Wednesday,. January 30, 2013

It's been a couple of weeks since I have written.  There really isn't much to tell.  We were supposed to have visitors from home last weekend, but because of illness, they had to beg off.  We were sad that we didn't have visitors, but we are glad to still be healthy. 

Even though we have our boat up for sale, John keeps on doing projects to her, like replacing the screens.  I can't believe what a difference new screening makes to the outside appearance of the boat.  Some jobs are easier than others.  Some jobs that should be easy, don't turn out that way.  I'm sure you all know what I am talking about. 

We had a couple come look at the boat this past Thursday.  They spent a couple of hours looking very carefully at her.  They are really nice people who would like to do the loop.  This boat, in my opinion, is perfect to do the loop.  She already knows her way around the entire route. :)

I have learned my lesson about telling you what we plan to do in the near future.  So many times, it doesn't work out the way I expect. 

Last night we had some wild weather.  It was 75 degrees during the day. As night took over the day, the temperatures dropped and the wind picked up.  During the night, it sounded like the roof was going to blow off of the dock and we bobbed around in the wind.  The roof did not keep the rain off of the boat because of how hard the wind was blowing.  Tornadoes touched down not far from here, but we faired pretty well except for a lack of sleep. 

So far, so good.  We are looking forward to spring and moving again.  I'll check in again in a week or two.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

I'm still having a hard time remembering to put 2013.  I will get used to it though.

Things have been rather calm around here since returning from Cincinnati at Christmas time.  We have had some volatile weather, however.  First it will be in the upper 60s and lower 70s and then just a day later, we are having freezing temperatures and lots  and lots of rain and even some sleet.  We have avoided the snow (that nasty 4 letter word) so far.  When the weather was warm, John was outside scrubbing the boat.  Suddenly, the brush and handle fell in the water.  The handle was supposed to be one that floats, but it sank like a weighted down dead mobster.  It has since been replaced.

Because of all of the rain we have gotten, the ramp to the dock is just about flat.  It could stay like that as far as I'm concerned.  It certainly makes toting things up and down the dock a lot easier.  We drove over to Pickwick Dam to see how much water they are pushing through the dam.  I took a video and will attempt to put it on the blog.  Our Internet service is pretty slow here, so it may not work.  I will give it a go.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We were invited to a New Year's party on the dock aboard Tim and Ginger's boat.  We had lots of food, drinks, music and dancing.  I still don't have a voice.  John and I stayed up until 4:00 A.M., which is pretty good for us.  That's probably the first New Year's John has been awake for, in several years.  We are hoping this year will be a great year for you all.

December 22, 2012

We went back to the boat on December 3rd.  When we got back, there were even less people around than there were before Thanksgiving.  We moved the boat to a slip under cover near some other liveaboards and left to come back to Cincy on the December 12th. for the Christmas holidays.  We  got back to Cincy in time to see  our granddaughter Kate's Christmas program.  We have been busy since we got here spending as much time with all our grandkids as we can.  We spent the first week with Gina and Jim, Clara and Lindy and are currently at Cynthia and Jay's with Carolyn, Maria, and Johnathan.  These are some truly lively houses and Carol and I love it.  We are going to spend Christmas morning at Susan, Jeff, and Kate's house and all of us are getting together at Cynthia and Jay's house in the afternoon.  Also had time to visit many of our friends in the last week, both boating and non-boating.  It has been a very busy week.  We plan on heading back to the boat on Dec. 27th.  I am doing one of the few posts I have done because Grandma Carol is too busy being "Grandmotherly."

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

We made the trip home for Thanksgiving and stayed for two weeks.  We spent the first week at Jeff and Susan's house and the second week at Gina and Jim's house.  It seemed that every house had lots of germs, but we escaped unscathed.  It was so nice to be home for Thanksgiving.  After missing three Thanksgivings at home made this one extra special.  There were 44 people (my side of the family) in attendance.  Only four were missing.  There were three expecting mothers, so next year, if everyone is there, we will be fifty-one.  Thank goodness our children have such large houses to accommodate that many.

John had lunch a few times with his friends from Delhi.  I had lunch with the "Boat Ladies".  We had dinner out several times.  It seems we eat a lot while we are home.  It is evident by the number on the scale once we got back to the boat.  We are returning to Cincinnati on the 13th for the Christmas holiday.  Hopefully, we can pare back before then, so we can enjoy all of the eating events. It is a vicious cycle.

Our Rising Sun Christmas party was Saturday night at Hueston Woods.  We stayed overnight in the lodge.  The dinner, dancing, and visiting with this group of boaters was a lot of fun.  When we left there on Sunday (John's BIG 60th birthday), we went to Jay and Cynthia's house for a birthday party with our children, grandchildren, and parents.  All in all, we had a great time and are looking forward to our next trip home.

Cooler Weather

Two nights ago it got down to 28 degrees.  We were aware that the temperature was going to drop down below freezing, so John winterized the shower on the swim platform and the deck wash, out on the bow.  I guess we didn't go far enough south.  It's only November and it gets cold at night.  The days when the sun shines are still pleasant though.   

The oven quit working.  It wouldn't heat up and the water heater isn't getting the water very warm any more.  So, John ordered a new heating element for the water heater and a heating element for the oven.  Today he installed the one for the oven.  Now I can cook anything I want again.  It was strange having to think about how something needed to be cooked before buying food at the grocery store.  The water heater is on the list of  "Things To Do".  John hasn't been feeling so well for the past two or three days.  It's just a cold, but he doesn't feel like doing much.  We are both hoping that he is back to normal (whatever that is) by the time we come home for Thanksgiving.  We are so looking forward to seeing everyone over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  I am doing very well with my Christmas shopping.  I figured that since we are going to be home for a few weeks and there are only six weeks until Christmas, I better get a move on.  There is still one more thing I want to make for a Christmas gift.   I feel pretty good about my progress so far.  Well, that's pretty much what's been happening recently here. 

November Already

This past weekend was my annual sisters' trip.  My sisters and sisters-in-law have gone away for a weekend in the fall every year for many years.  Over the years this trip has evolved to include Mom and the nieces and nieces-in-law that are older than 18.  I never missed a single one of these trips until we left on The Great Loop Trip.  I missed two years during that time.  We were gone for three years, but one year they came to where we were docked for our sisters' trip.  This year it was only my sisters and Mom.  The four of us went to Clarksville, Indiana.  We started our Christmas shopping, went to a very nice craft show in Louisville, and attended the play "Mousetrap" at the Derby Dinner Theater.  We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and played cards.  While we missed the rest of the girls, we had a great time anyway.

Before I left for this weekend, John told me that he bought me a present that was going to be delivered on Friday.  He said it was something I wouldn't buy for myself.  It's not even my birthday or our Anniversary or anything.  When I got back, he gave it to me.  It is a box of wonderful teas from Mighty Leaf Tea Company.  He was right.  I would not have ordered it for myself, but they are wonderful.  I might have to reorder them because I haven't tried a single one that I didn't like.  Thanks, John. 

There aren't very many people around the harbor since the first of the month.  Pickwick State Park has been working on replacing their docks and, apparently, one (or more) of them has been finished and open for boats.  Several boats left our dock to go there.  Several boats have left for Florida.  Loopers have been passing through here and we enjoy talking with them, but they don't stay more than a night or two.  It's a good thing we have each other to talk to.

That's it for a week or so.  Hang in there.....