Friday, September 30, 2011

Nothing was accomplished today. Yesterday I slightly bent over to close a tray table and put it away. When I bent, I twisted wrong and now my back hurts. I spent most of the day in bed with a heating pad. And I had so much I wanted to do today. Tomorrow is another day and, with any luck, I will feel like doing all the things I want to do.

We received a box of mail today. Who would have thought that would be cause for so much excitement? We don't get too many bills in the mail because most of them are handled online. Magazines and sometimes pictures that the grandchildren draw are our favorite pieces of mail.

John took the car to be washed. The bugs around here are awful and get all over the windshield and the bumpers and the hood.... It looks so much better. Speaking of bugs, right now the "love bugs" are everywhere. They don't bite, but they are pretty big and they fly into you and aggravate the daylights out of you. They only last a short while, thank goodness.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sue and I walk most mornings along a path that runs next to the ICW and behind some nice looking condos. We see lots of squirrels, a woodpecker, blue crabs, butterflies, and other assorted animals and birds. We see a lot of the same people every morning. We are creatures of habit. It doesn't seem so hot at 8:30, but by the time we are finished walking at 9:30, we are hot and sweaty. This morning, I stuck supper in the crock pot before we walked. Shortly before lunch, John and I headed out. We went to Lowe's and Home Depot in search of Shade Fabric. We found what we needed to make a sun shade to hang outside over the salon windows. This should allow the air conditioner to work more efficiently. My sewing machine is back on the boat. I've missed my Viking. It gave me fits for the first couple of hours. Perhaps it was mad at me for leaving it in the van all of that time. The hissy fit is over and I did a test embroidery for the headrest covers. I can hardly wait to sew again tomorrow after walking with Sue.

Wednesday. September 28, 2011

Norm is on his way home for his Aunt's funeral. John and I spent the day working on getting things back the way we want them on the boat. We still are not finished, but it's looking good. I went to JoAnn's today and bought fabric to make covers for the headrest on the sofa and to cover the cushions on the wicker furniture on the aft deck. I was going to replace the foam in the cushions, but they wanted $31 a yard for foam that was about 24" wide and 2" thick. I didn't think it was worth it, so I'm recovering the ones we have. If John decides it's important to replace the foam, maybe we can get a better deal at Lowe's or Home Depot. We didn't have Happy Hour tonight because Sue had taken Norm to Jacksonville to the airport and it was just the two of us. It's still really warm and muggy, so we decided it was more comfortable in the boat. We did go for a walk around 9:00 P.M. and still it's muggy and warm. Tomorrow we are thinking about going out and doing something fun instead of working, but we don't know what that might be yet.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Our 140 gallons of diesel fuel was returned to our boat and pumped into the new fuel tank. We were happy that we were able to recoup the fuel because there was so much and it cost $4.00 a gallon. We started to put the salon back together. We figured that since everything is out of the room, we should clean really well as we go. So, the floor was the big project today. My knees may never be the same again. As the upholstered items were positioned in the room, I vacuumed them and cleaned the fabrics. The lamps are back and the furniture was all dusted and waxed. That's as far as we got today. Tomorrow more things come out of the V-Berth. It's kind of nice right now with no clutter, so maybe everything won't come back. We'll consider each item as we go along. John took me out to dinner because I was tired and the galley has some things from out of the V-Berth sitting around in the way. Tomorrow is another day.

Monday, September 26. 2011

Rejoice!!!! Our boat is finished, almost. It still need two cotter pins which Al is supposed to get tomorrow. And the fuel that was taken out of the leaking tank is to be delivered here tomorrow as well. Today, the generator was hooked up and primed, the engine was hooked up and primed and a new exhaust hose installed, and the engine was aligned. The generator and engine both ran fine. We should be good to go. Norm is flying home on Wednesday to attend a funeral and won't be back until Monday. Once we have clean clothes, enough food, a pump out, and water in the tanks, we will finally be moving on. We have gotten to know the people here at this marina fairly well. Everyone has been so nice and accommodating.

The harbor has Happy Hour on Monday in the Ship Store. We have missed the last three until tonight. The first two weeks after returning from Cincinnati, we just forgot. Last Monday, Sue and I went shopping all day to stay out of the way of the work being done on the boat. That's the day the new tank got here and was brought onto the boat. So, this week we were determined to be there and socialize. I made Hanky Panks (or Moose Poops as my sister-in-law calls them). I had an empty tray to bring back. It makes you happy when people like what you cook. So, we celebrated the fact that we are put back together with the whole harbor. Woo Hoo!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Craft Show Booths down the middle of the street in Deland.

One of the well kept older buildings (1910) in DeLand.

Inside of the bar where we met John and Norm for lunch.

There was a nice, big craft show in DeLand this weekend that all four of us attended today. It took about 45 minutes to drive there and was well worth the effort. The town has lots of old, but well-maintained buildings. We saw so many lovely items, with very few duplicate items. There are lots of ideas floating around in my head for Christmas gifts. It was so hot and humid! The people manning the booths looked miserable. A lot of them would sit outside of their booths in the shade and just come over if they thought you were going to buy something. One lady said that yesterday she felt so bad from the heat that she went to a store and bought a portable air conditioner and a fan. Norm and John only lasted about six or seven booths and they ducked into a bar and sat in the A/C and watched football, although the bat didn't have the Bengal's game on. Sue and I met them there after we looked at all of the booths and had a late lunch. All in all, it was a good diversion from our normal Sunday. We also found another quilt shop. I didn't go in, but I plan on going back one day when I feel like shopping for fabric, although it would be tough to beat the one we found in Bunnell. Perhaps it's just as well that the Bengal's game wasn't on since they lost again anyway.

We are expecting Al first thing in the morning and hoping that we can put everything back the way it should be.

Saturday, September 24. 2011

John had some work to do in the engine room today. The soundproof tiles had to be reinstalled and the frame to keep the batteries from moving around had to be reinstalled. They both came out when the fuel tank came out. So, he went into the engine room and forced himself to do his work, but he really should have waited until his arm/shoulder felt better. That just aggravated his already sore arm. It makes me feel so helpless. I can't make his arm feel better and I can't do the engine room work. If I got into the engine room, I don't think I could get out. John would have to toss my pillow down and hand down food occasionally for the duration.

It's still really hot and muggy. We are both so happy that the air conditioner is working again. It's working better than it has in a really long time. It's a pleasure to come in from the heat. We have paid up until October 4th. We feel fairly confident that we will be ready to go by then. All four of us are getting anxious to move along and see something new and different.

Friday, September 23, 2011

What an ugly day it was today. It was gray, humid, and rainy all day long. The boat stayed cool all day though and that is a very good thing. We expected Al to come this morning and put our boat back together. However, that didn't happen. John spoke to him around noon and at that point, we still thought he was coming today. Now, it won't be until Monday because he went out of town for the weekend. Everything else is the same as its been.

There is a boat here in the harbor (Chris and John are the owners) that has a shade hung from the grab rail above the side windows on the outside of the boat. Chris made it out an outdoor sunshade fabric she bought at Lowe's. It looks nice and you can see through it from inside the boat, but it keeps a lot of heat out of the boat and doesn't make the air conditioner work so hard. I think that is going to be on my list of things to do, once the boat gets put back together and my sewing machine is back on board. I have three boat sewing projects planned and can't wait to get at them.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

This morning I left to go grocery shopping before Pete came to work on the air conditioner. It was fixed, and he was gone by the time I got back. This time he replaced the thermostat and it is wonderful in the boat. Even the galley stayed cool while I cooked and cleaned up the dishes. I fixed ham, potatoes, and string beans for dinner. John called it comfort food. It is nice to have a stocked galley again and the desire to cook.

After lunch, John drove to St. Augustine to pick up the "donut" and some kind of bolt, both to be used to align the engine. Al is coming back tomorrow. Hopefully, when he leaves tomorrow, it will be finished and the boat can get put back together. Right now you cannot even walk into the front stateroom. That's where everything is being stored that had to get out of the way.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The air conditioner repairman Pete got to the boat at 8:30 this morning, just like he said he would. He repaired the line that Al cut to move the air conditioner out of the way of the tank, so the fuel tank could be removed. He charged it back up with freon and replaced a switch that turns the pump on and off. It was working pretty well when he left, but by about 2:00 this afternoon, John noticed it was short cycling. John called Pete and he is coming back tomorrow morning at 8:30. John thinks the freon is leaking out somewhere. Fortunately, we still have Al's portable A/C unit in the aft stateroom. The living area of the boat was cool and for the first time in several days, I cooked dinner.

Tomorrow afternoon, John is planning on going to St. Augustine to pick up a metal "donut" that he is having made, to assist in aligning the starboard engine. We are hoping that our ongoing transmission leak will disappear if the engine is properly aligned. So many mechanics have tried to fix this leak since we bought the boat, but so far, no one has been successful. Al says that you can't align it the way it is because the "donut" is made out of plastic and has too much give in it. So, the new one will be aluminum. If the exhaust hose and the "donut" are both ready tomorrow sometime, Al will be back on Friday to finish up, with any luck at all.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Byrd Nest Quilt Shop

This little tiny frog was on the mirror of the car next to us. Isn't he cute?

Another jellyfish. They are everywhere.

They were back at it bright and early this morning. Things went pretty smoothly, only a few minor glitches. The fabricator had to do some welding on the tank yesterday. Today they hooked up most of the engine parts with the exception of an old and brittle exhaust hose that split from being handled. The water heater and salon air conditioner are hooked up again. The exhaust hose has been ordered with the hope that it will be in stock on Thursday. Peter the air conditioner guy is coming back tomorrow to work on the stateroom air conditioner. It needs some kind of switch and freon. Then, if the part is in, Al will be back on Friday.

Sue and I left for the day again today. We found the quilt shop that eluded us yesterday. We drove around the block several times yesterday looking for this shop. Sue went online this morning and found the address, so we could punch it into the GPS. John also remembered how to get there because we saw it on our way home from Church Sunday. We also found a larger quilt shop in Bunnell. Then we found a nice shopping center and spent the day looking and laughing. Tonight the four of us went for pizza at Mezzaluna's in the European Village. It was so pleasant sitting outside and eating pizza. It was a very good day!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Last night Palm Coast had a record amount of rainfall. It rained hard all through the Bengal's game and then all night long. Our air conditioner that was working, quit working and the one we borrowed from Al had to be turned off because the exhaust hose hangs out of the porthole in the aft stateroom. We had packed towels around it, but with all of the rain, the towels were soaking wet and we didn't want it up against the wood. So, it was muggy and hot all night long. Today when Al came to work on the fuel tank, his cohort Peter said that the strainer for our salon air conditioner probably has jellyfish in it. He said another boat on our dock called and complained that his air wasn't working and when Peter took out the strainer, there were five jellyfish in it. A couple of days later, the same guy called him back and again he cleaned out five more jellyfish. We have been seeing large jellyfish around the boat for the last week or so. John saw on the news that the area is being inundated with jellyfish since the last tropical storm passed us off the coast.

The tank is in the boat and so the boat is floating ever so much more even. They opened the fuel crossover and so the fuel has evened out between the two tanks. The engine is in its cradle, but not hooked up yet. So, tomorrow's job is to put everything back together on the engine, hook the tank to the engine, reinstall the water heater, and reinstall the other air conditioner. Once all of that is done, the rest of the port side fuel will be pumped into the new tank and a camera will be inserted into the port fuel tank to see if it needs to be replaced as well or not.

Today Sue and I made ourselves scarce while all of the heavy work was being done. We went to Daytona to a shopping mall and had a nice day, mostly window shopping. I did, however, get a haircut. I don't understand. Every time I get a haircut, I tell the beauticians exactly the same thing. Every time it turns out different. This time I got scalped. Good thing it grows back. I thought John would have a fit, but he didn't even notice. What's up with that?

Sunday, September 18, 2011

After Church this morning, John and I had breakfast at Perkin's. Then we came back to the boat to wait for Al. He came and put the rubber mat in under where the new tank goes. He was going back to his shop when he left us to put the sixth coat on the tank. It really is going to be installed tomorrow!!!!

John, Norm, and I went to McCharacter's to watch the Bengal's game against Denver. It was a really, good, close game, but we didn't win. Boo Hoo! We did have a good time though. This Irish bar has televisions all around the perimeter. We ate Gator tails while there. It tasted like chewy chicken to me.

Tomorrow I am leaving and going shopping or something while they work on the boat. John hasn't decided if he is going with me or staying to watch or help. We passed a Quilt Shop on our way home from Church that will be the first stop of many in the morning.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

This is the shiny, new tank. (That's Al in the background.)

This is the corrosion on the inside of the old tank.


This is the old tank.

This afternoon John and I took a ride over to Al's shop to see both the old and the new fuel tanks. When you look inside the old tank, you can see just a pinpoint hole near one of the corners. That's all it took to cause the leak and aggravation. The old tank was made of steel and the new tank is made of aluminum. The new tank is all shiny right now, but it gets painted before it comes back into the boat on Monday. Hopefully, it will all go smoothly.

John and I spent the morning getting ready for Al to come back and work. We had to clear out some of the stuff we had put back to actually live on the boat since returning from Cincinnati. It rained this afternoon right before Happy Hour, so we didn't do that today. Oh, well.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Willow Tree Restaurant from across the street

Advertising structure in the parking lot of the marina. I like the way it looked.

John and I scouted out a marina on the St. Johns River at Sanford, FL. It's called Monroe Harbour Marina. They have room right now, but we don't know when we would get there, so we can't make a reservation. The harbor master did say that there are two other marinas fairly close by. This particular marina is in walking distance of downtown Sanford. We drove down the main street and it looks so quaint and interesting. We stopped for lunch at a German outdoor restaurant called Willow Tree. The food was good and we already decided we want to go back there and try other dishes. We also passed the Sanford Zoo and thought that might be a good place to visit when we are docked in the area. I'm certain there are other things to see and do, we just haven't discovered what they are.

The fabricator has finished the fuel tank. Al has picked it up and is painting it before installing it. We are on track for Monday installation.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Al spoke to the fabricators today and they told him the tank would be finished tonight. He is picking it up tomorrow morning and painting it. He will install a rubber pad that goes under the tank on Sunday. Then, on Monday, the long awaited fuel tank will arrive at our boat and be installed. We are fairly confident that this will happen on this timetable.

Happy Hour was interesting tonight. The new owner of the boat docked next to us arrived late last night and joined us tonight for Happy Hour and then a gentleman who is vacationing at the resort next door walked over to the ship store only to find it closed. He joined us as well. It was fun hearing people's stories. I believe they will both be back tomorrow night. The wife of the owner of the boat next to us may be making an appearance in the near future too. Right now, she is at home in Georgia.

John and I had lunch at Sonny's Barbecue today. That is the restaurant where I thought I lost my sunglasses. I had asked them twice before if they had found them, but they had not. So, today, I asked again. Two different waitresses said they thought they remembered seeing them. They looked in all of the places employees might have stashed them, but to no avail. During those few minutes while they went to look for them, my hopes were way up, then CRASH! Darn it. I guess I'm going to have to buy another pair.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Norm and John at Finn's
Flagler Beach

Not much happening around here today. Neither one of us slept well last night, so we just kind of lazed around all day. After Happy Hour, we went to an outdoor restaurant on a roof on Flagler beach with Norm and Sue for dinner. There was a fabulous breeze and live music. The scenery was beautiful too! It doesn't get better than that. The restaurant is called Finns. We enjoyed ourselves, the food, and the surroundings. Being retired is wonderful.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

John's reoccurring shoulder injury is driving him crazy. It's been hard for him to sleep the past few nights. It is bothering him more during the day than before. He has been to the doctor for it on numerous occasions, even seeing an orthopedic doctor. It's a soft tissue injury and he has done therapy for it in the past. He has a pain killer prescription which he is taking at night to help him sleep. He knows when he aggravated it. He went to the fitness room and did the treadmill, but reached in an awkward way and Zap! it's making him miserable. Hopefully, it will calm back down and life will be normal again for awhile.

I spent most of the morning working on getting my genealogy database back to where it was before the hard drive took a nose dive. There are two separate databases. The largest one is about 80% completed and the second one has not been touched. I had done the backup feature in the software, but it creates a read only file. So, everything needs to be put back in so that I can update it as we go along. Just a couple of more days work on the first one.

It's been pretty smoky here for the last couple of days. We saw on the news that it's because of the controlled fires in Georgia. That's pretty amazing that we can see it here. I'll check in again tomorrow.

Monday. September 12, 2011

After getting our chores done, we went to KFC for lunch and then to Staples. I have several shopping places that I could spend a great deal of time looking around. I love fabric stores, scrapbooking stores, book stores, card stores, and office supply stores. So, that trip made my day. We were paid a visit by Al, our friendly, neighborhood mechanic who informed us that the tank is not finished. The fabricators promised it will be ready on Thursday. It will have to be painted and then the installation target date is now Monday the 19th. All in all, today has been a good day. It could have been better, but it could have been worse too. It sounds like progress is being made on the tank. So, that's something.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

This has been a busy day. First, Church at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton followed by breakfast at Denny's. After breakfast, we stopped at the grocery store for a few items and then to the drugstore. We went back to the boat and watched some of the 9/11 programs. Even after 10 years, it still hurts to see the destruction and misery. Later, we went to a bar called McCharacters to watch the Bengal's game. GO BENGALS!!!!! So far, they have a winning record. After the game, we had Happy Hour outside on the hill at the marina. There was a nice breeze on the hill. We aren't sure whether or not the starboard fuel tank is coming back tomorrow or not.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

We found the cutest wine and cheese shop today on A1A. They had so many different wines, lots of cheeses, mustards, chocolates, and other assorted goodies. We bought a bottle of Muscato de Asti. Of course, I had to have a glass of it at Happy Hour tonight. I really like it. When Sue and I toured the winery in St. Augustine, we each bought a pouring spout that also seals the wine bottle so that it stays fresh longer. I am putting it to the test and hoping that it works well. We found another beautiful beach that has free parking and a place to shower off before you go climbing back into your car.

Sue and I have begun walking in the morning for an hour each day. There is a nice wide walking path along the edge of the ICW (where I saw the Kamikaze squirrels). It's mostly shaded and just a nice place to walk. Today we got farther than yesterday in the same amount of time. That's a good thing.

As far as we know, we are still on track to have the starboard fuel tank installed on Monday.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Oldest house in St. Augustine

Cross at the Shrine of Our Lady Of Le Leche

St. Augustine Baptist Church

The news reports about 9/11 are frightening. The entire country will be holding its breath until that date comes and goes. Hopefully, nothing will happen. Hopefully, "Homeland Security" has everything under control. It's been ten years already. The older I get, the faster time goes.

John and I had a Buffalo Chicken pizza for lunch. That was spicy and tasty. Then we went back to Flagler Beach. The water looks wonderful, but you can see it is more churned up than previously. "Maria" is working her way north. It looks like she will miss us too, thank God. We are wondering what will happen with the Erie Canal. It may or may not be open by the time we are ready to head that way. Only time will tell.

I am going to put more pictures up from our tour of St. Augustine. Hope you like them.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Henry Flagler built church

This T-shirt was in front of the San Sebastian Winery
Carol as a prisoner at jail.

The latest on the tank: supposedly, the fabricator has started working on it again and Al is planning on installing it on Monday. Yea!!! I think I will make myself scarce on Monday. I'm sure John and Al won't need my help. Let's keep our fingers crossed that all goes well.

Today Sue and I went to St. Augustine and did the trolley tour. We had so much fun. We saw the old jail, the history museum, the Castillo de San Marcos, the Fountain of Youth, the San Sebastian Winery, Flagler College, numerous Churches, a chocolate factory, and probably more that I'm forgetting. The train makes 22 stops. You get off and on whenever you want. They come by about every 15 minutes and your ticket is good for 3 days. My favorite parts were the jail and the winery. If we had jails like that still in the US, we wouldn't have nearly as many criminals because you would do whatever you had to do, to keep from going to jail. The winery tour included a wine tasting. We tasted about 8 different wines. Any of you who know me, knows that I am not a big wine drinker, but there were 3 or 4 that I found appealing. Neither Sue nor I wanted to carry around bottles of wine the rest of the day, so we resisted the impulse to buy a bottle or two. Perhaps we will go back there with our car and buy some wine.

After 30 minutes of waiting for a few pictures to upload, I've given up. I will try again and you will know if it worked, by whether or not there are any pictures present on today's posting.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

This tank stuff is really getting to John. He was awake all night last night, wondering what he can do to expedite the situation. We may be here for a while yet. I can think of a lot of places that would be ever so much worse. We do have our car here, so we can get around and see things in the area. Tomorrow Sue and I, ( and maybe the guys) are going to take a train tour of St. Augustine. We bought our tickets online tonight and they are good for 3 days. Tonight the four of us went out to dinner to Ruby Tuesdays. We had coupons for 25% off. Ruby Tuesday's salad bar is so nice and crisp and cold. I keep trying to think of things to keep John's mind off of the tanks. We eat, play cards, walk, get together for Happy Hour, but it's still always on his mind. Hopefully, he'll be able to set it aside long enough to sleep tonight.

This morning I went for a walk along the ICW. There is a nice wide path to walk on. This path has the most brazen squirrels I have ever seen. They run right toward you and then walk alongside you in the same direction you are going, only about 18 inches away from you. Someone must be feeding them. You're almost afraid to look them in the eye. It's like they are possessed.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The saga continues.... This morning we got word that the fabricator of the tank has halted work on it because of the insurance surveyor. Apparently, he told the fabricator that the tank has to be Coast Guard certified and left a stack of papers full of regulations. After John made a few phone calls, we thought all we would have to do, was get someone from the Coast Guard to sign off on the tank and we would be good to go. After trying all morning and into the early afternoon, Ann (Al's wife) could find no one who knew anything about any of it. Since the insurance company is not paying for the tank, John told Al that it isn't any of their concern. The fabricator is using the proper aluminum and is making the tank exactly the same as the old one. So, the last we heard, Al is telling them to go ahead because the insurance company won't cover it anyway. I thought your insurance company was supposed to work for you. Ha! This whole ordeal has been one step forward and two steps back since the beginning. It's been more than 2 months and here we are.

On a lighter note, John and I went to St. Augustine today to the shopping mall. There were 3 anchor stores and 3 other stores, that's all. We went back to JT's for lunch. They have an absolutely wonderful salad with grilled salmon on it. Yum yum. John was so upset that his lunch was hardly even noticed.

Labor Day 2011

There were three fruit salads at the Labor Day party, so needless to say, mine wasn't totally gone. It was 3/4 gone though, so I feel like the people did like it. We have leftovers for tomorrow now. That's not all bad either. It was supposed to rain this afternoon. They set up the food tables inside of the ship store. Most people were inside even though it didn't rain because it is sooo hot! There are signs around town about the high alert level for fires. That's a little scary.

Yesterday John was watching football and caught St. X playing on ESPN. That seemed strange because we don't get to see all of the professional football and baseball that we think we should be able to watch. It made us feel right at home.

We hope you all enjoyed your holiday.

Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011

Last night we slept like babies thanks to the air conditioner on loan to us from Al. We got up bright and early and ran ourselves under the showers until we were nice and clean. We attended 8:00 A.M. Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, had breakfast at Denny's, and then went to Publix for a few groceries, mostly for tomorrow. The marina is having a cook out for Labor Day tomorrow at 2:00 P.M. Everyone is to bring their own meat to grill and a side dish. I am making fruit salad because it's so hot out and that's something everyone can eat, even those with diabetes. We are looking forward to seeing the people we have already met and meeting those we have not met as yet. There is a pretty good chance of rain tomorrow. We'll be in the ship store if that happens.

Tonight are the huge WEBN fireworks at home. We miss seeing the fireworks and spending the long weekend with our boating friends at Manhatten Harbor. Hope you all love the light show and boat safely. We'd love to see some pictures of the fireworks, although mine never used to turn out. I don't know what I do wrong, but something... Have fun!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

What a difference a day makes! John and I are both a lot happier today than yesterday! For John, having talked to the mechanic today has made a world of difference. He expects the tank to be finished next week and ready to install. We talked about how hot it is in the boat and how we are not getting a lot of sleep because of the heat. He loaned us a portable air conditioner for the aft cabin that works really well. Sleep should come easier tonight. Thank you, Al.

I have not spilled anything or broken anything at all today. Yesterday my thumb drive with my genealogy files on it, got bumped while in the computer and now it won't work. I wasn't too concerned because I had a backup copy, but apparently the backup is a read only file. So, everything has to be re-entered into my software. Yuck! I know what I'll be doing all winter.

The bottom picture above is of our boat as it sits in the harbor right now. Can you tell how crooked it sits in the water? It doesn't look like much, but you feel like you will fall out of bed and when you walk around in the boat, it kind of feels like you have had too much to drink (not that anyone around here would do that). The top picture is self explanatory. We watched the bird catching fish from that position while we were at Happy Hour. It doesn't take much to entertain us.

Friday, September 2, 2011

This is one of those days when everything I touch breaks or is never to be seen again. It's the kind of day that makes you appreciate the good ones when they happen. I think I'm just going to bed and read. That way nothing else can happen. Right? Good night.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Time marches on. Schools are back in session. It's still extremely warm, poor kids! This morning I met Ann, the wife of Al who took the tank out of the boat and will, hopefully very soon, put the new one in. She was very nice and easy to talk to, just like her husband Al. There is going to be dancing in the street when it's finished. Then we get to clean and move everything back into place.

There is going to be a picnic here at the marina on the holiday Monday. Everyone is bringing their own meat to grill and a side dish. We've met a lot of the people, but I'm sure we'll meet more at the picnic. We are sorry that we won't be able to see the Fireworks at home in Cincinnati with all of our boat friends. That is always a really good time. Some of our friends beach their boats along the shore on the Kentucky side of the river a couple of weeks ahead of time. We have been enjoying some pictures on Facebook of the downtown scenes. Til next time...