinghouse Prize Patrol finally tracks me down, all of that assistance gets repaid, if only to allow them to be generous again to the next person in need. I have discovered there certainly are a lot f us out there. It is wonderful beyond description how each of them was so genuinely glad to see me and offered further help the first thing. Not being completely out of the woods yet, that time may come, but for right now, it is quite humbling again to know that the help is there, ready and willing to be given.
The calluses are slowly coming back to the finger tips, far too slowly though. No blisters yet, then again that is because I have the good sense and lack the dedication to play until they form. And the fingering memory is returning too, but the dexterity is lagging far behind. It is not just a lack of "practice," ol Arthur Itishas expanded his foothold, or should I say handhold. As disquieting as it will be to the people around me from time to time, I am going to have to get back to some serious knuckle-cracking to loosen up all those left-hand finger joints. All in all I can play for about an hour before it all goes to pot and the finger tips scream and the fingers get clumsy and I really sound terrible. This too will pass and one day it will all fall into place and be smooth as it ever was, but getting there is not the most fun in the world. Then again, no pain, no gain . . . the motto of everyone who has the gain and has forgotten the pain as well as physical therapists everywhere!
Ed, who owns the house in which I sit, got back from a five day trip to Vero Beach and is complaining about how cold it is up here. Actually, he is lucky as if he had been down there last year, he wouldn't be complaining at all. Last year, Florida was in the midst of one heck of a cold snap that would last until January 3rd. A couple of days from now, one year ago that is, I pulled into the Coco Village Marina for Christmas. Wonderful place, wonderful people and they had a sauna. I, along with many others who had head south for the warmth of Florida, spent a lot of time in that sauna. So far, this winter has been a snap. I am sure we will get cold and snow, but the longer it stays away, the better for it will then last less longer and be less severe. Does that sound like wishful thinking?
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