Ahoy!
I decided to relieve you of the thousand words for this blog and post the photos we have accumulated over the winter (you can find them under the gallery tab). I have added a caption to each photo.
Fair Winds and Oceans of Love.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Bucket turned 4
I was sure I was going to create the number 4 out of a white or chocolate
rectangular cake and ice it probably blue. Not the case. I had a request from the birthday boy for a Batman cake. He wanted the inside to be cherry flavored. An easy task if we lived in a city with craft stores and options upon options of cake flavors.
This was an eye opener for the experiences we will encounter later on as we travel to foreign places.
We are in Port Townsend. A small coastal town (a very pleasant community), which, for as far as I know, one would find it hard to buy a pair of underpants, let alone black frosting for a batman cake. There are a couple of "kitchen gadget" stores downtown. I had to give the shelves a once over in hopes of finding coloring paste. Long story short, no. I did my hunting and searching, and came up empty handed. Now it was time to throw a fit and stomp my feet like a four year old. Back at the boat I did just that! The scene went something like this.
Cindy is pacing the 20 or so feet of open floor space in the Velvet Sky. She is opening the refrigerator and peering in (looking, just looking), pacing, pacing, straightening couch pillows, dusting the desk as she passes. Pacing, pacing, like a caged wild cat. At last, an explosion of frustration comes from her mouth in the form of words.
"It used to be I had whatever I wanted, when I wanted it!" "I had convenience!" "Everything is a struggle!" "I live in a town that has nothing!"
The search for black frosting and cherry flavored cake and coming up empty handed had broke me. But wait, here comes my Knight. "Cindy," he says, "look around, we have everything." Shaking my head in frustration, "What are you talking about?" "We don't have black food coloring!" I heard the words come from my mouth. Then I heard his words again, "We have everything." Then he continued, "I laugh when you say this town has nothing." "Wait until we get to other countries and it becomes hard to find eggs." Reality Check.....(yeah, the idea is a bit frightening. We have only just begun this crazy adventure. "Living the Dream," as some would say.
I surrendered to the idea of combining all colors in the box to create grey icing. And surely the local grocery store would have cherry chip by Duncan Hines, right? So off to the grocery store.....la la la la.
No cherry anything cake. But, would you believe....BLACK icing! Life is such a trip! I picked up two cake mixes, to give the Bucket a choice. He could have a rainbow chip or a tye dye Batman cake.
rectangular cake and ice it probably blue. Not the case. I had a request from the birthday boy for a Batman cake. He wanted the inside to be cherry flavored. An easy task if we lived in a city with craft stores and options upon options of cake flavors.
This was an eye opener for the experiences we will encounter later on as we travel to foreign places.
We are in Port Townsend. A small coastal town (a very pleasant community), which, for as far as I know, one would find it hard to buy a pair of underpants, let alone black frosting for a batman cake. There are a couple of "kitchen gadget" stores downtown. I had to give the shelves a once over in hopes of finding coloring paste. Long story short, no. I did my hunting and searching, and came up empty handed. Now it was time to throw a fit and stomp my feet like a four year old. Back at the boat I did just that! The scene went something like this.
Cindy is pacing the 20 or so feet of open floor space in the Velvet Sky. She is opening the refrigerator and peering in (looking, just looking), pacing, pacing, straightening couch pillows, dusting the desk as she passes. Pacing, pacing, like a caged wild cat. At last, an explosion of frustration comes from her mouth in the form of words.
"It used to be I had whatever I wanted, when I wanted it!" "I had convenience!" "Everything is a struggle!" "I live in a town that has nothing!"
The search for black frosting and cherry flavored cake and coming up empty handed had broke me. But wait, here comes my Knight. "Cindy," he says, "look around, we have everything." Shaking my head in frustration, "What are you talking about?" "We don't have black food coloring!" I heard the words come from my mouth. Then I heard his words again, "We have everything." Then he continued, "I laugh when you say this town has nothing." "Wait until we get to other countries and it becomes hard to find eggs." Reality Check.....(yeah, the idea is a bit frightening. We have only just begun this crazy adventure. "Living the Dream," as some would say.
I surrendered to the idea of combining all colors in the box to create grey icing. And surely the local grocery store would have cherry chip by Duncan Hines, right? So off to the grocery store.....la la la la.
No cherry anything cake. But, would you believe....BLACK icing! Life is such a trip! I picked up two cake mixes, to give the Bucket a choice. He could have a rainbow chip or a tye dye Batman cake.
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| Two layer The Dye |
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| Batman logo |
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| I am 4 and can cut the cake |
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| Taste better than it looks |
Friday, March 14, 2014
Spring is Springing
(Yawn, stretch, moan, stretch)
Whoa, whoa, whoa....what? March? It's March? Time to come out of hibernation.
It has been a long, sometimes monotonous, no so eventful winter. Although, thinking back, and recalling the photos that were taken (not yet loaded onto the computer), I believe there may be a few incidents and activities to report.
We started out using electric heaters to keep us warm here in the Velvet Sky. They did the job. They also shot the electricity bill up about 120 dollars a month. I certainly did appreciate the heat they created, however they did not do a very good job of keeping the moisture down. And they were kind of in the walk way. Cords, and amp suckage, and space takers, oh my! Most importantly, they were not something we could heat the boat with while we are underway. Impractical on so many levels. So, Scott, being the caretaker he is began researching diesel heaters and installation. He found the winner! I will have him do the report on the technical aspects of his great find. It will eventually get on the blog under a different tab. I will tell you what I know. It is warm, convenient, and keeps the boat delightfully dry. It has made this hibernation period much more pleasant.
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| Ahhh...the convenience of a thermostat |
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| Space saver |
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| Nice fit in the lazarette |
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| Installed and ready to do it's job |
Although that was the most exciting thing added to the boat over the winter, there are still a few more things worth reporting.
The Bucket made a visit to Idaho. He spent a week with his Aunt Shawn and Uncle Gary and three weeks with his Aunt Hopey and her family. A month was a long time for us to apart from that little guy, though I know he enjoyed his vacation. While he was there he got some education materials. He is learning to write the letters of the alphabet.
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| Super Bucket learning to write the letter "Z" |
I have to mention that when I went to Idaho to retrieve the boy, my Mom taught me to crochet. So far I have made three headbands, one hat for myself, two hats for Zayden, and one hat for Scott. We are covered on the cranium.
When Zayden returned from his vacation he began swim lessons. He is now in level two of his lessons, and learning to hold his breath under water.
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| The Bucket's first day at "swim school" |
I am going to post this much for now. I have a few more topics I would like to get out to anyone interested. The sun is shining and it is fairly warm outside. I am in the middle of stitching a leather wheel cover on the helm wheel. I am going to take advantage of the break in spring showers, for we cannot use the helm until that job is complete. So, "Cheers," for now to my friends and loved ones, I shall return to the keyboard soon.
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