The panels are coming! The panels are coming! The Solar Panels are coming tomorrow! Or so we're told by Alex. WhooooHoooo! We may never have to run the engine to charge the batteries ever again after tomorrow morning....except when the sun isn't shining, of course. Does this mean we need a wind generator, too, or just that we need to sail more and use the oil lamps...or go to bed when the sun isn't shining? So many options. However, wind generator is not in our future. We've spent (will spend) a bundle of money on the new solar panels. That refrigerator better make ice with this new electricity source! Stay tuned and keep fingers crossed for complete installation and smooth, efficient running by tomorrow this time.
My sore neck and shoulder are much better now that alignment is better. Muscles are still sore and I'm being gentle AND drinking water. Went for a walk to the library, deciding to not take the bike which puts stress on shoulders and not wear my backpack for the same shoulder stress reason. The walk was good. Then I harvested weeds out of the community garden. Forgot to take a photo. It is a BEAUTIFUL garden in a small space. Jim, primary gardener and dreamer, has made such a contribution with his imagination and sweat. He gave me some cactus sprouts to eat (or add to salad) and a straight-from-the-garden-dirt-and-all radish that I snapped the root off and bit the top off and devoured. Delicious. Stuff grows so fast here in the warmth and light. The iguanas are the thieves that eat everything. We're surrounding each raised beds with garlic plants.
David and Dan took the dinghy out of the water to find and repair a small leak. We think that was successful but will know more after dinghy has been in the water over night. Also cleaned and painted the bottom.
I did some grant preparation/drafting and other desk work, a bit of reading. Wendy gave me (on loan) The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. I'm skimming but came across this regarding saved photos and sentimental items:
"It is not our memories but the person we have become because of those past experiences that we should treasure. This is the lesson these keepsakes teach us when we sort them. The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past."
I love this "sentiment", the idea that we are always "becoming" thanks to our experiences, and the notion of honoring who we are now...that keeping so much of our past keeps us in our past rather than in our present. I wonder if I can put this idea into practice? The author also talks about testing our possessions with the question "Does this bring me joy?" I'll add does this bring me joy "NOW" or is it the memory of joy... and is the memory of joy enough to make the possession valuable and a keeper. Now that was a complicated sentence.
David and I will have a bunch of decluttering when we return...or the opportunity to decide to keep or pass on a bunch of stuff that we've not needed or even missed or remembered we own while on this boating journey. Of course, living aboard is different than living ashore. However, there is much to be learned and retained from the on board experience of living simply (? simply? for sure, with fewer possessions). Another "stay tuned" for any long-term change possibilities.
Back on the boat after our full day on shore we had drinks on the aft deck with strong winds whistling. Amelia came out to join us and we all had a boat-sit.
And the sun set to the alert of four different conch tones. The photo misses the sun being split in two by the clouds but still beautiful.
We continue to recognize our amazing grace and privilege and are grateful to all the energy that makes/has made this possible.
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