SHIP'S LOG:
Winter seems to be getting serious about showing up. Temps have been going down and today inches of snow is scheduled to show up. And I hate snow. Snow is fine in the mountains and hills but along the coast, well it makes no sense.Along the coast it should be the the 70's and humid. I hate snow!
It has been snowing since early morning and, while I am not sure just how much we already have, from mu perch high above the street, it looks significant and it is scheduled to keep right on snowing until tomorrow morning. I hate snow!
It wouldn't be so bad if it were say March but it is not March, no even February. It is bloody January, and while the days are getting longer, it is still winter time, astronomically as well as atmospherically. Basically that means that any snow we get is likely to stick around for more than awhile. I hate snow.
There supposed to be a little party for all the members of TYC who took their boats north to Portland for winter storage. It was (is?) going to be at Portland Riverside Marina, a simple affair of hot dogs and BYOB. Teddy Paulsen, who was "hosting" the event, sent out an email this morning that it was still on, but I decide that discretion is the better part of partying. Just the last quarter mile or so to the marina is downhill from route 66 to the riverside, on a road that certainly is high on Portland Street maintenance for snow removal at this time of the year. Getting to the party won't be as challenging as leaving it. I hate snow.
Kevin, the owner of the sail loft where I toil, wiped -out last weekend up at Sugarbush, where he does ski patrol. He tore up his "hammy" on his left leg. He will find out on Tuesday if he needs an operation so bad did he tear it. He is not a happy camper. His attendance at the loft has been limited to a few "painful" hours Thursday and Friday which were even more limited due to the meds. Actually important work got done as we actually were able to sync-up sails with work orders. The best part about that it the lack of demand for washing. Washing sails is an incredible pain in the butt. Imagine sewing all your sheets and bed linens together into one large structure and then washing it is a tub of cold water laced with bleach and Dawn. The after an hour or so, pulling that soggy mass out of the "cleaning solution" into the rising solution, another tub of cold water. And after another hour, hauling the clean soggy mass out of that tub and stinging over several lines that criss-cross the room so they might drip dry. There is no way to stay dry. Indeed there is no way to prevent yourself from getting soaked. If any of the owners of the sails had to do this, they would agree that we don't charge enough fore the service.
One las thought, not only do I hate snow, I hate winter itself. Spring can't come soon enough!
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Thursday, December 29, 2016
I HAve The Plague!
SHIP'S LOG:
ABISHAG sit nice and snug in Portland under her blue tarp. There has been a little wind, a little rain and even a little snow but nothing much of any of it. we are supposed to get a fair wallop today/tonight but we will just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, I have the plague. Not quite sure where I acquired this "Christmas gift," but it is now four days along and seemingly coming to an end. Aches and pains, a little fever and a little tummy trouble. Nothing major. Thank goodness that my body's reaction to a cold or flu or anything of the sort is to shut down. I take some OTC medicine and its off to bed. I basically sleep it off getting up only for food ( I even have some chicken soup!) and the occasional trip to the bathroom. It is all very peaceful and restful. This is the second cold this fall/winter season and that's a rare event. Usually one comes in January which puts me "on the hard" for a week and then leaves, but usually only one. I have had two so far and it is not even January yet. This does not bode well.
The Dismal Swamp is closed. Not the whole thing, just the sectional route of the ICW that passes through it. Evidently the storms and/or hurricanes that battered the area during the fall were responsible for a lot of detritus ending up in the channel making it impassible not that it was an easy passage to begin with.It is the oldest part of the ICW, going back to Colonial times, an it requires careful water monitoring to keep the depth deep enough for passage. The left water out of a lake to keep the water in the channel at a certain level. I was unable to travel it back in 2010/11 when I made my trap as they were experiencing a bit of a drought and the water level in the lake, hence in the channel, dropped below the level needed for a passage. Maybe next time.
O well, back to bed. I hate colds almost as much as I hate winters.
ABISHAG sit nice and snug in Portland under her blue tarp. There has been a little wind, a little rain and even a little snow but nothing much of any of it. we are supposed to get a fair wallop today/tonight but we will just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, I have the plague. Not quite sure where I acquired this "Christmas gift," but it is now four days along and seemingly coming to an end. Aches and pains, a little fever and a little tummy trouble. Nothing major. Thank goodness that my body's reaction to a cold or flu or anything of the sort is to shut down. I take some OTC medicine and its off to bed. I basically sleep it off getting up only for food ( I even have some chicken soup!) and the occasional trip to the bathroom. It is all very peaceful and restful. This is the second cold this fall/winter season and that's a rare event. Usually one comes in January which puts me "on the hard" for a week and then leaves, but usually only one. I have had two so far and it is not even January yet. This does not bode well.
The Dismal Swamp is closed. Not the whole thing, just the sectional route of the ICW that passes through it. Evidently the storms and/or hurricanes that battered the area during the fall were responsible for a lot of detritus ending up in the channel making it impassible not that it was an easy passage to begin with.It is the oldest part of the ICW, going back to Colonial times, an it requires careful water monitoring to keep the depth deep enough for passage. The left water out of a lake to keep the water in the channel at a certain level. I was unable to travel it back in 2010/11 when I made my trap as they were experiencing a bit of a drought and the water level in the lake, hence in the channel, dropped below the level needed for a passage. Maybe next time.
O well, back to bed. I hate colds almost as much as I hate winters.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Snow? Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!
SHIP'S LOG:
The weather has been a little crazy the last 24 hours. Yesterday, we got 3 inches of snow and it was bitterly cold, down in the high 20's. The roads were icy and even I had to turn up the heat! This morning it was in the mid 50's and the snow was all but gone. Very Bizarre!
According to NOAA, the rest of the week should be mild with more snow on Christmas! Everyone who believes that stand on your head! It would be nice to have a white Christmas, but I don't buy it. I have along history with NOAA tat is not pleasant. Truly, I wouldn't trust it if they claimed the Sun rose in the east! At least, I would take it with a grain of salt. But as I have learned over the years, it rally doesn't matter what is forecast, one has to deal with whatever weather shows up. So it is hope for the best, plan for the worst!
The weather has been a little crazy the last 24 hours. Yesterday, we got 3 inches of snow and it was bitterly cold, down in the high 20's. The roads were icy and even I had to turn up the heat! This morning it was in the mid 50's and the snow was all but gone. Very Bizarre!
According to NOAA, the rest of the week should be mild with more snow on Christmas! Everyone who believes that stand on your head! It would be nice to have a white Christmas, but I don't buy it. I have along history with NOAA tat is not pleasant. Truly, I wouldn't trust it if they claimed the Sun rose in the east! At least, I would take it with a grain of salt. But as I have learned over the years, it rally doesn't matter what is forecast, one has to deal with whatever weather shows up. So it is hope for the best, plan for the worst!
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Winter Be Coming!
SHIP'S LOG:
According to the "Never-Wrong" forecasters at NOAA, we should be getting snow Sunday night. Considering the blizzard that haws been hitting the upper mid-west, it is a bit of a no brainer. Hopefully, NOAA will be as accurate as the usually are as I am not ready for winter.
Working in the sail loft the past week has been like working in a refrigerator. There is "radiant" heating, but it is more for the machines and the cloth than for the workers. Ya gota keep the computers and sewing machines at the proper temp or the cease to function, or at least cease to function well. Then again, I have been working in the part of the loft that the heat misses. It is so chilly that the tape used to stick sail patches and panels together doesn't stick really well. It tends to stop sticking a couple of days after you lay it down. I have to go back and go over each piece of tape and pr4ess it down, getting it to stick again.
I haven't chastised my fingers together yet simply because I haven't been sewing. I did however slice finger tips nicely. I forgot that sail cloth is so stiff that it can slice you like a knife. It is something like a "paper cut" but on steroids.
I have been working about two weeks and I am still "paying off" the furler, something like an indentured servant. I have about $800 to go. I "make" $10/hour and probably will average about 5 hours a day, tops. Hopefully, I will have it all paid off by the beginning of the new year and can actually start making some money. I will need it to pay the yard-bill and TYC membership dues and for all of the little items I will need to get ABISHAG ready for launching in the spring. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
According to the "Never-Wrong" forecasters at NOAA, we should be getting snow Sunday night. Considering the blizzard that haws been hitting the upper mid-west, it is a bit of a no brainer. Hopefully, NOAA will be as accurate as the usually are as I am not ready for winter.
Working in the sail loft the past week has been like working in a refrigerator. There is "radiant" heating, but it is more for the machines and the cloth than for the workers. Ya gota keep the computers and sewing machines at the proper temp or the cease to function, or at least cease to function well. Then again, I have been working in the part of the loft that the heat misses. It is so chilly that the tape used to stick sail patches and panels together doesn't stick really well. It tends to stop sticking a couple of days after you lay it down. I have to go back and go over each piece of tape and pr4ess it down, getting it to stick again.
I haven't chastised my fingers together yet simply because I haven't been sewing. I did however slice finger tips nicely. I forgot that sail cloth is so stiff that it can slice you like a knife. It is something like a "paper cut" but on steroids.
I have been working about two weeks and I am still "paying off" the furler, something like an indentured servant. I have about $800 to go. I "make" $10/hour and probably will average about 5 hours a day, tops. Hopefully, I will have it all paid off by the beginning of the new year and can actually start making some money. I will need it to pay the yard-bill and TYC membership dues and for all of the little items I will need to get ABISHAG ready for launching in the spring. Ah, the fun of boat ownership!
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Sail HO!
SHIP'S LOGS:
It is back to the sail loft today. I am hopeful that all of the skills I've developed have not atrophied in the last few months. I am not eager to put a needle through a finger.
It is back to the sail loft today. I am hopeful that all of the skills I've developed have not atrophied in the last few months. I am not eager to put a needle through a finger.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
How Much Fun Is That?
SHIP'S LOG:
Having owned boats for some 36 years, you would think I would be used to leaks by now, but not this one!
I went out to breakfast to celebrate New Years Day ( 1st Sunday of Advent, the start of the Liturgical New Year) and when I got back t and opened the Little Hermitage's door, there was the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the roof so much as it was on the floor, on the stove (missed the sink . . .figures) the kitchen table, the kitchen rug and the microwave. It seems that the people in the apartment on the fifth floor broke their toilet and they tired to fix it themselves . All they did was bust it further and began to overflow. It flooded their apartment, then the one on the 4th floor, then the one on the 3rd floor (mine), then the one on the second floor. It didn't flood the one on the 1st floor as there isn't one, just a stairwell which is now flooded.
Kenny the Maintenance Dude got here is record time from Baltic and shut the water off on the 5th floor and is in the process of fixing the toilet. He then went around to check each apartment for damage. I've got ceiling damage in a couple of place but it doesn't look too bad. I would expect that there will be work that needs to be done less it falls down.
Personal damage . . . well the microwave got "rained on" though I am not sure it is damaged. After a couple of hours of dry-time, I'll run it to see if it works or shorts out. The cabinet it sits on got a wipe down and should be fine. The stove, again dry-time and then all the elements on and we will see what's what. It missed my computer but got the discharge paper tray of the printer, I turned it on and it ran. I'll try printing something in awhile. The kitchen rug is drip-drying in the shower. That will take a couple of days, but all-in-all not too bad. At least the apartment won't "sink!"
Having owned boats for some 36 years, you would think I would be used to leaks by now, but not this one!
I went out to breakfast to celebrate New Years Day ( 1st Sunday of Advent, the start of the Liturgical New Year) and when I got back t and opened the Little Hermitage's door, there was the gentle pitter-patter of rain on the roof. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the roof so much as it was on the floor, on the stove (missed the sink . . .figures) the kitchen table, the kitchen rug and the microwave. It seems that the people in the apartment on the fifth floor broke their toilet and they tired to fix it themselves . All they did was bust it further and began to overflow. It flooded their apartment, then the one on the 4th floor, then the one on the 3rd floor (mine), then the one on the second floor. It didn't flood the one on the 1st floor as there isn't one, just a stairwell which is now flooded.
Kenny the Maintenance Dude got here is record time from Baltic and shut the water off on the 5th floor and is in the process of fixing the toilet. He then went around to check each apartment for damage. I've got ceiling damage in a couple of place but it doesn't look too bad. I would expect that there will be work that needs to be done less it falls down.
Personal damage . . . well the microwave got "rained on" though I am not sure it is damaged. After a couple of hours of dry-time, I'll run it to see if it works or shorts out. The cabinet it sits on got a wipe down and should be fine. The stove, again dry-time and then all the elements on and we will see what's what. It missed my computer but got the discharge paper tray of the printer, I turned it on and it ran. I'll try printing something in awhile. The kitchen rug is drip-drying in the shower. That will take a couple of days, but all-in-all not too bad. At least the apartment won't "sink!"
Monday, November 21, 2016
Timing Is Everything In Life
SHIP'S LOG:
Friend Fred and I spent Saturday putting ABISHAG to bed for the winter. A good thing too as yesterday it rained and rained hard. And overnight, it snowed as well. I am not sure how much actually fell in Portland but we got about half an inch in New London so I am sure that they got more. The snow here is already melting and should be gone by this afternoon, but the snow in Portland may stick around for awhile. I just hope that this isn't a sign of the kind of winter we can expect. Oh well, we have to deal with what we get and, in the end, it will all melt away come spring!
Friend Fred and I spent Saturday putting ABISHAG to bed for the winter. A good thing too as yesterday it rained and rained hard. And overnight, it snowed as well. I am not sure how much actually fell in Portland but we got about half an inch in New London so I am sure that they got more. The snow here is already melting and should be gone by this afternoon, but the snow in Portland may stick around for awhile. I just hope that this isn't a sign of the kind of winter we can expect. Oh well, we have to deal with what we get and, in the end, it will all melt away come spring!
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